A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written a story for a while, been really busy at college with exams coming up! :S Anyway, I thought I'd take a break and write this, some Nick and Mandy as requested by AA so I hope you enjoy :) Also, thanks for the great reviews in the last chapter! A lot of you said you liked the protective Nick, and there is a lot of that in my next big story which I'm hoping to release into the wild at New Year! ;)

Summary – There is a new tech at the lab and Nick really wants to impress her, but as always Hodges has something to say about that…

When Nick Met Mandy

"So did you here we're getting a new fingerprint tech today?" Warrick asked as he and Nick walked down the hall.

"Yeah, I hope they're fun like Greg, I couldn't stand another Hodges" Nick said with a roll of his eyes.

Warrick laughed in agreement "I hope they like sport, It would be nice to have someone to watch it with" he pondered.

"Yeah that would be cool. But apparently they were picked by Ecklie, so I bet they'll be just like him" Nick said with a sigh.

"What? Old, selfish, boring…" Warrick started.

"Arrogant, stuck up, unappreciative" Nick finished and they both laughed.

"Well I guess only time will tell" Warrick said clapping his friend on the back "I've got some Tox results to pick up, catch you later man"

"Alright, see ya" Nick replied and went to Grissom's office to discuss what he had found in the case so far.

Nick knocked on the door and waited for the usual 'come in' before steeping into the room. He didn't look up as he was scanning the file in his hands.

"Hey Grissom, I was wondering if…" Nick paused and went slightly slack jawed at the sight of the beautiful woman sat at the opposite side of Grissom's desk. She turned and smiled at him, a perfect smile.

"Hi, hello, hi" Nick stumbled over his words as he looked her up and down. The woman laughed and Nick could feel his cheeks burning as he blushed, very unusual for him.

The woman's long brown hair was pulled back into a sleek pony tail. She wore fashionable glasses on the bridge of her noise, hidden behind which, were a pair of deep brown eyes, full of life.

"Nick this is Mandy, the new Fingerprint Tech. Mandy, this is Nick Stokes, one of my level three CSI's" Grissom explained.

"Nice to meet you Nick" Mandy said standing up and putting out her hand for him to shake.

Nick realised he was staring and had to shake his head to gain focus before taking her hand "Hi I'm Nick…but I already said that and you already knew that" he cringed, wanting to bang his head repeatedly against the wall.

Luckily, Mandy just laughed it off "Texan, I like that" she said with a nod of her head.

"Oh yeah I'm a true born and raised Texan, yah know being tough, and guns and ya know, stuff…" Dammit Nick stop talking! His head was screaming.

"Right, well maybe you could give me a tour of the lab if you're not busy" Mandy suggested.

"Oh yeah I'd love to" Nick said eagerly.

"Wait a second" Grissom interrupted, Nick had forgotten his boss was even there. "Before you go, what was it you wanted to show me Nicky?"

Nick went wide eyed and looked at Grissom horrified, the older CSI just frowned "Please don't call me Nicky" the younger CSI said embarrassed.

"Why not? You never had a problem with it before?" Grissom asked seeming confused.

"Actually I've never really liked it" the Texan said desperately hoping his boss would get the hint.

"Really? I thought you said you liked it, it reminded you of your parents…"

"No I didn't" Nick interrupted with a weary smile "I never said that, not ever"

"Nicky…it's cute" Mandy said with a reassuring smile.

"Really, thanks" the CSI said, he was starting to feel stupider by the second. "Grissom it can wait until later. Come on I'll show you around" he said opening the door for Mandy, she thanked him and they stepped outside.

"Kids" Grissom said with a shake of his head after they'd left, before going back to his work.

As Nick and Mandy walked around they talked a lot about their past work. Mandy asked how long Nick had been a CSI for and why he'd wanted the job, Nick asked similar questions to her about finger printing. The Texan was completely smitten. Mandy was smart, funny, pretty. He just wished he could pluck up the courage to ask her out, maybe after she'd worked here for a while and they'd gotten to know each other better.

"Well I best get started. Thanks so much for showing me around, I can't wait to work with you" Mandy said as they reached her lab.

"Yeah me too, I'm sure I'll see you later" Nick said leaning against the door frame trying to seem casual. Mandy smiled and left. As soon as she did he turned and banged his head against the wall "Stupid, stupid, stupid" he muttered to himself.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" a voice said. Nick turned to see Greg had appeared out of nowhere just like he always did. "You'll risk losing what little brain cells you have left"

"I'm not in the mood Greggo" Nick mumbled and began to walk down the corridor, by no surprise, Greg followed him.

"So is that the new fingerprinting tech?" the DNA tech asked with a smile "She's hot…"

"No, back off" Nick said with a warning finger.

"Why?" Greg moaned.

"Because I like her, and besides, you already got Sara"

"How have I got Sara?" Greg asked in disbelief. "She's gotGrissom and Warrick's got Catherine…"

"Warrick likes Catherine?"

"Well…that's beside the point…."

"Well if it isn't the lab gossips" Hodges said appearing at the doorway of his lab. Both Nick and Greg moaned before rolling their eyes. "What makes you think I don't have a shot with Mandy?"

"There is just not enough time in the day to explain why. I'm out of here" Greg said raising his hands and walking away.

"Do you always eavesdrop on other peoples conversations?" Nick asked folding his arms in annoyance.

Hodges raised an eyebrow in a very good imitation of Grissom "No, but I was just interested by the fact you think Mandy would go out with you, when she could have the tall, dark and handsome man that is David Hodges" he said with a smug grin and a wink.

"Oh I don't know about that…." A female voice came from behind him. The look of embarrassment on the Trace Techs face when he realised it was Mandy made Nick smile. "I would say…average size, patronising and little full of himself." She said walking around him in a circle; Nick had to bite his lip to stop himself laughing. "And I think I can choose for myself who I got out with" she said making quotation marks.

Hodges opened his mouth to protest but no words came out. Instead, he just stuck his nose in the air and stormed off down the corridor in a huff. Nick couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.

"That was awesome, it's about time someone put him in his place!" he said whilst Mandy gave a slight bow. "But he does get better when you get use to him, I promise" Nick explained, he knew Hodges wasn't really a bad guy.

"We'll see…" Mandy said with a smile "you know, since I'm new to Vegas in general, I could really use someone to point out the good bars to me. You know a place we could go watch the football game tonight?"

"We?" Nick asked in surprise, but also secretly joyed that she liked sport, Mandy was turning out to be the prefect girl "As in…me and you?"

"No Nick me and Santa" Mandy said with a roll of her eyes "Of course me and you!" she said with a laugh, lightly hitting him on the arm. "I'd like to hang out with you some more"

"Yeah I'd love to hang out with you too. I know just the place" Nick smiled.

"Great, I gotta go but we'll make plans later yeah?"

"Yeah of course, bye"

They shared a smile before heading in different directions, Nick, extremely pleased with himself and Mandy, feeling like she had made her first proper friend in Vegas. Or maybe even more…

So, I don't think this one was that great, It sounded alright in my head but then I wrote it down and… :/ I really hope I didn't disappoint but please do let me know what you think with a review! I actually really like this ship :)

Also that reminds me, this is probably going to sound really stupid, but can someone please tell me why the Warrick/Catherine ship is called YoBling? I'd appreciate it :P

Reviews and Prompts keep the gremlins away!