Hi everyone, welcome to my offering. I hope it doesn't offend or bore any of you! It's my first fic so I'd love some reviews but please be gentle. I don't want any hate mail!

Chapter 1. Welcome to My World.

The shrill beep of the alarm clock made Kate Kennedy sit straight up in bed, heart pounding. She looked over at the bright green display on the face of the clock that read 6:15am. Groaning, she rubbed a hand over her face and dropped back on the pillows.

Seconds later the front door opened and she heard footsteps come towards her. She tensed herself for the inevitable.

"Get up, Katykins!"

"Get off me!"

"Get up, you brat." Tara tickled her sister in the ribs. "You'll be late for your first day."

"Ok, ok." Kate sat up and shoved her tangled hair out of her face. "I'll be good."

Twenty minutes later she was wrestling her hair into some semblance of order and survrying her reflection in the wide mirror of the hallway.

"Coffee," Tara said, handing her a mug. "You'll need it."

Tara had changed into her pyjamas, her eyes heavy with fatigue.

"Thanks." Kate gratefully accepted the mug and looked at herself again. "How do I look?"

"Like me," Tara answered. "Fantastic!"

Laughing, Kate looked at their reflection as Tara came to stand beside her. All their lives, they had turned heads. Being totally identical would do that, she mused. They had always been like mirror images of each other, even when Tara had gone through her punk rocker phase.

"Ok." Taking a final gulp of her coffee, Kate turned to her sister. "Gotta go. Did you talk to the new tenant yet?"

"Not yet," Tara answered. "I think he's a cop. He seems to come and go at funny hours." She yawned widely. "Go on, Kate, I need sleep! We'll talk to the mysterious new neighbour later!"

"Love you," Kate gave her twin a brief hug and picked up her jacket.

"Back at you, baby sister."

Kate stood in the elevator at the huge building that would be her place of work for the next few years. She'd trained hard for this day, earning her place in the Police Acadeny and working her way up to Detective after just two years on the force. She'd gone back to college to earn her degree in Criminal Science and her background as a police officer meant that she was eligible for field work straight away instead of being confined to a lab.

Walking into the lab on the thirty fifth floor, she knocked lightly on the door labeled 'Mac Taylor'.

"Come in."

"Hi," she said, smiling at him. "Just wanted to let you know I've arrived and see where you want me."

"Hi, Kate," Mac said, standing up. "Just in time. There's a DOA over on thirty fifth and Broad. You can go with Stella. Bonasera," he added, noting her look of confusion. "She'll be shadowing you for a bit. At least until Lindsay and Danny get back from honeymoon."

"Ok," Kate said, feeling like she was thrown in at the deep end. "I'll get my gear together."

She went to the locker room and pulled out the navy police issue vest with CSI written on it in bold yellow letters. Checking her weapon, she clipped it onto her belt and pulled her badge from her bag.

"Ready?" A female voice inquired.

Kate turned to see a tall, curly-haired woman standing in the door. Her green eyes were friendly and she was dressed, like Kate, in her Crime Lab vest. She handed Kate a navy windbreaker with NYPD on it, smiling at her.

"I'm Stella," the woman explained. "Mac said I'd find you here. You must be Detective Kennedy."

"Kate." Sticking out her hand and shaking Stella's, Kate admred the natural beauty and confidence that radiated from the older woman. "It's just Kate."

"Let's go, Just Kate," Stella joked. "The traffic can be murder downtown."

At the crime scene, yellow tape had already been set up around the area. Uniformed officers patrolled the borders, their expressions blank. Some nodded to Stella, some smiled.

"Hey, Stel," a tall police officer greeted her, lifting the tape for them to duck under. "Who's the rookie?"

"This is Kate Kennedy," Stella answered. "She's no rookie, either, Davis. She's already made Detective."

"No kidding," Davis said, impressed. "Why'd you go over to the dark side, Detective?"

"Because I wanted to learn more about the criminal mind," Kate answered. She shot him a quick grin before adding "And the pay is better."

"Davis." The deep male voice from behind her made her jump. "Are you holding up my CSI's?"

"Nope," Davis cheerfully answered the man who'd asked the question. "They're flirting with me."

"Give it a rest," Stella said, cuffing him on the side of the head. "Try and portray a good image to the new girl, would you?"

"You guys here to talk to Officer Davis?" the man teased." Or would you like to join Hawkes at the actual crime scene?"

"Flack," Stella admonished. "Don't be a jerk." She gestured for Kate to follow her. "Kate Kennedy, this is Don Flack, Junior. Homicide, obviously."

"Hi," he said, looking her over quickly.

Eye candy, Kate thought with a grin at the thought of what Tara would say about this one. Tall dark and handsome, was her own image of the Detective.

She judged him to be about four or five years older than her own twenty six, and he was what her Irish granny would have called hot stuff.

Tall, well built, she thought as she took out her camera and began snapping pictures of the dead man on the ground. Idly scanning the area around him for some evidence, she spotted a piece of paper on the ground. She immediately picked itup and felt a small shiver at the note written on it.

"Let virtue distinguish the brave," she read aloud.

Detective Flack stopped in the middle of his report to Stella and looked at her, quirking one eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"The note," Kate waved it at him. "It says 'Let virtue-'"

"Let me see that." He grabbed it and looked at it, his face growing serious."Stella..."

"I hear you," Stella said, her face pale. "Everybody get back!" She began to follow Detective Flack's lead, running towards the people outside the perimeter. They gestured wildly, ordering people to move.

Kate looked around her, utter confusion turning to panic as people began to rapidly run from the scene.

"What's wrong? Stella?"

"Kate," Stella shouted. "Move. It's a-"

The sudden rush of air and the force of the blast knocked her off her feet and backwards into the air. The last thing she saw was Stella and Detective Flack running towards her before the world turned black and she passed out.

So, what do you think? I know it's a little long winded, but I wanted to give some background and introduce some of the characters.

Any notions as to where this one should go? I suck at the whole crime scene writing, so please bear with me. I'm watching all the repeats at the moment, praying for inspiration.

Please review!!