A/N: odeepblue, wraiths-angel, and Cherrydrops, thank you so much for commenting on the last chapter! I appreciate it, and… well… your comments really made my day. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!
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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. And "Rubber Ducky" is a part of Sesame Street. Who doesn't love the little adorable duck?
Title: Rubber Ducky and Low Ropes
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Men's Bathhouse
"Rubber Ducky, you're the one… you make bath time lots of fun, Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you! Woo-woo-be-doo…" Greg quietly sang to himself, as he let the icy-cold water from the campsite's shower pelt his head.
Grabbing the shampoo bottle, and carefully pouring some of the product into the palms of his hands, he worked it into his hair, continuing the song. "Rubber Ducky, joy of joys… when I squeeze you, you make noise! Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true! Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo," he chuckled to himself.
Sesame Street, Greg grinned to himself. Man, that's a good show! he smiled, pulling the soap out of his shower bag, and scrubbing the dirt and grime off of his body. Aloud, Greg started to sing a little bit louder. "Every day when I, make my way to the tubby…" 'Tubby?' What the hell is a tubby? Shrugging, Greg soaped up his left arm, grinning from ear-to- ear. "I find a little fella who's, cute and yellow, and chub…by… Rub-a-dub-a-dubby!"
Hehe… 'Rub-a-dub-a-dubby…' that's funny!, he mused, chuckling. And then laughing a little bit harder, he nearly dropped his soap, as he thought, 'rub-a-dub-a-dubby rhymes with funny! I'm a regular old Dr. Seuss! Shrugging, and soaping up his right arm, Greg continued on with his serenade. "Rubber Ducky, you're so fine… And I'm lucky that you're mine! Rubber ducky, I'm aw-fully fond of you…."
Hmm, I'm fond of other things, too! Greg smiled to himself. Marshmallows, camping, the team, Sara… I wonder if Sara is also taking a shower? Well there's an… interesting thought! Rubbing the dirt and grime off of his left leg, Greg shivered as the freezing-cold water ran down his back, once again almost dropping the soap. But lost in the moment of the song, and forgetting his momentary discomfort with the water temperature, Greg decided to belt out the next couple of lyrics. "Every day when I, make my way to the tubby… I find a little fella who's, cute and yellow, and chubby! Doo-doo-be-doo!"
Finishing up his right leg, Greg laughed aloud, as he finished the song. "Rubber Ducky, you're so fine… and I'm lucky that you're mine… Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of… Rubber Ducky, I'd like a whole pond of… Rubber Ducky I'm awfully fond of you! DOO-DOO, BE-DOO!" he grinned, ending his shower, and shutting off the water.
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Women's Bathhouse
With a sigh, Sara trudged down the worn and beaten bath to the bathhouse. I have no idea why I'm taking a shower now, she mused. God only knows how dirty I'm going to get climbing around the ropes course later on… but… I hate smelling, she thought to herself, as she glanced at the lush flowers and bushes lining the path to the restrooms and the showers. And besides, being clean will just make me feel better! she added, as she flung her towel over her shoulder, and swung her shower basket back and forth.
Passing the men's bathhouse, Sara stopped for a moment, raising her eyebrows at the strange noises coming from within. Then shrugging, she continued on her journey to the women's side of the building, meandering inside, and finding the shower stall furthest from the entrance. Setting her shower basket down on the bench, hanging up her towel, and hesitantly turning the water on, Sara prayed that the water would not be too cold. Please don't freeze me to death… she begged, frowning, as she watched the water pour out of the fairly rusted spigot. Tentatively sticking a hand under the water, Sara sighed, as she immediately retracted her fingers from the icy-coldness.
Mumbling to herself, Sara undressed, finally just walking right into the shower stall. The faster that I finish this, the faster that I can find warmth again… she reasoned with herself. So move at the speed of light…
Grabbing the shampoo bottle, Sara squeezed some of the liquid onto her palms, immediately working the shampoo into her hair… stopping suddenly, when she thought that she heard someone's voice coming through the shower wall. "Huh…?" she muttered.
"Rubber Ducky, you're the one… you make bath time lots of fun…Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of you! Woo-woo-be-doo…" came a faint voice through the vents located near the top of the wall.
Chuckling to herself, Sara rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, before grabbing the soap, and starting to wipe the night's dirt, grime, sweat, and tears, off of her face. And then straining her ears, she grinned, when she heard the voice continue.
