Author's Note – Okay, so I want to thank everyone who gave me a review. It really means a lot. This is my first story so I was really excited for the feedback. Please be sure the review this one as well. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer – I own nothing associated with CSI NY, unfortunately.

I also want to thank Axellia for being a wonderful and amazing beta. :)

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Out of all the things that Adriana found different about her new home, the way the people acted was the biggest. She didn't quite know the word to describe it but whatever it was, she liked it. It was like everyone walked with a purpose. They all had somewhere to be and they had to be there fast. She didn't know if it was because they all were late or if it was just the way things were in the city.

Maybe it was the city itself. She had always thought of New York as fast paced but now that she was there, she really felt why. The way the skyscrapers towered over everything else, and the way men and women in business suits held their heads up high, made her understand that the city as a whole seemed to demand it.

Adriana sat in the booth of the small diner that Adam had told her to meet him in. She had found enough time to go back to her apartment and change out of her business suit and into a pair of jeans and a simple white v-neck t-shirt.

She sat, sipping on the ice tea she ordered, staring out of the window, watching the various people that walked by her in the cool April weather. She loved the diversity of the city. There were people of all different races, classes, and religion. It amazed her to see everyone blending in with one another, creating a new group of people, New Yorkers.

"So you're still into people watching, huh?"

Adriana looked away to see Adam sliding into the booth across from her. "I can't help it," she answered. "But hey, you're the one that's late."

"I'm sorry A.J. I was heading out then another group of fingerprints came in and…"

"Adam," she interrupted, "its fine. I was just messing with you."

"Just like old times," he commented.

A young looking waitress with bright red hair approached their table. "What can I get for you two?" she asked.

"Um, I'll just have a cheeseburger and fries," Adriana requested.

"Alright," she said, writing it down on the pad she held in her hand. "What about you sweetie?" she asked Adam.

"Uh, I'll just have a house salad. Thanks."

"Gee Adam, are you trying to make me feel like a fat pig?" Adriana asked jokingly as the waitress left with their orders.

"Don't try to make me feel bad. You just eat more than anyone I know."

"Yeah I guess that's true," she said in agreement. "But I have to be honest with you Adam. If someone were to have told me that you were working in a crime lab, I probably wouldn't have believed them. But now that I see you, it seems to fit you really well."

"Thanks," he told her. "But what about you? You're an A.D.A. now. While most girls wanted to be singers or fashion designers, you were always talking about being a prosecutor."

Adriana chuckled at the memory. "Yeah well, while most guys were talking about being hockey players or firefighters, you were always talking about being a chemical research scientist."

"Touché," he said with a grin. "So, why New York?"

"You complaining Adam?" she teased.

"No, uh, I think it's great. I just figured you always loved Phoenix, you know, like that's why you never left."

Adriana turned back towards the window, her eyes following the numerous figures that walked by. "I guess I just needed a change in scenery."

"I understand. New York is definitely different from Phoenix," he noted with the raise of an eyebrow. "Wait, so what did your mom say?"

A large grin spread across Adriana's face as she turned back towards Adam. "She completely freaked, Adam. After trying to convince me to stay, she said that I would be sorry after getting mugged or attacked by a swarm of rats."

Adam laughed out loud at the memory of Adriana's mother. "So I guess it's safe to assume that she hasn't changed," he said after his laughing trailed off.

"Yup. She's the same annoying, overbearing woman that you remember her as," she told him.

"Ha, that's funny. So what about your Dad?"

The grin that she had was suddenly replaced with a small but sad smile as she reached for her glass. "He, uh, passed away back in February," she said before chewing on the straw that stuck out of her cup.

"Oh A.J., I'm so sorry," Adam told her, suddenly feeling like an ass. He knew that she and her dad had been really close.

"Don't worry about it, Adam. You didn't know. Besides, I've gotten over," she said reassuringly.

Adam watched her closely as she begin to swirl the straw around, pushing away pieces of ice with it. One thing about Adriana that he always found fascinating was the way that she could hide her emotions. Even in all the years that they'd known one another, Adam still had trouble reading her. He always figured that it was because it was a part of her job.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, confident that this was one of those moments when she was pretending to be okay.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've dealt with it you know," she told him.

Adam nodded in understanding. "Is that why you moved?" he asked her slowly.

"I don't know," she admitted with a sigh. "At first I thought it wasn't. I figured I just happened to get the urge to leave around the same time. But I mean, when I look back at the whole thing, I guess it is the reason. I mean, now that I think about it, he was probably the only reason I stayed in Phoenix for as long as I did."

An awkward silence enveloped the two old friends. Adriana went back to staring out of the window while Adam fidgeted with his hands, trying to think of something to say.

"Uh, well, you know my mother still asks about you," Adam said after the silence became too unbearable.

Adriana turned back towards him, any evidence of sadness that she once was feeling now gone. "Really? How is she by the way?"

"She has her good days and bad days. The cancer came back last year but she's a fighter," he told her.

"She always has been Adam."

"I know, but it's like, I kind of feel bad for not visiting as much as I should," he admitted.

"But that's because you're up here working your ass off everyday, fighting crime. She's probably telling all friends about how her little Adam is a big time forensic scientist in New York City."

Adam revealed a sheepish grin as he chuckled at her statement. "Probably."

The waitress who had taken their orders returned with their plates in hand. She placed the salad in front of Adriana and the cheeseburger in front of Adam. They thanked her and waited until she was back behind the counter to switch the plates.

"I guess she forgot who ordered what," Adam said as he began to eat his salad.

"Or she just assumed that I ordered the salad," Adriana pointed out, adding ketchup to her plate.

"Why do say that?"

