Angie shuffled into the bar, staring at her feet. She was still unsure about her status with David and feeling guilty about how she left things with Grissom. It wasn't like her to go out and drink, but she'd been feeling particularly blue after leaving work and the bar caught her eye.
She flopped down on the corner seat of the bar, she was in the process of waving over the bartender when she heard a familiar voice ordering a drink. Angie stared in the direction of her colleague for a few moments, just to make sure before she got up and played the "oops I thought you were someone I knew" game.
After finally reassuring herself she had the right man she got up and sat next to him, silently of course, just to be sneaky and see how long it would take him to notice who had sat down next him.
Grissom felt more than heard the presence next to him. He wasn't in the mood to socialize, and hoped it wasn't that guy who kept trying to pick him up. He'd told the blonde with the killer smile that he was married, but that didn't seem to take the wind out of his 'sails'.
He'd been about to tell the jerk to take a hike, but then he caught the familar scent of someone's perfume he knew. Not the haunting scent of Drakkar Noir, like pick-up guy was wearing. He turned, mostly out of curiosity, and saw Angie. Sweetest person he knew, and the one he couldn't have. His words were a little slurred when he quipped. "Of all the gin joints in all the world, you had to wander into mine."
Angie smiled and patted him on the back, taking a mental note of Grissom's intoxicated state. She glanced around half expecting Sara to be somewhere, although with the way things had been, from what she'd heard it wasn't going well for Grissom in that department.
"Well, if you'd stopped quoting someone, I'd be really worried about how much you've had to drink." She smiled at him, feeling a little guilty for his state, but she wasn't sure why.
Angie watched him for a few moments, not sure what to say, "I'd ask how you are, but I guess this is the answer." She paused, watching him, debating on what she was going say.
"I'm real worried about you Gil." She spoke in a gentle tone, just loud enough to be heard over the commotion of the bar. "You've been acting totally out of character lately. I'm just worried about you. I know Sara and the baby being gone has been really hard on you. I just wanted you to know that, and that I'm here for you." Angie reached over and patted his hand, a concerned look crossing her features.
Acting out of character. Maybe deep down this was his character. His father was useless, and wanted nothing to do with the son he'd sired, and spent a good portion of his time with his family drunk off his ass. Maybe it was also in his cards that he should be an alcoholic and a poor father. Although Sara's desertion couldn't be his fault entirely. Or could it?
"I'm parched. Who's leg do I have to hump to get another drink?" He'd already drained the one he'd just bought, making it bourbon number 6 or was it 7? He'd stopped counting. "You don't look as perky as usual? What's wrong?"
Nick had been promising to take Greg out all week. Of course with their work schedual it was hard to find a time when both of them were off, so they settled for going after work, some place laid back, but where they could still technically call it a date.
They walked into the bar, and Nick immediatly looked around for a place to sit. Unfortunatly all the dark corners were taken. He continued looking, but then his eyes fell on two familiar figured sitting at the bar. He groaned. Did Grissom show up everywhere just to bother him?
Greg was in a pretty good mood, he had to say. Sure, work had been getting tiring, he had been taking overtime left and right, but it would all pay off in his next paycheck, and he had tomorrow off and was looking forward to doing nothing but getting drunk with Nick.
Although, when he saw Angie and Grissom sitting at the bar, before taking in their sad faces, before taking in Nick's groan, he immediately perked up even more. The more the merrier, yeah? But, as Greg began to recall their recent track record, that wasn't always the case.
So, before running over to say hello as he would have normally done, Greg nudged Nick lightly in the ribs, looking at him as if to say, We can leave if you want to.
Nick ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry. We can stay, it's just..." They were finally out, Nick wasn't going to ruin Greg's evening just because he couldn't let go of a stupid grudge. "We can stay." He resisted the urge to grab onto Greg's hand as they began walking over.
Greg gave him a small reassuring smile. "Okay." Maybe now everything would cool down and they'd all be able to get on with their lives, old grudges put aside. It sounded very nice.
They approached Angie and Gil from behind, and Greg sat down on the stool next to Grissom, motioning for Nick to sit down next to him. He leaned over, shooting Angie and Gil one of this typical manic smiles. "Was there a sign outside advertising free beer for CSIs or something?"
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.
Angie politely excused herself from Archie's presence as he orders another drink, satisfied with herself that she at least introduced herself, not really in the mood with uncomfortable small talk with someone she barely knew.
Instead, she wandered over to Nick, leaving Archie with Greggo and Gil. She plopped herself down on the stool beside him.
