Basement – Trace Lab

[Tony]

His brown eyes stared intently down at the slide he had just pulled out from the microscope and the trace evidence that had been carefully scraped from the crime scene and then sandwiched between the slide and the clear material above it, effectively trapping it in place. “Well, that’s one down, twenty eight more to check…” Tony announced softly to the empty room at large, placing the slide to the left side and taking the next one from the right. Perhaps he would be more luck with slide number two.

Tony paused in his work, glancing down to his watch and the small date that was visible there. He had almost forgotten… it had been a month now and while Tony was honestly sad his mother was dead, he would have been lying if he claimed the time had been particular hard or that it had weighed on his mind for hours at a time. The CSI had done his mourning for her a long time ago and although he regretted her passing, regretted the manner of her death and regretted that he would never have the chance to ask her some of the questions that had lingered in his mind, he didn’t truly regret loosing her. She was simply a stranger he knew by name instead of his actual mother.

With a brisk shake, Tony blinked a couple of times, tearing his eyes away from the watch and focusing back on his work. It was hardly stimulating but it needed to be done.

[Roxanne]

Continued from: Basement - CSI Locker Room

The heels of her feminine boots should have been enough to herald her approach, but just to be safe, Roxanne made sure to knock instead of simply hollering for Tony. She hated startling him, although he did tend to look quite adorable when caught off guard. All wide-eyed behind his glasses -- too cute, really.

"Hey, Fox," she greeted with a dimpled smile. One hand gripped the doorframe and she leaned into the room. "Pack it up -- we're gettin' outta here."

[Tony]

“W-what?” Tony stammered, slightly flustered by her appearance. He looked down at the slide he was still holding and then back at her, mind struggling to kick into gear. Tony knew it was late and that most of the other CSI’s on the shift had already packed up and gone home but he’d been caught up in pushing through the backlog of trace, finally in a mood to really get some work done and hadn’t wanted to waste it by just leaving. It wasn’t as though the overtime pay would be painful.

“I wait – go where?” Suddenly suspicious, he carefully put down the slide, already knowing that if Roxie put her mind to it, he’d go along with anything she wanted. She didn’t need to know that however and Tony was happy with it staying that way for the time being at least. That still didn’t explain what she wanted with him and where they were supposed to be going; he’d not missed something had he?

[Roxanne]

Roxanne, oblivious to Tony's flustered state, just gave a bright laugh. "Come on," she 'whined' as she stormed in and -- after pulling on a rubber glove -- snatched the slide from her fellow CSI. "You're not spending another night down here -- we've got a shindig to go to. The Riveras, remember?"

Of course, she didn't exactly expect Tony to remember because he tended to keep his head down, when social events were concerned. Nonetheless, Roxie was determined that she would drag his introverted ass out of this lab, even if she had to carry him. Which would be difficult, but she was stubborn, dammit.

"Our presence has been requested -- demanded, really -- and you are not backing out of this. So there."

[Tony]

Well, he was doomed. Tony had realised in an abstract sort of fashion that he was doomed from the moment she stepped through the door and that he was going to do whatever she wanted. But then she laughed and he suddenly realised exactly how doomed he was, the bottom of his stomach dropping out from him as his heart pounded away. There was little Tony wouldn’t do to hear her laugh like that again, so long as it remained with him and not at him.

He looked sideways at the row of slides still waiting to be tested before exhaling lightly, giving a shake of his head. The work would still be there in the morning, Tony supposed, carefully moving them from the table and returning them to their proper place. “Okay, okay, you got me.” And in more ways than one although the second half of his sentence remained unspoken. “Demanded eh?” He rather suspected she was the one in demand, not him, but Tony wasn’t going to quibble over details, giving her one of his soft, warm smiles and he peeled off his double gloves.

[Roxanne]

Tony's gentle smile was contagious and Roxie caught on as she rifled carefully through the slides, trying to find the right spot for the one she currently held. "Yes, demanded," she reiterated. "Everyone is drinking to the Riveras' help and all are invited. I figured you'd be down here, and working entirely too hard, so I'm kidnapping you."

With the slide set away, she snapped off the latex glove and flung it in the nearest rubbish bin, once again smiling at Tony. Timid as he was, Roxanne was still drawn to him, if only due to his unbelievably sweet nature. She was quite sure there were plenty of other people within the precinct -- besides Mike -- who found Tony undeniably pleasant; he was kind of hard not to like.

"I want to see you at my car in five minutes. Capiche?"

[Tony]

He knew when he had lost an argument – not that is had been an argument but rather determination on her part and a show of resistance on his and so Tony nodded, pulling his gloves off with a snap and cracking sound of white latex, before tossing the scrunched up pair into the bin next to him. He liked the Riveras’ and there was certainly nothing wrong with having a drink or two, watching the louder and more boisterous members of the group make good natured fools of themselves.

“As you wish Roxie.” Tony would like to think that people liked him, it was one of the reasons why he strove to be friendly to everyone and one of his better traits, along with his near unflappability. He could only hope it cancelled out his introverted behaviour most of the time; a behaviour that sadly became more marked and noticeable when in the presence of the stunning blond CSI standing in the room with him.

[Roxanne]

'As you wish.' Roxie was suddenly reminded of Westley from The Princess Bride and it was enough to rend another bright laugh from her. "All right, good," she returned with a wink before turning to make her exit. "I'll be waiting."

She certainly hoped that Tony would enjoy going out with the rest of the precinct. His introversion was something that he was rather well-known for and the last thing Roxanne wanted to do was cause him any discomfort. Obviously, if Tony wanted to leave, she'd take him home.

After trying to get him to have fun, of course.

Continued at: Station Parking Lot[/i]

[Tony]

Tony would never claim to be Westley; the man was far more brave and determined to do what had to be done no matter what than he could he could be, but as cliché as it was, he rather thought Roxie could rival Buttercup in the beauty skates. He blinked a little, forcing his mind away from the children’s book – his aunt had been a big fan of that sort of thing and had always insisted on reading at least a chapter a week to him, something he rather suspected was for her own benefit more than his own – and back to Roxie, giving a nervous little jerk of his head as she left.

Five minutes. Tony drew in a quick, shallow little breath, fighting to keep himself calm. He could do this and easily. He’d spent time alone with Roxie plenty of times; admittedly they’d mostly been when working on a case but it wasn’t as though they were going be alone for a long time. Just one short car ride and then there would be the whole precinct. He couldn’t tell if he was overall relived or disappointed about that fact, nervously smothering down his shirt before heading to the door and light switch.

Continued at: Station Parking Lot