Archie just got back to Vegas a few hours ago. He can't believe he's been gone a year, and he wonders what his co-workers will think of him being back. No one knows, except Ecklie, that he's returning to the lab. He's not sure if he's really ready to come back, after the year he's had and he knows he's not ready for all the questions that he'll get for disappearing like he did, but it's just something he's going to have to deal with.
He's got a new apartment, but his stuff hasn't arrived from storage yet and all he has is a mattress to sit on. It's boring and lonely, and the last thing he needs right now is to be alone. That only leads to bad things. So, he decides to head out, hitting Mickey's bar, not just for old time sake, but because it's stumbling distance to his apartment.
Archie walks into the bar, and stops as he immediately notices a few all too familiar frames already sitting at the bar. He freezes, not really knowing what to do. He stands there, unable to decide whether to order a beer, or run like a coward.
Greg was busy laughing at Grissom's drunken reaction, the bourbon warm in his stomach, but at the same time he was still feeling anxious about Nick, whether or not he was having a good time. He took another glance over at the older man, giving him a reassuring smile. But then something- someone over Nick's shoulder caught his attention, and Greg frowned slightly as his eyes got used to the dark of the bar. Archie? Was that... Archie Johnson?
"Arch?" Greg called, the frown still on his face as he stood up to take a few tentative steps over. "...Archie Johnson?" Was it him? How weird would that be, all of them in the same bar? Where the hell had he gone, anyway?
Archie's head pops up when he hears his name. Shit, shitshitshit. I knew I should've just grabbed a case from the store and sat home watching Star Trek reruns, he thinks.
He attempts a smile and waves slightly. Well, he can't run now. He sighs and heads over towards the group. Damn Greg. If only he wasn't so... hot, funny, nice, brilliant, taken Greg, then I might've been able to get out of here unscathed.
"Surprise?" he says a bit sheepishly, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
Greg's frown was gone instantly, replaced with a wide grin as he pulled Archie into a rough hug, clapping him on the back. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed, pulling away, still grinning from ear to ear. "Where the fuck have you been? I was starting to think you got picked up by a cult or you eloped or something." He shot the A/V tech a quizzical look, but it was hard for Greg to keep the smile off of his face.
When Greg had been back in the lab, there had been days when Archie had been the only thing that really kept him going, and he had felt really depressed hurt surprised when he stopped showing up to work.
Arhie's momentarily surprised as he's pulled into a fierce hug. It only lasts a moment though before he's hugging back, a smile gracing his own lips for the first time in too long. "Sorry. I just had some, uh, personal shit to take care of and it took longer than I thought," he says, honestly feeling bad for the way he left. There had just been no other option at the time.
He catches a flicker of something in Greg's eyes, but he can't quite place what it is, so he shrugs it off. "I'm back now though. I can say I'm a little surprised that I found all of you guys here though. Really random that I just happened to show up where you guys were getting together." He looks at the rest of the group a little uncomfortably. He'd always liked the CSI's, but he hadn't really hung out with them before.
Grissom felt himself come slightly more into focus at the sound of Archie's voice. He'd approved Archie's time off request without batting an eye. He'd earned it. What he'd been doing with all this time, he had to find out from Warrick. He'd kept Grissom informed of all the going's on. Now that Warrick was out himself, he had no idea why Archie had cut his time short. Grissom had to smile at the way he was welcomed back. Greg was just about humping the poor guy's leg. Whoops! Where did that come from?
Grissom made the effort to turn on his stool and gave Archie a huge mellow, lopsided grin. "The aliens finally returned you. What's life like in Space, the Final Frontier?"
As she opened the door, Catherine was looking at her shoes. She glanced up just in time to keep from running into the dark-haired man standing just inside. Looking past him, she rubbed her eyes. Was she really lacking that much sleep from the trip, or were just about all her coworkers sitting at the bar before her?
Archie pulls away slightly from Greg. It's not that he wants too, and he almost immediately feels the loss of warm, but he's also very aware that Nick is less than a foot from where he stands.