"Hey there cowboy, mind if I buy you a drink?" She grins sweetly, shaking her head at herself, nudging his arm. "That sounded way better in my head, I promise."
Angie glanced over at the rest of the gang, "You've been more quiet than you normally are tonight. What's up?" She tilted her head, looking at him, concerned.
Nick grinned as Angie nudged him. His second beer appeared in front of him and he started on it eagerly.
"Nah, i'm sure if no one says anything Grissom will end up paying for all our drinks without realizing it." He smirked, surprising himself.
He finally turned his head to look at her, smiling. "Nothing's up." He would have gotten up to greet Archie, he really had missed the tech, but Greg had always been closer to him, and they seemed to be busy catching up.
Angie laughed and glanced at their boss. "I think you might be right, I think even if you said something he still wouldn't realize it." She shook her head, turning her attention back to the Texan, noticing he was quickly working on being in Grissom's state.
She waved over the bartender, shyly asking for a bottle of water, receiving a strange look from him. She just needed something to drink, something to fiddle with.
"I'm supposedly the designated driver tonight." She glanced at Nick's beer, wrinkling her nose, wishing she hadn't volunteered for the position anymore.
Angie leaned on the bar counter and turned her attention completely to Nick. "How've you been doing lately? It's been awhile since it was just us talking." She realized the last time they'd really had a conversation was the night he'd walked in on Grissom and her kissing.
Catherine, who had still been hovering by the door, quietly edged into a booth just behind the two. Obviously Angie was thoroughly wrapped up in Nick and wouldn't notice, and soon enough Nicky would be too drunk to see her. She hadn't really intended to come over and eavesdrop, but the other group was totally schnockered, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, although now she was wondering why she even came down to the bar at all-she really needed to be in bed about now.
Grissom couldn't get a word in edgewise with Greg and Archie, and Angie was talking to Nick. He felt left out, but then again, that wasn't something new. He'd waved to Catherine, but she must have missed him. No big deal. He pushed himself off his barstool, waited until he had his footing, then grabbed his drink and headed over to where she'd slid into a booth.
"Is this seat taken?" Gil managed in a non-slurring voice. Maybe his buzz was wearing off. He didn't feel like he had cotton stuck in his brain anymore.
Gil slipped into the seat across from her, his back to Angie and Nick. He really didn't need to hear what they were talking about. He had a hard enough time concentrating on his own thoughts. What did Cath miss? Good question.
"Tonight, or since you got back from your leave?" Gil stalled for time, trying to decide if he should just cut and run. Find himself a cab and forget Angie's generous offer of a drive home. Instead he sat and nursed the drink Greg replaced.
"As far as the lab goes, you were missed. We hired a new DNA tech, Angie Halliwell. She's been working here for about 9 months. Archie just came back from a leave of absense. Warrick took some time off, and he's not due back for a while. Continuing education, you know." Gil took a sip and then contemplated his next move.
"If you want non-work related gossip...I'm not sure if I'm the right person to be filling you in. I don't like being talked about myself, but there are some things you need to know." Gil paused, waiting for some sign from Cath to move on.
Cath watched Grissom's face intently, watching for signs of just how intoxicated he really was. As he briefly filled her in, she found herself wondering what this Angie person had done while she was gone. When Gil paused, she jumped in, not sure if he would keep going or not.
"How drunk are you? Should we continue this somewhere else? I mean, this isn't exactly the most private place for a discussion. Or you could snag a cab and go home for a bit. You really don't look all that great."
Seeing Gil's eyebrows start to pinch together, she quickly amended the situation.
"Bu-but of course, if you feel alright, just go on ahead. Tell me what I've missed from leave, and then you can explain the, uh," Cath grinned wryly. "Goings-on...of tonight."
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She flopped down on the corner seat of the bar, she was in the process of waving over the bartender when she heard a familiar voice ordering a drink. Angie stared in the direction of her colleague for a few moments, just to make sure before she got up and played the "oops I thought you were someone I knew" game.
After finally reassuring herself she had the right man she got up and sat next to him, silently of course, just to be sneaky and see how long it would take him to notice who had sat down next him.
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He'd been about to tell the jerk to take a hike, but then he caught the familar scent of someone's perfume he knew. Not the haunting scent of Drakkar Noir, like pick-up guy was wearing. He turned, mostly out of curiosity, and saw Angie. Sweetest person he knew, and the one he couldn't have. His words were a little slurred when he quipped. "Of all the gin joints in all the world, you had to wander into mine."
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"Well, if you'd stopped quoting someone, I'd be really worried about how much you've had to drink." She smiled at him, feeling a little guilty for his state, but she wasn't sure why.
