DISCLAIMER: Don't Own It. No Money Mad... Purely for fun and enjoyment

RATING: M for Mature. For language and mature situations in later chapters.

A/N: This one is a little long, so be warned. And many thanks to my beta for her tireless work keeping me true, corrected and on track.

Reviews are welcome and appreciated. And being as I am vicious editor myself, I welcome criticism as well. :D


Chapter 4

Dr. Robbins was still trying to catch his breath from his morning jaunt out to a crime scene. It was the last thing he had planned on today, but poor David had already gone on six calls that night and had been on the sixth when the seventh call came down from Dispatch. Day shift had not yet arrived, and the doctor decided he had better take the call himself. He could only hope that it would not take very long and he could get back to the office in time for his interview.

That was just not in the cards for him, and he was still fighting to get the body extracted from the vehicle when he had noticed it was 9AM. He quickly called the front desk of CSI headquarters to let them know he was running behind, but to have David give the woman the tour of the facility when he returned from his last case, and he would be there as soon as he could.

He had been worried about giving the woman a bad impression of what the job would entail. He was worried, because during his search for a replacement, he had been sorely disappointed with the quality of candidates for the position. This woman might have been short on criminalistic experience, due mostly to her exceptionally young age, but her other credentials were impeccable.

She had only been out of her residency for a year, but she had spent that year working at the L.A. County Coroner's Office, and that meant her experience probably counted for three times that in the volume of cases worked. After he started calling her professional references, he quickly realized that he had a star in the making with this young woman. She received glowing recommendations from the head of the biology department at UC – Berkeley. The head of pathology at UCLA Medical School could not have praised her more, and told him that he would never find a more astute pathologist in their field. But he was most surprised by the comments coming from the L.A. County Coroner.

Seeing as the young woman had only been there for a year, the L.A. County Coroner had given her only the highest of compliments, and lamented about her decision to relocate to Las Vegas. Dr. Robbins had high hopes that this interview would prove the young woman had what it would take to handle the unusual environment of the LVPD crime lab night shift; or more importantly, if she had the metal to be able to handle the CSI night shift crew.

He pulled out the folder with her resume, transcripts and recommendations before he started talking again, "I really am sorry about being so late… It was simply unavoidable, I'm afraid."

She just smiled at his apology, "Unfortunately, for some reason, people do not like to die at appropriate times, do they?"

The doctor laughed out loud at her coroner humor, "Indeed… Terribly rude of them…" He found the page he was looking for and looked back up at the woman. "I know you have another interview to get to, so I will try to keep this as short as possible. How much time do you have?"

She simply shook her head to dismiss his concerns, "Not a problem at all… My other appointment isn't until after lunch, so we're good to go."

"Oh, well, I guess this works out, after all… So, when did you get in to Vegas?" He tried to engage her in some small talk to put them both at ease, and to get a feeling for her demeanor and character.

"I managed to catch the last flight out of L.A., since I missed my first flight."

Dr. Robbins was confused, "And why was that?"

She sat back in the chair as she responded, "I had court yesterday, and it took longer than I anticipated, so I had some catching up to do in the morgue before I was able to leave for the long weekend. Fortunately, my boss has some friends at LAX and they pulled some strings to get me on that last flight."

"Ah… Good to have a boss like that. And speaking of your boss, I had a very interesting conversation with him yesterday." He was looking her directly in the eye when he spoke, "It's not often that the head of the L.A. County Coroner's Office takes such an interest in a rookie coroner, but he had some pretty high praise for your work there, and seemed genuinely disappointed at the prospect of your leaving." She had not flinched, and appeared to be fairly pleased with his comments.

"I've learned a great deal working there, but my personal life dictates that I need to move to Las Vegas. Dr. Pratael has been a fantastic teacher and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him for the last year. If circumstances were different, then I would probably have stayed in L.A. and continued working for him." She was being somewhat cryptic with her answer.

He decided that he would try to get her to answer a direct question about her personal life, "And what circumstances are those?"

