My Way is Clear

by Simply Ginger

Nick meets a paramedic after getting injured at a crime scene. In an AU, this is their story. This is not a slash and all the characters from CSI show up eventually.

4. Today

Chapter 4 – Today

I picked up the DVD player remote and paused the movie so I could get up to refill my drink and looked over at Anna who was stretched out on the couch while I sat on the floor in front of her, "Is it just me or is the weekend flying by?"

"Time always flies when you're having fun." Anna handed her glass to me, "Mine too."

I took it from her and refilled our drinks in the kitchen. Anna and I went to the hockey game the other night and there was another one the next night and we to that as well. She was very good at explaining what was going on during the game and seeing it in person helped me understand it better. Yesterday and today, we didn't do much at all except hide out in my apartment. She took me by her house and I helped her with her horses and we even rode for a bit before we came back into town. We ordered in earlier tonight and watched movies and just relaxed and got to know one another. As the days went by, I realized more and more how attached I was becoming to her and judging by her reactions, I was hoping Anna felt the same to me as well.

"Mind if I be honest?" I handed Anna her glass.

"I'd hope you'd always be honest." She reached over behind me and put the glass down on the table, "What's wrong?"

I sat down next to Anna and put my glass on the table next to hers, "No, nothing's wrong, but I just realized something about you."

She looked worried, "It's something good I hope."

"Yes, it is." I reached back to reassuringly touch her, "I just realized that it's nice to have someone who understands the highs and the deep lows of this job. Yours is similar to mine and that made it easier to deal because you understand. In the past, girlfriends I've had didn't understand that I had to leave in the middle of a dinner or a movie if my pager went off. More often than not, when that happened, I'd never hear from my date again or she'd be so upset with me and demand that I not answer the pages and spend time with her."

"Oh, that." Anna waved her hand. "Please. It's part of the job and it's just like mine. I have to go no matter what I'm in the middle of. People who need us won't wait until our Doom game is over with or until we've had a shower or finished our dinner or took a nap. We get that call, we go. There have been days both here in Vegas and in San Fran where I got to work in the morning and didn't stop running until we got off two days later." She took one of my hands in hers, "I gave up for the most part. I know you could relate to me in that aspect. Whenever we both get called on the radio or that bell in the fire house goes off for me, no matter what, we had to go."

I hit the play button on the DVD, thinking that for once in my life, a relationship might actually work for me.

Tuesday was the day I was supposed to go back to work, but I called in one more time so I could spend the time with Anna. She wound up swapping a shift with a co-worker so she could work with Bryan who needed an extra day off for personal reasons, so rather than her go in on Tuesday, she went in on Wednesday. My shoulder was still aching, so technically it wasn't a lie when I said I was hurting too much to work. When Wednesday came, I knew I had to go back to work.

Anna was at work so I knew there was a small chance I'd be able to see her if we got any calls together. She worked in the districts I was assigned to so even before we got to know each other, I noticed her quite often at scenes. It just took me getting injured before I had a reason to talk to her. Knowing what I know now, I should have tripped over a flower pot months ago. Hindsight is always 20/20 and I was finding that out now.

We spoke a few times during the day on the phone and by text messages. According to what conversations we did have, she was busy bouncing between calls for the better half of the day. I knew I wasn't going to go in until eleven that night, so I took a nap after the last time I spoke to Anna on the phone.

My alarm went off and I spent a little more time than necessary in bed but I woke up in time to shower and head into work. Before I left my apartment, I sent Anna a text letting her know I was on my way in and to call me when she got a chance. She wrote back a little bit later and said she was finishing up on a run but would when she got a chance.

Pulling into the parking lot at the crime lab, I grabbed my phone and walked inside somewhat ready for shift to start. After being off for almost a week, it did feel good to get back to being productive, even if it meant not seeing Anna near as much.

"And look who it is. Mr. Nick "I got a date with Anna so I'm too good for everyone else" Stokes! We all counted you lost." Warrick stood up and started to applaud, "Welcome back. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, shoulder is still a bit sore, but I figured I'd rejoin the human race today." I pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge in the room and sat next to Warrick as we waited on our shift to start. One by one, the rest of the team came in.

