Beyond Thy Sight
by Lahara
A/N: Hello CSI fans, and any fans of mine that might have stumbled upon this. Yes, my third fanfiction, I know. I'm planning more work on The Lost Commodore and haven't given it up I swear! However, this story got under my skin during vacation and I had to write it down. CSI has become another one of my recent addictions, more and more so since I'm actually learning the science behind it. That coupled with the fact George Eads and Eric Szmanda has been making far too many appearances in my dreams.
I've been flipping through alot of Nick/OC and Greg/OC stories, but few appease my particular taste. Not that they are bad, just not what I'm looking for. Add in that I'm not a fan of slash (sorry, just not my thing) and I figured Greg and Nick need some loving, seperatly and with the female of the species!! There is no bashing in this story, and I'm hoping for it to follow in some chronological order. It starts off from episode 2x17 Felonius Monk and will continue from there.
I want to explain something before you read... if this is your first time. The supernatural theme in this story is in truth a crossover from an RPG called ' CJ Carella's Witchcraft', a mostly out of print pen and paper game. The reason I wanted to mix this with CSI is because 'Witchcraft' is basically in modern day but hads a relativly unknown supernatural subworld... those of you familiar with the 'World of Darkness' of White Wolf fame will find this similar. Basically summed up: there is magic, vampires, ghosts, demons and so on... but the majority of the world doesn't realize it. Some people are "gifted" with metaphysical powers who know about this underworld, and some don't who have any gifts are still trapped in it. In this reguard the main character is "special" while compared to an average, ungifted human, but there are people and beings out there which are far more powerful than her.
Plus, if this story could have a third theme, it would be Humor. Romance, humor, and supernatural themes are all important in this story, but humor seems more a style choice than a theme. So for the sake of priority, I put Supernatural and Romance. There will also be other themes woven into the story, but aren't as prevalent as the three listed.
Also, when you're done, please read the author's note on the bottom for a few more things I want to clarify. That's it, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or have any rights to it what-so-ever. This is a work of fiction based on the show created by Anthony E. Zuiker who, if he so wishes, can have me hired as an additional writer for the show. Hey, I can dream, can't I? Morgan Findley is a character of my own creation.
"Nyahh!!"
Morgan Findlay winced in pain, her brow creasing and face scrunching in the sudden reaction. She pressed her palm to her forehead and tried to rub away the ache left by the initial searing flash.
Her fellow trace lab techs looked up from his work on the GCMS with a slightly raised eyebrow. "You alright, Findlay?"
"Uhhh?" She looked up and fixed her glasses that got slightly skewed. She looked up to Vincent, mostly due to her modest 5'5" height, and blinked a few times with her deep, expressive brown eyes. "Um… yeah… I… I think I just have a migraine coming on. A really… really bad migraine."
The tech, Vincent looked back down to the monitor, flicking a pen back and forth between his fingers. "Mm…. better take something for it. Having a migraine while staring at the microspectrophotometer might make your brain want to melt."
The corner of her mouth turned up slightly as she stood. She pushed back a strand of dark brown hair that had slipped away from her ponytail and retorted, "I'll have to remember that next time I ask for vacation time."
As she left Vincent called after her. "You have your sense of humor, you'll be fine."
Morgan chuckled, rubbing her temples as she forced the flashes to the back of her brain. The pain was only one burden of carrying the gift. This always happened whenever there was a strong disturbance, the negative vibrations carrying outwards from a particularly horrible incident like a shockwave. There wasn't much she could do though, just wait it out until the crime was discovered and eventually passed through the lab. Whenever she touched those pieces of evidence, even with her latex gloves she could feel the volatile energy pulsing under it.
After getting some homemade medicine from her locker she sat down in the break room trying to avoid the coffee. Since caffeine reduces levels adenosine activity, it causes an increase in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. For most people it made that desired stimulated feeling, but for Morgan it made her synapses a little too receptive to fluctuations in energy. Instead she placed her homemade medicine, a special mixture of tea and herbs, in a coffee cup and grabbed the hot water pot.
