"How long are we planning on walking?" Greg was still grumbling, but whether he would admit it or not, he was enjoying the walk. It was far better than sitting in his bungalow thinking about the concert he wasn't going to be at.
"Until we find something interesting." Grissom answered with a boyish half smile. "It's estimated that more than half of the insects in the Caribbean haven't been identified, or truly discovered yet." Grissom was clearly on the lookout for something he'd never seen before.
"So we could be out here for days then?" There was a slight waver to Greg's voice. He didn't particularly enjoy camping with all the camping equipment in the world, and here they were with only basic equipment in hopes that Grissom could discover a bug.
Grissom rolled his eyes. "No, Greg, we won't be out here for days; I had thought about being back in time for dinner." He just did not understand how anyone couldn't see the adventure in this. Not to mention the likelihood that they might find something unusual given the odds in their favor. He glanced back at Greg. "In October of 2004, an orphan in the Dominican Republic found a previously undiscovered beetle, a rather striking specimen in a sort of metallic green color." He quirked a brow at Greg.
"So what you're saying is that if I keep my eyes open, I might discover a new bug." Greg smirked; Grissom might not 'hang out' with people on a regular basis, but getting to do this was a form of hanging out in Greg's mind and he was enjoying getting to know him a bit better. He was hoping that he might be able to unravel some of the mystery that surrounded the Bugman and one of their colleagues in the process.
"You never know." Grissom could sense a shift in Greg's attitude and now he was glad that he compelled him to come along for the hike. "I think we might have better luck up at the top of that ridge where some of those trees have fallen down." He pointed to where an entire group of trees was down, perhaps the after effects of a hurricane.
"That's pretty far." Greg furrowed his brow. "At the rate we're going, we're going to run into the crew from the S.S. Minnow."
Grissom stopped and looked back at Greg with a surprised expression. "I would have thought that Gilligan's Island was a little before your time." Clearly he had underestimated the lab tech turned CSI yet again.
Greg smiled smugly. "Well, if it wasn't for TV Land, I might not have."
"So what else would surprise me about you, Greg?" Grissom continued walking up the hill towards the fallen stand of trees.
Greg slogged on behind him. "Well, it might interest you to know that I've actually read an entomology text book; more specifically the one that you gave Sara for Christmas a couple of years ago." At Grissom's surprised glance over his shoulder Greg continued. "She lent it to me to help build upon my well rounded field education."
"Good." Grissom wasn't sure why he felt a pang of jealously that Sara would share something that he'd given her, but then again, they had no committed relationship at the moment. Their relationship had come in spurts, starting off with a rather incredible month when she was a graduate student at Harvard and chose to do an extra class for more credits; a summer class that he was teaching in the Caribbean on field entomology. To say that their relationship was much more than a typical teacher and student relationship was an understatement.
"So, speaking of Sara, just how long have you two known each other?" Greg thought that if there was going to be a chance to find out, now was it. He had Grissom as a captive audience or rather he was Grissom's captive since he had absolutely no idea how to find his way back to the lodge.
"Greg, that's between me and Sara." Grissom didn't think that anyone else needed to know the details, especially since their relationship had ignited sparks over the years that had led to more short term encounters. Grissom himself wasn't sure where if anywhere all of this would lead in the future, and he refused to speculate while Sara was his subordinate. That had been a point of contention between them since she'd come to Vegas. When she'd first arrived, they'd picked right up where they'd left off, but when it became apparent that she was staying, he tried to put a little distance between them.
"So you've known each other a long time then." Greg was just going to form his own conclusions if Grissom wasn't going to offer him details. "But what I don't get is why the two of you don't have a thing." He was clearly going over the line, but he knew that the only way to get a reaction out of Grissom was to do just that.
"Greg." Grissom's tone was low and controlled. He wasn't ready to snap yet, but was giving Greg ample warning to not push.
"Because if you listened to what Mr. LaRourke said, now's the time to explore your deepest desires without repercussions. I'm sure no one here would say anything if you wanted to hook up with Sara while we were here."
"Greg." Grissom's tone was firmer and he glanced over his shoulder to emphasize his point.
"Because I'm sure you've wondered; especially after knowing her all these years." Greg knew he was going to experience the wrath of Gil Grissom and quite frankly he thought the payoff was worth the risk. "You've fantasized what it would be like to be with Sara haven't you? I bet it would be kind of kinky."
Grissom's eyes widened in anger and her turned around and stared Greg down. "I don't need to fantasize." With that he turned back around and continued hiking up the hill.
Greg couldn't shut up once his brain had processed Grissom's words. "You've slept with Sara?" He was working hard to try and keep up with Grissom. "Was it recently? Are you together now? Because if you're not I'd really like to ask her out. I mean we'd keep things purely professional at work, you'd never even know we were dating." Greg let out an egocentric laugh. "Well until things got serious anyway, I wonder what our children would look like." He was clearly imagining this in his own slightly deluded mind. "Of course they would be perfect children; how could they not with a blend of DNA like that? I bet at least one of them would be a Nobel winner."
By the time they got to the top of the hill, it was all Grissom could do to not laugh at how Greg was carrying on, because although he and Sara weren't together at the moment, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she were to form a romantic attachment to another member of the team, he was fairly certain who it would be; and he knew it wasn't Greg.
"So it would be ok with you if I asked her out?" Greg was looking for some sort of indication that Grissom and Sara weren't currently an item.
"She's a grown woman, Greg. You don't need my permission." Grissom smirked curiously and then his eyebrows shot up.
"What?" Greg felt confused at that look. Now he wondered that maybe there was something going on between Sara and their boss.
"Right behind you, I don't think I've seen anything quite like that." He pointed to a beetle that had an unusual bluish color to it. He waved at Greg to hand him a specimen jar. "I may have just found a new beetle."