"Alright everyone. Grissom's out sick, so I'm handing out assignments." Catherine put her reading glasses on and began to flip through assignment slips. She slid the paper to Sara, "Sara, you and Greg take this one. 419 at one of those no tell motels in the alphabet neighborhood." Turning her attention to Warrick, she slid a second assignment slip across the table, "Warrick, you're flying solo on this one. Armed robbery at the Gas 'N Go on Mills Pond Road. If you get done there early, help Sara and Greg out."

"What about me?" If it was slow, I might be able to make the pain in my shoulder more than it actually was and I could go home.

"Nicky, you and I are on a wreck out off Boulder Canyon Highway. Local saw it, called it in. Uniform made the scene and come to find out, the driver in the car was wanted for a string of armed robberies in Reno as well as here. Just so happened the two Reno detectives were already in Vegas talking to the guy's girlfriend, so they're on their way now and will probably beat us to the scene. So grab your gear and let's take off."

"Oh goodie." I screwed the top back on my water bottle. "Always did love working with out of towners." I made a stop by my locker and grabbed my jacket and gloves and met Catherine outside. We got in her Tahoe and made our way out to where the wreck was.

"So how are things with Anna?"

I groaned, not really wanting to get into this now, "Fine. Just fine. She's back at work tonight."

"Don't you have something you want to tell me?"

I looked blankly at Catherine, trying to figure out what she meant. After racking my brain, I came up empty, "Um, your hair looks good tonight?"

"Well thank you, but that's not what I meant." When I still didn't respond, she continued, "Men. You could start with this, 'Thank you Catherine for dialing Anna's phone number for me last week. I was too much of a chicken to do it myself and without you pushing me, I probably would be home right now playing PlayStation with Greg and Stacey rather than having a relationship with a living, breathing human being' but a simple 'thank you' or just about anything works, really."

"Her name is Stephanie, not Stacey, but thank you for making the call for me."

She looked at me as we came to a stop at a stop sign, "Do you know how incredibly sad it is that you know what Greg's special PlayStation controller is called? Sounds like you got a girlfriend just in time before you were too lost to be found."

I was insulted, 'Hey…"

Catherine drove through the intersection and parked her truck on the shoulder of the road. She got out and got her field kit out of the back of the truck as she threw a glance my direction and stifled a laugh, "Thank goodness you tripped that day and I managed to flag Anna down. You were almost too far gone."

I kept my mouth shut as we approached the yellow crime scene tape and the flashing blue and red lights of the emergency cars in front of us. Two LVPD cars were pulled over to one side of the road as well as an ambulance and the coroner's van up ahead. As we passed the ambulance, I couldn't help but smile when I saw Anna's unit number on the side of the door, knowing she was here somewhere.

"Hold it." Catherine started towards the first car crash but the second one caught her eye. "The call we got was about a red Mustang that was crashed into a tree." She and I both looked on the right side of the road and saw the skid marks and the hole in the guardrail where the car went over the embankment and we were both confused as to why there was a second car crash just up the road, "What's with the van? Another victim?"

I looked over to where she was looking and on the left side of the road where a blue minivan was wrecked next to a LVPD car with the passenger side crushed in, "Double work? Thought there was only one wreck?" I turned to face the two LVPD officers behind us, "What gives?"

"I can answer that." I turned to face a strange man approaching us. "Detective Andrew McGill, Reno PD. This is my partner, Detective Joseph Petty." He held his hand out to us. Catherine shook his hand first, then Joseph's and I followed suit.

"I'm Catherine Willows and this is Nick Stokes. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"Nice to meet you both." Andrew exhaled sharply, clearly faking his last statement to us.

I listened to him drone on about how he was here for something else and this fell into his lap. While he talked, I realized there was a reason I hated out of town cops. They always thought they were better than LVPD and this was no exception as evident by his attitude, "So explain what's going on."