The steam that escaped as she poured the hot water relieved her senses a bit more and her shoulders drooped in relaxation. As Morgan replaced the pot and watched the brown swirls of steeped water mingle with clear, her gift tingled in its heightened state of awareness. She could feel Catherine upset over something, it wasn't over her daughter and felt like an old sting buried in her. Nick and Warrick were somewhere close to one another, both feeling relaxed. Greg was in a playful mood, as per usual. Grissom was concentrating on something and Sara was, for lack of better word, muddled. There was something else, some other presence tickling her mind. She quickly started drinking her tea, the vapors even aiding in unwinding her mind.
She wasn't terribly close to her co-workers, having only started a month ago. In fact, she knew the others better through what their auras told her than any exchanged words. Vincent sometimes referred to Morgan by last name only teasingly after she first called him "Mr. Jemison," and they had developed a playful friendship after the third week. Greg would flirt with her but seemed to do that with the other female techs too, so she just passed it off as too many hormones and not genuine interest. Archie and she found similar interests in video games after she gushed over his handheld and spent a whole break debating over computer vs. console gaming.
Morgan left the break room passing by Mandy, one of the fingerprint techs, who gave her a smile as she made her way back to her lab. She took a turn, getting closer to her destination before something made her stop short. Four monks stood there, all of them wearing orange robes with their heads shaved, hands clasped in front. The all turned and regarded her, solemn faces. But there was something off, and she knew it. She slowly walked towards them, her eyes locked on them with curiosity. Were they what she felt before? No, that was a disturbance and felt wrong, while now she only felt peace and serenity. She felt her third eye open without her guidance and was greeted by four brilliant white auras.
The intensity made her knees buckle in surprise and the initial brilliance faded a bit. Now she could see them clearly for what they really were; their faded auras though a brilliant white still showed that they were dead. They seemed so at peace though, so ready to move on and not tied to the material realm. She took a step forwards and held out her empty hand a bit as everything fell into place.
'That's what I felt. They died. Maybe they knew I felt it… But they're ready to go back to source. Just go… don't stay here because of me.'
Slowly their forms became perfect white light once more, until they were nothing but points of light. She saw a flash of an image behind her eyes of a temple, and as suddenly as Morgan came across them, they vanished. She felt wetness on her cheeks and touched them to find tears. It all made her cry and yet she knew they were more at peace than any others in this very building. She downed the rest of her medicine quickly, feeling its warmth spread through her chest quickly.
Morgan slowly re-entered the trace lab, Vincent looking up to her as she stepped inside. "Hey Findley, you okay now?"
"Yeah… I'm okay I just… an eyelash turned inwards and irritated my eye a bit." She had wiped the tears off her face before coming back, but her eyes still betrayed her with wateriness.
She tossed the empty coffee cup into the trash and started working fervently to get through the leftover batch of trace that day shift had bestowed upon her. The faster Morgan got through it, the more prepared she could be when the monk's case reached her lab.
Morgan pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, stifling a yawn. It was only several hours into her shift, but she was getting tired from her relentless pace. Vincent had left for a break, and since she had gotten bored waiting for anything from the graveyard shift to drop something off she had been breaking into his pile. Vincent didn't complain, but just gave her a worried look.
Suddenly Catherine came in holding an empty evidence bag and a bloody knife in her hands, with Greg close on her heels. Morgan looked up in surprise, turning in her chair to face the two of them.
"Um… hi Catherine. Hi Greg. Can I help you two?" She adjusted her glasses that had slipped a bit down her nose and looked back and forth between them.
Catherine stepped over to the younger woman and motioned to another table in the lab. "Mind if I borrow your ALS?"
"Sure… need help?" Morgan moved over to the light switch for the ceiling lights and turned it off.
"No, that's alright. I don't want to interrupt you." She gave a weak smile as Morgan nodded and turned on the ALS, causing orange light to fill the room. She could feel that this object held a great deal of importance to Catherine, so she moved away not to get under her toes.
