Changing Winds of Many Ships
By: Kuroi Neko-kun
Summary: A few changes and some new faces could make three crime labs either go to hell or go the right way.
Disclaimer: All three CSIs belong to CBS. I only write stories.
Warnings: This fic contains multiple slash pairings of both f/f and m/m. And het relationships too.
A/N: Okay, so here's the start of it all. I got so bored I suppose that I made a book cover for this fic. You can view the back and the front. The link's at my bio. Sorry about the time zone mix up. I don't live in the US and I didn't check the maps to see whether they were in the same area or not. I fixed it though. Sorry about that. Thanks for the reviews!!
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Chapter 4: On Vacation in New York
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The grin on Aiden's face when she came in to work on Friday morning meant a lot of things. Danny knew what the reason was though. Her Louisiana born girlfriend was finally coming down to New York. She had been excited the whole week and was always telling herself that. Even Flack was getting bothered by it, even though he was not saying anything. Aiden came into the break room with a Starbucks coffee in one hand and a smile on her face.
"Good morning, everyone," she said. Mac, who was downing god-knows-how-old coffee, was now looking at Aiden's cup.
"That coffee must be really good to make you smile like that," he said before draining the last bit of the drink and tossing his cup in the sink.
"You mean Danny never told you?" Aiden said, frowning.
"He did. And I'm glad that we'll finally meet this mysterious Calleigh," he said smiling.
"She'd like to meet my family too," she said," Though I'm kinda worried about Flack. He's been a bit edgy."
"Yeah, I noticed it too. It's like he's not comfortable with us around," Danny agreed.
"What are you talking about?" Mac asked, looking at his two CSIs. They weren't surprised that Mac didn't notice tough.
"Flack's been giving off signals. Like he's lonely and not liking it," Aiden said," I think he needs a girl."
"Or a guy," Danny added. Aiden gave him a look.
"Not everyone is like you, Danny," she said.
"Well, statistically seventy-five percent of CSI personnel in New York are either homosexual or bisexual in nature," Danny countered.
"You, me and Mac don't really make a good study, Danny," Aiden pointed out. The bespectacled CSI grinned. Mac just sighed before giving a wary look to his lover. He patted Danny on the shoulder.
"Come on, Danny. We have work to do," Mac said, literally dragging the younger man out of the break room. Aiden just smiled at the act before turning back to her coffee.
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"… Thirty-five years old. Lived with his mom. Lives in a world of comic books," Flack said, describing their victim to Aiden as they walked over to the body," Messer's working inside as we speak." Aiden noticed the cape and mask that the victim was wearing.
"He tried to fly?" she asked amusingly to Flack. But the man was distracted by something on the other side of the scene. She looked at the general direction and spotted a familiar brunette talking to the officer at the scene.
"Who is that?" Flack mumbled more to himself than to Aiden but the woman caught the question.
"Sara Sidle," she answered before walking up to the woman and the officer where Sara was trying to keep her cool from blowing up at the officer.
"It's okay, Carl," Aiden said to the officer," She's CSI." Sara smiled at her friend.
"My credentials didn't even pass that guy. Is he new?" the Vegas CSI asked as she ducked under the tape.
"Kinda," Aiden answered before looking at her friend," What brings you to New York?"
"You actually," Sara answered," I needed a break from work and my PEAP counselor said that time off with friends is my best remedy. I'm taking her advice."
"Your timing couldn't be better," she said, smirking," Calleigh's popping by tomorrow." Sara's jaw dropped.
"Oh god, I'm invading your personal time!" Aiden laughed.
"It's okay, Sara. It'll be good for all of us to be together," she said.
"No it's not. Especially when I'm going to play 'telephone pole' again," Sara said, sighing.
"You know Calleigh and I love you," Aiden said. Sara smiled at that.
"Yo, Aid!" Danny shouted from across the road," I'm done with the inside! You dealing with the body or… not…" He trailed off at the sight of Sara.
"Hi," Sara said, smiling.
"Hey," Danny said before turning to Aiden with raised eyebrows.
"Uh, Danny Messer," Aiden said, making introductions," Sara Sidle, CSI, Vegas." Danny shook her hand.
"Knew you weren't Aiden's girl," he said," 'Cause she always had a thing for blondes."
"Yes, she made that very clear," Sara said, smiling. "So this is Danny." Danny looked at them with a confused look.
"She knows your life story," she said, smiling.
"What did you do? Dedicate a website on it?" Danny asked.
"No, we swap cases, problems and stories from time to time," Sara clarified before looking up. A dark-haired detective at the other side of the scene caught her eye.
"Aiden, please tell me that's not Mac Taylor," she said. Aiden noticed the dreamy look on her face before smiling.
"That's not Mac Taylor," she said," Detective Don Flack." Danny gave them a look before looking at Flack. Sara took a breath before speaking again.
"Why is it that Vegas don't have detectives who look that good?" Aiden grinned at Sara's words. She was obviously attracted to Flack (who wouldn't?). Maybe she found her answer to Flack's problem.
