CHAPTER SEVEN

Cyrano and Durante were putting Iris through her paces this morning. Their excitement to see Brass was apparent; they were more partial to men than women. 'Fleabags', thought Iris to herself, 'look at all I do for you two and you go nuts over the first guy, okay, only guy, to grace my door'. She found her memory wandering too. Like Brass, after the death of her husband, she had thrown herself into work as well as going to school to become a CSI. The incentive for her career change from working at the pathology lab had been her observation of the CSI crew investigating David's murder. They had been more than kind in allowing her to remain on-site as a civilian observer and explain their activities. It had been a grueling process both working and going to school but she had graduated with honors and been accepted into working in the Dallas CSI unit. When she decided to transfer and was looking into other cities, she had decided to go to either Indianapolis (where she had family) or to the Vegas unit with its national reputation. She then had ruled out Indy as she desired wanting to go somewhere new and the idea of going to Vegas appealed to her. Though she didn't party or gamble, the city had other things to offer, and her willingness to work any shift in any part of the lab had won Grissom's support in hiring her. Although she was somewhat shy upon interviewing, Gil had been impressed with her forthright answers and demonstration of skills. Something about her intrigued him and her resiliency to remain optimistic and not cynical in spite of her past was a bit refreshing. This line of work tended to show the worst in the human race and burnout was frequent.

"Honey, I'm home," she called out as she brought the dogs back in and put them in the second bedroom.

Brass emerged from the bedroom looking more relaxed in his polo shirt and jeans. He looked quizzically at Iris. She could only think to herself, wow, he cleaned up really nice. His cologne, a fragrant musk she'd chosen, suited him perfectly.

"Sorry about the honey thing, just an ice breaker, welcome back to the land of the living," Iris said in a rushed fashion as she was prone to do when nervous. "Crud, I'm babbling, aren't I?"

Jim walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What you've done for me…" his voiced trailed off. Iris looked up with questioning eyes and stepped back.

"I would do for anyone in need of my help," she said firmly. "I count you as my friend, Captain Brass, if that's okay, and value your friendship very highly." Inside her heart whispered and more.

Iris sat down on her couch as Brass did the same in the chair beside her. She felt awkward like a girl with her first crush. This was like a dream and she was wasting it.

"Could I call you Jim or Jimmy away from the lab?" she said after a moment, feeling breathless.

"Absolutely, I'd like you to, especially after all this," Brass grinned. They began to feel more comfortable with another after that.

"Okay…Jim…you were here this morning because of Ellie," Iris began, "So I respect your efforts more than you know of trying to reach her last night. Your cell phone's charged up so you can check in to work or whatever." Iris handed him his phone from where it had been charging by the couch.

Brass sighed heavily. "No, I never got her. All the calls went to voicemail. I even called the ex-wife and for her to give me the time of day is rare. But she's had no recent word from Ellie either. So, yeah, I'm worried right now."

"It's a new day with possibilities," Iris replied. "But I have to ask why you come here and not someone I mean somewhere else…I don't mind that you did…in fact, I'm glad you did." Her voice quavered a bit as an image of Catherine came to mind. It wasn't borne of jealousy but more of a practical comparison between her and Iris.

"I'm not sure myself," Brass admitted. "I guess I felt like a ship in a stormy sea. You know, getting tossed about. I was looking for a port in the storm and you're it." He stopped then not sure of what to say next, but then, out of the blue, said, "Can you get tonight off?"

Iris was taken by surprise at his question, unsure of how to reply. She liked being spontaneous though and had taken no time off since coming to the Vegas CSI lab. She was also curious to see how the rest of day might go or what might come of it. The thought of an outing with Detective Brass was thoroughly intriguing to her, if anything to see how he was away from work. "Let me make the call," Iris replied, hoping that her moment of hesitation wouldn't come across to Brass as a no.

Her call went through to Catherine. "Catherine, I've had something come up and need to take tonight off," Iris said. Catherine gave her the okay but to remain on call status should the need arise. "Great, I appreciate it!" said Iris as she finished the call.

"Ball's in your court, sir, what's in store for today?" Iris asked, sitting back down near but not too close she hoped.

"I can't control what Ellie does, where she goes, protect her from the big bad world", Brass said slowly, "your kindness to me is like nothing I've ever really experienced before. Like I said I can't repay."

"Hey, I don't want or expect repayment - it was done for you out of friendship," Iris said, but then her cell phone rang and as she checked the number and smiled to herself. "Jim, please excuse me a moment so I can take this call. This is Iris King. Yes, that's correct. Thank you."

Brass looked curiously at Iris as a knock came at the door as Durante and Cyrano barked from the other room. Shrugging, Iris went to open the door.