"Yeah we'll try to work quietly." Greg smiled charmingly as Morgan squirmed past him to her station.
As she sat down she raised an eyebrow at Greg. "Speaking of work, don't you have your own lab, Sanders?"
"Well how can I resist being around two lovely ladies of forensics?" Greg flashed his trademark Sanders grin, to which only got a twitching of an eyebrow from Morgan.
He quickly got nervous under Morgan's silence, and Morgan only crossed her arms over her chest and waited for a real answer. It didn't take long before Greg spilled, "I'm helping Catherine with an old case."
"See Greg? That didn't hurt." Morgan smiled warmly at him and turned back to her microscope.
Greg looked over to Catherine who was now examining the knife under the ALS. "Did I miss something?" he asked.
"You see that?" Catherine answered, turning the blade slightly under the light.
Greg got closer to Catherine to examine the knife from next to her. "It's blood. That's a weak sample. That's probably why Ecklie took the thicker one."
"Fifteen years ago, we figured, why light up something you can't analyze in the first place?" Catherine looked over to Greg.
Greg looked back to her for a moment before returning his eyes to the blade. "Yeah, except now, we can replicate DNA a million times, even from the most minute sample of blood."
She set down the bloody knife on the table. "Priority." Catherine made for the door. "Let me know what you find out."
Greg turned after her she passed and responded with eyes locked on the blade. "Yes ma'am."
Greg started to reach for something on the table that wasn't there, and then looked around the room, realizing he wasn't in his own lab. He sheepishly stepped over to Morgan and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ummm… Morgan… where do you keep your swabs?"
She smiled at his sudden shyness, actually preferring it over his outlandish behavior at the moment. "Sure."
She stood and went over to one of the tables that had many drawers built into it, sliding out one such drawer and producing a swab. Morgan held it out to Greg, who wrapped his fingers around it, but she didn't let go just yet. "You know Greg, you don't have to flirt with every girl in the lab to get them to like you. I know you're not exactly the calm, quiet kind of guy but… it really puts off women if you flirt with them and all the rest like they're just TNA to you."
He tilted his head a bit, raising his eyebrows as Morgan let go of the swab and went back over to her microscope. He stood there for a moment, blinking before he spoke up in a hushed tone. "But I like women…"
"Yeah… and I like men. But for women it's hard to tell if you're being sincere if you treat them like that. They like to know they're important to you." She pulled out her clipboard and pen, and without another word resumed her work.
It took Greg a few moments of contemplation before he went over to the bloody knife and started his work for Catherine. Soon he replaced the knife in the evidence bag, resealing it and thanking Morgan before he left. She just smiled to herself softly as he thanked her, trying to ignore the faint tint that had developed in his cheeks. He quickly headed back to his lab to run the new DNA.
Some time later Morgan finally took a break. Well, Vincent had just about shoved her out of the lab and shut the door behind her. He insisted that she eat something and relax before returning to work. She insisted she was fine but eventually relented. Now she was eating her brown bagged lunch and sipping peppermint tea.
Nick Stokes came in, holding a case file in his hands. He smiled at Morgan before heading over to the fridge. She smiled politely with her mouth shut, since she had just taken a bite of her gyro. Yes, she actually made her own gyro at home.
She currently felt far too confidant then she would normally allow, with the aid of finally getting through to Greg and the comfort of her peppermint tea. Certainly two conversations in one day with her fellow co-workers wouldn't kill her. She swallowed a bite of gyro she had been working on and took a sip of tea before speaking up. "Working through lunch, Stokes?"
He smirked a bit, pulling out a deli sandwich from the refrigerator and setting both down on her table to get some coffee. "Yep. You don't have to call me by my last name, y'know."
"Yeah but… I don't really know you much." Morgan pointed out before taking another bite.
"Well… call me Nick then… and I'll call you Morgan." He filled a coffee cup and replaced the pot on the burner. He sat down across from her and started to unwrap his hero.
"I'll keep that in mind, Nick." She wiped her mouth and cleaned a bit of the lamb's meat juices that had trickled onto her fingers with a napkin.
