It's Better In The Dark
Author: Tazzer
Rating: R, especially later on.
Disclaimer: Not my characters except the new one.
Feedback: If you feel inspired to.

Notes: A new employee rattles the night shift. This Grissom if from the first season several months after he becomes unit supervisor. This story is a romance that explores feeling and emotions. Just like life, the story evolves in each chapter with ups and downs (WIP). I am not a writer by any means, so many THANKS to Peggie for adopting me.

I hope you enjoy this little Grissom story. Tazzer

It's Better In The Dark
Chapter One, The First Day

The sun was still in the sky that Monday afternoon in late January when Gil Grissom entered the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department building. It was his first day back from vacation and going in early would allow him time to get somewhat caught up before the start of the night shift. It's kind of a joke to any outside observer; does any work-alcoholic ever want to get caught up? If Grissom ever did have nothing to do, then he would be face to face with what he was trying so hard to run from.

He was taking a chance coming in so early, as it increased his chances of running into that dreadful day-shift supervisor, Conrad Ecklie. It was so-far-so good for a few hours until his luck ran out, the corridor he walked down suddenly boomed his name, "Grissom!"

He pretended not to hear Ecklie's voice as he quicken his pace. "Grissom!!" Again his name rang out, this time it was louder and more forcefully.

(Damn, damn, damn!) Gil thought as he gave up and came to a halt. (Let that idiot come to me!) It was a childish thought as he stood his ground but then again, it was a chance to play one-upsmenship with Ecklie, a person he loved irritate. As Gil slowly turned around Ecklie was now standing in front of him with a woman in black slacks, a crisp white shirt and a...blue lab coat? A lab coat that fit nicely over her curvy body and accented her bright, crystal blue eyes and.

Ecklie's voice broke his dreamlike gaze of the beautiful woman now before him, "Grissom, I want to introduce you to your new photo lab tech Jessie West. Jessie this is the night-shift supervisor, Dr. Gil Grissom."

At first Grissom was a little irritate by the fact that Ecklie took it upon himself to hire a new person for his shift. (Ok, what the hell happened to Tom while I was gone?) But his irritation quickly faded, (Then again, who cares.) as he started to drink in more of the new tech's features.

Her hair was light brown and curved upward ever so slightly at the shoulder as it framed her oval face. Her skin was smooth and clear, except for a few faint age lines here and there, it glowed warmly from the setting sun that streamed through the nearby window. She stood tall in black biker boots but still did not reach as high as his almost six-foot frame. Although covered by the lab coat anyone who looked could see she kept herself in very good shape.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Grissom." as she offered her hand as she gave him a soft smile.

With a puzzled look on his face Grissom took her hand into his, "It's nice to have you on board..." he squinted to see the name correctly on the freshly made ID tag. (No that's not going to help, quick look over.) But his vision was obscured by the long lab coat, so he finished the sentence with, "..Mrs. West?"

A mild current of electricity raced between the two as the handshake lingered longer than socially acceptable. Jessie met his gaze square on as she corrected him, "It's Ms. West."

(Ha, that's answers that question! She's definitely a strong, independent and more importantly, unattached woman.) Gil thought.

The sound of Ecklie's voice ended their physical contact, "I decided to hire Jessie for her years of experience working in the photo industry. I felt a mature worker would help add some professionalism to your shift. Besides my people were getting tired of covering after Tom left so abruptly, boy was that a fiasco. So Grissom, could please tell your CSI's not to scare off another tech, everyone else who applied for this job was younger than my car!"

Grissom glared an evil eye as he talked. He knew Ecklie was trying to insult him and his staff but he decided to ignore the last remark, he was going to take the high road in hopes of impressing the new addition.

Mustering the most charming smile he could Gil turned back to Jessie, "I assure you everyone who works in the evening are all very professional although, there are a few who would be considered characters, but that just adds." While speaking he had unconsciously raised his clipboard upward and covered his heart, which was now beating faster. Was it Ecklie getting on his nerves or was it the handshake?

