Author's note: Thanks for the reviews guys! Please keep 'em coming!
Now on to chapter 7! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 7: Visitors
'I hate slow shifts.' Chris thought, pouting at the wall.
She hated having to wait for work to come to her. And today was one of those days. She'd been at the lab since seven am, and she'd already finished everything she'd had to analyze.
She sighed irritably and glanced at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time. 'Half an hour left before lunch break.'
She straightened her head and went back to staring at the wall. She was sitting at the table in the break room, resting her chin on her folded hands.
When she'd first started working here, she'd thought the glass walls would be a total invasion of her privacy. She'd more or less felt as if the people here weren't completely trusted. But after a while, she'd come to enjoy seeing through the walls. Like now. She was sitting at the table, looking like she was minding her own business, but she was actually watching her colleagues walk through the lab.
She'd seen some pretty good stuff from where she was sitting. She'd seen Jesse clean his teeth with his finger nail. She'd seen Horatio walk in front of the break room quite a few times, and every time, he'd had his phone up to his ear. She'd spotted Walter staring at a hot brunette's ass. That'd been really funny, since the girl had looked over her shoulder and caught him doing it. The look on her face: priceless.
She'd also seen Calleigh. She hadn't been able to keep herself from watching her every movement. Calleigh was simply one of the nicest people she'd ever met. She smiled at everyone she crossed, making them feel a little more special. She would talk with her coworkers, touch their shoulders in support, smile at them.
Chris would never admit it to anyone, but she wished she was a little more like her. Calleigh seemed to be able to have good relations with everyone. Chris had a very outgoing personality, one a lot of people had difficulty dealing with. She could be the perfect coworker and professional, but when it came to being herself, she always had to censure what came out of her mouth.
She wondered how Calleigh would react if she found out she was her sister. THAT would probably wipe the smile off her face. Finding out your father was a cheating bastard who had gotten another woman pregnant would NOT be welcomed news.
Or maybe she wouldn't react too bad. Somehow, she couldn't imagine Calleigh angry. Maybe she'd even accept her as her sister.
Chris sighed loudly and shook her head at her own thoughts. That would never happen, 'cause Calleigh would never find out.
She turned her gaze back on the clock and straightened herself up. She had to go. She stood from the table and walked out of the room, making her way slowly towards the elevator. She wasn't having lunch with Ryan today; she had promised Lacey she'd take her out for lunch. But she had to get her from school first. The only thought of spending time with her little sister brought the smile back to her lips. She loved having these special times with Lacey.
She was just about to walk out of the building when Ryan walked in. He grinned at her and flipped his cell phone shut. "Hey, Chris! I was just about to call you! Ready to go to lunch?"
Chris gave him an apological smile and shook her head. "I can't, sorry. I'm having lunch with my sister."
Ryan seemed surprised. "Really? Your sister? Is she as hot as you are?" he asked her, the cocky grin back on his face.
Chris nodded her head. "Oh she's cute, alright." At least she wasn't lying; Lacey was the cutest little seven-year-old.
"Is she single?" Apparently, Ryan thought Lacey was a cute twenty-five-year-old.
She chuckled and bowed her head. "I've got to go, Ryan."
He sighed, disappointed, and pointed towards the exit. "Fine. Go."
"I'll see you later, Ry!" she answered, still laughing. She could already imagine the expression he'd have on his face if he got to see Lacey. She pushed the door open and walked out, squinting slightly as the bright light hit her eyes.
"CHRIS!!!!!!"
She gasped in shock as she spotted her little sister running up to her. Lacey quickly reached her and attached herself to her waist, almost knocking her over. Chris' grin was tight, her eyes nervously looking over her shoulder to see if anyone could see them.
"I missed you so much!" Lacey squealed, looking up at her.
Chris looked down at her sister and gave her a nervous smile. "Lace! What are you doing here? Who picked you up from school?"
The young girl detached herself from her waist and turned around. "Felix brought me!" She shouted, waving at her big brother.
Chris's eyes grew in surprise when she looked up and spotted her brother slowly making his way up to them. "Felix!"
Felix gave her a large smile, clearly happy to see her. "Hi, little sis'!" he finally reached her and pulled her into a huge bear hug, squeezing a giggling Lacey between them. "How's my favorite sister doing?"
Lacey pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey! You told me I was your favorite sister."
Felix laughed and tickled her. "You're my favorite shrimp, you know that!" he told her, before picking her up into his arms. He kissed her cheek and put her back down. "Is there something wrong, Chris? I seriously thought you'd be happier to see me."
