This is a short chapter. I just wanted to introduce Sara Sidle.

CSI Hawaii

Honolulu International Airport – Nine PM

The smell of aviation exhaust was thick in the night air amid the roar of turbine engines and gate announcements. Amid the bustle of crowds, Gil Grissom adjusted his glasses to look up at the arrival board to see that a flight had arrived from Las Vegas. Nearby, Hank Kainahui browsed magazines on a rack at the Borders Express.

The jetway doors of the gate abruptly opened and excited and tired passengers disembarked into the waiting area. Some rushed away to baggage claim, some looked for connecting flights, and one looked for a quiet, bearded man.

"Sara, over here," called a familiar voice and a thin brunette turned her head to make eye contact. With a wry smile she pushed through the throng of people to meet him.

"Hey Gil, or should I say aloha?" Sara quipped as her supervisor brought out a clear plastic box full of flowers.

He popped it open and pulled out a string of orchids. With the greatest of discomfort, he placed the lei over her head. "I learned that this is a custom over here. Welcome to Hawaii. Sorry for the short notice and I wish it could be under better circumstances."

An incredulous look came over her face. "Are you kidding? I begged for this. I won't go so far as to say it's a boondoggle, but…."

Gil shrugged in his quiet way with smile of acknowledgement. "Sara, this is Hank of the Hawaii Task Force. We'll be working with him and the others."

Greetings were exchanged and the three headed off toward their car. Hank gave several waves to passing security guards: many were former colleagues of his, retired from the force. They crossed the street into the night and hopped in the car, which Hank drove off toward the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

As streetlights shot by, giving flashes of illumination into the cabin of the car, Gil spoke, "Sara, I'm going to start the day in class tomorrow. Hank will pick you up and take you to the lab. We found a few items in the house in the search today."

Sara craned her neck to look back at Gil behind her. "That's fine. I'm ready to hit the ground running. In fact, why aren't we heading there now?"

"No need to jump in too fast," commented Hank as he turned right onto Kalia Street off of Kalakaua. "Rob is down at the hospital and the lab is pretty much closed up. You get some rest and we'll go full bore in the morning."

The dark-haired woman shrugged; it was all the same to her. "Okay. Well, how about a bite? The airline pretzels didn't quite do it for me."

In a minute, they passed a large red water wheel and pulled up to the curb near the registration desk. Hank waved goodbye as they hopped out and Gil carried Sara's bags to the counter.

At the late dinner, Gil briefed her in on the investigation and they watched the waves pounding on Waikiki Beach while the runners came around to light the torches.

"I feel a little bad about not being at the crime scene. They've been at it all day and likely into morning," voiced Grissom with a little bit of edge. To anyone else, he would seem decidedly pleasant, but Sara knew otherwise.

"Don't worry about it too much, we'll get our chance soon enough."

Gil gave her a curious look and then pulled out his wallet to pay the bill. "I'm glad you're here, Sara. I've been feeling a little…out of my element. Get some rest. We'll start up first thing in the morning."

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