Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, and will not for the rest of the story. If I happen to miraculously own something, I will let you know. But until further notice, I own nothing.
A/N: I took some lines from season 4, episode 1 in this chapter, I'm sure you'll know which lines they are. Lots and lots of thanks to Jessica237 for betaing! Enjoy!
Standing at the front desk, Natalia was sure Monica West had some kind of personal thing going on with Horatio Caine. Maybe a vendetta, maybe jealousy, maybe even pure hate. Whatever it was, Natalia was here helping Monica satisfy it. Well, in about a month Monica would feel satisfied. Monica wasn't planning on calling Natalia until a month had passed, because Monica had said those CSI's wouldn't trust a new person in the lab so quickly.
The lab was beautiful, and Natalia had made it even better. Well, Monica had paid for it, but Natalia was instructed to say she had done it. A complete renovation of the lab had just been finished. Natalia didn't know what it looked like before, but it looked amazing now. And she was supposed to say she had paid for all the renovations that had been done on the lab.
Natalia was also instructed to butter up the CSI's and their boss (Horatio Caine) so they would trust her. Monica knew if they trusted her, they would tell her things; things that Monica needed to know to get Horatio out of the business. Natalia could tell how much Monica wanted Horatio out of this job, and didn't think that much obsession could be very healthy. What could she do about it though?
The more Natalia thought about it, the more Natalia knew Monica had a grudge against Horatio. She had been very evasive in answering questions Natalia had asked. Natalia had been taught to never take a job unless there was positive proof that the person she was investigating had done something illegal, so as a habit Natalia asked Monica for positive proof. Well, there was no proof here, but against Natalia's better judgment she took the job anyway. After all, she was going to be working with DNA, and that's all she really wanted.
Natalia was already afraid she was showing too much excitement. The lady at the front desk only gave her a small smile and promised her that someone would be here soon to show her around. That was at least twenty minutes ago. The lady must have been lying. Suddenly, Natalia was afraid she was giving something away about her position. She quickly shook her head to get that thought to stop nagging her. This was what she did best. She took a deep breath. Where was that escort? She had to get away from this desk, or else she would be plagued by even more uneasy thoughts.
"Excuse me," Natalia tried to get the lady's attention. "Did you say that someone would be here in a minute to show me around the lab?"
"Yes," the lady said. "And someone will be here in a minute."
"That was about twenty minutes ago," Natalia reminded the lady.
"That isn't my fault," the lady snapped.
Natalia rolled her eyes. Maybe she wouldn't like working here as much as she thought.
Natalia could see the elevator from where she stood, and she saw the doors began to open slowly. She knew these people were not here to show her around, but she would take what she could get. The lady at the front desk was not helping Natalia one bit.
Natalia studied the people as they began to get off the elevator and as she walked toward them. This was something she did out of habit. Normally she could read people very well, but the people she had met today were a new experience for her, because they weren't as easy to read.
There was a beautiful blonde lady who was pushing a small cart. There was also a boyish looking man who she assumed worked here, but didn't look old enough to shave yet.
"Wow!" the blonde lady breathed after taking in her surroundings. "It's beautiful."
"You can thank me for that," Natalia said walking up to them.
"Well…thank you," the blonde lady stated. "Who are you?"
"Natalia Boa Vista," Natalia introduced herself.
"Boa," Ryan echoed. "Like the snake?"
Natalia smiled. How many times had she heard that? "Exactly like the snake."
"I'm Ryan Wolfe," Ryan told her. "And this is Calleigh Duquesne."
Natalia nodded. "I'll try to remember those names, but I'm not giving any promises yet. I work in DNA."
Ryan grinned. "Can you run this for me then?"
"I'm sorry," Natalia apologized. "Strictly unsolveds."
Ryan shrugged. "It was worth a try."
"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, I have some guns that are just begging for my attention," Calleigh said as she began to walk off, leaving Natalia and Ryan alone. "Nice to meet you!" She called over her shoulder.
"Guns?" Natalia asked bewildered.
