DISCLAIMER: I don't own CSI

This chapter is going to be from Hodges point of view again, because I'm not very good at writing from the other three's perspective. But it will feature all four of the lab rats again. (Hodges, Henry, Mandy, Wendy) This chapter is pretty long, and there will be two or three more after this. Next one will be from Greg's perspective! And sorry, I couldn't resist throwing in a tiny bit of Mandy/Henry here. Also, there is an OC, but she doesn't make any real difference to the story, I just didn't have enough lab rats to go around! Review if you like it!

This was their first meeting as official investigators. And they didn't seem to be taking it very seriously.

Henry had worn a suit and sunglasses, and a toy gun. Although the thing was clearly plastic, and his suit was clearly from a department store, he kept humming the James Bomd theme tune and taking his sunglasses on and off dramatically.

Wendy was texting. Texting somebody about something entirely unrelated to the mission on hand. And she was chewing gum. That was just so disrespectful of their whole society that it...uh...where to start.

Mandy had taken the liberty to dress in one of those black skin tight latex suits. And she kept getting up and walking around swiftly, her back to the wall. And crawling on the floor. She even attempted a cartwheel. And yet, was achieving nothing but Henry's desiring looks.

And not one of them was paying attention to him. Even as he began the opening speech he had rehearsed so well, Wendy didn't look up from her phone, and had the disregard to actually blow bubblegum bubbles? Mandy was too busy rolling around on the floor, and Henry's eyes were too clouded over with lust, as no doubt he wished he was rolling around with her.

"Hey." He called, loud enough to get their attention.

"Wendy, put your phone away and please, go spit that out. Henry, give me your stupid gun, and try to keep your eyes and your mind on the mission? And Mandy, sit up. And put on a jacket, that suit seems to be distratcing some of our other members."

"You like latex?" she asked him, sitting up.

"Who doesn't?" Henry shrugged.

"I dunno, I've always taken you to be more of a lace kinda guy..." Mandy told him.

"And I really don't care about any of this. Now please, can we just concentrate?" Hodges interupted.

There was a silence. Hodges smiled.

"Lovely. Now, did anybody find anything interesting?" he asked.

"Greg leaves the lab straight away after work." Wendy said.

"Yeah, no more hanging around after shift. And he's never in a moment before shift starts." Mandy added.

"The other day he was giving Grissom some kind of excuse about being late for work because his car wouldn't start." Henry told them.

"Yeah, I heard that too, and Archie was like, once you start it you can't stop it." Wendy remembered.

"Alright, so it's safe to say he wasn't talking about Greg's car." Wendy suggested.

"Then what did he mean?" Hodges asked.

"It's obvious, Greg's seing someone." Wendy told him

"So the starting meant...oh..." Henry realised.

"Thank you Wendy, for pointing out the obvious. But we need to know who." Hodges said snippily. Of course. He was seeing somebody. Quickly moving on to direct attention away from the fact that Wendy had figured it out before him, Hodges began to speak again.

"It's probably some random girl we don't know." Mandy said.

"Yeah and anyway if he wants to see somebody he can, it's not really our business." Henry agreed.

"No, no, no. This is more than just some ordinary girlfriend." Hodges shook his head, refusing to give up.

"What makes you say that?" Wendy asked.

"Well, there's obviously some reason that he doesn't want us to know." Hodges said.

"You think it's someone from the lab?" Mandy wondered.

"Yeah I do." Hodges nodded.

"Alyssa." Wendy smiled.

"There's an Alyssa at the lab?" Mandy asked.

"Dayshift. One day, me and Greg.." Wendy began.

"Greg and I." Hodges corrected.

"No Hodges, you weren't there. ME and Greg were pulling a double and Greg took a break to go talk to her." Wendy continued, deliberately misunderstanding.

"So, he talks to everybody." Hodges retorted, not liking Wendy's smart assed comments.

"Let me finish. They had this whole innuendo thing going on about how many licks it took to get to the centre of a Tootsie pop." Wendy remembered.

"Ooooh. I love tootsie pops." Henry grinned.

"Focus. That's interesting. Very interesting." Hodges continued, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"So you guys think Archie found out and that's why he's acting all smug?" Mandy asked.

"Apparently." Hodges nodded.

