----- ----- -----

Chapter 2: Introductions

----- ----- -----

At the start of shift that night, Catherine, Nick, and Warrick sat at the break room table awaiting assignments and the arrival of the new CSIs. Not knowing who they were or anything about them was irritating, yet intriguing, not to mention frightening. They all vividly remembered what had happened the last time someone new had joined their team, and the last thing any of them wanted was a repeat of the Holly Gribbs fiasco.

"I wonder what they'll be like," Nick mused, a far away look in his eye.

"Twenty bucks says they're both girls," Warrick said with a smile, wondering whether Nick would be stupid enough to take the bet.

"You're on," came the response.

Catherine shook her head. 'Boys will be boys,' she thought. 'Too bad.'

"Hello? Cath!"

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see them staring at her.

"Sorry… What were you saying?" she asked apologetically.

"We asked what you thought about the newbies," Nick repeated himself.

She hesitated before answering. "I don't really know. I'm not sure I'm okay with it. I mean, we're all so close. We all know each other – well, except for Grissom and Sara. No one will ever really know them, but it would be really weird to bring someone new in… I guess it's kind of a double-edged sword."

"Nothing like being brutally honest, Catherine. Thanks."

She turned to see Grissom standing right behind her. She snapped back to the boys with a death stare as if to say, 'Why didn't you tell me he was there?' while muttering a "You're welcome."

"Hey Griss, have the newbies come in yet?" Warrick asked, hoping to deflect Catherine's glare away from him as Grissom took a seat.

"First of all, as I told Sara, they aren't newbies. CSIs Ayden and Dacien-Bassrides have extensive backgrounds in their respective fields and will help fill in some of the gaps around here. But, yes, I have met one of them and-"

He was stopped when voices came from down the hall, followed by Sara's laughter. Sharing raised eyebrows, the four watched as Sara glided into the room with two women at her side, all laughing hysterically but calming down once they seemed to realize that someone else was in the room.

"Hey guys!" Sara said brightly, flashing the "Sara smile" they hadn't seen in ages.

"Hello Sara… Who are your friends?" Warrick asked, sitting up in his chair.

"These are a few of my old Harvard buddies. We used to share a dorm… and a few other mutual interests. We all studies forensics together."

"You know, Vegas isn't all that different from our side of Boston," said the woman to Sara's right, catching Nicks eye and smiling darkly.

"Uh, correction Aidia," said the other stranger; the gentle rolling of her R's intriguing the crew. "Vegas isn't all the different from your side of Boston. I never participated in that particular hobby."

"Well, unlike some people, I had to work my way through college… Just because I enjoyed it…"

"Come on, girls. Don't embarrass yourselves," Sara laughed. Pointing at the sinister one, she addressed the crew. "Guys, this is Aidia. Don't let her dark side fool you; she's really quite a sweetheart when she wants to be."

"What about the other one? Does she have a dark side?" Nick asked, drawing a few chuckles from the others.

The woman smiled. "Unless you count being a coroner for eight years, you wish," she said, running a hand through her long red waves. "I'm Fayre, by the way."

"More than fair…" Warrick mumbled, obviously not realizing he had spoken out loud. Laughter from Nick and a raised eyebrow from Grissom caused him to look quickly up at Fayre in alarm. Seeing her suppress a giggle, he lowered his eyes and blushed.

Sensing it was time for formal introductions, Grissom cleared his throat.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet our new CSIs, Fayre Ayden and Aidia Dacien-Bassrides. They'll be working with us on the next few cases."

Glancing around the room, the team's shock was apparent. Catherine's snicker caught in her throat, turning into a sputter as she reached for the water bottle in front of her. Nick's smile faded, and Warrick groaned, blushing even deeper. The three at the door simply smiled at one another.

"Have a seat, ladies, and we'll start assignments," Grissom said, unsuccessfully hiding a smile of his own. Once they were seated, he continued. "Aidia, I'm pairing you with Catherine. 419 out on Tropicana. Warrick and Sara, you have a 419 at the Four Aces."

