Below the Surface [CSI/The X-Files; Grissom/Catherine, Mulder/Scully]
TITLE: Below the Surface
PROLOGUE: A Bigger Boat
FANDOM(S): CSI, The X-Files
PAIRING(S): Mulder/Scully, Grissom/Catherine
SPOILERS: [CSI: Fourth season]; [X-Files: Post-Millenium] (I know those time periods don't completely coordinate, but... that's why this is an AU.)
RATING: R (for language, violence, etc.)
SUMMARY: "Welcome to 'Tragedy at Lake Mead.'"
*****
Stars dotted the crisp, night sky over Lake Mead as a boat edged into the water, the sound of a motor cutting through the silence moments later. Two young men in wetsuits sat facing each other in the small motorboat, laughing about nothing in particular... or perhaps about an inside joke. When the boat reached the center of the lake, the motor was cut and an anchor dropped, and the young men pulled on diving masks, checked their air tanks, and pulled on flippers.
"You sure you're not scared, Jordan?" the blond teen teased his best friend.
The brown-haired teen rolled his eyes. "What the hell is there to be scared about out here, Chris? The Loch-Ness Monster?" He grinned. "Jaws, maybe?"
"Y'never know, man," Chris chuckled, swinging his legs over the side of the boat... watching as his friend followed suit. "You going first?"
"Yeah," Jordan replied. "We'll take turns, in case something goes wrong."
"I knew it. I knew you'd be a tight-ass."
Jordan rolled his eyes once more. "Just shut up and watch the boat." He raised a finger. "And don't even think about lifting the anchor and leaving me here!"
Chris held up his hands. "Alright, alright! Just go."
After pulling on his mouthpiece and starting his oxygen tank, Jordan dropped into the water, giving his friend a thumbs-up signal before submerging. Why Chris had wanted to come here in the middle of the night, Jordan had no idea. It would've been much easier to go diving in Lake Mead during the daylight hours. Although, he mused as he swam along toward the bottom... gliding his hands through seaweed and other underwater plantlife... if they were to go diving during the day, there'd be a lot more boats in the water, and therefore could make diving quite difficult... and dangerous.
When his hand bumped something slightly spongy, Jordan paused, and reached back, grasping for the spongy material. This was a freshwater lake, he thought, so that couldn't be coral. He turned, leaning closer to see what it was. In the darkness, it took a few moments for him to be able to make it out, but when he saw his hand closed around five toes, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his mouthpiece fell out, water soon flooding his esophagus.
Gasping and choking underwater, Jordan swam as quickly as he could for the surface, his chest constricting from too much water and lack of oxygen. When his head broke the surface, he gasped loudly, coughing up all the water that had entered his lungs... and he thrashed around, trying to catch his breath, while Chris guffawed at him from the boat.
"You pussy!" Chris called, grinning widely. "What, did you touch some seaweed and freak out? Wuss."
Still gasping slightly for air, Jordan swam for the boat, his heart thudding in his chest at what he'd seen underwater. "Gimme your cell phone!"
At this, Chris's laugher ceased, and he eyed his friend warily with a furrowed brow. "Why?"
"Just gimme the phone!" he yelled frantically, snatching it from Chris when he held it up to him. "I gotta call the police."
"Dude... what the hell did you see down there?"
*****
"Welcome to 'Tragedy At Lake Mead,'" Brass quipped, holding out his arms in a showy fashion... gesturing to the large body of water behind him.
Grissom and Catherine, field kits in hand, strolled up to the captain, each glancing in different directions at their surroundings. Grissom then turned his eyes to Brass, nodding a greeting at him. "Jim... whaddya got for us?"
He gestured to the two teens standing huddled together near the squad car, each wrapped in a blanket... one looking like he'd seen a ghost. "A coupla kids took their boat out for a little midnight scuba diving in the lake. Dark-haired kid went down first... found a body. Or at least what he thinks was a body."
Catherine furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Said his hand caught something near the bottom of the lake. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a foot. No telling if it was attached to a leg, or the rest of a body, though."
She raised her eyebrows, sighing slowly as she met her partner's eyes. "Looks like we'll have to do a little diving of our own."
