Author's note: By the way…. I know I always start writing about cases and never really talk about them after… I really suck at writing suspense.

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Chapter 3: The New Girl

"Hey, Cal, wait up!"

Calleigh frowned and turned her head towards the voice. She smiled when she recognized Ryan, who was half-running through the parking lot, towards her. "Hi! You're here late!"

Ryan slowed down and stood in front of her, hands on his hips. "You're the one to talk, you just got here too!"

She laughed as they started walking towards the building together. "I had an appointment this morning. What's your excuse?"

Ryan winced and scratched his eyebrow. "I… have no excuse. It's my fault, I slept late."

"Have you been having trouble sleeping lately? You look a little tired."

He pinched his lips and nodded. "Yeah… I've been doing a lot of thinking lately."

Calleigh nodded and frowned. "Right. Is it something you'd like to talk about? I mean… I'm your friend… and I'm a really good listener."

He grinned at her caring words and sighed. "I know you are. It's just… girl problems. Nothing I can't handle."

Calleigh smiled weakly, her mind reeling. "Girl?" She swallowed and forced the smile to stay on her lips. "Have you been seeing someone and you haven't told me?"

Ryan shook his head and snorted. "Nah, it's history. I'm moving on!"

She nodded slowly and smiled as he held the door open for her. She walked in and made her way towards the elevator which would take them up to the lab. It had been about two weeks since the 'incident' between her and Ryan, and still nothing had changed between them. Not like something 'should' have changed… But why hadn't he told her about that girl? They had gone out a couple of times, as they always did, and he hadn't said a word…

She stepped onto the elevator and turned around, facing the door. She cocked her head to the side and pouted. "Still, you could have told me about this girl. Why are you moving on?"

Ryan shrugged and kept his eyes on the doors. "She's just not that into me."

Calleigh nodded and nudged his arm. "Good. Don't waste your time on chicks who aren't worth it." She swallowed and stared at the doors again. "There are plenty of women who'd like to date an awesome guy like you."

Ryan frowned and nodded his head slowly. "Right." He mumbled.

They waited in silence for a few seconds and walked out of the elevator as the doors opened. They were both making their way through the lab Ryan suddenly slowed down his pace and grabbed her elbow, stopping her. "Hey, who's that?"

Calleigh's eyebrows lifted in question as she followed his gaze. Apparently, there was a new technician working in one of the labs. "I have no idea. I didn't know we were looking for new lab techs."

Ryan shrugged. "Me neither."

Calleigh forced a smile and nudged his side. "I think you should go introduce yourself."

He stared at her for a few seconds and finally nodded his head slowly. "Right. Good idea."

Calleigh's smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she watched her friend make his way towards the new girl. She knew Ryan's flirting abilities could be pretty pathetic, and she also knew she should be laughing her head off right now… but she wasn't. She didn't know why, but she felt slightly offended. Sure, she was the one who had suggested he'd talk to her… but she hadn't thought he would. Apparently, Ryan preferred talking to the new girl then of talking to her.

And now, she just felt plain stupid.

The blond woman shook her head and started walking again. She would just wait for him to make a fool of himself and come tell her all about it. She just loved laughing at his face sometimes! She finally reached the break room and was pleasantly surprised to see Eric and Natalia sitting at the table, having coffee and munching on a plate of vegetables and dip. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Cal!" Natalia asked, slapping Delko's hand away, keeping him from double-dipping his carrot.

Calleigh sat on one of the empty chairs. "Slow day?"

"Actually, we're working on a case. We're just waiting for our results from DNA." Eric pointed a vegetable at her and frowned. "Where were you anyway?"

The blond woman smiled at her co-worker. "I was at the dentist. And before you ask, Ryan slept late, that's why he hasn't been here."

Natalia lifted an eyebrow at her. "Where IS Ryan, anyway?" She grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "It's like you've been glued to each other, lately. Wherever you are, he is, and vice-versa."

Eric snorted and nodded, agreeing with her.

Calleigh sent them a dark look and pursed her lips. "First, we aren't always together. Second, he wanted to talk to that new tech girl."

Eric threw his head back and laughed. "Ryan, the ladies man! Wanna bet on what stupid things he's gonna tell her?"

Natalia picked up a radish from the plate and threw it at the Cuban. "Shut up, Eric. He's not that bad."

Calleigh shook her head, grinning. "Oh, he is. I think he uses the worst pick-up lines in the history of flirting." She shrugged and looked at her hands, trying to look uninterested. "Have you guys met this new girl?"

The other woman nodded and lifted her chin at Eric. "We met her yesterday. Her name's Lindsay. I thought she was actually pretty nice. A little shy, maybe…"

Eric nodded. "Yeah. Really cute too. I'm starting to think they only hire good looking people in this lab." He turned his head towards the door as Ryan walked in, a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

"Hey you three. How's your day?" He walked around Calleigh and grabbed the chair next to hers.

Eric leaned back in his chair and cocked his head. "How's YOUR day? I heard you met Lindsay, huh?"

Ryan winced and scratched his eyebrows, staying quiet.

Delko snorted and double-dipped his carrot before Natalia she could stop him. "That bad, huh? Smooth, Wolfe, real smooth. What did you say this time?"

The shorter man grinned and shook his head. "Believe me or not, Lindsay and I are going out for a drink tonight."

