Co-Conspirators
Disclaimer: Grissom, Cath and their merry band of men belong to CBS, Bruckheimer Productions, et al. I claim no credit for them, and fanfic is pretty much a not-for-profit business.
Nick walks into the Crime Lab at a little after five. He and
O’Reilly finished an open and shut arson case that turned out to be the owners
of the building trying to cash in on their insurance policy. Nick wonders when
Grissom’s going to stop lobbing him softballs and give him a real case to work
solo.
He turns a corner and runs into Warrick wearing his street clothes, obviously
heading home for the day.
“Hey man,” Nick greets.
“Nick,” Warrick responds with a grin, “you missed showing around the new guy.”
“Damn,” Nick says. He loves the first day of lab hazing. That’s another reason
to resent his recent case. “Where is he now?”
Warrick’s smile grows into a mischievous smirk. “Now? He’s probably freaking out
trying to deal with all those fake samples we left him. I volunteered some
hairs.”
Nick grins back. They always give the new people a trial run before letting them
get their hands on any real evidence. It prepares them for what to expect from
working at the second best Crime Lab in the country, with the added benefit of
being funny as hell.
“He’s a live one, though,” Warrick continues, his voice amused. “Young, probably
right out of college. Grissom did his whole ‘I’m a creepy bug guy’ routine, and
the kid didn’t even flinch.”
Nick’s eyebrows lift in appreciation. He remembers Grissom pulling something
similar on his first day. He’d transferred in from Dallas and left the lab later
that night contemplating flying right back home.
“I’ve gotta get in on this,” he declares.
“Have fun,” Warrick says with a chuckle, headed towards the exit. “I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
Stopping first to put his jacket and bag away, Nick makes his way to the DNA
lab. The new guy has his head bent in concentration, and all Nick can make out
is disheveled blonde hair. He takes a moment to wonder whether the kid styled it
that way, or if that’s how it ended up after hours of pulling at it in
frustration. Nick schools his expression into a look of bland indifference and
enters the lab.
“You the new guy?” he asks.
The blonde head snaps up, and shocked brown eyes meet his. The first thing Nick
thinks is young, followed by nice.
After a moment, the guy answers him. “Yeah. Greg Sanders.”
“I need the results for my semen,” Nick says, spotting a labeled swab near the
top of the pile.
He has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling when Greg jumps at
the request.
“What?” Greg asks.
Nick puts on his best long-suffering expression and steps forward to pick up the
swab in question. “The semen found in my vic’s bedroom. I need the results.”
Greg frowns at him. “They’re not ready.”
“Why not?” he counters. Nick enjoys watching the play of emotions over Greg’s
face as he restrains himself from saying something biting in response. More time
working here will rid Greg of this polite impulse.
“I’ve got five other samples to process first,” Greg finally manages.
“No way. I need those results ASAP. Mine goes to the front of the line.”
Greg’s eyes narrow dangerously, and Nick thinks again, nice.
“You’ll get your results when it’s your turn.”
“Look, I know you haven’t been here long…” Nick strives for an Ecklie level of
condescension, but Greg cuts him off halfway through.
“I have graduated first grade though,” he says. “And the first thing you learn
there is no cutting.”
Definitely a live one. Nick knows the new guy’s not going to have any
problems holding his own here. He watches as Greg goes back to processing what’s
probably a lock of Warrick’s hair.
Despite his bravado, Nick can tell that Greg’s wound tight. He lets the smile
he’s been concealing spread across his face. When Greg looks back up at him, he
decides to throw him a bone. “It only lasts a couple of days. You’re doing
fine.”
Greg rolls his shoulders and sighs, his tense muscles visibly relaxing. “Thank
god.”
It sounds so fervent and heartfelt that Nick has to laugh. A sharp, lightning
quick grin flashes across Greg’s face in response.
Nick’s telling the truth. On Friday, Catherine will invite Greg out with them so
they can each buy him a round to celebrate his survival. And next week, the
lab’s got some new, genius A/V guy transferring in from Cincinnati. Nick won’t
miss the first day of hazing again, and he has a feeling that Greg will make a
great co-conspirator.