I'm too small!
"Oh this is just too big. If I go anywhere relatively close to a burner I'll go up in flames!"
Jessica had been trying on lab coats in the locker room now for thirty minutes and it seemed that every single lab coat had something wrong with it. Apparently the only people that actually returned their lab coats when they retired were seven feet tall or weight four hundred pounds or a combination of the two.
"I'm just too small for this! Maybe I could borrow one from the university for a while." Jessica declared while pulling off the lab coat that read "S. Smith" on the tag. Whoever Smith was must have been part giant because it practically dragged on the ground and the sleeves went almost a foot past Jessica's fingers.
Ryan stood there and looked at Jessica. She was so frustrated and he felt so bad for her. Ryan walked up to Jessica and put his hand on her shoulder, comforting her.
"Don't worry we'll find one for you."
"But if I don't have a lab coat then how can I work in the lab without the risk of ruining my clothes!"
"I promise we'll find something." Then it hit Ryan. He was standing there almost looking eye to eye with Jessica. How did it take him this long to realize that in heels she was almost the same height as him? He took a step back and placed both hands on her shoulders, looking at her, analyzing her. Jessica quickly recognized that he was sizing her up, and instinct kicked in and she reacted in her old Chicago ways.
"What are you looking at!" She said, backing up, hands slightly raised and clenched into fists.
"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Those hazel eyes looked deep into her blue ones. These were kind eyes, full of compassion and caring. They weren't his bright blue eyes; eyes that had hurt her; eyes that she would never see again, Horatio had promised her that.
Ryan walked away and Jessica stood there alone, trying hard to keep the painful memories from coming back. She thought of Ryan's beautiful hazel eyes, her new favorite color. Suddenly those eyes filled her vision and were followed by the rest of Ryan's gorgeous body.
Ryan held up his hands, offering something to Jessica. She reached out and took the garment from him. It was a lab coat, only this one seemed to be a reasonable size.
"Try it on." Ryan prompted. So Jessica stuck her arms into the sleeves and buttoned up the front. It was still rather loose and the sleeves a little long, but other than that it fit perfectly. Ryan reached out and helped her roll the sleeves up the four or so inches Jessica needed to free up her hands. When he was done he took her hand and led her to the mirror.
Jessica stood there for a moment and looked at herself in the lab coat. It was obviously still too big, but within reason. The sleeves might need to be rolled just a little further to guarantee there wouldn't be any accidents. But the smell was divine. It smelled of men's cologne, hand sanitizer, and grass. Jessica took a moment and breathed deeply, enjoying the scent. Her fingers traced the letters R. Wolfe above the left breast pocket.
"This is your lab coat." She stated.
"Yes, but you can use it for now."
"But what are you going to wear?"
"The department issues us three each. I think I can live with just two for now."
"What about your OCD? This isn't going to mess up your routine is it?"
"No, I think I'll be ok with just…..how did you know I have OCD?"
Jessica turned and looked at Ryan, her big blue eyes peering once again into his soul. He wanted to climb through those beautiful orbs and look into all the wisdom that Jessica held behind them. Her hand was still in his and he felt her squeeze it and his stomach once again do a back flip.
Just then Horatio walked into the locker room. Ryan let go of Jessica's hand and stuffed it into the pocket of his pants.
"Jessica, I see Mr. Wolfe has found you a lab coat and a locker you can use. However, I think it might be just as confusing having two R. Wolfes in the department as having two Jesses. Plus, I don't think even the city of Miami has that much hand sanitizer." Jessica and Ryan chuckled at Horatio's joke; both relieved to have had the tension in the room finally break.
"Well Dr. Stone are you ready for your first case?" Horatio asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jessica replied.
"Good because as you know around here we don't stand still. The best way to learn things here is to jump right in. right Mr. Wolfe?"
"You bet boss!"
"Dr. Stone, I hope you brought the kit I gave you because we've got a potential suicide-murder that you're being assigned to. Mr. Wolfe grab your kit and both of you meet me at Hummer One in ten minutes."
"You got it H!" Ryan said, reaching into his locker for his kit as Horatio left the locker room. "Where is your kit at Dr. Stone."
"Well, it's in my car, which is in the employee parking lot. Would you care to join me, Ryan?"
"I'd love to." Ryan replied, before adding, "You already have a pass for the employee lot?"
"Yeah, Horatio pulled some strings and got it for me."
Ryan hadn't noticed until now how Jessica's eyes lit up when she said Horatio's name. It caused just the slightest pull of jealous when he observed this, but he shook it off and walked out of the locker room with Jessica, feeling so fortunate to have this opportunity to teach her.
When they arrived at Jessica's silver Audi Q7 Hybrid she unlocked it and reached in the back seat for her kit. Ryan couldn't help but laugh when he saw the condition of it. The case was clearly brand new, and he assumed it had all the latest technology within it, but what struck him the most was the exterior of the kit.
"Purple! Really!"
"What, never seen a CSI with style?" Jessica said looking at Ryan from behind her red aviators.
"Well and here I thought I was the cool guy because my case is black and everyone else has silver. Step back, here comes Dr. Stone!"
"I swear if you call me that one more time," Jessica teased, getting as close to Ryan's face as she could, their noses practically touching, "I'm going to punch you in the wiener!"
Ryan laughed at her childish terminology and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, embracing her in a hug. Jessica returned the hug, wrapping her free arm around his waist, and pressed herself as close to the older man as she could, feeling his desire for her.
After a moment of enjoying his body against hers, Jessica pulled back and looked at Ryan.
"Come on, we don't want to keep Horatio waiting. It's only my first day, if I get in trouble now I'm screwed when it comes time for my supervisor evaluation!"
Ryan smiled at the young woman and led the way to the Hummer lot.