"I was getting to that." Andrew shot me a look, "The red Mustang over there, that's the victim's car. James MacElroy's the RO and he's the one we're looking for, and well, we found him." With the three of us following, he started towards the car. "He's dead, or so I've been told. Paramedics pronounced him about twenty minutes ago. Right about the time you two got here, another car came skidding to a stop and took out one of the LVPD cars over there. Rubbernecking I guess. The guy medic and the chick medic were over there treating him until the coroner finished up with our vic. The chick medic signed off on the dead guy and went to help her partner treating that man now after she finished screwing up my crime scene."

"Excuse me, but it's our crime scene and how did she screw it up?" I was beginning to get annoyed at how he was talking about Anna, among other things.

"What's your name again, son?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nick Stokes."

"Whatever. Nick, listen. See these footprints and smudges?"

He was trying to get me to see a knee print in the side of the car. The victim had evidently bled out and either Bryan or Anna had leaned in the car to take the guy's pulse. Nothing new there. "Yeah, I see it. So what?"

"That's what I mean. Which prints are what? What if this is the perp's impressions or what if this is just that idiot medic's prints? Don't they know to wait? We never have this problem in Reno. It could have been the killer leaning in to choke the guy to death"

"Then if the guy got choked to death, it'll show up in autopsy. My guess was he swerved off the road and crashed into the tree and died." I pushed past Andrew and took my position back beside Catherine, "I seriously doubt if anyone reached through and strangled him."

I looked at Catherine and shook my head as we watched as Andrew scrutinized the blood smears on the side of the Mustang. While he was lost in thought, Joseph made his way towards Catherine and me, "He gets this way from time to time. Just do as I do and ignore him. He's apparently PMSing right now."

Catherine let out a laugh, but covered it up with a cough as I cleared my throat to keep from laughing hard. "Look, Andrew. The medics are right over there. We can get exemplar boot prints and ALS their pants to check for blood and if there is blood, we can get samples. It's nothing new and it'll exclude them from the ones we have here. It's not the end of the world. Saving a life trumps evidence every time. They have to do what they need to do to save lives."

"But he's dead. Not much we can do for him. They should have been able to see that from twenty feet away and stayed the hell out of the scene." He turned around and motioned to a bag on the trunk of the car, "Look! This defibrillator bag right here is sitting smack in a pool of blood on the back and now the actions of one mindless medic ruined this evidence." He picked the bag off the trunk and tossed it on the ground away from the car. "Someone needs to speak to the sheriff about training these idiots better."

I started to say something to defend Anna but Catherine stopped me. "Let me, Nick." I motioned for her to let him have it. "Our medics and our fire fighters are trained to do their jobs in the most horrendous of conditions. They get out here in the middle of fire fights, street fights, fist fights and God only knows what other types of fights and in the middle of storms that are so dangerous, it is mind blowing and they do their job. They do their job around psychotics, murderers, druggies, fighting spouses, arrogant out of town cops and arguing drunks and they help us as much as they can. I've been doing this job a while and I've never lost a case because some medic or some fireman put his foot in the middle of a pool of blood. Judges and juries know that lifesaving comes first and so help me God, I pray I never have to use your services in Reno. You'd let me bleed out and die while you stood there in your knock off Gucci shoes and collected evidence. If you think you can do this job better than they can, fine, but if you can't, just shut the hell up and get out of my way."

"Testy, testy." Andrew just shook his head and pulled a pair of gloves out of his field kit. "I mean look at this mess. Foot prints all through the blood. The victim was moved out of the car and now what? Evidence has been contaminated and we're not going to get anything usable." He kicked the side of the wrecked car. "Really? Did they not teach these people how to preserve a crime scene? Could they have been any more reckless?"

"Probably."

I knew I said that loud enough to get his attention and I did. Once again, I got a death stare, "How are we supposed to figure out who did what and what blood stains and smears are from the wreck and what smears are from the paramedics who couldn't pour piss out of a boot with a hole in the toe and instructions written on the heel? Like it'd do any good. They probably can't read anyway. If they could, they would have finished med school and gone on to become a doctor." He started to walk off but turned around, "And would someone bring some damn sodium lights over here. I can't see what the hell I'm doing."

"Good." I put the strap of my camera across my shoulder and headed in the opposite way from him, "Maybe you'll fall off a cliff!"

