Chapter 4- Breakfast with the Guys
"Please?" Hailey's eyebrows were raised in expectation. She was tempted to stick out her lower lip, but thought that might be too much.
Jim Brass looked from his niece's hopeful expression, to the CSI standing beside her, to the pile of paperwork in his 'in' box. Slowly, he shook his head. Damn, but it was hard to say no to those hopeful brown eyes.
"Sorry, kid. I'm stuck here until I finish with all this. I just hope I can get it done before it's time to take you to school."
"Aww, Uncle Jimmy. Can't we do breakfast first? You can do the paperwork later. Surely you don't want to send your favorite niece to school without the most important meal of the day?" she teased.
"Favorite by default," Brass snorted. "Being the only child of my only sibling makes the competition scarce."
"But you love me anyway." Hailey leaned her elbows against her uncle's desk so that their faces were only a foot apart. She grinned at him.
"Yes, for some unexplainable reason, I do. And still, I say no to breakfast."
Hailey was about to give up hope when Warrick spoke up for the first time since entering the office.
"As much as we'll miss your banal wit at breakfast, we'd still be cool with Hailey coming. What if I take her, and drop her of at school on my way home? Saves you a trip, and I'm sure you'll finish your files quicker without a pouting teenager hanging around."
Hailey was so grateful at his words that she decided to overlook the 'pouting teen' comment. She raised her eyebrows, concentrating on him as if she could influence his response with the power of her thoughts. Say yes, say yes.
"Are you sure about this, War?" Brass turned from the stare to ask the question.
"No sweat. I've dropped Linds off a couple of times, so I know where the school is."
"Alright, if you're willing to take her, I have no problem with her going." Brass reached out and caught Hailey's attention with a hand on her shoulder. "You behave at breakfast, and at school today, hear me? I don't want to get any more phone calls from the office."
"You won't, I promise. No more unscheduled field trips." Hailey leaned forward a little farther and kissed her uncle on the forehead before straightening up and turning to face Warrick. "We ready to go?"
Warrick just nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth he might have to laugh. The sight of Brass, gruff sardonic police captain, being kissed by this teenager, was not something he would soon forget.
"I'm getting the pancakes, side of sausage." Greg stated as soon as they sat down.
"Biscuits and gravy," Warrick decided.
"Hamburger and fries." Nick decided to skip breakfast and go straight for lunch.
None of them had bothered to open their menus. Years of meals at the same diner made it unnecessary. Hailey did not have their advantage, and actually had to read the menu before deciding to go with the French toast.
"So, what do you think of our city, so far?" Greg inquired after the waitress took their order.
"Haven't seen much, besides the airport, school, and Uncle Jimmy's. And the lab, of course."
"What, no mall, no arcade, no casinos?" Greg seemed personally affronted at the oversight.
"She's a little young for the casinos, Greggo," Nick pointed out.
"Casinos aren't just about gambling," Greg shot back.
"There's roller coasters and shows, restaurants and stores. Vegas casinos are a world unto themselves." Greg informed Hailey.
"I don't really see Brass taking his niece to any casino," Nick argued lightly.
"Children, stop your bickering." Warrick rolled his eyes at the pair.
At that moment, the waitress arrived with two coffee pots. "Regular or unleaded?" she inquired.
The three CSIs, on their way to bed after breakfast was over, chose decaf. Hailey went with the regular.
"Gonna stunt your growth," Nick teased.
"One can only hope." At five foot seven, Hailey was as tall as she ever wanted to be.
"So, where are your parents, while you spend the year here?" Warrick asked after their food was served. Hailey occupied herself cutting up the toast while she answered.
"My mom got an offer to teach at a university in Madrid for a year. She jumped at the chance. I so didn't want to do Spain again. One summer was enough for me. I called up Uncle Jimmy, and after many conversations here I am."
"And your dad went with her?" Nick asked.
"My dad's not in the picture. It's always been just me and my mom." That was not the whole truth, but she wasn't about to get into those two and a half years with Bruce. It wasn't something she talked about, ever.
"Kind of a Gilmore Girls family," Greg remarked.
"A what?" Nick looked at Greg with a puzzled expression on his face. Hailey had to laugh, both at Nick's expression and Greg's pop culture reference.
"You watch Gilmore Girls?" she asked the now-blushing man.
"Not anymore, but I had a girlfriend a couple years ago who didn't miss an episode," Greg explained
Like any girl with a crush, Hailey didn't like hearing Greg mention a girlfriend. She took comfort from his speaking of the relationship in the past tense.
"It's a show about a single mom and her teenage daughter, living in a small Connecticut town," Hailey told the other two men, who obviously had never spent any time in Stars Hollow. Warrick just nodded, while Nick playfully punched Greg in the arm and muttered the word 'whipped' under his breath.
Hailey decided that enough questions had been asked of her, it was time to turn the microscope on the three men surrounding her. "So, any of you guys have a girlfriend?" It was funny to see the response to her (almost) innocent question. These three men, who calmly discussed murder, blood splatter, and severed limbs became flustered and began to sputter when questioned about their personal relationships. Maybe it was just being asked by a fourteen year old.
"Well I, uh..."
"Working night shift it's hard..."
"There was that girl..."
Hailey rolled her eyes. You'd think she asked them about their sex lives, not simply dating. Men. "So that would pretty much be a no for all of you."
"So David comes in, following the sound, and you can tell from his expression that he thinks we're receiving communication from another planet." Nick was telling the story from a few weeks ago, of a body found just outside Area 51. Throughout breakfast, the three CSIs had all taken turns relating their more bizarre cases. Some of them she had heard before, from her uncle, but most of them were new. Warrick told the story of vampires in Vegas. Nick spoke of the man who drove for miles, chased by cops, with a nine inch wooden stake in his head. Greg didn't have many stories of being out in the field, but bragged of the many times his DNA evidence broke open a case.
Breakfast was over, had been for a while, but they were lingering over their coffee. Warrick was glancing at his watch, though, and Hailey took it as a sign that it was almost time to leave. Sure enough, he motioned to get the waitresses attention, and asked for the bill.
"Pay up, guys. Fourteen bucks a piece, and that covers the tip."
Hailey reached for her duct tape wallet, but Nick stopped her.
"We've got you covered, Hails."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, CSI rules. You have to be around at least a week before you chip in on the bill. Next time, you can pay," Greg answered.
"Nah. Next time, I'll bring Uncle Jimmy with me. He can pay." Hailey loved the sound of laughter that followed her as she walked out of the diner.
"Thanks for the ride, War." Hailey picked up her backpack and opened the passenger door of Warrick's silver Mustang.
"No prob, Hails," Warrick commented. He almost said goodbye, but decided he wanted to satisfy his curiosity. "By the way, what did Brass mean earlier, about no more phone calls? You in trouble already?"
"No...not really," Hailey hedged. "Let's just say I'm supposed to stay on campus from now on, and despite the fact that everyone at Seven Eleven is from out of the country, a trip there doesn't actually count as Spanish class."
For the second time that morning, Hailey walked away with the sound of laughter behind her. She was starting to walk towards the school when she spotted a familiar looking blond walking ahead of her.
"Hey Lindsey, wait up."
To be continued...