Last chapter… Hope you guys enjoyed reading this story, if you did – a review would be nice! :)
Chapter 3
The rest of the day Morgan kept thinking about Miranda and the little children. Were they her kids or was she just babysitting them? Morgan wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to say anything to Miranda. Luckily, she and Greg were sent to a new crime scene and when they came back, they first had to go through a whole lot of fingerprints before they could do anything else.
"Why don't you go to Trace, then I'll go to DNA," Morgan suggested after they had run the last fingerprint. Greg raised his eyebrows. "This doesn't have anything to do with me and Hodges, right?"
"You and Hodges?" She had already forgotten that Greg had told her about Hodges seeming to be angry with him yesterday.
"I guess that's a 'no'," Greg decided. He sat down, holding out his arm to stop her from leaving the room. "What's going on?"
After a deep sigh Morgan told him about what she had seen at the restaurant.
"She seemed so lost!" she said with a hurt expression on her face. "Like she didn't know what she was doing or something like that… I felt so sorry for her!"
"You should go and talk to her about this," Greg softly said. Morgan opened her mouth to protest, but Greg shook his head. "You know I'm right, so don't argue with me here, young lady!"
She couldn't help but smile at his 'young lady' comment. The rush of happiness that suddenly went through her body made her put her arms around him. "Alright, Sir, I'll do exactly as you say!"
She saw he was fighting the urge to put his arms around her as well and quickly let him go. "You go talk to Hodges and I'll go and talk to Miranda, alright?"
"Alright," he nodded. "Let's go!"
Together, they walked over to the Trace lab. They both immediately noticed how quiet it was. Hodges and Miranda were both working, their backs towards each other.
"Miranda?" Morgan broke the silence. The young woman looked up and managed a small smile. "Oh, hey, Morgan."
"Do you have a minute? I wanna talk to you about something," Morgan said with a small smile as well.
"Oh, sure…" Miranda started taking off her gloves.
"Hodges, can you analyze this for me, please?" Greg asked. The Trace lab tech made a vague gesture towards a table. "Put it down."
Greg waited for Miranda and Morgan to leave the lab before he blurted out: "Okay, I don't know what I did wrong or what kind of problem you have with me, but I just want to solve this case and I kinda need your help to do so. So either tell me what I did wrong or just analyze my evidence!"
"I'll tell you what you did wrong: you think you can get revenge by going to Ecklie to complain about me!" Hodges shouted out angrily. "Don't you think it's a little childish? Just because I fake dated Morgan and you want to date her for real? Run to Ecklie and complain about Morgan's fake boyfriend!"
"Greg didn't come to me to complain."
Both men froze when they heard Ecklie's voice. Hodges because he knew he had gone too far and Greg because he was afraid what Ecklie would think about Hodges' words.
"Actually Greg was one of the few who didn't come to me to complain," Ecklie continued, stepping into the Trace lab. "I received most complaints from dayshift, who told me you always left stacks and stacks of evidence for them to process and that most of the evidence had already been in the lab for nearly a week! That's why I decided to hire someone to help you out. And when you talk about childish, don't you think you're being more than a little childish? Telling Miranda you wanted her to stay in Washington… In two days she has done more work than you have in an entire week!"
Hodges tried to push himself to look at Ecklie, but he couldn't. He knew the undersheriff was right. Miranda was doing a great job and he had been horrible to her.
"I…" he started, but Ecklie's look caused him to forget his words.
"When she comes back, I expect you to apologize to her," Ecklie told him, crossing his arms with a strict look on his face. "And I do not wish to hear any more complaints about you, is that understood? Because if I do, you know what's going to happen…"
"You'll fire me and you'll let Miranda stay," Hodges understood. He nodded. "I'll apologize to her. And to you too, Greg. I shouldn't have been so rude to you and I shouldn't have said those things. I hope you can forget about it."
Greg nodded, still feeling unsure about what Ecklie would think about Hodges' words.
"Alright, now that's all settled you can start processing Greg's evidence while I have a word with him," Ecklie said, which was like a confirmation for Greg of his worst fears. With a wild beating heart he followed the undersheriff back to his office. When Ecklie added: "Close the door, Sanders", he knew he was in trouble. What would Ecklie do to him? Fire him? Or make him change shifts?
