NOTE: Short little thing to get back into writing mode. And I call Ryan 'dork' with the utmost affection ;)

Valera's eyes followed the new A/V Tech as she headed to her own lab. Samantha, with her perky smile and silky dark hair. Valera wished she could take that long hair and run her fingers through it.

Then she would yank. Hard. Several times. She tried to hold back a smirk at the image of pulling the younger woman around the lab by that stupid, silky, dark hair.

The same hair Sam was flipping over her shoulder as she talked to Ryan. Valera shook her head – she might not be able to hear it, but she could tell from the look on his face Ryan was stumbling over some faux pas he had made.

"It's a train wreck, isn't it?"

Valera quickly spun around and found Eric behind her. "What is?"

Eric gave a smile and gestured through the glass wall. "Wolfe flirting. He can't do it without sticking his foot in his mouth within the first five minutes. I don't know how he ever manages to get laid."

Valera glanced back out where Samantha was giggling. "Some girls might find the awkwardness . . . cute."

"Yeah, sure." Eric replied in a disbelieving tone. "You got my results yet?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." She drew her gaze back to her computer. "I was able to get a sample off of the gun you brought in and got a hit in CODIS." She turned the screen towards Eric. "Meet Ken Matthews – two assault priors and recently out of jail."

Eric eyes lit up as he saw the face on the screen. "Valera, you may've just helped solve this case. Thanks."

"No problem." She said with a smile. As he left, she turned to gaze into the hallway, her smile fading.

xXxXxXx

Valera watched as Ryan tried and failed to access information on the surface computer. Samantha gave a little laugh and leaned in to do it the correct way. Valera snorted in disgust.

"It's a silly crush, isn't it?" Calleigh said with a smile as she stood beside Valera.

"Stupid is more like it," she replied. "Look at her, flinging her arms across the screen. It's like she's trying to play air hockey or something."

Calleigh laid a comforting hand on Valera's shoulder. "Don't worry; it'll blow over soon enough."

"Worried? Who's worried? Not me. I don't care who Ryan likes."

Calleigh frowned. "I was talking about Samantha's crush on Ryan . . . Oh, Valera. Are you jealous?"

"Jealous? No!" Calleigh gave her a look. "I'm not."

"Whatever you say, Valera." Calleigh said with a shake of her head. "Whatever you say." With one last smirk, the blond wandered back to her to own lab.

Valera continued to watch the pair in the A/V lab. "I'm not jealous," she mumbled to herself. "Not a lot, anyway. . . "

xXxXxXx

The door banged against the wall as Valera stormed into the locker room. Samantha looked up from her locker in surprise. "Is something wrong, Maxine?"

"Stay away from Ryan. He's dorky, he's clueless, he has an ego problem and limited social skills."

Samantha gave a disbelieving laugh. "What?"

"You heard me." Valera stood a little straighter and placed a hand on her hip. "Ryan is a dork and I want you to leave him alone."

"He's also sweet, good looking and funny. I like him. Why should I stay way?"

"Just because."

"We're not twelve, that isn't an answer."

"Because he's mine, okay? He's my socially inept dork. Mine!" She leaned in close, her voice lowering. "And if you go near him again, you'll be sorry. I know how to avoid leaving DNA evidence. Understand?"

Samantha's eyes widened in surprise and she nodded her head in agreement. Grabbing her purse, she backed away from Valera slowly. When there were several yards between them, she turned and sprinted from the locker room.

Smiling in satisfaction, Valera grabbed her things from her locker and began to head out. Before she could reach the door, Ryan came in looking over his shoulder. "What's wrong with Sam? She just went running out of the building."

Valera shrugged. "She said she wasn't feeling well. Maybe she was in a hurry to get home." She gave a little wave. "Well, see you tomorrow."

She was just about to leave when Ryan stopped her. "Hey, Valera?"

"Yes?"

"I know you're not busy tonight . . . Not that you couldn't be busy. I'm sure you do stuff all the time. I just overheard you telling Natalia you didn't have any plans. Not that I was eavesdropping or anything, I just-"

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna go to dinner with me?"

"Yeah. That'd be great."

Yeah, definitely a dork, but all hers.

FIN