Chapter Two
Nick Stokes walked the halls of the forensic lab in search of Gil Grissom. He had just spoken with Greg, who had told him about the woman that was taking Sarah's place. According to the brainiac, the girl was a beauty with a spitfire personality, and Nick had to see for himself.
Grissom walked out of his office with a young woman. Nick stopped mid-step. The woman didn't look like a woman at all, okay she definitely had the body of a woman, but she didn't look any older then a teenager for crying out loud! Nick made his way down the hall to the two.
"Nick I was just looking for you." Grissom said when he approached, "I want you to meet Lilly, she's going to be starting work here tomorrow. Lilly this is Nick Stokes."
"It's nice to meet you." Lilly said.
"You too." Nick shook hands with her. Greg had been right about one thing, she was beautiful.
~*~*~
Bugs covered every surface of her Uncle Gil's office. Lilly wasn't surprised though. She had gone on many excursions with her godfather to gather the little creatures for his collection.
"So why don't I introduce you to your co-workers." Grissom said as Lilly inspected a jar of hissing cockroaches.
"Sure." Lilly placed the jar back down, careful not to disturb the insects. Gil led her out of his office and into the hall. A tall, incredibly handsome man walked up to them.
"Nick I was just looking for you." Her godfather said. Lilly didn't listen as he introduced her to the guy; she was too busy thinking about how cute he was. With his broad shoulders, chiseled face, and muscular arms, it was quite evident that he worked out. He had beautiful brown eyes, and a charming smile. His hands were strong and warm as they clasped Lilly's in a hearty handshake. Lilly now knew that she had made the right choice in taking this job, especially if she got to work with Nick everyday.
~*~*~
"No way Grissom!" Nick exclaimed, "I'm a CSI three, I shouldn't have to baby-sit her."
Lilly grimaced. She was the 'her' in that statement. It was Lilly's first day on the job, and Gil was tolling out job assignments. Nick was upset because Lilly had been assigned to work with him on a case.
"Nick I don't care if you're a CSI three or a CSI one, I'm in charge here and I'm telling you that Lilly is working the case with you." Grissom said harshly.
"Don't worry," Catherine Willows, the only other female on the night team leaned over towards Lilly, "Nick always puts up a fuss when he can't choose his own cases, it has nothing to do with you."
"Thanks," Lilly said, she was grateful for the older woman's words, "but I think it has everything to do with me." Catherine gave her a sympathetic look before returning her attention to the fight in front of them.
~*~*~
A stony silence settled in the car as soon as Nick and Lilly got in. They were on their way to the crime scene, Lilly's first job with the forensics lab, and Nick was sitting stone-faced behind the wheel, stewing in his defeat. He and Grissom had battled it out, but Nick knew that Grissom would win, he always won. So Nick had to work with the teenager, a teenager for Pete's sake! Here he was twenty-eight, he had worked hard to get where he was, and then a teenager comes strolling in, and he's forced to work with her. Life was so unfair sometimes.
"I'm sorry Uncle Gil is making you work with Me." Lilly's voice sounded loud in the silent car.
"Yeah well there's nothing we can do about it is there." Nick said more harshly then he meant to. He looked out the corner of his eye at Lilly. Her eyes got a slight misty look to them, and she ducked her head, her hair hiding her face from Nick's eyes.
"Sorry." Nick said, "I shouldn't have said that. I'm not mad at you, you know."
"Yeah I know." Lilly said, her voice sounded strained.
"Grissom just really gets on my nerves sometimes and." Nick stopped when he heard what he was saying, "Sorry, I shouldn't be saying that."
"It's alright," the young woman replied, "I feel that way sometimes too. Uncle Gil can be a complete control freak from time to time." Nick laughed lightly.
"You got that right."
"So tell me, what happened to this Sarah Sidle lady I'm taking over for." Nick looked over at Lilly, she was staring at him intently, her eyes filled with genuine curiosity.
"Well, Sarah's dad had a heart attack a few months ago. Back then they said he'd be fine in a few days. He wasn't. Just last month he took a turn for the worse, and Sarah went to LA to be closer to her folks. She handed her resignation in because she didn't know when and if she'd be back. Last I heard, she had a job with the LA forensics team."
