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 small, tiny, little spoiler to 'Spring Break' CSI: Miami 121.

A/N: Okay, I don't know how long this would be.

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Chapter 5: The Farewell of a Lover, the Interesting Case and the Departure of Sara Sidle

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The phone of her hotel room rang, shocking her awake. She scrambled across her bed and answered it, not quite awake yet.

"Hello?" she mumbled before yawning.

"Where were you?" said the southern voice on the other line. Sara groaned slightly before lying back down on her bed, phone still in hand.

"I was out… with Don," she answered.

"That I know!" Calleigh said," Danny saw you guys at Broadway. I thought you wanted watch a musical with us!"

"I don't really want to impose…" she started. She heard Calleigh huff.

"Sara, you're our friend. You're never imposing, disturbing or annoying," the blonde CSI said," Look, Aiden got Bridget Jones from the video store. We know you love this movie so we're having a girl movie night together." Sra sighed before smiling.

"Thanks, Cal… I'll be there." Sara said before looking over the clock. She realized that it was just a few hours since she got back from going out with Don.

"I need to get back to bed. I got back three hours ago…" she said, yawning again. Calleigh laughed on the other line.

"Okay, okay… Is Don by your side?" Sara unconsciously blushed.

"No!" she said indignantly. That just caused Calleigh to laugh again.

"Sorry Sara, I just couldn't help it!" the southerner said, still giggling, "See you tonight, kay?"

"Okay," Sara mumbled before hanging up. She climbed back to bed and fell asleep again.

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"For the last time," the Vegas CSI said as she opened the bag of chips and poured the contents in a big bowl," Don and I are friends!" Calleigh giggled as she stole a chip from the bowl.

"But you guys had fun, watched a musical, went out for dinner," Calleigh pointed out.

"He even brought you to a club," Aiden continued," You hate clubs, you hate crowds, you hate dancing. What were you doing there?" Sara groaned before chewing on a chip.

"I was being friendly," she answered," And I don't hate clubs, dancing or crowds. It's just that…" She trailed off, dredging up something about Grissom, who probably won't dance if his life depended on it and would rather hang himself then spend time in a crowd of dancing people. Aiden and Calleigh didn't notice her disdain as they were already out of Aiden's kitchen and plopping themselves on the couch.

"Sara! Come on!"

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The noticeable grin on Danny's face on this Monday morning was something Flack hated seeing. Aiden gave him a warning that Danny saw him with Sara on the Saturday that he accompanied Sara to Broadway. Luckily, Mac was there to rein him. He walked to Mac who was photographing the body.

"You putting your boy on a leash?" he asked quietly. The supervisor gave him a look.

"In more ways than one," Mac chided.

"Good, you know I'll pound him if he jokes about Sara and me," the detective said, placing his hands in his pocket.

"Is there something going on between the both of you?" Mac found himself asking.

"Nah. We're just friends. Ended our day with a smile and a peck on the cheek for me," he said, not able to hide the smile on his face.

"Sounds like you like her," Danny said, popping out of nowhere. Mac sighed before looking at his lover.

"Danny, I assigned you to the dumpster and the back alley. Can you get to work?" Danny did the one thing that none of them expected him to do. He stuck out his tongue at Mac.

"Oh, how mature," Flack commented. Mac shook his head.

"Get to work or you'll be pleasuring yourself for the month," he said, using Danny's threat from days before. It did the trick though as he got straight to work again. Flack shook his head.

"Your boy's turning into a puppy," he said," He's begging for attention."

"You will too," Mac pointed out before resuming his work of taking photographs. Flack just stood there with a look of confusion.

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Aiden stood at the departure gate, her arms around Calleigh's waist. She was not planning to let her go but Calleigh was only given the weekend and half of Monday. Miami still needed her. When they heard the call for Calleigh's flight, Aiden only held her tighter. Sara just watched silently, touched by the love between her two friends.

"Honey," Calleigh said, hugging Aiden," I have to go."

"I know," Aiden said, a pained look on her face," I'll miss you." Aiden was known for being cold and wearing her heart on her sleeve at times but she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Calleigh wiped it off with her thumb, not able to stop tears from forming in her eyes. She pressed her lips against Aiden, kissing her lover for the last time. Once they broke apart, Aiden was smiling, despite the tears.

"I love you," she said.

"And I you," Calleigh whispered, wiping her eyes. The last boarding call for Calleigh's flight played over the intercom. The blonde CSI sighed before giving one last hug to her lover before turning to Sara.

"You make sure you have fun for the next four days," she said before pecking Sara on the cheek. The Vegas CSI smiled.

"I will," she answered truthfully. Calleigh picked up her small bag and gave them a last look.

"See y'all soon!" she said in true southern manner before going through the gates. Once she was out of sight, Aiden let out a resigned sigh. Sara just patted her friend's back.

"Want to grab some lunch?" the brunette offered. Before Aiden could answer, her beeper went off.

"Ten bucks say that's Mac," Aiden said as she checked the beeper. True enough, it was her supervisor. She took out her cell phone and gave the supervisor a call.

"Taylor" went the other line.

