Taking Someone's Place

TVGirl09

Chapter Nine

Complicated

Avery Jones, four months along now, got up and looked at her slightly protruding stomach in the mirror. It wasn't as noticeable as it could have been but it still showed more than she thought it should on her tiny structure.

Then again, that tiny structure could be why her pregnancy was showing as much as it was. A couple of the guys had seriously asked if she was carrying twins. According to the ultrasound she'd had she was only carrying one so she'd had to tell them no.

It was one of those things. She was thankful that Eric Delko didn't give her much crap. After that first day Eric had spoken only civil to her. Every so often a snide comment would be made but for the most part he was cool.

She'd actually been worried about him more than anyone else. Now she could see it was stupid to worry about it so much. Now she wondered if she should have been worried about Calleigh Duquesne instead of him.

That woman seemed to have an unnatural loathing of Avery that she couldn't comprehend. Yeah, the woman had been close to Ryan but still. She'd taken everything she'd thrown at and proven her worth yet Ms. Duquesne still didn't trust her. The fact no longer upset her – no, it just annoyed her.

Then again, that might just be hormones. They had been messing with her from nearly the beginning of the pregnancy. Avery stepped away from the mirror and walked through her apartment.

If she didn't leave now she knew she'd be late for work and she didn't really need that. Stetler had been threatening her career anyways so she didn't need to give him any reason to fire her.

With that she rushed out of the house to her vehicle and sped down the roads. She arrived at work a few minutes before she was meant to which meant she wasn't late yet. She went inside to find Horatio standing there with a case file in his hands.

"Hey H," she called looking at him with a smile.

"Hello Mrs. Jones," he said politely though his voice was very kind and sweet. "Cutting it a little close aren't you?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said stopping in front of him. "So, what case are we working on today?"

He chuckled at her curiosity before responding. "Double murder, an older couple was murdered in their apartment."

"Okay," she stated with a nod. "Who do you think did it from what we know so far?" He shook his head at her insistence.

"I honestly don't know, Yet." He said, adding the yet at the end after a brief pause. That was his way. She'd learned that early on. He was a great guy, once you got past his superman complex which would one day get him killed – of that she was sure.

"I know you will, boss man," she said laughing before groaning as a figure walked towards them. She wanted to gag. The figure had never liked her. He, thankfully, had hid her relationship with Ryan from the rest of the other teammates, for now. He'd been IAB for her patrol unit to.

"Hello Mrs. Jones," he said looking at her smiling. "You are late. If it was me I'd have fired you long ago but since your dear deceased husband and Horatio were friends…"

"He has nothing to do with why I got this job," she snapped at Stetler. She didn't trust him at all. Then again, no one ever trusted IAB. They were that thorn in your side you just can't seem to remove no matter how hard you try.

"Right. I'm sure you came in with the sob story of how you just lost your husband or something. Were there tears?" Stetler asked snidely and she had to hold back because she really wanted to punch him right in the face.

"You're just jealous because I turned you down when you asked me out," she stated. "Of course, I'd never have gone out with someone as greasy as you but still."

His lips pinched angrily. She read his body language. He was getting pissed off at her.

"Rick, leave the girl alone. I didn't know Ryan was her husband right away and she didn't even mention it until I asked her about it. She isn't getting any fair treatment. Now, if you don't mind, we both have work to do," Horatio said as he turned to her offering her to go first.

Avery so wanted to stick her tongue out at Rick Stetler as she walked past him but that was a very juvenile act she wouldn't lower herself for. He wasn't worth it.

As she got away she chanced a glance back. Stetler was staring after her, his eyes glued to her ass. She bit her lip to keep from gagging. He was such a sleeve bag. How anyone could stand him she didn't know. He ranked right up there with those blood sucking lawyers.

"Thanks," she mumbled to Horatio when they moved out of Stetler's hearing range.

"No problem Mrs. Jones," he said. She went to turn towards him but the room began to spin and she blinked a couple times. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked looking at the floor trying to stay grounded.

"You're swaying," Horatio said touching her arm. She breathed in and closed her eyes and slowly the room stopped spinning. Feeling stable she looked up to see Horatio staring at her intently.

"I'm fine now H," she stated. "Just a small dizzy spell."

