A/N: Response to YTDAW challenge… tell me if you want a sequel… I left it hanging, just in case ;-)… here's what had to be done;
--YOU are the new lab tech/detective/rookie working with the CSIs.
--It's your first day and you're getting to know your surroundings. Have someone give you a tour.
--You don't have to use your real name, of course, just inflict your personality on your fic self.
--Feel free to pair yourself off with Warrick or Archie, if you like. Or Warrick and Archie. Go nuts.
--Eat lunch with the CSIs and bring up the whole "Sara is a vegetarian" thing.
--GSR, naturally.
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I know that no job is easy, but working in Forensics is the hardest job I've ever had. I started out as a waitress at McDonalds; some guy totally pissed me off, though, so after 'talking' to him, I decided to go back to college. I studied forensics for five years, and then worked as the Ballistics girl in Miami for three years. Now, I'm standing in front of the Las Vegas crime lab, scared out of my mind. Not only is this the second best crime lab in the USA, but I've heard lots of rumors about the people here… apparently, there's the boss of the shift I'm working for is an entomologist, nice enough but he completely ignores his partners… that could be a good thing, if he's anything like my last boss. There are only two girl CSI's; one used to be a stripper and the other is obsessed with the boss and I guess she drinks. The guys are the only thing I can really look forward to; apparently, hot beyond compare and also incredible at a crime scene. Of course, this could all be bull. I don't know, and I'm not sure I'm ready to find out. I just stand there outside the doors, shivering a little.
"Excuse me, miss? Are you lost?" I turn around to see an unbelievably hot man looking quizzically at me.
"No, no…" Dammit, I'm having trouble talking. "No, I'm Ivy, the new CSI here from Miami. And you are?"
"Gil Grissom. I've been expecting you. I'm your supervisor." Oh. My. GOD. This guy is almost 50? I'm a little embarrassed that I was immediately attracted to him, but I can't help but think; if this is the guy that supposedly ignores everyone, the guy I heard NOTHING about as far as looks go, what do the others look like? I look down and realize he's been holding out his hand for about thirty seconds. Turning red, I grab it and shake it. "Come in, I'll get someone to show you around." I follow him through the doors, trying not to hesitate as I enter my new life.
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It's cold in the crime lab; of course, it's cold in all crime labs. Everywhere I go, someone is walking purposefully through the halls, nodding at Mr. Grissom and staring at me as we pass by. I don't take it personally; people always stare at 'the new guy' on the first day… hopefully, it won't be like in Miami where people, guys in particular, continued to stare for weeks afterwards.
"Right in here, Ivy." I follow Mr. Grissom into a very… well, strange room. There are jars of god-knows-what on shelves, a mini-fridge and a desk. That's about it; no pictures on anyone anywhere, just more bugs and a fish shaped bulletin board. I can't help but question his sanity… in my head, of course.
"This is my office." I nod, expecting more, but apparently he thinks this is enough for me. So I sit in the chair, immediately cringing; what the hell am I thinking? I should wait until he offers me a seat. I start to stand and then start thinking again… don't stand up again, Ivy… he might think it's a sign of weakness. So there I am, half sitting half standing with my new boss looking at me like I'm crazy. I really have no choice but to sit.
"Welcome to the Las Vegas crime lab. We do things a bit different than you might be used to on my shift. I hope you like working here… I'll have someone show you around." He pulls out his phone and makes call. Instead of eavesdropping (I know, I probably sound like a crappy CSI, but I'm not nosy!) I take the chance to look at the people passing by; some are frowning, staring intently at papers; others are chatting together, laughing as they walk by the office. Mr. Grissom snaps his phone shut and clears his throat. I've already screwed up so much and I haven't even been here for an hour! Embarrassed as hell, I turn to face him. "They're sending Sara Sidle down to show you around." I nod, trying to remember which kooky member of the night shift this is. "If you have any problems, feel free to talk to me." He's already turned away, even though I have a million questions I'd love to ask. Before I can say anything, someone knocks on the door. I turn in my chair to see a skinny woman with brown hair leaning against the doorframe, smiling a little as she stares at Mr. Grissom; she doesn't even notice me. I immediately feel the sparks flying- and the tension. As he turns and catches her staring, she turns red and I can't help but grin at how cute they are.