Not allowing Grissom to finish his conversation Ecklie stepped in-between the two, "Grissom save it for another time I need to finish showing Jessie around." Taking her by elbow and directing her to their next stop.

Grissom barked down the hall at Ecklie, "Conrad, I can finish the tour if you have to go home." Ecklie just waved him off.

Gil stood in the middle of the hallway wondering what the hell just happened. (I go away for two weeks and bam Conrad thinks he can take over!) Always so sure of himself and in control of this emotions, he could not understand why his body felt a rush of excitement. Then again, this was the only time he could remember that duofus Ecklie
doing anything right – hiring the pretty Jessie West.

Grissom was thankful his first night back was a slow one. Taking advantage of the free time, he decided to find out what really happened while he was gone. The best people for information, a.k.a. gossip, were his friend Catherine Willows, also a CSI and Greg Sanders, the DNA tech.

Both had about the same story of how Tom left suddenly causing the techs from the day shift to cover, but neither mentioned Ecklie hiring a new person. Being coy, Grissom did not bother to inform them that there was a new hire, instead he basked in the glow of having a gem of a secret, even though it would not last long, especially as soon as Greg the mouth' found out. He walked back to his office and chuckled to himself. (Wait till the boys see her!)

Some hours later curiosity got the best of Grissom as he decided a trip to the photo lab was in order with the rationale that Ecklie did not give him her personnel file, (The ASS) but deep down he wanted to know more about Jessie. Nonchalantly, Grissom walked to the back of the building where the photo lab was tucked away. He slipped through the door and, grabbing the stool at the light table, carried it over to the print station and sat down. "So Jessie, how's it going so far?"

Jessie swiveled the chair to see who it was, "Oh, Dr. Grissom, I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in." sheepishly pulling out her earplugs and turning down the volume of the Walkman. "Things are fine thank you. What can I do for you?" Her soft smile greeted him.

"Please, call me Gil." A smile broke out from one corner of his mouth as he returned the gesture.

"Ok, what can I do for you, Gil."

Jessie had to look up slightly to meet his eyes as the stool was taller than her chair. The light in the hallway back-lit Grissom's short curly hair causing a very dramatic look. Jessie's photographer eye took notice. (Wow, that's a picture! It looks like he's wearing a halo, so very cool.) The image made her look at him a little more closely. (He looked nerdy earlier, but now...hmm...maybe a little hunky.)

"Conrad did not leave me your personnel file so maybe you can fill me in on your background."

Jessie leaned back a little in the chair as she started to explain, "It's short, I just finished taking night class at the college to learn all about digital photography, that's where I heard about this opening. Other than that, I have work in the photography field for over twenty years as a custom printer and I have assisted wedding photographers here and there."

"Twenty years? That's not possible." Grissom meant it to be complimentary but he was also fishing.

"Well, when you start working in high school, it's possible. I started as a part-timer at a local one-hour lab after school but by my senior year..."

Gil did the math in his head. (Close to forty. Not too young, not too old.)

"I was full time." Jessie saw the query look that came over his face so she continued to explained, "Work program, it lets you get out of school early so you can go work. I was more interested in earning money than learning so the program fit me perfectly." She shrugged her shoulders, "I learned life lessons instead of book lessons, plus I got to see a lot of interesting pictures working in a lab." she ended with a mischievous smile.

"So why leave all that, for this?" He motioned to the entire lab area.

Jessie leaned closer to Gil as to tell him a secret, "Government jobs have great benefits."

"Well, I hope you find working here just as interesting." (As it will be a great benefit to see you everyday!) He mused.

"We'll see what develops. Sorry..." Jessie without thinking slapped his knee lightly "..that's an old darkroom joke." A blush crept across her cheeks as she realized what she had done. (Oops!)

Gil, not being use to playful touching, squirmed slightly on the stool but strangely he did not mind and he liked her playful personality. Wanting to sound hip, he blurted out, "I know one! It's better in the dark."