"Is that… is that a gyro? Where did you pick that up?"
"I made it. Found some lamb slices in a supermarket and figured, what the heck." She held it out to him. "Here, it's not bad. I got cucumber sauce and everything on it."
He laughed a bit. "I'm not going to eat your lunch right after exchanging names."
"Aww c'mon. Be a man. I'm not sick or anything." She waved it back and forth teasingly. Yes she definitely was far too confidant in the moment, but it was actually kinda fun. "If it makes you feel better I'll take a bite of your sub."
Nick smiled wider and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from swinging the food around. "Awright awright. But if I get strep throat or something, you're going to pay me to make up my sick days."
"Fair enough. Just don't go licking any old pennies to try and get sick on purpose."
He leaned forward in his seat a bit, taking a big bite from her gyro. He managed to keep his eyes on Morgan, making her feel like they were participating in something forbidden.
'Agghh… this man is too sexy for it to be legal.' Morgan mentally fumed as he chewed her lunch. Damn that peppermint tea, all soothing and putting her in this position.
"Hey I said a bite, not a canyon!" She lashed out her sexual frustration in a faux mortified retort towards Nick.
"Mmm… that is good." He let go of her wrist slowly, and as the last digit trailed off her skin Morgan felt light explode being her eyes.
It wasn't like she received such sexual bliss from his mere touch, as nice as it was. Just something triggered like a bit of a warning light that blinks before the alarm starts blaring. Strange thing was, it was coming from Nick but it didn't match his aura.
It took her a moment before she set back down her gyro. Nick was absorbed in unwrapping the last bits of wax paper from his sandwich and didn't notice the change in her demeanor.
"I hope you don't mind a meatball hero, 'cause that's what I got." He held out half of it to her. "I mean, I figure fair is fair."
"Huh?" Morgan looked up to him slightly dazed. "No that's fine… just better have mozzarella cheese on it."
She smile weakly and took a bite of his sandwich while Nick started working on the other half. It tasted decent enough, but she preferred her gyro far better. Morgan replaced it on his wax paper and sat up straight.
"Nick… um… is everything okay?" she asked while examining his face.
He swallowed a sip of coffee and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah… I'm fine. Why?"
Morgan waved her hand dismissively and picked up her gyro. "It's nothing… just a funny feeling in my gut."
He frowned a bit, marinara sauce dripping from the end of the half a sub in his hands. "I don't make you uncomfortable… do I?"
She coughed as he said that, having partially swallowed a bit of her lunch the wrong way. God he did, but not in a way she was willing to admit to so quickly. She cleared her throat and took a sip of tea before gasping for air. "No… God no… it's not that. I just get funny feelings sometimes… maybe it's the case you're on." She looked down a bit. "Sorry… I didn't mean to weird you out."
A slow smile crept over Nick's lips. "Nah… not at all." His smile made Morgan blush a bit and fix her gaze on her gyro. While fiddling with a loose piece of lettuce she chastised herself for behaving like a teenager, but Nick's smile and low Texas drawl seemed to bring it out in her.
He sighed after taking another bite of his hero and resumed talking. "This case is a bit of a weird one though, you got that right. I mean… who shoots Buddhist monks in a temple?"
She couldn't stop her head from snapping up. "Monks? That's the case you're on?"
"Yeah… it's weird too 'cause… it's like they're too trusting or something. I'm finding too many things that don't fit yet."
Morgan realized she was bunching her napkin into a tight ball and relaxed her hand. She took a long sip of peppermint tea to steady herself before speaking up. "If you're not sure about anything you can swing by the lab and I'll see if I can help. I finished the dump swing shift left for Vincent and me so it won't be a problem."
"You're working yourself too hard." Nick took a large bite of his sandwich.
She sighed slowly and put down her gyro, trying to tuck it together tighter. "I just… I want to do more sometimes. This job… it's like you and the others who go into the field are trying to put together a jigsaw. First you have to find the pieces and when you do they're all bent and dirty. So you give them to me to fix them and make sense of them. Once the pieces are fixed you snatch them back and finish the puzzle. I did my part but I feel like I'm left out on the edge of the group."
