Viola Turner took a deep calming breath as she stared up at the entrance to the Miami Dade crime lab. She tugged uncomfortably at the hem of the lightweight royal blue sweater that she had chosen to wear that morning. Though she knew little of Miami, she was quickly learning that her entire wardrobe was inappropriate for the weather. Checking her watch idly, she started, realizing that she was nearly late for meeting with her new supervisor, Lieutenant Caine. With one more second of hesitation, she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and started up the stairs toward the doorway.

The bustle of the laboratory made her feel instantly at home. A crime lab, no matter where you are in the world, is sadly guaranteed to always be busy and a little chaotic, but that was the way that Viola liked things. She navigated the hallway carefully so as not to upset the flow of traffic and stopped in front of the reception desk. "Excuse me."

A young Hispanic woman greeted her with a smile. "Can I help you, miss?"

"I have an appointment with Lieutenant Caine," Viola replied, returning the woman's smile.

"He should be here any moment, please have a seat."

"No need," a voice spoke up behind her just as she had started for the row of chairs that lined the wall. Viola spun around and found herself face to face a redheaded man. "I am Horatio Caine, what can I do for you?"

She held out her hand. "I am Viola-"

"Turner," Horatio finished, taking her hand. "Yes, our newest member. I'm very sorry that I am late."

"Not a problem."

"I have a quick moment if you would like me to show you around," he offered.

Viola shrugged slightly. "All due respect, sir, but I am not a tourist. I would just as soon get to work."

Horatio thumbed his sunglasses and shot her a crooked grin. "I was hoping that you would say that. Let me show you to the locker room to set down your things."

Just outside the door to the locker room, Horatio's phone vibrated at his side and he excused himself, motioning for her to enter. She walked down the row of lockers, a smile pulling at her lips when she saw her name. It was only a label attached just above the latch, but the small gesture made her feel more at home. Without wasting any time, she hooked her bag inside and dug through it for her gun. She was just attaching the clip to the waist of her khaki pants when Horatio entered the room.

"Before I forget." He tossed something in her general direction and she caught it easily, smiling when she realized it was a badge. "You may need this. Please, come with me."

Ryan wasn't particularly paying attention as he walked to toxicology. He was just coming off a night shift, a favor which he was sorely regretting, and had at least eight more hours before he would be able to go home and relax. His head was throbbing from spending the last hour with Cooper in the A/V lab listening to the same twenty seconds of tape over and over trying to find one scrap of evidence that they had missed. Not to mention the fact that they had run out of coffee in the breakroom and he didn't have the time or energy to go out for a cup. Needless to say, he was grumpy and ready to take his aggression out on the nightshift toxicology technician who was already backlogged. The last thing that he needed was for Horatio to call from across the room.

Frustrated, he set his jaw and walked up to his boss. Trying his best to sound pleasant. "What's up, H?"

"Ryan Wolfe, meet Viola Turner."

Only then did Ryan notice the woman standing beside him. Had he not been exhausted, he would have probably noticed her much earlier. She stood only an inch or two short of Horatio and had her auburn hair pulled neatly off of her face. Her green eyes were almost shocking and Ryan started when he realized that they were staring right at him. He pursed his lips and nodded at her before turning his attention back to his boss expectantly.

"Show Miss Turner the ropes, please," Horatio commanded and started for the elevator.

Ryan hung his head and sighed. If he was not mistaken, he was just appointed as a tour guide on top of everything else. He was pulled back to reality when he heard the click of heels on the cement floor. He looked up to see Viola walking in the general direction of the tox lab. He couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips as he watched her walk away.

"Enjoying the view?" A hand landed on Ryan's shoulder and he chuckled as Eric followed his line of sight and gave a low whistle. "That the new girl?"

Ryan nodded but then furrowed his brow at the Cuban. "Wait, what new girl? You knew we were getting a new girl?"

"Sure, some behavioral anthropologist from the Midwest."

"You've got to be kidding me. Just what we need around here, another lab rat who knows nothing about being out in the field." Ryan said with a groan before he realized that Viola was nearly at the end of the hallway and staring back at him expectantly. "I should get Mr. Hartley's tox report. Catch ya later."

Viola was becoming more and more frustrated by the minute as she waited for Ryan to catch up to her. Drumming her hand unconsciously on the new badge affixed to her waist she finally followed him into a glass-enclosed lab. A quick glance around and she realized that they had entered a toxicology lab, and that it the technician behind the computer was more than frazzled.

"Please tell me that you have something for me, Mitchell, I've been waiting more than two hours for Mr. Hartley's panel." Ryan crossed his arms over his chest, the dark green blazed he wore stretching across his shoulders.

The tech sighed. "If you haven't noticed, I'm a little backed up here Wolfe. You'll get the results when you get them alright."

