CHAPTER TWELVE

Things were back to routine for Iris after she'd returned to work the following Monday. The brief media frenzy about "The Vegas Angel" was basically over and Ecklie had his fifteen minutes of fame. Iris had kept her job, with Ecklie informing Grissom that she was also his problem now. Grissom had replied he could do with more problems like that.

Iris had kept her word and had an early dinner with Ellie and her father before she was to be on duty for night shift. She drove separately so she could make it to work on time. She had to as she was taking the crew an Italian dinner she had been hard at work on but had given Brass his own dinner before she left for the lab. Before leaving Ellie, Iris had gently grasped the young woman's hands and spoke a blessing over her that she would have a life filled with love, peace and joy. Ellie was amazed at Iris yet again as they hugged one another close. She had grown fond of Iris quickly, looking at her now as an older friend. As Brass looked on, Iris smiled at him happily herself.

Nick and Warrick were coming on shift when the delicious aromas of Iris' cooking hit them as they came into the break room where a veritable feast was laid out. Both men commenting they'd left their lunches at home, fooling no one, least of all Iris. Greg simply looked heavenward reverently as he was working on the fettuccini Alfredo. She was happiest here among her co-workers, so a little home cooking now and then was the least she could do for them.

Sara entered the break room saying, "Smells great."

"We've got regular lasagna and vegetarian lasagna prepared by my fair hand, Sara, so enjoy," Iris laughed. Sara appreciated the fact that Iris was considerate of her diet choice.

The rest of the shift had gone without incident, aside from the feasting, and Iris had finished dressing in the locker area and was on her way out to her Jeep. It was now late afternoon as she's caught up case review paperwork for Catherine. As she was leaving the parking lot, she saw Jim Brass headed in and stopped for a moment to roll down her window. Brass did the same.

"Heard from Ellie?" Iris asked.

"Yeah. She wants to check out UNLV and may need a few courses to help get her started but she's over the moon about the idea. Things look promising there. Again, I'll always be in your debt." Brass finished with a broad smile.

"Jim, you don't owe me a thing, but I couldn't be more pleased for you and Ellie, really. I'll see you around the lab then. I'm off tonight as it is," Iris said. She rolled up her car window, gave Jim a wave and smile, and headed towards home.

Brass watched her leave. His thoughts of late had been haunted from a previous case by what Grissom had said to Dr. Lurie about the murder of passion he'd committed against a young nurse who'd turned him away for a younger doctor. Brass had been present while questioning Dr. Lurie along with Gil. He remembered Grissom stating, "We wake up one day and realize that for fifty years we haven't really lived at all. But then, all of a sudden we get a second chance. Somebody young and beautiful shows up. Somebody ... we could care about. She offers us a new life with her ... but we have a big decision to make, right? Because we have to risk everything we've worked for in order to have her". Grissom had said he couldn't do it at the time but he was coming around with Sara.

Carpe diem...