Eric hollered and high fived him, making both women roll their eyes. Natalia stood from the table and put her empty paper plate in the garbage. "I'm not sure Lindsay would go on that date with you if she saw you men act like Neanderthals."

Delko laughed as Ryan threw a quick glance through the glass walls, making sure no one was there. The darker man stood from his chair and brought his cup to the sink. He then turned around and followed Natalia as they both left the break room, leaving Ryan and Calleigh alone.

Ryan watched them leave for a second and then turned his attention back on Calleigh, who was studying her nails. "Hey, Cal, are you feeling okay? You haven't said anything."

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm more tired than I thought."

He nodded and scratched his eyebrow, leaning into the chair. "Right."

Calleigh sighed and looked up at him, frowning. "Don't you think it's a little soon for a date? I mean, you've barely just met, and you already have plans!"

Ryan lifted his shoulders and grinned. "I don't know. But hey, I'm not about to start complaining. She's cute, she was nice to talk to. I'm sure we're gonna have a great time. And if we don't, we'll go back to being simple colleagues. That's it."

The blond woman shrugged and stood from her chair. "I just think office relationships are a bad idea."

Ryan followed her move and stood in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hey I'm not asking her to marry me. It's just a few drinks. That's it." He cocked his head, curious. "You're the one who pushed me to talk to her… and now you're bothered by it?"

Calleigh frowned and shook her head. "I'm not bothered. I really don't care what you do on your own time. I was just stating my opinion. You can date whomever you want, it's your choice."

"Right. It's my choice." Ryan frowned as his friend turned on her heels and left him alone in the break room.

XXXXX

Calleigh let out a long sigh, annoyed. She had been staring at the victim's clothing for the past hour, and still had found nothing. Of course, the fact that she couldn't quite focus on the job might have been a reason for this lack of findings. She couldn't think straight. Every time she tried concentrating on the evidence, her mind would wander about.

The blond woman groaned and pushed the magnifying glass away. She set her elbows on the table and rubbed her eyes furiously. Something was up with her and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Sure, Ryan was her best friend. They had been spending a lot of time together lately. They went out clubbing, they went to the restaurant together. He spent as much time at her place as she did at his. That's what best friends do, don't they?

She didn't care if he flirted with young, dark-haired girls. She didn't mind if he went on dates. And she couldn't care less if he spent the night with other women. His friendship was enough. Wasn't it?

Well, if it was enough, she wouldn't be feeling so jealous at the simple thought of Ryan going out for a drink with the new lab tech.

Calleigh sighed again and stared at the wall. She was jealous, and she knew it. She'd just been spending way too much time with Ryan, and now, her mind was playing tricks on her. All this would blow over in a couple of days.

"Hey there's my girl!"

Calleigh gasped and looked at the door, eyes wide. Ryan lifted his hands up and walked towards her, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Hey, calm down babe, it's just me. Nervous much?"

The blond woman rolled her eyes and grinned, unable to keep the blush from reaching her cheeks. "I'm not nervous, I'm… frustrated. I wasn't able to find anything on the vic's clothes."

Ryan nodded and grabbed her by the elbow. "What you need is a coffee break." He smiled at her and pulled her out of the lab. "You'll come back in a few minutes and look at these clothes with fresh eyes, alright? AND I feel like spending some time with you." He winked at her, making her heart beat a little faster.

They walked to the break room and Calleigh sat down on the couch as Ryan prepared the drinks. He finally sat next to her and handed her her cup, which she accepted gratefully.

Calleigh took a sip and closed her eyes, enjoying the taste. She then looked at Ryan and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by someone entering the break room. Ryan turned his gaze from her and a huge smile spread over his face as he saw who had walked in, making Calleigh frown. It was Lindsay.

"Hey Lindsay!"

The brunette smiled shyly at him. "Hi Ryan." She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water from it. She then turned back around and smiled at him again. She never even glanced in Calleigh's direction. Not like the blond woman would have noticed, since she was too busy staring at Ryan, studying his face. Right now, she would've done anything to be on the receiving end of the smile her friend was sending the other woman.

Lindsay whispered a small "bye" and walked out the room, red-faced.

"What was that about?"

Ryan took a sip from his cup and looked at her, grinning. "Nothing."

Calleigh rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. "Come on. You didn't see the smiles you were sending her."

Ryan snorted and shook his head. "I was just smiling. I can be a very nice person sometimes, Calleigh."

"I know… it's just. Come on. You're my friend. Tell me the truth. You like her."

Ryan shrugged and nodded. "Yeah. I do."

Calleigh's heart sank. She wasn't expecting such a straight answer. "But… You only went on one date with her."

He sighed and smiled. "I know! But we really had a great time! Lindsay's funny, smart, very cute… and once I finally got her talking, we realized we have a lot of things in common! I really like her!"

She was nodding her head, trying to look happy for her friend, but she wasn't. Actually, she was fighting the urge to run after that brunette and rip her head off her shoulders. She wanted to wipe the shy smile from her face and tell her to never talk to Ryan again.

But being the always calm and collected Calleigh, she smiled and touched his arm, telling him she was happy for him. "It's great. Just be careful alright? You're my friend; I don't want to see you get hurt."

Ryan rolled his eyes and stood from the couch. "Everything's gonna be fine, Cal."

'Yeah… 'you're' gonna be fine…'

Alright alright.... this fic won't be going in circles forever, alright? I know not much happened in this chapter... but it will soon enough. PROMISE!!!!

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