Cheryl yawned. It had taken a lot longer than she thought, but she had finally finished. If she headed home now, she would be able to grab a couple of hours sleep, a much needed shower, and change into some more comfortable shoes. She left the computer running, and left the building. Despite the hour, it was still busy as the night shift had long since come in and started on their various cases.

She drove straight home, parked her Skyline next to her Hummer and sneaked into her own apartment. Speed had fallen asleep in bed with the TV on. She didn't know what he had been watching, but right now, it was a documentary about monster trucks. She curled up under the covers next to him. He didn't even shift. Resting her head on his chest, she fell asleep watching the documentary, wondering if her Hummer would look as stupid as she thought it would if she tried to put five foot wheels on it.

When she awoke in the morning, Speed had already left. That was the problem with this job. They may work together, but sometimes, they never got to see each other. Cheryl pulled herself out of bed, swearing at the clock for showing an hour she didn't want to see, and headed straight for the shower.

Less than half an hour later, and she was showered, dressed (trainers, smart black jeans, and a white tank top) and prepared for a long day in the lab. Cheryl grabbed her mp3 player and rammed the headphones into her ears, turning up The Killers as loud as she could and headed into the kitchen. Seeing her keys to her Hummer were missing, she grabbed the others and headed outside, where she was met with a swarm of flashes.

Her eyes adjusted and she was surrounded by photographers. She didn't stick around to find out why they were there, instead running to her Skyline, pulling on her shades and gunning it out of the parking lot. Cheryl drove in amazement, wondering what on earth was going on. Surely being promoted wasn't that big of a deal. A lot of people got promoted. Why was she any different? Okay, so it was a nonsense promotion. But she hadn't even accepted it either. And thinking about it, how did they know?

She pulled up outside of the crime lab and wandered in, heading straight for the break room, wondering why many of the people she was passing in the hallway were giving her such a strange look.

In the break room she found Calleigh and Eric, both pouring themselves a cup of coffee.

'I see the star herself has decided to grace us with her presence.' Said Eric.

Cheryl glanced at the clock. She was early by a considerable amount of minutes. 'I'm sorry?'

'I thought you might have considered yourself too important for here anymore. Although you are wearing your sunglasses.'

Cheryl was about to say something when her phone started ringing. She glanced down at it. It was Tim.

'And would that be one of your many fans calling to congratulate you on your single handed success at saving the city?' Sneered Eric.

The phone call was forgotten about. Cheryl pulled her sunglasses up so they were resting on her hair. She didn't know where to start. 'Have I done something?'

'Everything, by the sounds of it,' exclaimed Eric, as he stormed out of the room.

'What's his problem?' She asked Calleigh, ignoring her phone which was ringing again.

Calleigh sighed and handed her a magazine and a newspaper. The magazine was one of the gossip ones Cheryl was always catching Valera reading, which was telling the world that such and such had just broken up with someone else, and another movie star was back with her druggie ex-boyfriend who was beating her again. In this case, the headline blared, Cole Turnall's Heartbreak. The accompanying picture was one of her and Cole which had to have been taken the previous day when he had asked to talk to her.

Her skirt was a little ruffled, and her button on her shirt was open lower than it should have been, whilst he had his hand on her in what looked like a very compromising position, although Cheryl knew it to be perfectly innocent. Cheryl sank into the sofa and tore the magazine open to the relevant page, to find herself reading about her and Cole being involved in a whirlwind romance.

There was also a picture of her washing her Hummer. The shorts she was wearing suddenly seeming a lot shorter than they had felt when she was wearing them, and her top had gone see-through in the water to reveal her bra. Cheryl was horrified. The picture looked almost suitable to go in a top-shelf magazine, especially with the trail of suds running down her leg, and her hair hanging in loose curls down her back. She looked like a semi-pornographic version of Daisy Duke.

Along with the picture of her washing the car, there was also one of her and Tim kissing, although she wasn't sure where it had been taken, however, judging from the clothes she was wearing, it had been taken yesterday. The caption next to it proclaiming she was cheating on Cole with Tim. Cheryl didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. Instead she turned to Calleigh, 'but this doesn't explain why Eric is acting weird.'

'Read the newspaper.'

'… working with a sleuth team of CSIs under the leadership of Lieutenant Horatio Caine, is Detective Cheryl Carter, 21 year old child genius. Carter is not only responsible for saving the life of Michael Rollins, son of our Mayor, but is responsible for cracking many of the unsolved crimes in our city. Having recently spoken to Carter, it was discovered that as a reward for working so hard, she has been given her own Hummer from the Crime Lab, as well as being promoted to a level four CSI – an honour that has never been bestowed on anyone up until this point.

Having graduated with an engineering degree from Cambridge University, the prestigious university in London, England, our English CSI began her second degree in Chemistry, Physics and Criminology, here in America, before heading to New York to whip the police department into shape. And now time finds her here at Miami Dade, but is our leading CSI as innocent as she claims? The answer is no. Whilst currently dating the chart's hottest member, Cole Turnall, Cheryl is cheating on him behind his back with colleague Tom Speedle.

As well as breaking the pop idol's heart, the CSI is also responsible for breaking bones. Cheryl is currently undergoing anger management classes in an attempt to curb her violence, but has still managed to break a medic's nose. Sources say that the reason for this unprovoked attacked was a result of the paramedic trying to administer antibiotics via needle. Perhaps the CSI is hiding a drug related past, and the outburst stems from her fear of returning down that path?'

