Title: Secrets

Author: ANNE (the insane one)

Rating: PG for now

Summary: Boyd discovers one of Stella's secrets and finds it could be more than helpful to the Cold Case Squad. And Stella and Spence start a relationship that could get them in very, very hot water.

Characters Featured: Peter Boyd, Grace Foley, Spencer Jordan, Stella Goodman and Eve Lockhart.

1/?

Peter Boyd watched with avid interest as Stella Goodman walked out of his office. Grace came in with a file and looked at him strangely.

"What?"

"What?" Boyd sat up. "Oh, right. Stella's taking the afternoon off."

"Is everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. She has to pick up relatives from the airport."

"Oh, that's nice. Having family come to stay." Grace opened the file. "Now…"

"She said relatives. In the plural."

Grace took off her glasses and stared at him. "Are you being deliberately cryptic or have I just not drunk enough coffee today?"

"Stella's files only list her mother. What other relatives could she have?"

"Last I checked, personnel don't do a family tree, Boyd."

"I'm just curious in getting to know the people who work for me." He smiled angelically at Grace. "Is that a crime?"

"When you grin like that, I'm always concerned."

Boyd frowned at her. "Spence!"

Grace threw her hands in the air and watched Spencer walk in. "Be careful, Spence. He might want your family tree too."

The young man looked apprehensive. "What?"

"Who's Stella picking up from the airport?"

Spencer lifted an eyebrow. "Her mother and sister?"

Boyd smiled. "See, that's all I wanted to know. Simple."

Spencer looked between Grace and Boyd. "Am I missing something?"

Grace sighed. "I think we both are."

"She wanted to tell the cabin crew how to cook properly."

Stella glanced at her mother. "You didn't."

"It was an idea."

"Yeah, a bad one. You're lucky we didn't get thrown off the plane. I had to physically hold you down."

"Don't exaggerate, Caroline."

Stella smirked and stared at her younger sister. The two could have been twins, both taking after their mother in looks. The only difference was eyes – Stella had her mother's, while Caroline had her father's.

"Stella, tell me about your job." Marie Goodman was a formidable woman who loved her daughters to distraction. She had never been comfortable with Stella's decision to join the force, and even less comfortable with her move to England. Now her sole goal in life was to see that they were both happy.

"It's a good job, Mum. I like it."

"They treat you well? You get good benefits?"

"I'm fine, Mum."

Caroline changed the subject. "Are you sure there's enough room for me to stay with you for a while?"

"I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't mean it. But I still don't see why you want to live in London. You love Paris. You used to spend 3 hours in the Musee D'Orsay staring at Monet's paintings. I know, because you used to drag me there too."

"Maybe I just want a change of pace. Besides, I've missed you since you've been in London."

Marie narrowed her eyes. "Caroline, go and wait for the bags. Stella will be there in a moment."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "That's mum's subtle way of getting rid of me."

After her sister had gone, Stella turned to her mother. "What's going on?"

"She's been doing some work that she shouldn't be and then she said someone was following her. I don't know whether it's her creativity working too much or what."

"What kind of work?"

Marie gestured to Caroline, who was coming back. "Ask her yourself. Caroline, tell your sister what you've been doing."

Caroline groaned. "Geez, how old am I? Twelve? I've been working as a sketch artist for the police."

"And?" her mother prompted.

"Recreating faces from skulls and corpses."

Stella looked confused. "I thought you weren't going to be a police officer."

"And I'm not. I may have trained, but I never graduated remember? It's not a requirement to be an officer to do what I do." Caroline looked between Marie and Stella. "Anyway, Stella, mum has decided we have to come and see where you work."

Stella smirked. "Subtle change of subject there."

"She probably also wants to see if you've got a man stashed away somewhere."

Stella tried not to blush. Caroline's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, I was just kidding…"

"What?" Marie looked between the two of them.

Stella clamped a hand over her sister's mouth and pulled her into a hug. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Later that evening, when Marie was fast asleep, Stella and Caroline were enjoying a glass of wine in Stella's living room.

"Mum doesn't like your job."

Caroline looked at her older sister. "Mom doesn't like your job either." She grinned. "I guess we're even."

"Mum said that you think someone is following you."

"It's nothing."

"You're working for the police now. If you think someone is following you, they probably are."

"Stella, I recreate faces. I draw crime scenes. I don't think anyone is interested."

"You help put murderers away, they're always interested."

Caroline sipped her drink. "I heard Mum talking to you about someone who died. Who was it?"

Stella paused, not quite sure how to answer the question and wanting to keep her sister innocent of any knowledge of Bill Drake. "It's not important. He died a couple of years ago."

"Ookay."

"Just trust me. It's not important." Stella scrutinised her younger sister. "Mum's worried about you."

"I don't know why. I'm not the cop in the family, YOU are."

"You're the youngest. We're entitled to worry about you."

"I'm not a baby anymore."

"Try telling mum that." Stella finished her drink. "You're not going to tell me about your job, are you?"

"Nope."

"Glad to see your stubbornness hasn't changed."

Caroline watched her sister go into the kitchen. "At least we know who taught me."