Dr. Smith

Jessica groaned as she dug through the cupboards of Mark's house. "Damn it Mark," she grumbled, "Don't you have anything chocolate in this house?"

Mark chuckled as he opened the freezer and pulled out a carton of mint chocolate ice cream. "Will this do?" he asked as he pulled three bowls out of the cupboard.

"Only if there's hot fudge," Jessica smiled.

"Like this?" Norm asked as he pulled a jar out of the fridge.

Jessica gasped in surprise as she grabbed a spoon off the counter and ran to Norm. She scooped a spoonful from the jar and ate it while Norm put the rest in the microwave.

"Oh god this is better than sex!" she exclaimed as she ate the chocolate quickly.

"Geez preggo," Norm chuckled, "The cravings that bad already?"

"Yes!" Jessica loudly declared, "God, I want to eat everything that isn't bolted to the floor! And I need to get laid soooooo badly!"

"Then why didn't you just go home one of the three times Horatio tried to retrieve you?" Mark inquired as he handed her a bowl of ice cream.

"Because I was scared," Jessica said. "I was afraid of going home." Her eyes watered as she looked away.

Mark set down his bowl and took Jessica's bowl from her and set it on the counter. He gently wrapped his arms around her.

"It's ok, Jessie," he whispered, "You don't have anything to be afraid of."

Jessica's phone rang and she looked at the unfamiliar number light up across the screen. She lifted it to her ear and tentatively answered. "Hello?" she almost whispered.

"Hello, is this Dr. Holly Smith?" a female voice said on the other end.

Jessica hesitated for a moment, weighing out her options. "Yes, yes it is," she finally said, "Can I ask who's calling?"

"My name's Catherine Willows from the Las Vegas Crime Lab," the woman continued, "I was searching through résumés listed on the National Forensic Science Association website and yours just happen to catch my action."

Jessica's thoughts whizzed through her head. She had forgotten she posted the fake résumé online for the forensic specialist she had created.

"Excuse me, Dr. Smith? Are you still there?"

Jessica snapped back to reality. "Um, sorry, I'm still here."

"You sound tired," Catherine commented, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Yes, I'm fine," Jessica said, "I've just got terrible jet lag right now. I moved from Washington DC to Arizona two days ago and I'm almost eleven weeks pregnant."

"Are you really?" Catherine asked cheerfully, "Is it your first?"

Jessica hesitated for a moment. "Yes, it's our first baby, my boyfriend and I."

"Well congratulations," Catherine said. "Back to the reason I called, I've been short staffed for too long and I've decided it's time for some new eyes. I was wondering if you'd like to come work forensics for the graveyard shift in the sin city."

Jessica sat there slightly for a moment, thinking about the proposal. "How soon do I have to give you an answer?"

"Now would be preferable," Catherine said.

Jessica considered her options again for a moment before she made the split second decision.

"I'll be there in three hours."

Mark chuckled as he zoomed through the air in his Bell 407. "Geez Jessica, can't you make up your mind about where you want to live?"

"Hey sorry I'm indecisive lately," Jessica chuckled back, "I think being pregnant is impairing my judgment skills."

Mark shook his head as he took off at fifty knots.

The helicopter landed on the tarmac and Jessica jumped out. A tall black man with broad shoulders was standing thirty feet away. He walked with a slight limp closer as the helicopter blades slowed down. The man smiled at Jessica and removed his sunglasses. He helped Jessica remove her suitcase and carried it towards the building with her following next to him.

"Welcome to Las Vegas, Dr. Caine," the man finally said to her. "My name is Dr. Ray Langston and I work for the Las Vegas Crime Lab."
Jessica turned and looked at the man. "My name's Holly Smith," she said hesitantly.

The man chuckled and looked at her. "Not with those blue eyes. I've only met Horatio Caine once but that's all you need to remember him and those blue eyes."

Jessica looked at the man in disbelief. "You think I'm Jessica Caine just because my eyes are blue? I'm sure you've met other people with blue eyes who weren't the offspring of Horatio Caine."

Ray chuckled again. "Yes, but they didn't have that Caine sass like you do."
Jessica shook her head and laughed. "Guess I'm not as clever as I thought."

Ryan smiled at her. "And you're just as modest as him."

Greg wandered through the halls of the crime lab. He felt kind of lost and didn't really know why. He looked at his phone and sighed. He was restless. He needed to do something.

