A/N: Alright...I have skipped about three days in the book...I'm runnin on a schedule, so I figured to keep the book on track I had to skip a few days...
Now, be honest, how many of you missed Grissom and Sara! (jumps up and down waving hand frantically) Well, you're in for a treat...and so is everyone else... :)
Get ready for a hectic chapter!
Disclaimer: PS, I only own Kris and D.D., this chapter is also based loosely on Viva Las Vegas (which I also don't own) here we will meet Chandra (don't own her). I say this is loosely based on it, because all that's the same is some of the dialogue...even most of that is mine. You'll know which is mine, and which isn't...(the one that sounds smart and uses big words probably isn't mine...shrugs)
Chapter 8: New Faces, Old Faces, and the Occasional Dirty Little Secret...
Wednesday December 14, 2004
Nick's House
6:12 a.m.
Kris hesitantly knocked on Nick's front door and waited for a few minutes until it finally opened. Nick gave a small, forced smile and moved passed to let her in. She walked into the house and heard the small pitter patter of her puppy running through the house. "Hey Baby Girl." She greeted once the puppy finally reached her. She scooped the puppy up in her arms and planted a kiss on her head. "Has she been good?" She asked Nick as she turned to look at him.
"Yeah." He nodded and moved passed her into the kitchen. "She's uh...she's a handful in the mornings." He said smirking and Kris chuckled.
"She pounced on ya huh?"
"The minute I was conscious. I didn't even open my eyes before she was lickin my face."
Kris laughed and coddled the little puppy, which was shivering from the cold air, still clinging to Kris' jacket. "I warned you." She said teasingly as she slid off her jacket and held D.D. close to her.
"Coffee." Nick offered and Kris nodded. "You can sit down." Nick said robotically and Kris fought the urge to roll her eyes behind his back. Instead she sat down on the couch and watched as the puppy cuddled in her lap and licked her hand, obviously excited to see her. Kris smiled and kissed the puppy again. She felt Nick's eyes on her and she looked up to see Nick staring at her and the puppy. "Did you know she's scared of the vacuum?" Nick asked and Kris furred her brows before looking at him oddlyand shaking her head.
"No..."
"She freaks out whenever she sees it. She'll go runnin into the next room and hide in the corner shaking until I put it away." Nick explained and Kris looked at him amazed.
"Maybe it's because she's so tiny...she's barely five pounds."
"And if she's alone in the house and the television isn't on, she'll cry."
"No way." Kris said, smiling in disbelief, but Nick only nodded while smiling. "Awww...Baby Girl."
Nick laughed. "I left for work yesterday and accidentally left my phone on the counter, so I came back and found her crying, looking at the television."
Kris shook her head again. "I um...I figured I would give you the number for the hotel I'm staying at in case I need to pick something up for D.D. or anything like that." She handed him the card from the hotel with her floor and room number on the back. Nick nodded and accepted it.
"Thanks."
She nodded and stood up with D.D. still in her arms. "Well, I'm taking her out for the day and I'll drop her off before work okay?" Kris asked and Nick nodded.
"I'll be here." He stated as Kris put her jacket back on. "See ya." He said closing the door. He sighed and turned around to face his empty house...it was weird to not have the puppy here. He'd sort of grown attached to the little thing, truth be told, he'd be sad when she'd eventually have to go. He wandered into his room, and plopped down on his bed, as he closed his eyes and tried to catch a few hours of sleep.
CSI Crime Lab
Break Room
7:04 p.m.
"Wake up Sleeping Beauty..." A soft voice prodded at Kris, and shook her shoulder gently. She moaned and rolled over to her side, so that she was facing the other couch, swatting in the direction the voice was coming from. He chuckled and brushed a hair from her eye. "C'mon Kris...wake up."
"Mmmm..." She protested.
"Kris..." Greg shook her shoulder a little harder. "Kris, honey, wake up."
"Mmm. Two more minutes." She grumbled, rolling onto her stomach. Greg chuckled and shook his head.
"Kris...shift starts in about twenty minutes...Cath and Rick are already here..." Suddenly he looked up and furred his brows. "And what is that barking noise?" He asked looking around and Kris' eyes shot open.
"Shit!" She jumped up off the couch and took off towards the locker rooms, the files that had been underneath her sleeping form were knocked to the floor from the sudden movement. Greg looked at the files for a moment, and then followed her, now extremely curios as to what had finally got her to get off the couch.
"Kris?" He called and poked his head into the locker room. She didn't reply as she went to the shower stalls and pulled back the curtain of the one currently out of order. Greg raised his eyebrow when he saw that D.D. was pawing at the material too heavy for her to move. A towel was laid down to keep her dog bed dry and small bowls of food and water was laid out for her, along with a few toys. "Uh, Kris, why is D.D. in the shower stall?"
Kris bent down and picked up the small puppy. "I picked her up from Nick's this afternoon and took her out to spend the day with me, then when I went to drop her back off at Nick's house the door was locked and he wasn't answering. I couldn't leave her at the hotel because she isn't allowed, so I had to bring her here...luckily I had a dog bed and food in the back of my car..." She kissed the top of the puppy's head.
"Oh..." Greg opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off when a loud crash rippled through the halls of the lab, spooking the puppy. She jumped from Kris' arms and bolted from the locker rooms.
"Shit! D.D. come back!"
Kris and Greg took off running in the direction the puppy had gone, causing several people to stop working and watch the soon-to-be-CSI and the CSI running through the halls. "D.D.!" Greg yelled and they slowed down to round a corner, gaining speed once they had passed.
"D.D.!" Kris called and a small yelp and a shrill scream soon followed.
"It's a giant rat!" A woman yelled. "Get the broom and hit it!"
