�Hi, is this where I�m supposed to be?� Greg looked up from his paperwork to behold a vision in soft white cotton. A young woman holding a small attach� case stepped into the trace lab, and with her came the soft scent of jasmine. She had red, curly hair held high and back, and the most dazzling green eyes Greg had ever seen. //A bonny lass, indeed. Such a pity,// his heart lamented.
�I sure hope so. I�m Greg.�
�Jessica McCollum. Call me Jesse. I have a 10:00 with you about the lab tech position.� He took her hand, which seemed so small, yet her fingers gripped him far stronger than the thin muscle and delicate bone implied.
�Yeah. Ecklie recommended you, and your resume looks amazing.� //And with Ecklie, that means an ulterior motive,// Greg thought as they sat down in the Breakout room. �So, tell me about yourself.�
�Well, I was born in Tucson, Arizona, and I went to Vassar. I completed three bachelors� degrees there in Biochemistry, organic chemistry, and biomechanics, and one Masters in Biochemistry at Johns Hopkins. I then went on to Boston-� Greg stopped her with a soft chuckle.
�Ok, your resume told me all that. Tell me about you.�
�I currently live in San Francisco. I wanted to come more toward the mountains, and I thought since your lab was in need of a new tech, I�d like to see what Vegas is like.� Better, but not quite enough.
�Ok. Why this lab? There�s L.A., Phoenix-�
�Because you�re the best. This is the number two lab in the country, and I wanted to be a part of that. Not the fame, but the progress. I wanted to make a difference, and there�s no place better to do that than here.� //Much better.// Greg smiled gently, but a thought came to him in the form of Grissom and his ever-wise words.
�Well, this is about more than making a difference. It�s about-�
�Precision.� The word was singular, crisp, with a perfectly even tone. //Cue the infamous Grissom, //Greg thought with a groan.
�Oh, hey, Grissom. Gil Grissom, this is Jesse� what did you say your last name was?�
�McCollum. A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Grissom.� Though taken aback, Grissom remained pleasantly guarded as he took the deceptively delicate hand.
�I really don�t go by �Doctor�, Miss.�
�And I never go by �Miss�, so I guess we�re even.�
�Well I read up on this young lady, Greg, you seem to have found a true gem in the field of biochemistry. Her credentials are better than yours were.�
�Nice to know I�m replicable.�
�If you weren�t, you wouldn�t have advanced.� Greg of course gave him a put upon look, which he both smiled at and ignored.
�By the way, how do you know Dr. Norman Simms? I�ve know the man for more than twenty years, haven�t seen him in three, but he called me last night out of the blue to tell me you would be here today. It�s what inspired me to look up on you.�
�Dr. Norman Simms? The forensic anthropologist and biochemical engineer?�
�Anthropologist and insect lover. He and Mr. Grissom apparently met at a bug convention.� Flashing a grin, she turned back to what she hoped would be her new boss. �He�s my godfather, and one of my dad�s best friends.� Greg wanted to interrupt considering this was his interview, but out of morbid curiosity, he waited.
�Norm is every man�s best friend, and every woman�s worst enemy.� A smirk twitched at Grissom�s lips. A smirk? He didn�t smirk unless it involved bugs and dead people. The things that fascinated him. Did she�?
�Not true! Debbie just� she�s an artist. Norman�s set in his ways and his life, and she wanted more.�
�Well, New York is the place for a budding artist.�
�Only if one�s work sells.�
�True.� But before he could say more, and he truly wanted to, Nick appeared just inside his field of vision, and Grissom remembered why he was in the lab in the first place. He took up his report and ordered it in the small stack of paperwork in his hand. �Well, I must be on my way. Lovely to meet you, and I hope you�ll be happy here.� With that he was gone, and somehow Greg still felt left out of whatever had just transpired here.
�Is he always like that?� //Oh, so I�m being included after all!// And when did he become such a sarcastic prick?
�I suppose I should ask like what?� No not prick. Brat.
�Philosophical. He�s highly intelligent, but not arrogant. He seems very nice, but very closed.�
�You got all that from one conversation?� Greg was impressed beyond most incidents. He�d had to actually work alongside the man, after three years of knowing him, before he figured that out.
�It was more about what he didn�t say.�
~~~~~
�Who�s that?� Nick�s voice brought Grissom completely out of his thoughts, as it usually did. He wondered often if Nick realized he had that much power.
�Greg�s new lab tech trainee. If she works out, he�ll be out in the field in no time.�
�What do you think of her?�
�I think she�s very intelligent, and she just might fit in around here.�
�Hey, guys, I got the tox back on your vic. Blood alcohol level was .26.� Sara. Grissom tried not to let show his slight distaste for her, but after that blowup in his office in regards to her feelings for him, he just couldn�t help feeling guilty. And disgusted. He shouldn�t, but that never stopped anything.