During Andrew's rant, I noticed Anna and Bryan had walked up to the scene and were leaning against Catherine's Tahoe, watching him rant on and on about their jobs. I silently said a prayer that Anna wouldn't let her temper get the better of her or that Bryan wouldn't just shove this guy over the edge, even though that probably wouldn't be a bad idea and if I had to bet, his partner would help us push.

Anna looked at me before she saw Joseph watching Andrew continue his rant about her job. He apparently recognized her and tried to get his partner to shut up, but he didn't listen. She smiled at Joseph who was being more reserved than his blabbermouth partner before turning her attention to me, "Hey Nick."

"I take it you heard all that, huh?"

"Yeah, we both did. Well most of it, really. We got the driver of the van loaded and the officers are talking to the rubbernecker. Heard Catherine going off on someone and wanted to catch the fireworks. Looks like I missed it."

"Yeah, that robbery detective, Mr. Personality, doesn't like you much right now."

"I just love those pretty boys from robbery." She eyed him while he was looking at the back of the crumpled Mustang. "He's the one from Reno, right? The one who acts like he's God?"

"Yeah, that's him. I don't think his partner's that bad. He seems alright. The tall one though, wow. Bet he toilet trained his kids at gunpoint."

Bryan did his best to hide a smile as Andrew turned around when he heard us talking. "So you're the medics who screwed up my crime scene? Come back to stomp through blood puddles? Play Slip and Slide down the hood of the car?"

Anna had turned her attention to the scene report she was holding. She had brought her clipboard with her and was busy writing her narrative for the incident report for the police department when she answered his question, not even bothering to look up at him as she spoke. "So, you're the Reno investigator with a giant California redwood thrust up his ass?" With an audible gasp from someone behind us, he made no response. When he said nothing, she looked up from her report and smiled at him. I lost it. I was turning blue from not breathing to keep from laughing, but something that sounded like a snort mixed with a laugh escaped.

I stared at her as she approached Andrew. Anna was only an inch over five feet tall on a good day and Andrew towered over her by nearly a foot and some inches. I couldn't believe she'd make a come back like that even though the guy did deserve it. Catherine let out a small laugh and again covered it with a cough, "Anna."

She acknowledged Catherine's presence before she turned her full attention back to Andrew, "Can't speak? Well, let me start. Name's Anna Gigandet. Oh, and just so you spell my name correctly for your report, I'll spell it out for you. Get your pen ready. I'll wait." Anna handed her clipboard to Bryan and crossed her arms across her chest as the puzzled detective pulled a pen out of his pocket. "A-N-N-A is how you spell my first name."

I watched as Andrew flipped to a clean page in his notebook and started writing, all the while glaring at Anna, "Did I get it right?"

He showed her his notebook and she smiled, "I see you got that part down. Very nice. If I had any cookies, I'd give you one. Now for my last name and I'll make sure I go really slowly so you pretty boys from robbery can keep up. G-I-G-A-N-D-E-T."

I couldn't help myself as another laugh escaped and before long, I was turning red from trying not to laugh again. Catherine put her field kit down and walked around the side of the Tahoe with Bryan so they could laugh where nobody could see them. Andrew just stared at Anna and even from where I was standing, I could tell by the expression on his face that he couldn't believe she just stood up to him like that. Bryan and Catherine appeared a moment later having composed themselves from Anna's smart remark.

"So when you're finished telling everyone how piss poor I do my job, you mind moving so I can get my equipment and my non trained self out of your way, Your Highness?" She put her right arm across her stomach and bowed, just as if she was bowing for a king. I had to turn around to keep from laughing yet once again. Anna was killing me right now and I needed to remain professional.

She saw me struggling to keep my composure and straightened up, "I mean, after all, we're just a bunch of backwoods inbred paramedics who can't read and make you work harder to figure out what's what, right? Want to take me out behind the woodshed and shoot me now?"

"Look you smart ass medic know it all, you just made my job ten times harder. How about you move around me?"

Anna scoffed. "My heart bleeds peanut butter." I could tell that she was obviously unimpressed with this guy or his attitude.

Bryan looked at Anna and shook his head, "Truculence." He couldn't handle it anymore and busied himself with the report she had given him.

"Excuse me?" Andrew put his pen away as he challenged Bryan to repeat what he said.

