Author's Notes: Very, very slight spoilers for 7x12, Sweet Jane. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy.
Welcome to the Jungle
by Kristen Elizabeth
"You shouldn't be in here."
The woman's voice didn't startle Keppler, but he turned around in order to see the face that went with it. It was a remarkable face, but the slight crease in her forehead told him that whatever trespass he'd committed was no minor infraction.
He held up his newly issued ID badge for her to see. "I'm just looking for my office."
She folded her arms over her chest. "This isn't it."
Keppler nodded, glancing around at the assortment of oddities decorating the room. Animals in jars, bugs behind glass, bones used as paperweights, and too many books to count. "Yes, I was about to conclude the same thing." He picked up the name plate from the desk. "Gil Grissom, Supervisor." He set it down. "I haven't met him yet. Mike Keppler," he introduced himself. "Are you Sandra?"
"Sara," she corrected him with a slight frown. "Sidle."
"Sara. I'm sorry." Yes, she was more of a Sara than a Sandra. "Nice to meet you either way."
She didn't return the sentiment. If you counted his faux pas at Jane Doe's crime scene, he was already off to a bad start with both the women of the graveyard shift.
"This is some office," Keppler said after an awkward moment passed between them. "Reminds me of my junior high science classroom."
"Actually there isn't anything in this office that doesn't have some significance," Sara informed him, a bit too vehemently. "We would have lost a teammate a few years back if these books hadn't been available to us."
He studied the woman. Her attractiveness went beyond just her face; he was a man who could appreciate both a sultry blonde and a striking brunette at the same time. But he had the feeling he was pissing her off by blindly stepping on someone's toes. And he wasn't quite sure if they were hers or if they belonged to Gil Grissom.
"He's an entomologist," Sara went on without biding. "He likes to be around his bugs. And he works too much, so he's turned this place into his second home. It might seem haphazard and creepy to you, but he knows where everything is. He's a brilliant…" She stopped all of a sudden.
Keppler waited for her to go on, but she didn't. She only tightened her folded arms and glanced down at the floor.
"Well," he finally said. "I didn't say I didn't like my junior high science class." He was quiet until Sara lifted her eyes again. "I look forward to meeting him."
"It'll be awhile," she said in a soft, sad voice. She cleared her throat, and when she spoke again, she'd regained her no-nonsense tone. "He likes his privacy, so if you could…" She gestured to the door.
He could sense that there was a story she was trying very hard to hide from him, but beyond natural curiosity, he had no inclination to go after it. "Maybe this door should be locked, so no one accidentally comes in here."
Sara pointed at something past him. He turned his head, and noticed the large aquarium for the first time. It was occupied by a very large tarantula, a fitting pet for the man who had been described to him.
She explained woodenly, as if reciting a lesson. "Change the water every day, and no more than three crickets a week."
"What did you do to get stuck with that chore?" Keppler asked. Maybe this is what they did in Vegas to criminalists who touched the body before the coroner arrived.
Sara slowly shook her head. "Just lucky, I guess."
"Okay." As he moved towards the door, she moved further into the office. They passed each other somewhere in the middle, and he caught a whiff of a clean, feminine shampoo. This job certainly had some advantages. "I guess I'll keep looking for my office, then."
She was already at the cage, reaching inside for the water dish without hesitation or squeamishness. He wasn't sure he'd be quite so composed with his hand less than five inches from a gigantic spider.
"Try the empty room to the left at the end of the hall," she said. Glancing up, she gave him a cool smile. "Welcome to the team."
Keppler was a smart man. He got Sara Sidle's message loud and clear.
Don't get too comfortable…you're not taking anyone's place.
Fin?