Kris and Greg looked at each other in horror and ran as fast as they could towards the screams. They arrived in time to see the new lab tech, Chandra Moore, screaming and standing on a chair motioning under the desk, as Hodges walked cautiously at it with a broom.
"Get the rat!" Chandra exclaimed.
"Stay away from my baby!" Kris ordered and ran into the office, Greg hot on her heels.
"Your baby?" Chandra asked in horror and disbelief.
"She's my pet." Kris exclaimed.
"Why do you have a giant pet rat?" Hodges asked, not releasing the broom.
"She's not a giant rat." Kris replied and crouched down next to the desk and reached under to retrieve the terrified puppy. "She's my Teacup Silky Terrier." Kris explained and showed them the puppy.
"Oh...she's was running by a-and s-she's so little...I-I thought it was a rat."
Greg laughed. "That's funny; the new lab rat thought she saw a rat...in her lab." Greg laughed again and everyone glared at him. Kris eventually cracked a smile and shook her head.
"You're too much sometimes." She professed and walked out of the lab, still cradling the puppy in her arms. She looked down to the puppy, and felt something large run into her, knocking her to the ground and falling on top of her. Scared from the sudden fall, D.D. freaked and ran from her arms once again and Kris looked up to see what, or who, had landed on her.
Nick shook looked down to see who he had fallen on top of. "Shit, I didn't see you comin, sorry...was that D.D. that just ran off?" Nick asked.
"Damnit Nick!" She cursed and pushed herself from underneath him. She turned over so she could get to her feet and took off running. Nick furred his brow and stood up,
"Wow, I don't think I've ever had a woman so eager to get from underneath me..." Nick said to himself and took off to see why D.D. was in the lab.
He jogged around the corner and saw Greg scoop the frightened puppy up in his arms as Kris rubbed the back of her head and ass. She winced from the pain and shook her head. "This poor thing is gonna have a heart attack if we don't take her outta here soon."Greg commented and Nick walked up to the two.
"Why is D.D. in the lab?"
"Because," Kris whipped around to face Nick with an angry glare. "You didn't answer your door this afternoon when I went to drop her off and I had no where else to take her."
Nick held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I was asleep, I'm sorry. I haven't had time to sleep in almost three days."
"Yeah, me either Stokes, but I managed to get up."
"Eventually..." Greg muttered and both CSIs glared. Greg back away and went to the DNA lab to see if everything was okay.
Kris rolled her eyes and rubbed the back of her head. "Is your head okay?" Nick asked.
"It's fine." Kris lied.
"Anderson..."
"What? It's fine." Kris defended and Nick shook his head.
"You need to see Doc."
"No. Stokes, I'm fine."
"Then let's at least put ice on it." Nick replied and grabbed her hand and led her towards the break room. She wiggled her hand out of his grasp and walked behind him, rolling her eyes, thinking this entire thing was unnecessary. Nick walked to the freezer and got out on of the small bags of ice they kept there for emergencies and turned to face her. "Sit." Nick ordered and she stood in front of him, raising her eyebrow as if to say, 'and what makes you think I'm going to listen to you?' Nick gave her a look. "Sit." He repeated and she huffed dramatically and flopped into the chair.
"This is stupid. I'm completely and totally- Ow!" She exclaimed and slapped his arm.
Nick smiled, completely unfazed by this, and pressed the ice pack back to her head. "See, this is what leads me to believe you're not fine..." Heput a little pressure on the ice pack and she winced again, slapping his arm.
"Don't do it again, or next time I'll clock you right across the jaw." She threatened and Nick smiled, pressing the ice pack back to her head. She took it in her hand, not quite trusting him with it.
"How's your..." He said motioning towards the chair and she shook her head and chuckled.
"Couldn't resist askin me about my ass huh?"
Nick blushed when he realized how that must've sounded. "I-I mean...I...just...wanted..." She shook her head and stood up, painfully, and walked out of the room to see Greg and D.D.
Nick watched her through the glass walls as she exchanged the ice pack for the dog. She walked back into the break room and looked at Nick. "I have to take her back to your house..."
Nick nodded and stood. "I'll drive you there." She opened her mouth to protest and Nick rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Give it a rest Anderson; you just hit your head. Plus...I ain't givin you my house keys." Nick drawled.
Kris rolled her eyes. "Fine. But we need to haul ass, shift starts in about ten minutes and Rick and Cath are already here."
Nick nodded and they hurried out of the building.
DNA Lab
7:43 p.m.
Catherine hurried into the DNA lab and prepared herself to admonish Greg's lab technician ass. "Greg! Where are Nick and Kris! I know you have something to do with it...Hodges ratted you out!" She stormed up to the desk and gasped in surprise when she saw a woman sitting in Greg's place. "Who are you?" Catherine snapped.
"Chandra Moore. Mr. Grissom hired me."
Catherine scoffed. "Mr. Grissom isn't here. He's in New York. He won't be back for another week and if he hired someone he would've let me know about it. So I-"
"Catherine! I've been looking all over for you!" Greg yelled running into the room, completely out of breath and waving a frantic paper.
"You've been looking for me? Let me tell you something Sanders, you have completely-"
"Catherine," Greg interrupted.
"No Greg! You and everyone else have absolutely no respect for me and my leadership! I mean you can't even-"
"Catherine," Greg began again.
"Give me a little heads up when our only other two CSIs go AWAL on us! It's called teamwork Greg, and you're never going to be a part of this team if you don't-"
"Catherine!" Greg exclaimed and Catherine dropped her jaw. "Grissom just sent this fax over...it's about Chandra."
"How the Hell is Chandra?"
"Uh, hi." Chandra said softly from behind her, with a slight wave of her hand. Catherine whipped around and glared.
