"So what do we have with the vic?" Gil asked as they approached the body.
"Shot through the heart, no pun intended. It was a through and through" Cassandra replied. "Your buddy Greg is checking it out"
"Wait- five from our team are at the scene?" Warrick asked. "Isn't that a bit much?"
"Well, it's actually four. Greg was shadowing me until you guys showed up. We have a few pieces of evidence, so we're headed back to the lab. Bullet casing, an engraved bracelet, eyeglasses, and a picture that was cut up into a lot of pieces" she said.
"She's right" Greg replied as he walked over to them.
Gil nodded. "Alright, you guys get back to the lab and we'll check everything else out"
"Right"
---
"So, new recruit, whad'ya think about this case?" Greg asked.
"You sound like Grissom" Cassandra laughed, looking up from her work of trying to reassemble the picture so she could look Greg in the eye. "As for the case, I don't know-"
"I meant how is it for your first case with us?" Greg asked. "I remember my first case here. Odd case, and I had to work up to these guys. It was tough, but heck, Sara said you were better at this stuff than her, so-"
"I'm not" Cassandra cut him off, going back to reassemble the photo.
"Huh?"
Cassandra shook her head. "I'm younger than her by a year, so naturally, she's better. I appreciate her helping me getting this job, but Sara was the best C.S.I I've experienced"
"Aww, sisterly love, I could cry" Greg ran his finger down his cheek playfully.
Cassandra rolled her eyes playfully again and put one piece with the ones she had already put back together.
"What did you get so far?" Greg asked and went over to the assembly desk.
"The background's a bar is all I've really established, but it looks like there are three people in the photo as well, so we'll have to see" Cassandra replied.
"Three people? Really? Usually a torn photo had two people. A boyfriend or girlfriend and their flame who dumped them or they were the ones doing the dumping"
"Right, but this is three. See?" she pointed at the pile of unplaced pieces of the photo. "Three sets of eyes. One brown, two blue. The two sets of blue eyes have different shapes. One's rounded, the other one kind of has a rectangular shape"
Greg raised his eyebrows. "Could be a guy in the mix there, then" he suggested.
Cassandra nodded. "I'll get back to you"
"Gotcha" Greg started towards the door.
Cassandra glanced over the picture more, and then frowned. "Hey, Greg?"
"Yeah?" Greg turned back to her.
"Can you get the vic's T.O.D and also get Nick in here, please?"
"You got it" Greg left.
A couple of minutes later, Nick came in. "You rang?"
"Yeah. I just got one face outta the cut up picture. It's our vic, and I found one little detail I wasn't expecting" Cassandra replied and pointed at the assembly table.
Nick went over to it and frowned, looking at the background of the bar. To be more specific, it was the bar that Nick and Cassandra had met in the previous night, and both of them were in the background of the picture along with Josh. He looked up and Cassandra with a puzzled expression. "This thing isn't even twenty four hours old and it's already ripped up?" he asked.
"Could be a breakup that's only a few hours old. Maybe whoever got these developed got them developed quick because they were excited, then something went wrong"
"Could be" Nick nodded, and then chuckled.
Cassandra looked at him. "What?"
"That's exactly what Sara would've suggested"
Cassandra smiled. "Well, people have said she and I share the same mind even if we're not twins"
Nick raised his eyebrows. "Can't argue with that"
Cassandra shrugged. "No, you can't"
Gil walked into the lab. "Cassie, I want you to meet someone"
"Again?" Cassandra smiled.
Gil shrugged. "Welcome to the team. Anyway, this is Ronnie. She'll be your partner for this case"
"Wait- partner, what- I haven't even been an official team member for a full day!"
Nick looked at her. "Ya know, when you're new and this guy offers you a partner, you usually don't object. You're happy about it"
"Shut up" Cassandra shot him a playful glare before turning to the other woman in the room.
Ronnie grinned. "Hi. I'm Ronnie. I'm so happy there's actually another girl on the team closer to my age"
Cassandra smiled. "Hi. Cassie" she nodded. "Glad I can help you with that"
Gil smiled. "Good. Even if Ronnie's been on the team for a bit and you're new, I figured 'why not put the latest members together?'. Both of you earned it"
"Thanks" Cassandra and Ronnie grinned.
Gil left.
Nick smirked. "Lucky stiffs" he left as well.
The women spoke for a while until Catherine came in.
"I take you're Cassandra Sidle?" Catherine asked.