"That's sad." Lilly sounded sincere.
"Yeah. Sarah's a great person, you two are more alike then you know." The two laughed then fell into a comfortable silence.
~*~*~
A foul stench wafted up Lilly's nose and she and Nick walked into the large gated mansion where the dead body had been found.
"Uh, that smells awful." Lilly covered her nose with her hand.
"Get used to it." Nick replied, "that's the smell of our job." The two walked up the stairs to the second floor bedroom. Clothes had been torn from the closet and flung all around the room. The bed was in disarray, with the sheets pulled out and the pillows torn open. In the midst of the chaos, a dead female sat propped up in a chair next to the window.
"Money definitely could have been a motive," Lilly said glancing down at the clothing, "There's nothing but designer products here."
"It wasn't money." Captain Jim Brass said walking over to the pair, "Nothings been stolen, her husband confirmed it."
"Who is she?" Nick asked.
"Monica Tiller." Brass replied, "She's a retired model. Her husband owns three casinos on the strip."
"Where was he when she died?" Nick questioned as Lilly took photos of the dead body and the room.
"Claims he had to work late."
"You don't believe him?" Lilly asked as the EMS personals took the body out.
"First rule in this business Lilly, never rule out a suspect." Nick said.
"What's the second?" Lilly asked.
"Never forget rule one."
"Uncle Gil said that didn't he."
"Yeah."
~*~*~
Time flew past as Nick and Lilly gathered evidence for the case. There was no blood to be found anywhere, but a long thick bruise ran along her throat.
"Nick check this out." Lilly called from where she studied the closet's contents.
"What is it?" Nick walked over from the bed where he had been collecting hair samples.
"This looks about the size of the bruise." Lilly held up the tie to a sexy silk robe.
"Bag it." Nick said. Lilly nodded and picked up an evidence bag. More hours passed.
"Mr. Tiller's here." Brass said sticking his head into the bedroom.
"Alright," Nick said, "I'll be down in a minute."
"Don't worry," Brass said, "he's not going anywhere." Nick chuckled. Jim Brass could be a real hard case if he had to be.
"So I'm finished in the other upstairs rooms," Lilly said walking in, "I'll check all the doors and check for foot prints outside now."
"I'll be down soon." Nick said.
"Okay." Lilly walked out, and Nick returned to his work.
~*~*~
Lilly stood in the forensics lab; all the photo's she and Nick had taken were spread out on the table in front of her. Carefully, she studied each one, searching for any clue that could help their case.
"Nick said to give you hand while he's questioning that Tiller dude." Lilly turned around as Greg walked into the room.
"And why did Nick tell you to help me?" she asked returning her gaze to the pictures.
"He thought you might need some help that's all." Greg replied with a shrug, "And he wanted me to show you this." Greg stuck a piece of paper on the table; "It's the hairs from that robe and tie."
Lilly scanned the paper quickly.
"It's Monica's hair on the robe, and the DNA off the tie belongs to her as well, that proves that was what was used to strangle her."
"So judging by the pictures, this lady was pretty hot." Greg said. Lilly gave him a disgusted look.
"Greg this woman is dead, how can you even think a dead person is hot."
"A pretty woman's a pretty woman, dead or alive."
"You're sick, you know that."
"Everyone knows that." Nick said walking into the room.
"I take it my work here is done." Greg said, "I'll see you two around." He sent Lilly a wink and walked out.
"I don't know how you put up with that idiot." Lilly said in disgust after Greg left.
"He's not as bad as he seems." Nick said, "He's actually pretty cool, if you can believe that."
"Well I don't like him." Lilly stated.
"You will, Greg just takes some getting used to."
Lilly rolled her eyes, causing Nick to laugh.
"So tell me how the questioning went." Lilly said as the two poured over the photos together. Nick relayed all that John Tiller had said, from his excuse of having to work late, to his confession of an affair. And he told her how he had acted. The way his eyes had shifted around the room and wouldn't meet Nick's, to the way his fingers continually drummed against the table till Nick was certain Brass was gonna shoot the guy if he didn't stop.
~*~*~
AN: I know this chapter was pretty crappy, but hang in there and I promise that they will get better. Don't forget to send in your vote for who Lilly should end up with, the count so far is Greg-1, Nick-0.
