I'm so incredibly sorry for the wait! You see… I revised this chapter maybe five times, and I couldn't get it to work. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but… You guys deserve to know that I'm not dead, although with school starting soon I may as well be. 9.9 Anyway, This chapter is mostly character development for Lillian, introducing her family and getting a little deeper than "She doesn't like Warrick and she's bossy." Oh, and I actually provide a physical description for her!
Thank you for your patience!
"Do you get out at all during the day, Lillian?" Greg asked abruptly. Lillian didn't look up, despite being startled almost out of her wits.
"I have a night job." She said, as if it explained everything.
"Yeah, but even Sara goes jogging in the morning, and Catherine visits the tanner once in a while. You look pale as milk."
Lillian tensed up inexplicably. "Process, Mr. Sanders. My skin tone is not your business." She said, a cold edge in her voice that Greg hadn't yet heard. He was surprised into obeying.
After a few more moments of silence, Greg stretched his arms heavenward as the printer whirred. "This is the last of the lab stuff needed. I'll run it to Grissom. Shift is over soon, are you coming with us to breakfast?"
"I already told Mr. Brown no."
"Are you sure? There's this nice diner we head to, really good food." Greg said, scanning the printout.
"No." Lillian said. "I promised my mother I'd be home by 8."
"You can still make it home." Greg pointed out. "Shift ends at 6, you could eat and be home in another hour."
"How many letters are in the word 'no'? There's not too much to misunderstand. I gave my response, do not push me."
"If you're sure…"
"I am, Mr. Sanders. Mr. Grissom will want those printouts."
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Greg quoted as Grissom poked his head into the lab. "Here you go, Gris, I've got these finished."
"Good, leave them on my desk. Dr. James?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Are you coming to breakfast?" He asked, flipping through a folder that he had with him.
"No." Lillian replied.
"Suit yourself. I do suggest that you take the team up on their offer at least once, though.
"Yes, sir." Lillian sighed. She glanced at the clock. Ten minutes until shift ended. She sat at her desk, reviewing several papers for ten minutes before she stood up and left without another word.
--
Lillian pulled up to her house at 6:50 with a deep sigh. The modest, two-story house was tan with brown trim. The only thing extraordinary was the solar cell shingles, but the casual observer would simply think that they were insane for having a black roof in the middle of the desert. Lillian climbed out of the car and went to the front door of the house. She quickly unlocked it and stepped inside, looking around for any sign of her family.
She heard a loud yapping getting louder as their Shih-Tzu/Poodle mix, Olive, came sliding around the corner, crashing into the wall before regaining traction on the hardwood floor and attacking Lillian's feet.
"Morning, Olive." She picked the tiny dog up and carried him into the kitchen. Her mother sat at the table, red-eyed and messy-haired.
"Good morning, mother." Lillian said, refraining from laughing at the sight of her usually prim mother in such a state. Her mom jumped up to greet her, hugging her.
"How was your first day? Are you okay, you didn't get hurt? Didn't get sick? Are you sure you're fine?"
"Mother, I told you on the phone, I'm fine. Did you stay up all night?" Her mother didn't respond. "Go to bed, I'll make breakfast for Alexandria and Thomas and get them off to school."
"Thank you, dear." She kissed Lillian on the forehead and left the kitchen. Lillian looked around the kitchen, suddenly lost.
"Okay… How should I do this?" She asked Olive. Olive yapped cheerfully.
--
"Alex! Calm down! Shush, Mom and dad are asleep!"
"Lilli!"
"You too, Tom!"
"Lilli, he put coco puffs in my lucky charms!"
"Only because you put sugar in my rice krispies yesterday!"
"Like they're any good otherwise!" Alexandria stuck her tongue out at her older brother.
Lillian sighed, sitting back and looking at the mess her siblings had made. Cereal all over the floor, milk all over the counters… she was thankful that neither of them were messy.
She took a moment to study her siblings, almost shocked to realize that she had never done so before. Thomas was skinny, with dark hair that he got from his father. His mother's brown eyes grinned mischievously at anyone and everyone. His more conservative sister shared Lillian's light brown hair (most likely from their grandmother, since their parents both had fairly dark hair) and green eyes taken from their father.
"Are you guys done?" Lillian asked. She knew better than to ask them to help clean up, that would wind up in soap suds all over the kitchen. She knew from experience.
"Yup! Will you walk with us down to the bus stop?" Alex asked. Tom looked disgusted.
"Yuck! I don't want my sister to walk me to the bus stop!" He cried. Lillian laughed.
"I'll do it just for that." She said, grinning. She slipped on a pair of flip-flops and grabbed the kid's back-packs. "I have your book-bags!" She said, walking out the front door. The nine and eleven year olds followed her out, laughing and racing down the street. They stopped at the end where a woman stood with her own daughter. Lillian rolled her eyes as Alex and the other girl, a classmate apparently, started talking and laughing together. Lillian stopped as she got closer to the stop and recognized the woman.
"Lindsey, you HAVE to meet my big sister! She used to be off at college because she's really, really smart, but she's back so she can walk me to the bus stop now!" Alex said, dragging the blonde girl over. The girl's mom looked up and met Lillian's eyes.
"Lilli, I want you to meet my best friend in the entire world, Lindsey. Linds, this is my big sister Lillian."
"Very nice to meet you, Miss Lillian." Lindsey said, smiling.
"Nice to meet you, too, Lindsey." She said kindly. No helping it now, she had to be nice to the kid.
"Dr. James! Fancy meeting you here." Catherine smiled. "Alex and Tom have been bragging about their sister for a while now, I never expected this."
"I have not…" Tom muttered.
"Indeed." Lillian said, nodding. Mercifully, the bus pulled up just then. "Go on, Alex, Tom. Be quiet when you get home, I'm going to be sleeping then, remember."
"Okay, Lilli!" Alex grinned and bounced onto the bus after Lindsey.
The bus pulled away and left the two older women standing there. Well, woman and teen, rather.
"Would you like to come over for coffee before you head off to sleep?" Catherine offered. "You didn't have breakfast with us."
"No, thank you. I let them leave a mess in the kitchen." Lillian said, at once thankful that she didn't have to lie her way out of it. "And Mother would wonder where I am." She nodded a goodbye and walked off. Catherine shrugged.
"Alright. Another time?"
"We'll see." Lillian said, sighing. As she walked down the sidewalk she came to regret the hasty decision more and more. Catherine was a nice person, why she couldn't just accept a cup of coffee and a nice chat with her was beyond Lillian's grasp. She shook her head to rid it of her thoughts as she opened the door. She bypassed the coffee maker and began slowly cleaning up the kitchen.