I got this idea from a friend of mine who thought it would be fun if Hodges had someone else working in the Trace lab with him. So, here it is… with a bit of Morganders added to it of course! Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

"And here we are!"

David Hodges looked up when he heard Conrad Ecklie's voice. The undersheriff stepped into the Trace lab accompanied by a young woman. Her brown hair was neatly tied up in a ponytail and she was wearing a blue lab coat.

"Hodges, I'd like you to meet Miranda Rivers," Ecklie said, pointing to the young woman next to him. "Miranda, this is David Hodges, your… well, partner!"

Smiling, Miranda held out her hand. "Nice to meet you!"

Hodges ignored her and looked at Ecklie. "What did you say? My 'partner'?"

"Yeah, didn't you get my email?" Ecklie looked from Miranda to Hodges and back with an unsure smile on his face. "Because Trace has been behind for weeks and weeks, I've hired Miranda to come and help you out in the lab. You'll be working together from now on."

Next to Ecklie Miranda was still smiling. Again, Hodges ignored her and looked at Ecklie. "Why do I need a 'partner'? I'm perfectly capable of running the Trace lab on my own!"

"Well, there have been some complaints…" Ecklie slowly put his hands in his pockets and looked around the Trace lab to avoid having to look directly at Hodges.

"Complaints?" Hodges repeated. "Who complained about me? I never heard any complaints! But I have a complaint right now: I don't need anyone else here in the lab! Put her on the dayshift, on swing shift, wherever, but not with me! I work alone, I don't need help! And certainly not from someone who looks like she hasn't even finished school yet!"

"Actually, I graduated nearly five years ago," Miranda said. Her friendly smile had disappeared, she now seemed annoyed. "While I was studying, I worked part time at the Trace lab of the San Francisco police department and after I graduated, I was offered a job working in the Trace lab of the FBI in Washington. So I have finished school and I have experience working in a Trace lab."

Hodges refused to apologize for what he had said, he was still angry Ecklie hadn't told him about Miranda before.

"Look, Hodges, I'm sorry you didn't get my email, but please try to make the best of it!" Ecklie sighed. "Okay?"

"No, not okay!" Hodges said, nearly shouting. "This is my Trace lab, I don't need any help! This is ridiculous! If there were complaints, and I'm saying 'if', you should have come to me first instead of just hiring someone I don't need!"

"Mind your words, Hodges, I'm still the undersheriff," Ecklie reminded him. Just at that point, Morgan walked into the Trace lab. She froze on the doorstep, her eyebrows raised. "What's going on?"

Both Hodges and Ecklie remained silent. Miranda just stared at the floor.

"Eh, Morgan, this is Miranda Rivers," Ecklie finally said. "Miranda, this is Morgan Brody."

The two women shook hands with a friendly smile.

"I'm guessing you don't work in the lab," Miranda said with a quick look at Hodges. Morgan smiled. "That's correct, I'm one of the CSI's. And I'm also his daughter," she added, nodding with her head towards Ecklie. "But that still doesn't answer my question. What's going on?"

"Miranda is going to be working together with Hodges in the Trace lab from now on," Ecklie explained. Hodges rolled his eyes, which made Morgan immediately understand the situation. "And Hodges isn't too happy about that… Come on, Hodges, it'll be fun having someone to work with! I always prefer working together with someone over working alone."

Hodges crossed his arms to show her how he felt. Morgan shook her head, knowing it was useless to try and convince Hodges it was fun to have a partner to work with. "Forget what I said then. Do you have the results on my blue fiber?"

"Oh, eh… not yet…" Hodges turned around, searching with his eyes for the blue fiber.

"This is exactly what I mean," Ecklie said. "Miranda is working here, Hodges, and there won't be any more complaints, understood? Good luck, Miranda, and if there's anything you need, just let me know, okay?"

"Thank you," Miranda smiled. She then turned to Morgan. "Would you like me to run that blue fiber for you?"

"Oh, sure," Morgan nodded. She and Hodges both watched Miranda while she washed her hands, put on gloves and started working on the blue fiber. With everything she did, Hodges felt his annoyance growing. She was working perfectly! She worked quickly, but didn't miss anything and was careful as well. Faster than he had ever managed, she had the results.

"Thanks!" Morgan said as she took the paper from Miranda. "I don't think I ever got my result this fast!"

"I try my best," Miranda said with a small smile. Hodges rolled his eyes. Why was she acting all modest suddenly? She obviously knew perfectly well she was working fast, why say she was 'trying'? He turned his back towards her and returned to his work. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Be nice to her," Morgan softly whispered in his ear. She petted him on his shoulder before leaving the lab. Hodges looked at Miranda, who had started on the next piece of evidence that needed to be analyzed. He shook his head. She was doing just fine without him, she really didn't need him to be nice to her!

With the paper Miranda had given her in her hand, Morgan walked to the layout room, where Greg was looking at a map of Las Vegas.

"Hey," she said. "I got the results on the blue fiber!"

"Finally!" Greg sighed. "Hodges really took his time on this one!"

"Actually, Hodges didn't even analyze it," Morgan told him. "There's a new girl with him in the Trace lab, she analyzed it for us."

"New girl, huh? I bet Hodges loves her already!" Greg grinned. Morgan shook his head. "Not at all, I think he prefers to work alone."

"But still… a new girl, Hodges should like that," Greg said, taking the paper with the results from Morgan. "Or is she so bad looking?"

Morgan raised his eyebrows. "Why do you care what she looks like?"

Greg shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"

Morgan crossed her arms. "No matter what I say, you're still going to want to see her. If I say she looks really cute, you'll want to see her just because I say she's cute and if I say she looks anything but cute, you'll want to see her to see if I'm right. So, why is it important what she looks like if you're gonna wanna see her anyway?"

She couldn't help sounding slightly annoyed. Since when was Greg interested in other girls? She had always thought he was only interested in her!

"Can we just talk about the results?" Greg changed the subject. He hadn't missed the annoyance in Morgan's voice and the last thing he wanted to do, was start a fight with her.

"Whatever," Morgan decided. She hated feeling so jealous all of a sudden. Greg hadn't even said he wanted to work with Miranda, he had just said Hodges would like working with a cute looking girl. Yet she couldn't get herself to apologize for her small outburst. She grabbed the paper with results, planning to take another look at her. When she grabbed the paper, Greg however did the exact same thing and as she looked up, their faces were only inches apart. She could feel his breath softly against her cheek. Inside, it felt like her heart stopped beating. Unwillingly she pulled back. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Greg's face had turned bright red.

"Well, eh, the blue fiber," she started. "Miranda analyzed it and it was…"

While she talked, she avoided looking at Greg directly. First their argument about Miranda, if you could already call it an argument, and then the moment that had just happened. What would be next between them?

At the end of shift Greg gathered his things from his locker. He was still thinking about what had happened between him and Morgan earlier. First of course that she had sounded so annoyed when he had asked about the new Trace girl and then that they had almost kissed. What if she hadn't pulled back? Would he have had the nerve to actually kiss her? No, he realized. He would never ever work up the courage to actually tell her how he felt… That thought hurt him so much he had to fight back tears. Just at that moment, a young woman he didn't know walked into the locker room.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "We haven't met yet, have we? I'm Miranda Rivers, I'm new here."

"Greg Sanders," he introduced himself, hardly hearing what she said. "If you'll excuse me now, I really have to go."

He grabbed his car keys and left the locker room, not noticing Miranda followed him with her eyes. Why was he such a chicken? He just had to tell Morgan how he felt, he just had to! But how?