"Well, it might seem somewhat old-fashioned, but the fact is, my fiancé is a trauma surgeon and wasn't able to match at any of the hospitals in L.A. for the final phase of his residency. So, when he matched out here, I knew that I had a hard choice to make. I held out for six months, but the fact is I didn't enjoy my time away from him, and our work keeps us from having much free time for traveling back and forth. So, my only option was to move to Las Vegas, since I'm no longer bound by the matching system." She was looking him directly in the eyes, and did not seem uncomfortable in sharing the very personal information.

"Sounds like a pretty good reason to me." He turned to her medical school records from UCLA and looked over his notes from her advisor there, "I see here that you were offered a pretty substantial position at the UCLA Medical Center upon finishing your residency… What was your reasoning behind taking the lesser position at the L.A. County Coroner's?"

"First off, I think that the superiority of the positions has more to do with perspective… But mostly, I would have to say that I didn't get into pathology to be a clinical pathologist, as I'm far more interested in the practice of pathology and the field work that can be found in criminal pathology." She pondered a moment before continuing, "And being stuck in a research facility with nothing but theory to be passionate about is just not a way I can live in a greater world… I suppose being a cop's kid, gives you a different taste for life, and a whole different perspective on the way things work in this world."

Dr. Robbins chuckled a little, "Well, you just beat me to my next question… Dr. Pratael told me your father was a detective. And I was wondering how that affected your decisions."

"Well, my father was an Inspector, not a detective… Twenty two years with the San Francisco PD, and a good many of those as an Inspector with Major Cases." She spoke with an immense amount of pride in her voice. "His life has an enormous impact on the choices I've made in my professional career. He was a great man, and had a fantastically analytical mind, as well as gentle soul. I can only hope he would be proud of the decisions I've made and my choice to follow, somewhat loosely, in his footsteps."

Dr. Robbins turned that information over in his head a moment before asking his next question, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that he had passed… How long has it been?"

"It was a couple years ago, but he enjoyed almost two years of retirement with my mother before he died peacefully in his sleep. Exactly the way he always wanted to go." Her face took on an appearance of serenity with those words and that pleased Dr. Robbins. It was always good when anyone in his field had a healthy relationship with death.

"As every good cop dreams…" Giving that statement the proper amount of time to be cherished, he waited a moment before continuing his questions, "As I am sure you are aware, I also spoke with the head of pathology at UCLA, and she was extremely enthusiastic about your tenure there. You seem to instill a certain amount of admiration in your superiors. What do you attribute this to?"

That question actually got a reaction from her, "Wow… That's the first time someone ever asked me that… Well, I guess the biggest thing would be my work ethic, and after that, I imagine it comes from my constant work to improve myself and my skills." Solid answer, Dr. Robbins had to work harder if he was going to catch her off-guard.

"Very good…" He now switched over to her transcripts, "I see you started UC – Berkeley as a sophomore, and finished early. How did you pull that off?"

"Well, I went to two high schools so that I could take the maximum number of AP courses, and participate in the International Baccalaureate program, so I had a little bit of a head start." The pride was once again evident in her voice.

The doctor, however, was stunned with her answer, "How on earth did you manage that one?"

"Well, I have an unbelievable thirst for knowledge, and a little bit of my father's workaholic gene, so it was pretty hard to stop me. And believe me, my mother tried. I was in school from 6AM until 6PM every day of the week, and for a few hours on Saturday. Except during basketball season, when I was there until about 9PM."

Dr. Robbins was shaking his head, "And that would explain the High School All-American Athlete Award and why you played basketball at UC- Berkeley… Just how tall are you?" he asked with a bit of awe in his voice.

"Six foot four…" She chuckled at the manner in which he had asked the question, "But honestly it never phased me until I hit high school, because my parents were both fairly tall."

"How tall were they?"

"Shorter than I ended up being… Mom was five ten/five eleven, depending on which way the mood struck her… And Pop was six foot two."

The doctor decided to make a joke about his own height and infirmity, "I could be six foot, if I worked at it."

"If you wanted to perform a balancing act twenty four/seven, maybe." She instantly reacted to the somewhat shocked expression on his face and he saw regret flicker in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I just assumed you were referring to your prosthetics."

"Well, I was, but how did you know?" He was genuinely curious how she knew about his amputations.

"Well, I noticed when you walked in, and your gait pretty much says it all. You've had bi-lateral amputations, right?" She was being completely sincere in her admission.

