| Old Friends, New Lovers - by kyrdwyn |
| Rated: PG Spoilers: None, but events here were mentioned in "Remembrance" and "Elizabeth" Synopsis: Elizabeth shows up at Gil's needing a room for the night. |
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| CSI, Gil Grissom and company, and places and etc are all property of Anthony Zuiker, Alliance Atlantis, CBS, and other companies. They did not condone this fic, and I am not getting paid for it. I write because I want to. All other characters not appearing on CSI in any way, shape, or form that appear in this story are my property. If you have any comments - good or bad, feel free to e-mail me at: toxicrev@yahoo.com |
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| Grissom had just started his new crossword puzzle when the doorbell rang. Frowning, he glanced at his watch. He couldn't imagine who would be at his door this late at night - especially on his first night off in weeks. If it was one of his colleagues, he was going to very unhappy. The doorbell rang again, and he sighed, putting down his pen and going to see who it was. He opened the door a crack and just stared. The lithe blonde standing on his doorstep was a figure straight out his past. His mind flashed from present day Las Vegas to UCLA seventeen years ago and his freshman biology class. That's where he had first seen her. It had been thirteen years since the last time he had seen her - when he had helped her pack her car for her move to Virginia. "Elizabeth?" he asked in disbelief, opening the door wider. His voice made her head turn to him, and she gave him a brilliant smile and handed him a box with a white bow around it. "Beware of doctors bearing gifts," she said ominously, her eyes gleaming with laughter. He undid the bow and opened the box to find chocolate covered grasshoppers. He laughed out loud, amazed that she still remembered. He put the lid back on and reached out to pull her to him in a bear hug. "God, it's so good to see you! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Vegas?" She laughed as she hugged him back. "Because nothing was settled until last week, and I forgot to call in the confusion." He gave her one final squeeze and released her. When he did, he noticed the suitcase next to her on the porch. She noticed the direction of his gaze and smiled sheepishly. "The hotel messed up my reservations - for some odd reason they thought I was arriving tomorrow. Would you mind terribly…" her voice trailed off uncertainly and she shrugged. He shook his head, smiling, and stepped forward to grab her suitcase. "Not at all. I would have been offended if you hadn't asked." He gestured for her to enter the house. She gave him a blinding smile, and something inside him reacted to it. He'd seen her with that smile before - but tonight it was somehow different. "Nice décor," she commented wryly as she took in the butterflies and moths that were framed on his walls. "If I didn't know better, I'd say an entomologist lived here." "Very funny," he said with a mock frown. She just smiled sweetly back at him. He set her suitcase down in his spare bedroom and took the grasshoppers into the living room to set on his coffee table. Elizabeth was regarding his couch with trepidation. "It doesn't bite. I swear." She glanced at him. "It looks…uncomfortable." "Oh, you'd be surprised," he said suggestively, with a slow smile. Elizabeth turned to him, her eyebrow raised. His tone was unusual for him, but she let an answering smile cross her lips as she defiantly flopped down on the couch. Surprise crossed her face as she realized he was right - it was comfortable. A thought occurred to her. "You bought the most uncomfortable looking couch you could find to discourage people, didn't you?" "Yeah. Most people don't have the guts to try the couch. Want a drink?" "Sure." He came back with two bottles of beer and handed her one as he sat down on the couch next to her. "I'm glad you were home," she said. "I wasn't looking forward to trying to find the crime lab at this time of night." "Actually, this is my first night off in weeks. I must say - you have great timing." "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude on your night off." "You're not. I'm glad to see you. I've missed you." "I've missed you too." They sat in silence for a few minutes, just staring at each other, taking in the changes of thirteen years. Finally, Elizabeth spoke. "So, how's life among the dead?" He took a sip of his beer before responding. "It's pretty good. I enjoy it." "You are an odd duck, Grissom." He smiled. "Hey - it's a new puzzle every night. Take the last case I worked on - someone left a body in the desert for three weeks. Before that, though, it had been left in a garage freezer for 10 years." "Let me guess, someone didn't believe in divorce?" "Actually, he didn't like his mother-in-law." Gil grinned. "Oh my." "Oh, it gets better - his wife helped him hide the body - the freezer was her idea." Elizabeth shook her head, laughing. "Well, I guess your job is never dull. Did they say why they decided to thaw the body?" "They were moving to Reno and didn't think they could get anyone to move a body." "Must not have any good friends." Gil raised an eyebrow. "Do I really want to ask you to explain that?" She grinned. "Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies." He rubbed his forehead. "Where did you get that?" "Medical school." "You must have had some odd friends in medical school." "The guys who taught me that all became forensic pathologists. I guess I'm one of the few live people they like being around." "Well," he said with a twinkle in his eyes, "you are better looking than most corpses." She arched an eyebrow. "Only most?" A