Title: A Change of Pace

Rating: FR13

Pairing/Characters: Catherine Willows, Horatio Caine

Disclaimer: CSI and CSI: Miami belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and company.

Prompts: csi50- #27 (rattled)

Notes: Set post- Grave Danger

Summary: Las Vegas no longer seemed safe or welcoming and she desperately needed a change of pace and scenery.

Word Count: 603

She had left Las Vegas following the aftermath of Nick's kidnapping. Things back home had rattled her too much and she wasn't sure that she could effectively do her job there. It wasn't just the fact that a member of her team had been harmed; instead it was a thousand small things that had made her move across the country. In particular, Gil's cold attitude about how she had gotten the money that had been demanded. All he could see was his precious crime lab in jeopardy because she had gone to her father to get the money that the crime lab couldn't put up, and that Nick's parents didn't have access to.

Las Vegas no longer seemed safe or welcoming and she desperately needed a change of pace and scenery. Those were two things that Miami offered, alone with a sense of familiarity. She took a deep breath as she stood outside of the imposing Miami-Dade crime lab.

“Catherine Willows?” Horatio asked as he approached her.
“In the flesh,” Catherine replied with a smile.

“What brings you to Miami?”
“As if you didn't know,” Catherine responds as she falls into step with him.
“Besides taking me up on my job offer?”

“I just needed a change of pace. And to be honest, Vegas isn't the best place to raise a child.”

Horatio removed his sunglasses as he appraises her and Catherine can see why criminals in Miami seem to fear him. It's as if he can see right through and read the truth written in her mind. He doesn't say anything or push her for more information; instead he puts his sunglasses back on and resumes walking with her towards the building.


“There's plenty that would say that about Miami.”

“True enough, and to be honest I needed to get away from Vegas after Nick was kidnapped.”
“Ah yes, that made national news. You know that something like that could happen anywhere?”

“Of course, I know that. It's not just what happened to Nick. It's the interoffice politics and the fact that I thought I could trust some people to have my back and they didn't,” Catherine replied.

They're silent as they enter the Miami-Dade crime lab, and everything seems so different to Catherine. Miami's lab is brightly lit with large windows, and she feels as if she had worked in a dungeon back in Las Vegas.

“I didn't appreciate being questioned as if I was a common criminal when I raised the ransom money to save Nick. He's like family to me and I couldn't just stand around and protect the integrity of the lab when I knew that I could do something to help him,” Catherine bitterly stated.
“I understand,” Horatio responds as he touched her wrist.
“There are times when the people who work in the lab have to come before the lab. And I couldn't work for someone who was more concerned about the lab in the end than he was about one of us. We put our lives on the line every single time we go to a scene and we need to know that someone has our backs.”

Horatio's silent and Catherine thinks that she might have just jeopardized her new career in Miami until he flashes her a smile.

“I agree. There should always be an even mix between the two. I think that you'll make an excellent addition to the team. Then again I told you that when you first came to Miami to work that case. Now let me show you around,” Horatio states as he gently guides Catherine further into the building.



**END**

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