Neon in All Shades

Hopeful Mornings

The sun was shining into the Miami Dade crime labs and I checked my watch for the eighth time, paranoid that the cheap contraption was wrong again. It flashed 9:23am and I had been supposed to meet Horatio Caine on the hour, but the man at the desk kept glancing my way with annoyed eyes. I was fidgeting in my seat, yes, but I wasn’t doing anything obnoxious to keep him from his precious work and his glances were unnerving me, making me feel like the naughty school child outside of the principal’s office.  The elevator doors behind his desk pinged as they opened and I glanced towards them, hoping to see the light haired lieutenant who had conducted my interview three weeks ago. Instead, I only managed to see a pair of beige trousers and moving boxes. Whoever was hidden behind them was struggling to remain upright and keep everything he was carrying in his hold. They were ‘an accident waiting to happen’ as my dad would’ve said if he had been here with me.

“Let me help you.” I said, pushing myself up from the seat to grab the top load of files from the stranger’s arms.

One of the reasons I had always wanted to become a CSI was because I loved helping others. I might have had a few issues with getting emotionally invested in other people’s problems and lives, but I wanted to make things better for them. I might not have been the cause of their bother, but if I could help them find a solution then I damn well wanted to try. My dad had worked as a forensic pathologist until I was thirteen and I remembered several of the stories he had been able to tell without compromising his job. My passion for this had been born early and long before I even had to consider colleges I already knew that forensics and crime scenes would be in my future. This would be my first job where I wasn’t training under a more experienced CSI, but the nervous butterflies in my stomach could also be interpreted as an eagerness to get stuck in already.

“Thanks.” I could finally see the owner of the beige trousers. It was a tall young man with short, neat brown hair and deep brown eyes that held a friendly twinkle in them. He gave me a small grateful smile and paused for just a short moment to get a better grip on the boxes remaining in his hold.

“Where are you going with these?” I asked, completely clueless about the layout of the labs, despite the fact that I would soon be working here.

“The lab just over there.” He indicated the way with a nod of his head and began to lead me towards it.

I followed quietly behind him, my shoes clicking on the polished floor. He managed to open the door with his elbow and then turned to prop it open just long enough for me to slip around him and into the room I had only managed to catch a glimpse of on the day of my interview.

“Will here do?” I asked, indicating an empty table as the weight of the boxes began to make my arm ache.

“Yeah, that’ll be great.” He placed his boxes next to my own and then fixed his shirt where they had rumpled the blue fabric. “Thanks again.”

“Not a problem.” I said, flashing him a smile before tucking a wayward strand of mousy hair behind my ear.

“Are you the new lab technician here?” I had to have a staff position to be this far into the building, but lab technician was not quite the job that I had been offered.

“No. Actually I’m-“

“Miss Matthews?” I looked towards the door again and my eyes widened when I saw Horatio peering in.

“Lieutenant Caine! I am so sorry.” I didn’t even spare the man I had just helped a second glance as I rushed from the lab and back out to the pristine corridor.

“There’s no need to apologise, Miss Matthews. It’s been a busy morning anyway, but I am sure you’ll come to understand that for yourself soon enough.” He said with a warm smile as he slipped his dark sunglasses into the top pocket of his jacket.