"Nah," Brass interjected. "We got the boat; the nets. Just comb the lake, see if you come up with anything. Kid said they were near the center of the lake, so the body's probably pretty close to that point."
Grissom grinned at his golden-haired companion as they headed for the boat. "I get to be Captain," he told her as he climbed aboard.
She pursed her thick lips, nodding slowly. "Guess that makes me..." Her lips curled slightly in a smirk as she glanced up at him. "The wench?"
"...Or Tenille." Grissom shrugged, his eyes twinkling mischievously, and he held out a hand to help her up onto the boat. "Whatever 'floats your boat'... my dear."
The pair spent the few minutes it took to get to the center in silence, one silently contemplating their case... the other contemplating whether or not it would be unethical to sneak a peek at her supervisor in his tight blue jeans. Quickly deciding to abandon her ethics, Catherine allowed her eyes to wander.
"So," Grissom sighed, effectively drawing her out of her denim-induced catatonic state...
"Hmm?" She slowly dragged her eyes up to meet his, hoping he wouldn't notice where her gaze had previously been focused.
His eyes twinkled back at her... and she knew she'd been caught. "Shall we lower the nets?" he asked.
She glanced in every direction around them, making sure they'd reached the center of the lake, before nodding. "By all means."
The next several minutes were spent combing the bottom of Lake Mead, Catherine commandeering the steering wheel while Grissom kept his eye on the nets. When he noticed they'd caught something, he raised a hand to stop her. "Hold it!"
"Got something?" she called.
He nodded, yelling back, "Lower the anchor and raise the nets!"
After doing so, she rushed down onto the main deck of the boat, warily eyeing the pole holding the net up, which seemed to be bending slightly with the weight of whatever it was they'd stumbled upon. "This could be a body," she mused loudly, and watched as Grissom bent over to grab for the net... giving her a lovely view as he did so.
His voice drew her once more from her fantasy. "Say, Hooper?" he called.
She smirked at the cinematic reference, and made her way over to him. "Yes, Brody..."
He met her eyes, then glanced toward the nets, and she followed his gaze, her jaw dropping subsequently as she noticed they'd lifted not one, but four bodies from the bottom of the lake. She met Grissom's eyes once more.
He nodded toward the nets. "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
TBC
PROLOGUE: A Bigger Boat
FANDOM(S): CSI, The X-Files
PAIRING(S): Mulder/Scully, Grissom/Catherine
SPOILERS: [CSI: Fourth season]; [X-Files: Post-Millenium] (I know those time periods don't completely coordinate, but... that's why this is an AU.)
RATING: R (for language, violence, etc.)
SUMMARY: "Welcome to 'Tragedy at Lake Mead.'"
*****
Stars dotted the crisp, night sky over Lake Mead as a boat edged into the water, the sound of a motor cutting through the silence moments later. Two young men in wetsuits sat facing each other in the small motorboat, laughing about nothing in particular... or perhaps about an inside joke. When the boat reached the center of the lake, the motor was cut and an anchor dropped, and the young men pulled on diving masks, checked their air tanks, and pulled on flippers.
"You sure you're not scared, Jordan?" the blond teen teased his best friend.
The brown-haired teen rolled his eyes. "What the hell is there to be scared about out here, Chris? The Loch-Ness Monster?" He grinned. "Jaws, maybe?"
"Y'never know, man," Chris chuckled, swinging his legs over the side of the boat... watching as his friend followed suit. "You going first?"
"Yeah," Jordan replied. "We'll take turns, in case something goes wrong."
"I knew it. I knew you'd be a tight-ass."
Jordan rolled his eyes once more. "Just shut up and watch the boat." He raised a finger. "And don't even think about lifting the anchor and leaving me here!"
Chris held up his hands. "Alright, alright! Just go."
After pulling on his mouthpiece and starting his oxygen tank, Jordan dropped into the water, giving his friend a thumbs-up signal before submerging. Why Chris had wanted to come here in the middle of the night, Jordan had no idea. It would've been much easier to go diving in Lake Mead during the daylight hours. Although, he mused as he swam along toward the bottom... gliding his hands through seaweed and other underwater plantlife... if they were to go diving during the day, there'd be a lot more boats in the water, and therefore could make diving quite difficult... and dangerous.
