"Oi, who are you?" he said, noticing the tall red-head who looked slightly lost. He saw her turn and head towards his office door hesitantly. He beckoned her in, motioning vaguely to a chair.
Shannon sat down, well aware of the searching gaze that swept over her, assessing everything. Lawson took his time. He knew this was Grace's replacement and that Grace really was gone. He takes a moment to thoroughly assess the 'newbie'. He had read her file previously and knew a bit about her work history. Being that she was a former high-ranking AFP officer meant that he would have to tread carefully on cases, but apart from that she seemed like a nice person. While he was thinking, an awkward silence filled the room. Shannon, sensing that the man in front of her was not going to introduce himself, she made the first move by holding out her hand, which Lawson shook. "Shannon Henry, former AFP Forensics Specialist." Lawson grinned. "Lawson Blake, Senior Sergeant of this fine establishment known as Tactical Response." He said waving his arm around the room. Shannon relaxed a little, figuring that Lawson was not a bad bloke, but she did not want to get on his bad side too early. "You probably know why I'm here." Shannon said slowly, trying to gauge Lawson's reaction. She did not fail to miss the fleeting look of utter sadness that passed over Lawson's face. "Yeah, I do and I also know that you will fit right in, but be a little bit wary of Josh, that is Sergeant Brendan Joshua who we all call Josh, as he was in a relationship with the member you are replacing and her death hit him really hard. He may be a bit snappy with you to start, but since our Liaison Officer started working here, Josh has stopped being so reactive to any small problem, especially when she threatens him with a stapler!" Lawson chuckled quietly at the memory of Zara bailing Josh up against a wall, Josh who was twice as tall as Zara (which made it even more funnier) but had a look of pure fear on his face as the angry Liaison Officer took out her wrath on him for snapping at Michael over a simple accident.
Shannon had heard of that incident but the name of the Liaison Officer had so far eluded her and she was dying to find out who it was! Lawson stood up signalling an end to their impromptu meeting, held out his hand and said "Well now you have met me, you have to go and see the big cheese that is also known as Inspector Kerry Vincent. She runs TR like a prison! Seriously, some days, super max looks like a walk in the park!" Shannon giggled, already liking Lawson, shook his hand and left his office in search of Inspector Vincent.
Lawson sat back in his chair, the emotions of Grace's death plus the added strain of training a new team member clearly showing on his face. He missed Grace, how she would smile sweetly at everyone, how she would always be talking.
He was also worried about how Josh would react to Shannon. He knew that Zara would make him see sense, she always did anyway, and she knew about the history between Josh and Grace. Josh and Zara had been together now for about 3 weeks and even though they kept their work and private lives separate, he did catch Josh glancing now and again at Zara while she worked and smiling to himself, which to Lawson was a huge relief because shortly after Grace's death, Josh had pretty much blocked everyone out, preferring to wallow in his own grief and loss than let anyone else share it with him. When Zara had arrived, Josh had immediately resented her being there even though she was in no way, shape or form, replacing Grace and Josh knew that. He had tried every way to make it clear she was not welcome, but Zara, having been trained by Mossad and also ASIS, gave him back as good as he gave her. Lawson remembered one time Josh had pissed the former Mossad officer off one too many times. He had said something snide to her and she had literally stapled him to a wall and left him there. Everyone had found the situation hilarious, including Zara, who had refused to release him from the wall until he apologised which was not until the end of the day.
He sighed to himself. He knew instinctively that Shannon would take a bit of time to be accepted. He himself knew that he did not really want her to replace Grace. He shook his head. 'No, I have to give her a chance, she really wants this'. Lawson said to himself. He stood up and was about to head out to see whether the rest of the team had arrived, when he was halted by Shannon.
"Uh, Lawson?" Shannon said, standing in his doorway looking confused. "Yes Shannon?" Lawson said gently. Shannon looked embarrassed. "Um, where exactly is Inspector Vincent's office?"
Embarrassed himself, Lawson walks up to Shannon and stops next to her. "Come on, I'll show you." He said smiling. Shannon was slightly relieved that he was smiling because if he hadn't she would have been worried. She followed Lawson down the hall until he stopped at a door with the nameplate 'Inspector Vincent' engraved on it. He rapped on the door sharply, turned around and said "Wait here". Shannon felt nervous, Lawson's voice didn't help alleviate it. 'Is she, uh... Scary?' Lawson chuckled softly as the door swings open and Shannon saw who she assumed to be Inspector Kerry Vincent glare at the door to see who rudely interrupted her work.