Love isn't all it's cracked up to be

Fanfic

Chapter 1

Frank groans and looks at the clock. 4:30 AM and he's getting called in! The text says: DB on Forest. Come soon.

Het drags himself out of bed and dresses quickly, not bothering to shower, just slapping extra deodorant on. Last night he was up late working on a case, and now was supposed to work a double shift on 2 hours of sleep. It could be worse, he thinks, as he kisses his three daughters' goodnight a leaves a note for his oldest:

Molly,

Called into work early. Sarah has soccer practice from 5 to 6:30 and Ali has dance from 4 to 6. There's pizza in the freezer and takeout menus in the top drawer.

Love,

Dad

Pulling his suit jacket on, he grabs his car keys and runs out the door of his colonial 3 bedroom home, not something usually found in Miami. It's October, and even though it's Miami, the breeze makes Frank cold as he gets into his police cruiser, parked right next to the minivan. The minivan was the third car he'd had this year, one was blown up by Horatio and a water cooler landed on the other, Frank remembers, as he pulls out of the driveway and steps on the gas.

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Ryan, in the middle of processing a Harley Davidson, is startled when his pager rings. He sighs and steps out into the hallway of the lab, looking around. He realizes he's the only one working the night shift, which means he has to go.

Pulling off his gloves, Ryan hangs up his lab coats and locks the garage so the evidence will be secure. He tucks the key into his back pocket and walks through the pin-silent lab to the parking lot. The streets are pitch black, he notices, even with the street lights on. A bird chirps and a squirrel scurries away as Ryan unlocks his car and slides in. He quickly stretches as he turns on the engine and backs out of the parking before booking it down the street and around the corner.

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Horatio, in a red Lamborghini, and Ryan, in a silver Lexus, pull up as Frank stands over a dead 30-something man. Ryan pulls out his kit while Frank stretches and does some jumping jacks to keep awake. Horatio chuckles at the sight of Frank doing stretches that look like they belong in an 80's workout video.

"Frank, what have we got?" Horatio questions.

"Michael Adams, 32, carpenter. One round to the chest. Neighbor found him and called it in." Frank points to the red ranch house they are standing in front of. "He lives there."

"Has the weapon been found?"

"Not yet. By the size of the hole, the bullet looks to be a .45."

"All right. Secure the perimeter and look around for the weapon." Frank nods and goes to talk to the police officer who is questioning the 60 year old woman who found him. Meanwhile, Dr. Tara Price steps out of the white coroner's van and walks towards the body, kit in hand.

"Hello Lieutenant Caine. Who have we got here?"

"Dr. Price, nice to see you. We have Michael Adams, a 32 year old carpenter. One .45 to the chest, according to Frank."

Tara kneels down and unbuttons the man's shirt. "Definitely a .45. Looks to be a through and through." She spots a small tear and makes it a bit larger to examine it better. "We also have one round in the leg, non-fatal, no exit wound." She pulls out the bullet and examines it before putting it in n evidence bag and handing it to Horatio. "This looks to be a .38 though."

"So we have two different bullets and no suspects."

"Looks to be that way." Tara sighs, knowing it's going to be a long day.

"Found a .45 bullet, along with the casing and a gun." Ryan comes over with both in hand. Tara holds an evidence bag open for the bullet and another for the gun. "I'll run them over to Calleigh."

"Take this .38. It's from the body." Tara hands him the other bullet. "Let's hope it gets an AFIS hit."

"Let's hope." Ryan leaves with evidence in hand and his kit, while Tara loads the body into a body and then into the van. "I'll head back to the office and examine him more."

"Thank you Dr. Price." Horatio walks over to Frank, leaning against his police cruiser.

"Frank, I got some information from the board. You're getting a partner." Horatio notices Frank's worried expression and continues. "You're doing your job fine; they just thought we need more detectives down here. She's young, so they want to pair her up with an experienced cop like you."

"All right. When's she coming?"

"Tomorrow. Her name's Melissa Callahan. She's 25 and from Boston PD."

Frank sighs and looks down the street. "Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet. Let me make the announcement today, okay?"

"Okay."

"You gonna be okay?" Horatio looks and Frank, concerned. He has always respected the detective and doesn't want to hurt him with this change. But this new detective will be a great asset to their team, and he knows Frank will teach her all she needs to know.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just different, that's all." Frank cracks his neck and rubs his head. "I'll get back to the lab for when Calleigh gets ballistics back."

"Good idea." They part their separate ways and head back to the team, Horatio worried about how this news will be handled.

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"Everyone, listen up." Horatio commands. It's now 9:30, and Eric, Calleigh, Ryan, Natalia, Tara, and Frank are seated in the conference room, with Horatio standing at the front.

"We're getting a new member of our team tomorrow. She's a transfer from Boston PD." Tara and Ryan immediately perk up, both being from Boston. Ryan still isn't too interested; he doesn't like new people.

"What do we know about her?" Eric asks.

"She's 25 and from Boston. Her name's Melissa Callahan." Horatio looks at each of his team members, processing the information. Ryan crosses his arms and leans back in his chair, Eric in the same position. Natalia has her elbows on the table and her hands cupping her chin. Tara has a smirk on her face, puzzling Frank and Calleigh.

"She's young, but very good. We're lucky to get her. Gentleman," Horatio looks over to Ryan and Eric, "no monkey business, like when Dr. Price came. Understand?" Eric and Ryan nod immediately, then look at each other. Damn, they both think, it would have been fun to play a prank on the new girl.

"Get back to work, everyone. We've got a lot of work to do."

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It's Wednesday, the day the new girl is supposed to arrive, Ryan remembers as he eats cereal with the news on before his shift. He hates it when new people come, or all forms of changes. When Natalia came, he refused to talk to her for her first two weeks. When Tara came, he played a prank on her with Eric, but only because Eric has the hots for her and needed help moving the body.

Wiping his mouth on his sleeve and putting his dish in the sink, he looks around his apartment and makes sure everything's in place. Being OCD meant he was always cleaning. He's satisfied with the state of his apartment after ten minutes and leaves, not wanting to be late.

Everyone's in a frenzy today, he notices, walking through the lab fifteen minutes later. He had to finish the car he started processing yesterday and wanted to start right away, so he was walking at a fairly fast pace.

He waved at Tara working on their DB from yesterday morning. At least someone else isn't crazy about the new girl; he smiled, working his way towards Trace.

He spots the team standing around in a circle talking and halts. They hear his shoes screech and turn to look at him. He waves and walks over casually. "What's up guys?"

"We're waiting for Detective Callahan to arrive." Calleigh states.

"Oh yeah, the new girl." Ryan snorts.

"She has a name, you know." Calleigh replies, "And I'm pretty sure it's Melissa."

"Oh, okay Calleigh. Should I call her Detective Callahan?"

"I preferred to be called Melissa, but if you feel more comfortable calling me Detective Callahan, that's fine too." A voice says from behind Frank. She squeezes between Eric and Frank, and smiles. "Hi, I'm Detective Melissa Callahan, The New Girl." She says, putting extra emphasis on the last part.