Author: IllicitlyNuttier, or AKA ScullyAsTrinity and TriplePirouette!
Rating: PG-13
Category: Crossover/angst/romance
SPOILER WARNING: This story takes place during season 4 of CSI and AFTER season 9 of X-Files. Though, we have taken the liberty of giving Scully back her baby. How nice of us! Oh and "Jump the Shark" never happened, we like the Gunmen too!
Lauren's A/N: Well, I've been trying to do an XF/CSI crossover for a while now, but nothing's ever worked. Undoubtedly because I was writing without my best cohort in crime! Now that we're back together here's hoping we can come up with some pretty good stuff. It's a BLAST writing with you babe- you make all of my stuff seem so much better! Thanks to the usual suspects: Les, for being awesome, and to Rosa and the Sisters ;) Here's hoping you enjoy this... and that it's at least somewhat believable. We thrive on feedback!
Leslie's A/N: Damn, this has been in the works for forever and a day. See people, Lauren introduced me to CSI way back when I was in my prime of writing XF. And thank goodness she did! I love Lauren like whoa, and I'm go glad we're getting to do this together. And she's right, we do thrive on feedback. Thanks go out to her, Holly, Mel, Karen, Matt and Kat.
There will definitely be some GS romance, but we've also got lots of story going on here. We have MSR, too (Mulder/Scully romance)! Lastly, it may be helpful to know some X-Files Cannon. If you don't, there are tons of great XF sites out there to help you, or simply ask Les or myself and we'd be happy to help you out!
Las Vegas, Nevada
"What do you think about that one?" Jim asked Grissom as the criminalist moved to join Jim at the edge of the crime scene. He nodded towards a dark house at the end of the street that stood in stark contrast to the small houses around them that were well lit with people hovering in their doorways as they watched the LVPD work around the scene of a body dump in a house for sale. "Vacation?"
"Could be, but there are two cars in the driveway and no outward signs of being boarded up." He paused and studied the house, "besides, the back window's open with soft light coming out of it. Why?"
"Guys doing the canvassing say the neighbors are quick to point fingers at the couple that lives there. Says their 'un neighborly' and 'creepy.'" Both men watched as a dark shadow fell over the back window, shutting it and drawing the shade, putting a damper on their viewing. "No reason to wake them if they didn't see anything. I'll run the address and see what we come up with."
"Good idea." Grissom said, noting the normalcy of the neighborhood.
"What'cha got inside?" Brass asked, turning back to the small house they were working around.
"Two bodies, shot execution style, and a couple of organic looking stains on the rugs." Grissom shook his head. "So far, we only know it's murder."
Jim nodded. "Nothing useful on this end except some suspicions about those neighbors, but that's all here say."
"Well then, you know what we'll be doing..."
"Yeah, yeah," Jim laughed. "You're just like a broken record." They stared at each other. "So? Go follow your evidence!"
Washington, D.C.
"So you said you have connections?"
"I do. Hey, stop hogging the chips."
"Those are my chips, dude..."
"Gentlemen! Can we get back on track?"
"Yeah."
"No reason to get bitchy. Anyway, yes. I know the computer analyst on the night shift. I'll just tell him she's an old friend. It'll fit in with the background we've created."
"What about the security checks?"
"When the government updated its software last month we slipped into the system and replaced all of the records. She'll have no problem."
"What about our boys?"
"They're fine. A little stir crazy, but fine."
"Do you actually think this is going to work?"
"It has to."
"So, you want to know who owns the house?" Jim asked, a smug look on his face as he hung in the doorway of Grissom's office. Grissom just lifted his eyebrows. "Follow me."
Grissom followed Jim through the buildings and into the morgue.
"They're dead?" Grissom asked as they entered the cold, sterile room.
"Not quite," Jim said, smiling a bit as Doc Robbins emerged. "Hey Doc."
"Jim, Gil." Robbins nodded. "What can I do for you gentlemen?"
"I'm going to need to speak with your new assistant." Jim said evenly, but politely.
"It's her first day, don't scare her." The doc said as he moved to a set of doors at the back of the room, "I can't afford to lose another assistant. No one wants to work nights these days, especially in a morgue." He stopped just shy of the doors. "Oh, and Gil, tox is still pending, but Sara has the prelim on the two from last night's shooting."
Grissom just nodded as he watched his friend leave the room. "She works here?" Grissom turned to Jim and talked in a hushed whisper.
"Hired a week ago, started tonight." The two men turned to watch a petite woman walk in. Mid-thirties and with long blonde hair, she was striking with bright green eyes and a small, pouty mouth. She did, however, look world-weary: like she knew far too much for her fragile body to stand. "Katherine Melville? I'm Jim Brass with Homicide and this is Gil Grissom with Criminalistics. Can we take a moment of your time?"
"As long as it's alright with Doctor Robbins." She said in a monotone alto, watching as the man limped by, nodding and eyeing his friends curiously as he again slipped out of the room. "How can I help you?"
"Are you aware that there was a murder committed on your street last night?" Grissom asked, watching the woman for any outward signs of stress at their questions. She stayed cool and folded her arms over her chest.
"I knew something was going on." She said, almost challenging the men.
"Not interested enough to come take a peek?" Jim asked, curious.
"Well, I know most people are interested in that sort of thing. We, my husband and I, that is, might have stepped out but we were otherwise engaged at the moment." Jim tipped his head, confused by the wording.
"You were being intimate?" Grissom asked, hoping for clarification.
She laughed and smiled at the two uncomfortable men. "I wish. No, um, our son's been sick. He's thirteen months and kept us up the whole night crying. The commotion of the crime scene wasn't helping, so we closed all of the windows." She watched the men nod, taking the story at face value. "Must look pretty suspicious..."
"Well, your neighbors do have some stories to tell about you... more like suspicions." Jim tried to be leading, hoping for her to explain.
"Well, my husband and I moved in pretty fast because we closed escrow on our old house faster than we expected to, and we work nights, or at least he did and I do, so we sleep mostly during the day. Our son isn't old enough for school, so we're not out much with him unless it's in the back yard, but the house came with a high wood fence, so you can't see into the backyard. I guess that could make nosy neighbors suspicious."
"I guess it could." Jim said, switching into a less suspicious mode of operation. "Did you see or hear anything suspicious in relation to the house down the block? Number 115, the Bradlies?"
"No, but like I said, I've been pretty pre-occupied with my son and the new job." She shrugged.
"Would your husband have seen anything?" Grissom asked, his mind working to try to understand the woman in front of him.
"I doubt it. He works as an independent editor now, at home office and all, so when he's not with William he's working, and when he's working he's in his own world." She shrugged. "You're free to talk to him, though. We're not spooky, even though the neighbors seem to think so."
