He inched ever so slowly towards the bathroom door, wary of what or who might be hiding behind. His gun sat, unlatched, still in his holster. A mistake, he would think later. Carefully he grabbed the handle to the door and pulled. He knew what was behind the door, the danger that lurked, but something compelled him to open it. As soon as he did, he regretted the action. He barely glimpsed the gun before the weapon hit him. He could feel the nail slice into his skin through his eye socket, digging into his frontal bone. The metal floor felt cold underneath him, and a buzzing sounded reverberated through his brain, growing louder and louder.

Ryan's alarm blared in his ear, and he slapped the 'reset' button. His eye felt like it ached, but he supposed it was merely pain memory from his dream. He shook his head, and sat up, rubbing his brow as if it would help get rid of the feeling that the nail was still in his eye. The injury had happened almost a year before. Why would he dream about it now, he wondered. Without giving it a second though, he pulled himself out of bed and quickly remade it, neatly straightening the blanket and sheets so there were no wrinkles, and arranging the pillows in an orderly fashion. After a quick shower and his morning hygiene routine, Ryan made himself a cup of coffee to go, and left for work, thought not without cleaning everything up so it the kitchen was spotless, of course.

The lab appeared to be extremely busy as Ryan stepped out of the elevator, a travel mug in one hand, and a box of a dozen donuts in the other. There must be a large caseload, he thought as he walked down the hall towards the ballistics lab to see Calleigh. He was early for work as usual, as was she, and he figured he would say his good morning and offer her a donut before going down to see Alexx to do the same.

"Good morning, Calleigh. Hard at work, I see?" He greeted as he pushed the glass door open with his elbow. He set the box of donuts down in an open spot on the counter towards the back of the room, where there were no important items or evidence bags.

"Good morning, Ryan!" She said cheerfully, that hint of Southern Bell in her voice coming forward more than usual. She must be in a good mood, he thought. "How is my other favorite CSI partner this morning?" she asked, looking up from her work finally, and giving him one of her beautiful, breathtaking smiles. As always, it took Ryan a moment to regain composure. He and Calleigh were very close friends, and had gained a strong bond since he'd joined the lab after Speedle's death. The relationship was closer to brother-sister than romantic, but when she gave him one of those smiles, he couldn't help it. His legs wanted to melt; she was so stunning.

"I'm doing well, thank you. I brought some donuts, and figured I'd swing by you first and offer one." He replied, managing not to stumble his words, which was a great success, Ryan thought. "Would you care for one? They're glazed."

"Thanks, Ryan! That's so thoughtful of you. Though I think you may have needed to get a bigger box." Calleigh laughed as she sealed the evidence she was working with back into its bag. She put all the evidence back into the box in front of her, finished the last few words in her report, and closed the folder setting it on top of the box. "We have some extra people here today. It's going to be busy." She smiled and grabbed a donut carefully out of the box, with her gloves still on so she wouldn't get the glaze on her fingers.

"I noticed there were more people than usual. Why is that?" Ryan asked, as he took a cautious sip of his still hot coffee.

"Well, officially it's because we have two cases today. But then again, we usually handle two cases by ourselves, don't we?" She smiled, and winked at him. "Secretly, I think everyone wants to scope out the new girl coming to the lab today.

"Oh, new girl, huh? Interesting. How come no one else knew?" Ryan asked, leaning against the counter.

"Well, Horatio told me about it, but asked me not to say anything to anyone. He didn't want to get the lab all in an uproar about a new person coming out, and make her uncomfortable." She chuckled and shook her head. "But I don't see how keeping it a secret's gonna help. You know how it is being new. Though I suppose she has the advantage. She's not "replacing" someone. Whereas, you were filling in for Speed."

"Yeah, but look how I turned out." He smiled. "Then again, it took a while. I still don't think Eric is too happy about it."

"About what?" a voice said to their left. Eric stood in the door with some papers in his hands, looking at Calleigh and Ryan inquisitively.

"That Ryan here can kick your ass at interrogations." Calleigh spat out quickly. Speedle was a sensitive subject with Eric. It would not be a good idea to remind him that the reason Ryan had been able to join the lab in the first place was because Speedle's sudden and abrupt death had left a position open that needed to be filled quickly. Eric had finally accepted that Ryan was a good guy, and an excellent CSI, but sometimes he still resented the younger CSI.

"Delusions of grandeur, Wolfe, delusions of grandeur." Eric laughed, teasing Ryan. "Oh, donuts! Thanks, man." Eric dived for the box, giving Ryan a playful punch on the shoulder as he passed him. Wolfe gave Calleigh a look of relief, and they both exchanged a smile.

