Chapter 3: A day in the life of…

All the employees of the Miami Dade Crime Lab had assembled in the meeting room. They were all waiting for Horatio to brief them about the new co-worker. Wolfe was wondering what Calleigh was so nervous about. Delko noticed Calleigh was different than normal but decided not to hassle her about it, if she wanted him to know, she would tell him. Instead he asked her if she was ok. She smiled at him and they started talking.

Wolfe saw Horatio coming first, with a blonde woman following him, a gorgeous blonde his mind added for him. Although the blonde looked awfully familiar, he couldn't help but stare. As the door of the meeting room opened the hum of voices in the room stopped. Everyone seemed to pay attention to Horatio.

"Hello everyone, I would like to introduce you to our new colleague of the ballistics lab. This is Aimee Hayes"

Eyes seemed to become bigger and people did not only stare at Aimee, Calleigh also seemed to be the point of interest.

"I guess the looks give it away already" Aimee snorted, making some of her new colleagues laugh.

When Aimee looked at Calleigh, she felt bad for her. She knew the look in her older sister's eyes all too well, she was feeling very uncomfortable.

"Ok everyone, back to work. We have a lot of work to do today, and unfortunately a day only has 24 hours" Horatio said to end the awkwardness for both Aimee and Calleigh.

Aimee had planned to talk to Calleigh before shift started, but Calleigh had already left and was nowhere to be found. On her way to the ballistics lab, she could still feel people looking at her. Suddenly the courage she had earlier, had sank into some place deep down. She just wanted to hide somewhere and wait until the day was over.

Once she entered the lab, her mood totally changed again. The smell of gunpowder and the look and feel of the lab made her feel comfortable again. While most people would get uncomfortable around guns, Aimee found some sort of peace there. First she started with looking around in the shelves and cabinets to find her way around the lab. After about half an hour she was ready to start processing the pile of evidence that was left there for her.

She was firing some test shots when she felt a presence. She turned around and saw a dark haired guy standing in the doorway of her lab. She took of her gloves and headphones and walked towards him to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Aimee Hayes"

The guy shook her hand before speaking "Ryan Wolfe".

Aimee flashed a big smile at Wolfe.

"So, what can I do for you Ryan?" she said, hoping he would be ok with the first name basis she started off with.

"Well Aimee" Ryan said, stressing the gorgeous woman's name "I was wondering if you were working on my bullets yet"

Aimee turned around to check. "Is it the Janssen's case?" she asked turning her head to face him.

Ryan nodded as he walked towards the desk Aimee had walked to seconds before. He stood next to her while she was putting the bullets under the microscope. While she was explaining to him what made the bullets match, he was staring in the microscope, moving a little closer to the blonde woman.

Aimee laughed to herself, she could swear this new colleague was flirting with her.

Ryan looked up from the microscope and found himself staring straight into Aimee's big blue eyes. All he managed to do was flash her a goofy smile before they got interrupted.

"Ryan, can I talk to you for a sec?" It was Calleigh, who was standing in the doorway.

Ryan turned red. "Oooh I'm in trouble" he kidded towards Aimee, who laughed at him.

"What can I help you with Calleigh" Ryan said when he joined her in the hallway. He glanced over at Aimee who was back to work again already.

"Do that again, and you will find out what trouble really means" Calleigh snapped at him.

Whoa there Duquesne! Ryan thought. He was amazed by the mean tone in Calleigh's voice.

Calleigh's blood was boiling. She couldn't believe Ryan was flirting with her sister on her first day of work. No scratch that, she couldn't believe Ryan was flirting with her sister. THE NERVE that guy has! She was so angry, she just turned around and walked away, not even mentioning what she actually came down to the lab for.

The rest of the day Calleigh worked hard on focusing on her work and avoiding Ryan. This first day of Aimee seemed to be a drama for her older sister. This day was a disaster. Aimee had beeped her twice already, but she did not want to see her sister now. She had to admit to herself that she still wasn't ready. Even so, she decided to go down to the ballistics lab because she was expecting some test results back from a case she was working on.

Aimee wondered why she hadn't seen her sister all day. In the morning she had seen the discomfort in her sister's eyes, she hoped the discomfort had disappeared by now. Her sister seemed to be very busy anyway, she had beeped her twice already about some test results and her sister still hadn't come by. While she was thinking about her older sister, Calleigh came walking into the lab.

"Hey" Aimee said to her sister

"You beeped me? Do you have my test results?" Calleigh asked.

Aimee was stunned by the professional way her sister was approaching her. She had to admit it kind of hurt her. This morning when Calleigh held her, she felt like she had her sister back again, but now it felt like her sister was slipping away again. Aimee didn't want to give her feelings away so she pretended like nothing happened.

