Grissom arrived in the lab to find a whir of activity. Several machines were running, printers were printing, and in the center of the whirlwind, a tornado in a lab-coat, keeping up with everything that was happening with a precision he hadn�t seen since his biophysics professor in college. Music played softly in the background, a piece Grissom couldn�t begin to name being played on what sounded like an electric cello.
�Jesse?�
�Oh, hi.� She reached over and picked a single packet out of a pile of several, handing Grissom his blood analysis and turning down the volume on her stereo without missing a single beat. //What a woman! She works faster than even I do!//
Ecklie walked into the trace lab as grim as he ever was, and for a moment, Gil wondered why he worked for such slime. But only for a moment, especially with Jesse around. �Well,� she said as she rose from her chair, �you two no doubt wish to talk. I�ll let you-�
�Actually, I�m here to talk to you, Ms. McCollum. Gil, you�re going to want to stay for this.� Jesse sank slowly back to her seat as Ecklie stood next to Gil, an unusual thing gracing his face. A smile? Jesse simply stared down into her teacup, swirling a single finger around the smooth styrofoam lip, Gil on his guard instantly. //Uh oh. Why don�t I like this all of a sudden?//
�Did you help Warrick and Greg on the Waterston case?� Clipped. Clean. Ecklie was on a mission. Not a good sign.
�Of course,� she said with a sip of her still steaming tea, �but you already know that, didn�t you?� Gil started a bit at the sudden chill in her voice. And he also started making plans for damage control on her behalf, both during and after this conversation. �Was there something wrong with the case?�
�Tampering with evidence. Misleading your shift supervisor. Damage to private property. Maybe hiring you for this job wasn�t such a good idea if this is how you�re going to behave.� //Oh boy�//Grissom thought as he braced for a speech he�d heard a few too many times before. Jesse looked up for the first time, and Gil was certain he�d never seen eyes quite that close to black before.
�First of all, we had the University�s permission to change out that lock. Secondly, the key was not evidence at all. It was simply used as a gimmick to shatter an alibi and get a suspect to confess their true whereabouts, and it worked. Finally,� she all but growled, gesturing vaguely with a scalpel Grissom hadn�t even seen her pick up, �Grissom not only knew about the plan, he�d approved of it. Having said that, you ass-sucking bottom feeder, if you ever question my methods again, I will do far worse to you then Marcella could ever dream.� Ecklie paled, a single muscle under his left eye twitching suddenly.
�You wouldn�t dare.�
�Try me.� Grissom watched in morbid fascination as Ecklie swallowed and Jesse�s mouth curved predatorily. �That�s what I thought. You have exactly three seconds to get the fuck out of my lab. One.� Ecklie seemed literally frozen to his seat, his eyes glazed over in a fear Grissom had seen only in cornered animals. Jesse was suddenly on her feet, and her stool crashed to the floor hard enough to startle Ecklie back to the land of the living. �Two.�
And then he was gone. Grissom could honestly say he�d never seen a man that size run that fast. He looked back at Jesse, whose eyes had followed Ecklie�s path down the hall until he was out of sight.
And then it began. Soft at first, a slight blush to her cheek, her jaw taut and her mouth thin and strained. Her eyes glistened suspiciously, and then it happened. Jesse broke down into hysterical laughter. Grissom watched in borderline horror as she doubled over, shaking bodily with every fit.
�What on earth is wrong with you?� That only made it worse. It took her almost five minutes to gather herself enough to retrieve her chair. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and she continued to giggle as she wiped them away.
�Are you looking for work? Do you realize he can fire you for that?�
�I don�t think so.� She giggled once as she sank back into her chair and downed her entire cup of still steaming tea.
�Don�t underestimate him, Jesse. He�s more ruthless than he seems.�
�Well, Comrade always was a pain in the ass.�
//�Comrade�?// �Come again?�
�He�s not a problem. I know how to deal with him.� She retrieved another report that had printed and filed it neatly alongside the others. Grissom set his things aside and took up a stool, if nothing else to watch her continue to work.
�How long have you two known each other?� She turned back toward him, her eyes a far more human color at last.
�All my life. Far too long, by my mind.� She flashed him an unreadable look, one he sought to examine further, though perhaps too obviously. She stared him down as if in challenge, and part of him wanted to meet that challenge head on, office not withstanding.
�Oh?� she backed down a little, a grin, eating away at his resolve as her white teeth shone bright.