"Let's go ask him if we're right about Greg and Alyssa." Mandy suggested, getting up.

"No way are we doing that. We have to finish this ourselves." Hodges insisted.

"I'll text her now, ask how she's doing." Wendy offered, getting out her phone.

"Fine but be subtle." Hodges warned her.

"How about we wait til Greg leaves work, then invite her for drinks. If she can come, she's probably not with him." Mandy suggested.

"That doesn't mean they aren't dating..." Hodges sighed.

"Then how about we invite Greg too, see if there's any tension." Henry suggested.

"Good idea, Henry." Hodges smiled. That was a good plan. And it hadn't come from Wendy, therefore it was okay to praise him.

"Thanks." Henry grinned.

"We meet back here at seven o clock." Hodges told the others.

"Deal." they agreed.

At seven o clock after a long and uninteresting shift, they all met in the break room. Greg had just left, and Archie was still in the A.V. all drove their own cars to the bar they had chosen and sat awkardly around the table. They didmn't go to bars often. Hodges felt uncomfortable, and Henry and Mandy weren't big drinkers. Normally when they went to bars Greg, Archie and Wendy were the ones who ended up drunk, and Wendy realised that it wasn't going to be much fun on her own. So she ordered a lemonade like the rest of them and they sat at the table in the corner, uneasily making small chat. Eventually Wendy got a text from Alyssa saying that she was on her way.

"Now to call Greg." Mandy smiled, flipping open her phone. She dialed Greg's number, he was speed dial three. There was no answer.

"Try again." Wendy told her.

"Who's speed dial one?" Hodges asked curiously.

"Wendy."

"Two?" he asked.

"Henry."

"Four?"

"Archie."

"Five?"

"My parents."

"Six?"

"The lab."

"Seven?"

"My sister."

"Eight?"

"My other sister?"

"Nine?"

"My brother."

"Zero?"

"You."

"How come I'm last?" he asked, hurt.

"In a way, zero is the first number." Henry reasoned.

"You made me the last number on your speed dial." Hodges repeated.

"Look Hodges, we can discuss your insecurities later. Mandy, ring him again." Wendy instructed.

They were interupted by Alyssa's arrival, as they all got up to socialise. She pulled up a chair and ordered two gin and tonics, one for her and one for Wendy.

"Ring Greg again." Wendy said after a minute.

"Greg Sanders?" Alyssa asked.

"Yeah, we're trying to get him to come?" Hodges told her, trying to gauge her reaction to his name.

"Oh. What about Archie?" Alyssa asked.

"He's gonna kill us for not inviting him." Henry laughed.

"I'll text him." Alyssa offered enthusiastically. "I mean... not that it really matters but..." she stumbled over her words.

"Go ahead." Mandy nodded.

"Do you have his number?" Wendy asked her, realising that Alyssa probably didn't know many other night shift techs besides her and Greg.

"Yeah." she said sheepishly.

"I hardly ever see you talking to him." Wendy realised.

"Well, we see each other sometimes at shift change." Alyssa shrugged, beginning to blush.

"Right. And you text?" Wendy asked, the plan forgotten in favour of one of her friends potential crushes.

"Sometimes. We mainly just talk about work though." Alyssa said.

"You're the dayshift A.V. tech right?" Hodges cut in. Suddenly, this girl wasn't seeming like the perfect match for Greg anymore.

"Yeah." she nodded, glad to have the subject turned away from Archie.

"So you're the one he leaves those little post-its for on the computer?" Mandy grinned, remembering seeing Archie doing something like that.

"Yeah." she nodded, embarassed.

"Ah." Hodges nodded.

"It's ringing." Mandy said, having called Greg.

"Hello." Greg answered. He sounded breathless.

"Greg, we were just wondering if you wanted to come out for a drink?" Mandy asked, subtly putting the phone on speaker.

"Em... I'm kinda busy right now." He said, and they could hear a muffled voice in the background.

"Doing what?" Mandy asked.

"Just doing... work..." Greg told her.

"Alright. We're at P.J..s" She told him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to..." then Greg let out a low moan.

"Greg?" Mandy asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Yeah sorry, just em... tired..." He mumbled, and they could hear a faint laugh in the background.