"Yeah. I wonder why you give your evidence to me though, I think you can do a way better job on processing them than I do. I mean you are America's bullet girl" Aimee said with a smile, stressing the bullet girl part.

"You are the one working here, not me" Calleigh simply answered. She was amazed at how cold she sounded. This was work, and work is her everything or isn't it?

"Sorry" Aimee mumbled. Yup, did you hear that sis? That was my heart…breaking, her mind sounded so much more cynical than she thought she really was.

"The bullets weren't a match to the gun you found at the scene. But I did find something though, the bullets are from Sinterfire" Aimee looked at her sister, who knew right away what she meant. Aimee continued "So that means it's is probably.."

"I know Aimee, thank you" Calleigh cut her off, taking the file with her. As she walked out of the lab, she left behind a stunned Aimee. Calleigh was hitting herself, she was being really rude, and she didn't even know why. She knew Aimee was only trying to help.

Calleigh still found it weird to hear her sister tell her about evidence, or even hear terms and names that come up in bullet processing coming over her sister's lips. Calleigh had to admit, she was good.

Aimee was really hurt by what had just happened. Partially she knew that Calleigh and her should be professional at work, but still, that didn't mean Calleigh could just pretend they weren't related at all. They could be professional and related. Aimee sighed and continued her work, it seemed that everyone had been saving up evidence for her to work on.

During her break, Aimee decided to go down to the morgue to introduce herself to Alexx Woods. She always had a big interest in pathology, but in the end guns won.

Alexx Woods was pleasantly surprised by her unexpected visitor. When she looked up she first thought it was Calleigh visiting her, but something was different about this girl, she seemed younger.

"Hi" Aimee said shyly. She saw how the pathologist was staring at her and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey sugar" Alexx said, trying to make the new girl feel comfortable.

"I'm Aimee Hayes, the new girl at the ballistics lab" Aimee said while slowly walking towards Alexx to shake her hand. Hayes, that was a name she hadn't heard in a while, so Aimee was still going by her father's name, unlike her sister.

Alexx removed her latex gloves and shook Aimee's hand.

"I'm Alexx Woods. What brings you down here?" she said with a smile.

"Interest" Aimee giggled. "I've always been interested in pathology, and I've heard you are really good" Aimee felt herself turning red, and felt more and more stupid by the second. Why was Alexx staring at her?

"Interesting" Alexx said with a smile "And I assume you are Calleigh's sister?"

"It's hard to miss, isn't it" Aimee sighed. "At first I thought it was going to be great to work here. But the whole being Calleigh Duquesne's little sister thing, I'm sick of it already."

"Oh sugar, don't worry about that. It will only be for a little while" Alexx could see Aimee was upset. Aimee's eyes gave away way more than the eyes of her older sister. Alexx had spent years trying to figure Calleigh out, but she never succeeded. But it seemed that Aimee was more of an open book.

Aimee sighed again. Something about Alexx made her feel comfortable. "And I can't figure out Calleigh either"

Alexx laughed "I've been trying that for years, so if you can't then I think I'll never be able to"

"I haven't seen my sister in years before this morning" Aimee confessed "I'm sure you know more about her than I do"

The young woman sounded sad. Alexx felt compassion for the girl. "Well honey, then it is your job to do something about that don't you think? I have 5 brothers and sisters, and I work hard to maintain a good bond with them"

When Aimee wanted to reply, Alexx interrupted her. "Don't say it's different. It's what YOU make of it"

Aimee smiled. "So, is there any chance you can let me look in on this autopsy?" She started feeling uncomfortable with the subject and tried to change it without Alexx realising it was on purpose.

Alexx smiled to herself Just like her sister. Do they really think I don't notice they want to change subjects?

"Of course honey" she said to her new colleague, dropping the subject. It was nice to have someone who was interested in her work.

Aimee enjoyed the autopsy, Alexx explained every step she was taking. Eager as a young child Aimee tried to remember every detail Alexx told her.

The more time Alexx spend with Aimee, the more it confirmed for her that Calleigh and Aimee were so much alike. She remembered when Calleigh first set foot in the morgue. The young blonde wanted to know everything too, just like her sister who was now standing next to Alexx. She wondered what had happened between the two women though, every time she mentioned Calleigh, it seemed Aimee seemed to build an instant wall. She decided she would ask Calleigh about it when the blonde CSI would enter the morgue again.

"Alexx, thank you so much for this." Aimee said, giving Alexx a pat on the shoulder 'I really have to go now, I think it's way past the end of my break" she continued with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Anytime sugar, now you go back and impress them up there" Alexx said with a smile. She had really enjoyed spending time with Aimee.