After Bryan said nothing, Anna didn't back off. "It means I don't care and you say I'm a dumbass." I could tell she wanted to say something else, but she kept her cool. "Look, Einstein. Lemme get my crayons and draw you a picture on the back of this run report form my partner is filling out. Since I'm pretty sure you won't be able to follow my narrative, I'll draw you a picture. I promise you that the picture will have lots of colors and balloons and rainbows and a pretty pony jumping through a sky of satin ribbons so you'll understand what I'm trying to tell you."

"That's…"

Interrupting him, Anna started to walk closer and as she did, he took a step back. I folded my arms across my chest and watched her go after him, "You've got your right foot through the loop of the AED bag handle that you so lovingly threw to the ground. If I pull on that, I'm gonna pull you down with it. Now granted at this point in time, I'm failing to see how that could be a bad thing but I'm sure upon reflection, something would come to me. I know that'd make me laugh and seeing as how I've had to pee now for the past two hours, I'd probably wet myself, but you know what? After having to put up with your attitude since you've been here, it'd so be worth it." She stepped forward again. "Now move or prepare to take a swan dive off that ridge over there."

He looked down at his foot and realizing his foot was inside the AED bag strap, he looked at her and just walked off, defeated. Anna looked over her shoulder as she smiled, "Jackass." Satisfied now, she picked up the bag and put the strap over her shoulder. "I'll let you get to your investigating. Call me later?"

"Of course." I surveyed the scene again, "Mr. Personality and his partner and Catherine and I are going to go wrap this up and head back in. I'll call you when we're done. If you get another call out in this area tonight, rest assured, it'll be me after I beat the attitude out of him."

"I'll help too, Nicky." Catherine had her hand up like she was in school.

Joseph held up his hand as well. "Can I help? He's got it coming from me for the past five years of working with him."

After Anna and Bryan left, the four of us stayed at the scene for the next few hours, working in silence. Since she had put Andrew in his place, he didn't have too much to say, but his partner was quite pleasant to be around and was chatting with me about life in Reno while he was helping me bag glass fragments from the Mustang. "I've been working with him now going on five years and some days, he's too much for me to handle."

"Well that's a sunny view of the situation." I signed a plastic evidence bag he handed me and tossed it into the collection bin.

He took another bag I was holding from me and sealed it up with evidence tape and handed it back to me. Since we were in Las Vegas, I had to sign everything even though he collected it. I signed the tape and dropped it in the collection bin on top of the other bags. "Heck, I'd buy her dinner and marry her for doing that for me. Think she'd go out with me?"

"Uh, I'll relay the message but I'm kind of certain she'd have to pass, but if you want me to tell her thanks, I'll relay the message when I see her later on after she gets off work."

Joseph looked up realizing what I said, "Oh man, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that…Oh dude. I'm sorry."

"No biggie. We just started dating."

We finished bagging the glass from the car as well as some paint chips and the side view mirror. As the tow truck loaded up the crumpled Mustang, Joseph helped me carry the evidence to Catherine's Tahoe. I gave him directions to the crime lab and he said he'd bring Andrew there with him later on after they finished interviewing the driver's girlfriend in town.

Catherine and I drove back to the crime lab and dumped the evidence at the clerk's desk so she could divide it up between the departments. "Lunch? I'm buying."

"Far be it for me to turn down free food." We got back in the Tahoe and took off to one of the all night pancake places down the road from the lab.

We sat down and ordered and started talking about the case as the waitress brought our order to us. About halfway through our meal, my phone rang. Figuring it was Hodges from the lab to tell me something about the case, I didn't even pay attention to the caller ID as I flipped it open. "Whatcha got for me Hodges?"

"Who?"

"Oh, crap. Sorry, Anna. I figured it was one of the lab rats calling. Cath and I are at the pancake place over by the station. We're eating while they're getting a jump start on the evidence."

"I know."

"We just…." It finally dawned on me what she had said, "Wait, how did you know we were here?"

"Turn around."

I turned around in my chair and saw Anna and Bryan at the doorway. She waved at me with her free hand as her other hand held her cell phone to her ear. "Hey, dear."