Nick Stokes walked the halls of the forensic lab in search of Gil Grissom. He had just spoken with Greg, who had told him about the woman that was taking Sarah's place. According to the brainiac, the girl was a beauty with a spitfire personality, and Nick had to see for himself.
Grissom walked out of his office with a young woman. Nick stopped mid-step. The woman didn't look like a woman at all, okay she definitely had the body of a woman, but she didn't look any older then a teenager for crying out loud! Nick made his way down the hall to the two.
"Nick I was just looking for you." Grissom said when he approached, "I want you to meet Lilly, she's going to be starting work here tomorrow. Lilly this is Nick Stokes."
"It's nice to meet you." Lilly said.
"You too." Nick shook hands with her. Greg had been right about one thing, she was beautiful.
~*~*~
Bugs covered every surface of her Uncle Gil's office. Lilly wasn't surprised though. She had gone on many excursions with her godfather to gather the little creatures for his collection.
"So why don't I introduce you to your co-workers." Grissom said as Lilly inspected a jar of hissing cockroaches.
"Sure." Lilly placed the jar back down, careful not to disturb the insects. Gil led her out of his office and into the hall. A tall, incredibly handsome man walked up to them.
"Nick I was just looking for you." Her godfather said. Lilly didn't listen as he introduced her to the guy; she was too busy thinking about how cute he was. With his broad shoulders, chiseled face, and muscular arms, it was quite evident that he worked out. He had beautiful brown eyes, and a charming smile. His hands were strong and warm as they clasped Lilly's in a hearty handshake. Lilly now knew that she had made the right choice in taking this job, especially if she got to work with Nick everyday.
~*~*~
"No way Grissom!" Nick exclaimed, "I'm a CSI three, I shouldn't have to baby-sit her."
Lilly grimaced. She was the 'her' in that statement. It was Lilly's first day on the job, and Gil was tolling out job assignments. Nick was upset because Lilly had been assigned to work with him on a case.
"Nick I don't care if you're a CSI three or a CSI one, I'm in charge here and I'm telling you that Lilly is working the case with you." Grissom said harshly.
"Don't worry," Catherine Willows, the only other female on the night team leaned over towards Lilly, "Nick always puts up a fuss when he can't choose his own cases, it has nothing to do with you."
"Thanks," Lilly said, she was grateful for the older woman's words, "but I think it has everything to do with me." Catherine gave her a sympathetic look before returning her attention to the fight in front of them.
~*~*~
A stony silence settled in the car as soon as Nick and Lilly got in. They were on their way to the crime scene, Lilly's first job with the forensics lab, and Nick was sitting stone-faced behind the wheel, stewing in his defeat. He and Grissom had battled it out, but Nick knew that Grissom would win, he always won. So Nick had to work with the teenager, a teenager for Pete's sake! Here he was twenty-eight, he had worked hard to get where he was, and then a teenager comes strolling in, and he's forced to work with her. Life was so unfair sometimes.
"I'm sorry Uncle Gil is making you work with Me." Lilly's voice sounded loud in the silent car.
"Yeah well there's nothing we can do about it is there." Nick said more harshly then he meant to. He looked out the corner of his eye at Lilly. Her eyes got a slight misty look to them, and she ducked her head, her hair hiding her face from Nick's eyes.
"Sorry." Nick said, "I shouldn't have said that. I'm not mad at you, you know."
"Yeah I know." Lilly said, her voice sounded strained.
"Grissom just really gets on my nerves sometimes and." Nick stopped when he heard what he was saying, "Sorry, I shouldn't be saying that."
"It's alright," the young woman replied, "I feel that way sometimes too. Uncle Gil can be a complete control freak from time to time." Nick laughed lightly.
"You got that right."
"So tell me, what happened to this Sarah Sidle lady I'm taking over for." Nick looked over at Lilly, she was staring at him intently, her eyes filled with genuine curiosity.
"Well, Sarah's dad had a heart attack a few months ago. Back then they said he'd be fine in a few days. He wasn't. Just last month he took a turn for the worse, and Sarah went to LA to be closer to her folks. She handed her resignation in because she didn't know when and if she'd be back. Last I heard, she had a job with the LA forensics team."
"That's sad." Lilly sounded sincere.
