Want to use this space to correct an error. Brass's eyes were described as brown based info from the CSI website. An avid P. Guilfoyle fan has assured me, however, that he really has blue eyes. I gleefully stand corrected. What can I say, Guilfoyle and Jim Brass are the best kept secrets of the show's success. Knowing he has blue eyes...it just keeps getting better and better.

Grissom woke to the sound of his cell. Groggy, he fumbled around his nightstand to find it. "Grissom," he growled when he finally answered it.

"Sorry to wake you, Grissom. But we need you back at the lab ASAP."

"Sheriff?"

"Yes, all hell is breaking lose on that hit and run. I need you here!" The phone went silent.

Grissom stumbled around as he tried to gather himself. He let Bruno out while he grabbed a quick shower and got dressed. After getting Bruno taken care of, he slipped into his shoes and headed out the door. Once he settled into the seat of his truck, he looked at the clock. The green glow of the face told him he'd only had about three hours sleep. No wonder he felt so bone weary.

He dragged into the building and located the sheriff. He was surrounded by Ecklie, O'Brien, and an ADA that Grissom recognized but couldn't think of the guy's name. "You rang?" he gibed. He knew he sounded sarcastic but he was too tired to care.

"Grissom, glad you could make it," taunted Ecklie.

"So what has happened?" Grissom asked.

"We have a suspect in custody," said the Sheriff.

"Really? How'd that happen?"

"He turned himself in to us," answered the ADA.

Grissom was confused. "So, he turned himself in, which I guess means he confessed. So why am I here…..hours before I'm scheduled."

"I want to nail this bastard." replied the ADA. "Once you hear his story, you will too."

Ecklie picked up the story, "Thing is Gil, he's a defensive back for the Dallas Cowboys. He's here with some team mates for the a pre-camp party. The press is going to be all over this story."

"Does the fact that he's a pro football player make him less guilty? Gil asked in disgust.

"No, it doesn't," the ADA jumped in. "We need to get this guy in the press. We need to make him the most hated individual in the country. I need your to help. I don't want to present the case in the press but I do want to counter any stories his people might float. Right now he's saying he wasn't speeding and was sober. Let's start there. And then we'll move on the rest. Can you prove he had to know he'd run over those people?"

"Without knowing his blood alcohol at the time of the accident or knowing if drugs were present, I doubt we could prove things either way. Let's have the blood drawn and worked up. Depending on how much was in his system, there might be some still present. Meanwhile we'll get to work on the evidence from the scene. We'll need his car. Get a warrant for it and have it towed here as soon as you can."

"You know what really pisses me about this," said the Sheriff. "His first phone call was to his agent. The agent called his lawyer. Then the lawyer called the team office. Only then did anyone think to call the police." Grissom hated to do it but he pulled out his cell and called Nick and Greg. It was going to be a long shift.

By evening the story was all over the news. The jock, it turned out was a bench warmer….the very last seat on the bench, as a matter of fact. The press had found the families of the victims and was running their bios. Jamaal Jenkins and Ricky Rodriguez became instant heroes. The story of their lifetime friendship and their desire to help others seemed to be the center of the story. People were coming forward with stories of little acts of kindness the boys had performed since childhood. Thelma Eaton was presented as everybody's favorite grandmother, a kindly old lady that had been fortunate enough to receive an offer of help from the young men. As the story grew, the suspect became more and more evil.

By the time the rest of the shift arrived at their regular time, the evidence against the suspect was well organized. They were waiting for the blood test results but Nick and Greg had finished the cars. In the meantime, every available detective and a few uniforms were scouring the bars and clubs, interviewing customers and bartenders….looking for evidence that the suspect been drinking, drinking heavily. With Hodges help the paint transfer had been matched to the suspect's car and the tire treads of the BMW had been matched to tread marks on one of the vics. Grissom was pleased with the teamwork. "Nick, Greg," he said as they gathered for the night's assignments, "its looking like a light night and you've already pulled a long shift today. Head home. And guys….good job!"

Cath, Glyn, and Warrick were still there. Glyn, do I have your report from last night?"

"Yes, its on your desk."

