Chapter Twenty Six:

After that night, and after a long time trying to get off the boat, Jessica and Ryan were closer than ever. Ryan was now pretty sure he'd made a good choice. She didn't seem rushed, and she didn't even seem to want to slow down. About a week after the boat incident, Jessica decided she had to go back to work. Sure, Ryan's place was cool...but there was nothing to do all day, every day. There's only so many times you can vacuum the one perfectly good, perfectly clean carpet. Her arm still gave her grief every now and then, but she managed to convince herself that it was less and less frequent, even thought it really wasn't. She got up out of the bed that still had Ryan firmly in it's grips. She smiled at him and quietly left the room. Her daily routine was becoming quite easy to handle; wake up, have a shower, get breakfast, get dressed, engage in random 'just-woken-up' conversation with Ryan. One thing was for sure...he was a deep, deep sleeper. A bomb going off couldn't wake him up. She sat on the edge of the bed, hair up in a pony-tail with her fringe hanging attractively across her forehead. It was around seven in the morning, which was Ryan's usual time of getting up. He stirred, groaning into the pillow. The good thing was, once he got woken up - he was ready for anything. He half-smiled.

"Hey."

"Morning, Ryan!" Jessica grinned, teasing slightly. He was sensitive to noise after just waking up, and she was exploiting it.

"Shh." He put a finger to his lips and furrowed his brows. "I need to wait for my eyes to feel comfortable."

Jessica nodded. This was the excuse he had used several times before. "Okay, well...while you do that, I think I'll head off to work now. I'll tell Horatio you'll be along soon, okay?" She leant down and kissed him on the cheek. "Take it easy."

"Bye." Ryan yawned and stretched out. "Be careful." He could almost imagine it, as his grogginess cleared slightly, her first day back...probably get shot on the job, or something.

Jessica rolled he eyes, grinning to herself. He was such a worrywart.

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Jessica opened the door of Miami Dade, and a strange, nervy feeling came over her. It was kind of like her first day. She walked up to reception and smiled, checking to see if the receptionist had anything new to report. She handed Jessica a few notes and wished her good luck. Walking down the hall, she noticed Calleigh and Delko, obviously brainstorming. She smiled again and headed up to them.

"Hey, guys...what's happening?" She greeted, folding her arms. Calleigh turned round and grinned, while Delko cocked his head to the side, smirking lazily.

"Jessica, hi!" Calliegh tilted her head to the side, observing the reception area. She had been waiting on the mail for half an hour by this point. "How are you feeling?"

Jessica cocked her head to the side. "Good, I guess. Glad to be back at work, anyway. Are you, uh, on a case?"

Delko nodded, trying to answer before Calleigh. This had recently become a game of theirs, trying to outdo one another. "Yeah, double homicide. We're just waiting for Parish to get our results, then we're off to nail the guy."

Jessica wrinkled her nose. "Parish? Who's that?"

Calliegh nodded to the lab. "She is a newbie. British. She's here while Valera takes her sabbatical. Again, we can't thank you enough for that." She laughed. Jessica nodded.

"Yeah, I know, I'm fantastic." She smiled. "So Ryan says, anyway." Ooh, maybe she shouldn't have included that.

Delko chuckled, folding his arms. "So how is it living with Wolfe? He as much of a pain as he is at work?" At this, Calleigh had to intervene and nudge Delko. He furrowed his brows.

Jessica laughed. She couldn't imagine Ryan being a pain. He was very nice. Awkward, at times, and very, very neat - blame it on the OCD -, but never a pain. "He's very good, Eric. You should give him a chance." She gave them one more smile, then headed off. She had a few thoughts about what people in the lab would say if they ever came to find out. Obviously Calleigh and Eric had a few ideas, but they had never truly asked outright. She had been told before about Rick Stetler. The very man to instill fear into the strongest of people. Jessica stopped at the lab, cautiously eyeing up the new girl. She was about 5"5', blonde with hazel eyes. Quite curvy, yet slender. She looked quite friendly, so Jessica decided she wouldn't have too much difficulty striking up a conversation. She opened the door and bounded in. "Hi there."

The blonde lab tech looked up from her work, slightly confused looking. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Uh...nope. Not really." Jessica shrugged. "I'm Jessica Lucas, I work around here."

"Oh!" The girl almost smacked her hand against the table, but thought better of it as they were made of glass. "I've heard about you...you got kidnapped, didn't you? By the ex-boyfriend and his little lady!"

Jessica couldn't stifle the laugh that erupted from her seconds later. "Jeez, you don't beat around the bush. Yeah, I did. I'm fine, though." She felt an impulsive urge to scratch the wound that was still adorned on her side. "So, what's you name?"

The girl stepped forward. "Oh! Sorry, I'm Nikki Parish. I've taken over the lab for a month. Apparently..." Nikki leant in next to Jessica as if she were about to unleash a mountain of secrets from her mouth. "The woman that worked here before me had a nervous meltdown...is that true?"

Jessica smiled, shaking her head firmly. "No. Valera just.." How to say it... "She'd had enough bodily fluids to last her a lifetime."

Nikki giggled. "I see. Well, anyway, if you need anything - I'm always around. Have you seen Eric Delko? I heard you work with him."