smile traced across his lips, "Well, we do have the occasional dead showgirl here in Vegas." Elizabeth slugged him on the arm. "Oh, nice to know that I rank below the dead showgirls." He turned serious all of a sudden. "No, you're better than any Vegas showgirl. You're more…real." Elizabeth met his eyes, a thrill running through her at the compliment. He shifted awkwardly on the couch, dropping his eyes from hers. "So what brings you to Vegas, Beth?" "Call me Beth again and you die. Slowly and painfully," she responded with an evil grin. "Don't think I didn't learn a few tricks from my pathologist friends" He laughed. "I'm sure you did." "Anyway, I've got a fellowship in the trauma department over at Desert Palm. It wasn't certain until last week, though, so I figured I'd call you when I got into town. Then the hotel messed up." "So how long will you be here?" "I don't know - there's not really a time limit, but I do have to do some paper on my work." "Are you staying in a hotel the entire time? You can stay here you know. I've got plenty of room." "I'm only staying in a hotel until I can find an apartment to rent. I'd take you up on your offer, but I don't want to intrude. I know how much you hate having roommates. Whatever did happen to Mick, by the way?" she asked, referring to his roommate from sophomore year of college. "Oh, last I heard he was working for Orkin." "Why does that not surprise me," Elizabeth remarked. "The man never did appreciate insects." "Not many of us have the same fascination with them that you do, Gil. Besides, keeping them in the fridge is a little extreme." "Yet you show up here tonight with chocolate covered grasshoppers." "Shameless bribe." "Did you really think you would need it?" he asked quietly. "I wasn't sure. It's been thirteen years, and we haven't been the best of correspondents." "Elizabeth, it doesn't matter how long it's been - you're still one of my best friends." She smiled. "You're still one of mine. You know, I can't recall how many times in medical school that I came across something that I just had to tell you. No one else at UVA seemed to appreciate my humor - well, except for the pathologists." "So, tell me about these pathologists." She grinned, and proceeded to tell him stories of her med school days and the jokes she and a few others had pulled on classmates and teachers - including moving bodies around and planting unexpected items into cadavers. "Mason was fond of taking apart dolls - the kind that talk when you move them - and putting the voice boxes into organs. The snobby guy who was top of the class jumped five feet in the air when he removed someone's liver and it called him 'Mama'." She recalled with a laugh. "No one could ever prove that Mason was behind it. I used to find out who was going to be using which cadaver and re-arrange the organs. Drove people crazy, finding two hearts where the lungs were supposed to be. And then, there was Deb." "Deb?" "Yeah, Deb. She liked to name her cadavers and talk to them. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than hearing someone talking to a cadaver named Dinner. She always used that name when there was a bunch of first years around. Funny how some of them didn't make it though that year." "You were so serious in college, why so nuts in med school?" "Stress. Had to do something to work it off. Humor was better than drugs," she said with a shrug. "So, tell me about your life since college. Any unusual people in the crime lab? Besides yourself of course." He laughed and told her about the lab and the people he worked with. That led to her telling him about the places she'd worked. The house was filled with conversation and laughter as they caught up on their lives. Both of them felt as if the thirteen years hadn't passed, and they were still carefree college kids. Elizabeth suddenly yawned, her flight from Virginia catching up with her. Gil turned all apologetic for having kept her up so late. He gathered up the bottles and threw them away as Elizabeth headed for his spare room. He caught up with her at the doorway. "It really is great to see you again, Elizabeth," he said softly. He shifted from one foot to another, looking down at the ground. "I know," she said just as softly. She looked up at him. "Thanks again for letting me stay here tonight." "My pleasure," he said, looking at her. He leaned down to brush his lips against her cheek in a goodnight kiss. Her head turned and he was unprepared for the sensations that went through him when his lips met hers. He drew back, staring at her. Her fingers came up to lightly touch her lips in surprise. She looked at him. He could read in her eyes that she was just as surprised as he was by the kiss. He brought his hand up to capture hers. He leaned down again to kiss her, and she didn't resist. She leaned into him, letting her lips part underneath his. Desire swept between the two of them, and he let go of her hand to pull her closer to him. She brought her hands up to run them through his hair. He broke off the kiss first, pressing his forehead against hers. "Elizabeth…are you sure?" he asked hesitantly. "Yes," she replied without hesitation. He smiled and led her to his bedroom. * * * * * "You know, maybe I will take you up on your offer to stay here," Elizabeth said hours later. "I'm glad," he said. "On one condition, though." He turned to face her, propping his head on his fist. His blue eyes were worried. "What's that?" She smiled mischievously and leaned up to kiss him. "That you show me just how 'comfortable' that couch can be." He smiled, leaning her back into the mattress with a gleam in his eyes. "I think that can be arranged…. later." |
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