"Right. Cassie, please. All my friends call me that." Cassandra nodded.
"Or in this case since people keep coming in, she's also Miss. Popular" Ronnie added.
Catherine smiled and held out a sheet of paper. "Our vic died about six hours ago at most"
"That fits" Cassandra murmured.
"Fits with what?" Catherine asked.
"Nick and I met last night at a bar. He helped me out of a sticky situation with my boyfriend, and all three of us are in the background of that ripped up picture Greg and I found that probably belung to the vic" Cassandra explained. "It hasn't been twenty four hours yet, so the timeline with the events kind of fit. Our vic or one of the other two people took it, took it to a place that developed pictures late, got it developed, our vic had it, then got murdered." Cassandra explained.
Catherine nodded slowly as she took in the information, impressed. "Not bad… but I just want to let you know, something. It isn't about this case. It's about you being here in general"
"Shoot" Cassandra nodded.
"You have big shoes to fill. I hope you know that. Don't disappoint us"
"Never" Cassandra shook her head. "I'll make you and Sara proud"
Catherine chuckled. "That's what I wanted to hear"
---
Cassandra sighed as she drove onto the parkway a few minutes after she and the rest of the team had left the lab. They had surprisingly solved the murder by the end of their shift, and the person behind it was on their way to the jail at that moment. She glanced in the mirror again and gripped the steering wheel. The black van that was behind her had been behind her for most of the ride with very few changes of route from her own. She kept glancing back in the mirror as time went on until she pulled into her neighborhood and reached the driveway of her new house. She looked around and saw the van coming, but it turned into the driveway across the street and a house down. "What the…" she narrowed her eyes, then let them go back to normal when she saw the man who came out of the car. Medium build, brown spiky hair, country music playing in the car. She got out of her car. "Nick?!"
The man turned. Sure enough, it was Nick. He smiled. "Cassie? That you?"
"Yeah!" Cassandra laughed.
Nick's smile grew. "I can't get rid of you! What're you doin' here?!"
"I just moved into the upper floor of that house" she nodded behind her as she crossed the street.
"Get out! Beth's place? I didn't know she was renting it out!" Nick exclaimed, thinking of the older woman who lived in the house whose driveway Cassandra's car was now in.
"Well, Beth's her name, so probably. She said most of the neighbors don't know. I take you're one of them, then?"
"Yeah, this is my house, here. Well, then welcome to the neighborhood as well as team," Nick said. "When did you arrive?"
"About five days ago" Cassandra replied.
"How come I've never seen ya? Stayed with a friend?" Nick asked.
"Yeah" Cassandra nodded. "Well, more than a friend, but…"
Nick's smile faded. "Oh. Your boyfriend… Joss?"
"Josh, and yes" Cassandra nodded.
Nick nodded. "Hm"
Cassandra smiled. "Aww, we just met and you're already worried about me with him?"
"Well, not necessarily just you, I just don't take well to women getting… abused, so to speak, by their boyfriends or husband"
Cassandra nodded. "Well, we see that enough"
" Don't I know it" Nick replied, his smile back on his face.
Cassandra rolled her eyes playfully. "Great. Now I have to watch what I say around you"
"Couldn't resist, and you gotta admit you had it coming," Nick replied.
Cassandra shrugged. "Good point"
"I have a few of those." Nick replied.
There were a few moments of silence until Nick spoke up again. "Seriously, I can't get rid of you lately!"
"Yeah, 'lately', coming up on twenty-four hours. I appreciate your company, too" Cassandra laughed.
Nick laughed as well.
Cassandra smiled. She had to hand it to him. He was pretty cute, and seemed like a good guy.
Nick looked around, then spotted a moving van in front of the other house. "That yours?"
"Huh? Yeah" Cassandra nodded after she had glanced at it.
"Have anything left in it?" Nick asked.
"A few boxes. I can get it tomorrow"
Nick waved his hand. "Forget it. It's not that late. I'll help you bring some in now" Nick offered.
Cassandra raised her eyebrows. "You'd do that?"
"Of course. You have the keys to it? Come on, let's get these things inside. I'll get to know you better doing it, anyway. I owe Beth a visit, so it works either way"
"Aww, being an old boy scout and helping an old lady out?" Cassandra smiled.
Nick glared playfully at her. "Shut up!"
Both of them chuckled.
Nick patted her back. "Alright, let's get goin' "