NOTE1: I can't believe I'm actually on chapter 14. I really didn't see that coming...
NOTE2: Still the POV of Gareth.
Disclaimers: All written in chapter 1.
Chp. 14.
After finishing my coffee I head for Gils office, stopping at the male restroom on my way. As I exit again, I literally bump into Jacqui, with a force that causes her to drop everything she has in her arms on the floor. It litters the floor, and giving the queen of fingerprints an apologetic smile, we both crouch down to gather the littered case folders, papers and other stuff that I don't even know what is, and picks it up from the floor.
"I'm so sorry about nearly knocking you over like that." I say as I hand her my share of just picked up stuff.
"No worries." She says and smiles at me. "I really wasn't paying attention as to where I was going anyway. I had my nose buried in some papers." She explains. "I was actually trying to find Sara. You wouldn't happen know as to where that sister of yours hides out?"
"I do." I say. "She got paged by Dr. Robbins, so that's where she's hiding."
"Oh." Says she. "That could easily take a while then. So where were you off to?"
"I was just on my way to Grissoms office to stay there." I answer her. "To stay out of the way so to speak."
Jacqui looks speculative for a moment.
"In that case, if you don't think you'd be terribly bored?" She starts. "Do you want to come with me, to keep me company in my lab, and be out of the way being there, while you wait for her to return?"
I think for just a second.
"I'd like that." I answer her, but then something hits me. "But if I'm not in Grissoms office, or in the break room, when she comes back, then how will she find me?"
"Don't worry about that." Jacqui says as she starts to lead the way to her lab. "If I know Sara correctly, she'll prowl the labs until she finds you. She's tenacious that way." I nod.
"That sounds like my sister." I say as we enter her domain. She tells me to pull up a chair, so I can sit on the other side of the table. I watch as she sort out the papers again, the ones that littered to the floor earlier, and place them in a neat pile, ready for whoever needs them to pick them up. "So why do you need Sara?"
"Oh, I just need some more background information, about the load of fingerprints she loaded off earlier." She says. "I can't get further before I get those info." She says.
We sit there a bit. "Fire in the hall!" Is suddenly shouted through the halls, by Bobby I recognize on the southern drawl, and it's followed by shooting. I see Jacqui glance at me, probably to see if I'm flinching, but I'm not. I got used to firing guns in the marines, so it never bothers me.
"You're not bothered?" She asks me.
No I'm not." I say. "I joined the marines when I was 18, so I got used to the sounds of guns fired then, and all loud sounds in general, since I trained in explosives."
"You are?" Jacqui said, startled I could tell, to which I nod an affirmation.
"Yes. They paid for my college education, so I could be fully equipped in what I does today." I say. "I'm a demolition expert, traveling all around the country, and abroad to where ever demolition experts are needed."
"Wow!" I see an admiring glimpse in her eyes. "You any good?"
"He is the one of the best in his field." Says an intruding voice I quickly recognize as my sisters. Both Jacqui and I look to the open doorway, and see her standing there, a smile adorning her face. Then Jacqui looks back at me.
"See I told you so." The look means to say, meaning that Sara would find him no matter where he'd gone too and I just smile at her. I can't help starting to like Jacqui. She's a lot of fun, quite a character I gather to be around. We could easily get along on a broader scale.
"I'm not that good." I say a bit embarrassed as I glance at Jacqui. No. Really, I'm not.
"Now don't be so modest, older brother." My sister says. "Since we haven't seen each other for a great while, I'm very much allowed to flatter and praise you, since that have lacked in my life." She comes in and stands next to the table and looks at Jacqui. "His team's actually one of the very best."
"Hey I can't help it, if my teams planning always turns out to be the best." I say again being modest.
"That's because you, I believer you're the head of your team, managed to gather the best around you." Smiles Jacqui and I look at her. She winks at me, and I can't help but smile in response. Yes I definitely like her. I look away, and catch my sister's glance from me to Jacqui, with something in her eyes, and I know what she thinks. That however is not the case here, so to deflect her enquiring attention, I decide to reminded Jacqui about something.
"Jacqui?" I say causing the woman in question to look at me. " Didn't you have anything for Sara?"