"But we wouldn't know what to do if you didn't make it clear for us. You're not left out." Nick looked like he had a faint pout on his face. Sometimes he could be such an open book, and also adorable in the same instant.
"I know… but I feel… disconnected. I want to work in the field but..." she looked down and sighed. "It's too much to get into. I love my job but sometimes I want to do more… and doing more scares me."
He wiped his mouth before speaking. "You're scared of… seeing it all?"
Morgan gave a faint smirk, looking up to Nick with slightly wet eyes. He didn't know how it felt for her with her gift, all the pain and agony that surrounded crime scenes. How the recently dead howled and mourned, so lost and confused from being severed from their bodies.
"Something like that."
Morgan stretched, arching her back slightly as her vertebrae creaked under the movement. To top it off, she rolled her neck, rubbing the side with one hand and letting out a very audible creak.
Vincent winced a bit from his microscope. "Ewwff… you know I hate it when you do that."
"But it feels sooooo goooooodddd…." She pouted back at him playfully.
"No… it feels and sounds creepy." He flicked his pen back and forth then tapped it on his chin. "You know those shoulder massages you give are very effective. Try that."
"Hey, you were wincing in pain and stuck in a hunched over position that day. You keep this up you'll never get another one." Morgan leaned back in her chair before letting out a long yawn. "Aghh… what time is it?"
He glanced at the clock. "Daylight should be creeping up right around now."
Greg suddenly rushed into the lab, gripping a swab in his hand. "Can you guys process this for me? No, wait. Let me use the machine…"
"Is this going to form into a habit, Greg? Doing our work?" Greg looked up and rolled his eyes at Morgan. "I mean not that I mind... unless you're taking our samples…"
Vincent grinned and picked up a print-out, placing it into a folder. "Yeah… you know trace techs can be very territorial. Keep grabbing our work you might lose a hand."
"I'm running on a hunch here. Have a little intra-office comradeship." Greg glanced over his shoulder while preparing his sample. "Look… I think I know what this is but I need confirmation."
"Getting bored with DNA so soon?" Morgan leaned moved closer to him and tried to peek over his shoulder.
Greg finished preparing his sample, turning around with a devastating smirk. "Not in the least. Excuse me."
As he brushed past her Morgan blushed and adjusted her glasses. "Well I hope next time you have something for trace you leave it to us. I'm sure you wouldn't want us snatching DNA from you."
"For you? All you'd have to do is ask." Greg grinned a bit, but it faltered under Morgan's reaction. Her brows were drawn low in anger, but her eyes looked more sad than angry.
'Hardly a few hours and he still doesn't get it.' Morgan mentally huffed.
As she turned back to her work, Greg quickly finished putting the sample in mass spectrometer. He moved over to her, glancing up at Vincent who was busy working, then back down to Morgan.
He spoke very softly in her ear. "Actually… I was hoping that I could ask you something."
"Not today." She whispered back with harshness in her tone, trying to concentrate on what she was working on.
He bit his lower lip, pushed his latex covered hands into his pockets and audibly breathed out his mouth. "I just… want you to know I thought about what you said earlier."
Morgan gave a faint nod, but otherwise didn't respond. The two of them didn't speak, not even as the printer whirred to life and spewed out the results of Greg's evidence. He took the sheet and smiled, which faded a bit as he looked up to see her still hunched over her work.
"I'll um… see you guys later. Thanks again…"
"See you man." Vincent called after him as Greg left for Grissom's office. When Greg was out of ear shot he spoke up to his fellow trace lab tech. "Don't let him get to you, he's just nervous around you."
Morgan raised an eyebrow and peeked over to Vincent from her microscope. "Nervous? Around me?"
"Well… you can be a little tough to approach, Morgan. That and you should see the way he looks at you when you have your back turned." He smirked a bit and moved over to pick up another sample for testing.
