Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, sadly.

Summary:

The trial is over and Lindsay Monroe is back in the Big Apple. This story follows her and the CSI team as they follow a string of dead bodies and a seemingly untraceable serial killer. Welcome back to the city that never sleeps. DL

Spoilers:

I live in the UK, so I've only seen up to episode 4 of season 3. However, I have read some spoilers and have a vague idea of what will happen. This story will not mention specific plotlines that appear in the show and references to past episodes will be to those already shown in the UK.

New York New York

I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps
To find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away

Lindsay Monroe swept a lock of hair from her face and looked nervously at the man sitting opposite her. It had been more than three months since she had waved goodbye to life as she had known it in New York and three months since she had bravely left those that supported her. In the time that she had been away, Lindsay realised that the people she left behind meant so much more to her than just work colleagues, they were as close to family as she could get so far away from home. So when she faced her boss once again, she felt all the insecurities, all those she thought she had locked away, come bubbling to the surface.

Mac Taylor. The man who personally picked her to join his team. The man who she looked up to almost as a father. The man who would, under any circumstance, fiercely protect what mattered most to him. Now he sits opposite her with that unreadable expression on his face. Lindsay had seen it many times before.

Her eyes follow the file as he places it on the table.

"I want to keep you in the lab for a while, just until you're used to things again." His eyes soften. "I don't want you traumatised so soon after coming back." Her smile of relief held all the response he needed. "However, if I feel that you're not coping or that you're falling behind, I will ask you to take more time off. So is everything clear? Good, I'll see you tomorrow."

Lindsay nods numbly, not quite sure what to do or say. That was all it took, she's back on the job.


As she walked towards the lifts, Lindsay began to process what Mac's words meant. I want to keep you in the lab. Did he think that she was no longer capable of coping with field work? Or was he really just concerned about her wellbeing as he said he was? Either way, Lindsay was determined to show him and the rest of the world that nothing will stop her from being a good CSI.

There are few things in this world that frighten Lindsay Monroe, and what scared her to death was the thought of failing as a crime scene investigator. Back in Montana, she would often wonder if Mac regretted choosing her for his team, if the rest of the guys regretted taking her into their hearts. She was afraid that they would no longer see her in the same light.

She passed the labs, looking in through the glass walls. The lab techs were in there working. Why wasn't she working? Oh yeah, she only got off the plane six hours ago. Get some rest, he had said. That's why she wasn't in there with them.

She wondered what sort of cases they had been getting. Had it been busy? Did she miss out on a lot? She shook her head. Lindsay Monroe, you're gonna kill yourself worrying. Get over it.

Instead she turned her thoughts to the friends she hadn't seen for… for way too long.

Stella Bonasera. Tall, beautiful and intelligent. She oozed confidence and became more like a sister to Lindsay in the weeks before she left for Montana. She had the ability to get something out of you whether you wanted to share or not. That's what makes her such a good detective. She's rarely angry, but on those occasions when she is, you know to stay out of her way. Hurricane Stella is a force to be reckoned with and no one wants to be on the wrong side of that temper.

Hawkes is the sweetest of the bunch. He has this shy but knowing air around him, which made him such a good CSI. His sharp eyes never missed a thing and his dedication meant that more often than not, it was his evidence that closed a particularly difficult case.

Don Flack is the joker. He has these dark blue eyes that completely reflect his moods. He also proved to be quite popular with the ladies at the lab, and was often on the receiving end of batting eyelashes and coy looks. What Lindsay liked about him was that all this didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. Unlike a certain someone…

Lindsay sighed. Danny Messer. He was the one that played pranks and called her names. Ok, one name. In her first weeks at the lab, he made her feel inadequate and out of place. She'd seen this kind of guy too many times before- cocky, arrogant and with their heads stuck so far up their asses she was surprised they were still walking around. But that all seemed to change. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when this miraculous transformation occurred, but she realised that he was less of all those annoying traits and more…more, god forbid, more mature. She began to notice more of his good qualities, and those eyes…

Snap out of it Lindsay! She chided herself. Those thoughts will get you into so much trouble. She still remembered how things were left, her "it's not you, it's me" speech. In hindsight, it was all pretty pathetic really. And she knew that by pushing him away, she probably lost the chance to be with him at all, he was only asking for friendship after all. She knew it was best to forget hoping and wishing and face reality. You've got no chance with him now, girl. Best give up so you don't feel the disappointment.

She was rudely awakened from her thoughts as a racy Mercedes drove past and showered her with cold, dank gutter water. Eurgh!

Welcome back to New York, she thought miserably.


Lyrics from New York New York

Author's Note: There you are folks, chapter 1. It's short but only serves to act as an introduction, promise the next one will be longer. Love constructive criticism, hit me with it, I can take it.