Jessie tried not to laugh but could not help it; his delivery tickled her funny bone. "I think you meant to quote the bumper sticker darkroom techs do it in the dark' and for your information, that's confidential."

Jessie watches to see how he would take her teasing. (I shouldn't do this on my first day, but he started it and damn he's getting cuter looking by the minute.)

Gil's cheeks were becoming redder than Jessie's, (I wish I could think of a good come back.) but his quick wit usually disappeared around a pretty woman. "Thank you for the correction." Was all he could say about the mis-quote. Normally he hated losing his
composure, especially at work, but seeing the rosey color in her cheeks and now a heartwarming smile that could melt metal, his anxiety eased.

A long moment passed as they sat in the lab smirking at each other. Gil came back to earth and broke the silence, "Do you have any questions?"

It was too late, the long pause allowed Jessie see through to his true intent; he didn't want to know about her job qualifications he wanted to know more about her. She knew this game well, but didn't expect it from him a mature professional.' There are not many men, especially in Vegas that she would bother to play the game with. Yet something was different about him. (He seems nice, sincere, a little shy, this could make coming to work fun...Oh what the hell let's play!)

"Yes, I have a couple of questions. Christopher said since this is his lab and since I report directly to him, if he leaves me work from the day-shift I must finish that first before starting on the night shift's. Is that true?"

(That lazy prick!) "No, you might report to him but you work for us and if he gives you any trouble let me know and I'll straighten him out." (First it was Ecklie, now Christopher.)

"Ok, I don't think it will be a problem." (So there's a little territorial action going on in this place, day Vs night)

Eager to keep the conversation going Gil continued, "Next question."

(Dr. Gil better put your glove on its time to play ball!) Jessie leaned back in the chair, put her mischievous smile back on and started in, "Soo, what kind of a doctor are you?"

"I have a Ph.D. in Forensic Entomology."

"Really! You're a bug guy, how interesting." Jessie laid on the charm.

Gil felt a warm surge race through his body at her excitement, most women either didn't know or were immediately turned off by the mention of bugs. "That's one way to put it. You know most people don't like insects."

Jessie leaned toward him as she jumped in, "That's because most people don't understand how important they are to the ecosystem, the big picture, you know Mother Earth. If it weren't for them, we would be buried a mile deep in debris."

Gil nodded in agreement. (Wow, it's official, I'm smitten, anyone who can see the good in insects is all right with me.)

"Soo, if I have a insect in my garden that I can't ID, I can bring it to you?"

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to assist." Gil beamed with pride, (Finally, someone to talk entomology with, a very attractive someone at that.) "What kind of garden do you have?"

"I grow organic veggies, herbs and flowers. It's not large but I get more than I can eat by myself."

"You can grow vegetables in a desert?"

"Yes I can, it's not hard once you know which varieties and when to grow them, you've got to know the secrets. But it is well worth it, healthy food, great taste and its quite a rewarding hobby. You've never gardened?"

"No, but I like to eat." Just then a beeper rang out; Gil quickly grabbed it to shut it up. Looking down he recognized the number, no big deal but he would have to leave and end his time with Jessie. "Sorry, duty calls. Did you have any other questions about work?"

"No, I don't think so." (Guess we have to put the game on hold.)

Jessie gave him one more going over just to verify he was worth playing the game with. She would have to be careful, with those blue eyes of his; she always was a sucker for guys with blue eyes but add a little gray hair and an angelic smile, she could find herself in trouble, and God knows she didn't want to repeat the past.

"Well if you come up with any more feel free to call or stop by my office, I'd be more than happy to talk with you." Gil gave a quick smile and got up from the stool. Putting it back where he found it, he turned back toward Jessie. He hated to leave; he was enjoying their interaction as it was refreshing. Not one to sit and shoot the breeze he thought he did very well especially with someone he had just met. "Don't forget to take your breaks, see ya."

Jessie watched him the whole time, swiveling the chair to keep him in her sights. "I won't." As he was almost out the door she got the last word in "See ya."