"Well, yes I did."

"And I didn't notice any obvious signs of diabetes or peripheral circulatory disease, so I would assume it was an accident of some kind… Correct?" Her analysis was dead on, but he was at a loss as to how she would have guessed.

He decided that she must have done some research about him before arriving, "And where did you read about that? I don't recall that being part of my general knowledge packet."

"Well, it was just observation… I am the daughter of an Inspector, and he used to let me go through his case files. And when he and his friend would have a tough case, they would let me sit in on their brainstorming sessions, so I learned a lot from them growing up… I was pretty much raised to be a criminalist, but I was also looking for more of a challenge than straight investigative work. I needed the intricacies of medical science, as well as the stretching of my analytical mind to find fulfillment in my professional life. That would be why I chose this field of study."

Dr. Robbins was thoroughly impressed with her ability to think on her feet, and from not over-reacting to his suggestion that she had tried to pull one over on him. "So, why are you interviewing at UNLV, if you are so committed to this field?"

"That's easy… It would only be a temporary job, until I was able to get on somewhere as an M.E… The things we are willing to sacrifice for in the name of those we love can be a pretty surprising thing sometimes." She had a sincerely content expression on her face, and that actually made him even more certain that he had found his replacement. This young woman truly had her head on straight, and that was something sorely needed for working the night shift around this place.

"Well, I was only concerned about one thing when I was going through your resume and references: the complete absence of personal references. Is there some reasoning behind that?" In his mind, this would be the final test of her personality.

"To be honest… I really didn't want any of my personal affiliations to influence someone's decision to hire me or not. I like to earn the things I accomplish based solely on my own merits." Her frankness surprised him more than the answer itself.

"Well, that is one of the most intriguing answers I have ever heard, but I do respect your wish to base your selection on merit."

"If it comes down to a matter of hiring me or not, I can provide you with some personal references, but I would prefer to make that disclosure after a decision has been made. I just don't want it to be what people see first." And that was exactly what he needed to hear.

Dr. Robbins had only one more question, but he had to come about it in a careful way, "Well, I know that the position at UNLV has better hours and more money, but I'm curious what your choice would be, if you were offered both positions."

"I'll be honest with you… I would drop UNLV right now, if I was offered the job here, even if it was only on a probationary basis." She took a deep breath before continuing, "LVPD has one of the best municipal crime labs in the country. And being the daughter of a cop, I would have to be pretty hard pressed to go into F.B.I. service, so this is quite possibly my dream job."

Dr. Robbins chose that moment to stand up from behind his desk and offered his hand to the young woman. She rose from her chair, towering over the man, and assumed that it signaled the interview was over. So, she was completely blown away by the words that came out of his mouth, "Then let me be the first to welcome you to the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Lab."

She was totally speechless by his comment and stood there a moment holding his hand in her substantial one. "Um… I'm sorry, did you mean that I got the job?"

"For someone who graduated with honors from two rather exceptional schools, you should probably understand that sentence a lot better." Dr. Robbins started laughing as she began to shake his hand vigorously. "Congratulations, Dr. MacInnerney… I could keep looking for someone to fill this position and not find someone even half as perfect a fit as you are for the job… You have the skills, the knowledge, the sense of humor and the personal stability needed to succeed in this field, and especially in this lab. I see no reason to keep looking when I have the chance to steal you away from Poletano before he even gets to meet you and promises you the world to keep you from coming back here."

The young woman was overcome with joy, but she was finally able to speak her mind, "Thank you very much, Dr. Robbins… You have absolutely no idea how happy you've just made me. I mean really… I thought this job was a shot in a million for someone with my limited experience, and I would have practically worked for free to convince you to hire me."

"Well, it's a good thing our assistant director didn't hear you say that, because he would have taken you up on it." That was when Dr. Robbins' office door swung open, and Grissom barged in, "Well, thanks for knocking, but you do have impeccable timing… I'd like you to meet our new night shift coroner." She turned around, based on Robbins' gestures and was just as dumbstruck as Grissom when their eyes met. When they did not speak or move for a more than a minute, Dr. Robbins decided to break the stalemate. "I take it you two know each other?"