Angie watched him for a few moments, not sure what to say, "I'd ask how you are, but I guess this is the answer." She paused, watching him, debating on what she was going say.
"I'm real worried about you Gil." She spoke in a gentle tone, just loud enough to be heard over the commotion of the bar. "You've been acting totally out of character lately. I'm just worried about you. I know Sara and the baby being gone has been really hard on you. I just wanted you to know that, and that I'm here for you." Angie reached over and patted his hand, a concerned look crossing her features.
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"I'm parched. Who's leg do I have to hump to get another drink?" He'd already drained the one he'd just bought, making it bourbon number 6 or was it 7? He'd stopped counting. "You don't look as perky as usual? What's wrong?"
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Of course with their work schedual it was hard to find a time when both of them were off, so they settled for going after work, some place laid back, but where they could still technically call it a date.
They walked into the bar, and Nick immediatly looked around for a place to sit. Unfortunatly all the dark corners were taken.
He continued looking, but then his eyes fell on two familiar figured sitting at the bar.
He groaned. Did Grissom show up everywhere just to bother him?
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Although, when he saw Angie and Grissom sitting at the bar, before taking in their sad faces, before taking in Nick's groan, he immediately perked up even more. The more the merrier, yeah? But, as Greg began to recall their recent track record, that wasn't always the case.
So, before running over to say hello as he would have normally done, Greg nudged Nick lightly in the ribs, looking at him as if to say, We can leave if you want to.
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"Sorry. We can stay, it's just..." They were finally out, Nick wasn't going to ruin Greg's evening just because he couldn't let go of a stupid grudge. "We can stay."
He resisted the urge to grab onto Greg's hand as they began walking over.
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They approached Angie and Gil from behind, and Greg sat down on the stool next to Grissom, motioning for Nick to sit down next to him. He leaned over, shooting Angie and Gil one of this typical manic smiles. "Was there a sign outside advertising free beer for CSIs or something?"
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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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Instead, she wandered over to Nick, leaving Archie with Greggo and Gil. She plopped herself down on the stool beside him.
"Hey there cowboy, mind if I buy you a drink?" She grins sweetly, shaking her head at herself, nudging his arm. "That sounded way better in my head, I promise."
Angie glanced over at the rest of the gang, "You've been more quiet than you normally are tonight. What's up?" She tilted her head, looking at him, concerned.
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"Nah, i'm sure if no one says anything Grissom will end up paying for all our drinks without realizing it." He smirked, surprising himself.
He finally turned his head to look at her, smiling. "Nothing's up."
He would have gotten up to greet Archie, he really had missed the tech, but Greg had always been closer to him, and they seemed to be busy catching up.
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She waved over the bartender, shyly asking for a bottle of water, receiving a strange look from him. She just needed something to drink, something to fiddle with.
"I'm supposedly the designated driver tonight." She glanced at Nick's beer, wrinkling her nose, wishing she hadn't volunteered for the position anymore.
Angie leaned on the bar counter and turned her attention completely to Nick. "How've you been doing lately? It's been awhile since it was just us talking." She realized the last time they'd really had a conversation was the night he'd walked in on Grissom and her kissing.
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"Is this seat taken?" Gil managed in a non-slurring voice. Maybe his buzz was wearing off. He didn't feel like he had cotton stuck in his brain anymore.
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Summoning some confidence, she replied "No, of course not," removed her feet from the seat across from her and waved for a beer from the bar.
"So," she sighed. "What did I miss?"
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"Tonight, or since you got back from your leave?" Gil stalled for time, trying to decide if he should just cut and run. Find himself a cab and forget Angie's generous offer of a drive home. Instead he sat and nursed the drink Greg replaced.
"As far as the lab goes, you were missed. We hired a new DNA tech, Angie Halliwell. She's been working here for about 9 months. Archie just came back from a leave of absense. Warrick took some time off, and he's not due back for a while. Continuing education, you know." Gil took a sip and then contemplated his next move.
"If you want non-work related gossip...I'm not sure if I'm the right person to be filling you in. I don't like being talked about myself, but there are some things you need to know." Gil paused, waiting for some sign from Cath to move on.
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"How drunk are you? Should we continue this somewhere else? I mean, this isn't exactly the most private place for a discussion. Or you could snag a cab and go home for a bit. You really don't look all that great."
Seeing Gil's eyebrows start to pinch together, she quickly amended the situation.
"Bu-but of course, if you feel alright, just go on ahead. Tell me what I've missed from leave, and then you can explain the, uh," Cath grinned wryly. "Goings-on...of tonight."
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