"I heard what Hodges said about you and my daughter," Ecklie started. Greg's heart started to beat even faster. This wasn't good…
"To be honest, his words didn't surprise me," Ecklie continued. Greg frowned. What did Ecklie just say?
"Look, Greg, I've known you for… well, I don't even know for how long exactly, but I know you're a good guy and I don't think it's a secret how much you like my daughter. Not even to her, I think, so that's why I'm telling you this…"
Greg automatically closed his eyes, deadly afraid of what Ecklie would say next.
"You have my permission to start dating."
Surprised, Greg opened his eyes again. What? Was he dreaming or what?
"I know you'll keep work and your personal life separated, so no one has to change shifts, unless of course your personal life is getting in the way of you doing your job properly," Ecklie said with a small nod. "I know you'll be good for her, Greg. I already see how happy she is whenever she's working together with you. Don't tell me you never noticed that!"
"I… guess," Greg slowly said, still not sure about what just had happened. Ecklie smiled at him. "You really have, you're not fooling me! Now, go and find her and tell her what I said, okay? And don't forget to invite me to your wedding!"
Greg heard Ecklie laugh as he left the office. He didn't feel like laughing himself, however. Okay, so Ecklie was alright with him and Morgan dating, but how was he ever going to tell her?
While Greg talked to Hodges and Ecklie, Morgan had taken Miranda outside, where they could talk without being interrupted. After a few moments of gathering all her courage, Morgan finally told Miranda about what she had seen at the restaurant. Miranda looked down at the ground. Carefully, Morgan touched her arm. "Who are they, Miranda? Are they your children?"
To her relief, Miranda shook her head.
"Who are they then? You can trust me, Miranda, honestly!" Morgan softly said. "Do you babysit them?"
"Something like that…" Miranda said with a husky voice. Tears started welling up in her eyes. "They're my little brothers and sisters…"
The tears started rolling down her face. Still staring at the ground, she continued: "When I was five, my parents got divorced. First, I lived with my mother here in Vegas, but as she had one boyfriend after another, I moved in with my Dad in San Francisco. Everything was fine, we were happy together and I continued to live with him while I went to the university. When I was in my second year, he had to go back to Las Vegas to deal with something with my mother, I don't even know what exactly happened. But they fell in love again and got remarried. Shortly after that, my mother told me she was pregnant again. I was twenty three, I didn't want to have a baby brother or sister! So I just stayed in San Francisco and I was thrilled when I got offered that job in Washington, because it meant I could stay far away from my parents and that new baby sister. It was lonely in Washington, but at least I didn't have a screaming baby in the room next to me…"
She fell silent for a moment. Morgan looked at the young woman and saw she was breathing in and out heavily.
"A few weeks ago I got a phone call," Miranda managed to continue. "My parents had been in a car accident just outside of Vegas. The police investigated it as both of them had had too much to drink, but finally ruled it…"
"As an accident," Morgan finished the sentence. "Sara and Greg worked the case, I remember Greg telling me about it. He said something about the parents having four little kids with them and that it was a miracle they had survived…"
"Yeah, a miracle…" Miranda repeated, but meaning everything but a miracle. "I don't know anything about babies and yet I still have to take care of four of them all of a sudden! I didn't even know about my youngest brother, my mother hadn't told me anything about him! I was forced to leave Washington, move to Vegas, find a job here and look after my baby brothers and sisters. And I'm doing a lousy job… Hodges hates having me here and my brothers and sisters hate me as well as I'm not their mother. So, it's great being back in Vegas!"
She smiled, but the tears were still rolling down her face. Morgan put an arm around her and pulled her close. "I'm so sorry, Miranda, I didn't know! But maybe I can help you out…"
Surprised, Miranda looked up.
"I know you didn't want me to say anything, but my Dad is still going to talk to Hodges about the way he's treating you," Morgan confessed. "You can't keep working here like this and you know that! And about your brothers and sisters… I don't know anything about children myself, but I know someone who knows a thing or two about raising kids… When you talk to her, she'll probably say she has been a horrible mother, but from what I hear from her daughter, she's done a pretty good job. Want me to arrange for you two to meet? Her name is Catherine Willows and she used to work here. She actually works for the FBI now…"
Miranda managed a small smile. "Some coincidence… But sure, I'd love to meet her. I know I need help, I just… don't like asking for it… But I guess you know all about that, don't you?"