The elevator doors dinged and something caught Greg's ear; a laugh that sounded like wind chimes. He turned and looked as the doors closed behind Ray and a woman with blonde hair. Greg felt like his heart had stopped at the sight of her. He walked towards her, taking in her presence. A smiled spread across his face as he realized his hunch was right. She caught sight of him and she smiled at him.

"Jessica," Greg quietly said to himself. She ran towards him and Greg encased her in his arms. He kissed her cheek and smelled her wonderful scent. "I missed you, Jessie," he whispered.

"I missed you, too, Greg," she whispered back, "But call me Holly Smith, I'll explain later."

"Whoa Greggo!" a loud voice boomed, "Did you get yourself a girl?"

Jessica slid from Greg's arms and looked towards the source of the sound. Nick's eyes lit up at the sight of her and he grinned from ear to ear. Jessica ran towards him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Nick fell onto his butt and laughed as he hugged Jessica.

"Holy crap, Jess!" Nick exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a CSI here now," Jessica quietly said, "And my name is Dr. Holly Smith. I'll explain it to you and Greg later."

"Alright but you have to promise me," Nick said with a laugh.

Ray walked to her side and helped Jessica to her feet. "Dr. Smith, I believe we have a tour we need to complete before our meeting with the rest of the team," he said with a smile. He winked at Nick as he led Jessica away.

Greg walked over to Nick and held out his hand. Nick laughed as Greg pulled him to his feet.
"Holy crap, G," Nick said, "Can you believe this?"
Greg laughed and clapped Nick on the shoulder. "You know I've caught on that with Jessica you have to expect the unexpected."

The room full of investigators stared at Jessica. She smiled nervously and glanced at Nick and Greg.

"Dr. Smith," Catherine said, "Ray should be back soon but you two seem to have gotten to know each other already so why don't you begin."

"Alright," Jessica said, "My name's Holly Smith, I'm a graduate from the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Police Academy. I worked there as a forensic scientist for a few years before I decided I needed change of scenery."

"Question," a man with light colored hair said, "Why Nevada? You do realize the only thing out here are deserts."

"You're David Hodges, right?" Jessica asked. The man nodded his head. "Well I guess you could actually say Vegas picked me. I needed somewhere to go and this is where I landed."

"Je-Holly," Greg stuttered, "If you don't me asking, are you and Ryan…"

Jessica smiled and raised her left hand. The pink and silver ring sparkled on her finger. "Yes and no, we're not engaged…yet." Jessica smirked cheekily.

"So you think Ryan's going to pop the question or are you planning on doing it yourself?" Nick asked.

"I'm not sure really," Jessica answered, "We've just kind of come to an agreement that it's going to happen eventually."

Nick smiled at her. "That's great, I'm happy for you."

Ray walked into the conference room carrying two cups of coffee. He held one out to Jessica and she accepted it with a smile. She took a deep breath and inhaled the intoxicating aroma. "Smells delicious Ray," Jessica said, "But I'm going to guess it's not decaf."

Ray looked at her perplexed. "No, I would have thought you'd want a little pick me up after that long flight."

Jessica smiled and took a drink. She sighed contently and placed the cup in front of Greg. "That's for you, G," Jessica said, "I can't have regular right now."

"Why not?" Greg asked, taking a drink.

"Um, well, no real reason exactly," she said, placing her hand absent-mindedly on her abdomen.

A smile spread across Nick's face and he chuckled. "Je-Holly, are you knocked up?"

Jessica smiled and looked down at her forming belly. "Yeah, I am."

Nick laughed loudly and clapped his hand onto the table. "I knew it!" he exclaimed.

"Whoa Jes-Holly," Greg said, getting annoyed about having to correct himself, "You and Ryan don't waste time, do you? Baby number two on the way already?"

"Yeah, did you leave Ryan at home with the first one and take a vacation without him?" Nick asked with a smile and laugh.

Jessica's face darkened and her gazed drifted to the floor. "No, there never was a baby number one," she practically whispered.

Greg and Nick looked at her confused.

"What do you mean Jess?" Nick said quietly.
"Yeah, I thought you were pregnant last year at the conference," Greg said.

Jessica blinked back the tears she could feel forming and tried to stay strong. "Our first child died a few weeks after the conference." She quietly said, "She was murdered."

