Title: The Crazy Girl and the Wax Lion
By: kennedy
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Summary: Cross over with Wonderfalls, where Jaye Tyler is forced to go to Las Vegas and intervene in the lives of our two favorite CSIs.

***

It was just a normal day in the Wonderfalls tourist shop, a stone's throw from the beautiful Niagara Falls.

Or at least as normal as it could be for Jaye Tyler.

"Follow the red suitcase."

Jaye paused in the middle of placing the motion lamp she was about to restock on the shelf. "Not again!"

She looked up, to where a teddy bear wearing an Indian head-dress was staring at her. "Follow the red suitcase."

"No way!" she hissed at the bear, attempting to remain inconspicuous to the Wonderfalls customers, who thankfully were lost in their own little worlds as usual. "Get someone else to be your patsy!"

She stormed off to the counter, the bear's eyes following her.

"Listen to the bear."

Great, now the wax lion on the counter was on her case as well. She knew how this song went. Something along the lines of You're fate's bitch, do as you're told.

Last time she had tried to resist them, she had almost ended up as a victim in a hostage negotiation. So she knew resistance was futile. She willingly had to drink the Kool-Aid.

Red suitcase, red suitcase.

She scanned the customers in the store. Who the hell would be dragging their suitcase around in here? As dumbass as tourists could be, they usually had the sense to check into their hotels first before hitting the Falls and then shopping for souvenirs.

A flash of red hit her eyes like sudden sunlight, and made her wince. It was coming through the window, where a man had paused beside the Maid of the Mist fountain. Like most people, he was foolishly tossing his money into it. And he had a red suitcase beside him.

"Follow the red suitcase." the lion repeated himself.

"I get it!" she snarled, angrily snatching him up and sticking him in her pocket. "Are you stuck on a groove or something?"

"Ow." came the muffled protest from beneath the fabric.

She could see the tall, sallow man was moving away from the fountain.

"Lunch break!" she yelled to the Mouthbreather, who unfortunately was still her manager, despite his incompetence with the hostage situation. After all, Jaye was the one who almost died - a raise wasn't too much to ask for if she couldn't get a promotion...

"It's only ten-thirty!" he said.

"I'm hypoglycaemic! I must eat now!" she swept past him on her way to the door.

"That's not on your medical form!" he cried weakly.

"I'll add it when I get back!" she yelled over her shoulder.

The Mouthbreather watched her leave, as infuriated as the Mouthbreather could get. Which was still weakly ineffectual in the wake of Jaye Tyler's storm.

--------------

Jaye gave chase to the man, who was disappearing amongst the crowds ooh-ing and aah-ing over the vantage points near the Falls. She took a few hard jabs to the shoulder and sides as she tried to make her way through them.

"It's just water, people!" she protested.

Luckily the bright red suitcase was like a beacon, guiding her towards the man. She wasn't exactly sure what she was meant to do when she caught up with him, the animal-faced tchotchkes who demanded this of her had a way of dealing with that themselves. Just let the puzzle begin, the pieces fall into place and if Jaye was lucky she managed to survive it all. A pawn who was beginning to learn her place in all of this. It didn't mean she had to be happy about it all the time, though. Especially when all she had wanted to do today was get through the retail hours and catch a couple of beers at the Barrel afterwards, staring at Eric the bartender who was now Eric the... something or other of Jaye's.

Red Suitcase Man was getting into a taxi.

"Oh, what?" Did she even have enough money on her to catch a taxi? What if he was riding it all the way to New York? Could you even catch a taxi all the way to New York? What would that fare be?

She jumped into the cab behind his. "Follow that cab!" she instructed grandly, feeling all the world like a heroine in a Hitchcock film.

The cabdriver stared at her. "Is this a joke?" His eyes brightened. "Are we on Punk'd?"

"Listen, buddy, do you want a fare or not?" Jaye asked. "Step on it!"

He did so.

"Sheesh." Jaye leaned back in her seat, and hurriedly checked her wallet. There were a couple of twenties in there, the most money it had seen in a while.

"Follow the red suitcase." whispered the lion from her pocket.

"Shut up, already!" Jaye whispered back.

"I didn't say anything!" the taxi-driver snarled.

Jaye opened her mouth to retort, then wisely decided it was best to remain silent, and offered an apologetic smile.

God, it took so much effort.

--------------

The airport.

She didn't even have time to think. She stayed a few people behind him, and realised he was in the United Airlines queue for flights.

She pulled open the pocket in her jacket slightly. "Now you're going too far!"

"Follow the red suitcase." the wax lion said.

"I can't afford a flight!"

The lion thought about this a moment. "Emergency credit card." it said, dispassionately.