Jessie did bother to look at the clock to see what time it was, it did not matter she was hungry and she could feel her blood sugar level dropping. The energy bar she had eaten hour ago did nothing but made her more hungry. She grabbed her cooler containing her dinner, put up a sign indicating when she'd be back and headed out to find the breakroom

The breakroom was empty yet Jessie still sat at the back table. She was almost finished with her dinner when she watched a young man in a blue lab coat bounce in. With that spiked hair she surmised he must be one of the characters.'

Greg did not see Jessie in the corner until he had grabbed a soda can from the refrigerator and swung it shut as he spun himself around to leave. (Whoa ! Babe alert !) Greg waltzed over to the table and slid into the seat next to Jessie. "Hellooo, I'm Greg Sanders, DNA Specialist Extraordinaire." As he extended his hand, "And you are??"

Jessie took his hand, "I'm Jessie West, Photo Lab Tech...Extraordinaire." then snatched her hand back.

"Are you new? Well, of course you're new, at least to the night shift. Are you a permanent replacement for Tom? Did you come from the day shift? When did you start? Who have you met so far?" Greg rattled off the questions so fast Jessie had to raise her hands to indicate timeout' "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes."

"I started this evening and hopefully I'm permanent since I quit my old job."

"That's great, great. Hey do you like music? If you do, I got a bitch'n stereo system in my lab. You got to come and hear it."

What interested Jessie was the permission to have a boombox in the lab. "So we can have stereos?"

"Oh yeah, do you think I would work here if I could not have my tunes? No way! Hey, what's the first concert you ever went to?" He hoped this might tell him what type of music she liked so he could have it on hand.

Jessie leaned back into her chair and pondered for a moment, "It was either Boston or Journey, not sure since they played around the same time that summer. What can I say, I just love a screaming electric guitar."

Greg was puzzled by the name of bands, how old was she? "What year did you graduate?"

"1980"

Greg sat and calculated the numbers. (No, that's impossible, she doesn’t look that old.) He must verify this information, "What college did you go to?"

"I never said college, I graduated high school in 1980."

(That's better, at least it knocked off four more years. Still, ahh an older woman. It has possibilities.) Greg searched his memory banks for another topic.

Jessie finished her dinner with the thought this is one guy who should not be allowed to drink caffeine or eat sugar.

"So were you like one of those disco queens I heard of, you know, Saturday Night Fever?" He poked his index fingers into the air.

Jessie laughed as she rocked her chair back and forth on its two back legs and shook her head. "Far from it, I was just the total opposite, I hated that music." She leaned closer to him, "Have you ever heard of Disco Demolition'?"

"No, am I missing something?"

"You never heard the story about the riot that caused the White Soxs to forfeit a game? It's a sports legend." Greg shook his head no.

As the two talked, Grissom entered the breakroom looking for coffee. Finding the pot empty, he had a choice; leave and look somewhere else; or, stay and make more. Having seen Jessie in the room, he went about cleaning the pot and prepared a new batch. While taking his time, he tried to hear what Greg and Jessie were talking about. (Another clue, the White Soxs, Chicago, that's where she is from.) He heard a slight accent while talking with her, but could not place what part of the Mid-West she came from. He leaned against the wall pretending to read the file he was holding as he waited for the
coffee to brew.

Jessie explained to the younger man, "It was the summer of '79 and in-between a double-header, a local radio DJ was going to blow up disco records in the outfield. My boyfriend and I went, there was no way we were going to miss this. We even made up T-shirts that said Disco Sucks' on the front. For weeks they promoted the event and encouraged everyone to bring disco records, they ended up with a mountain of them."

Jessie was now waving her hands in the air, "Ka Boom!! Those fricking records exploded at least a hundred feet in the air!"

As much as he tried to look engrossed with his documents, Gil's slight eye shifting towards them gave him away.

Jessie saw he was listening and started to embellish just a little. "They were all over the place, it was a huge mess, the smoke was so thick and it just hung there on the field. Everyone went crazy and started to run onto the field then. Of course my boyfriend had to join in and dragged me with him, so here I am running around Comiskey Park in little cutoff blue jeans, a white T-shirt and tennis shoes trying to dodge the security guys and police. Ha, my boyfriend got caught and I was this close..."