" 'Young African-American female caught in the elevator cables.' Sounds like fun," Sara groaned.

"Better get going," warned Grissom. "If the press gets wind of this, it's bad news for all of us."

As the two teams went on their way, Grissom turned to Nick and Fayre. "Nick, you're going out solo. B&E out in Summerlin. Fayre, you're with me. I need a favor."

Getting up, he headed out the door.

Fayre leaned over to Nick before skittering after her new boss.

"Be careful with Aidia," she whispered facetiously. "She's a spitfire."

----- ----- -----

Later that night, Aidia walked into the morgue a few minutes ahead of her 419, only to find Fayre working on Warrick's. He was smiling and listening intently to every word of her report on the body. Aidia slipped into the shadows and watched for a few moments, grinning at this flirtatious side of Fayre that she hadn't seen since college. When Warrick left, she inched her way out of the darkness, startling Fayre when she turned around.

"God, Aidia! Don't do that! You scared me out of my wits!"

"Found a new suitor, have we?"

"NO! … Well, maybe."

"Details!" Aidia shrieked.

"It's nothing, really," Fayre shook her head. "He came in here with the expression of a weary one. It was a difficult case for him. He knew the vic, a lass from his old neighborhood… I was only trying to perk him up a bit."

"Uh-huh…"

"He is cute, though."

Aidia giggled. "That's what I thought. Now answer me this: What the hell are you doing in here?"

Fayre smiled sarcastically at her old friend. "Dr. Robbins is out on a family emergency and David, the assistant coroner, has the flu. Mr. Grissom asked me to fill in for tonight."

"Rough… How ya holdin' up?"

"Alright, considering the circumstances."

"Well," Aidia sighed. "Are you ready for another one? 'Cause here comes my 419."

Just then, the doors swung open as a gurney was rolled in and a body under a white sheet was lifted onto the autopsy table. Fayre eyed Aidia questioningly.

"Dead stripper," came the answer.

"Oh, Aidia…"

"Hey, it's alright." She shrugged it off. "He didn't know. For what it's worth, Catherine didn't seem too happy about it either… I didn't see the body, so I don't know what's under there. I worked the perimeter."

"Okay, well let's see what we have then."

With that Fayre stripped the white sheet away from the body, only to jump back in a mixture of fear and panic.

"Fayre?" Aidia looked back at the body to see a young redheaded woman who had obviously been strangled with a thick kind of rope. Suddenly she understood her friend's reaction. "Fayre, it's okay!" she cried, running to her friend, who was now backed up against the counter, her breathing quick and shallow.

"Somebody help!" Aidia screamed, helping Fayre to the floor to calm her and keep her from collapsing. "Fayre, clam down…"

Warrick burst in, rushing to their side.

"What happened? Is she okay?" he asked, looking on as Fayre came close to hyperventilating.

"Get Sara, now! Fayre's having a panic attack!"

He got out his cell phone and accessed his speed dial, reaching Sara within seconds and explaining the situation in hurried tones. Another few seconds and the phone was back on his hip.

"She's coming. She was in the fingerprint lab…" He stopped when he realized that Aidia wasn't listening, still trying to calm the young redhead.

"It's okay, Fayre. It's alright. That's not Gwynneth, it's just a dead dancer…"

Warrick reached into a nearby kit and pulled out a paper evidence bag.

"Here," he offered. "It'll help her breathing, and bring down her heart rate."

"Thanks." Aidia snatched the bag and brought it to Fayre's face, forcing her to breathe deeply as Sara rushed in.

"Fayre, honey, what happened?"

Aidia pulled Warrick back so that Sara could talk to the Irishwoman. Both followed Fayre's gaze as she pointed to the body on the table. Her breathing had slowed now, and when Sara sat by her side in understanding, her gasps for air dissolved into sobs.

"Come on, Warrick. This isn't our place anymore," Aidia said, pulling him away and out of the room.

----- ----- -----