"Okay then. We'll see you tomorrow." Mandy smiled.

"Bye Mandy. Thanks anyway." He said.

"Bye Greg." she smiled.

And just before he hung up, they heard him ask someody not on the phone "Now, wherre were we?"

Hodges sent a text to Mandy, Wendy and Henry.

'Well, it's definately not Alyssa.'

The next day, the three of them carried on with their work, each one wondering who the mystery girl was and desperately wanting to be the first to find out.

Wendy decided it might make sense just to ask him. So she went to the DNA lab and knocked a few times on the door. She heard a lot of scuffling and murmuring inside, and then Greg yelled "come in." He was sitting on his desk chair, apparently working. And he was the only person in the room.

"Was there not somebody else here?" Wendy asked, looking around.

"No...why would you think that?" Greg asked, laughing nervously.

"I thought I heard something." she said.

"Nope. Nothing. Just me. Working."

"Greg..." Wendy said, and he turned around to see what she was looking at. What she was looking at turned out to be a purple lace bra, which lay draped over the edge of the table as if it had been thrown across the room then forgotten about. Which it probably had.

"That's evidence. For a case."

"Sure it is."

"I'm just gonna run DNA on it now."

"Go ahead then."

"Did I say I had to run DNA on it? I meant I have. As in already."

"Ah. Find anything interesting?"

"No. I mean... not really..."

Wendy heard a giggle coming from one of the closets. And she instantly recognised the voice.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Wendy smiled. Then she went to find the others and tell them what she had learnt.

Henry and Mandy were discussing their mission over coffee in the break room. Mandy was the first one to see it.

"Look over there." she said, pointing to the table.

"Greg's phone." Henry grinned.

"Should we?" she asked.

"Yeah." Henry nodded.

"Let's see... what's his password?" she wondered.

"Pink?" Henry suggested.

"As in the colour?" Mandy asked.

"No, the singer." he explained.

"Ah. Yep thats it! How did you know?" she asked.

"Greg is kind of predictable." Henry laughed.

"True. Messages?" Mandy said, opening up the folder.

"Yep. Let's see, Archie, Wendy, me, Nick, you, his mother, Sara, Warrick..." She read.

"Wait. Scroll back up." Henry said.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you see that?" Henry asked, pointing at the message.

"I wish I hadn't." she laughed.

"He should have a warning on this phone. For mature eyes only or something." Henry grinned.

"Well, we are over eighteen." Mandy reminded him.

"True." Henry grinned.

"We gotta go find Hodges and Wendy." Mandy laughed. They had figured out the secret.

David Hodges was getting really annoyed. He still hadn't figured out the big secret. He banged his head of the door of his locker in desperation. This was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to ba able to figure things out right away. What was wrong with him? The all of a sudden, David Hodges smelt something that gave him hope. It was that smell again. He let his nose follow the scent, it was coming from one of the lockers. He arfully inserted a hair pin he kept for just these purposes into the lock and twirled it around a few times until the door swung open. That was one his favourite talents, opening lockers, although he would never admit to anyone that Greg Sanders had actually taught him how to do it. Judging by the photos on the door, it was Sara's locker. Why was Sara's locker smelling like Henry's shampoo? He wondered. Then he remembered that Henry used the same shampoo as Greg Sanders. He identified the source of the scent, Sara's jacket. So she had obviously been hugging Greg or Henry lately. Things were starting to make a lot more sense. Not for the first time, Hodges thanked God for his super sensitive nose. He examined the jacket. Nothing prohibative. Except for the note in the pocket.

Meet me in the supply closet at 2

G xx

He'd have to be an idea to not know what G stood for. And he'd recognise that barely legible writing anywhere. Hodges had to go find the others and tell them what he'd discovered.

The four lab techs ran into each other in the hallway. They all began to speak at the same time.

"You're not gonna believe what me and Mandy just..."

"I have figured out the mystery..."

"I know who Greg is going out with..."

"Henry and I know the big secret..."

They all stopped talking and looked around at the others. then they all burst out at the same time.

"It's Sara!"

From somewhere within the dark A.V. lab behind them, somebody started to chuckle. They all looked in the door and saw Archie sitting in his chair, not doing any work, as usual. He was laughing at them.

"I thought you'd never figure it out."