Fic: GRAIIIIIINS
Title: GRAIIIIIIINS
Fandom: CSI
For: loyaldreamer
Pairing: Grissom/Nick if you squint.
Word Count: 1, 1661 behind the cut. Not entirely happy with this, but I hope it's enjoyable.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never have been. Never will be.
“So what’ve we got on tap tonight?” Nick asked, wandering into the break room. Sara handed him a cup of coffee without being asked, earning a wide smile.
“Zombies,” she said matter of factly, taking a seat at the table and opening a case file.
“Zombies?” he echoed, looking skeptical. “Sar, don’t joke around.”
“She isn’t joking, Nick,” Grissom said, startling him. The older man walked into the room with a stack of other files. “There seems to be a widespread epidemic of people, who by all accounts should be dead, wandering around and attacking others. Under the circumstances, the term ‘zombie’ would seem appropriate.”
“Figures that if they’d be anywhere, they’d be in Vegas,” Sara muttered. Opening a new file, she glanced down. And began giggling. “I shouldn’t be laughing at this but…”
“I laughed as well,” Grissom said calmly, prompting Nick to glance over Sara’s shoulder.
“Ecklie got nabbed? Man, who do we thank?”
“That is hardly charitable. At the very least, we should be working to determine the source of the infection before attempting to solve the individual cases.”
Grissom dispensed the rest of the files before retreating to his office. Shortly thereafter, Nick stood at the doorway. “Grissom? I wanted to apologize-we should be showing respect, no matter who the departed might be.”
At Grissom’s nod, he closed the office door. “Don’t feel too badly, Nick. As I said, I laughed as well. It seems Ecklie’s perpetrator was infuriated by having to fill out additional paperwork for a visitor’s pass.”
“Who could blame ’em? Not like that paperwork does any good other than making bureaucrats feel they are necessary.”
Sara rapped her knuckles on the door before poking her head inside. “Guys, Brass just called. Ecklie’s apparently busted out of the morgue and Greg is hiding on the roof.”
“Where’re Warrick and Cath?”
“Still at that one scene in Henderson. We’re on our own.”
“Wonderful. And Dayshift isn’t going to pull any doubles?”
“They will now,” Grissom said grimly, pulling on his kevlar vest. “Let’s see if we can corral our errant director before he spreads the disease any further.”
“Worse comes to worst, we could always use him as an attraction. Fundraising for the lab. We’d never be short on budgets again,” Nick snickered, unable to take the situation seriously.
“Nick…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Be cool, don’t be disrespectful.”
“Not what I was saying. Isn’t that your ex-girlfriend?”
Turning to where Sara was pointing, Nick sighed and looked at the ground. “Yeah.”
“With your current girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” A pause. “Well…at least we’ve found Ecklie.” The living-impaired lab director had joined the other two women, sickly pale flesh almost glowing in the dim light.
“In a twisted ménage e trios, complete with spare limbs?”
“Probably the first time he’s gotten laid in twenty years.”
“Dude, I so did not need to hear that.”
“But you can watch it?”
A yell from the back prompted the two to run to Grissom’s assistance. They found the older man laying on the ground, a lump visible at his temple.
Nick shook him frantically. “Talk to me man, say something, lecture me about bugs!”
“Pledge your undying love while you’re at it,” Sara snarked, pushing back Grissom’s eyelids. “He’s out cold, but the pupils are responsive. I’ll go call for an ambulance.”
“Good.” Nick nodded, still propping Grissom up. “I’ll…I’ll stay here and keep an eye out.”
“Okay.” Sara started to walk away before looking back.
“Um, Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not that upset about your girlfriend.”
“No. I can’t say I am.” He sounded puzzled. “Maybe I’m just not cut out to deal with women.”
Sara grinned, digging out her cell phone.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sadly enough, Nick honestly sounded confused.
Sara closed her phone after a quick conversation. “Seems the hospitals are hopping. Literally. Think we can drag him back to the lab and have Doc Robbins look at him?”
“Neither of you will drag me anywhere,” Grissom grumbled, startling Nick for the second time that night.
“Man, don’t scare me-us, like that again! Are you all right? Where does it hurt?”
“My head and my ears, mainly.” Grissom glanced over his shoulder at Nick, studying him the way he would normally study an insect. “Nick…”
“Yeah?” His voice was softer.
“You may release me now.”
