Disclaimer: I don't own any CSI: NY characters, but the original character is mine.
Adam sat in the AV Lab. Danny and Don were standing behind him. They were all looking for some kind of clue in the video of who had robbed a convenience store. The phone next to Adam rang. He pushed the speaker phone button.
"AV Lab," Adam answered.
"Ross there's a girl down here looking for you." The receptionist replied.
"What girl?"
"She just said to tell you she's here and that she's freezing her ass off."
Adam's mouth dropped and jumped up from his chair without a word to Don or Danny. They asked him where he was going but he didn't answer.
Adam ran down the stairs to the first floor. When he got to the front desk he looked over at the girl about his age sitting by the desk.
"Sorry," he said to the girl. "I got caught up in a case and forgot. I'm so sorry."
"Thanks I feel so much better," she stood up. "By the way, you didn't tell me it snows here in November."
"How did you get here? Where's your luggage?"
"Well, after waiting for you at the wonderfully crowded JFK airport, I took a cab here. My luggage was lost, with all of my nice warm clothes inside." She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and tennis shoes.
"I'm so sorry. Listen I have to finish some work, then I can take you back to my apartment. Is that cool? You can hang out in the break room."
"If I have to. At least it's warm in here." She followed him to the elevator.
"So, how was your flight?" Adam asked as they stood in the elevator.
"It was alright. I read a lot and listened to music."
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. They walked back to the AV Lab where Don and Danny were still standing.
"Adam, what's the deal man?" Danny asked as Adam walked in the room.
"Guys this is my cousin, Jennifer. She's visiting from Tucson. I kind of forgot to pick her up from the airport." He looked at his cousin. "Jenn, this is Don Flack and Danny Messer."
"It's nice to meet you guys." She shook both of the guys' hands.
"I bet you're not used to this weather." Danny commented.
"No, it's pretty cold and the snow is crazy. Adam didn't tell me it snowed around Thanksgiving." She glared at her cousin.
"So, you're here for Thanksgiving?" Don asked.
"Yeah, I was tired of hearing Adam complain about being along on Thanksgiving and since he wouldn't come see his family I decided to come to him." She replied and said to Adam, "you're just so loved." She laughed.
"Alright, you can go in the break room while we finish up here." Adam said to Jennifer. He led Jennifer down the hall and to the room with a couch and a refrigerator. "Do you want to go to the deli down the street and get some food?"
"No, I'm good I ate at the airport." She sat down on the couch and put her tote bag next to her. "Did you get the tickets, by the way?"
"Yeah, one thing I did remembered," they both chuckled and he walked out of the room.
Jennifer put her iPod headphones in her ears and pulled her book out of her bag. She sat there alone for a few minutes when Don walked into the room. He sat down on the couch across from her. Jennifer pushed "pause" on her iPod, but kept her eyes on her book. Don pushed the book toward her to look at the cover.
"Jane Austen, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm a sucker for love stories what can I say?"
He smiled. "I'm more of a murder mystery kind of guy, but who has time to read."
"I only do when I go on a trip. I work at a preschool and my life's kind of crazy sometimes." She heard someone behind her telling Don he needed him. "It was nice talking to you." Jennifer said as he got up.
"You too."
Jennifer went back to her book and turned her music back on.
Lindsay walked into the lab where Adam was talking to Mac. "Hey, who's the girl in the break room?"
"My cousin from Tucson. She's here for a visit. I forgot to pick her up and I thought I was almost done here and she could just wait for me but I've got more to do." Adam replied in almost one breath.
"Oh, ok," Lindsay said and went on to do what she had come in there for.
"Adam, when we're done here you can go. I'm sure your cousin is pretty jetlagged." Mac told him.
"I'm not going to argue with you. I'm so tired and I just know I'll never here the end of it if I make Jenn stay here any longer." Adam replied.
He finished up what he was doing with Mac then left the room. He went to the locker room and hung his lab coat in his locker then went to the break room. Jennifer was lying on the couch, she was fast asleep. He picked up her book and iPod and put them in her bag. He tapped Jennifer on the shoulder and she opened her eyes.
"Come on, I'm done we can go," he told as she sat up. "Let's go get some food. I'm hungry." She got up and followed him down the hallway, yawning as they walked.
"It's after eleven, where are we gonna get food?" Jennifer asked as they got to the elevator.
"This is New York, you can get food at like two in the morning."
"Oh, ok. Well, in that case I want pancakes. I woke up with a craving for pancakes." They both laughed.
"Alright, pancakes it is."
"My suitcase better come tomorrow so I have something to wear to the concert."
"Yeah because I'm not going with you if you're gonna smell all bad." She punched him lightly in the arm.