Jessie held her two fingers just an inch apart, "..to getting arrested, when this older guy grabbed my arm just in time and helped me get out of the ballpark. Ahh, Vincent, he was 25, tall, dark and handsome plus he drove a black Trans Am, but that's another story. Needless to say they could not clean up the mess for the second game, thus a forfeit."

Gil should never have stayed and waited for the coffee. Listening to Jessie's story created a visual image that started to have unwanted effects on him. All he could see was a very young Jessie in a wet T-shirt, running around on a hot, steamy night. He tried to concentrate on the words before him but his mind was too busy searing this image into his memory so it could be used the next time he masturbated. He had to get back to his office ASAP.

Jessie all the while watched his body language as he squirmed against the wall she mused to herself. (This is too easy.) She took pity on him. (Hardball isn't his game, better switch to softball.)

Greg was in awe, he turned toward Grissom and yelled, "Griss, did you hear that? We have a juvenile delinquent working here!"

(Damn!) All he wanted to do was leave and now Greg was trying to pull him into this conversation. "Greg, you shouldn't talk about yourself so disparagingly." Grissom shot back as he look over his glasses and glared at the young man with the all to common Shut up Greg' look.

Undaunted Greg went on, "No, Jessie! Hey, why didn't you tell us Jessie was starting today?"

Jessie watched the exchange of the two men; Gil's demeanor was so very different than earlier, when he entered the breakroom he avoided any contact or discussion. She surmised he was a very private person and any future game playing should probably be done in private.

Grissom finally poured his long waited for cup of coffee, "First, I would say Ms. West is far from being a juvenile and second I didn’t want spoil your surprise." As he headed toward the door he paused and turned to Jessie, "Ms. West, you might want to be.."

Jessie finished his thought, "Yeah, he's a real character." Gil's serious expression gave way to a slight smile and his eyes twinkled at the implied mind-connection between them. Jessie's slight nod indicated she had read his mind.

"Yeah." Was all he could expel before a wave of terror gripped him, what else did she know he was thinking. He hurried to his office, closed the door behind him and fell into his chair. God, what was happening to him? His heart was racing again as erotic images swirled around his head. He had a nice relaxing vacation and had looked forward to coming back to work but now it felt like he had entered the Twilight Zone.

He looked at the coffee cup and shoved it as far as possible away from him as if to say, it's all your fault.' The last thing he now needed was hot coffee, he was so horny, he was burning up. He needed a cold shower or even a cool drink of water, but the fountain seemed so far away. With his elbows on his desk he sank his head into his hands, maybe instead of reading so much on vacation he would have been better off finding a hooker. He had to get his mind out of the gutter, he needed a new case, something else to focus on, anything to get him out of the building and make him snap-to.

Meanwhile Jessie was getting up to leave when the three younger CSI's entered the breakroom. "Greg, aren't your going to introduce us to your friend?" The two males walked up to the table as the female kept walking to the refrigerator.

Reluctantly Greg pointed to each man, "This is Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes and that's Sara Sidle over there. This is Jessie West the new photo lab tech." He said proudly to show he was in the know' when it came to the office. "They're CSI's but we know who really does all the crime busting work here." His finger pointed back and forth to
himself and Jessie.

Pleasantries and handshakes were exchanged with the two men then Jessie started for the door.

Greg shouted, "Jessie, aren't you going to come and hear my stereo?"

"Not tonight, I've got too much work."

"What are you talking about, it's dead tonight."

"Well they must have been alive at some time cause I'm swamped. Catch you guys later."

As Jessie left the two men sat down next to Greg. Sara, not wanting to have anything to do with the Jessie worship' session that was about to begin, mentioned she was going out for dinner and asked if they wanted anything. They all waved her off which just irritate her even more.

TBC
Chapter Two, Getting To Know You