"Oh right." Jacqui says. "Sara, I just need a little bit more info on a matter."
The two women digs into it, using words and phrases I know absolutely nothing about, so I just sit there as I listen to them, as I follow the action going on in the hallway outside. Greg walks by, kit and bags in hands, and takes a fleeing glance inside the lab where we are, then there's the distinct sound of someone screeching to a halt, Greg I presume, and I'm not disappointed since Greg comes back and pops inside.
"Hey girls, Gareth." He greets us as he puts down his kit, and places the bags securely on top of it.
"Hi Greg." Both women in the room say at the same time, as they look up from what they're doing. Manly as we are, Greg and I only give a nod by our heads. Then Greg starts rummaging through his jeans pockets, and finally produces a folded piece of paper.
"Sara?" He says. "I've been sent to give you this." He winks at her and I know from whom the note comes from. He then proceeds to occupy Jacqui, so Sara can read her note uninterrupted.
I watch my sister's face as she reads, and slowly a wide smile spreads across it, almost splitting it in half. She turns her head toward me and mouths: "It's from Gil", and I nod.
"Thank you so much, Greg." She then says, folds the note again, and stuffs it into the right hand front pocket of her jeans for safekeeping.
"You're welcome." Greg says. He picks up an evidence bag, and with much fuss, hands it over Jacqui. "More fingerprints to analyze, me lady." She laughs, rolls her eyes and the swat Greg lightly on his arm. "And now I've got much to deliver around, and much to do myself." With that he bends to retrieve his stuff from the floor, and sweeps out the door, to resume the path he was on before.
"He is nuts." States Jacqui, as she continues to chuckle.
"That he is." Agrees Sara. "But that only make us love him so much more. Right?" Jacqui agrees by nodding her head with force. "Are we done here, Jacqui?"
"Yep that we are." She answers. "For now, anyway. I'll page you if I come across more."
"Okay." Sara says and then addressed me. "You wanna come with me, or do you want to stay here?"
"I'll come with you, sis." I say. A much as I want to be entertained by Jacqui, my need to be with my sister is stronger. So I get up. "It was nice to be out of the way in here with you." I say to her.
"Anytime." Jacqui retorts. "See you around."
"Yep, you too." Sara and I duck out into the hallway, after we have bid Jacqui goodbye.
"So, how did you end up in there?" Sara hikes her thump in the general direction of the fingerprint lab.
"Oh I went to the men's room, on my way to Gils office, and as I came out again, I walked straight into her." I begin to explain. "She dropped everything she had in her arms, so I helped her picking it up again. We got to talk, she needed to find you, and I needed to be out of the way. So, she invited me to keep her company in her lab, and thus be out of the way in that sense."
"That was nice of her." Comments Sara.
"It was nice of her." I say.
"So you two looked very cozy when I arrived." Sara says with a smile. I recognize it to be the teasing one. And I know exactly what she's meaning with that smile.
"Don't even start thinking about that." I warn her.
"About what?" She says innocently.
"You know exactly what I mean, little sister." I say.
"I know." She says. "I'm just taunting you, big brother. That's all. It's too long since I've been able to do that."
I only bump her should with mine, as we both starts laughing, gaining looks on our way.
"So what did Gil say in that note you received from Greg?" I ask her as we enter the said Gils office.
"Just that he is running late." She says.
I do happen to suspect that the note said a lot more. Sara gave away the clue, when her face split into that huge smile earlier in Jacquis domain. But what the rest of the note says, stays between them, since it belongs between only the two of them. I do believe, vaguely, that the rest of the note said something sweet, which ended up in an 'I LOVE YOU!' fashion.
"So, you haven't seen my place yet." Sara says. "So given that I have to go check on its situation, we might as well go there after shift."
I affirm my okay to that with a nod of my head.
IMPORTANT LAST MINUTE NOTE:
I've decided to let the chapters come in different POV styles, and everyone based on Original Characters, since I need the POV of all of the others. Well except for Gareth of course, who is my very own. I'll remember togive a notice of whos POV each chapter is written in.
Push the little button down below please.