The mood in the room seemed to darken. Greg could see Jessica's hand shaking ever so slightly where it rested on her abdomen. Greg stood and walked to her. He gently wrapped his arms around her and leaned into her ear. "Well no one's going to hurt this baby," he whispered, "I swear to you, I will protect your child no matter what."

Jessica nuzzled her face into his neck. She lightly kissed the spot just below his ear and smiled. "Thank you, Greg," she whispered.

"So I have to admit, Dr. Smith," Catherine said as Jessica followed her through the hall, "I wasn't expecting a CSI who was…well, expecting."

Jessica chuckled and ran her hand over the small baby bump in her lower abdomen. "Yeah, sorry, he was kind of a happy accident."

"He? Do you already know the sex?" Catherine inquired.

"Um, well no, but…" Jessica looked at Catherine. "Do you have children, Catherine?"

"Yeah, I have a daughter who's in high school now," Catherine said.

"Well you know how you just seem to have certain insights as a parent?"

"Yeah," Catherine nodded as they rounded a corner.

"Well I just have this feeling that my baby is this precious little boy that I've wanted for so long," Jessica explained. "I've wanted children pretty much my entire life and now I have that opportunity to have a baby with the man I love."

Catherine smiled at her. "Congratulations," she said, "It's an exciting time in your life, becoming a mother."

They walked into an office and Greg and Nick smiled at them from the desks they were sitting at.

"Hey J-Holly, Catherine," Nick smiled, kicking himself for forgetting the name change again, "How's it going?"

"Nick, Greg, I was wondering if Holly could use the spare desk in here with you two," Catherine inquired. "I know it's not customary for new recruits to have an office but I thought Dr. Smith would like somewhere she could work, since she won't be allowed out of the lab by January."

"Why can't she leave?" Greg asked, continuing his attempt to build a castle out of fingerprint samples.

"Because she's pregnant, dumb head," Nick said, flicking one of the bottom samples so that the castle fell.

"Hey, I was almost done!" Greg snapped as he grumpily began stacking them back into a neat pile.

"Oh dear, someone needs to go home," Jessica chuckled. She walked over to Greg's desk and stood behind him and lightly scratched at his scalp. "Somebody's a little cranky."

Greg groaned and leaned his head into her touch. "I've been awake for too long," he muttered.

Jessica smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "You have nice hair," she said, "You should tell Ryan what kind of shampoo you use. I think I like it better than his."

Greg chuckled and leaned against her chest, his head resting between her breasts. He smiled up at her and Jessica gently stroked his cheek.

"How about this- you take me out for some breakfast and I'll let you drop me off at my hotel," Jessica said with a smile.

"Alright," Greg smiled back, "But I get to pick the diner."

"Good, because I don't know where anything is in this town," Jessica chuckled.

Jessica ate quickly, stuffing waffles and eggs into her mouth. Nick chuckled as he watched her, causing Jessica to freeze. She quickly set her fork and knife down and sat up straight as she slowly chewed the mass amount of food in her mouth.

"Sorry," she quietly said, a blush forming on her cheeks.

Nick chuckled again. "It's all good, Jess," he said in his Texan drawl, "We've all been there before."

"You two have been almost three months pregnant and moved to the other side of the country?" Jessica asked.

"Um, well, no," Nick said awkwardly as he cut into his steak. "I mean more of the being exhausted and hungry and stuffing your food into your mouth so fast you can hardly taste it."

Jessica smiled as she picked up her fork again. "Thanks, Nick, for not making me feel like some kind of human garbage disposal," she smirked as she cut a piece of waffle.

Greg watched her with an intense curiosity. "Have you always eaten that way?"

Jessica stopped mid-bite and stared at him. "Um, yes?" she said confused, "I mean usually slower, but yes, I usually put the food in my mouth."

"No I mean you cut your waffle and then kept your fork in your left hand," Greg explained, "You know, European style."

"Well I was living in Germany for two months before I came out here," Jessica explained as she continued to eat her breakfast."

"Why were you in Germany?" Nick inquired.

"I was visiting my best friend and her husband."

"With Ryan?" Nick politely asked.

"Um, well, no," Jessica quietly said, "I went alone."

"You were alone in a foreign country for two months?" Nick asked, "Was there a reason for it?"

Jessica looked down at her plate. "Yeah, I needed some alone time."

Greg reached over and gently grasped her hand. "You don't have to talk about it Jess," he quietly said.

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Thanks Greg," she whispered.