"Come on… he doesn't…" She looked up to him, Vincent only smiling with a knowing look as he set a sample in the centrifuge. "You're for a real, huh? Well… he might give other girls the same look."
"Maybe… we'll just have to wait and see won't we? I've known Greg a bit longer then you don't forget. Besides… we don't hunt the evidence. We just analyze it."
She couldn't hold back a scoff. "I'm not going to stalk Greg just to know if he gives other girls "the look". It would be just easier to go on a date with someone else."
"Sorry Morgan…" Vincent held up his hands with a grin. "Got my eye on someone else. Though I hear Archie has been developing a bit of a crush on you…"
"See, Vince?" Morgan pointed a test tube at him accusingly. "This is why sometimes I can't stand sharing a lab with you. You're more of a gossip than most women I know."
Greg rolled his shoulders and paused in his examination of the chewing gum he had been processing for Grissom. He still felt tense, especially after his slight confrontation with Morgan.
'Stupid stupid stupid… why did I say that…' had popped into his head over and over since then. 'I was just joking… I wanted to make her laugh.'
It did feel good, however, when he had shown up Nick with the paintball sample. He didn't dislike Nick, just felt rather envious at all the females working here who would hold their breath as he walked by or flutter under his smile. Sure Greg made a few of his co-workers of the opposite sex blush and smile, well, save Morgan. He just seemed to upset her. Add in that he had seen her chatting comfortably with Nick, it made his oneupmanship all the sweeter. It was childish, he realized, just like Morgan said.
He hung his head, rubbing his eyes slowly that were starting to sting a bit. He felt hands rest on his shoulders and jumped slightly in his seat. They started to rub his aching muscles and he relaxed a bit, turning to see who it was to get another surprise.
"Mm- Morgan! Hey… um… not that I'm complaining but… what are you doing?" Greg felt his pulse flutter a bit but tried to smile a bit.
Morgan smiled a bit, taking a step back. "Well… you looked tense and I have been told to possess magic fingers. That and you're not the only one who can sneak into other people's labs."
Greg smiled like a boy getting a puppy on Christmas day. After a bit he realized he was staring at her and looked down at his feet, swallowing a bit to hide his embarrassment and trying to stuff down his usual Greg-like comments. Morgan cleared her throat a bit, intertwining her fingers together.
She finally spoke up. "So how was your hunch? Doesn't seem to have slowed the tide of work you have to process."
His head shot up quickly. "It was dead on. Case breaker… well… in my opinion anyway. Nick didn't appreciate being shown up but… eh… can't win them all."
He grinned and Morgan smiled a bit back, shaking her heads. "Boys just love to compete huh? Well I guess that's earned you at least a bit of a shoulder massage."
"Oh please… don't let me stop you fair mistress of the magic fingers." Greg wiggled his fingers before turning around.
"Yeah but… no boasting about this, we clear? This is an earned treat and I'm still the new girl. I'm a lab tech, not a masseuse." She flexed her fingers and started working on the knots that had developed in the back of Greg's neck.
"My lips are sealed. Hmmmm… that is great though."
"Lips aren't sealed, Greg."
"Mmhmm!!"
Morgan shook her head and started working her thumbs in slow circles over the base of his neck, the rest of her fingers loosening the levator scapulae muscle. "You know… we really don't talk much."
"Mmm?"
Her thumbs slid down and started to work on the trapezius muscle over the scapula. "I mean besides all the times you flirted with me."
"Eeemm…"
"I mean… I even got to know Archie and Mandy a bit, but not you."
"Mmm mmm."
"Greg you can answer me with words you know."
"Sorry… keeping my lips sealed. Didn't want you to stop."
Morgan smacked him in the shoulder. "Greg!" She couldn't help letting a giggle escape before covering her mouth.
He smiled, a bit triumphantly and turned to face her. "Made you laugh."
She nodded and smiled. "Yeah… well… you're crazy."
"Have breakfast with me."
Morgan blinked a few times, her smile fading away. She tilted her head a bit and looked at him.
