A/N: I'm glad someone's enjoying this... I was kind of unsure about it. Anyway, I still don't own CSI:NY, CSI:Miami, CBS, or any other known entity. Hailey and Neil are mine, though. :) I hope you guys enjoy the story, and please review. Please. :)
Chapter 1
I sigh, tentatively knocking on the door. "Come in," Mac calls, not looking up from the file on his desk to see me through the glass door. I step inside quietly, and Mac finally looks up to me. "Hey, Hailey," he says, walking around his desk.
"Hey," I say, stepping forward. He hugs me gently, and I sigh deeply.
"How're you holding up?" I shrug as he starts to let go of me. I sniffle softly, and he hugs me closer.
"I'm sorry, I swear, I'm doing better," I tell him, tears stinging my eyes and voice.
"You don't have to apologize." I close my eyes, still holding onto Mac. He rubs my back softly, and I take a deep breath, stopping the tears. I pull away from him, and he watches me. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm getting there." I give him the strongest smile I can muster, and he smiles back slightly.
"Good. You know, you don't have to come back this soon."
"Yeah, I know, but there's only so long you can sit at home, alone, before you start to get bored." He nods sadly, knowing in some senses where I'm coming from but not knowing in others. He keeps his hand on my shoulder, still studying me.
"We're all here for you, Hailey. Don't forget that, okay?" I nod, swallowing back the lump in my throat.
"I won't." He nods, and I sigh softly. "So, what's on the schedule today?"
"You sure you're ready to work?"
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Mac." He nods, moving back behind his desk.
"You'll be working with Aiden today." I nod. "She'll fill you in when you see her. Hang in there, okay?"
"Will do. Thanks." He nods, and I leave his office, finding Stella waiting for me as soon as I walk out.
"Hey, sweetie," she says, hugging me. I hug her back tightly.
"Hey, Stel," I reply.
"How're you doing?"
"I'm up and down. I thought I was doing good, and ended up crying on Mac's shoulder."
"It's tough. Just hang in there, okay?" I nod as she walks into Mac's office. I walk down the hallway, finding Aiden waiting for me at the break room.
"Hey, kid," she said, throwing her arm around my shoulders. I give her a small smile. "How you doin'?"
"Hangin' in there," I tell her. She nods, walking with me into the lab.
"So, our vic is in his 30s, single gunshot wound to the chest." I nod. "I already got the scene done, so it's just runnin' the samples and putting together the pieces." I nod again as we sit down and begin to process the samples. As we're working, Danny comes in.
"Ladies," he says. "What you got?"
"Gunshot vic," Aiden says. "You?"
"Guy beaten to death on 43rd."
"Mugged?" I ask.
"Probably," Danny replies. He gives me a small smile, and I return it warmly.
"Hey, don't start flirting in front of me," Aiden quips. The two of us chuckle softly.
"Anyway, I got more important things to do than be hangin' around you, Aiden. Hailey, I'll see you for lunch?"
"We'll see," I say. "Depends on how the day goes."
"Understandable," he says. "Catch you later, babe."
"Later." He walks further into the lab, and Aiden shakes his head.
"I'm still not sure what you see in him," she remarks. I chuckle.
"You know, some days, I don't either," I admit. "And then he makes me dinner or buys me flowers or comes through for me on something, and I remember why I love him."
"You're a sap, you know that?" I chuckle.
"Yeah, true. That's something that I get from my dad." She chuckles.
"Got an IBIS hit on that bullet. It was used two years ago in a robbery, suspect never caught."
"Where?"
"Down on East 65th," she reads off the computer. "Clerk was shot in the shoulder. That's where the bullet came from."
"Alright," I say. "That one sounds slightly familiar. So what do we know about it?"
"I dunno. Let's pull the file." I chuckle.
"It's probably on Mac's desk."
"Yeah, probably." Before we go anywhere, the GCMS beeps, and I smile. I pull up the results on the screen.
"Trace on the shirt is hair dye."
"Hair dye? Got a make on that?"
"Clairol Nice and Easy."
"So, our shooter dyed her hair?"
"Does our vic have a girlfriend?" Aiden shakes her head.
"Nah. He just broke up with his girlfriend."
"Dye's fresh, so either he dyed his hair with Clairol, or he was murdered while someone he knew was."
"Let's find out."
