Thank you for those who left me reviews encouraging me to continue. I couldn't contact you all personally as I usually do, but I'll say this. About the way this fic looks like it's going romantically...I have never personally read any Nick/Gris's daughter fics, so I can pretty much assure you that this will probably be different. Also, I'm terrible with ages and know next to nothing about the characters' backgrounds. Whatever I get mixed up will be part of the alternate universe that this fic lives in.


Daddy Dearest: Part 2
By LissaMarie


Kait looked at Nick sadly and put her hand out to him as if to have him shake it. "Nick Stokes, I'm Kaitlyn Grissom. It's very nice to meet you."

"Grissom? You're related to Gris?" Nick's eyes widened when he connected the dots. "You're his daughter?"

"Surprise?" Kait tried bringing her hand down into her lap and turning her gaze down to it.

"That's one way of putting it. How did you get this position? Did he help?"

"No. I worked damn hard for this position. Even harder than most to prove that he and I could work together. If anything, he held me back. He and I aren't all that close, and it's pretty awkward. I've earned everything that I have. I plan to make a place for myself here, not have one made for me because I'm the boss's daughter." Kait couldn't help her eyes narrowing on Nick's face as she said all this. She knew he probably didn't deserve her anger. He hadn't exactly made any assumptions, really. At least, he didn't make any overt accusations or outright question her qualifications.

"Down girl," Nick told her putting his hands up in mock surrender. "I didn't mean anything about it. I'm just sort of surprised, I guess. We have to get back to the lab. We can talk more then and you can tell me more about yourself because I'm sure there has to be an interesting story behind all this."

Kait conceded and they were on their way back to the crime lab.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Okay, can we start with this...What is the age gap between you and Gris?" Nick broke the silence that had plagued the autopsy bay since the arrived. The body of the unidentified young woman that had been found in the alley was laid out on the table waiting for Kait to start her examination, but so far she had done nothing except stare at it.

"Are you asking how old my father was when he knocked up my mother?" Kait asked finally looking up and giving him a small grin. She really enjoyed making people uncomfortable.

Nick was unsure how to respond. "Um, I guess I sort of am."

"Sort of?" Her eyes twinkled as he squirmed on his stool.

"What were you staring at before?" Nick changed the subject standing up and walking toward the body. Evidence still needed to be collected, but he was hesitant to do anything before fully understanding Kait's observations from the crime scene. He might have more field experience, but she was the doctor of the two of them.

"Several things. There is no obvious cause of death just from looking at her though she seems to have been badly beaten. None of the injuries that she has could alone cause death. I'm not sure if they could have killed her all together. There's no evidence of rape though the numerous injuries would indicate that the killer had a desire for power...to dominate. The cause of death should be obvious. Someone this violent wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a violent murder. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Murder rarely does."

Kait looked at the body thoughtfully. "I'm 28 years old. Do the math yourself."

"Okay. So you lived with your mother?" Nick asked, for some reason happy that she was opening up to him.

"Yeah. My mother was older and better capable of caring for me." Kait picked up the nail clippers from her supply tray and went about her duties with the body as she spoke. "She was a professor at my father's college. She was a manipulative woman who was used to getting what she wanted. She wanted a baby. She got a baby. She never even considered who would get hurt in the process. Only thought about herself." Kait gave him a wry look. "Like always."

After taking a second to collect himself, Nick locked eyes with her. "I'm sorry."

Kait's only response was a half-smile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Wow, 4 siblings...I always wanted a brother or sister, but I can't even imagine having 4 of them," Kait laughed as she search Jane Doe's stomach contents. "Looks like pizza with...sausage and pepperoni." She looked up quickly with a pleading expression on her face. "Are you hungry? I'm now officially starving."

"How can you look through a person's stomach contents and still think about eating?" Nick questioned wide eyed.

"I'd eat while performing an autopsy if it were sanitary. I can eat all the time." Kaitlyn backed away from the examination table and walked over to the refrigerator. After stripping off her gloves, she pulled out an apple and took a bite.

Nick took a peek in the fridge and noted the various petri dishes and tissue samples and grimaced. "That is disgusting. If I had any doubts about you and Gris being related, they'd be gone now."

Kait merely shrugged. "Why don't you tell me more about your family? What's it like growing up with siblings? Did they always nag you about all your girlfriends?"

"It was an experience. I didn't date much growing up, really. They got annoying, especially since I'm the youngest. But everyone also looked out for me for the same reason. We're pretty tight. I'm the only one that left Texas, but I try to visit whenever I can." Nick reclaimed his stool when Kait grabbed another.

"I was never really close to anyone growing up. I didn't have many friends, and after the luster disappeared from motherhood, my mom spent long hours at the office or with dates. I spent a lot of my time at church. The priest and the nuns were always so nice to me. They taught me all sorts of things and listened whenever I needed to talk. I had actually considered becoming a nun for some time." Kait smiled fondly at the memory and spun around on her chair. "Then I saw this man playing tag with his children while his wife watched from a park bench, and I realized that I wanted to have that some day. So I went to Harvard and became a scientist instead. I'm still a pretty strict Catholic though."

"And here you are today." Nick concluded when she stopped spinning around and looked at his face.

"And here I am today."

TO BE CONTINUED...

So, does this answer at least some of your questions? More information will be forthcoming.