"Because, salad is girl food," she said, matter-of-factly.

"No it isn't," he countered.

"Adam, yes it is."

************

Adriana arrived back to her apartment a little after 8:00 that night. She was happy that she and Adam had a chance to do a little catching up. She had really missed being able to see him everyday like back when they were younger. They did their best to keep in touch after he transferred to NYU, but between school and work, they hadn't been able to manage it.

She used her key to open the door to her apartment that was on the fifth floor in a complex in Manhattan. When it came time to move, Adriana got extremely lucky to find an apartment as soon as she did in an area that she liked. It was a small yet cozy apartment, complete with a kitchen, living room, two bathrooms, and two bedrooms. The second bedroom had been set up to serve as her home office, allowing her to keep up with all of her work at home.

She entered the front door, switching on the light. The apartment became illuminated, revealing the piles and piles of boxes. Adriana sighed, knowing that she should take advantage of the fact that it was the weekend and do some unpacking. She moved through the kitchen area and entered the office, looking for a particular box. She found it and opened it; the item she had been looking for was resting at the top of the pile of things in the box.

She stared down at the framed picture of her father. It was of him at his favorite restaurant, about to bite into a large burrito. She had taken it with the camera he bought her for her high school graduation. It was her favorite picture of him. Reginald James, or Reggie as everyone called him, had been her best friend. Even after her parents separated when she was seven, she would visit him every weekend. Whenever she had a fight with her mother, he would always be there to calm her down and tell her everything would be okay.

He was the one that had encouraged her to go to law school, even when her mother doubted her. He was her rock and now he was gone. A single tear fell from her eye, landing on the picture. Adriana took in a deep breath and placed the picture on her desk, next to her laptop. With one last glance at the picture, she left the office, telling herself that she had to move on.

************

Donald Flack Jr. hated Mondays. He always had. Maybe it was because it was the start of the work week. It's not that he didn't love his job, because he did. It just seemed harder to get up on a Monday morning compared any other day of the week. Most of the time he had worked over the weekend too, but Mondays just never appealed to him.

And so, when he walked into the lobby of the crime lab, he had the mindset that the day would go slower than usual. He made his way over to the elevators where he spotted a familiar figure up ahead.

"What's up Messer," he called out.

The man with tousled brown hair and wire framed glassed turned around at the sound of his name being called.

"How ya doin', Flack?" he replied with his thick New York accent.

"Pretty good. I thought you were off today?"

"Yeah I thought I was too, until I got a call from Mac about meeting with some new A.D.A. about the Mayer case."

Flack's thoughts went back to the woman he met the other day. He remembered her saying that she was in fact a new A.D.A. He wondered if she was the same one that Danny was referring to. His curiosity was short lived however when he saw her coming into the doors of the building.

"Who's that?" he heard Danny, who obviously took notice of her presence, ask.

Flack just smiled as he watched her, dressed in a white blouse and gray pin-striped skirt that stopped at her knee with a matching jacket. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that swung back and forth as she approached the two men.

Her eyes lit up with recognition when she reached them.

"Detective Flack, right?" she spoke.

Flack smiled down at her shorter figure. "Yeah. Nice to see you again," he greeted.

Danny cleared his throat, causing Flack to let out a small chuckle. "Uh, this is Detective Danny Messer, Messer this is Adriana…" he trailed off. "You know, I don't think I ever got your last name."

"James," she said, shaking hands with Danny, "I'm the new A.D.A," she informed them just as the elevator arrived.

"You're the reason I'm here on my day off?" Danny asked jokingly as they made their way inside the elevator. Danny pushed the button the take them all to the crime lab.

"Seems I am," Adriana answered with a small smile.

"So, James, where exactly are you from?" Danny questioned.

"Phoenix," she told him.

"Really. You know, we got a guy up…"

"Adam Ross," she interrupted.

"So, I guess that answers that," Danny said with a shrug.

"We grew up together," she explained.

"Wow," Flack commented, "I would have loved to see Adam in high school."

"Yeah, was he as socially awkward back then?" Danny asked.

"Compared to the Adam back then, the one you know might as well be Hugh Hefner himself," she said with a smirk, causing Don and Danny to laugh out loud.

The elevator arrived at its destination and the three occupants stepped off.

"As much as I would love to hear some of Adam's crazy high school experiences, I gotta go," Flack said. "So, I guess I'll see you later," he told Adriana.

"Definitely," she replied.

Flack gave her one last small smile before turning to head in the other direction.

"So what, I don't get a goodbye," Danny called after him.

"Later Messer," Flack replied back, without turning around.

Adriana laughed at the two men before turning back to Danny.

"I'll show you to the conference room," he offered and the two made their way through the hallways of the lab.

When they reached that conference room, Adriana saw Detective Taylor and another man she never met seated at the table.

He was African-American with his hair cut close to his head. He wore thick black glassed that on anyone else would have looked stupid but in Adriana's opinion seemed to work for him.

When he saw them enter, he stood up and extended his hand towards Adriana. "You must be this new A.D.A. I've heard so much about," he said with a kind smile.

"Adriana James," she replied, excepting his hand. "Nice to meet you…"

"Dr. Sheldon Hawkes," he informed her before retaking his seat.

She looked up at Mac and gave him a small smile. "Detective Taylor," she greeted.

"It's nice to see you again Ms. James."

"Please, call me Adriana," she told him.

Mac nodded at her as she sat her work bag on the table and began to pull out all of her files she had about the case.

"Wow, that's a lot of reading material," Danny commented.

She gave him a small smirk. "I like to be prepared," she told him before turning to the other occupants in the room. "So, let's get started, shall we?"