"Come eat with us." Catherine waved over at Anna and Bryan. "Come on! Nick, scoot over so Anna can sit next to you." I snapped the phone shut as she and Bryan made their way to our table. Anna took the empty seat next to me as Bryan pulled up a chair and sat at the end of the table. "Nice to see you again, Anna." Catherine turned to Bryan. "Don't think we've ever been formally introduced. Catherine Willows, Crime Lab."

"Bryan Brooks, Paramedic LVFD and Anna's keeper."

She snorted, "Ha. Whatever. It's more like I'm your handler. I should get hazard pay most nights for having to keep you on a leash like I do."

Bryan started to say something, but the waitress came back and Anna and Bryan ordered and their food was brought out fairly quickly. It was nearing close to three in the morning and we were one of about a dozen people in the restaurant at the time.

Catherine took a drink of her coffee and then put the cup down before she started in, "Oh, Nick tell you that investigator from Reno thinks you're hot?"

Bryan straightened up, "Well, thank you. I don't think he's my type though. Plus I think my wife would have something to say about that." His voice was about three octaves higher than normal and he spoke with a lisp, "But I get that all the time."

"You do that voice all too well. I'm scared. Really scared now." Anna looked slightly annoyed, but softened her expression when she faced me, "See why I had to apologize for him the other night?"

I shot Catherine a look, "No, I didn't tell Anna yet about what he said but thanks, Cath. Always a pal."

"Any time, Nick." She smiled at me and finished up her pancakes, "Not bad looking actually. Looks too young for me, but not for you, Anna. He did ask Nick about you though."

Anna groaned, "Oh God, I'd rather hang myself. I'd wind up in prison after beating him to death or something."

"No, no, not that one, the nice one. The quiet one."

"Ah." She thought a moment, "If another certain crime scene investigator didn't have my eye, maybe, but…" She trailed off as she nudged me in the ribs. "Too bad for him I guess. Looks like I'm already spoken for."

I straightened up at the realization of what Anna had said. It made me feel good to know she felt the same way about me as I did her.

After half an hour passed of the four of us enjoying our breakfast, Catherine checked her watch and stood up, "We better get back Nick. They've probably got some results for us and Investigator Personality and his side kick will be there soon."

"Be right there."

Catherine and Bryan walked ahead leaving Anna and me alone. "You really let that guy have it. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Anna shrugged her shoulders, "I know I'm not always an investigator's best friend when it comes to me having to trash evidence to save someone's life, but it's not like I put on rain boots and went stomping through blood pools just to piss y'all off. My first duty is to the victims who need me and treat them to the best of my abilities."

I took her hand in mine, "I know that. I'm not mad. Catherine's not mad. We've been doing this job enough to know that y'all don't intentionally stomp through blood puddles or shout out 'Bonsai!' right before you drive through muddy tire impressions or something. It's part of your job and we know that. Detective Personality was just one of a kind."

"Nick, ride back with Anna. I'm gonna take Bryan back to the lab. Meet us there and we can swap partners." Not even giving me a chance to argue, Catherine got into her Tahoe with Bryan already in the passenger's side.

"She's going out of her way to make sure we have time together, isn't she?" Anna wrapped her arms around my midsection and put her head on my chest.

Returning the hug, I held her tightly as we stood outside in the cool night air. "She likes you and she knows I like you too. This job is hard enough as it is on me, but when you try to add in a relationship to the mix, especially with someone who doesn't get what it is that it takes for us to do this job, it's hard. I know you understand as your job is like mine. You know calls won't wait until you're done with dinner and it's the same with me. If my pager goes off, I have to go no matter what. Cath just knows that you understand how it is we live because you're in a similar situation." I kissed her as she brought her face up to look at me. "And I'm eternally grateful for her help. I'll take any time I can get with you."

"Me too." Anna pulled away from me slightly and stood up on her tip toes to kiss me. "Better get you back to the lab and get Bryan back before Catherine wrecks her truck to get away from him." She took my hand and led me to the ambulance in the parking lot of the Pancake Hut. "Onwards we go, I guess." I opened the door for her and she got in and I got in on the other side. "Wanna turn the sirens on?"