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He had been interviewing eyewitnesses, hoping that their stories could fill in the blanks to what exactly happened. Once he was done, he was about to tell Aiden what he had gotten when he spotted her with the brunette from earlier. And she was inside the yellow taped grid. Maybe Aiden had reasons but he needed this scene to be uncontaminated as possible. If it means that he would be blowing off a possible date outcome out of his life.
"Aiden!" Flack called out," Look…" Before he could start his little lecture, the brunette stepped up to him, smiling.
"Sara Sidle, CSI, Vegas. Friend of Aiden's," she said, offering her hand to the man. Flack looked at it before shaking her hand.
"Don Flack, detective, New York," he said in a monologue. Her approach shook him a bit, causing his process of information to uncharacteristically slow down. He furrowed his brows at her before the letters C, S and I placed itself together in his head.
"You're a CSI?" he asked, trying hard not to sound stupid.
"Yeah, from Vegas."
"What makes you come here of all places?" Flack asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
"Officially, I'm on vacation. Came here to visit Aiden," Sara answered before flashing a small smile to Flack," and maybe meet a few people." Aiden could sense the flirting coming on. She sighed before excusing to the scene. Danny was dragged off by someone for the second time of the day.
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"So she was flirting?" Calleigh asked as she unpacked her bags in Aiden's apartment. Aiden was helping her out by placing them in one of her drawers.
"Well, it's been awhile since Sara had anyone in her life, I mean Grissom is about as responsive as a dead man's heartbeat and, well, Hank was a cheating bastard," the New Yorker stated, knowing about Sara's tragic love life. She had been friends with Sara way before meeting Calleigh. They met in a coffeehouse that belonged to one of Aiden's ex-boyfriends. She was still a CSI-in-training when they met. Sara was a CSI two. After a few coffees, Aiden was asking her about evidence processing and autopsies. Sara was glad to answer all her questions. They exchanged numbers and went separate ways. A year later, Sara was giving a speech at the New York Forensics Convention. Aiden attended on a whim, dragging Stella along for the ordeal. She was shocked to find the Vegas CSI there. From then on, they solidified their friendship. They were close enough to tell each other about their problems and secrets. Aiden found it strange that she could do this with Sara but not with Stella. But she placed it aside and allowed it to collect dust.
"But she was in the crime scene when she flirted? Are you sure that's Sara Sidle?"
"Positive," Aiden said, smiling "Sara didn't say anything but she had that big goofy grin on her face when she's happy. Maybe she's trying to get over Grissom."
"Ah," Calleigh said, closing the empty suitcase and keeping it under Aiden's bed. She slipped into her lover's arms before brushing her lips against Aiden's. She smiled.
"Missed you," the blonde CSI mumbled. Aiden smiled.
"Not as much as I missed you," she said before pressing her lips against Calleigh's. they kissed for a moment before slowly breaking apart. Calleigh smiled.
"Why don't we go out, have some fun… You show me around…" Aiden pecked her on the cheek.
"I'm at your service," she said.
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Sara lay herself down on her bed in the hotel she was staying. She refused to check out and stay at Aiden's apartment, even if the woman insisted. Sara knew she shouldn't invade. Being friends long enough with Aiden, she knew that she missed Calleigh dearly. Sara wouldn't want to spoil their moments of love by being in the next room. But that left her with no plans for the week ahead and that stank. She glanced down at her cell phone. Moments earlier, she exchanged numbers with Detective Don Flack. She wondered why she was suddenly so attracted to that man other than his physical appearance. But she knew it didn't hurt to know someone who's a possible victim—a possible date! Sara smiled to herself. It had been awhile since she had a date. Between Hank cheating on her and Grissom's non advances, she had a better chance with this detective than she had with Grissom. Hell, she had better chances dating Grissom's bugs than dating the Bugman himself. Her thoughts fell to Grissom again. Sara was positive that they had something going on. But Sara knew she had made a few wrong turns and now, she felt like she lost the race to Grissom to someone else. She wondered if Greg was a possible suspect but… Grissom doesn't bend that way… right? He is a conservative man. But he is also open-minded and curious. She didn't know for sure. Sara sighed deciding better not weigh her options without knowing the truth. And she still had zero plans.
"Some vacation this is…" she muttered. As those words rolled out of her mouth, someone knocked at her door. Sara frowned. She didn't order anything.
"Who is it?" she called as she walked to the door.
"Room service," said the voice on the other side of the door. Sara looked through the peephole, spotting a familiar face with a bouquet in his hands. She smiled and was about to open the door when she looked down. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a tee-shirt large enough to fit Nick. Her hair was a complete mess. There was no way he was going to see Sara like this.
"Hold up!" she shouted before running into her room, taking off the tee-shirt and slipping on a tight turtleneck sweater. She and grabbed her brush and did her hair while checking if her teeth had anything stuck in between. Once she was presentable, she dashed back to the door and opened it, trying to look as casual as possible.