"Mrs. Jones, That's not very healthy. When was the last time you went to the doctor?" her boss asked in his authoritative voice.

"Last week. I was given a clean bill of health. Please, don't go getting all overprotective of me now. I'm fine," she stated while looking at her boss straight in the eye. He looked at her and she could see turmoil in those bright blue eyes of his.

"I want you to make an appointment for tomorrow. If you have to, take time off for it," he stated. "Now, get to work before I change my mind."

She saluted him sarcastically before hurrying off to the lab where she found a bunch of work waiting for her.

-x-

Horatio watched her from the other side of the glass. He'd never verbally admit it but he was worried about the newest member of his lab. He knew from Ms. Valera that was not the first dizzy spell she'd had in the past few days.

If it wasn't her he was worried about then it was the baby she was carrying. Dizzy spells like that could be signifiers for a lot of medical issues. He really didn't want to risk a member of his team for anything, even lab work.

From the window he saw her laughing and smiling with Eric who seemed to like her. Not once had he hit on her. He seemed to take to protecting her as best as he could. Not that Mrs. Jones allowed anyone to protect her.

He'd discovered early on she was just as stubborn as her husband had been. She refused help adamantly. Normally she was one of the first into the lab and was the last one out. She spent more time here in work than she was out. Inside he worried that she'd work herself into the ground and in her current state that wouldn't be good.

Horatio Caine sighed as one of his CSI's came towards him with a file. He didn't really pay attention to he was, obviously distracted by his youngest tech.

-x-

Eric laughed as she told him about the time she'd tried to bake a birthday cake for her husband only to find she couldn't find a single thing in her kitchen and mixed in Baking Soda instead of Baking Powder.

"What did he do?" he asked as he helped her with the recent evidence.

"He smiled, went out to the kitchen, tossed the cake and we wound up eating the frosting, licking it off each other's stomachs," she said smiling. "That led to other stuff if you know what I mean."

He cringed at the imagery she'd put in his mind. Of course, he had no idea what her 'Ryan' looked like so the 'Ryan' in his mind was Wolfe. It was very disturbing for him to say the least.

Then again, Wolfe did remind him a lot of her late husband. He was honestly beginning to wonder if they knew each other. He couldn't help but wonder what the odds were of finding another Obsessive Compulsive brunette named Ryan who had died within the same time frame as Wolfe had. It was very questionable to say the least.

Of course, he didn't have any definitive proof so he wouldn't go asking herself. If he was wrong he'd look like an ass and probably pour salt into already sore wounds.

"To much info kid," he said, using the nickname he'd created for her. In his mind, she was just a kid. He was thirty-two; she was twenty-six or seven. She was younger than anyone else there. Of course, she wasn't as young as Wolfe had been when he started but still she was quite young.

She wasn't even out of her twenties yet.

"Sorry, I tend to forget not everybody is as open about there sexuality as I am. Ryan use to always grow red in the face when I'd say stuff like that when he was around. But damn, he always did look good in red," she stated and once again his mind traveled back to Wolfe.

"Ugh, since I don't know what your husband looks like I keep imagining Ryan Wolfe in your husband's stead and its creeping me out," he gagged. He noticed she didn't respond but instead got very silent. He chanced a glance at her and noticed her biting the end of her pen.

Now he was almost positive he was right but he had to know. He needed to ask. Hell, he wouldn't have even made the connection if Natalia hadn't made a few connections in the beginning. Still, inquiring minds needed to know.

"Okay, I can't believe I'm about to ask this but I need to know. Please don't lie to me and don't be afraid to tell me if I'm crazy," he stated and she jumped as if forgetting he was there.

"Um, okay," she said hesitantly.

"Was your husband Ryan Wolfe, the CSI for this lab that recently was killed in the line of duty," he asked. He thought he remembered her from the funeral but he hadn't gotten a good look at the blonde from Ryan's funeral. Her eyes grew wide and panicked and he didn't need her to answer the question verbally. "Okay, that answers my question. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you and Wolfe."

She visibly relaxed, slightly. "How'd you figure it out?" she asked quietly, not looking at him.