"Uh no. That'll make our trip faster and right now, slow is better." I put on my seatbelt as Anna backed the ambulance out of the parking lot and turned onto the road in the direction of the lab. "I do have sort of a dumb question for you."

"What's that?"

"I don't know when your birthday it is."

We came to a stop at an intersection and Anna looked over at me to answer the question as she waited on the light to change, "This is the end of February, so it's about two and a half months away in mid May."

"No way. Really?"

"Yep. May 16th is the day I get to put on a festive hat and celebrate the fact the earth made it around the sun yet once again. Why?"

"Mine's May 17th. Day after yours. Nice coincidence." A sign maybe? I didn't know but it didn't stop my mind from wandering while Anna answered radio traffic directed at her on our way back.

We made it to the parking lot and she and I both got out. I pulled her into a hug again and was about to let her out when I heard someone shout my name from behind me. As I turned around, I noticed Warrick walking towards us again with Greg hot on his heels, "Oh God. Why?" I looked up at the night sky. "Did I do something in a past life to have to put up with abuse like this?" I shook my head and looked down at Anna as she rested her head on my chest again.

"Miss Anna with the incredibly hard to remember last name. Pleasure to see you again."

Anna turned her head to the side, but didn't break my hug so I didn't move my arms, "And Mr. Warrick and his cameraman Mr. Greg. Likewise. Just returning Nick to you so I can pick up my partner and head back to try to catch some sleep in between calls."

Greg motioned over his shoulder, "He's in there. Catherine took him inside to show him around. Has Nick given you the tour yet?"

Anna shook her head, "Nope. This is the first time I've been here."

Greg pulled Anna's hand off my back and yanked her away from me. "I get to give you the special tour now since Nicky hasn't." He pulled on her hand and she stumbled stepping up on the curb of the sidewalk and I watched as Greg practically dragged her up the sidewalk that ended at the front door. He shoved the glass doors opened and stopped at the receptionist's desk long enough to hand Anna a visitor's badge. "Clip this on your shirt."

He took her hand again after she clipped the badge to her work shirt and led her towards the back of the building, giving her the tour as they walked. "This is the DNA lab. Wendy works here, but she's not here right now and down this way is the trace lab and that's Hodges." We walked by an empty room and came on the ballistics lab. "This is Bobby Dawson's kingdom. He shoots stuff and over here we have Mandy in the fingerprint analysis room."

"And you must be the lovely Anna."

I looked around Greg and Anna and saw Grissom. I figured I better make the introductions before Greg said something to embarrass me even further. "Anna this is my supervisor, Gil Grissom. Gris, this is Anna Gigandet. Man, I thought you were home sick?"

"I was. Got called in. Busy night. If you'll excuse me, I'm heading downstairs for autopsy. Doc Robbins is about to start." Anna and Grissom exchanged pleasantries and Gil took off downstairs to the morgue to check on a body.

Greg left Anna and me alone as we made our way to the back where Catherine was. She was leaned over an illuminated table showing Bryan some sort of drawing from another case. "I need to get him so we can go before we get another case."

"I know." I kissed her again as she knocked on the glass to get Bryan's attention. Catherine waved as Bryan came out and said he'd meet her outside. I took Anna's hand in mine and we made our way back through the maze of hallways and back up to the reception area. We made the last turn in the hallway that separated the lab from the reception area and ran into Detective Personality and his sidekick. I groaned again and knew that it was about to get ugly.

"And if it isn't Paramedic Smart Ass once again. God, how I missed you."

Anna looked annoyed, "I bet working with you for an extended period of time is enough to make Gandhi spin kick a hole through a brick wall." I heard Joseph suppress a laugh as his partner just huffed off, defeated by my very own smart ass paramedic girlfriend.

After telling her I'd call her after I got off work in a little bit, I let her other hand go and told her to have a good night before I watched the ambulance pull out of the parking lot as I headed back inside to process the evidence we collected earlier.

To quote a line from the theme song of MST3K: "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes and other science facts, just repeat to yourself "It's just a show, I should really just relax." So if you're thinking to yourself "Well, that's not how it happened on the show!," take the advice of MST3K wisdom and "really just relax!"