"You paged," Aiden said.

"Danny and I are busy on another case. Need a bit more assistance on this one," Mac said.

"Sure, hey, isn't Stella back yet?"

"No… She took another week leave," Mac answered, sounding like he wasn't happy about it.

"Well, she's been taking a lot of leaves since she found out about you and Danny," Aiden commented," So where do you need me?" She listened for Mac's instructions before hanging up. She turned to Sara.

"Want me to send you back to your hotel?"

"I'm fine. I can take a cab and head back," the Vegas CSI said. Aiden disagreed before an idea came to her head.

"Why don't you come to the scene with me? I'm sure Mac doesn't mind an extra pair of hands," Aiden said. She knew she pushed the right buttons when the brunette CSI was grinning. You can take the girl out of the crime lab but you can't take the crime lab out of the girl, she thought amusingly.

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Once they arrived at the scene, Aiden gave Sara her extra kit before they walked up to where Mac was. The supervisor was looking at the car in their hit and undefined action. The female CSI had called in earlier to tell him that Sara was 'giving her point of view' on the case.

"Aiden, Miss Sidle," Mac said," We've got a dead guy on the road and a dead guy in the car. Witnesses say that the car was weaving dangerously on the road before hitting this guy. He was jaywalking."

"That's a large price to pay," Sara said, smirking," Kinda makes you think twice of doing such a thing."

"We know why, how and when this guy died," Aiden said," What about the one in the car?"

"That's a mystery. Officially, Aiden is on this solo but we don't mine your input on this, Miss Sidle," the supervisor said before packing up his kit.

"I'd give my best," Sara said," And it's Sara, Detective Taylor."

"Mac, Sara," he said before picking up his kit," Okay ladies, this crime scene is yours." With that, Mac walked off.

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"This is by far one of the few weirdest cases I have seen," Aiden said as she and Sara walked into the CSI building. Sara smirked.

"Well, I've seen weirder."

"I'm talking comical weird. I mean guy ends up dead by dead guy in a car," Aiden pointed out," This sounds like an old cartoon than a crime scene."

"Well, it is a crime scene. You got a call from autopsy yet? Maybe tox can shed some light to this weird predicament," Sara said as they walked.

"I'll call Sheldon and see what's up. You want to grab some coffee or…" Aiden trailed off, spotting Detective Don Flack talking to some swing shift CSI. Aiden had this evil grin on her face before she straightened her face and turned to Sara.

"I'll head to autopsy. Why don't you grab some coffee and wait for me in the break room?" she suggested.

"Huh?" Before she could respond, Aiden already walked off. Didn't Aiden know that she doesn't know her way around this crime lab? But the woman already walked away, leaving her alone. She sighed before looking around, spotting Flack talking to someone. She brightened and walked towards him as he just finished his conversation.

"Hi," she said. He smiled.

"Hi back," Flack said," What are you doing here?" I wanted to see you, Sara almost said. Instead she swallowed and spoke again.

"I was asked by Aiden whether I wanted to work the crime scene with her. I'm just here as the opinion maker," she said. Flack's brows furrowed. Sara thought it made him look more attractive but she kept it to herself.

"I thought you were on vacation," he said.

"I am but I got bored. There's nothing wrong with another CSI on a case," she pointed out.

"Sara, next time you're bored, call me up. I can take you anywhere," he said.

"Thanks Don. I appreciate that," Sara said, smiling," How about taking me to the break room? Aiden told me to wait for her there but she didn't give me directions."

"I can do that," he said before leading the way.

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Sara was pouring her fifth cup of coffee and brewing a new pot when Aiden came by, waving a file that contained the report that could solve their mystery.

"Our guy was on X when he died," she announced," Raised pulse rate and he literally got down with the funk."

"X at this hour?" Sara said, looking at the clock," It's party drug so it should be at party and parties usually last till five in the morning. It's noon. Our dead guy's TOD was at ten. What were the numbers in his system?"

"Enough to cause heart failure," Aiden replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sliding up beside Sara who was now looking through the file.

"Besides the MDMA in his system, he's clean," the Vegas CSI said.

"As a whistle," Aiden added. Sara looked at her.

"Technically whistles aren't clean," she said," There are millions of germs in your saliva and no matter how many times you clean the whistle, the germs stick to the place you blow. In the end, you're just blowing in and out your own germs. That is, unless you share the whistle—"

"Sara!" Aiden said, gripping her friend's arm while smiling," It was just a metaphor. You are such a germaphobe."

"I'm not! It's a common fact," Sara said defending herself.

"Then you and me are going to a spa after this," Aiden said.

"I am not getting into that germ infested hellhole!" Sara said, huffing.

"Germaphobe!" Aiden teased," I'd bet if Flack was naked in a hot tub, you'd jump in without even thinking!"

"Aiden!!" Sara nearly screamed, blushing furiously. Aiden just laughed at Sara and her own teenage antics.

"Sounds like you two are having fun." The ladies turned to see the person Aiden had teased to Sara about looking at them. Sara, who was still recovering from Aiden's tease, blushed and suddenly looked interested in the file. Aiden was grinning.