"Yeah. Sarah's a great person, you two are more alike then you know." The two laughed then fell into a comfortable silence.
~*~*~
A foul stench wafted up Lilly's nose and she and Nick walked into the large gated mansion where the dead body had been found.
"Uh, that smells awful." Lilly covered her nose with her hand.
"Get used to it." Nick replied, "that's the smell of our job." The two walked up the stairs to the second floor bedroom. Clothes had been torn from the closet and flung all around the room. The bed was in disarray, with the sheets pulled out and the pillows torn open. In the midst of the chaos, a dead female sat propped up in a chair next to the window.
"Money definitely could have been a motive," Lilly said glancing down at the clothing, "There's nothing but designer products here."
"It wasn't money." Captain Jim Brass said walking over to the pair, "Nothings been stolen, her husband confirmed it."
"Who is she?" Nick asked.
"Monica Tiller." Brass replied, "She's a retired model. Her husband owns three casinos on the strip."
"Where was he when she died?" Nick questioned as Lilly took photos of the dead body and the room.
"Claims he had to work late."
"You don't believe him?" Lilly asked as the EMS personals took the body out.
"First rule in this business Lilly, never rule out a suspect." Nick said.
"What's the second?" Lilly asked.
"Never forget rule one."
"Uncle Gil said that didn't he."
"Yeah."
~*~*~
Time flew past as Nick and Lilly gathered evidence for the case. There was no blood to be found anywhere, but a long thick bruise ran along her throat.
"Nick check this out." Lilly called from where she studied the closet's contents.
"What is it?" Nick walked over from the bed where he had been collecting hair samples.
"This looks about the size of the bruise." Lilly held up the tie to a sexy silk robe.
"Bag it." Nick said. Lilly nodded and picked up an evidence bag. More hours passed.
"Mr. Tiller's here." Brass said sticking his head into the bedroom.
"Alright," Nick said, "I'll be down in a minute."
"Don't worry," Brass said, "he's not going anywhere." Nick chuckled. Jim Brass could be a real hard case if he had to be.
"So I'm finished in the other upstairs rooms," Lilly said walking in, "I'll check all the doors and check for foot prints outside now."
"I'll be down soon." Nick said.
"Okay." Lilly walked out, and Nick returned to his work.
~*~*~
Lilly stood in the forensics lab; all the photo's she and Nick had taken were spread out on the table in front of her. Carefully, she studied each one, searching for any clue that could help their case.
"Nick said to give you hand while he's questioning that Tiller dude." Lilly turned around as Greg walked into the room.
"And why did Nick tell you to help me?" she asked returning her gaze to the pictures.
"He thought you might need some help that's all." Greg replied with a shrug, "And he wanted me to show you this." Greg stuck a piece of paper on the table; "It's the hairs from that robe and tie."
Lilly scanned the paper quickly.
"It's Monica's hair on the robe, and the DNA off the tie belongs to her as well, that proves that was what was used to strangle her."
"So judging by the pictures, this lady was pretty hot." Greg said. Lilly gave him a disgusted look.
"Greg this woman is dead, how can you even think a dead person is hot."
"A pretty woman's a pretty woman, dead or alive."
"You're sick, you know that."
"Everyone knows that." Nick said walking into the room.
"I take it my work here is done." Greg said, "I'll see you two around." He sent Lilly a wink and walked out.
"I don't know how you put up with that idiot." Lilly said in disgust after Greg left.
"He's not as bad as he seems." Nick said, "He's actually pretty cool, if you can believe that."
"Well I don't like him." Lilly stated.
"You will, Greg just takes some getting used to."
Lilly rolled her eyes, causing Nick to laugh.
"So tell me how the questioning went." Lilly said as the two poured over the photos together. Nick relayed all that John Tiller had said, from his excuse of having to work late, to his confession of an affair. And he told her how he had acted. The way his eyes had shifted around the room and wouldn't meet Nick's, to the way his fingers continually drummed against the table till Nick was certain Brass was gonna shoot the guy if he didn't stop.
~*~*~
AN: I know this chapter was pretty crappy, but hang in there and I promise that they will get better. Don't forget to send in your vote for who Lilly should end up with, the count so far is Greg-1, Nick-0.