"If you are going to work here, you need to learn some things. Rule number one: Don't mess with Calleigh. She will shoot you," Ryan remarked, with a smirk playing on his lips.
Natalia's eyes got wide. "Really?"
"Okay, probably not if you just make her mad," Ryan relented. "But if you threaten to hurt the lab, or become chummy with Stetler…"
"Hurt the lab? What is a stetler?" Natalia questioned.
Ryan laughed. "Oh yeah. You've got a lot to learn."
Ryan began to walk aimlessly and motioned for Natalia to follow. He had a lot to explain and didn't feel like explaining it right in front of the elevators. They were blocking a lot of people who were trying to get in and out of the lab. Besides, this lab was never safe anymore; sometimes there were surprise visits from Stetler, and Ryan didn't want Stetler walking in on a conversation about him. That wouldn't really up his opinion of the lab.
"Okay, first off," Ryan began. "Stetler is not a what, it's a who. Rick Stetler works in IAB and is always on our backs for something or other. He hates inter office relationships and most of the things that we do in order to catch criminals, so if you go and blab to him, none of us will like you too much, and that won't get you any points with Calleigh. She hates people whom she can't trust, and so my advice to you is don't become one of those people.
"Now, as for hurting the lab…well, that can only happen if you talk about us to people outside of the job. I'm going to be pretty straight with you, but don't tell anyone I told you all this. Sometimes we do things that aren't exactly considered correct. We usually don't get caught, and we don't plan to any time soon. Horatio has always lived with the philosophy that as long as guilty people are off the street, it doesn't really matter how they got in jail. We always have proof that they are guilty and don't just put people away because we feel like it. We can't even hold them just because we want to…well not for more than thirty minutes."
"What are some ways the lab does these things that aren't 'considered correct?' " Natalia inquired. She had yet to decide what she was going to report to Monica, and she needed more information before that decision was made.
"I'm sorry," Ryan apologized. "I've already told you way too much. You'll find out when you have worked in the job for long enough. Just don't do any of those things and you'll stay on Calleigh's good side. I have to go get this to DNA." They had ended up back at the elevators, and Ryan did have evidence that needed to be ran.
"Wait!" Natalia called. "Can you walk me to Lieutenant Caine's office? I have a meeting with him and I don't know how to get there."
"Sure," Ryan agreed. "Why didn't you just ask Paula?"
"Who?" Natalia questioned.
"The lady at the front desk," Ryan clarified.
Natalia made a face. "She wasn't very nice to me when I came in and she didn't seem very keen on helping at all."
Ryan snuck a glance at the desk. "That doesn't sound like Paula. Oh, I forgot. Paula is out sick today. Her replacement…well, she normally doesn't know what she is doing. Trust me; Paula is very nice and helpful."
Natalia nodded. "Wonderful, but that doesn't help me today. Can we get to the Lieutenant's office please? I'm already late."
Ryan shrugged. "That's not a problem because here we are."
Natalia turned and saw a door. "Oh! I guess I should have realized that we were walking."
Ryan just laughed. "Now that we're here can I take this to DNA and bug Valera?"
"Of course," Natalia told him. "Just as soon as you tell me who this Valera is."
"The best DNA analyst in the business," Ryan explained. "And she will be sure to let you know that she is. She is also a major gossip and if anything is going on in the lab, you can be sure she will know about it. I hope you like to listen to gossip, because working with Valera, I'm sure that is about all you will hear."
"I like gossip as much as the next girl," Natalia joked smiling.
"Good," Ryan said smiling as well. He could really get to like this girl. "I will see you later."
As Ryan walked off, Natalia began to feel a little bit uncomfortable. After all, she was doing one of the things that might get her shot by the one and only Calleigh Duquesne. She also felt guilty about it, because she somewhat concurred with Horatio's philosophy, thinking about Nick. Oh well. She had to pay the rent somehow. She kept that thought at the front of her mind, pushed all others to the back, and knocked on the office door.
Kind of boring, I know. She had to meet some of the lab's occupants though. This was kind of a filler, sorry. Tell me how you liked it, even if you're just going to tell me it was boring! Review please!
