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Chapter 3: Attacks and Apologies

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They walked down the hall in silence, Warrick glancing occasionally at Aidia, who seemed lost in thought. He led her to the break room and poured her a cup of the sludge that HQ called coffee. Setting it before her as they took a seat at the table, he waited, letting her speak in her own time. He watched as she took a sip, seemingly unaware of how disgusting it must have been.

A few minutes later, realizing that he was still there, Aidia looked up and smiled weakly. "Thanks," she managed. "I didn't know what to do in there… I mean, I knew what was wrong, but when I saw her freak out like that… I forgot everything."

"Hey, it's alright. That's normal, especially when it's someone you really care about," he said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I just haven't seen her have a panic attack like that in a long time. Granted, I've been in L.A. and she's been in New Orleans, but…"

"When was the last time? … If you don't mind me asking, that is."

She hesitated. "Just don't go spreading it around. She'll tell everyone in her own time, but…"

Warrick put one hand over his heart, and made a scout's honor with the other.

Aidia smiled. "All right. After graduation, Fayre went down to New Orleans to be near her twin sister."

"Gwynneth?" he ventured, remembering what Aidia had said to calm her friend.

"Yeah. They were really close. They came over from Ireland together for college. Fayre may have gotten the academic scholarship for Harvard, but Gwynneth didn't make it. She had to work a little harder to go to school in Baton Rouge. She crossed the river everyday. When Fayre finished school, she left Boston almost immediately and ended up getting the coroner position in New Orleans within the week, all so she could be with Gwyn." Aidia smiled at the memories of them together. "They couldn't stand to be apart."

"Wow… they were close."

Aidia nodded, as her smile began to fade, the sparkle gone from her eyes.

"Three years ago, when Fayre was still a coroner, she stayed late one night when a body was called in at the end of shift. Young Caucasian female strangled with the drape cords in her home, supposedly by her boyfriend. Not entirely uncommon, so no big deal… Until she pulled back the sheet."

"Oh man," Warrick sighed as he fell back in his chair, closing his eyes. "That's rough."

A single tear trailed down Aidia's cheek as she continued. "When she saw Gwyn, she lost it. No one was in the room with her, so no one was around when she freaked. They found her passed out on the floor, probably from the hyperventilation…" Playing with the little straw in her coffee cup, Aidia took a deep breath. "She was a mess after that. She quit her job; she wouldn't talk to anyone there. She couldn't stand to be reminded of anything regarding her sister… until she had to claim the body. That's when she called us… Our first reunion after Harvard and we had to spend it burying our best friend's sister…"

Her voice cracked and another tear fell. Warrick got up and grabbed the box of tissues from the counter. Setting them before her, he sat back down and waited as she tried to recompose herself enough to continue.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

When she nodded, he put on a small smile to let her know he was listening.

"Sara and I flew down together so she would at least have someone there with her. We stayed for three weeks. Then after the funeral, we had to convince Fayre to go back to work. They were holding her position for her, but she didn't want any part of it. She practically kicked us out.

"About a month later, we got word that she'd finally gone back to work, but had transferred to a CSI level three, and she'd taken her sister's case… Ended up catching the bastard, too. Since then, we've all gotten the occasional phone call or email from each other, but no visits."

"Being a CSI definitely keeps you on your toes," Warrick sighed. "I can't tell you how many double, even triple shifts we've had to pull around here, just to solve a case. Man, coming here had to be hard for her…"

"You have no idea," Aidia sniffled. "Gwynneth was killed exactly three years ago today, and I don't know how close you looked at the body in there, but that woman looked just like Gwyn."

At that moment, Sara walked in with Fayre. Aidia jumped from her chair and ran to her friend to embrace her for what seemed like an eternity. Warrick walked over to Sara.

"I gotta go take care of something, and then I'm gonna go check on our elevator lady… I'll be around."

Sara nodded. "I'll be there in a while. Leave me something to work with."

