Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY – I'm just borrowing them for a little while and will put them back when I am finished playing. I do own Kelli Taylor and the other characters that you don't recognize – please ask before borrowing. And any errors or typos are all my fault – as I don't have a Beta yet. Also anything in Italics means that my character or someone else is using American Sign Language.

a/n: I'm enjoying those reviews – anyway I wanted to show Mac's lighter side – which you will hopefully enjoy and more of Kelli's sassiness. And Danny – he's kinda the foot in mouth kinda guy.

Chapter 4 – Meeting Horatio Caine

After lunch, Kelli was typing some reports, when she noticed Mac walking down the hall with a tall, red haired man beside him. Mac noticed Kelli looking at them and smiled at her in passing. Kelli nodded, and continued typing, finally finishing one long report and sending it to the printer. Turning around, Kelli muttered when she noticed that her printer had jammed up.

"Come on you stupid machine. You keep eating my reports, I'm gonna drop-kick you off the roof of this building," grumbling as she cleared the paper jam. She didn't notice that Mac and another man had walked into her office, until she turned around – jumping in surprise. "Crap Mac, are you trying to give me heart failure?"

Mac grinned. "Am I going to have to arrest you for threatening that printer?"

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough."

"What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine from Miami. Kelli, this is Lt. Horatio Caine from the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. Horatio, this is Kelli Taylor, a friend of mine," said Mac as he made the introductions.

"Excuse me Lt. what?"

Mac slowly fingerspelled Horatio's name. (Kelli is teaching him ASL).

"I'm pleased to meet you Lt. Horatio Caine. Am I pronouncing your name correctly?" Kelli asked, shaking hands with Horatio.

"Yes, and I am pleased to meet you," Horatio spoke and signed at the same time. "You are deaf?"

"Yes."

"Mari's been teaching you ASL," Mac remarked.

"Are you talking about Mari Jessop?"

"Yes, do you know Mari?" Horatio asked curiously.

"I met her in Nova Scotia a couple of years ago at the airport. I noticed that she was having trouble and I introduced myself and was able to help her. We keep in touch by email, but this past year, eh life happened. How is Mari doing?"

"Mari works for me now and she got married about six months ago to a man named Dean Allan."

"Tell Mari that I said hi when you get back to Miami and that I will email her soon," Kelli smiled at the tall, red haired detective with the sky-blue eyes.

"I will."

"We'll let you get back to abusing that poor printer," Mac turned towards the door, then turned back. "Horatio and I plan on going out to talk and get a few beers this evening. Would you like to join us?"

"Cozy's?"

"Where else, Carol Williams is playing tonight."

"Are you?"

"Of course."

"I'm in, seven-thirty?"

"I'll have the diet soda waiting."

Horatio looked slightly bemused at Kelli's and Mac's verbal shorthand.

Back in Mac's office the two detectives discussed the recent rape-murder cases that had occurred in Manhattan and Miami.

"This perpetrator is smart and vicious," remarked Horatio looking over case files.

"I agree, if I didn't know that he was on death row, I would swear that it was D.J. Pratt."

"D.J. Pratt?"

"He committed a number of rapes a couple of years ago. We got him when he murdered a former CSI of mine, Aiden Burns."

Horatio started reading another case file and looking up in surprise. "There is a survivor?"

"Yes, but she couldn't tell us much, she was blindfolded and gagged."

Horatio continued reading until he found the witness's statement. "Mac, this victim – is this the Kelli Taylor that we were just talking to?"

"Yes," Mac sighed. "I'm not directly involved in this case; Stella Bonasera is taking the lead on this case. I recused myself because of knowing Kelli.

"Mm-hmm. How is Kelli dealing with everything?"

"She has good days and bad. She is seeing a counsellor, which seems to be helping with survivor's guilt. A really good friend of hers was murdered during the attack."

"She is a survivor like Mari," remarked Horatio.

During her afternoon break – Kelli headed to the breakroom where she saw Adam talking with a couple of women who she didn't know, but knew that they also worked in the lab. Kelli was getting a bottle of water from the fridge when Horatio walked into the room – heading for the coffee pot.

"I'm just giving you fair warning, Horatio. Drink that coffee at your own risk," signed Kelli.

Horatio smiled and chuckled. "What do you mean at my own risk?"

"You never know how old the coffee is," Kelli replied.

Horatio overheard one of the women techs saying to Adam. "Don't they know that's rude, talking like that when we can't understand them?"