When Aimee returned to her lab, she found her redheaded supervisor waiting for her. It startled her and made her blush, she knew she was late.

"I'm sorry Sir, I was at the morgue with Alexx and I got caught up and…"

"Aimee, you were supposed to call me Horatio, remember?" he smiled. He needed to cut off the rant his new employee started. "It's ok, it was nice of you to introduce yourself to Alexx"

"Thanks" Aimee said, turning red as a tomato.

"I heard that you have done quite some processing already. My CSI's are happy with you"

This compliment only made Aimee turn even redder.

"Calleigh told me you haven't slept at all before you came in. You must be tired right now. You can go home and catch up on some sleep" Horatio continued.

"I don't really have a home. I'd rather stay here and work" Aimee said bitterly.

"Go home Aimee" Horatio said with a soft voice. "I don't want to see you until the start of shift tomorrow" he added with a smile.

Aimee sighed, she was the last one to object to her new boss. "Ok" she mumbled.

Horatio put his hand on Aimee's shoulder, who was already clearing up the desk they were standing at. "I hope you are enjoying your work."

Aimee nodded and smiled at her boss. "Oh yes I am. It's a bit awkward with all the stares, but I will get over that" she joked.

On the inside Aimee felt far from joking, but she didn't want to seem off balance on her first day. When Aimee had put away her coat in her locker and stepped outside the Crime Lab, she could feel the cool Miami breeze in her hair. It was comforting. She realised that Calleigh hadn't given her a key to the apartment, so she decided to walk around Miami for a while.

When Calleigh finished shift and walked out of the Crime Lab, it started to rain. The sky was dark grey, like a storm was coming. Calleigh sighed, she hoped Aimee had found a place to stay dry and warm. In a matter of minutes, the rain was pouring down. When she arrived at home, her younger sister was sitting on the doorstep, she looked like a drowned rat.

"Hey" Aimee said when she saw her sister getting out of the car. She was glad her sister finally got home, she was getting really cold.

"Hey. Here take my coat, let's get you inside" Calleigh said. She felt really bad for forgetting to give Aimee a spare key.

While Aimee took a shower and put on dry clothes, Calleigh made some coffee for both of them. She also decided to make some food for her and her sister, since she was hungry and figured Aimee would want something to eat too.

"Here you go" Calleigh said while handing Aimee a cup of hot coffee "I hope you are hungry because I've made dinner"

Aimee smiled at her sister, she was still the same. Always taking care of her.

While Aimee ate her dinner, Calleigh turned on the TV to watch the news. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor when she saw a picture of her sister on the news. She mumbled some curses and glanced over at Aimee.

The new ballistics expert of the Miami Dade Crime Lab is put on the case. Aimee Hayes, the sister of the previous ballistics expert, who quit her job for personal reasons, started her job today. With last week's gang shooting, this will come in handy for the Crime Lab.

Aimee looked at her sister in disbelief, why were they on the news?

Calleigh was just about to turn of the TV when her phone rang. When she checked the caller's ID she sighed. It was their father.

"Hey daddy" she said, looking over at Aimee who stared at her with anger and disbelief in her eyes.

"Ok daddy, I will come over right away" Calleigh said while hanging up.

"You've got to be kidding me" Aimee shouted at her sister.

"I'm just going to pick him up and take him home" Calleigh calmly replied.

Aimee shot a death glare at her sister before getting up and storming into the guest room. Calleigh got up to follow her but when Aimee slammed the door shut, she changed her mind. With a sigh Calleigh turned around and left the apartment.

On the way to the bar where she had picked her dad up several times before, Calleigh had lots of thought going through her head. It was hard enough to deal with her sister being back in town, but she had no idea how to deal with her sister AND her father. Their father would probably want to see Aimee, which Aimee obviously didn't want.

She found her father sitting on a barstool. When he spotted her he tried to get up, but it seemed harder than it was. Calleigh helped her father get up and supported him on the way outside.

"Why didn't you say anything? You didn't think I would find out?" He said to her with a thick tongue.

"She only arrived today" Calleigh said while trying to get her father in the car.

"I wanna see her, I wanna see my daughter" he continued. He wasn't really cooperating with his daughter so she had a hard time pushing him in the car.

"I will talk to her and see what I can do ok?" she said while closing the door and got in on the driver's side.

She dropped her father off at his house and went home. The apartment was quiet and the door to the guest room was still shut. Calleigh decided not to bother Aimee, she was probably sleeping.

The next morning when she got up, the apartment was still as quiet as it was the night before. She had expected Aimee to be up already but there was still no sign of her sister. She opened the door to the guest room to check on her. Immediately she ran off to her bedroom to get her cell phone.

"Caine" the voice on the other side of the line said.

"Horatio" Calleigh said "Aimee is gone"