"Okay, thanks," he looked at Warrick. " You've got a B&E," Grissom said as he handed over the slip. As Warrick left, Grissom looked at the other two, "Ladies, you're invited to help me with my case review, unless you have other work to do."

Catherine wanted nothing to do with his reviews and was quick with an answer. "Actually, Gil, there's a stack of files in the file room and I was hoping you'd let Glyn help me get them out of the way."

Grissom knew he was outnumbered. "By all means," he capitulated.

Grissom left to get to work on his pile of files and the two women walked to the file room. "Whew, wasn't sure he was going to let me get away with that," commented Catherine.

"Paperwork doesn't seem to agree with him," said Glyn. "My guess is he has no ambition for a management role."

"Got that right. Being the Night Supervisor is about all he can handle. After Brass got kicked back to Homicide, Gil ran the whole lab for awhile. It drove him nuts."

"Wait, Jim used to be in charge here?"

"Long story. Everybody thought he was about to get a promotion to deputy sheriff and would be leaving anyway. But then Holly Gribbs got killed and Brass ended up with mud all over him. He took responsibility because it was his people involved but it was a huge mess. Gil had to fight to keep Warrick from being steam rolled and that's when Sara came to work here."

"Holly Gribbs?"

"A CSI. She was killed right after she started to work here."

"How'd that happen?"

"She was processing a scene and the killer came back. I felt really bad because she'd gotten upset her first night and wanted to quit. Said she'd only gotten into forensics because her mother had encouraged her to. Said she wasn't cut out for it. Anyway, I convinced her to give it a chance."

"You were just trying to help her get over the jitters. You couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"Yeah, but I still feel guilty about it. We all do."

Glyn was curious to know more about Brass's part in all of it but didn't want to press too hard. She tried to think of a way to ask but couldn't formulate a question that didn't sound overly nosey. Cath was in a mood to talk though, so she didn't have to wait long for more.

"Yeah, Jim got the shaft on that one. Boy, was he pissed too. I've never seen him so angry. It took him a long time to get over it."

"Well, I guess…. I mean if he lost a promotion and then got sent back to Homicide….well, I guess I can see where he'd be angry."

"Yeah, he was a real ass for awhile. Poor guy just can't catch a break."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first he was in the middle of a big corruption scandal back in Jersey; investigated corruption in his department….in the middle of all that he found out his wife was screwing around on him. So he waited til the investigation ended, dumped the wife, and moved out here. He has a daughter and I know it was tough on him leaving her. Things were going pretty good for awhile. Then there was the thing with Holly. Just as it seemed he was getting fine with the transfer to Homicide, his daughter showed up. What a mess. Turns out she's into drugs and that whole scene. It breaks his heart every time he sees her but he keeps trying.

Then he was involved in a shootout and a uniform got shot by friendly fire. It was Jim's bullet. I thought he was going to break at that point. I've never seen him so low. Then last year HE got shot and we almost lost him."

"Wow, he has had a rough time." Glyn couldn't believe all that she's just heard. She had guessed that life had not been kind to him but …..she was having difficulty absorbing it all.

The two women continued to work and chatted, mostly about everyday things. Glyn was struggling to stay with the conversation as she thought about this new information. No wonder he had such sadness in his eyes. She was determined not to feel pity though. Jim was not the kind of man that would accept pity. But she couldn't help but marvel at the strength he possessed. Most people would have cracked.

The night was a quiet one. Warrick had come back with prints and some foot impressions. He was processing those. Cath and Glyn finished their chore and Glyn went to help Warrick. Catherine made her way to Grissom's office. He had fallen asleep over the files. She tried to make some noise to wake him but he didn't stir. "Gil," she said. Not a twitch. "Gil," she said louder. His head moved a little but that was it. "Gil!" she exclaimed. He lifted his head and glared at her.

"You're drooling on the files."

"Oh, I feel asleep I guess." he tried to straighten things but just seemed to be making a bigger mess.

"Go home, Gil." Catherine commanded.

Grissom looked around. His eyes had difficulty focusing. "Yeah, I think I will. You can be in charge." Suddenly a thought flashed into his brain. "See what you can do about these files, will you….please." He picked up his jacket and headed for the door.

Catherine couldn't believe she didn't see that coming. Oh well, she thought.

"Thanks," he said as he walked out.