You Think Love Is A Joke?

8.

I entered the office, yawning and a cup of coffee in my hand. I walked down the stairs and pushed the door open into the morgue. From what I could see, Al and David hadn't arrived at work and the bodies were piling up. I shrugged off my coat and slipped my lab coat on, along with my headphones. Walking into the freezer, I attempted to heave a body in a bag off the top and onto a trolley to exchange it to the slab. A hand tapped my shoulder and I moved my headphones off.

"Thomas?" I asked, raising my eyebrow whilst being weighed down by the body. My legs buckled underneath the weight. Thomas realised, jolting forward and picking up the body's feet, helping me pull it onto the trolley. I smiled, pushing it forward. Together we got the body on the table and I sighed in relief, flipping my hair out of my face.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, turning the light which shone brightly over the bag. He bounced on the balls of his feet, an unsteady feeling fell over the room. I glanced up at him, waiting for him to say something as I unzipped the bag, yanking it off the body.

"I was just wondering..." he mumbled, I swabbed the body, his cheeks flared up in a red blush. "If I could take you on a date?" I took a sharp intake of breath, placing the swab into a tube. Resting my hand on the table, staring into Thomas' hopeful eyes as I pursed my lips.

"I'll think about it." I smirked, he breathed out heavily and nodded. "I've got to work, I'll see you later?" I asked, he waved and pushed out through the door. I slipped my headphones back on, turning on the the hose to spray down the body. The caked blood that clung to his body emptied down the drain and I hummed along to the song playing through my phone. The door burst open and I stumbled back in shock. Nick stood at the door, a smile breaking out on his lips.

"We've got a break in your father's case." I raised my eyebrows, setting the hose down and peeling off the plastic gloves from my hands. I chucked them in the bin and followed Nick down the hall, we entered Greg's lab where he sat at his desk, heavy rock music pulsed through the room, his head bobbed up and down with the beat of the music. I rolled my eyes at his immaturity. Nick walked forward, clasping his hand on Greg's shoulders, causing him to jump violently. I pressed pause on his radio and walked forward, coming over to see the results. I could feel the warm from underneath Greg's lab coat, I could feel his muscles tense beneath my abdomen.

"So Greggy boy, what were we dying to tell Izzy, huh?" Nick chuckled, as if he could almost feel the sexual tension that lingered in the room. Greg coughed, picking up a piece of paper, turning his head so he could stare up at my face to search for any emotions before reading at the results.

"So as you can see, Nevaeh, shares alleles with her mother, which obviously is how it should be but when we look at Mr Anderson's alleles with his daughter, there is nothing they share in common." I furrowed my eyebrows, that can't be possible, Greg then reached for another piece of paper and hesitated before giving it to me. "This second sheet might be a little more shocking. Nick grabbed a chair, and I took it gratefully as I took the sheet from Greg.

"Nevaeh shares alleles with my father..." I whispered, I looked up at the two men who's eyes stared at me, waiting for my reaction. I licked my lips. I have a half sister. I breathed out heavily before returning the sheet onto the desk and looking towards the two once more.

"So where do we go from here then?" I asked, the question directed towards Nick.

"We just need to find out the reason why Max Ashmore had an affair with Nicky Anderson." Greg cheered, both Nick and I looked at him, confused. He looked up at both of us and gasped. "Oh right. Not on the case... sorry." I laughed, ruffling his hair. I looked around.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to go visit Nevaeh." I announced, Nick stared at me and Greg raised an eyebrow. "I just want to ask her some questions." They both nodded.

I headed back down to the morgue, picking up my csi coat and my coffee, which I was sure was cold now. I then hurried out, slotting my key into my jeep and pulling out.

In less than ten minutes, I was in the hospital, tapping my csi badge on the desk as I waited for the nurse to turn around.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The woman drawled with a strong Texan accent.

"I need to see Nevaeh Anderson, it's for a investigation." I held up my badge and waited as she typed something into her computer, her long red nails tapping loudly onto the keyboard.

"She's just down the hall, in room 329 down in the children's ward." I muttered a thank you, hurrying down the spotless corridor. I knocked on the door, and promptly opened it. Nevaeh sat on the bed, a small case of daffodils sat on her bedside table, the yellow petals thriving in the midday Nevada sun. She looked up from playing with her dolls and a smile locked on her face.

"Hi Izzy!" Nevaeh exclaimed, her blonde hair was tied up in a bun and her cheeks had a pink blush to them, this was the first time she looked normal... as normal as she could possibly be.

"Hiya Princess Nevaeh!" I said, placing my coffee on the table in the corner of the room and unzipped my coat as I sat down on the chair next to her bed. She giggled, placing her dolls next to her and turning to face me. Her pudgy fingers reaching out and intertwining with mine, the smile disappeared from her lips.

"They said that they're going to have to send me away to a new family Izzy, I don't want to leave. Please don't make me leave." She whispered, tears freely forming and running down her cheeks, leaving streaks. I rushed forward, my arms locking around her frail body as she sobbed into my armpit. I run my fingers through her soft blonde hair, before pulling her into my lap and rocking her. There was a strange attachment that had grown between us, I don't think I would ever be brave enough to tell her that I was her older sister but I knew I would try my hardest to keep her close.

***

"Oh hello Izzy." Grissom said, walking into the break room where I sat at the glass table, a Tupperware dish of steak pie and a mug of tea sat next to me as I went through the Anderson case.

"Ah Grissom, I was trying to find you earlier." I said, standing up and shuffling my papers together and wiping the corners of my lips of any excess gravy. Grissom turned around from the cupboard of mugs to face me, raising his eyebrow.

"I heard, what's bothering you?" He asked, turning back and flicking the switch of the kettle on, picking a mug up from a shelf in the cupboard. I tugged the sleeve of my jumper down nervously.