Chapter Two

Thanks to all of you who read the first chapter! It's only been published for about a half hour now, so I don't have any reviews, but BIG thanks to you guys who review! I love it. Help me to help you. A happy reader makes a happy writer! At least that's how I am. Anyways, on with the story, right?

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or any of the show's characters. I own Sam, John, Ian, etc.

"Dammit."

Ian's hands hit the steering wheel out of frustration. Samantha merely closed her eyes, turning to her passenger side window to avoid his gaze. This was her fault, after all. For one thing, she should have never taken such a chance with her job. What would she do if there was no way she could return to the Chicago lab? Of course, her supervisor didn't know about the incident, and probably wouldn't. But if she would have lost her position, then she wouldn't have any income, and so on… And for another, she needed guts. Constantly cutting and restarting her car's ignition had sucked out the remainder of her car's battery. Now Ian was forced to drive her home.

And now there was traffic. Samantha knew that Ian had taken enough of her already… But he was stuck with her now. At least for another hour or two. After a few moments of silence, Sam turned slightly and glanced at him. His attractive features were in an irritated pose, a serious expression as they always were. Yet now it was more so than usual, with his eyebrows knit together as he leaned back casually and rested an arm on his driver's side armrest.

"Bosco?"

It was determined to be a mystery to him; but Samantha and Triston had always explained his nickname somewhere along the lines of a famous character and Ian's own last name. It was another moment before the man's attention turned to his co-worker. Well, he really didn't have much else to turn his attention to… Whoever called moving an inch every five minutes driving has serious mental issues. His emotions had calmed slightly, now that he knew there was no other way to go but through the difficult chaos. "What?" He asked, turning his eyes back onto the chrome bumper that was oh so close to his precious vehicle.

"Do you just hate me?"

Ian shook his head and rolled his eyes. Was she seriously asking that question? But it was a typical Samantha thing, and he had nothing better to do. But if this whole thing drug on, talking about how pitiful she was and how her life sucked… "I chased you all the damned way out here… You know I wouldn't do that for just anybody."

"Unless you were crazy." Samantha added, ignoring his last comment. He had been through a lot of stress, coming out here and having to track her down. It pleased her that she got that much out of the man. It seemed that lately he had been closing off to people… More so than his usual separated self. A clever and teasing smile formed on the other man's face.

"Well Sam, I hear your insanity is contagious."

Kerianna Acers sat at the table, making florescent dots around a semen stain in a sheet. She was hoping it would match a suspect from a rape and murder case… Another quick one to go in the books. Every case was another step closer to moving up to a level three investigator; with only another thirty or so to go. Keri couldn't wait… Until then her supervisor, Julius Wright, would give her no chance on a solo case. That was just how he was.

A manila folder was laid open on the other side of the desk, being read by her partner on the case. Silence filled the air like an opened jar under water. Neither one had spoken for quite some time; but both seemed to prefer it that way. Unless there was a break through in the case, they seemed to flourish in the other's quiet presence. They were the only two people in the lab who didn't demand conversation when they were around someone. They would rather chat with their own thoughts.

"Wow…" Triston looked down at his silver watch, wiping his forehead after a moment. It had been such an extremely long day, and it seemed like each second had taken an eternity. Finally it was over. Maybe tomorrow there would be a little more action than the way that day had drug along… Knowing the people around him and knowing his job, the chances of that were high. "Finally. Time to go home." He sighed with relief and stretched out his arms, arching his back. An amused look appeared on Keri's features.

The two had been working together a lot lately. It was probably due to the fact that Julius noticed how well they fit as a team. Cases seemed to be cut down by at least a quarter of the normal amount of time they took, maybe even a half or two. Or maybe it was just due to the fact that John and Bosco always had to save Samantha from one of her frequent break downs. More so John; but now that he was leaving, Samantha really didn't have anyone… If anyone was going to get fired, she would go first. And they all knew it.

"Alright, slow down big boy… Let me drop this off by Lea's and let her get started on it."

Triston leaned back, intertwining his fingers and resting them on the back of his head. It wasn't too hard of a job for Keri… She could handle walking twenty-five feet and talking to a woman. A woman that she despised; but that was life. You're not going to like everyone you meet. He was only preparing her for her future when she became a level three… Yet Wright would give birth to a cow if he ever heard of how much freedom Triston really gave Keri. But the girl was tough; she could take care of herself, right?

"Be careful." Ian commanded Samantha one last time as he began to walk away from the door of her apartment. She looked at him innocently through a foot-wide opening; and although she had agitated him the entire drive to her home, it seemed as if his anger had finally begun to wear off. It was just too entertaining for Samantha to not pick and tease him… "I didn't waste half my day driving you around for nothing."

A soft smile spread across Samantha's lips. "Thanks Bosco."

The man merely shook his head and lazily tossed his hand in the air, as if shooing away a fly after it became tiring. Pretty soon he'd just learn to ignore the fly. Immature little bug… "I'll see you tomorrow O'Brien." Those were his final words, barely spat over his shoulder as he made his way down the stairs. Samantha shut the door and proceeded to engage her many locks; five, which she believed kept her safe at night. But she knew that if anyone really wanted to get in, they would find a way.

