Living Again

Still own nothing, make nothing, have nothing of the CSI franchise.

OK in case anyone out there is actually reading this story, I thought I’d explain a little bit about when this is happening and why Nick’s acting a little unsure of himself.

This has happened after the Miniature Killer kidnapped Sara but before Ecklie put her on swing shift. Everyone knows about Sara and Grissom, but it’s still not in your face. Nick is a little timid about Jessa because of all the lousy dates he’s been on, and some part of him is thinking it’s because he’s not datable. Add to that his reaction to Greg’s offer and he’s feeling a little vulnerable.

Greg glanced at his watch as he sat down in the break room. Nick and Warrick were already seated, talking animatedly about the suspect in their case. Any minute Jessa would arrive and both of his coworkers would see that she not only had a great personality, but she wasn’t hard on the eyes either.

Catherine was walking past the elevators on her way to the break room when a pretty young woman stepped out and looked around with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. She was dressed casually in jeans paired with a silk cami and sandals, all curves and femininity. Her dark hair fell in curls over one shoulder. She looked up at Catherine, as she was rather petite, with clear green eyes and smiled.

“Hello,” Catherine offered. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, please. I’m supposed to meet Greg Sanders here, somewhere.” She said, her smile staying in place.

OK, a pretty girl coming into the office at what amounts to an un-Godly hour for most young women, to meet Greg. That’s definitely a new one, thought Catherine.

“Sure, I’m betting he’s right down this hall where I just happen to be heading.” She motioned for the woman to come along. “So, you’re a friend of Greg’s?” She couldn’t resist finding out what her connection to Greg was.

Her smile deepened, showing small dimples in her cheeks. “No, well yes, we’re friends, but he’s actually my twin brother.”

Catherine looked shocked at the short, somewhat plump young woman. Greg had a sister? A twin at that. How on earth had she not known?

“Wow, well it’s nice to meet you Miss Sanders. I’m Catherine Willows.” She turned a bit toward Greg’s sister while continuing to walk down the hallway.

“I’m Jessica, Dr. Jessica Sanders to be more precise, but please, call me Jessica or Jessa. Greg’s spoken of you before, actually he’s told me a lot about everyone he works with.” She said as they came to the entryway for the break room.

“Only if you call me Catherine.” She answered with a smile. “Here we are. Greg, I think I found someone you were waiting for.”

At the table, Nick dropped his head so his forehead rested on the tabletop. Warrick, facing the door, kicked his foot under the table. Nick ignored him. Great, he thought, Greg brought the “great personality” sister in for a visit. He knew, however he’d like to be rude and exit the room without meeting Greg’s sister, he wouldn’t. It just wasn’t in him to be rude to a perfect stranger. He wasn’t going to go easily though.

“Jessa!” Greg said, greeting her like he hadn’t seen her a few days earlier for breakfast and pulling her futher into the break room. “Let me introduce you to everyone.” As he said it, Grissom and Sara walked past the break room. “Grissom, Sara, could you guys come here for a moment?”

Curious, Grissom and Sara entered. Catherine smiled, noticing Nick’s head down on the table, suddenly realizing that Greg was probably going to try matchmaking.

“I want you all to meet my sister, well my twin sister, actually. This is Dr. Jessica Sanders,” Greg motioned, presenting his sister to his coworkers. “Jessa, this is Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle.”

Jessa stepped forward and shook Gil’s hand. “My brother speaks very highly of you, Dr. Grissom. And I’ve read several of your papers while in college.” She turned to Sara and offered a friendly smile as Sara had an arm in a cast and sling from her recent kidnapping. “And Greg has mentioned you as well, Ms. Sidle.”

Grissom and Sara smiled back, both offering to be called Grissom and Sara instead of the more formal address. Then they excused themselves and left. Jessa stepped back beside Greg and wondered why the broad-shouldered man kept his head down on the table. Wasn’t he going to inspect her like the rest?

“And this is Warrick Brown and,” he stopped and stared at the top of Nick’s head.

“The one being rude with his head down is Nick Stokes,” Warrick finished for him, offering Nick another kick under the table.

“Oh, you’re Tina’s husband,” Jessa said, ignoring the rude man at the table to offer her hand to Warrick. “We work the night shift together. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Nick finally had enough of the kicks and realized he really was being terribly rude to someone who had no idea why. He raised his head and his eyes met the clearest, greenest eyes he’d ever seen. A smile played on naturally pink lips and his breath caught. He stood and realized just how small she was, small and curvy. When he held his hand out for a shake, he was relieved to see it wasn’t shaking. Her hand was warm in his and for a rash moment he wondered about holding on to it.

“Mr. Stokes,” her voice was slightly husky and he wished she’s say his first name. “Greg’s mentioned you as well.”

She pulled her hand away and felt sort of empty for a moment. He was attractive and she wondered if he was who Tina meant by her earlier comment. His face had chiseled features, a strong jaw and warm eyes. She wondered why he’d had his head down when she’d come in.

“Please,” he said, a slow Texas drawl escaping his lips. “Call me Nick.”

“Alright, Nick.” She said, her smile deepening again, causing the hints of dimples to come out. She turned back to her brother, holding the smile. “So about my tour...”

When Jessa and Greg walked from the break room, Catherine sat down as Nick returned to his chair with a look of having the wind knocked out of him. She and Warrick shared grins.

“So, it’s too bad you’ve ‘taken yourself out of the dating pool’, eh?” Warrick teased.

“Oh, he’s not dating anymore?” Catherine picked up the thread. “Well, I’m sure Greg will introduce her to everyone, maybe Archie or Hodges...”

Nick’s jaw twitched. They were picking on him and he had no one to blame but himself. He wondered if Jessa would prefer a lab rat to a CSI guy. She’s a doctor after all and maybe the scientific angle would get her interested. Maybe he’d ask her as she was leaving, with Greg. He banged his head on the table again.

“Well that’s one way to get her attention, give yourself a concussion.” Warrick said, slapping Nick on the back.

Catherine chuckled. “It’s not that bad, Nick. She doesn’t know you’ve sworn off dating. Just give her your number or ask for hers before she leaves.”

She didn’t understand. After how he reacted to Greg’s offer earlier, there was no way this was going to be easy. At least not with Greg. But if Greg told her how he reacted earlier, then there would be no reason for her to say yes to him. He banged his head again, thinking the concussion would be a good idea. He listened as Warrick filled Catherine in on just why it could very well be bad.

“You know, I doubt Greg will say anything about earlier. I mean she’s his twin and it might hurt her feelings, so why would he tell her that you blew her off before you even met her?” Catherine reasoned.

Nick groaned. He’d listened to how she’d greeted everyone, how she made sure that each person knew that she’d heard of them before. She’d made a point to mention reading Grissom’s papers, too, so she wasn’t ignorant of the crime lab. Of course she wasn’t ignorant, Greg was her brother so she’d know basically what happened day to day. Finally he met a woman who wouldn’t “eww” over his job, one that would understand the rigors that came with solving a crime since she was on call at the hospital, and he’d probably blew it because he imagined her looking like her brother in a dress. He looked up into the somewhat concerned faces of Catherine and Warrick.

“I really think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Nick.” Catherine said. “You didn’t see the way she was checking you out.”

He perked up. “She was checking me out?”
“Man, if she looked any harder you’d have burn marks on you.” Warrick agreed.

“So you guys think I should talk to her before she leaves?” Nick asked, feeling a little more sure of himself.

“Definitely,” Catherine said, nodding. “Who knows, Jessica might just be what you’ve been looking for.”