�You didn�t know?� //Know?// Apparently his face mirrored his thoughts, because her giggle returned with spine tingling results. �Oh this is too much. Ecklie is my Uncle.�
For a moment, Grissom wondered if his hearing was going again. �I beg your pardon?�
�Creepy, isn�t it? He�s my mother�s little brother. And yes, he�s been an asshole for all the time I�ve known him.�
�That�s of little comfort.�
�Indeed. Means there�s no cure for it, unlike �Scrooge Syndrome� where one can break through the hard outer shell to find a creamy, compassionate center. By the way, you have his sister to thank for his abilities to suck up.� Another report presented itself, but for some reason, she simply didn�t move.
�And I take it this �Marcella� you mentioned earlier is your mother?� At her nod, he continued ruefully, �Why is she to blame for Ecklie�s behavior?�
�Given how I handle my �Uncle�, what do you think got me this job in the first place?� A single eyebrow begged the question. �My mother forced me out of my old job and pretty much all of San Francisco, and she made sure to do it when Comrade was in the market for a lab tech.�
�So you came here for the job by way of your mother, and she forced Ecklie to put your rather exemplary r�sum� on top on a two foot stack.� //Something he wouldn�t do for anyone. Ever.//
�Correct.�
�You do realize nepotism is illegal.�
�And you also realize that Comrade wouldn�t give me this job on his own if his life depended on it. Even though it kind of does in this case.� She moved for the report at last, organizing it into the hanging folder on her desk marker �Warrick Brown�. Gil looked a moment, noting folders for Sara, Nick, Catherine, Jim, and even Greg. She turned back to him, bringing him back to the subject at hand.
�Again, please?�
�We�re both being punished.� And what Jesse would have given for a camera just then. A priceless slack-jawed, pop-eyed face was after all such a shame to waste.
�Punished?�
�Indeed. I�m being punished for being me, and Comrade�s being punished for being himself.�
�How�s that, exactly?�
�My mother wanted me to live near family. San Fran isn�t near family, but she knew I�d be too much to handle if I moved closer to her, so she sent me to Comrade. He wasn�t thrilled, but he wouldn�t dare cross her. Not after last Thanksgiving.�
�Do I want to know?�
�Probably not.� Another report for Sara, a folder with barely anything in it. That didn�t surprise him much, that she would pick up her things more often than the others. She was the only CSI who was as obsessed with their work as he was.
�So why is Ecklie being punished?�
�He refused her something. I don�t know what exactly, but it has something to do with my almost brother. Comrade hates me and she knows it, so I get dropped in his lap. He can�t fire me for fear of my mother, and I won�t quit for the same reason. Also, I refuse to let him win.� Again a single eyebrow begged her to continue, and for an instant she bathed in the bastion of his impenetrable focus. //Whoa�//
�If I quit, I�m conceding defeat not only to my mother but to Comrade, thus losing the fight we�ve been having since I could speak. If he fires me, he faces the wrath of my mother, a world-class mistake. If he quits, he loses to me. While making �Mommy Dearest� happy is what brought this situation about in the first place, the personal goal of this exercise is for each of us to make the other�s life a living hell to the point that they break.�
�So you�re stuck.�
�Not that I mind. Very few things give me more pleasure than making that man squirm.� Grissom could see that. Many a first shift morning had been spent sneaking up behind Conrad Ecklie for the simple pleasure of scaring the wits out of him because he�d thought Grissom had already gone home. It was petty and childish, but that didn�t make it any less fun.
�So, why do you fear your mother so much?� A snort from shuttered eyes drained a good deal of fun from this playful banter.
�Lots of people ask that, and I give them all the same answer: you�d have to meet her.�
�Doesn�t everyone say that about their mother?� He did, after all. Though judging from the force behind that smile, not for the same reasons.
�Look, it�s not like we have a choice here. The woman gets what she wants. It�s just what she does. It�s what she�s always been good at, and she never fails. Never. I go with it because it got me further into the mountains, which makes me happy. But I do have to deal with Comrade, so I�m still under her very delicate heel. I enjoy things where I can. It�s all I can do.� Such pain from one who is supposed to love. Gil couldn�t imagine feeling so much hate for someone he personally held so dear.
�That kind of resignation is truly disheartening.�
�Not from my point of view. I get to be in a new city, make new friends, and make a new life for myself. I also get to annoy Comrade, which is always a pleasure no matter where I am.� Resignation with a hint of making the best of things. What he wouldn�t have given to be that strong again.
�Out of curiosity, why do you call him �Comrade�?� The genuine smile returned, with just a touch of mischief. Gil made a silent promise to do his bets to keep that smile on her face.
�He hates it. I never called him �Uncle� because that is a title of respect, and that is something I will never have for that man.� Ouch. Not that he didn�t agree�
�I see.�
�I doubt it, but hey, you can try. Everyone else seems to have taken a stab at me. I was wondering when you�d take your shot.� She moved like a striking snake to retrieve a suddenly printing DNA analysis, and with a grace Grissom saw rarely in the tigers at the zoo, she filed the report, and sent the next packet through for inquiry, never once losing her place.