"Give me the damn fax." She snatched it from the man's hands and read it over. She frowned and pulled out her cell phone, hitting speed dial 2. "Grissom! What the Hell is this? You hired someone! At least give me the courtesy of telling me...! Yes I got the fax but I didn't have the fax when I first met her...No! The point is Gil; if you want me to run the nightshift when you're gone, give me the equipment to do so! Don't go hiring people and not tell me about it...! No we will not talk about it later, Gil I've got a shift to run later! We need to discuss this now...No! Not when you get back! You won't be here for a week!!"
"Not necessarily." A familiar male voice said from the doorway, and everyone turned to it in shock. Grissom shut his phone and looked at Catherine, a teasing smile on his face.
"Hey Catherine, look what I found...a little lost Sara roaming the halls." Warrick called, escorting a very tired looking Sara into the lab.
Greg smiled wider and pounced on her, hugging her for all he was worth. "Sara! I missed you!" He exclaimed excitedly as Sara stood only by the support of Warrick. Her head was rolled back and her eyes were closed.
"She's so jet lagged." Grissom chuckled, shaking his head and looking back at Catherine. "I take it you met Chandra Moore, our new lab technician." Grissom explained, gesturing to the woman in the chair, looking quite frightened. A commotion down the hall drew their attention, and they all turned to look.
"I swear to God Stokes, you make one more comment and I'll shove my foot so far up your ass it'll come out your mouth! But the sensation of a foot in your mouth won't be new for you!" Kris shouted.
"God! You are the most annoying creature I've ever had the displeasure of knowing!" Nick exclaimed and stopped short when they walked into the lab. He furred his brow in confusion. "Damnit Anderson, did you make a wrong turn and drive us all the way to New York?" Nick joked dryly.
"Yes Stokes, I drove us all the way from Nevada to New York in ten minutes." She agreed, rolling her eyes.
Sara (who was now wide awake), Grissom, and Chandra stared at the pair in horror. The rest of the lab seemed completely unfazed by the outbursts. Greg sighed and rolled his eyes. "You have now been introduced to the infamous banter of Kris and Nick. By the way guys, how's D.D.?" Greg asked.
"What was D.D. doing here?" Warrick asked, having been introduced to the puppy when he visited Nick's house a few days prior. "Isn't she supposed to be at Nick's house?"
"Long story." Nick mumbled, waving the question away.
"Um, this will probably be an even longer story, but why are there so many un familiar faces...who's who?" Kris gestured around to the three people she was not yet acquainted with.
"You already met Chandra...remember?" Greg asked and Kris furred her brow, and then nodded in remembrance.
"Geez, did you hit your head that hard?"
"Hey, it's Nick's fault." Kris accused.
"Hey now, technically it's the floor's fault." Nick defended and Kris rolled her eyes.
"Uh...who...?" Was all Sara could manage.
"Oh sorry Sara! This is Kris Anderson, the new CSI." Greg explained. "Kris, this is Sara Sidle, Gil Grissom, the boss man, and you already know Chandra Moore, but for those of you who don't, this is Chandra Moore the new lab technician. Chandra, the almost sleeping woman is Sara Sidle, the boss here is Gil Grissom, the raging woman you met moments before is Catherine Willows, Kris Anderson is the owner of the puppy you thought was a rat-"
"You thought D.D. was a rat?" Nick asked.
"Long story." Chandra answered.
"There seem to be a lot of those around here." Grissom commented.
"Nick Stokes is...well he's just Nick."
"Hey!" Nick protested.
"Burn!" Kris exclaimed, a smile on her face.
"And this is Warrick Brown." Greg finished, ignoring everyone's comments.
"Warrick Brown?" Chandra perked up. "I-I saw your presentation on longitudinal striations of the toenail in Dallas, A.A.F.S.? Really good work." She blushed and stared in awe.
Warrick tried to hide the blush rising on his cheeks from all the attention.
Nick swirled his tongue around in his cheek, trying not to laugh as Kris and Sara pursed their lips to keep from laughing. Greg simply rolled his eyes as Catherine glared at the woman. Grissom seemed completely unfazed by the interaction...probably because he didn't notice it.
"Uh...thanks. Thank you very much."
Catherine looked back and forth between an uncomfortable Warrick and floored Chandra. "Okay, what are her credentials?" She asked, turning to Grissom, already deciding that this woman had to go.
"B.S. in bio-chem. M.S. in molecular biology, and five years of service in DNA at the CCL." Chandra piped up, and everyone looked at her, unimpressed.
"I can dance backwards in stilettos." Kris offered and everyone turned to look at her, most of who were either in shock or chuckling.
"That better not be why you hired her." Grissom replied, looking at Catherine sternly. She shook her head and smiled.
"Nope that was just a bonus. And I can dance in stilettos too." Catherine told Kris, a smile on her face.
"Really?"
"Yep. Exotic dancing put me through college."
"Seriously? Cool." Kris said, more impressed by Catherine's accomplishments then Chandra's. "I never did it professionally, just for fun."
"Man...those Montana girls." Greg said, smiling and shaking his head in complete bliss. Warrick slapped him upside the back of the head.
"Well, I taught my friend Kristy everything she knew." Kris replied and Greg chuckled.
"Okay, hang on...some questions here..." Sara began. "First off, Kris and Nick, I heard that you two couldn't stand each other but...I had no idea it was this bad."
"Eh, you get used to it." Greg shrugged.
"They work great on cases, solve 'em quick, never argue in front of Ecklie or any of them." Catherine interrupted.
"Though Kris did tell Ecklie to, quote, 'go fuck a duck'." Warrick replied and Sara gaped at her.
"And you still work here?"
Kris nodded. Grissom couldn't comment, he couldn't decide if he wanted to scold her...or applaud her. "How did he take it?" He finally asked.