The next night at about 5:30 Adam and Jennifer went to the venue where they would see Three Days Grace. They had general admission tickets, so they had to be there early enough to get good spaces close to the stage.
"Hurry Jenn," Adam yelled over the crowd. He had a hold of her hand and was dragging her through the crowd.
"Adam, my arm, I like it where it is- in the socket."
The opening bands came on close to an hour later. Adam and Jennifer were only four people away from the stage.
There was a girl on their right that was sitting on the shoulders of some guy. She lifted her shirt and flashed the band. Adam cheered for her and Jennifer smacked his arm and laughed at him.
Jennifer left Adam before the main act and went to the concession stand to get them both some beers. When she got back Three Days Grace came on the stage. Jennifer and Adam yelled and cheered for the band. They sang along with every word to every song.
Through the next week Jennifer toured around the city while Adam worked. She went to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, different museums, and did a lot of shopping.
After her long shopping day on Tuesday she went to the lab to take Adam away from work and go to lunch. When she went inside the building she went upstairs to the same area she had been a few days earlier. She walked down the hallway and asked a few people where Adam was, but no one knew. Finally, an older man she had seen before came up to her.
"Adam's in the field," he said. "I'm not sure how long he'll be."
"Oh, ok thanks. I'll just see him later then." Jennifer smiled at him and went to the elevator.
Jennifer wrapped her scarf around her neck as she went back outside. As she started down the sidewalk to the subway she saw Don walking toward her.
"Hey," he said. "Were you looking for Adam?"
"Yeah, I was gonna try to steal him away for lunch, but I guess he's out in the field."
"He and Danny and Lindsay caught a case in Central Park," he paused. "Well, I just finished up my case, and I got some paperwork to do, but I'm free for lunch if you wanna go grab some food."
"Yeah that's sounds good. Something warm, I'm freezing." He laughed at her and led her to his car.
They went to a Greek place a few blocks from the lab. Jennifer made another comment as they went into the restaurant about how cold she was.
"You're really not used to this, are you?" Don asked as they sat down.
"No, it gets chilly in Tucson, but not like this. It did snow a couple years ago. We're in the mountains more than Phoenix where Adam's from," she paused and looked up at him from her menu. "I have no idea what to order; I don't think I've ever had Greek food."
"Really? Do you want me to order you something?"
"Please; I have no idea what half this stuff is."
After lunch they went back outside. Don was only wearing a leather jacket over his suit jacket; he also had a pair of gloves on. Jennifer had on a heavy jacket, gloves, a scarf and a hat. Don laughed at her.
"So, what are you and Adam gonna do for Thanksgiving?"
"Probably eat the world's smallest turkey and the usual foods, and watch football of course. What do you do for Thanksgiving?"
"My whole huge family gets together at my grandparents' house. We eat until we can't move then we watch football too."
"Oh, and after football Adam and I have always had this weird tradition of watching scary movies. I have no idea why."
A couple days later it was Thanksgiving. Jennifer started their small dinner in the morning. Their turkey was really small. She made mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Adam watched football while she made everything. Jennifer was in the kitchen when Adam walked in.
"I gotta go to work." He said with a heavy sigh.
"What?"
"Obviously crime doesn't stop even for Thanksgiving. Hopefully I can make it back for dinner."
"Alright. It's not like the food's gonna go anywhere."
"I'm sorry."
Jennifer finished cooking after another hour then she sat and waited for Adam to come back. She watched a movie and a football game. It was close to four and Adam still hadn't returned. She was starving, but didn't want to eat without her cousin. Finally, she lied down on the couch and fell asleep.
Adam walked into the apartment; it was close to eight. He went over to Jennifer and tapped her on the shoulder. She stirred and opened her eyes. She sat up without a word.
"Hey, I'm hungry, let's eat." Adam remarked.
Jennifer fell back down on the couch. "You eat I'm gonna sleep."
"No, no come on." He took her hand and pulled her up off the couch.
When Jennifer sat up she looked behind the couch. Don, Lindsay, and Danny were all standing there looking at her.
"What's going on?" Jennifer asked Adam.
"We were all working together and I told them how much work you put into the meal and they all decided to come and join us," Adam replied.
"Aren't your families going to miss you guys?"
"We see our families all the time, and the whole family will be there tomorrow so we can go see them then," Don answered for the group.
"Wow," Jennifer walked over to the group. "I hope you're not all expecting this wonderful gourmet meal; I'm not a great chef or anything."
Jennifer and Lindsay heated up all the food and the guys set the table. All five of them sat together at the table, eating, talking, and laughing. It wasn't a perfect Thanksgiving, but it was definitely in the top five best.