LINGER
Characters are not mine… this fic has been sitting in my closet for several months, I can't seem to get anywhere on Collide, Alone, a Tale of two friends, or well… anything for that matter, so I figured I'd type this up. Enjoy!
Chapter 3:
The next morning came and Elicia was more than ready to go. Greg had been told that her current foster parents would drop her off at the lab around noon.
Nick, who knew absolutely nothing of the situation, was in the lobby of the crime lab when a small girl, a little younger than Catherine's daughter Lindsey, walked up to him, tugging on the tail of his shirt.
"Are you my daddy?" she asked him. Nick didn't immediately register what she had asked.
"What?" he asked.
"Um… I'm looking for my daddy." She told him.
Nick sighed, "I'm not your dad, princess, but, I'll help you find him. My name's Nick. What's yours?" he asked her.
"Elicia," she replied.
Nick had been hoping for more information. "That's a very pretty name, Elicia." She smiled at him. "Do you know your last name?"
She shook her head. "Not my real one."
He shrugged, taking her hand, "Follow me," he said and led her toward Grissom's office. "Hey, Gris?" he poked his head in the doorway.
Gil looked up from the files he'd been sifting through. "Who's she?" he asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Her name is Elicia. She's looking for her father." Nick explained, not all that up to date on the details of what appeared to be his next case.
"Is he… missing?" Grissom asked, setting the file down.
The little girl spoke up. "My case worker said my real daddy worked here and he'd take me home with him. I don't know his name…" she explained.
"Shall I parade her around the lab and see if anyone recognizes her?" Nick asked.
Grissom laughed. "You do that, Nicky." He said, leaving his office.
Nick took Elicia's hand again, proceeding down the hallway. "Where's your mom at?" he asked.
The little girl frowned. "She died and went to heaven a few years ago. They said they found my daddy cause his name was in the paper or something. They called him and he said he wanted me to come live with him." She told him as they walked past the newly renovated DNA lab.
"Hey, Nick!" Greg yelled, noticing the girl from the photo in his pocket standing beside Nick.
Nick turned into the lab. "Greggo! Do you know who this little one is? Name's Elicia, says she's looking for her dad." Nick said.
Greg gulped. "Um… Nick. That'd be me… Elicia is my daughter."
Hearing this, Nick doubled over in laughter. "Yeah… right… Dude! You're serious!" Nick stood up and shut up; noticing the fact that Greg only appeared to be laughing at the shocked expression on his face. "I'll just be going now…" he said, and turned to leave the lab.
Elicia walked over to him. "You're my daddy?" she asked, staring into brown eyes that matched her own. He nodded and was practically tackled as she hugged him.
Greg picked her up and held her close as he went in search of Grissom, unfortunately bumping into Catherine along the way. Lindsey was also with her as she had just come back from a dentist appointment and would be going home soon.
"What did I miss?" Cath asked, Lindsey stepping in front of her.
"Cath... this is my daughter, Elicia. Elicia, this is Aunt Catherine and her daughter, Lindsey, she's your age" he introduced them.
Lindsey stepped forward, eager to finally have someone to play with, "Hi!" she said happily.
Elicia just clung tighter to her father. "Hello," Elicia mumbled shyly, Catherine still gaping at the news.
Sara also appeared, spotting the little girl she walked over to Greg. "You must be Elicia." She smiled.
Elicia nodded.
"Why do you know this, Sara?" Cath asked, confused.
Sara sighed, "Greg asked for my help, I told him I wouldn't tell anyone, I didn't" she said, Standing beside Greg. "I would suppose that I'm Aunt Sara. And it's nice to meet you"
Again, Elicia mumbled a slightly less shy, "Hello."
Warrick and Grissom entered the lab, "Hey, Greg. Did you get that sample back from t--" Grissom cut himself off when he saw the little girl from earlier had apparently permanently attached herself to Greg's lab coat. He turned to Nick, who had just stepped out of the Ballistics lab down the hall, "You left her with Greg... this accomplishes finding her father how...?" he asked, annoyed.
"I already found her father," Nick stated, flipping through the file in his hands.
"Who was it? Where are they...?"
"Oh... he's about 6' 1'' Likes scuba diving, surfing, Manson, and tends to dislike being as referred to as an Eggo waffle" he listed these several points off on his hand, leaving Grissom gaping at Greg.
Sara leaned over, "It's the one she has decided to refuse to let go of..." she whispered in his ear
Grissom laughed, "No...Really, who's her dad?"
The little girl let a tear fall, "He is my daddy…" she said, clinging tighter to Greg.
Greg smiled. "Could I have the rest of the night off, Grissom? I need to get her settled in. I have a week off starting tomorrow and it's a slow night," he asked.
Grissom nodded, watching Greg carry this mysterious little girl out of the lab, leaving several dumb-founded CSI's in his wake after muttering a quick 'thanks'.
Okay… another rather long Chapter… that's all I got for now so, I'll get back to work on the manuscript and update again soon… REVIEW!
