Sierra McGregor was a normal, 28 year old girl in most aspects. The one thing that she considered unique about herself was the fact that she was a CSI. And she was proud of it. She worked with a great group of people in sunny Miami, Florida, and she lived a good life. But she was about to get a blast from the past.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Sierra groaned as she turned her alarm off. Time for another day of solving crimes. Don't misunderstand. She loved her job, but the hours were not her favorite. She groaned again when her cell phone rang, but brightened when she saw who it was. Ryan. "Good morning!" she chirped.

He laughed. "You're not really that awake, are you?"

She sighed, "No. No I'm not."

"Well, you better get to waking up. We gotta case!"

She leapt out of bed. "Holy crap. Really? My alarm just went off!"

"Whoa! Slow down. H wants us to meet him in an hour. You can get ready by then."

She sighed in relief. "Yeah, I can manage that. Geez, you scared me for a minute." She got up and began getting prepared for her shower. "So, did you sleep good?"

"You bet. Dreamed of you."

"No mushy stuff, Ryan Wolfe. Too early in the morning."

"Sorry. You?"

"Fine. What do you know about our case?" she asked while taking her sleek, brown hair out of a ponytail and turning the shower on.

" The guy's name is Captain John Bowlds. He's enlisted in the Navy. 4 years of service. A family found him on the beach."

"Has Alex seen him yet?"

"I think she is on her way."

"I'm getting in the shower. Meet you in an hour. Address?"

"Jefferson Beach."

"Thanks. See ya." She hung up and jumped in the shower. After that, she quickly got dressed, ate something, and was out the door. She arrived at Jefferson Beach to find Horatio Caine, her boss, and Ryan standing together by a large pile of rocks. She walked over and asked, "What we got?"

Horatio turned to her. "A dead Navy officer with two gunshot wounds. One to the head, another to the shoulder."

Alex was kneeling by a body. She said, "I've got a few bruises here, as well, Horatio. He probably struggled before he was shot."

Sierra knelt down and examined the bullet holes. "But, that doesn't make sense. These aren't close range shots. Are you sure these bruises are from approximately the same time as the time of death?"

Horatio just smirked and said, "It's our job to find out."

*insert CSI: Miami theme song here. Lol. Just kidding*

Alex gathered up her equipment and arranged to have the body taken back to the lab. Sierra and Ryan got out their cameras and started snapping pictures. Sierra noticed something shiny and she leaned down to pick it up. What she found somewhat surprised her. It was a wedding ring. "Hey, H! I've got something." Horatio joined her. "A wedding ring. Think it might be involved with our murder?"

"Anything is possible. Bag it." His cell rang and he excused himself. Sierra went about her business until he came back. He seemed slightly troubled.

"What's up?"

"I was just contacted by another crime solving unit. They are joining us in the case."

She shrugged. "Ok. What unit?"

"NCIS." Her face lost expression and color. "Something wrong?"

"Um, may I ask the name of the officer that contacted you?"

"Jethro Gibbs." He observed her nervous movements and slightly sweaty forehead. "Sierra, what's wrong?"

"You remember I said when you hired me that I had crime solving experience?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's who it was with."

He seemed confused for a minute. But then it dawned. "Ah, I see. You left without telling anybody where you were going or why."

She swallowed. "Yep. Pretty much."

"I hate to be the one to tell you, but you really can't be excused from the case just considering that."

"I know," she relented. "I'll face them."

Ryan walked over. "What's going on?" Horatio filled him in. Ryan put an arm around Sierra. "It'll be ok. We'll help you."

"I'm sure of that," she said, smiling. "When do you expect them in?"

Horatio glanced at his watch. "In 1 hour."

She but her lip, but walked off towards her car.

Later, at the Lab

Sierra took the ring she found to look for any DNA that might be on it. The door opened and she smiled. Eric Delko walked into the room. "Hey, you," she said.

"Hey. What you got?"

"Wedding ring. Found it at the scene." She took a moment to glance at Eric out of the corner of her eye. Even though he was her ex, she still liked to be around him. It hadn't ended badly…it just ended. Mostly because Ryan showed up. There was an immediate attraction between the two and everyone had seen it. Including Eric. But, that was the past. She winced as she thought past. There was more than Eric in her past. And the biggest part of it was on a plane, headed right for her.

Eric turned to look at her. "Are you going to get that DNA on file, or just stand there until Christmas?"

"Oh," she said, snapping back to the present. "Sorry. Got caught up in some thoughts." She went about the procedures required.

He said, "You heard about the unit that's coming to help us?"

"Yes."

"I've never heard of NCIS. I wonder what it stands for."

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Sierra muttered.

"How'd you know that?"

"Don't ask." He frowned, but nodded.

"Hey, I'm gotta go do something. You good here?"

"Yeah, Eric. I'm good. Thanks." He walked out and she sighed in relief. This wasn't a good time to have Eric quizzing her. She got the DNA on file so they would have it when suspects began pouring in. Her phone rang. "McGregor. Hey, Calliegh!"

"Hey. I got the names of family members or our victim. Looks like he was a loner. No wife or known girlfriend. Just a sister and parents."

"Ah, but the key word there is known. I found a wedding ring on the scene."

"Uh oh. You suspect a cheater?"

"I do. I put the DNA on file. Is anyone going to apprehend the family?"

"I think Horatio and Ryan are on that. Alright, just wanted to let you know where we were. See ya later."

"Bye." Sierra grabbed the file, started reading it, and pushed open the door. She gasped and stumbled when she ran into someone. "Oh my gosh! Sorry!" Then she looked at who she ran into. A man, about 5'10" in height was standing before her. His hair was a reddish-brown and his eyes were blue. At that moment, there was a look of pure shock on his face. She looked around him at the others who were with him. There was a man with glasses perched on his nose and a bag in his hand, a woman dressed like a Goth in a lab coat, another woman with dark brown hair that came to about her shoulders, a shy looking man who was practically hiding behind the Goth, and last but not least, a man with silver hair and hard blue eyes.

The man with glasses looked startled and said tentatively, "Sierra?"

"Hey, Ducky," she said quietly and nervously.