"Hey Flack, how much would you want if I asked you to wait for someone while naked in a hot tub?" Aiden asked. Flack gave her a look before glancing at Sara.

"That depends on who I'm waiting for," he said coolly.

"Well, if I gave you a hundred would you wait anyway?" the CSI said still smiling.

"Why are we talking about this?" Flack asked, jumping into his detective mode without thinking.

"No reason, really," Sara cut in," Did you get the info we need, Don?" Aiden just raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Joseph Lee, twenty one. Student in NYU," he said," I talked to some of his friends and he was at a party that ended at three. He was driving back with a couple of friends. That was the last time they saw him."

"Did you get the friends' names?"

"In the interrogation rooms as we speak. I'll do the talking, you ladies can watch," he said as he led them out. Flack was in front of them when Aiden grinned at Sara.

"Remember watch the interrogation, not Flack," she said. Sara pinched Aiden's arm. Hard.

"Ow!"

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"They broke in record time," Sara said before frowning," Who would be dumb enough to create a game on who could take the most ecstasy pills at one shot?" Aiden sighed before shrugging as she at down. With the case being closed, they headed to a nearby Starbucks for better coffee and scones.

"I've heard of bong Olympics before," she said, remembering one of Calleigh's cases," These are the type of people who do really stupid things to satisfy their egos."

"Notice that these people are usually men," Sara pointed out.

"That's why I opted for my type of relationships," Aiden said before smiling, "Not that all men are like that."

"I could name a few," Sara said.

"Is one of them Don Flack?"

"Do you want another pinch, Aiden Burn?" Aiden gave her a smile.

"All I'm saying is go for it," the New York CSI said," I mean, Grissom isn't making a move and Flack's obviously doting. I mean you ask him for info, he goes the whole nine yards like a puppy!"

"Or a Lycos search engine," Sara chided before shaking her head," I don't know. Don and I are just friends, you know. I like it this way. Okay, he is impressively charming and debonair but…"

"You don't want another Hank episode?"

"For your information, Hank is neither of what I just said," she pointed out," Yeah, how I feel about it is once bitten twice shy."

"Okay, I'm going to be harsh," Aiden said as she picked up a scone," If you don't look at the fact that you have higher chances with Flack than Grissom, you'll be old, alone and living with your nine bald cats."

"That is harsh," Sara said as she picked up her own scone," Tell you what, I'll make the biggest move I can with Grissom. If nothing happens, I'll come to New York straight away and toss myself into Don's arms."

"Swear it," Aiden said. Sara smiled as she placed her right hand on her chest.

"I swear."

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Mac walked down the halls of the CSI building when he spotted Sara sitting side by side with Danny, both looking at some incriminating evidence on Danny's solo case. He knocked came in and motioned for Sara to come over to him.

"You've been spending your whole week at CSI," he said.

"Only in the mornings and afternoon," she pointed out," I'm enjoying the New York city nights." Mac smiled before continuing.

"Look, Aiden brought up the fact that you're fitting in so well here with us. I couldn't agree more," he said," If you're interested, you can transfer in here anytime. I've already sent a request to your supervisor. You can accept or decline. It's up to you. You've proven to me why you're a third grade CSI and how good you are at your job and I think you'd be a great addition to the team." He handed her his card.

"I'll think about it," she said, not putting hopes high," Thanks Mac."

"You do that, Sara," he said before heading into the room that Danny was in.

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Aiden found herself at the airport the second time in a week, this time to accompany Sara as she was heading back to Vegas. She hugged Aiden and smiled.

"No kiss goodbye?" she joked.

"I'm not the one who's supposed to give it to you," the New York CSI pointed out.

"He isn't going to come by. He doesn't even know which gate I'm at," Sara pointed out before shaking her head. As those words came out from her mouth, they heard someone shot, "Wait up!" The ladies turned with different looks on their faces. Sara was shocked and Aiden was smirking as Flack ran up to them.

"You told him," she accused Aiden.

"He's a detective," Aiden pointed out as Flack finally reached them.

"I heard you were leaving," he said, taking a deep breath," and you said goodbye to everyone but me? Sara, I'm heartbroken." As he said that he smiled, stating that he was joking.

"Sorry Don. It's not like I didn't tell you. I left a message on your cell," she pointed out. Flack gave a smile.

"I came to give you something," he said before cocking his head to the side," Unless Aiden already gave it to you."

"Give me what?" Sara asked, frowning. Flack cupped her chin and pressed his lips against her in a quick motion. Sara looked at him wide-eyed as he smiled at her goofily as if to hide his embarrassment.

"Take care of yourself," he said. Sara regained some composure and hugged him.

"I will," she said. After taking a deep breath, she picked up her small bag and turned to the both of them. She waved them goodbye and headed to through the gate. Once she disappeared, Aiden nudged Flack.

"Just friends, huh?"

"Technically, she still is," Flack pointed out.

"Yeah, you kiss all your friends goodbye," Aiden said, rolling her eyes. Flack smiled.

"You want one, Burn?" Aiden shot him a look before punching his arm.

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To Be Continued

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