"He rolled his eyes and threatened to fire me...no papers have been filed yet, and I've called him worse so..." Kris replied.
"Okay...next question, who is D.D.?"
"D.D. is my Teacup Silky Terrier. Nick was keeping her at his house until I can find an apartment."
"So how did you hit your head and why is it either Nick's or the floor's fault?"
"Kris and Nick ran into each other in the hallway...literally, and Nick fell on Kris and she hit her head on the ground." Greg answered for Kris.
"Alright, what's a...burn?" Grissom asked curiously.
"It's this little thing Kris started and now she and Greg are hooked on it. Any time you make a good joke about someone or pick on them in a funny way, someone yells 'burn!'...though it's mostly Nick getting burned by Greg or Kris, though Warrick and I will occasionally sneak a few burns in there too." Catherine answered.
"Why is it always Nick getting burned?" Sara asked.
"Cause he's the easiest to make fun of...plus I know how to get under his skin." Kris smiled deviously, and Catherine just shook her head.
"Right...next question."
"You andMs. Andersonare both from Montana?" Grissom asked and both women nodded.
"Yes, and please call me Kris." She asked and Grissom nodded.
"Now some questions for you. What are you doing back a week early?" Catherine asked.
"The seminar was canceled due to weather complications, power outs, and bugs fleeing everywhere." Grissom answered and Sara shivered at the memory.
"New York sucks."
"I like it." Chandra replied.
Catherine looked at her briefly, then back to Sara. "New York sucks." she agreed, merely because Chandra liked it...
Warrick chuckled. "Okay, now that Q and A time is over...are we gonna start shift?"
Thursday December 15, 2004
CSI Break Room
6:01 a.m.
"I think that was the easiest shift in the world." Nick commented to Warrick as they walked down the hall in into the break room.
"Yeah, not bad for Greggo's first shift as CSI trainee."
Just then a loud crash and the sound of several test tubes hitting the floor drew them to the door to see what was going on. Chandra stormed out of the DNA lab in furry and tore off her lab coat. Greg ran up to her.
"Hey, Chandra, how was your first day?" He asked.
"I can't do this! It's too much for one person." She exclaimed and threw the coat at Greg.
"They all want...they all want you. And I can't be you...I'm going back to Connecticut!"
Greg stared at her in horror.
"Well not anymore...pay up." Nick held out his hand and Warrick reluctantly handed him a twenty. "Good job Anderson, you and Cath scared the poor girl all the way back to Connecticut." Nick teased as Kris walked in the room, totally ignoring the mess in the hall. She turned and looked back at the hall briefly before grabbing a soda from the fridge.
"Nah, I'm sure you trying to hit on her hand something to do with it. Hell, your moves are scary enough to send any woman running for the hills." She shot back.
Warrick laughed, "So why didn't you go?" He asked and Nick punched his arm, making Kris smile.
"I'm tough." And with that she chugged back the can of coke.
Local Diner
7:23 a.m.
"I'm too tough to cry." Greg stated and everyone laughed at him. "What? Why is that so hard to believe?" Greg whined and Catherine rolled her eyes.
"Because you're you..."
Greg shot her a look at tossed a French fry at her. He missed horribly, and Kris caught it in mid air and popped it in her mouth. "Why are you worrying about this Greggo...you're not a CSI anymore, remember?" Nick teased and Greg glared at him. He threw another fry and missed once again, and Kris repeated her actions. "Just stop throwing French fries Greggo."
"No, he's feeding me." Kris protested and Greg threw another fry, this time at Kris. It hit its mark as she caught it in her mouth.
"Children, stop." Grissom said shaking his head.
"Sorry Dad." Greg apologized and Grissom reach across the table and threw a fry from Sara's plate at him. Everyone chuckled as Grissom tried to suppress a smirk. "Technically I'm a CSI...I just haven't been in the field as an official CSI yet."
"True Greg, but you still need your blood drawn." Grissom pointed out.
"Why?" Kris asked and Grissom looked at Catherine.
"Did you get her blood?" Grissom asked and Catherine shook her head.
"No, that's your thing Gil."
"Whoa...wait, why is Grissom taking my blood?" Kris asked nervously and Grissom smiled.
"So many reasons..." He replied ambiguously and took a sip of his water. She nodded slowly.
"Alright...but can I have a lollipop when I'm done?" She asked, feigning a little kid's voice. Everyone laughed and Grissom nodded.
"Deal."
"So Griss, Sar, what did ya'll do in New York besides sitting in the dark or through a bug seminar?" Nick asked and Sara stole a quick look at Grissom.
Well, let's think...we had hot passionate sex...more hot passionate sex...then we had dinner...followed by hot passionate sex...oh! And Grissom joined the mile high club...
"It was all basically bugs and blackouts." Sara replied and Nick nodded.
"Did you get us any souvenirs!" Greg asked excitedly. "But, if you didn't get one for me, that's okay," He slung an arm around her shoulder and slid closer to her in the booth, squishing her between him and the wall. "You're all the souvenir I need." He said seductively and everyone but Grissom laughed as she rolled her eyes and flipped his arm off her shoulder.
"Actually we did manage to find some souvenirs for everyone...sorry to disappoint you Greg." Grissom replied, jealousy evident in his voice, luckily it was lost on everyone but Sara and Greg.
Sara reached into her duffle bag under the table and pulled out a few bags. "Kris...sorry I didn't know that much about you besides that you're an anthropologist..." Sara handed the younger woman a bone with the words 'No bones about it...I love New York!' painted on it.
Kris laughed and shook her head. "Thanks you guys. This is funny."
"Warrick, we got you a T-shirt." She handed him the green T-shirt saying 'I love New York'. "These gifts suck by the way." Sara added and Warrick shook his head.
"It's great Sar. I'm just glad to have you guys back."