Thankfully, Grissom causes a pretty good distraction. He doesn't think he's ever seen his boss so drunk before, and he can't help but chuckle softly. "It was fascinating Griss, absolutely fascinating. You should try it sometime, though it looks like you're pretty close to outter space right now."
Grissom made a sound that wasn't easily classified, but ended like choked laughter. "I'll have to take you up on that sometime. You're about 3 rounds behind. Bartender!" Grissom waved at Red again, and the man was starting to look annoyed. "Bring my man whatever he's drinking." Grissom picked up his empty glass again and glared at Greg.
The look of death relayed, Gil turned back to Archie, then noticed another familiar face. "Are you sure there isn't a Free beer for CSI's sign outside, Greg?" He waved at Catherine, motioning her over. Seems everyone wanted a beverage to soothe themself tonight.
Archie raises an eyebrow when Grissom glares at Greg, wondering what he missed, but doesn't say anything. He orders a beer and a shot of tequila from the bartender. Might as well try to catch up.
The shot comes first, and is gone almost even before it arrives. He sucks on the lemon for a second and then starts on the beer. Seems like everyone's ahead of him and he needs to catch up.
Angie smiled slightly at Archie, or the guy she assumed was Archie after listening in on Grissom and Greg's conversation with the man. She'd heard a lot about the man standing before her but since he'd taken such an extensive leave she'd failed to run into him.
She quietly watched as drinks were passed around and looks were exchanged. Angie glanced over at Nick who seemed as quiet in the moments of commotion as she did. He looked at little left out as Greg had nearly thrown himself at Archie.
Angie turned her attention briefly back to Archie, smiling again, deciding to introduce herself before the A/V tech was too boozed up to remember her name the following day.
"Hi, I'm Angie Halliwell. I stole Greg's place in DNA when he went out into the field. Nice to meet you." She offered a pleasant smiled, extending her hand.
Archie turns when the one person in the group he doesn't know introduces herself. He smiles and shakes her hand. "Ah good, another techie that hangs out with the CSI's. Before Greg here, it was all out war between the techs and the CSI's," he jokes, lamely.
Unfortunately, he hasn't had enough to drink to not be embarrassed by that. "Nice to meet you," he says and downs the rest of his beer before quickly ordering another shot and another beer.
"What can I say? I like to change things up." Greg grinned lopsidedly and sat down at the bar with Archie and Grissom, quickly ordering himself a shot and a beer as well, and another bourbon for Grissom (since he was feeling generous). It wasn't that Archie was behind in the drinking, it was just that their boss was so far gone that Greg was simply getting drunk off of his behaviour.
"So." He said, attempting to look serious, inbetween downing his shot and starting on his beer. "Where have you been?" He asked Archie again. "Was it a family thing? Better job somewhere? Top secret? Were UFOs involved?"
A blush comes to Archie's cheeks, and he steadily drinks his beer in an attempt to put off answering Greg. "Uh, partially family, I guess," he says, a bit mysteriously. In all honesty, Greg's one of the few people he would talk about this too. He just doesn't really want to do it in a crowded bar surrounded by their co-workers.
"So, what's been going on around here since I left?" he asks, obviously changing the subject.
Greg shot Archie a small, quiet smile, realizing that he was probably pressing the issue at an innapropriate time. But he made a mental note to ask the AV tech about it later, in a more private setting maybe, to see if he needed to talk about it.
"Oh, the usual drama." Greg shrugged, the beer in front of him halfway gone already. "You know us, we don't have time for lives outside of work so we get all of our living done at work..." He trailed off jokingly, but in all honesty, it was pretty true. They had had a pretty turbulent year, from his kidnapping to Sara and Grissom to the Atlanta conference...
One of the many things that Archie has missed about Greg is his ability to realize what other people are saying, without them having to say it. He smiles in return. "Maybe we can get together sometime and I'll tell you all about it," he says seriously, though the smile hasn't left his face. Well, maybe not all about it, he thinks. It'll depend on Greg's reaction, most likely.