"Sara, this is Ivy, the new CSI. Please show her around the lab." Sara nods, avoiding eye contact. There's an awkward silence for a moment, then I stand and reach across the table to shake hands with my boss.
"Thanks for everything, Mr. Grissom." He doesn't take my hand for a moment; he's looking at Sara as she's yawning, a small smile playing across his lips. Then he shakes his head as if snapping himself out of a trance and takes my hand in his own.
"Call me Grissom." I nod, smiling, and then walk over to Sara, much more relieved to go than I'm letting on. Sure, they're totally in love… I've been here for about half an hour and I can already tell. But the frustration that filled the air when they were in the same room, the little looks and the sadness in their eyes made me have a headache.
"Come on, Ivy." Sara walks away down the hall, not looking back. I do, however, and see Grissom watching her go. Shaking my head, I turn back to see Sara is already far ahead of me. I rush to catch up, but she didn't even notice.
"So… first day?"
"Yeah…"
"Don't worry… everyone here is great." She looks tough, and I know it's not smart to mess with tough women, but I can't help but tease her a little.
"Even Grissom?" As I thought would happen, a small blush comes to her cheeks and she ignores me. We walk into a room where a man is sitting with his back turned to us, shaking something in a tube.
"Hey, Greg… we got a newbie." She grins, and I like her right away. The man, Greg, turns in his chair, his face covered with a perky smile. Being the idiot that I am, I can't stop myself from gasping. He is unbelievably cute… his spiky hair and brown eyes completely capture my attention and I can't stop staring. He laughs and jumps up to shake my hand.
"Greg Sanders… I'm your local DNA go-to guy!" He has me grinning like crazy, but he doesn't really notice; he looks at Sara, grinning at her instead. My heart sinks a little; it will be hard to keep liking Sara is every guy in the lab likes her. "So, Sara… thought about my offer for dinner?" She smirks back.
"So Greg… done with my tests yet?"
"Ooh… Ice Woman!" Sara sticks her tongue out at him as he turns back to the tube.
"Bye, Greg." I feel stupid saying his name out loud… and thinking that makes me feel even stupider! He turns and looks at me, surprised, like he forgot I was there. Ouch.
"Oh, bye… Ivy?" Stupid, stupid heart… even though it was a question, it still jumps, like "Oh my gosh, he remembered my name!" Barely… stupid heart. I swear, if I go through this with every guy in lab I'll have a heart attack.
"Yeah…see you around." Waving meekly, I turn and follow Sara out of the room.
"So, what do you think of Greg?"
"He's nice… and cute." I don't know why I'm telling her this… what if she likes him, too? Of course, she smiles and shakes her head.
"Wait till you get to know him." Again, my stupid mouth works before my stupid brain…
"Does every guy in the lab like you?" I'm beginning to believe that there's not a part of my body that I haven't deemed stupid today.
"How can you not like Sara Sidle?" Sara grins and turns around quickly to punch a tall man softly in the chest. He grins at me and I'm trying to talk, but all I can manage is, "AAAhoer?" God, there go my chances with HIM. His eyes are brown like Gregs, but soooo much deeper… where has my mind gone today?
"Hi, I'm Nick Stokes. You must be the new CSI." He holds out his hand… I'm almost afraid to take it… who knows what crazy thing I'll spew out? But I suck it up and grab his hand; thankfully, no unbearably unavoidable sparks fly.
"I'm Ivy Star." He smiles at me, and I curse the person who made him so damn hot and, most likely, so damn unavailable.
"Nice to meet you, Ivy. Well, I gotta run… see you during assignments!" He waves, winking at me, and walks briskly down the hallway.
"Well, the worst is over… Nick is such a flirt, but no where near as bad as our Greggo." She leads me into a comfy looking room where two men are sitting down. "Hodges, Bobby, this is Ivy, the new CSI." I barely hear Sara, because I swear I just stopped breathing. In the shadows, I see someone move, and as they come into the light, I can't believe my eyes; his piercing green eyes tell a million stories all at once, his dark, perfect skin makes my spine tingle, and his wildly beautiful hair takes my breath away. Sara hasn't noticed him yet; she's still introducing me to Bobby and Hodges. I know it's not smart to talk in my state, but I walk over to the man in the shadows. He's watching me with an interested look on his face, his lips turned up a little. I'd swear to any court, I have never felt so flabbergasted by someone's mere looks. If his personality is a total mismatch, I don't know how I'll be able to drag myself into work every day. Praying, not really remembering that I'm not religious, I hold out my hand.
