Chapter Four: Arrival

Like Greg had said, they hit traffic only a few hours later. It was more than the morning rush hour to work, but a twenty car pile up that left them stranded near Vale for several hours. There original plan on getting to the convention was changed after they reached Bend near 11 that night, instead of noon.

They both agreed on stopping there for the night. It would put them anywhere between half a day to a full day behind, but they still had room to spare. Greg gave Grissom a quick call as Sara showered, letting him know where they were. Grissom was glad to hear things were going relatively well.

The two had left the hotel by eight the next morning, reaching the small town just a few hours later. Greg shivered as he stepped outside into ankle deep snow, wishing now that he had left his warm clothes handy, instead of packed tightly into his suitcase.

"It's freezing," he told Sara, as she walked around to the back. She was pulling her coat, but that still wasn't enough to keep the chill out.

They were just pulling out their suitcases when they were greeted by two men. One was in his twenties, close to Greg's age, clean shaven with dark hair. The other had to be close to 40, having both a beard and mustache; he looked quite like an ice man.

"You must be Greg Sanders and Sara Sidle," the younger man commented, shaking hands in greeting.

"How'd you guess?" Greg asked incredulous, closing the back door.

"You're the only two that have shown up in t shirts. You're also the only two that came straight from desert weather," the young man laughed. "I'm detective Larry Stiles, this is detective Jim Neff. We're in charge of this year's convention. We'll show you to your cabin."

"Detectives huh?" Greg asked, following them. "I thought this was a only CSI thing."

"It's an officer convention," Jim told him, "Mostly everyone here is in training, either for CSI, detective, officer…three different sections we focus on. This convention really isn't necessary for anything, but many people find it very helpful. You two will probably be the only certificated field agents here."

Greg nodded as he worked to keep up with the pair. Next to him, Sara was breathing heavily as they made their way up the hill.

"Actually, there is only one other certified field agent, Cindy Coupe, but I don't know if she's coming or not. Called in a few days back saying she wasn't feeling all that well. So we won't know until later. Anyways, don't be surprised if the other trainees look up to you. Sometimes the youth get carried away."

Greg nodded, breathing heavy as well now. He shook his head. "I'm so out of shape," he complained as they arrived at the cabin.

"Not really," Larry told him, coming to a stop. He was resting his hands on his hips, slowing his breathing as well. "Remember, you're roughly six thousand feet higher than back home. Air's thinner up here. This is where you'll be staying." He nodded towards the building.

The cabin itself was fairly nice, like one of those pictures you saw in a magazine. It had a small deck with an awning to help keep the boards dry, and a railing that wrapped around the sides. It had a single window in front and one on the side as well as skylight on the roof to help with lighting issues.

Inside was pretty much the same. A small sunken living room with a couch and chair, and small fireplace, two beds were in the corner leading from the living room, and on the other side of the wall was a small kitchen, with an island providing a stove top. Next to the bed against the wall was another room, which Greg believed to be the bathroom.

He wasn't aware that Jim was talking again until Sara nudged him in the ribs.

"…keys are here, make sure to lock up when you leave. We don't have too many break ins up here, but it's better to be safe than sorry. You're schedules are on the counter up there, first class is tomorrow in the break hall, near the lake. You may want to take a walk around, accustom yourself to the area. You have walkie talkies up in the cupboard, have them with you at all times. Cell phones are useless up here, no service, and we have only one landline, that's for emergency use only. If you need to get a hold of us, my cabin is up the hill, the furthest one up, Larry's is near the front of the town."

Greg nodded as he set his stuff down, taking another look.

"Other than that, enjoy yourselves, this is your home for the next three weeks," Larry told them as they two showed themselves out.

Sara closed the door with a sigh, moving to open her suitcase and pulling out a change of clothes. Greg was already pulling on a sweater, moving over to the fire place.

"You know what you're doing?" Sara asked him, pulling on a sweater as well.

Greg nodded, "Cut me some slack, I know how to make a fire."

"That's what I'm worried about," Sara said with a smirk, making her way over to the counters. "Wonderful, our class starts at five."

"AM?" Greg asked, shutting the gate as soon as he was certain the fire wouldn't die.

Sara nodded, "Three classes the first week, four the second, and three the third. Classes last 12 hours," she dropped the paper with a sigh before going through the cupboards. "Walkie Talkies are here, so are a couple of flashlights, and something that looks like food" she called, "but that seems like all the put in here. We need to do some shopping."

Greg rubbed his arms, taking a seat in the chair. He couldn't remember the last time he had worn a sweater and still felt cold. "We have a credit at the store," he reminded her.

Sara nodded, carrying her suitcase over to the far bed, the one closest to the kitchen and started unpacking, folding her clothes into the dresser that was provided. Greg did the same a moment later.

"Nice place," he commented, closing the drawers.

"Yeah, one of the nice things about coming to these conventions, they provide nice lodging. We won't have to worry about nosey neighbors."

Greg laughed, knowing how much Sara hated hotels. He knew she tried to avoid them at all costs; it was why stopping at one last night had surprised him so much.

"Now what?" Greg asked, sitting down on the bed.

"We scour the town I guess," Sara said, pulling on her coat and hat. "Put the fire out, we'll start it again when we come back."

Greg nodded, already moving.

"We need to find out where our class is tomorrow, then we'll find the store and get some food for this place."

Greg grinned at her as he pulled his own coat on. "It'll be like we're married!"

Sara laughed, shaking her head, "We're a little old to be playing house Greg, and don't get any ideas," she warned him.

TBC