The young woman was finally able to break their stare, reached down into her briefcase and handed Dr. Robbins a sheet of paper, "I think this might help explain."

Dr. Robbins looked at the sheet to discover that it was the missing personal references, and at the top of the list was Dr. Gilbert Grissom; relationship, family.

Grissom was finally able to shake himself from the shock of seeing her here in Las Vegas, and realized that Dr. Robbins had just said she was the new coroner, "Steph," he gestured wildly for a moment around him, "What are you doing in Vegas? What happened in L.A.?"

"Nothing happened in L.A… Or, at least nothing was going to happen there. You see, Thomas matched at Desert Palms, and I got tired of living alone…" She paused for a moment and then went immediately on the defensive, "I swear I was gonna call you tonight after the interviews were done and you were awake…" She appeared very nervous talking to Grissom, "I just didn't want to say anything until I knew I'd be moving, Uncle Gil."

And there was Dr. Robbins' answer; Gil Grissom was her uncle. He looked between the two of them and could not find any resemblance, other than that they were both tall, but their builds were completely different. Grissom had a solid frame to go with his, and a little of that middle aged girth that he himself had experienced. But Dr. MacInnerney had a very trim build, despite her broad shoulders, and her hair, though curly, held none of the same properties of Grissom's, especially the rich auburn color. She also had the deepest green eyes he had ever seen before. Grissom's blue eyes might have been striking, but the color was no where near as deep as hers were, and Dr. Robbins wondered how they could possibly be related by blood.

Suddenly awakened from his stupor, Grissom quickly moved in to embrace the young woman, "I just talked to your Mom last weekend, and she didn't say a word about this." When he caught Dr. Robbins incredulous look, he just gave him that infamous, "oh well" expression and then held her at arms' length to get a better look at her.

"That's because she doesn't know just yet… I wanted to be sure about the move before I told her… But knowing Mom, she's probably been suspecting as much since Thomas matched six months ago." They both laughed at her supposition.

"Hey, wait a sec… You just hired her?" He looked back at Dr. Robbins.

"Are you kidding? She's far and away the best person who's applied for the position… And now that I know how she figured out about my legs, I'd offer her the moon not to reconsider… After all, she'd have to put up with you on night shift." He looked around Grissom to catch the young woman's eye again, "Are you sure this is still your dream job?"

She laughed out loud that time, "Are you kidding? I've dreamed of working with Uncle Gil and my father since I was a little girl… At least I got half my wish." Grissom squeezed her hand at the mention of his longtime friend and mentor, as well as her father.

"Well, then you got it…" Dr. Robbins turned his gaze back at Grissom, "But I thought you were an only child, Gil?"

"Oh, I am… Stephanie's father was a very good friend, and a mentor. He and I worked together on a number of tough cases when I was in San Francisco. Best Inspector in the history of the SFPD, and my best friend. No, I'm actually Stephanie's godfather. Uncle Gil was just much easier to say for a three year old with a serious lisp." The young woman elbowed him for his jibe and he feigned injury for it.

Dr. Robbins shook his head as he chuckled, "And I was wondering why she didn't want to give me her personal references… Probably because she thought I would assume she was just as difficult as you are." Dr. Robbins reached down and grabbed his bag, fumbling for his cell phone, "And if you don't mind, my dear, I'd love to break the news to Poletano myself, before Gil and I take you out for a congratulatory lunch?" She nodded her agreement to him as he dialed the number. "Tony?... Yeah, it's Al Robbins… Yeah, actually I was calling to give you some bad news… I understand you guys are trying to get a new clinical pathologist over there… Well, these things leak out, somehow… Well, I was just calling to let you know that you better keep looking… Didn't you have a promising interview this afternoon?... I have my sources… Yes, I am looking for a replacement over here. Well, I was anyway… Found her this morning… Young gun from the L.A. County Coroner's Office… You, too? Really? What was her name?... What do you mean, 'how do I know it was a woman?'… Yep, that's the one… You can cancel that appointment, Tony… You can disparage my mother all you want, but you should know better than to not schedule your interviews in the morning around this town… Right, we'll talk it over at the next alumni party… Have a great day, Tony." He turned back to the pair with his bag in hand and a devilish grin spreading across his face, "I just love sticking it to that guy."