�Ouch. I remember the days when I used to dream about women who could drink that much.� Nick had wished for such things? Grissom doubted it, but that didn�t matter. This was important information.
�I also found three different hairs on her clothes, one of which I know is animal.� Better still. He had to give her credit; she was a heck of a criminologist.
�Take that over to Greg and his new friend and make sure he goes over this with a fine tooth comb.�
�New friend?�
�Yeah. Grissom thinks Greg may have found a decent lab tech to replace him.�
�Hope his taste in music is an improvement.� His taste? Oh, was she in for a surprise, Grissom thought as he and Nick made their way out to the Tahoe.
~~~~~
�Well, I guess I should show you around a bit. Get you a desk, and I�ll show you where we keep everything, then we�ll start work.�
�Already?� She didn�t even live in this state yet, and she was being given her own space?
�Why not?"
�Hey, Greg, I need you to�� Sara froze as she saw Jesse, a look he�d never seen on her face: absolute shock. Greg suddenly felt even more out of place, and this was just Sara. What was it with this girl? This girl who looked like she�d just seen a ghost. //The hell?//
�Sara?� //She squeaks. That�s new and different.//
�Jesse�� Greg had never thought that Sara could get any paler, but the bone white that overtook her face made his stomach crawl. Yet nothing could prepare him for the sheer force of warmth as tiny Jesse fell into Sara�s suddenly open arms. The embrace was fierce, desperate, as if no force in the universe could separate them. Greg would have given in to his own shock if Catherine had not picked that exact moment to poke into his quickly crowding lab.
�Hey, Greg do you have my�� Catherine looked up from the report she�s been reading, though how she managed to read and not bump into things while walking was still a mystery. The two broke apart, though not too far. And just enough for Catherine�s well-curved cheeks to tinge just a touch. �Uh, sorry.�
�No, it�s ok. Catherine, this is Jesse, our new lab tech.� Sara was all smiles, and the young lady next to her extended a hand that remarkably was shaking as much as the slight timbre in her voice.
�Pleasure to meet you.� Catherine took the rather small hand, and Greg knew then that he was going to have invest in a camera to capture some of these faces he was seeing today.
�Well, I�ve got to run down a lead, so I�ll see you later, ok?� Sara moved away from Jesse so slowly, Greg wondered if a bathroom break would be needed just to watch her leave.
�Great.�
�And I need my report, Greg.� //Thanks for remembering,// Greg thought as he handed over three sheets of paper that would probably break her case. �Thanks.�
�And I need to start making arrangements, so can I come back in a few hours for that tour, Greg?�
�Sure. See you then.� Would that before or after she met Sara? //Most likely after.//
�Ok.� With a look Greg couldn�t begin to understand, Jesse and Sara once again seemed to tune out his presence, the words dropping so reluctantly from Jesse�s lips that Greg could almost feel pain in them. �Bye, Sara.�
He watched as Jesse moved away, while Sara gave a sigh so deep, he wondered if she had any air left in her at all. �So I take it you two know each other.�
�Yeah.� A smile, so sad and yet filled with something so very not like Sara, etched itself across her face. She turned, a far more normal look fighting its way to the forefront. �You could say that.�
~~~~~
Catherine moved slowly down the hall in the general direction of the garage, trying somehow to figure out what she'd just seen. Sara and this new girl, hugging? They looked almost...close? They knew each other, but why did Catherine get the sudden feeling that they were more than mere friends? It had beena long time since she'd been a stripper, but scenes such as that were found often between certain kinds of girls backstage, especially after a truly rough performance. But still...Sara?! After the hell she'd put Grissom through?! It just didn't make any sense!
*THUMP!* Catherine backed away, her balance completely gone as she reeled from running into something very hard. A pair of hands came to her shoulders, bringing her back to center and holding her up almost off the floor. Strong hands. Famililar hands.
"Whoa, Cat, where's the fire?" She looked up, dumbstruck a moment as Warrick Brown smiled down into her suddenly wide tawny eyes, a flash of something very unprofessional in his own deep brown.
"Warrick! I'm so sorry! I was just..."
"Hey, it's ok. Are you all right? You look a little weirded out." A hand ran down her arm that instantly calmed her. There was always something about this enormous man that made her feel safe. he contiunued to stare, and she was captured by the deep storm that always seemed just below the surface of him.
"Yeah, Warrick. I'm ok." She gathered herself and presented the analysis she had originally gone to the lab for. "Ready to get moving?"
"With you, always." He flashed her a grin and sly wink, one she knew she was going to feel the real effect of much later.
Disclaimer: The characters, names, and references made herein belong to CBS inc, Jerry Bruckheimer, etc. No copyright infringement intended. For fun, not profit.