This time it was Morgan who was surprised.
"You and Greg?" Miranda reminded her. "Don't tell me you don't need help with that, because I've only been here for three days and I'm already not buying that!"
"Is it that obvious?" Morgan asked, an unsure look on her face.
"Yes!" Miranda grinned. Morgan sighed. "Alright, alright… Yeah, I need help! But I don't see what anyone can do…"
Miranda grinned again. "Leave that to me!"
After a few more moments, Morgan walked Miranda back to the Trace lab. Hodges immediately stopped the young woman. "Miranda, I'm sorry about everything I said and about the way I've been acting. I'm really, really sorry! Do you think… we can start over?"
"We can try," Miranda decided with a small nod. "I won't be able to forget your words just yet, but I'm sure in time I'll get over them."
"I really am so sorry!" Hodges sighed. "I'm normally not that rude to anyone, just ask Morgan!"
He pointed to the blond woman, who quickly shrugged her shoulders. "What do I know? I've only been her for a year and a half!"
Then she smiled.
"He's alright," she told Miranda. "And he's really nice once you get to know him, trust me!"
"I trust you," Miranda immediately said with a smile. "I'll try to get to know him… if he wants me to get to know him…"
"As long as I get to know you," Hodges responded, smiling as well. Morgan nodded with a satisfied look on her face. "Great! Alright, back to business! Hodges, did you already process the evidence Greg gave you?"
"I was about to run it," Hodges told her.
"How about I help out and bring you the results as soon as we have them?" Miranda suggested. Morgan nodded again. "Alright! See you later then!"
She left the Trace lab. Miranda smiled at Hodges. "I have an idea, I'll explain it while we work, okay? I think you're gonna like it…"
"Well, let's hear it then!" Hodges said. He handed Miranda a pair of gloves and quietly listened to her idea. When she was done talking, he nodded with a big smile. This was definitely a good idea!
Morgan left the Trace lab and returned to her office, where Greg was making a list of all their suspects. She started helping him by telling him about the alibis that Brass had already checked, so they could narrow down the list. About ten minutes later they were interrupted by Miranda.
"Results!" she told them with a happy smile. "It's polypropylene, but you can read it for yourselves. Here you go!"
She handed them a print out. "Good luck solving your case!"
She quickly left the office. Too quickly, Morgan realized. She turned around to take a look at the paper, which Greg was already reading. When he looked up, his face was bright red. Frowning, Morgan took the paper from him.
Results:
After thorough testing we have come to the conclusion that what's going on between CSI's Greg Sanders and Morgan Brody is officially love. They just have to tell each other to solve this case. Research has shown that a kiss will help.
Morgan looked up from the paper, her cheeks slightly red as well.
"Well, that's… good to know…" she finally said, an unsure look on her face. She knew she had asked Miranda for help, but now that the young woman had actually done something, she wasn't so sure anymore she really wanted her help.
"So, it was polypropylene, she said?" she tried to change the subject. "Do you know anything about that?"
"Morgan…"
She looked up, right into Greg's beautiful brown eyes.
"Even your Dad knows how you feel," he softly told her. "Or, at least, he thinks he knows… I just hope he's right as he has already given us permission to go out…"
"What?" Surprised, Morgan shook her head. "I can't believe…"
"Morgan, please!" Greg knew he sounded like a begging little child, but he couldn't help it. He liked Morgan so much and he just wanted to be sure she liked him as well after having felt unsure about that for a year and a half.
"I think everyone in Las Vegas knows how much I like you," he softly said. "I just want to know if you feel the same…"
"Read my lips," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him full of love and passion. He immediately pulled her close, his arms tightly around her. When they broke apart, he softly ran his hand through her hair. "You know, your Dad said we could work together as long as we kept work and our personal life separated. I don't think this is keeping it separated, do you?"
She smiled at him, her arms still around him. "Probably not, but how about we talk about it a bit more as soon as shift is over? Or… we can talk about something else…"
Teasingly, she ran her finger down his chest. He grabbed her arm to stop her and smiled at her. "I think that's a good idea…"
Unwillingly they both took a step back.
"Right, back to the case," Morgan said, trying to get her beating hart under control. "So, polypropylene? Think we should go back to Trace?"
"Yeah, we better," Greg nodded. And with a grin he added: "Even if it's only to tell Miranda her research is right!"