Chris sighed and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong… you just surprised me. I was supposed to pick her up from school."
He shrugged. "Mom told me about your plans so I thought I'd join you." He grinned at her and nudged her shoulder. "I haven't seen or heard from you in a while."
She nodded her head quickly, took Lacey's hand and started leading her away from the entrance. "You're right! Let's go then! We'll talk during lunch."
Felix rolled his eyes at her and lifted his arm over his sister's shoulders. "There's no hurry!" he told her, shaking her a bit. "Don't you want to show us around your new work place? I'm curious. I'd like to see what it looks like."
She shook her head and kept walking away from the building. "Nope, no time." She told him, not leaving place for an argument. She smiled at him, her grin not really reaching her eyes. "I'm so glad you decided to come, Felix!" Now that wasn't a total lie. She WAS happy to see him. She just would've liked to see him somewhere else.
Her big brother lifted his eyebrows skeptically, but decided to keep himself from commenting. He knew she wasn't being totally honest with him. He smiled back and nodded his head at her, deciding to play along. "I'm glad I decided to come along, too, lil'sis'."
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
Ryan was sitting at the table in the break room, finishing his lunch, when Chris walked in. "Hey, look who's here!"
He looked up from his almost empty plate and smiled. "You're back already?"
Chris pulled a chair and sat in front of him. "My sister's lunch break is short." She stole a french frie from his plate and nibbled at it. "Eating healthy again, I see."
Ryan lifted his chin at her and slapped her hand away as she reached to grab a second one. "And who's eating my food when they just came back from their own lunch?"
Chris rolled her eyes at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I won't answer that accusation."
"Hey, you two!"
They both turned their eyes to Calleigh, who'd just joined them in the room. She went over to the coffee machine and got herself a cup of the steaming liquid. She pulled the chair next to Chris and sat down, smiling happily to both of them.
"Hi!"
"Hey, Cal! Anything new on the Robertson case?" Ryan asked, all business even during in lunch break.
"No, nothing major." She sipped on her hot drink and touched Chris' forearm, grabbing her attention. "Is there something you haven't told us about, Chris?" she asked her, looking like someone who knew something others didn't.
The young blonde lifted her eyebrows, wondering what she meant. "What do you mean?" 'Wooooah there… I don't like this, I don't like this at all.' She thought, on her guards.
Calleigh cocked her head and gave her a wide smile. "You told us you had brothers and sisters, but I didn't know you had a daughter!"
Chris' mouth fell. A daughter? "What?!?!" She glared at Ryan, who'd chuckled the moment he'd heard the words leave Calleigh's mouth.
Calleigh's eyes went from Ryan to Chris, obviously not getting their reaction. "So I take it I'm wrong?"
Chris nodded her head but frowned, still not getting where she'd gotten that idea. "Why would you think I have a child?"
"I saw you leaving the lab with a really good looking man and a young girl a little earlier. You all looked so close, I just thought… maybe… you'd just forgotten to tell us about her." She told her, suddenly sounding a little less sure of what she'd seen.
That seemed to get Ryan's attention. He was frowning, staring at her, apparently waiting for an explanation.
Chris, on the other hand, was fighting with herself not to stand up and leave the room. She could feel her cheeks burning as she tried finding a way out of this. There wasn't. "It wasn't my daughter, it was my little sister. And the man you saw me with is my brother, Felix."
Calleigh frowned slightly, trying to make some sense out of the new information. "Your brothers and sister are Cuban?"
She looked down at her hands and nodded her head. "Yes." She sighed and kept going. "My mom and dad got together when I was still a baby."
Calleigh smiled and nodded her head. "Now I understand! Makes a lot more sense!" She cocked her head, still studying the younger woman. "I don't know why you look so embarrassed about it."
Chris shook her head and gave her a small grin. "Oh, I'm not! I'm just… not used to sharing that much about my personal life."
She nodded her head. "I understand. And I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." She told her, squeezing her forearm. "You should feel free to tell us about you. We're colleagues and, I hope, friends."
Chris looked up at her and breathed out. "Sure." She told her, agreeing with her. 'And more.'
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
Chris sighed as she made it inside her apartment, closing the door behind her. 'Man I never thought this day would ever end.' She thought, throwing her handbag on the small table by the door. She lost a shoe, than the other one and made her way straight to the couch. She fell face first on it, hiding her face into the cushions.