"Cut the crap Sheila. You're just pissed that you don't know what they are talking about," Adam replied, looking apologetic in Horatio's and Kelli's direction.

"Hey Adam, what do you think of this cologne that I bought for my boyfriend's birthday?" said Edith, the other female tech – holding an open bottle of cologne in Adam's direction.

Horatio turned back towards Kelli, who was wrinkling her nose and looking slightly green. "Kelli, what's wrong? Are you sick?" asked Horatio, touching Kelli's arm.

"Don't touch me. Please don't hurt me," Kelli backed away from Horatio, blind with fear. "It's you, I recognize that smell." Clapping her hand over her mouth, Kelli whirled around towards the garbage can and bent over the can – vomiting.

"You, go and get Detective Taylor," Horatio ordered pointing at Adam, who ran out of the room. "And you, please get that bottle of cologne out of here." The two women scurried out of the breakroom.

Mac came running into the breakroom with Adam following. "What's wrong?"

"Kelli is experiencing a flashback – a bottle of cologne triggered the memory," Horatio quickly explained. "She thinks that I am her attacker."

"Adam, go find Hawkes and tell him to bring his kit," Mac turned to Kelli, talking quietly while rubbing her back as she continued to dry heave into the garbage can. "Kelli, you're safe now. It's okay."

Finally Kelli's stomach spasms calmed down and she allowed Mac to lead her over to the couch where she could sit down. Horatio passed her a glass of water so she could rinse her mouth out as Mac sat beside Kelli. "What happened Kelli?"

"That smell, I remember that smell," Kelli whispered.

"What smell?"

"One of the women had a bottle of cologne and she opened the bottle for the others to smell," explained Horatio.

Adam and Hawkes came into the breakroom. "Adam said that you wanted to see me, Mac. What's up?"

Mac turned away from Kelli and explained. "Can you check Kelli over? She had a flashback which caused her to vomit hard enough that she experienced dry heaves."

"Hey Kelli, how are you feeling?" Sheldon said quietly, taking Mac's place on the couch.

Mac and Horatio moved across the room with Adam. "Adam, Lt. Caine says that one of the other women was showing you an opened bottle of cologne."

"Yeah, Edith bought a bottle of that god-awful Marco Polo cologne for her boyfriend. It seemed to bother Miss Taylor somehow."

"Thank you Adam," Mac nodded in appreciation to Adam.

"Right," Adam bobbed his head nervously. "The mass spec. should be finished analysing my samples."

"Mac," and both detectives looked up at the sound of Sheldon's voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Would you get Kelli's monitor from her office? She's feeling shaky."

Mac left the room, walking down the hall returning within a few minutes – carrying a small black case. Sheldon helped Kelli test her glucose levels, as Mac got a small bottle of orange juice from the fridge.

"What are her levels?" asked Mac when the monitor beeped.

"3.9," replied Sheldon, Mac passed Kelli the open bottle of juice for her to drink.

"She's diabetic?" Horatio asked quietly.

"Insulin dependent," answered Mac, while watching Kelli as she drank the juice. Kelli finished her juice – sitting quietly while Sheldon continued checking her over.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yes I am, thanks Sheldon."

"Glad that I could help," smiled Sheldon. "You need to teach Mac what to do in case I'm not here."

"I will," replied Kelli, then looked up at Horatio. "I'm sorry for flipping out on you Horatio."

"Please don't apologize for that incident. You didn't do it on purpose. I'm glad that you are feeling better," said Horatio, kneeling in front of Kelli and holding her hand before releasing it and standing back up.

"If you don't need me anymore, I'm going to go check on my results," said Sheldon, as he stood up from the couch and walked out of the room.

Mac sat down beside Kelli. "Are you sure that you are okay now?"

"Uh-huh," Kelli nodded. "That smell – what was it?"

"Apparently Edith had an opened bottle of Marco Polo cologne in here," explained Mac.

"I knew that I recognized that smell. A former co-worker of mine used to drench himself in it – the smell was enough to make you gag. He also used to spray it around his apartment. But that's not why it bothered me, the man who attacked me – he was wearing that cologne."

"I'll let Flack and Stella know about the cologne," said Mac. "Are you okay to go back to work now?"

"Yes I am, I need to continue working on that report for Max," Kelli got up from the couch and headed back to her office.

a/n: I know it's a short chapter, but rest assured there's hi-jinks to come….