Jessica nodded. "I do. Have you got any results for him?"

Nikki nodded, eagerly. Jessica figured she was one of the very many women in Miami Dade that had their sights set directly on Delko, refusing to take them off him. "Yeah, if it's alright...I think I'll go and deliver them myself. You know..." Nikki bobbed her head from side to side, vigorously. "Do your work to the best of your abilities and all that."

Jessica nodded. "Alrighty then. Have fun." And then she turned on her heel and walked out. Thankfully, she ran into Horatio. "H! How's it going?"

Horatio turned round and let his head droop to the side, smirking a little. "Miss Lucas...you're back."

"I am indeed. I like your new lab-girl. And I'm glad you got Valera a sabbatical. Everyone at the lab thanks you." She giggled, looking down at her feet and the lovely brown high-heels she had only recently purchased. "So, have I got a case?"

"That depends, Jessica, it depends on whether or not Mr. Wolfe shows up." Horatio glanced around a little bit, furrowing his brows.

"Oh, he said he'd be in later on."

Horatio cocked an eyebrow. "You spoke to him, Miss Lucas?" He knew, too, about Jessica and Ryan. Frankly, it never bothered him. He was pleased to see Jessica so happy, considering all the things that had gone wrong for her in the past. Even in Ryan there was a big change. He was laughing a lot more, interacting with the group. He'd been a black sheep since he started. Especially with Delko, who still hadn't gotten to grips with Tim Speedle's death.

Jessica bit her lip. "Yeah. I, uh, haven't managed to move out yet. He's been keeping an eye on me."

Horatio half-smiled. "I'm sure. Anyway, I'll meet you in the break room, half an hour or so. Bring Mr. Wolfe." He put his glasses on and exited the lab completely.

"Okay, bye." Jessica trailed off, still pondering on what progress she could make around the lab. Everyone seemed so relaxed, chilled. It was strange. She eventually puttered about long enough to get Ryan and wheel him into the break room. Then, of course, they had to wait for Horatio. Ryan made himself useful and put some dishes in the dishwasher. "How does a place this big give you nothing to do?"

Ryan looked up from the paper. Today, he had opted for a green shirt, blue jeans and a white jacket. His hair was shorter than usual, but it was still nice. When he first arrived, his hair was askew, but he decided it wasn't really him, so he went for a more...mature hairdo. Shorter, and no fringe. "Yeah, amazing, isn't it? Horatio'll be here soon."

He was certainly taking his sweet time about it. "I guess."

Ryan put his paper down and sighed. "You bored?"

Jessica smiled, eyebrows raised. "I'm bored." She confirmed, amusedly. Ryan got up and moved next to her before sitting himself down comfortably.

"Me too." He looked down at her. "I was thinking we could try the ice-skating tonight."

"Mm." She grinned. "As much as I'd love to see you in tights, I have to visit my Mom. She'll be wondering where I am."

Ryan nodded. He was actually beginning to enjoy visiting Jessica's mother. She liked him, and he liked her. Although...she was completely nuts. "Oh, right. Why don't you invite her over?"

Jessica wrinkled her nose. "What, to yours? Jesus, Ryan...she would die if I asked her." Florence definitely had a thing for Ryan, and she refused to be subtle about it. "But I might."

He momentarily laughed. "How's your arm?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's good thanks." And it really was.

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JESSICA POV

Myself and Ryan were in the break room, waiting on Horatio to come back. God, I was bored. Ryan was too, apparently. He sort of told me to invite my Mom over. That was incredibly sweet, I thought. I sat back next to Ryan and let him trace his finger up my arm. I was actually worried in case someone - Rick Stetler! - caught us. I knew Eric and Calleigh would be okay...not sure about Horatio...but anyway, if we could keep on the way we were going, we'd be fine. The problem was my emotional issues. I can never seem to keep life as life and work as work. They seem to merge somehow, and I end up feeling like an ass. I didn't feel like an ass now, because things were going well. I was happy...and Ryan Wolfe old me he loved me! Well, 'kinda' loves me. God, I was so pleased that I almost fell off the boat- oh, and the boat! How utterly romantic. No other man has ever done anything like that for me before. Ryan's just... I let my thoughts take on a world of their own and then Horatio came in.

We had a case...at last!!

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A/N: Hi!

Well, that was just a filler chapter...I'm getting to a pretty good case, which I'll need to think out a bit more, then some fluff, then after that we'll have flangst.

Thank you, thank you - THANK YOU ALL so much for the amazing reviews. I can't believe I got that many for the one chapter. Wow!

Nikki, hope you like your cameo...this is the first of many appearances! Speedle's Sweetie, you rock, as always, sorry I haven't had a chance to reply to the rest of you, so I'll do it now:

Michelle: Thank you! I was hoping for something along the lines of 'utterly cute'!

Dramione: Well, I hope you like this one!

Klsymrrsn: Thanks very much! You rock!

Luf100: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Poor Ryan, I actually felt for him!

Dayamiricale: Thanks so much! I know...Ryan's the bomb!

Please R&R!

Have a great rest of the day,

JauntyChick

XOX