"So, as I was saying. Horatio asked me to take this new girl under my wing, because, oh, and this is the best part."Calleigh said sarcastically. "Guess what her main study is?" She paused for a moment, as they both gave her questioning looks. "Ballistics."

"Oh, competition. And you get to train her." Delko laughed.

"Oh, you thinks it's funny now, Eric Delko. But what you don't know is that she also, apparently, is a very experienced diver." Calleigh retorted. "Looks like your might have some competition as well."

"That just makes my job easier. Maybe she can go diving after sharks and gators once in a while."

Calleigh scrunched her nose, not able to think of any sort of comeback. She really was getting the short end of the stick. As she and Delko continued talking, Ryan, turned away from them and starting wondering about the new girl, what she might look like, what her name was, why had Horatio suddenly hired someone? As his thoughts wandered, he crossed his arms and leaning back on the white counter. Down the hall he noticed the elevator doors opening, and a young woman stepped out. She had dark brown hair with a red tint, it fell down just below her shoulders in gentle waves. As she approached the woman at the front desk, she smiled, and Ryan got that melting feeling in his knees again. That must be her, he thought to himself, and immediately straightened up, unfolding his arms, and putting his hands in his pocket.

While the woman was still in mid-conversation with the receptionist, Horatio approached with one of his soft, welcoming smiles, obviously recognizing the girl. He gestured in the general direction of the ballistics lab, and began to lead the lady towards the three CSI's. Ryan turned toward the other two.

"Hey, guys." He said, nodding behind him towards the approaching visitors. "I'm gonna take a wild guess, and say that's her." They all three glanced towards Horatio and his follower, and filed out into the hallway to greet them.

"Lady and gentlemen, this is Ms. Avery Quinn. Ms. Quinn this is our team."Horatio gestured to them, allowing them to introduce themselves.

"Calleigh Duquesne." Calleigh offered her hand to the younger woman. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Quinn."

"The pleasure is all mine. Uncle Horatio talks about the three of you all the time. You're practically legends in my mind." Avery smiled shyly, as Eric also offered his hand.

"Eric Delko. So, you've known H for a while then?" He asked, giving Horatio an inquisitive expression with a hint of smugness. Horatio merely smiled a little and looked down, not saying anything.

"Oh yes. Several years. He's good friends with my father. Horatio's the reason I decided to become a CSI. He convinced me I had the right instincts, and a great attention to detail." Avery grinned and playfully bumped her shoulder against Horatio. He smiled, and nodded back.

"I've known Ms. Quinn's father since before she was born. This is sort of a favor to him. But I think I'm getting the better end of it." H said, fingering the shades in his hand, and looking upwards towards his team. "She really does have some great instincts. Which I'm sure you'll find out soon."

"I'm sure we will." Ryan grinned and uncrossed his arms, offering his hand to Avery. "Glad to have you, Ms. Quinn. I'm Ryan Wolfe."

"Oh, I know." She said, shaking his hand. "As I said, Horatio talks about you a lot. And since he's Eric, obviously you must be Ryan. Plus, I've seen you on the news a couple times I think." Delko rolled his eyes, and elbow Ryan jokingly.

"Yeah, this one can't stay away from those cameras." He laughed. Ryan let a huff out of his nose, and frowned at Eric, who immediately backed down. The incidents with Erica, the reporter who constantly harassed their team, Ryan especially had been a while ago. But it still bothered Ryan somewhat. It seemed every time he talked to that woman, somehow she pulled something out of Ryan without him realizing it. She was smart, he'd giver her that. Out of one word, she could think up a whole story, and half the time she was spot on. But she was also a manipulative little vixen, and everytime she finds information, or discovers important information about the CSI's cases, everyone blames Ryan. Since the very first incident, they all assume that he just wants his fifteen minutes of fame. Problems had calmed down more lately, but it was a touchy subject.

"Well, I think that reporter woman should have a restraining order put on her."Avery chuckled, crossing her arms. "She tends to harass you guys a lot, I've noticed." Ryan smiled. Finally someone who was biased against him. It was his fault, it was Erica's. She was a bitch, and that was all there was to it.

"At the risk of being cliché, may I say Ms. Quinn that this may be the start of a beautiful friendship." Ryan smiled offering his hand again. With a somewhat confused smile, she shook with him again.

"Well, children. I suppose we should get to work sometime today?" Horatio said, resting his hands on his hips.