"And what is that supposed to mean? Did you not like working under me?" Catherine asked; a glint of mischief in her eye...
Warrick tired to suppress a smile. She knew he loved working under her...but not at work. He shook his head and everyone but Grissom and Greg smiled...those being the only two who didn't know about the relationship.
"Moving on...Nick, here's a hat." Sara said simply and tossed a cowboy hat at him. It was red white and blue with a large apple on the front.
"Man, I don't even want to know where you found this...but thank you." He said chuckling as Sara shrugged.
"Catherine, we got you and Lindsey matching snow globes...I figured you could give it Lindsey to brighten up the hospital room...how is she by the way?"
Catherine smiled and nodded. "She's doing better, the doctors want to keep her there for about a week, then they're sending her home and I have to hire her an in-home nurse to take care of her." Catherine replied and Sara nodded.
"Well...is it alright if I go over to see her later?" Sara asked, she and Lindsey had grown fond of each other over the years, and it killed Sara not being able to see her.
"Of course. I'm sure she'd love that. She's been asking about you."
Sara smiled and nodded. "Okay, and Greg, we got you...a clock." She smirked and held up the red apple shaped clock and everyone laughed at his gift.
"It's got an alarm on it. You twist the stem to set the time and push the leaf to turn off the alarm." Grissom informed him excitedly.
Sara shook her head at Grissom and Greg smiled. "Uh...thanks you guys..." He set the clock on the table and pressed the alarm button. A shrill ringing enveloped the diner, causing everyone to turn and look at them in annoyance. Greg winced and turned it off. "Yeah, that'll definitely get me up in the morning."
"So Kris," Sara changed the subject and turned back to the young red head. "You said you were from Montana...what part?"
"Well I lived in Butte, Montana so it was more like South west Montana."
"Wow, Sara, you must be special. You asked a question and she didn't scratch your eye out." Nick pointed out and Kris rolled her eyes.
"Come off it Stokes, I only do that to you and that's because I don't like you." Kris snapped and Nick glared. "Not the kind of special treatment you're used to huh?"
"Burn?" Sara asked looking around the table. Greg closed his eyes, smiled, and nodded slowly.
"Burn."
"Ha ha! Burn!" Sara yelled triumphantly and Nick shook his head as everyone laughed.
"Oh great, so now everyone's in on it?"
"No, not everyone...you're not." Greg replied and everyone laughed again.
"Burn!" Kris yelled and smiled.
"Okay...if it's at all possible, I think the nightshift has reached a whole new level of crazy..." Grissom replied, shaking his head.
"Oh you have no idea." Catherine mumbled.
"So Kris, you also said earlier that you new how to dance...like exotically?" Greg asked, smiling deviously. Kris nodded and Greg smiled wider. "And Catherine, we know you also use to dance topless..."
"We've already been over this Greg, yes I use to dance, and I wore nothin but skin."
"And stilettos." Kris added and Catherine nodded.
"Yes, nothing but stiletto heels."
"Now, how would the two of you feel about dancing together and putting on a show?" Greg suggested.
"Okay." Kris agreed.
"Really!" Greg's eyes bulged out of his head and he grinned from ear to ear.
"Yeah, so long as you don't attend." She countered and Greg sulked.
"Not nice Kris."
"Yeah, it's not so nice to be on the receiving end of one of her burns is it?" Nick drawled and Greg shook his head.
"Oh no, she can put me down and burn me all she wants...I like it." Greg smiled deviously and Kris made a face.
"Eew."
Suddenly four pagers went off and everyone reached for theirs. "Looks like we're pulling a double. 419...they found bugs." Grissom said and sighed. "Sara, you're with me."
"419 in Henderson, looks like a suicide." Warrick replied and Grissom nodded.
"You're solo."
"Brass got a lead on the case. You comin?" Nick asked Kris and she nodded.
"Car accident on Flamingo. A construction worker was killed. Am I solo?" Catherine asked and Grissom looked around.
"No, take Greg. Help him along. But Greg, once you get back to the lab you're in DNA." Grissom replied and Greg nodded fervently, a huge grin on his face.
They all stood, laid down their own portions of the meals, and left the diner to their separate scenes.
Grissom's Tahoe
9:12 a.m.
On their way to the scene, Grissom bit his lip nervously as he looked over at Sara, worrying about what her expression might be. "Sara...I want you to know that I only gave Warrick the solo case because you're pulling a double while you're jet lagged. It's not that I think you're not capable-"
She cut him off by squeezing his hand. "I know Gil, I know...truthfully I'm glad you gave him the solo...I'm way too tired to do that on my own...plus, I get to work this case with you..." she smiled softly and Grissom returned it.
"Well, so long as you don't grab my ass while we're at the scene I think we'll be fine."
"I could say the same to you." She teased. "And don't worry; I'll make sure no one sees it." Grissom gave her a look and she pursed her lips. "Kidding."
Grissom smiled and shook his head. "You will be the death of me Sara Sidle."
"Please, you know I'm the best thing that ever happened to you." She replied and Grissom nodded, a serious expression on his face.
"Yeah..." He looked over at her. "You are..."
She pursed her lips and looked away. "Geez, don't get all sappy on me." She joked and Grissom smiled and looked back to the road.
"I guess you just bring it out in me."
CSI Crime Lab
Hallway
9:21 a.m.
"I guess you just bring it out in me." Kris said shrugging and Nick rolled his eyes.
"No, I think you've always been a bitch."
"Probably." She agreed and Nick shook his head as they walked into the interrogation room, where Mr. Todd Manilio, husband of Trisha Manilio and father to Tyler Manilio, sat at the table. He looked unimpressed with everything, and completely bored, yet confident. He perked up when he saw Kris, a sick smile crossing his face. She ignored it and switched to all business mode. She stood in front of the table, behind her chair, as Brass sat in the chair in the corner, and Nick sat beside her.