"Rubber Ducky, joy of joys… when I squeeze you, you make noise! Rubber Ducky, you're my very best friend, it's true! Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo…
Is that… Sesame Street? Sara asked herself. "You've got to be kidding me!" she grinned, as she knelt down to wash and rinse her legs.
"Every day when I, make my way to the tubby… I find a little fella who's, cute and yellow, and chub…by… Rub-a-dub-a-dubby!" the voice continued.
"That sounds like Greg…" Sara quietly mumbled aloud. "But… it can't be… I don't think, anyhow…" she shook her head.
"Rubber Ducky, you're so fine… And I'm lucky that you're mine! Rubber ducky, I'm aw-fully fond of you…." the voice continued, this time a little bit more loudly.
"Wait a second…" Sara grinned, turning around to stare up at the ceiling in order to process the voice. "That's definitely… uh…" she bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
But then Greg's voice came loud and clear through the vent. "Every day when I, make my way to the tubby… I find a little fella who's, cute and yellow, and chubby! Doo-doo-de-doo! Rubber Ducky, you're so fine… and I'm lucky that you're mine… Rubber Ducky, I'm awfully fond of… Rubber Ducky, I'd like a whole pond of… Rubber Ducky I'm awfully fond of you! DOO-DOO, BE-DOO!"
Sara hysterically laughed, as she tried to rinse and clean off her arms. "You've got to be kidding me…" she repeated her earlier statement, finally finishing her shower. "Well he'll never live this one down…" she smiled. "Of that, I guarantee!" she added, as she grabbed her towel, and immediately dried herself off.
Throwing on some clean clothes, Sara made her way back to the front of the bathhouse.
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On the Path
Greg swung his wet towel back and forth, running a hand through his hair. "Nicely done, Sanders. You look like a million bucks," he grinned to himself, as he tried to pick up his pace. Lost in his own world, Greg didn't even notice that he was no longer alone on the path.
"Hey, Greg!" Sara cheerfully greeted him.
"Fancy meeting you here," Greg returned her greeting, smiling from ear-to-ear.
Sara just raised an eyebrow. "I have a question for you, actually…"
"Sure, what is it?" he curiously asked. Of COURSE I'm still available, if that's what you're going to ask me!
"How's Bert doing…?"
"Huh…?" Greg asked, furrowing his eyebrow.
"Your friend, Bert. How is he?"
"I don't know anyone named Bert…" he trailed off
"Oh, well then in that case, how's your rubber ducky?" Sara grinned, as she jogged off down the path.
"Huh?" Greg frowned, before his eyes widened in understanding. "WAIT, SARA!" he sputtered.
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Around the Campfire
When Greg finally made it back to the campsite, Warrick, Nick, and Catherine were all sitting around the fire pit, waiting for Grissom, Sara, and Greg to finish getting ready to go.
With a sigh, Grissom emerged from his tent, clad in a clean Hawaiian-print shirt, and a pair of jeans. Standing just behind Nick, he gazed over at Greg. "All set to go?"
"Yeah…" Greg mumbled, embarrassedly glancing at his friends. "But it's not true, really!" he immediately announced to everyone.
"What isn't true…?" Warrick asked, frowning.
"Huh…?" Nick asked.
"I don't have a rubber ducky, and I wasn't singing!"
Grissom just raised an eyebrow. I care about this… why?
That's, uh… nice to know! Catherine thought to herself, chuckling.
"Whatever Sara told you, it isn't true!"
"Uh… Greg…" Grissom trailed off.
Sara emerged from her tent, a huge smile on her face. "I actually never told them anything," she grinned. "But you just did…"
"Greggo, what… uh… happened at the bathhouse?" Nick prodded his colleague, trying not to laugh.
"No, man, I actually don't think I want to know!" Warrick smiled, standing up.
"Well whatever happened by the showers, it apparently didn't involve a rubber ducky… or singing!" Catherine teased Greg, a small chuckle escaping through her lips.
"I can neither deny nor confirm anything…" Sara grinned, winking over at Greg. "Because I'm 'awfully fond of you…'" she added, singing one of the bars of the song.
Greg just turned a bright shade of red, staring down at the ground in embarrassment.
"Well for whatever its worth, Greg," Sara continued, raising an eyebrow. "You have a great voice!"
"Yeah… uh…" he coughed. "So… are we ready to go…?"
Catherine again chuckled, standing up. "Yeah… let's get this thing over with…."
"Uh-huh…" Nick hesitantly nodded, following Catherine's example, and standing up.
"Let's get this show on the road!" Warrick enthusiastically added.