Greg looked down, then back up to her with sincere brown eyes. "I… that's what I wanted to ask you before. I'm sorry about what I said it's just… I dunno. I wasn't being a jerk, I just wanted to make you laugh. I never heard you laugh before… well… until now." He smiled a bit shyly. "It's a nice laugh."
Morgan started wringing her hands a bit. "Breakfast? Um… as friends though, right?"
"Yeah! I mean… that's what I meant before too. You were right we don't talk much so… I mean it might be nice." He smiled with a bit of cockiness. "Besides, if I'm going to keep having to run into your lab we might as well be on good terms."
Her lips turned up into a smile. "Yeah… but I don't want you too comfortable in there. Vince was right, we have to protect our territory."
"Speaking of territory… I think I'm going to need your help on this." Greg motioned to the microscope with his thumb and rubbed the back of his neck with the other hand. "Grissom wanted me to figure out what the guy chewing this gum was eating but I have no idea what this is. This isn't my specialty."
"Be careful Greg, not only is the recluse lab tech territorial, but it also can smell weakness in other lab techs. They might just gobble up the weak ones to preserve strength in the species." Morgan grinned and moved closer to the microscope after he slid off the stool. Greg couldn't help breathing in a faint whiff of her perfume as she passed. Light and floral… but he couldn't place what sort of flower. Whatever it was it was so fresh and clean… even a little familiar.
Morgan pursed her lips a little. "Hmm… this looks familiar. Maybe curry powder?"
"Curry?" Greg was snapped out of his daze.
"Oh yeah. I love Indian and Thai food. Curry itself is actually a blend of spices, but some have leaves from a curry tree… just depends on the region. Stuff like coriander, turmeric… this might be ground cumin but I can't be sure."
"How do you know so much about spices? You cook?" He scratched the back of his head.
"Sometimes… when I have time for it." She sat up straight and smiled at him. "My mom loves cooking all sorts of dishes from all different cultures. I don't have too much time to cook anything special, but sometimes I like to try new things on my days off." She shook her head slowly. "Anyway… it looks like curry powder but you'll want to check the database for comparison to be certain. Not sure about the other substance… that reddish seed… but looks familiar."
"Thanks Morgan… so about… breakfast…" Greg grinned sheepishly and started running his hand through his hair.
Morgan fixed her glasses and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she backed up towards the door. "Maybe. I'm not sure about today though… I have something to do after work."
"Oh… okay. Cool. See you around." He looked down at his feet, trying to ignore the embarrassment he felt.
She rolled her eyes and leaned in from the doorway. "That's not a no you mopey puppy." Morgan shook her head in amusement and left Greg behind with a grin.
A/N: And first chapter, down!! I'm going to try to update, but I have this story, The Lost Commodore and a Mass Effect story that all are being worked on. Not to mention classes are still going on, and one class needs a HUGE amount of studying. I'll try my sweet readers, but I can't promise anything.
Just two quick points of clarification.
1) Morgan was in no way influenced in any form by the character in the fanfiction Facing Grave Danger. I didn't even get the name from there. I respect Alexandra Khayman's work and want this understood. I got the first name from Morgan Le Fay who I always felt was unjustly viewed. While her acts against her half-brother was indeed in some cases despicable, I feel like her story was left untold.
2) Yes, you can get gyro slices. Atleast I can, at a grocery near where I live. Yes, they are yummy and also sell cucumber sauce to go with it. I put this in as a bit of a hint towards Morgan's New York origins which won't come into the story until later. There are quite a few good gyro stands in NYC that got me, as well as Morgan, hooked on the yummy sandwich.
3)I know episode 2x17 was originally aired in 2002, but let's pretend it's six years ahead (2008) to get consistencies of technology and such straight. I really, really do not want to go back and research if something was released in 2002 or not. It's very annoying and this isn't a period piece.
That's all my lovelies! Hope to hear feedback from you. Reviews would be lovely, and I'm always eager to hear what people think. Take care, and now with the writer's strike over, let's hope for some new episodes fast!!!
P.S. Updated 3/03/2008