Cheryl looked over at Calleigh. 'They can't print this.

'They already did.'

'How can people, how can Eric be taking this seriously? It say's I'm a twenty-one year old ex-junkie.'

Calleigh sighed, 'but it also says you are pretty much responsible for single-handedly solving all the crimes that come through the Lab. Eric takes his work seriously. We all do.'

'Calleigh, I didn't say any of this. Don't you think if I was even going to try and claim responsibility for it, I would have made sure they at least got the basic details right, like my age? They even wrote that Cambridge University is in London.'

Calleigh sighed, 'I know. Eric knows this too. But you coming in here wearing sunglasses didn't help the situation.' She picked up her coffee and headed towards the door.

'Hang on,' said Cheryl, before Calleigh could leave. 'Are you telling me it's okay for Horatio to wear his sunglasses around here, day in, day out, but the one morning I come in wearing them, I'm automatically deemed a celebrity.'

'You're not Horatio. Besides, it was the one morning the article appeared in the paper.' Calleigh turned and left the room, leaving Cheryl staring after her, her mouth hanging open in amazement. It was not going to be a good day. And she'd only been up an hour. She sighed, not only was it going to be a bad day, it was going to be a long one too.

Her morning hot chocolate was forgotten about, as was her phone which she had flicked onto silent and stuffed into her pocket. Instead, she unenthusiastically pulled herself to her feet and headed down to the morgue where Alexx was waiting with the autopsy reports.

'Morning Alexx,' she greeted the ME wearily. 'Have you got the autopsy results on the two girls yet?'

'Girl number one was Amber White. Died first from a drug overdose. Cocaine. Second girl was Xena Doman. Only fifteen. She died second from exsanguinations due to suffocation.' She told Cheryl shortly.

The lack of friendliness in the ME told Cheryl one thing. 'You read the papers this morning then?'

'Giving away information on a case is one thing. Everybody does it at one point in their career. Even claiming credit on solving a couple of cases, but,' she said, stopping Cheryl before she could object, 'cheating on Timmy is another matter altogether.' Alexx pulled the sheets over the two girl's heads and slammed the beds back into the lockers.

'I am not cheating on Tim! Come on! The papers called him Tom! Didn't you think then, when you read it, that it was a load of rubbish.'

Alexx ripped her gloves off and flung them in a trash can, 'the photos say otherwise,' she told her, before storming out of the door and leaving Cheryl stood with her mouth flapping like a fish for the second time that morning.

Cheryl picked up the two folders Alexx had left and slowly made her way out of the morgue and into the corridor where she walked straight into Speed.

'Hi, hon-'

'Were you ever going to tell me?' He cut her off.

Cheryl looked up at him. He looked angry and upset. 'Nothing happened, Tim,' she told him quietly, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

'The photos say otherwise.' He told her, thrusting the incriminating magazine in her face.

She took a deep breath, 'Timothy, I don't do cheating. If a person feels the need to cheat, it's because there is something wrong the relationship, and as far as I'm concerned there is nothing wrong with ours. And trust me, after being cheated on, on more than one occasion, I would finish with you before putting you through that pain.'

'But he's rich, famous, younger and better looking than me,' he told her in a tight voice.

'I couldn't care less if he were Brad Pitt and was also the richest man in the world. I'm with you, and that's what I told him.' She told him, resting the palm of her hand against the side of his face. He looked at her for a couple of minutes before turning and walking off. Blinking back tears, she headed in the opposite direction, to see what the fingerprint analysis had kicked out.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Unlike Cheryl, Horatio's first trip that morning was to the hospital to visit his other niece. He wandered through the hospital until he found the private room Madison was in. He peered in. Inside, Madison was tucked up in a bed, with Suzie sat next to her looking just as lost as the small child. He tapped on the window. Suzie looked up, and after planting a quick kiss on Madison's forehead and exited the room.

'Hi,' Suzie greeted him.

'Hey, listen, how's she doing?'

'Tired.' Replied Suzie, 'Mad. She doesn't get why she's here'

'Well, that's, that's understandable,' he told her, 'I um, I spoke to the case manager on the way over and I don't want you to worry about the bills, alright?'

Suzie smiled weakly, 'thanks Horatio, but the bills are the least of it now.'

'Why do you say that?' He asked her.

'They took a blood test.' She told him, looking at her daughter. 'My bone marrow doesn't match.'

'Alright, so then, so then you need a donor.'

'Try to tell me I'm not a bad mother now.' Suzie told him angrily. 'Even my blood is no good for her.'

'Suzie,' he started, placing a hand on her shoulder, 'Suzie, erm, you know what, let me try something okay?'

'Horatio?'

'I'm family. You stay with her and I'll be right back.' He turned around and headed back down the corridor.

He found himself a nurse, who led him to an empty cubicle.

'You've given blood before, right?' The nurse asked him, as he rolled up his sleeve.

'I have,' he told her.

The nurse took a needle and stuck it in his arm, 'so, you're Miss Barnum's brother?' She asked him, as the blood began to fill the syringe.

'I am her brother-in-law.'

Thank you for reading, and also for all the wonderful reviews so far! I promise I will actually reply to the reviews, I'm just incredibly slack!