DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!
RATING: T for Teen
PAIRINGS: None
SPOILERS: None (Way into the Future)
WORD COUNT: 975
PROMPT: Picture #12 - 1Hour2Write Monthly Picture Challenge (March)
SUMMARY: Starting off at a new job brings forth strange thoughts for Greg. 1Hour2Write Monthly Picture Challenge Response

A/N: This photo just jumped out at me, but it wasn't until I was working on next month's challenge that I remembered it again. The moment I looked at it this time the story just sprung to life. Unfortunately, this one is totally un-beta'd. I apologize in advance for any mistakes that may remain.

REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

At first, I merely step on the train and ignore everything around me, just like everyone else. I don't want anyone to know I don't really belong here. They all say that's the fastest way to get into trouble. And I don't want any trouble. But I can feel a presence, someone's gaze bearing down on me, and I look up from my folded paper.

Just a kid.

How many times has that phrase been used to describe me over the years? Who is that kid? What's wrong with that kid? Don't mind him, he's just a kid.

I soon realize he is not staring at me, but just off in space. A lone soul in a sea of everyday commuters, sad and solitary among the other faceless masses. Am I one of those masses now?

Was that me, not so long ago? Another lonely soul out in the world with no direction or purpose?

No, it wasn't ever me. I always had a direction, even if it was going in a million directions at once. I knew what I wanted, I just didn't know how to get it. I just needed that one guiding hand to show me the way.

Who will be this kid's guiding hand? Will he find his way, or will he get lost?

Strange thoughts to be having as I ride the elevated train through the city of Chicago. But this boy's face has broken through my consciousness and given me cause to reflect as I rock back and forth with the other commuters as the train rounds a corner.

Before I can further contemplate the great mysteries of my existence, the speaker crackles, announcing my stop. As I struggle to make my way to the platform with the crowd, I lose sight of the boy and with him the thoughts of melancholy he inspired in me. But his haunting face never leaves my mind.

After spending an entire week going through paperwork and briefings with the department captains, I am really looking forward to finally getting down to business in the forensics lab. My lab.

It has taken a lot of years, and many twists and turns, but I am really here. I have finally arrived. The student truly has surpassed the master. I would be nowhere without their instruction, but I have also learned from their mistakes, as well as my own.

My meeting with the commissioner is gratefully brief, and we make our way to the lab for the final introductions. I meet the shift supervisors, each qualified and eager for new leadership. Their teams all smile and nod, still unsure what the new guy will bring to the table. I remember being one of those skeptics, and it makes me smile.

The commissioner escorts me to my new office and points off in the direction of a sealed door. "That's the lab, but we'll have the section supervisors come in for a meeting this afternoon. There's no need to get lost in that zoo just yet." I smile at his description of the lab. I wonder if he knows that I used to be one of those zoo animals.

Settling in to my office, I begin by going through all the personnel files. It's important to know who's working for you, and unlike a predecessor, I'm not doing it to dig up dirt. I sincerely want to know who I will be working with, what I need to look out for, and who might need some special attention.

The chime on my watch sounds off, and I know the work day is drawing to a close. After making sure the duty assignments are ready for the overnight shifts, I decide to take a little stroll, and see what's going on around here.

The shift supervisor immediately jumps to see if I need anything, and I can watch each of the investigators double checking that everything is in order as I pass by their stations. It'll be some time before they feel comfortable around me, but if I make these walks a daily occurrence it should help to quell the paranoia.

As I round the corner to return to my office, I remember there's a zoo that still needs viewing. I quickly pull the lab coat from out of my office and slip it on as I punch in the numbers on the keypad. When the door swings open and I step inside, it's almost as though I can feel the air being sucked out of the building when everyone looks up and draws in a gasp.

The section supervisors struggle to swarm around me, each worried I am only here to eliminate their functions. When it becomes too much, I sit them all down in the break room and try to put their minds at ease. It doesn't take long before my lab rat roots show through, and the DNA jokes start flying around the room.

Satisfied that everyone once again feels safe in their jobs, I slowly make my way out of the lab. But apparently it's a little too slow when a young tech slams into me from behind.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry, I wasn't um, paying attention, and ah, I'm like um…"

The microscopy section supervisor rushes to my side, and immediately begins to berate the young man. "Taylor, you've been told a hundred times to turn off those damn headphones when you're wandering around the lab." Dr. Millner brushes off my jacket as he launches into the kid. "Now look what you've done? You nearly took out our new director and destroy evidence in one fell swoop!"

"No, sir. The slides are fine, I just pulled them out of cold storage, so they're still in the case and…" The kid stops cold the moment our eyes meet. He's… Just a kid.

Smiling, I leave our eyes locked for a moment and stop the supervisor's tirade. "No harm done, Millner. And I like to see my people enjoying their work." I looked briefly to Millner and then ask the kid, "You are enjoying your work… Taylor, is it?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, sort of, sir. I mean, it's Nicholas…Taylor, sir. But yes sir, I do enjoy my work." He stumbled over every word, and I couldn't help remembering a time when someone else made me feel that nervous every time we spoke.

"That's what I like to hear. Keep it up, then." When I see the boy's nervous smile, I add a little more. "Just try to keep your eyes up next time, okay?"

"Yes, sir… Definitely, sir." Millner stalked off the moment he realized he wasn't needed and the young man's spirits were lifted as he turned away. It made me feel good to have a connection with the kid, but there was something still tickling at the back of my mind.

"Ah, Taylor?" I just had to know what was playing in those headphones. "What are you listening to?"

The kid blushed with my question, and it intrigued me all the more. "It's ah, nothing special, really." When he saw I wasn't going to budge, he finally nodded and answered, "Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism; Enzymatic Digestion of DNA and its uses in Forensic Science." He shrugged at my careful smile. "I don't always have time for actual reading, and if I listen to the lectures while I work I don't get distracted with everything else going on in here.

"Sounds good to me…" I give him just enough time to think the conversation is over before adding, "But you should really try Dr. Simms' other lecture series, 'Mitochondrial vs. Y-Chromosome Technologies: The Battle of the DNA Sexes.' She's got some great one-liners in that one."

His smile grows to cover his entire face. "Thanks, Dr. Sanders! I'll definitely check it out."

Walking through the doors of the lab, I have to smile. He might have been just a kid, but at least he knew he wasn't alone anymore. They both did.