"Detective Flack," she said," I didn't expect you here." Flack smiled and handed her the flowers.
"I was… uh… heading to my precinct and saw these. And I couldn't help myself from buying them because they got me thinking of you," Flack said, feeling like an idiot. Sara obviously liked them.
"They're beautiful," she said," But Detective Flack…"
"Don," Flack corrected.
"Don," Sara repeated before continuing," You only met me yesterday."
"You met quite the impression, Miss Sidle," the detective said, smiling at her. She smiled back.
"You know," Sara started," There's this Broadway musical that I wanted to watch with Aiden but she's busy with her girlfriend at the moment…"
"Would you like me to accompany you?" Flack asked, sensing where this was going. Sara smiled again.
"That is if you're not busy…"
"I just clocked out," Flack pointed out.
"Great," she said," Why don't you come in and let me put these beautiful flowers into a vase? I have to change into something else than this."
"You look good in slacks," Flack said, not missing a beat. Sara found it borderline corny but it felt great to have a good looking guy compliment her. She moved aside to let him in, told him to make himself comfortable and found a vase by the bedside table. She grabbed her luggage and walked to the bathroom before shutting it tight. Now alone in Sara's hotel room, Flack looked around. He spotted a tee-shirt lying harmlessly on the floor. From the looks of it, it definitely wasn't her size. He knew he shouldn't but he picked it up and examined it. It had 'Harvard' emblazoned across the chest.
"You know, they say curiosity killed the cat." Flack dropped the shirt and turned to see Sara, dressed in a white sweater, black pants and leather jacket that looked like it belonged with Flack's own leather jacket, arms crossed and an amused smirk on her face.
"Sorry… That shirt…"
"Used to fit tightly," she chided. Flack looked at her with a shocked expression. She laughed. "Okay, that was a bad one," she said, noting that Flack was still clueless.
"No, it's not that… There is no way you could be this size."
"I wasn't. It used to belong to an old boyfriend," she said, not wanting to recall the issue. She grabbed the shirt and tossed it on the bed.
"So, ready to go?" she said, smiling at Flack. The detective offered an arm that Sara gladly accepted as she slid her arm onto his. Arm-in-arm, the two left the hotel room.
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"So you decided to work in Vegas because this Grissom guy gave you a call?" Flack asked as he poked at his salad. He and Sara had just finished watching the musical and decided to grab some dinner before heading back to the hotel. Her hotel! Flack almost smacked himself on the head for thinking that sort of thoughts. Sara took a bite out of her salad before looking at him. Flack ordered salads in respect of the woman's vow of not eating meat.
"Yeah, pretty much," she said," San Francisco wasn't working for me so it was a good opportunity to get out. What about you? Why did you become a detective?"
"My dad was a detective," Flack answered," his dad was a detective. I came from a long line of detectives. Because of that, I practically grew up with Danny." Sara gave him a look of confusion.
"His family is full of cops too," he clarified," Well, I really did admire my dad and wanted to be just like him. And here I am."
"Must be great to have someone to look up to," Sara said. It was Flack's turn to give a confused look to Sara.
"You don't look up to anyone?"
"I do, but not my parents," she said before sighing. Flack decided to get off the subject as it was turning out to be a downer.
"Hey," Flack said," It's no big. Someone to look up to is like a motivation to work hard. As long as you got the motivation, you don't need someone to admire."
"Wow…" Sara said, touching Flack's arm," That was… deep."
"Really?" Flack asked as Sara nodded," Well, I just thought about it. Feel free to use it anytime."
"I will," she said, smiling. Flack smiled back.
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"Danny, it doesn't take a genius to order a hotdog!" Mac huffed as the couple stood at the hotdog stand. Danny and Mac were taking a drive to Danny's place when the bespectacled CSI wanted a hotdog as he spotted one hotdog stand near Broadway. After begging Mac to stop, the man did and now was facing an indecisive kid called Danny Messer.
"Come on, Mac… It's just that…" he trailed off, spotting someone familiar with Aiden's friend walking out of a restaurant. "Hey, is that Flack?" Mac turned, though still annoyed at Danny, and looked t where his lover was pointing.
"Yeah, that is. So?" Mac said.
"He's with Aiden's friend from Vegas," Danny pointed out.
"So?"
"Near Broadway? Just coming out of a restaurant?" The younger man said, slightly ticked that Mac didn't get it. The confused look confirmed it.
"Mac, do I have to spell it out for you?" Danny said, annoyed. Mac sighed before smirking.
"Flack is going out with Aiden's friend. The same one you said he flirted with at the scene," Mac said," And this concludes that he's finally scoring." Danny glared at Mac who was still smirking.
"You're doing this to annoy me, aren't you?"
"I'll make it up to you if you just bought your hotdog and we could leave," Mac said in a lilt. Danny stood at the menu, still not able to decide what to get. Mac was fighting hard not to smack his lover on the head. He sighed.
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To Be Continued
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