Chapter Three
Working in C.S.I you have bad days and good days. On a good day, you catch a criminal, help a victim, with no mess. The bad days are like the day Frances Harman was killed, or the day Stewart Otis got out and captured another little girl. On those days, there is no stopping us seeing the case through to the end, even if it ends up with us working days at a time, and living in the lab. We do not close.
I got a surprise today while I was sitting in my office today, something that restored my fate in humanity. A Cuban shopkeeper was injured by a racist with a rocket launcher a few days ago, during which his whole livelihood was destroyed. He was kept in hospital for a few days to monitor the extent of his injuries. During those days I watched as the community of Little Havana helped rebuild Roberto Lopez's shop piece by piece, I watched as Eric, Tripp, Speed and Calleigh aided them clearing the debris. It made me proud seeing my family help out in that way. We never stop helping people, on or off the clock. That's the beauty of my family. They've had a lot of problems, Calleigh in particular with the recent death of her father Kenwell.
They found him dead in his apartment after a heart attack. The circumstances were completely normal, he died a natural death. My protégé has had it rough this year. She's like my own daughter. I hate to see her in pain. She's had a rough time with her dad throughout her life. His death was an unexpected shock. She handled it well considering she had to arrange the funeral and her mother chose not to show up. Yet Calleigh helped add to my restored faith today. She let me into a secret today. My Calleigh was finally going to be happy. She was going to get married. I was surprised it was to a man I actually approved of. Tim Speedle was going to make her a great husband. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen that relationship coming or the proposal she had for me.
Today Calleigh Duquesne asked me to walk her down the aisle.