Title: The New Guy
Author: pinn2480
Summary: First time challenge, first meeting. You can tell a lot about a man from his pipettes.
Pairing: pre-slash, Nick/Greg.
A/N: Massive thanks to kissingchaos9 for the speedy beta.

***

"Nick." Warrick called.

Nick turned around and scanned the parking lot. Warrick walked out from behind his car and jogged to where Nick was standing.

"Hey man, what's up?" Nick asked as they headed into the lab.

"Not much. Hopefully, Brass will give us something interesting tonight, a reward for cracking that casino job. Any more break-ins and I might become a robber."

Nick chuckled. "I'd like to see that. You're too honest, man."

"Maybe, maybe not." Warrick looked around as they walked through the lobby. "I heard the new DNA tech starts tonight."

"Oh yeah? Who'd they wind up hiring?"

"I don't know but I hope it's that blonde. You know, the one who came for the tour?"

Nick held the locker room door open for them. Catherine was already at her locker, stowing her bag and checking her gun, and she smiled as they walked in. "Hey, Cath."

"Hey guys. What's going on?"

"Warrick's just telling me how he thinks the new DNA tech was interested in him. I think he's managed to forget that Brass has specific rules about office dating."

Catherine looked at both of them skeptically before she laughed. "Seriously, Warrick, you're interested in the new tech?"

"Well, she was cute and seemed interested the last time I saw her." Warrick was defensive now and Nick rolled his eyes. Catherine was the only one that could put him on edge like that and Warrick let her do it every time.

"Maybe you should go see her then, re-introduce yourself." Catherine encouraged.

Nick stared at Catherine as she lowered herself to the bench, laughing the whole time. There was definitely something going on. Either the new tech was the Loch Ness Monster or 'she' was actually a he.

"Maybe I will," Warrick retorted. He turned and walked out of the locker room. Nick looked down at Catherine.

"I'm not going to want to miss this, am I?" Nick guessed. Catherine shook her head and Nick left the locker room, walked past Grissom's office and down the hall to the labs, just in time to see Warrick come face to face with the new lab tech.

If the look on Warrick's face was anything to go by, he wouldn't be asking the new guy out anytime soon. Nick shook his head and walked into the lab. The new tech, a young guy with peroxide blond hair wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt, looked up and smiled as he finished shaking Warrick's hand.

"Nick Stokes." Nick held out his hand and the guy grasped it. He had a firm handshake, nothing to prove, and Nick liked him immediately.

"Greg Sanders. Nice to meet you."

"So you're the new DNA tech?"

Greg picked up a box from the pile on the floor and set it on the bench. "So it doesn't take much to be a CSI, hunh?"

Behind him, Warrick snorted and Nick's face flushed red. He considered reminding Warrick that he had been about to ask Greg out but instead said, "What can I say? I have stunning powers of observation."

"Hey, I'm going to go talk to Catherine." Warrick interjected. "It was nice to meet you, Greg. I'll see you at the shift meeting, Nick."

"You, too."

Nick didn't have anywhere to be for a few minutes so he picked up another box up from the floor and put it on the work table. "You do know that we're a fully funded lab, right? You don't have to bring all your own stuff."

"I know," Greg smiled sheepishly. "A lot of the stuff is books and manuals, stuff that helped me get through grad school."

Nick opened the box and looked in. There, each one in its own carrying case, was a full set of pipettes. He burst out laughing. "Please tell me you don't have your own pipettes."

Greg snatched the box from him. "Don't mess with my pipettes, man. I just got them calibrated."

"But we have pipettes here, lots of them."

"Yeah, but who knows what's been done to them. When was the last time they were cleaned and calibrated? Are they separated based on use to make sure there's no contamination? You just don't know about these things, I've been burned one too many times by bad pipettes. I couldn't take the chance of that happening on my first night here so I brought my babies with me."

Nick held his hands up and took a step back. "Hey, it's cool. I've just never met anyone who had their own set."

Greg blushed and looked down. When he looked back up, he was grinning. "Sorry, didn't mean to dork out on you like that. I'm just really attached to my pipettes. I bought them after my first committee meeting in grad school, trying to prove that I really did belong in grad school."

"It's cool, G, I understand. I get touchy if anyone goes through my kit." Nick glanced at his watch and swore. "I've got to go. I've already been late to shift meeting once this week, and I really don't need another chewing out by Brass."

Greg took the last of the pipettes out of the box, and arranged them on the stand before he spoke again. "Understandable. I'm sure I'll see you around some time tonight." He winked at Nick and Nick suddenly wanted something he hadn't wanted in a very long time.

"In case I don't come back this way tonight, a bunch of us are going out for drinks after the shift ends tonight. It'd be cool if you could come." Nick crossed his fingers mentally, hoping that Greg said yes, and that no one else had other plans after work.

"Really? That would be awesome." A brief look of pleasure flashed across Greg's face as he bounced up and down on his feet.

Nick smiled and turned to walk out of the lab. "See you later, Greggo."

Maybe the new lab tech wasn't Warrick's type, but he was definitely Nick's type.

***