Warrick smiled and left the three friends some privacy, closing the break room door behind him.

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Grissom sat in his office, working on paperwork with his classical music blaring behind him. He checked his watch, wondering if now would be a good time to see how Fayre and Aidia were progressing. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Warrick burst in and slammed the door behind him. He sat down in one of the chairs facing Grissom's desk, saving his explosion for after Grissom turned off his music and turned to face him.

"What's wrong, Warrick?"

"Did you even bother to look into Fayre and Aidia's backgrounds before bringing them in here?" he asked, unable or unwilling to quell the anger burning in his chest.

"Yes, I did," Grissom answered in a slightly defensive tone. "Are you unhappy with my choices?"

"I'm talking about their personal backgrounds."

"No, I didn't. It doesn't matter to me what people choose to do outside of CSI time. We've had this discussion before, Warrick."

"Would it matter to you if what went on in their personal lives had an affect on how they did their job?" he spat.

"Of course, but-"

"Fayre had a panic attack tonight, Griss. She damn near passed out in the morgue."

Grissom snapped upright in his chair. "Is she alright?" she asked, a worried look on his face.

"Yeah, she is. Thank God Aidia was in there with her. Look, I swore I wouldn't say anything about why, but I suggest you get to know our employees better so something like this doesn't happen again."

With that, Warrick got up and left Grissom to his thoughts, wrenching the door open and heading for the lab.

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The next night after assignments were over, the team got up to continue working on their respective cases, Fayre having been reassigned to work with Warrick and Sara. They were stopped at the door when Grissom called them back.

"Wait," he said. "I have something I want to say."

Looking at each other in confusion, they once again took their seats and gave Grissom their full attention.

"I want to apologize to Fayre… I put her in a difficult position yesterday and I want her to know that there was no harm intended. To make sure that nothing like that happens again, I need to talk to each of you at some point today."

"You told!"

All eyes turned to Aidia as she glared so hard at Warrick that they were glad looks couldn't kill.

"I didn't-" he started.

"You swore you wouldn't say anything! I can't believe I trusted you!"

She got up from her chair so fast it fell over as she stormed from the room.

"Aidia, wait!"

But she was gone.

"Meeting adjourned," Grissom called as he hurried after her.

The rest of the team looked at Warrick, but seeing that he wasn't in the mood to talk about it, they quietly got up and left the room. Fayre, however, stayed behind.

"Warrick?" she ventured, moving to the chair next to him. When he didn't answer, she continued. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday in the morgue… I kind of freaked out when I saw the lass on the table. I thought…"

"I know what you thought," he said, finally meeting her gaze. "Aidia told me what happened. I'm sorry about Gwynneth."

Fayre's head dropped. "Is that what she was yelling about?"

Warrick nodded. "She said you'd tell everyone in your own time, but I kind of pushed her. I was worried about you… But I swear I didn't say a word about why you panicked."

She looked up questioningly. "You didn't?"

He shook his head.

"Then how-?"

"I yelled at him for putting you in that position, for not checking your background first. I told him to get to know his employees better so it wouldn't happen again, which is probably why he wants to talk to everyone."

She chuckled. "A little brazen, don't you think?"

"Nah," he smirked. "You're not really one of us till you've yelled at him at least once. Sometimes I think it takes a little shock to get things to sink in with him, you know?"

"Aye. My sister was like that, and I must admit, soam I at times."

"No! I never would've guessed. An Irishwoman, stubborn?" Warrick pretended to be shocked.

"Aye. We Irish are known for our temperaments," she smiled, and looked down. When he lifted her chin to look into her eyes, they had turned serious once again.

"Thanks again, Warrick."

She leaned in and quickly kissed him on the cheek, lingering just long enough to whisper, "I believe you," before turning and leaving the room.

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A/N: Please review! I wrote this story about a year ago, butI never showed it to anyone... I need to know what you think! Especially you, Alathea. :-)