“Oh…right.” He unwrapped his arms, helping the other man to his feet. “Take it easy…what happened?”
Sara took Grissom’s other arm, and the three of them slowly made their way back to the lab doors.
“Someone brained me with a pipe. Fortunately it was a glancing blow-”
“Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Sara sighed, helping Grissom sit down in a visitor’s chair.
“What do you want us to do?”
“Stay inside-Greg is apparently protected on the roof. I’m not certain what, if anything, can be done for the infestation at this stage.”
Nick left the two of them to find an icepack for Grissom’s head. On the way, he passed Doc Robbins talking to Archie.
“-from the reports I have received, it seems that this will run its course and be finished in twelve hours. Of course, there will be a plethora of bodies lying everywhere, but that can be dealt with as it comes.”
“Assuming we’re still here to deal with it,” Archie grumbled, nodding at Nick. “I heard-Grissom all right?”
“Concussion, we think. Doc, mind taking a look at him?”
“Not at all.”
After retrieving a cold ice pack from the break room fridge, Nick followed Robbins down the hall to the visitors’ area.
“-seriously. You shouldn’t let that pass you by.”
“Sara, considering the way I-”
“We’re better friends for it.”
“Don’t mind the interruption, I’m just here for the scintillating conversation.” Robbins took a seat next to Grissom and began examining him.
“Concussion, yes. Hematoma due to blunt force trauma, possible edema as well. You will have a headache for a while.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Grissom said dryly, accepting the icepack from Nick.
“Pay attention to your surroundings, then. I’m going to get back to the morgue and see if any of the other denizens have decided to leave our esteemed company.”
After the older man had left, the two younger CSIs took seats by their supervisor.
“Seems this thing will run its course. A lot of people are going to be dead as a result,” and the thought made Nick swallow hard, “but…well. There’s hope, I guess.”
“Yes,” Grissom said quietly. “And hope is a good thing to have.”
The three sat in the semi-darkness, waiting for dawn. Sara slumped against the wall, closing her eyes.
Nick glanced compulsively at Grissom every few minutes. Almost as if checking to be sure the other man was still there.
And Grissom, normally one to eschew personal contact, allowed his hands to briefly rest on their shoulders.
They waited through the night, fielding questions and hearing reports. Simply waiting for dawn.
Fandom: CSI
For: loyaldreamer
Pairing: Grissom/Nick if you squint.
Word Count: 1, 1661 behind the cut. Not entirely happy with this, but I hope it's enjoyable.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never have been. Never will be.
“So what’ve we got on tap tonight?” Nick asked, wandering into the break room. Sara handed him a cup of coffee without being asked, earning a wide smile.
“Zombies,” she said matter of factly, taking a seat at the table and opening a case file.
“Zombies?” he echoed, looking skeptical. “Sar, don’t joke around.”
“She isn’t joking, Nick,” Grissom said, startling him. The older man walked into the room with a stack of other files. “There seems to be a widespread epidemic of people, who by all accounts should be dead, wandering around and attacking others. Under the circumstances, the term ‘zombie’ would seem appropriate.”
“Figures that if they’d be anywhere, they’d be in Vegas,” Sara muttered. Opening a new file, she glanced down. And began giggling. “I shouldn’t be laughing at this but…”
“I laughed as well,” Grissom said calmly, prompting Nick to glance over Sara’s shoulder.
“Ecklie got nabbed? Man, who do we thank?”
“That is hardly charitable. At the very least, we should be working to determine the source of the infection before attempting to solve the individual cases.”
Grissom dispensed the rest of the files before retreating to his office. Shortly thereafter, Nick stood at the doorway. “Grissom? I wanted to apologize-we should be showing respect, no matter who the departed might be.”
At Grissom’s nod, he closed the office door. “Don’t feel too badly, Nick. As I said, I laughed as well. It seems Ecklie’s perpetrator was infuriated by having to fill out additional paperwork for a visitor’s pass.”
“Who could blame ’em? Not like that paperwork does any good other than making bureaucrats feel they are necessary.”
Sara rapped her knuckles on the door before poking her head inside. “Guys, Brass just called. Ecklie’s apparently busted out of the morgue and Greg is hiding on the roof.”
“Where’re Warrick and Cath?”
“Still at that one scene in Henderson. We’re on our own.”
“Wonderful. And Dayshift isn’t going to pull any doubles?”