Kris stood across from Mr. Manilio, her features cold and hard, her posture confident, her demeanor intimidating...to anyone but a man who had murdered his wife and nine month old baby. "Are you part of a cooking club Mr. Manilio?" Kris asked, her voice deep and daunting.
The man sneered at her. "I might be...why does that matter?"
"Well, there aren't many other reasons a man living in the suburbs would have a huge boiling pot in his backyard besides the fact that he was part of a cooking club..."
The slightly older man smiled and leaned back, as if this was all a show and he was simply playing out the lines given to him. His grin grew as he took in the sight of the young red head in front of him, a good amount of her cleavage was exposed from her position of leaning over the table, probably a fact she wasn't aware of. Her jeans hugged her in all the right places, and he could see the reflection of her curvaceous ass in the window behind her. The medium length red hair normally worn pulled up was down and framing her face, and accenting the deep brown and subtle strands of emerald running through the brown in her eye.
Mr. Manilio was actually a pretty good looking man himself. His jaw was firm and square, his eyes were a deep greenish gold, bringing out the tan that covered what skin was exposed by his clothing, and his short brown hair just begged to have a set of hands run through it.
"Well, Trisha liked to cook things...she did mention a cooking club a few times, so, I went out and bought a boiling pot for her."
"You see..." She pulled the pictures of the pot from the file she was holding. "That's what I have a problem...we didn't find Trisha's print on it...wanna guess who's we found?" Kris asked menacingly and shoved the pictures towards him, a few were of the boiling pot, then some of the print she had found.
He sneered again. "Donald Duck?"
"Ooh. Funny." Kris said dryly and sat back down in her chair. Nick leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table.
"They're yours Mr. Manilio...how'd they get there?" Nick asked calmly, but firmly.
Mr. Manilio let his gaze slide to Nick briefly, then back to Kris whom he looked at, not bothering to hide the fact that he was checking her out. A smile formed on his handsome face. "Probably from when I bought it...I really don't see what this has to do with-" He was cut off when another picture was shoved towards him. It was a picture of the bones collected from the scene.
The smile fell from his face and was replaced by a glare, aimed at Kris.
"Or they got there when you killed them..." She leaned forward again, her hands folded tightly in front of her on the table. "So what happened Todd...did Trisha fight back this time?" She asked simply, and calling him by his first name.
He narrowed his gaze on her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Well smarten up...playing coy isn't a good look for you." She shoved a series of medical reports across the table at him. "Trisha's got a history of abuse...from you. That's why you continuously moved, huh? You said it was for work...kept telling everyone your job demanded that you move...but I'm guessing someone at the hospital started recognizing you two, didn't they? So...did she fight back...finally get tried of being your punching bag...? Or was it when you went after you went after Tyler?"
Todd Manilio's eyes snapped open and he glared at Kris. "I have no fucking idea what you're talking about."
"Oh really? Well then allow me to refresh you memory." She stood up and held the piece of paper from the hospital concerning the baby in front of the man's face. "Refreshed?" She snapped, her voice dangerously low.
His face formed a menacing frown and he swatted the paper away, slapping Kris' hand in the process. Nick jumped slightly and stole a glance to the officer and Brass who were also in the room. Brass looked back at him uncertainly, but Kris seemed unfazed by it.
"So which of the two happened...or, maybe it was a combination of both..." She walked around the table and stood within a foot of him, at the end of the table, to his immediate right. "Did she try and fight back when you went to hit her...did she hit you back...go for the knife...and you went for Tyler, knowing she wouldn't do anything if your baby was involved..." She got within a few feet of him, right next to his face. But he refused to look at her, as if she was still sitting across from him.
"We found your DNA on the pot...and hers on the saw...along with more of your prints."
"Did you use Tyler to control her?" Kris prodded, not dropping the hunch from earlier.
He still didn't answer...his face hard...cold...enraged...as if he was ready to snap.
"Huh?" She asked as he wheeled off and back handed her across the face. Everyone jumped except for Kris and Todd. She glared at him, seeming pissed rather than injured. Before the officer finally got his ass in gear Kris and punched him across the jaw, and another slap rang out across her other cheek.
Fuming, he threw her against the wall and punched her across the jaw, as she had him. Kris kneed him in the groin, decked him across the face, and shoved him back into his chair.
It all happened with a matter of seconds, so quick that no one had anytime to do anything about it. The office finally got a hold of Todd and slapped the cuffs on him. Kris stood against the wall still, panting in anger, and glaring at the man glaring back at her. "Guess so." She replied menacingly.
His scowl grew as Brass' deep, pissed off voice rang threw the room.
"Todd Manilio, you're under arrest for the murders of Trisha and Tyler Manilio. You have the right to remain silent, though I doubt you'll be using it." Brass growled as the officer led the man from the room.
"Bitch! You fuckin whore! I'm gonna sue your ass through the fuckin roof! Watch your back slut!" He threatened and Kris rolled her eyes.
"Looking forward to it!" She called back and shook her head, trying not to wince at the pain shooting through her face. She rolled her jaw back and forth, trying to work out the pain in it. Brass stood in the door, watching Kris in slight admiration, before following the officer and infuriated man to lock up. Kris hadn't noticed that Brass had left, or that Nick was still watching her in a mixture of confusion and shock. She shook her head and scoffed. "Can you believe that guy? He's openly checking me out and I get called the whore!" She picked up the pictures and papers and put them back in the file.
"Anderson..." Nick began, shaking his head.
She looked up at him. "What?"
"What the Hell...? What was that?"
"That was me interrogating a cold blooded killer."
"Anderson." He gave her a look.
"What Stokes? Things got out of hand...obviously that wasn't my intention."
