I'm sorry if it took long to update... but here is another chapter!

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, except for Aida..

Chapter 4

"So, you're Grissom's niece, right?" Greg finally decided to break the ice between him and the girl he was taking home. After getting on the car, Aida had told him her address and nothing else. She had been looking either out of the window or down to her lap. Silence reigned. And Greg was definitely not the type of person who liked to keep quiet and silent.

"Yes. My mother is Gil's half-sister. She was born from grandma's second marriage." She answered. Then, aware of the earlier awkward silence and not willing to it anymore, she continued.

"We hadn't seen each other for a long time before I moved here in Vegas, you know, but he proved to be very helpful to me."

"You two seem very close…" Greg said.

She smiled, thinking about how nice his uncle had been to her. "Well, he called me every now and then when I was in Italy, he sent me presents for my birthday and for Christmas, but that's what normal uncles do… the fact is that," she bit her lower lip, as she always did when she couldn't explain well how she felt "uh.. I decided to move here by instinct, I woke up in the morning, my decision made, then at night I took the plane and here I was, and Gil was there… I mean.. he didn't ask for explanation, didn't try to convince me to go back, he just put a the down payment on my apartment and said he was there for me, whenever I needed him…"

Greg was a little surprised at her description of his superior. He knew he was helpful and kind by nature, but he had always thought Grissom's only family were his colleagues, and now there were a half-sister, a mother, and a niece… and what a niece.

"By the way, why did you decide to leave? I mean, you said it was an instinctive reaction, but moving from another continent, where you had your own life, your friends… Isn't it hasty?"

She shrugged, not willing to tackle the topic. She didn't feel like talking about it with someone she had met only few hours earlier, even if that someone was nice and playful. "I needed a change. Changes are good, not 'hasty'. Mom says they brighten your aura."

She noticed Greg's raised eyebrow.

"Hey, what does that look mean? I know it's a bit weird, my mother's a freak, kinda hippy somehow; you know, she paints psychedelic things. She may not be the most reliable person on earth, but… her thoughts about life are so involving… And I do believe in magic and supernatural things… don't you?" she said, teasingly, her touchy side showing up.

"Well…Nana is a psychic, and I'm said to have inherited her powers, so I've always been fascinated by these things, but being a scientist and a CSI, I had to put this kind of crap apart and concentrate on facts and evidence, and…"

"How boring!" She burst out, then laughed, showing she didn't mean to offend anybody. Greg pretended to be hurt, then smiled back at her. "Oh, I can also be crazy and unpredictable, too! You haven't seen enough Greg Sanders to notice it, yet…" His last word made the girl's eyebrow raise "So, I hope there is gonna be more Greg Sanders shining in the darkness of my life…" she flirted. "At your disposal" he replied.

She smiled, about to reply, then suddenly stopped. She turned up the volume on the radio, singing along to Placebo's 'The bitter end'. "You like Placebo?" Greg's expression was shocked. "I do not like Placebo. I love them. They're amazing, so… intense… Don't you agree?"

"Well, let's say that I'm not that huge fan of them… let's say that the singer is kinda creepy…"

"What? Are you kidding, right? Creepy… Brian Molko's creepy… and how would you call Marilyn Manson? He is creepy. Abhorrent."

"No, he's not! He's a genius!" Aida's look was halfway between disappointed and disgusted. "I assume we don't have the same taste in music… What about System of a Down? Are they creepy?"

"Mmh… no, I like them… Anyway, I'm impressed… you really don't seem the type of girl who listens to that kind of music, you're so… elegant… I thought you listened to classical music, went to the Opera, ballet, and all those kinds of sophisticated things…"

If there was one thing that pissed Aida off, that was when people judged her from her look. Actually, there were lots of things that pissed her off, but that was one of the things that most drove her mad. She burst out "So much for an open mind! Well, if you want to know, I really do those kinds of sophisticated things, but that doesn't exclude the possibility that I listen to other types of music and so on. I'm not dressed in dark leather clothes, or I don't have black hair, nor piercings, nor tons of eyeliner just because I don't want to seem a vampire or.. or a zombie. They dress up like that to show how rebel and they are, and don't even realize they are as conformist and stereotyped as the ones they criticize." She exclaimed, annoyed. Then, realizing that maybe Greg hadn't intended to irritate her,she cursedher own arrogance, which led her to abrupt reaction whenever she felt attacked. She found so hard to say sorry, she was too proud to; she calmed down and smiled sheepishly at him. "Anyway, I think that 'sophisticated' is the best compliment ever paid to me… You're a real gentleman."

Greg understood that was her particular way to apologize, and grinned. She was definitely not an easy-going, demure person; he found out she had a pretty bad temper, but this was a big turn-on to Greg. He didn't like bimbos, always giggling, always gossiping. Sure, they were ok if he wanted to have fun, but they were just one-night stands. He wanted someone who could stimulate him, both mentally and physically, someone he could talk to, even someone to argue with.

His grin got wider at this thought, noticing the embarrassed look on Aida's face.

'Good job! You almost obliged this guy to take you home and now, as a token of your gratitude, you act like a real bitch… You're supposed to make friends, start a new life, not make people escape from you!' She was mentally scolding her cocky side.

Then, too embarrassed to say anything else, she focused her attentionon the street.

They were on the Strip; Aida was looking at the lights of the clubs and casinos spellbound. On the pavement, all sorts of people were wandering: hotshots, prostitutes, tourists craving for a wild night, tramps, all in that part of Sin City. She knew very well that ordinary Las Vegas inhabitants kept themselves away from the Strip. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even realize she had started singing until she noticed Greg's gaze on her.

"You're singing pretty well, but I don't understanda wordyou're saying… is that Italian?" he asked.

She blushed a little, chuckling. "It is… I always hum when I'm thinking, even though most of the times I don't even realize it, and this was one of those times… was I bothering you?"

"Not at all! You were just… funny, in a strange way… leaning against the window and singing something totally incomprehensible to me…"

They talked about this and that for the rest of the ride, then Greg stopped the car in front of a beautiful detached house, not very big,yet cosy, surrounded by new-mown lawn. Here and there, there were bushes. Greg thought that the style of the house matched that of its owner.

Aida sighed, then smiled "Here I am, this is my crib… it was so nice of you to take me home, I really appreciated it…" she smiled again, feeling uncomfortable "Goodbye!".

As she opened the door, about to get out of the car, Greg stopped her and hastily said "Hey, listen, why don't we hang out sometimes? I had a good time with you tonight, and I really would like to get to know you better…" He felt as if he had jumped down from an airplane without any parachute, and now he was waiting for the smash.

"I've had a good time too, Greg…"

"But?"

"But…" she started, pretending to be serious, even if she was having a hard time controlling the laughter "I don't usually date spiky-haired people who do not like Placebo… it's a sort of code of honor to me… I can make an exception for you, though… but you'll have to apply yourself…"

She was now out of the car, speaking to Greg through the open door, leaning against it, smiling.

"So, you're not turning me down?"

"I'm not." She smiled. "But it won't be that easy for you… I warned you… Goodnight" she closed the door; as she reached the porch, she turned around and waved goodbye to Greg. Then, she entered the house, a smile on her face.

Greg started the car up and drove towards his place, a smile on his face.