"Listen, if we don't get something from you in the next hour, the girlfriend walks and we are back to square one." Ryan hung his head and stalked back to the door before he realized that Viola was still standing there in stunned silence. He shook his head and left the room without another word.

Viola watched him until he disappeared from view and turned back to Mitchell. "Is he always this pleasant?"

The tech flashed the first smile since she had entered the room. "Believe it or not, he's actually nice guy. I blame the double shift. Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing." She walked closer to the table and scanned the tubes of blood on the end of the table. "How would you like a hand getting through these?"

"You up to date on your proficiencies?" Mitchell looked at her skeptically.

"Of course."

He looked like he could nearly hug her as she grabbed a lab coat from the hook and got to work beside him.

The smell of coffee pulled Ryan back to reality. It took him a moment to regain his bearings and he groaned when he realized that he was slouching in one of the chairs in the breakroom, his neck stiff from sleep. He cringed when he heard a decidedly feminine giggle coming from across the room.

"You get a nice nap?"

The southern accent was unmistakable and he relaxed slightly as Calleigh crossed the room and handed him a steaming cup of coffee. "You're an angel, thank you. How long have I been asleep?"

"I'm not sure. Long morning already?" she asked.

He took a sip of the hot liquid and gave a sigh of relief. "More like long night."

"You're working a double?" Calleigh didn't need an answer really, one look at the circle under his eyes told her she was right. "Go home and get some sleep, Ryan. We can handle things here."

At that moment the door swung open and Eric walked in, making a beeline for the coffee. He poured himself a cup and joined them on the couch, quickly picking up the conversation. "Yeah, go ahead. I just finished my paperwork. Calleigh and I can handle the Hartley case."

"Nah," Ryan shrugged them off and took another sip of coffee. "It would be an open and shut case if I could ever get the tox panel back. Then we can charge the girlfriend with drugging him and close the case."

"They didn't have enough evidence to hold the girlfriend," Eric offered hesitantly. "H had to let her go ten minutes ago."

Ryan cursed under his breath and slammed his coffee down. Then, as if the caffeine had finally reached his brain, he scanned the room before hanging his head. "Have any of you seen Viola? I told H I would show her around."

"The brunette?" Calleigh asked. Both men nodded. "She was in tox when I dropped off a blood sample a few minutes ago."

Viola stretched her arms above her head as she removed the lab coat and returned it to the hook. She reached for a clear folder that sat on the table and smiled with satisfaction at the diminished pile of samples waiting to be processed. "I should get these results to Wolf before he has a coronary. You going to be alright?"

"I'm nearly caught up now thanks to you," Mitchell replied. "I owe you one."

"Just doing my job," she replied with a smile before turning on her heal and exiting the lab. After a bit of searching, she found Ryan sitting in the breakroom. Hesitantly she walked into the room.

"There you are," Ryan started, getting to his feet as Viola neared the group. "Listen, I'm sorry about before. I just-"

Viola cut him off by handing him the file. She knew the type well, a cocky cop with an agenda, and she wanted nothing to do with it. Instead she turned back toward the door without a word.

"You waited for the tox panel?" Ryan was confused as he read the label on the folder.

Frustrated, she turned back to him. "No I did the tox panel."

"Are you even qualified to do that?"

Viola rolled her eyes and stalked back to him. "For you information, I have a degree in biochemisty and am up to date in all necessary proficiencies to work in this lab. And once you read the panel you will see that all levels in the blood were normal, so you are barking up the wrong tree. So if you don't mind, perhaps we should shift focus and find out who killed this man. What do you say?"

"I like this girl already," Calleigh spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "I'm Calleigh by the way, and this is Eric Delko. You must be Viola Turner."

Viola smiled at the two of them, eager to get her attention away from Ryan. "Nice to meet you."

"Ok, let's go to the layout room and run the case. Maybe with fresh eyes we will see something that got missed," Eric suggested.

Thirty minutes later, Ryan and Calleigh had recounted every minute detail of evidence on the case and Viola was staring at a menagerie of digital photos on the screen in front of her.

"And Alex is sure that cause of death was asphyxiation?" Eric asked, looking over the coroner's report.

"Positive," Calleigh replied.

"So, with no visible marks, poison seemed to make sense," Ryan concluded, leaning on the table. "It's the only thing that seemed to make sense."

Something on the victim's neck suddenly caught Viola's attention. "Did the ME take ultraviolet photos?"

"It was our last resort, but they're on their way up. Why, what do you see?" Calleigh asked as the three approached the screen.

"There," Viola pointed to a slight discoloration on a close up of the victim's neck. "Does that look like a thumb to you?"

"Subcutaneous bruising?" Ryan asked.

"Nice catch Viola, I'll check with Alex." With that Eric was out the door.