�What do you mean?�
�Well, every woman in this office has tried to bond with me since that scene in the hallway with Sara. Catherine has taken a more maternal slant towards me, which is fine. The men seem to find me interesting, considering all but two have asked me what I�m �doing later� at one point or another. Only one has gotten even close to getting anywhere, but I doubt he knows it yet.�
�Let me guess. Warrick?� She shot him a knowing grin, one he met in kind.
�So you have been watching.�
�I see a lot of things no one knows about around here.� //I�ll bet,// she thought as a secondary blood analysis went underway.
�It�s all about keeping the information stored away until you need it. The only problem is that keeping it inside can make it backfire. You don�t see all the clues adding up until it�s almost too late. And when it is too late, you blame yourself when there�s nothing you can do.� Sara. That had to be it. She and Sara had history, that much was obvious. Had Jesse done something to drive Sara from San Francisco? Sara had literally jumped at the chance to come here. Was Jesse something she was trying to get away from?
�That sounds like experience talking.� Norman. He had to be talking about Norman, and how even knowing Debbie was going, everyone around him had kept silent until the whirlwind hit him full on, shattering him emotionally.
�Both sides.� The pause dragged out, though not unpleasantly. Grissom simply stared, transfixed by the shining emerald eyes that held his gaze. The sea after a storm� A second printing came to be, and again Jesse sprang into action, grabbing her now finished samples from the centrifuge, placing them on a slate and sticking it under the microscope. And it brought Grissom back to the subject of work.
�Yes, well, I have paperwork to get through.� He gathered himself as best he could, still mulling over all he�d learned about his newest team member.
�And I have samples to process.� She barely looked up from her microscope, but somehow he knew he still had her primary attention. How very interesting� Just as he reached the door he looked back to see her peering down the microscope, taking avid notes.
�Hey, Jesse?�
�Yes?� Scribble, scribble.
�What are you doing later?� He could almost hear the glass eyepiece crack with the force of her wince.
�Ouch.� Her deep pink lips curled into embarrassment.
�Just checking.�
"Hey, Grissom. The sheriff is waiting in your office." Nick's voice washed across his mind like a warm rain. Gil stared at him a moment, hearing nothing but that voice until the words came to him at last.
"Lovely. Thank you, Nicky." He moved past, just close enough to feel the gentle wamrth of his body, thogh eh knew eh could never touch. //Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view,// he thought happily as he made his way to his office.
Nick walked into the lab, seeking out his folder and hopefully the reports he'd been waiting on. Though he'd gotten the page only 20 minutes ago, he still wanted to see if his other reports were ready as well. He found his folder, grateful that Jesse was more organized than Greg. In his old office, Greg had been the only one who could ever find anything.
As Nick leafed through his folder, a faint sound came to him. It wasn't the usual whir of instruments or rustle of paper and samples that could usually be heard. This had form, rhythm. He perked his ears, trying to find the source. It sounded like music, which wasn't uncommon, but where was it coming from?
He took a single step and stopped dead as Jesse popped out of no where, a set of headphones secured to her head. She didn't notice him as she moved about her work, organizing reports and samples. And singing. Singing beautifully. Nick recognized the piece as Ave Maria, but she wasn't just listening. Her notes were clear and pure with no words to speak of, but just standing there, watching her seemless work come to be as her amazing voice drifted through the stillness, Nick was lost. His eyes closed a moment and he listened, adrift in the wonder of her simple, sweet melody.
Which had abruptly stopped. Nick opened his eyes, and Jesse stood before him, her face strung taut.
"Oh, hey," he said, trying desperately to come up with something viable to cover this. "I came in for my reports. The ones you paged me about." He held his folder out, as if it held all the answers she would need. She reached out and dropped two more into it.
"That's everything. Thanks for coming so fast." She moved back a step, almost gauding herself with the remainder of her paperwork.
"You ok, Jesse?" Not that she had to answer. Nick knew a fear responce when he saw one, but what was she afraid of?
"Yeah, you just startled me is all." She set her work aside and came back to him with her usual smile, one he now knew was a front. Nick returned her smile in kind and moved away, taking his reports and returning his folder before bolting from the lab. She was uncomfortable around him, but why? Was it guys in general, or was it just Nick? He didn't know, but for some unknown reason, he wanted to find out.
Disclaimer: The characters, names, and references made herein belong to CBS inc, Jerry Bruckheimer, etc. No copyright infringement intended. For fun, not profit.
