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"So," Archie says, leaning in the doorway of the DNA lab all cool and casual-like, the laughter evident in his voice, "I hear you and Stokes have a relationship."
Greg doesn't look up, doesn't react at all because that would certainly give him away. But he's glad he's alone and he wishes Archie would come in out of the hallway before someone walks by and overhears him. There are a lot of A and B conversations people seem to see their way into around the lab and Greg would really prefer this not be one of them. When he first started the whole thing, he thought that Nick would be a little more observant than he is, given, say, what the man does for a living. But he's painfully obtuse -- either that or he's not interested, but Greg always thought Nick was the kind of guy who'd pull him aside and let him down easy if he knew, so Greg's banking on the first option. And he's pretty sure he's right, but that's the problem: you can't catch the attention of the most oblivious guy in the place without catching everybody else's attention, too.
"Yeah, Arch," Greg replies dismissively, just because Archie hates being called Arch more than Hodges hates being called Davey. "Nick and I have a relationship. We work a lot of cases together."
Archie scoffs and Greg finally looks over at him, giving him the eyebrow. "The flash-flooded hiker? The fetish club murder? The scuba diver up a tree? Old Pet Sematary lady?" He pauses. "Seems like I'm forgetting one...hm. Oh, must be the bus case. I was out in the field and you were -- where, now? Oh, right. In the lab."
"Hey," Archie says, "I was out on that one, too. And I didn't fubar it like you did."
Archie's right, but it's playing dirty. Greg doesn't really mind, though; he's a master at playground politics. "Yeah, but you were still processing evidence, Archie. I was processing the scene." To two wannabe CSIs who'd give anything to be out in the field, it makes all the difference. "With Nick, it's all about the right person for the job," he continues. "Remember that next time he picks me instead of you, because apparently my worst fubar is better than your best job." Greg smiles sweetly and after a moment without a response, Archie turns and heads back to his lab. If he wants to play king of the hill with Greg, well, he's just going to have get used to losing.
He's hardly disappeared when Greg hears the familiar sound of boots in the hallway. "Hey, Nick," he says, stepping out into the hallway and motioning him into the lab. The smile on Nick's face when he sees Greg means something, even if Nick doesn't know it yet, and Greg resolves to take this A and B conversation and personally see to it that it becomes something else entirely.