"There were a lot of subtle clues. I thought I'd seen you at Ryan's funeral. His name was Ryan and he'd died within the same time frame as Wolfe. He'd died on the job though you refused to talk about what he did. Mentioning he was OCD didn't hurt much either.

"Does anyone else know?" she asked looking up from her hands to stare him straight in the eye.

"No, well, Nat suspects but she hasn't brought it up in a while so she may have blown it off as coincidence," he stated anxiously. His mind was reeling and he was feeling betrayed by his friend. He'd gotten married without telling him about it.

She seemed to read what he was thinking because she spoke. "He was on suspension for his gambling problems when we got married. We only had a grand total of four people with us – not including the minister mind you."

"Glad to know I wasn't the only one who didn't get the invite but my question is why hide it from us," he asked at first sarcastic but then becoming very serious. He needed to know.

"Ryan was embarrassed and inside he always had that outsider feeling to him. If you noticed he kept his personal life very private. He never talked about his love life very much," she stated and he had to admit he'd never heard much about Ryan having a girl. However, he did remember the date with Natalia and then there was the reporter.

"He went on a date with Natalia and went out with that Reporter for a while there," he stated wondering what that was about.

"When he first started at the Crime Lab we kept having problems. We'd break up then get back together for a while then break up again. Ericka was his rebound chick. Then he'd break it off and get with me. Natalia happened in our longest break-up. I have to admit, she's gorgeous. I can see why he liked her," Avery said glancing through the glass to where Natalia was standing and talking to Calleigh.

He turned back to look at Avery and instantly he looked at her hand which was lying on her slightly swollen stomach. That's when it hit him what the revelation of her and Wolfe being together truly meant.

"Wow," he murmured and she glanced at his gaze which was still at his stomach.

"Yeah, Ryan Wolfe is going to be a daddy," she said with a small chuckle. "Bet you never thought you'd see the day."

He shook his head. He couldn't believe it. Ryan Wolfe, the good though often misguided young CSI was going to be a father. A part of him could barely believe it.

"Ryan would have been a good father," he muttered and she nodded sadly.

"We'd been trying and then when it happens he's not around to enjoy it," she said with a sigh. Just then they door opened and they both turned to see Valera and Natalia coming in. He glanced at Avery who sighed.

"Eric, close the door," Avery stated. The girls both stopped laughing and looked at Avery. Instantly he became confused.

"Why?" Nat asked. He closed the door and Avery sighed.

"I hear you've asked a few questions about my husband," Avery stated. Her voice was calm though he could see in her eyes the stress this was having on her.

"No," she denied but she raised her hand to quiet Natalia. Then she pulled out a picture from her back pocket and handed it to Nat.

"That is me and my husband on our wedding day," she stated and he moved to see it since he hadn't changed.

"That's you and…" Natalia said in shock.

"Yes," Avery stated blankly. "Please, don't tell anyone."

"I won't, Eric?" Natalia asked, her face accusing.

"What, I already promised her I wouldn't before you came in here. I'm cool with it. I think it's cool there is going to be a baby Wolfe running around these corridors just like it's daddy," he stated before thinking. All three women smiled and looked at him.

"That's sweet, I think Uncle Eric is going to spoil the baby," Natalia said smiling.

He cringed. "Uncle Eric… Creepy," he murmured and all the women laughed.

The door opened once more. This time it was H. "Would you three mind. We do have a case to solve you know," he said in his normal tone.

"They know," Avery said as Nat handed the picture back.

"Ah…" H paused. "That doesn't mean you get to stop working. This crime won't solve itself."

"Bye," Eric said smiling at her before leaving. He heard the others repeat after him as they too left.

-x-

"So," Valera asked and Natalia looked at her.

"So, what?" Natalia asked, wondering what her friend was getting at.

"So, how are you taking finding out who her husband really is," Maxine asked as they left the lab. Their voices were hushed so as not to be overheard.

"Fine, a little weird thinking of Ryan being a husband and now a dad but oh well," she said with a shrug.

Max looked like she was about to say something when they heard a thud come from the lab they just left. They turned and Avery Jones was lying on the floor unconscious.

Both women sprinted back in to the room with Horatio and Eric right on their heels.

This was so not good.

[I know, I'm evil. So, what do you think so far? Thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing… TVGirl09]