"Hi… I'm Ivy Star." His hand grabs mine, and it may just be my imagination, but our hands seem to fit perfectly. He looks into my eyes and I feel like writing hate notes to my parents for giving me such dull blue eyes.
"Warrick Brown… you have gorgeous eyes." Cringing, I smile thankfully at him.
"Thank you… so you do. I mean, do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Erm… sorry. First day, messing up my speech pattern." I'm amazed I can laugh it off when it feels like my life is ending from embarrassment. He just smiles at me, and that's when I notice that we're still holding hands. He looks down at them too, looking a little embarrassed, and then pulls slowly away. I know that it would be stupid to stand there holding hands all day, but I still feel like he hates me.
"Ivy? I guess you've met… Warrick…" she trails off as she looks at my face. I can't stop staring. Dumb as it sounds, music is playing in my head, and I still can't think straight.
"Come on, Ivy." She grabs my arm gently, pulling me towards the door. I look at Warrick one last time… oh my god, how juvenile am I? I'll see him again today… but why does it feel like my heart's ripping in two? Sara leads me out the door, and as soon as we are far away from the break room, she looks at me out the corner of her eye. I'm staring at my shoes.
"So… what's up?"
"Warrick… reminds me of an old boyfriend things went bad with." Sara nods, seeming to have accepted this. TOTAL BULL. I can't believe how I'm feeling, so I guess I'm trying to rationalize it… this is stupid, even for me… I've never had a real boyfriend. I have to do something to get my mind off of him…
"What about you, Sara? I've met almost everyone, but you haven't told me anything about you."
"What do you want to know?" I'm not acting like myself… normally, I would press her about Grissom… I'll settle for other things, for now.
"Well, what's your favorite food?"
"Tofu. I'm a vegetarian."
"Are you kidding me?" There we go… I can feel a bit of my old self coming back… I think people who are vegetarians are a; crazy and b; hilarious to tease. I'll have to wait for lunch, though… but Warrick will be there. Damn, there I go with my self-destructive thoughts again.
"Well, better get your first day over with… you ready?" I'm not, and probably never will be… what's wrong with me? I grin, though, and follow her down the hall, trapped in my thoughts.
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I got through the first part of my day fine… the one call we got was an obvious natural death, although the half-deaf neighbor could have sworn she heard shots, there was no one else in the house and the old man had no bullet wounds. So no autopsy, no crime scene searching… just get out there and immediately leave. But now I can relax, not be freaked out that someone might call me out to do something I've forgotten how to do. Lunchtime. I'm alone in the lunchroom, for now. I'm thinking of starting lunch now so I don't look like a total freak when Warrick comes in, but just when I start to eat everyone walks in… I know all of them except for the tall blonde leading the way. They all walk in behind her, sitting around the table… Nick sits next to me, Sara next to him, Grissom seems to shove past the blonde to sit next to Sara… on the other side, Greg sits down, then the blonde pulls Warrick down next to her, putting a hand on his chest. My insides flare up and I immediately hate this woman.
"So… I haven't met you." She turns to me with an extremely fake smile and holds out her hand. I hate everything about her so far…
"Ivy." She's not worthy of knowing my last name.
"Catherine Willows. Welcome to the team." Yeah, sure… asshole. Everyone pulls out his or her food… I'm doing my best to learn telekinesis in two minutes and dump Catherines' salad into her lap. No such luck. I notice Sara pull out some tofu and I start to laugh manically. She looks at me like I'm exploding…
"Sara, do you know how many innocent beans were slaughtered to make that for you?"
"Very funny, Ivy…" she glares playfully at me and begins to eat.
"You know, a lot of vegetarians die every year?"
"Um… Ivy, people die every year…"
"I know, but the rate is particularly high in vegetarians… especially cases of homicide. Don't you read… erm… Homicide Weekly?"
"Homicide Weekly?"
"Oh yes, yes… very qualified magazine…" snorting into my thermos of soup, I notice Warrick smiling at me. Turning red as I ever have, I put my soup down and quickly excuse myself.
Outside the room, I lean against the cool metal of the door frame. What the hell is happening to me?
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