Samantha sighed as the familiar clinging of keys landing in a large bowl echoed through the room. It was the closest shelf to the door, and Sam kept them there so she wouldn't lose them in her struggle to get ready in the mornings. She collapsed on the soft, worn couch and drew a blanket over herself. It had been such a long, surprising day… She knew it would be only a matter of minutes before the reality of everything that happened really hit her.

And she was right.

Sam had sat in that car, staring at her windshield in disbelief. She knew Ian was right; now matter how much she didn't want to think so. She knew it. Besides, he wouldn't lie to her during such an important few minutes. He'd use the truth to knock her off her feet and feel like the idiot she was. And he did. He told her about John, and how he had to leave already because he was starting the day after next; a Wednesday. How he was going to tell her not to go because it was a waste of her time. Or at least those were the words Ian had used. But she could pretty much figure out the whole situation; and it sucked.

Now she was just going to lay there, rolling over every few minutes and feeling sorry for herself. After a few moments of doing so she realized she had to stop. Either get up; or go to sleep. This was just the thing that was going around the office… How she milked every little thing and was always stuck inside her own self pity. She wasn't going to let that get to her; she wasn't going to let them define her. She was going to prove those stupid little office gossipers wrong.

"Hey, I heard John got a transfer." Lea Bradford, one of the lab techs, opened up the lounge refrigerator and peered inside. There was nothing of value today… A soggy peanut butter sandwich, probably Triston's from a week before; and a bottle of what looked like was once grape juice. This was the only time Samantha would ever be glad there was nothing to eat… She was always able to find joy in Lea's unhappiness. A sigh came from across the room in reply.

Keri had entered the room just after a depressed Samantha, some ten minutes before. She could afford more breaks tonight… They were so close to completing the case, it killed her to think about it. Just a couple of loose ends that didn't want to come together, and it was frustrating. Knowing Keri, she would get stressed out and end up telling someone off. That was the point of view that Triston had given Julius when they requested another hour's worth of breaks. It took some time, but they won him over. Or he just got tired of it.

"Yeah, there's some new guy coming in from Montana… It's like all the labs have made a deal to trade out their best CSIs."

'I know.' Samantha thought to herself as she took a sip of her tea from the brown and white Styrofoam cup. She was moving sluggishly that day, as a result from the lack of sleep the night before. All she could think about were John's eyes, wondering what he was thinking. How stupid she was. How she hadn't realized what was right in front of her… But what had been in front of her? She didn't even know. But things were certainly different now, she knew that.

"It's really kind of sad," Lea continued as she poured herself some coffee from the lounge's machine. It was done in a matter of seconds. Only the best for them; at least that's how they tried to think of it; but most of the items in the lounge were pure junk. "He was always such a nice guy to me."

"Yeah." Samantha subconsciously agreed with the woman as she stared out of the glass walls surrounding them. The halls were busy with people, doing their jobs and socializing with their co-workers. There were blinds that were usually partially closed so the investigators could have privacy on their breaks; but lately all of them had been opened. Just another reminder why this place was becoming so cold and empty… Samantha shook her head. She couldn't think that way anymore. She couldn't.

Just as quickly as the distant conversation had started, it faded. There was stillness for only a few moments as Samantha willed something to happen. To her slight disappointment Ian opened the door and quickly poked his head inside. There was a strong sense of urgency in his voice, and she could have sworn she heard some excitement. "Sam."

"Bosco."

He ignored the brainless nickname this time. To be honest, it was starting to stick to him. But he would never admit that in front of the people who had so quickly decided to use it. Besides, they only did it to annoy him. If he stopped, then they would too. "Let's go, we've got a 4-20 up in Algatto."

"Huh?" Samantha raised her head slowly, blinking for a moment. Algatto? That was unfamiliar territory….

"Algatto. It's the development they've just started building in the boondocks." Lea informed her matter-of-factly, as if she were a human encyclopedia. The boondocks? So this was an upscale murder; yet maybe it was someone trying to fake it as a rich murderer. Lea sat over beside the coffee machine as Samantha thought to herself, looking at the blonde with an amused look on her face. As if Lea was the smartest thing in the world… She was; miss perfect. From what Samantha heard, she had a few guys from the night shift chasing her… And the night shift men were not bad looking. Samantha hated the competition.

Ian didn't notice the tension in the room as he began to leave without her. He wasn't going to waste another minute. "Wright put you on the case." He began to shut the door, giving her one last you'd-better-hurry-your-ass-up look before turning around. Samantha could have sworn she heard him muttering something about their boss being unintelligent… And that was cleaning his language a bit. But then again, he had been speaking under his breath, like any smart but short tempered man would. Yet again, he was a crime scene investigator.

Samantha could have sworn she saw Lea look him up and down as he walked away.

Ok, I know it was kind of short, but I plan on making the next chapter longer… And hopefully I'll get some reviews! If you read this, please leave me one, ok? That way I know I have someone out there to please!