When his hand bumped something slightly spongy, Jordan paused, and reached back, grasping for the spongy material. This was a freshwater lake, he thought, so that couldn't be coral. He turned, leaning closer to see what it was. In the darkness, it took a few moments for him to be able to make it out, but when he saw his hand closed around five toes, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his mouthpiece fell out, water soon flooding his esophagus.
Gasping and choking underwater, Jordan swam as quickly as he could for the surface, his chest constricting from too much water and lack of oxygen. When his head broke the surface, he gasped loudly, coughing up all the water that had entered his lungs... and he thrashed around, trying to catch his breath, while Chris guffawed at him from the boat.
"You pussy!" Chris called, grinning widely. "What, did you touch some seaweed and freak out? Wuss."
Still gasping slightly for air, Jordan swam for the boat, his heart thudding in his chest at what he'd seen underwater. "Gimme your cell phone!"
At this, Chris's laugher ceased, and he eyed his friend warily with a furrowed brow. "Why?"
"Just gimme the phone!" he yelled frantically, snatching it from Chris when he held it up to him. "I gotta call the police."
"Dude... what the hell did you see down there?"
*****
"Welcome to 'Tragedy At Lake Mead,'" Brass quipped, holding out his arms in a showy fashion... gesturing to the large body of water behind him.
Grissom and Catherine, field kits in hand, strolled up to the captain, each glancing in different directions at their surroundings. Grissom then turned his eyes to Brass, nodding a greeting at him. "Jim... whaddya got for us?"
He gestured to the two teens standing huddled together near the squad car, each wrapped in a blanket... one looking like he'd seen a ghost. "A coupla kids took their boat out for a little midnight scuba diving in the lake. Dark-haired kid went down first... found a body. Or at least what he thinks was a body."
Catherine furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Said his hand caught something near the bottom of the lake. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a foot. No telling if it was attached to a leg, or the rest of a body, though."
She raised her eyebrows, sighing slowly as she met her partner's eyes. "Looks like we'll have to do a little diving of our own."
"Nah," Brass interjected. "We got the boat; the nets. Just comb the lake, see if you come up with anything. Kid said they were near the center of the lake, so the body's probably pretty close to that point."
Grissom grinned at his golden-haired companion as they headed for the boat. "I get to be Captain," he told her as he climbed aboard.
She pursed her thick lips, nodding slowly. "Guess that makes me..." Her lips curled slightly in a smirk as she glanced up at him. "The wench?"
"...Or Tenille." Grissom shrugged, his eyes twinkling mischievously, and he held out a hand to help her up onto the boat. "Whatever 'floats your boat'... my dear."
The pair spent the few minutes it took to get to the center in silence, one silently contemplating their case... the other contemplating whether or not it would be unethical to sneak a peek at her supervisor in his tight blue jeans. Quickly deciding to abandon her ethics, Catherine allowed her eyes to wander.
"So," Grissom sighed, effectively drawing her out of her denim-induced catatonic state...
"Hmm?" She slowly dragged her eyes up to meet his, hoping he wouldn't notice where her gaze had previously been focused.
His eyes twinkled back at her... and she knew she'd been caught. "Shall we lower the nets?" he asked.
She glanced in every direction around them, making sure they'd reached the center of the lake, before nodding. "By all means."
The next several minutes were spent combing the bottom of Lake Mead, Catherine commandeering the steering wheel while Grissom kept his eye on the nets. When he noticed they'd caught something, he raised a hand to stop her. "Hold it!"
"Got something?" she called.
He nodded, yelling back, "Lower the anchor and raise the nets!"
After doing so, she rushed down onto the main deck of the boat, warily eyeing the pole holding the net up, which seemed to be bending slightly with the weight of whatever it was they'd stumbled upon. "This could be a body," she mused loudly, and watched as Grissom bent over to grab for the net... giving her a lovely view as he did so.
His voice drew her once more from her fantasy. "Say, Hooper?" he called.
She smirked at the cinematic reference, and made her way over to him. "Yes, Brody..."
He met her eyes, then glanced toward the nets, and she followed his gaze, her jaw dropping subsequently as she noticed they'd lifted not one, but four bodies from the bottom of the lake. She met Grissom's eyes once more.
He nodded toward the nets. "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
TBC