"You're bleeding."
She reached up as she felt the warm liquid trickle down her cheek and she pulled her hand back to stare at the blood on her fingers and sighed. "Bastard cut my with his ring...fuck hole." She swore and Nick shook his head. "I'll clean it and bandage it...it'll be fine."
"Are you okay?" He asked, finally standing up to tower almost five inches over her. She raised an eyebrow.
"Do I look okay...? I'm fine Stokes." She went passed him and began walking down the hall, trying to ignore the concerned and curios stares she was getting. She went into the break room and pulled out the first aid kit from the cabinet and set it down on the table, sitting down in the chair next to it. Nick sat across from her.
"Let me do it."
She shook her head. "I got it."
"Damnit Anderson, just let me do it. You can't even see where it is." Nick huffed and she rolled her eyes and pushed the kit towards him. He took the peroxide out and dipped the cotton swab in it, and gently applied it to the cut. She hissed and Nick looked into her eyes and shrugged. "Sorry."
She sighed and looked around the break room without moving her head. Greg and Catherine walked in to the break room and stopped when they saw what was going on. "Geez Kris, Nick got ya twice in one day." Greg stated and Nick shot him a glare.
"I didn't do this Greg." Nick said and Catherine walked fully into the room, ignoring the conversation around her.
"Did you get your guy?" She questioned, turning away from the coffee pot momentarily to look at the two younger CSIs.
"Yeah...finally."
"But at what cost?" Nick mumbled and Kris rolled her eyes.
"Suck it up Stokes, I'm fine." Kris replied as Nick put the band aid on her cheek. She turned to look in the reflection of her sunglasses and grimaced at the bandage. "Pretty." She said sarcastically.
"Aww, you know you're gorgeous." Greg complimented and Kris smirked and shook her head.
"You're nuts Greg."
"It happens." Greg said shrugging. She sighed and stood up as Grissom and Sara came into the room, talking softly about something. Both looked up to see the foursome gathered in the room, Grissom and Sara almost looked surprised to see them there, as if they weren't supposed to be. Sara seemed to step away a fraction of an inch from Grissom, a motion not lost on Kris and Catherine.
The two women exchanged glances then looked back to Grissom and Sara. "God Kris, what happened?" Sara asked now noticing the bandage on her cheek bone. There was a dark blue and black bruise partially hidden by the bandage, but mostly exposed on her sun kissed skin. The same large bruise dawned her other cheek, along with four circular bruises along her jaw. Sara recognized them instantly as knuckle marks...someone had hit her.
She stiffened momentarily and took a tentative step towards the younger red head and inspected the marks. She looked back at Nick but said nothing. Grissom raised his brow at the Texan and Nick threw his hands in the air and glared at them all. "Why does everyone think I hit her?" Nick demanded angrily and Grissom shrugged.
"I didn't say anything." Sara protested.
"You gave me a look."
"To see if you knew anything..."
"Relax Nick, everyone knows you wouldn't lay a hand on a woman...well..." Greg replied, making a joke about Nick's sexual life to lesson the tension that had enveloped the room. Everyone chuckled and Nick relaxed a little.
"So what did happen?" Grissom asked, moving fully into the room and over to the counter to fill the coffee mug he was holding. Kris opened her mouth to speak, but hers and Nick pagers went off. They both looked down, then to each other worriedly.
"Brass..." They said in unison, they both walked out of the room and down the hall towards the undoubtedly uncomfortable conversation ahead. "So um...how bad do you think this lecture is gonna be?" Kris asked nervously and Nick shrugged.
"It's gotta be pretty bad...or he wouldn't be inviting me to join the party."
Crime Lab
Brass' Office
10:06 a.m.
"Officer Albright, so glad you could join the party...finally." Brass replied in mock-cheer. The officer that had been in the interrogation room when Todd had snapped cautiously walked into the room, hanging his head in shame as he stood by the once again closed door.
"Captain Brass I'm so sorry-"
"Nah! Hey..." Brass gave a phony smile and sat back on his desk, folding his hands in front of him. "You know...I'm fine, I'm not the one who got beaten up by a suspect in the interrogation room because an officer didn't do his job." Brass snapped and glared at the man, who winced and hung his head.
"Brass..." Kris said softly.
"No. Kris..." He looked away from Kris and then back to the officer. "Albright, you're on unpaid suspension until further notice."
Kris stood up and held up her hands. "Brass wait, it happened really fast okay, I didn't even know what was going on before he had me against the wall." Kris defended the man who really didn't deserve it. She had seen how frightened the man looked when Todd had lost it. He had probably never seen a woman get slapped before.
"Yes, but you still reacted, which is more than anyone else in this room can say, including myself." Brass reported sternly.
"It's not either of your jobs to react when someone wheels off and hits a CSI."
"You're right, its Albrights job. And that's why he's on suspension." Brass replied coolly. "Go home Albright."
The man disappeared out the door and Kris sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Brass...that wasn't really necessary...I'm fine...a week's suspension was enough...there wasn't a need for that."
"Yeah there is Anderson." Nick finally found his voice and stood up. She shot him a glare and he shook his head. "Don't even start, look what he did." He gestured to her face and she rolled her eyes.
"But I'm fine."
"But you might not have been." Brass interjected. "Albright is suspended until further notice." Kris opened her mouth to protest but Brass held up his hand. "End of discussion...you need to take the rest of the day off too."
"What?"
"Not as a suspension, as a time to catch your breath...you've been workin like a dog, you pulled two doubles and you worked straight through the weekend."
"So did everyone else..."
"Yeah, but we all clocked out when we were supposed to." Nick pointed out, earning himself a cooler glare from Kris.
"Brass, I got no where else to go. I'm not going back to the hotel to lie around and do nothing..."