“They will now,” Grissom said grimly, pulling on his kevlar vest. “Let’s see if we can corral our errant director before he spreads the disease any further.”
“Worse comes to worst, we could always use him as an attraction. Fundraising for the lab. We’d never be short on budgets again,” Nick snickered, unable to take the situation seriously.
“Nick…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Be cool, don’t be disrespectful.”
“Not what I was saying. Isn’t that your ex-girlfriend?”
Turning to where Sara was pointing, Nick sighed and looked at the ground. “Yeah.”
“With your current girlfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” A pause. “Well…at least we’ve found Ecklie.” The living-impaired lab director had joined the other two women, sickly pale flesh almost glowing in the dim light.
“In a twisted ménage e trios, complete with spare limbs?”
“Probably the first time he’s gotten laid in twenty years.”
“Dude, I so did not need to hear that.”
“But you can watch it?”
A yell from the back prompted the two to run to Grissom’s assistance. They found the older man laying on the ground, a lump visible at his temple.
Nick shook him frantically. “Talk to me man, say something, lecture me about bugs!”
“Pledge your undying love while you’re at it,” Sara snarked, pushing back Grissom’s eyelids. “He’s out cold, but the pupils are responsive. I’ll go call for an ambulance.”
“Good.” Nick nodded, still propping Grissom up. “I’ll…I’ll stay here and keep an eye out.”
“Okay.” Sara started to walk away before looking back.
“Um, Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not that upset about your girlfriend.”
“No. I can’t say I am.” He sounded puzzled. “Maybe I’m just not cut out to deal with women.”
Sara grinned, digging out her cell phone.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sadly enough, Nick honestly sounded confused.
Sara closed her phone after a quick conversation. “Seems the hospitals are hopping. Literally. Think we can drag him back to the lab and have Doc Robbins look at him?”
“Neither of you will drag me anywhere,” Grissom grumbled, startling Nick for the second time that night.
“Man, don’t scare me-us, like that again! Are you all right? Where does it hurt?”
“My head and my ears, mainly.” Grissom glanced over his shoulder at Nick, studying him the way he would normally study an insect. “Nick…”
“Yeah?” His voice was softer.
“You may release me now.”
“Oh…right.” He unwrapped his arms, helping the other man to his feet. “Take it easy…what happened?”
Sara took Grissom’s other arm, and the three of them slowly made their way back to the lab doors.
“Someone brained me with a pipe. Fortunately it was a glancing blow-”
“Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Sara sighed, helping Grissom sit down in a visitor’s chair.
“What do you want us to do?”
“Stay inside-Greg is apparently protected on the roof. I’m not certain what, if anything, can be done for the infestation at this stage.”
Nick left the two of them to find an icepack for Grissom’s head. On the way, he passed Doc Robbins talking to Archie.
“-from the reports I have received, it seems that this will run its course and be finished in twelve hours. Of course, there will be a plethora of bodies lying everywhere, but that can be dealt with as it comes.”
“Assuming we’re still here to deal with it,” Archie grumbled, nodding at Nick. “I heard-Grissom all right?”
“Concussion, we think. Doc, mind taking a look at him?”
“Not at all.”
After retrieving a cold ice pack from the break room fridge, Nick followed Robbins down the hall to the visitors’ area.
“-seriously. You shouldn’t let that pass you by.”
“Sara, considering the way I-”
“We’re better friends for it.”
“Don’t mind the interruption, I’m just here for the scintillating conversation.” Robbins took a seat next to Grissom and began examining him.
“Concussion, yes. Hematoma due to blunt force trauma, possible edema as well. You will have a headache for a while.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Grissom said dryly, accepting the icepack from Nick.
“Pay attention to your surroundings, then. I’m going to get back to the morgue and see if any of the other denizens have decided to leave our esteemed company.”
After the older man had left, the two younger CSIs took seats by their supervisor.
“Seems this thing will run its course. A lot of people are going to be dead as a result,” and the thought made Nick swallow hard, “but…well. There’s hope, I guess.”
“Yes,” Grissom said quietly. “And hope is a good thing to have.”
The three sat in the semi-darkness, waiting for dawn. Sara slumped against the wall, closing her eyes.
Nick glanced compulsively at Grissom every few minutes. Almost as if checking to be sure the other man was still there.
And Grissom, normally one to eschew personal contact, allowed his hands to briefly rest on their shoulders.
They waited through the night, fielding questions and hearing reports. Simply waiting for dawn.