She heard her phone ringing. She went back to her purse and fished through it, looking for her cell. Of course, as usual, she couldn't find it. This time, she was home, so no one would care if she emptied it on the floor, which she did. She finally found and brought it up to her ear. "Yes?" she answered, sounding a lot angrier than she'd intended to.
"Woah, am I catching you at a bad time?"
'Ryan.' She thought, shaking her head. "No. Yes. I don't know."
She could almost see his perplexed face. "Okay… hey, what's your apartment number?"
The question didn't really register in her head. "Twelve. Why?" Why would he need her apartment number?
"Alright, I'm coming up!"
She gasped. "WHAT??!?!? Ryan?" She shut her phone and groaned, her eyes flying around her apartment. This place was a MESS!!! She ran around the main living areas, grabbing pieces of clothing and discarded shoes as she went. She took everything into her bedroom and threw them in her closet, just in case he'd check in the room. She made her bed clumsily and pushed some more shoes under her bed. She then ran back into the living room, swearing as she straightened the cushions and pillows. She glanced at her small kitchen and sighed. At least she'd already washed the mountain of dirty dishes she'd had in her sink.
She grimaced as she scanned the room around her, still not totally satisfied with the way it looked. "That's what happens when you decide to show up unannounced…" she groaned, deciding she wouldn't care.
She jumped slightly when she heard a few sharp knocks at her door. She winced, noticing the mess she'd made when she'd emptied her purse on the floor. She walked over to it, shoved everything back into her bag and threw the thing next to her shoes. She finally opened the door, forcing a smile to her lips as she stepped aside to let Ryan walk in. "Hi! What are you doing here?"
Ryan walked in and turned around and grinning. "I've never been to your place, I just thought I'd pay you a little visit." He told her, shrugging.
Chris lifted her eyebrows. "Oh, really? Why don't I believe you?" she walked around him and sat on her couch, silently inviting him to do the same.
He followed her and sat on the couch, facing her. He sighed and shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't buy that excuse." He tilted his head his hazel eyes studying her. "I wanted to talk about what happened earlier."
Chris looked down at her hands, knowing what he was talking about. "You're still curious?" she asked him, her voice harsh.
"Actually, yes, I am." He sighed and frowned slightly. "Why do you become so defensive when anyone asks you about your family?" He waited for her to answer, but she stayed quiet. He sighed and pinched his lips, not wanting to force her into anything she wasn't willing to say. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I won't be angry or anything."
She sighed and looked down at her hands. "I'm just a private person, that's all. Why does it bother you so much anyway?
Ryan shrugged and grinned softly. "Because I care about you."
She glanced up at him, her chocolate brown eyes watching him. "Thank you." She stood from the couch, walking over to the door. Ryan thought she would ask him to leave, but instead of opening the door, she reached for a frame she'd hung on the wall. She came back to the couch and gave him the frame.
Ryan looked at the picture and smiled. "Looks like you have a great family."
Chris sat a little closer to him and grinned softly, nodding her head. "It IS a great family." She pointed at the members of her family. "This is my mom and my dad. This is Felix, the brother Calleigh saw with me outside work. This is Aaron and this is my youngest brother, Bradley." Her grin widened as her eyes fell on the last member of her family. "And this is Lacey."
Ryan gave her a look and chuckled. "At least you weren't lying. She IS cute."
"Isn't she?" She agreed, nodding her head.
He studied the picture and looked up at her again. "You don't look like your mother." He commented.
Chris sighed. "I know."
"Do you know where your father is?" Ryan asked her, handing her the picture back.
"My father is home with my mom." She let out a long irritated breath and looked down. "I don't know and simply don't care where my biological father is."
He frowned. "I take it he's out of the picture. No pun intended."
She stayed quiet but nodded her head in agreement.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to put you in a bad mood. I can see it's a touchy subject for you."
"AND that's why we're gonna change topic." She told him, standing up from the couch to bring the picture back where she'd taken it.
Ryan stood up too and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for opening up a little, Chris." He told her, glad he'd gotten to know a little more about her.
"No problem." She glanced at her wrist and grinned. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" She wasn't a hundred percent positive she wanted company right now, but she knew Ryan would be able to make her feel better. He was already doing it without even trying.
"Sure! As long as you cook for me." He told her, grinning mischievously.
That got a chuckle from her. "We're not afraid of danger I see."
THERE! I know.... short. Sorry. I promsie I'll update soon!
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