Archie just laughs. He does know what it's like around the lab, the drama that can ensue. "Why do I get the feeling that I missed more than usual this year? Seriously, when I tell you where I've been? You gotta dish out the juicy details about what's been going on around here."
He's got a new apartment, but his stuff hasn't arrived from storage yet and all he has is a mattress to sit on. It's boring and lonely, and the last thing he needs right now is to be alone. That only leads to bad things. So, he decides to head out, hitting Mickey's bar, not just for old time sake, but because it's stumbling distance to his apartment.
Archie walks into the bar, and stops as he immediately notices a few all too familiar frames already sitting at the bar. He freezes, not really knowing what to do. He stands there, unable to decide whether to order a beer, or run like a coward.
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"Arch?" Greg called, the frown still on his face as he stood up to take a few tentative steps over. "...Archie Johnson?" Was it him? How weird would that be, all of them in the same bar? Where the hell had he gone, anyway?
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He attempts a smile and waves slightly. Well, he can't run now. He sighs and heads over towards the group. Damn Greg. If only he wasn't so... hot, funny, nice, brilliant, taken Greg, then I might've been able to get out of here unscathed.
"Surprise?" he says a bit sheepishly, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
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When Greg had been back in the lab, there had been days when Archie had been the only thing that really kept him going, and he had felt really depressed hurt surprised when he stopped showing up to work.
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He catches a flicker of something in Greg's eyes, but he can't quite place what it is, so he shrugs it off. "I'm back now though. I can say I'm a little surprised that I found all of you guys here though. Really random that I just happened to show up where you guys were getting together." He looks at the rest of the group a little uncomfortably. He'd always liked the CSI's, but he hadn't really hung out with them before.
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Grissom made the effort to turn on his stool and gave Archie a huge mellow, lopsided grin. "The aliens finally returned you. What's life like in Space, the Final Frontier?"
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Thankfully, Grissom causes a pretty good distraction. He doesn't think he's ever seen his boss so drunk before, and he can't help but chuckle softly. "It was fascinating Griss, absolutely fascinating. You should try it sometime, though it looks like you're pretty close to outter space right now."
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The look of death relayed, Gil turned back to Archie, then noticed another familiar face. "Are you sure there isn't a Free beer for CSI's sign outside, Greg?" He waved at Catherine, motioning her over. Seems everyone wanted a beverage to soothe themself tonight.
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The shot comes first, and is gone almost even before it arrives. He sucks on the lemon for a second and then starts on the beer. Seems like everyone's ahead of him and he needs to catch up.
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She quietly watched as drinks were passed around and looks were exchanged. Angie glanced over at Nick who seemed as quiet in the moments of commotion as she did. He looked at little left out as Greg had nearly thrown himself at Archie.
Angie turned her attention briefly back to Archie, smiling again, deciding to introduce herself before the A/V tech was too boozed up to remember her name the following day.
"Hi, I'm Angie Halliwell. I stole Greg's place in DNA when he went out into the field. Nice to meet you." She offered a pleasant smiled, extending her hand.
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Unfortunately, he hasn't had enough to drink to not be embarrassed by that. "Nice to meet you," he says and downs the rest of his beer before quickly ordering another shot and another beer.
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"So." He said, attempting to look serious, inbetween downing his shot and starting on his beer. "Where have you been?" He asked Archie again. "Was it a family thing? Better job somewhere? Top secret? Were UFOs involved?"
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"So, what's been going on around here since I left?" he asks, obviously changing the subject.
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"Oh, the usual drama." Greg shrugged, the beer in front of him halfway gone already. "You know us, we don't have time for lives outside of work so we get all of our living done at work..." He trailed off jokingly, but in all honesty, it was pretty true. They had had a pretty turbulent year, from his kidnapping to Sara and Grissom to the Atlanta conference...
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Archie just laughs. He does know what it's like around the lab, the drama that can ensue. "Why do I get the feeling that I missed more than usual this year? Seriously, when I tell you where I've been? You gotta dish out the juicy details about what's been going on around here."
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