Sara laughed, as she glanced down the path to the ropes course. "Lead on, Grissom…" she finally mumbled.
Grissom simply nodded, grabbing his backpack, and heading away from their campsite.
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The Ropes Course: Low Ropes
"Good morning!" Maxwell Channing pleasantly smiled at the criminalists from Las Vegas.
"Morning…" they half-heartedly replied.
"I said good morning!" Max repeated, a large smile plastered to his face.
"Hey, man," Nick quietly muttered, trying to hide the fear from his voice. What… the hell… is that…? he asked himself, swallowing, as his eyes took in the massive ropes course spanning the ground and the trees just in front of the group.
"Morning…" Sara mumbled, frowning. Hell no, Grissom. Absolutely, positively, hands-down, hell no… she shuddered, as she noticed a fifty-foot ladder attached to a tree, a platform at the top of the ladder, and a rope connecting two separate trees together. There has to be at least three-hundred feet in between those trees! You're out of your fucking mind!
"Uh… right… hi…" Catherine trailed off, staring at the ground. We're all going to die. Seriously, we're all going to die! Wait a minute, why are you so nervous? This is nothing… really…
"How's it going, man?" Warrick asked the guide, trying to remain calm. I'm not afraid of heights or anything, but damn, that's high! he thought to himself, as he shielded his eyes against the sun, glancing up at something that looked like a zip line. Although… he mused. That actually kind of looks like fun!
Grissom glanced at his team, before frowning. Perhaps this wasn't such a great idea after all. They all seem so… terrified! But this will help with our communication, compassion, and cooperation skills… I know it will…
"Whoa, cool!" Greg enthusiastically grinned at the guide, pointing at something that looked like a spider web. "Are we going to do that? Oh, and hi!" he added.
The guide just chuckled at Greg, nodding. "You sure are. That's actually going to be your first activity," he told him. "But let's start at the very beginning, shall we?" he then asked. "My name is Maxwell Channing, and I will be working with you for the next six hours of your life…"
Six… hours? Catherine thought to herself. That's… a long time... "I'm Catherine…" she managed to mumble, holding out her hand to Max.
"Nice to meet you, Catherine," he grinned, shaking her hand, and looking over at Sara. "And you are?"
"Sara Sidle… nice to meet you…" she practically whispered.
"And I'm Warrick," Warrick grinned, firmly shaking the guide's hand. "We're really going to do all of these activities?"
"You sure are, Warrick," he replied, looking over at Greg.
"Greg…" Greg simply told him, shaking his hand.
"And I'm Nick," Nick added, also shaking his hand.
"Max, it's good to see you again…" Grissom smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Gil," he kindly replied, shaking his hand. "So are you all ready…?"
"I guess…" Sara mumbled.
"Yeah…" Nick trailed off. Uh… no, not really…
"Are you sure that this is safe?" Catherine quietly questioned Max. Because it sure as hell doesn't look like it.
"Absolutely sure," Max replied with a smile. "And it will be fun, too…"
"I have no doubt in my mind that this will be a great experience!" Greg excitedly announced.
"Let's go!" Warrick smiled.
"Alrighty then," Max chuckled, leading the way over to the spider web. "This is a pretty simple one," he explained. "Notice the nine holes?"
All six criminalists nodded, as each individual examined the different holes. The holes were all of varying shapes and sizes, and were located anywhere from one to seven feet off of the ground.
"Well," Max continued. "Each one of you is going to go through a different hole," he informed them all. "Without touching the sides…" he added.
"Uh… huh…?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.
"How…?" Warrick quizzically asked Max.
"Teamwork!" he simply replied. "Someone will have to go through first, and then you will each take turns lifting one another through the holes… and if someone touches one of the sides, well, you'll all have to start over."
"This actually sounds pretty easy!" Greg mused.
"You think so, eh?" Max smiled.
"Uh-huh!"
"Well it's not, Greg…" Grissom calmly told him. "This particular activity is going to require a lot of teamwork. We will need to communicate with one another at all times, and of course, we will have to trust one another…"
"Trust…?" Sara whispered. "But… why?"
"We will have to trust that no one will let us drop us…" Warrick answered her question.
"Oh… right…" Sara mumbled.
"But we won't let anyone fall…" Grissom immediately added.
"No, no one will fall…" Catherine confirmed.
"Because all for one…?" Nick smiled.
"And one for all…" Warrick, Greg, and Sara all yelled out together, laughing.
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TO BE CONTINUED