"So take your puppy somewhere...go take her through the park...it's warmed up quite a bit...let her run around and play...you need to take a breather Kris."
"Brass-"
"No Kris. Go home. You can come back next shift."
She sighed and rolled her eyes as Nick handed her his house keys. "Go pick up D.D. Hang out at my house if you want." He said and she shook her head angrily and snatched the keys before storming out of the office.
Both men jumped as she slammed the door behind her, and Brass began to chuckle and shake his head. "She's a pistol isn't she...?" He pointed out and Nick rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"You have no idea..."
"Can't imagine being at the receiving end of that every day..." Nick shot him a scowl and Brass laughed. "I feel sorry for the next person that crosses her path..."
Grissom's Office
10:13 a.m.
"Hey Griss, what's up with Kris...?" Sara asked, slipping into his office and walking up to his desk. He took off his glasses and sighed. "Apparently Brass gave her the day off...and she doesn't want the day off...remind you of anyone..." He chuckled a little and Sara pursed her lips and shot him a playful glare.
"Like you're one to talk...I believe you almost killed Ecklie when he suggested you go home early."
"No, I almost killed Ecklie because Ecklie is an ass..." Grissom mumbled and Sara chuckled.
"True, speaking of time off, since we about finished up that case...I was thinking I'm going to head home."
"Jet lag?" Grissom asked and Sara nodded. "Alright, go home and get some sleep. Don't come in unless I call you. You'll probably be stuck at home all day; because the minute Kris gets here she's going to solve every case she can to make up for lost time." Grissom joked and Sara laughed.
"Okay...I'll be at my apartment...all alone...call me if you need me..." She replied walking to the door. Grissom nodded, not quite catching the innuendo, he merely nodded and Sara stopped before she opened the door. "...For anything." She finished seductively. This caught Grissom's attention, but by the time he looked up she was gone, and a smile graced Grissom's face.
He chuckled and looked back down at his work, only to have a knock on his door snap him from his thoughts. He looked up to see a familiar blonde saunter into the room and sit down in the chair in front of him. A knowing smile was on her pretty face. Playing coy, Grissom raised his brow. "What?"
The smile formed into an ear to ear grin. "I heard that..."
"Heard what?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Don't be timid Gil...I heard Sara's little innuendo... 'Call me if you need me...for anything'. I mean what the Hell is that?" She laughed and Grissom shook his head, doing a pretty good job of playing dumb.
"What are you talking about Catherine? Sara told me to call her in for work if I need her."
Catherine shook her head slowly. "Oh no...there was more than that." Grissom looked at her confused and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head slowly. "I am so going to figure out whatever it is the two of you are hiding...believe you me." She promised and Gil's phone began to ring. She smiled. "Well...I'll leave you to your work..."
With that she stood and left as Grissom answered his phone. "Grissom."
"Hey, Griss, can you send someone to come and get me? My car broke down on Flamingo and I've got a horde of evidence out here..." Warrick's slightly distressed voice asked and Grissom shook his head.
"Why is it that we CSIs have such bad luck with cars?" He asked, remembering his and Sara's incident, then hearing from Brass about Nick and Kris being stranded on the road a week prior.
"I don't know. What I do know is that I need someone out here."
"Alright, stay put Warrick. I'll send Nick out to get you."
"Alright, thanks Boss."
They hung up their phones and sighed. Grissom quickly paged Nick and relayed the message to find Warrick. After he had left Grissom sighed and sat back. There wasn't much coming in. Vega was supposed to be bringing in the suspect now, the interrogation wouldn't take long. Their evidence was solid, and the perp would be behind bars soon enough. He had already gotten the low down on what happened to Kris in the interrogation room, so there was nothing to do.
As much as he wanted to call Sara he knew that she needed her sleep. He sighed and reclined in his chair, only to have an over energetic Greg bounce into his office. "Hey boss..." He greeted and Grissom raised an eyebrow.
"Shouldn't you be in the DNA lab?"
"I'm all clear..." Greg said smiling and drumming his knees while smiling at Grissom.
"...Do you need something Greg?" Grissom asked pointedly and Greg thought for a moment, then shook his head. Grissom nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off the man. "Well what can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to see how things were going...so...how was New York?" Greg asked leaning back in his chair. '
Grissom reside his eyebrow. Did he know too? He knew Catherine suspected it, as well as Kris judging by the looks they were shooting him and Sara all day...luckily they had no solid evidence to convict them of their 'furtive love affair'.
"Grissom...?"
"Huh, oh sorry Greg...um...New York...was...cold." He finally finished and Greg furred his brows. Surely his highly intelligent boss would have more to say about New York than, 'it was cold'.
"Well uh...what did the two of you do...any site seeing?" Greg asked, not really interested, just trying to make conversation...annoying his boss was better than sitting in his lab doing nothing...normally he'd go hit on Kris, Sara, or Catherine...but Kris and Sara had left...and Warrick had recently gotten into the habit of slapping Greg upside his head whenever he hit on Catherine...
"We just walked around the hotel..." Had some sex "Took a walk through the hiking trail..." Had some more sex "Played a couple board games..." Had lots of wild animal sex. "And that's about it...besides the bugs..." And the sex.
Greg nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Cool..."
"Was there any particular reason you're in here?"
"Nope...I just got bored."
"So you decided to drag me down with you?"
"Oh...I see...I'll go then." Greg said feigning offence. Grissom nodded and waved him away. Greg chuckled and rolled his eyes...
Grissom really needed to loosen up...
A/N: Ahhhhhhhh! I'm finally done!
This chapter hit a brick wall a few weeks back, so I had to figure out a way to demolish the wall...(solution...) SHOE SHOPPING!
And then it began to flow... :)
Now be good little CSI fans and review...
-Chell