"My parents gave me that! For emergencies!" Okay, so she had really used it for times at the Barrel when she was short of cash... but her parents hadn't noticed... they probably wouldn't even notice a flight either, depending on where she was headed...

It suddenly came to her that talking to her pocket in the middle of a busy airplane terminal in political climates such as this was not a good thing to be doing if she didn't want to end up in a Cuban prison. She snapped the pocket shut, and took the few steps that the queue had moved.

Red Suitcase Man reached the counter. "One to Las Vegas, please."

Jaye felt the ground dropping beneath her.

Las Vegas?

She moaned slightly to herself. "Oh, crap! What have I done to deserve this?"

Her only reply came from her pocket. "Follow the red suitcase."

***

Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders had been pussy-footing around each other for too long a time.

Both were CSIs in the Vegas division, and had been working together for over five years. Their relationship had been one filled with stolen glances and equal-opportunity flirtings, and a good deal of repressed longing - but it had remained strictly platonic; as if they could not step over the line that divided them, and finally manage to blurt out to each other what had long been brewing between them.

Greg was much more open to possibilities - but Nick was the straightlaced one, the one who felt he had a lot more to lose. He suffered in silence, occasionally meeting one of Greg's fumbled playful banters with one of his own, but the walls remained all the same.

There had been one brief moment when it seemed that everything was about to change. When Nick had been rescued from the grave he had been buried alive in, and Greg's palpable relief as he had cried at his bedside in the hospital... there had been one look between them that spoke volumes. But then Nick had closed himself off again, and Greg went along with the game they played so well - that nothing had ever happened.

And here they were at exactly the same place they always were.

Nick entered the changeroom, just before shift officially began. "Hey, Greggo."

Even Nick's simple ‘hey', despite its casual appearance, had a warmth and a weight behind it which Greg looked forward to hearing each evening.

"Evening, Nick." He kept the Greggo personality up, to portray the sense of normalcy which had been lacking of late. "Hey, did you end up getting the 360?"

"Nah, man, every store I went to had sold out. Don't tell me you did?"

"Of course I did. Did you even have to ask?"

"You have no patience, G."

"This is why we balance each other out. The yin and the yang, and all that..." he covered up quickly. "Anyway, I have the best contacts. Do you wanna come over and try it out?"

Nick sized him up for a moment, and he felt his mouth go dry. "Yeah, sure. Let's hope we don't pull a double tonight."

Greg nodded, perhaps a little too eagerly, and left the room.

Nick watched him go a little while longer than he should have.

-----------------------

As the airplane flew above the city, Jaye almost felt like she hadn't left home. There was so much neon that even at this height it was burned into her retinas. The flight had been delayed to start with, and Jaye had used the emergency credit card to gain a cash advance and feed herself. She had also called the Mouthbreather to advise him that her trailer was once again on fire, and she doubted she would be back in for the rest of her shift. He sounded unhappy with her, but was there ever a time when he didn't? Besides... if he pushed it with the store's owner Jaye thought she would just claim post-traumatic stress disorder and they wouldn't be able to touch her.

As she stepped off the plane, the humidity hit her. She had already shrugged off her Wonderfalls vest in the taxi, and it was hanging limply out of her back pants pocket. She now stripped off her cardigan, and headed towards the baggage terminal. She still wasn't sure exactly what she was meant to do, but the wax lion had thoughtfully repeated "Follow the red suitcase" from where he still sat in the cardigan pocket.

"I haven't forgotten." she hissed.

The Red Suitcase Man was obviously in a hurry to get his luggage as quickly as possible. Jaye hung out at the back of the crowd, trying to decide what to do next.

"Ideas? Suggestions?" she asked out of the side of her mouth.

The wax lion remained silent.

"Figures."

She looked back towards the baggage carousel.

Red Suitcase Man was gone.

"Crap!"

She looked around her wildly, as the masses of people embarking and disembarking swarmed around and past her.

There --- up ahead, he was heading for the exits.

Jaye broke out into a run. "Hey, Mister!"

Red Suitcase Man turned around, as did about thirty men near him---

Jaye slowed down, panting.

---but Red Suitcase Man was the only one to then take off in a sprint.

"What the hell---"

She began running again.

As the crowds parted, she realised that the man had actually left his suitcase behind. As her mind clicked in to whether she had to just collect the suitcase or still chase its owner, she had her path cut off by a speeding people-mover.

Jaye had no time to stop. She yelled out, cut to the right, avoided the people-mover and its alarmed occupants... then slammed into a group of German tourists. She bounced off an elderly couple, who fell to the ground. Veering to the left, she tripped over her own feet and went flying, colliding with the suitcase.

Rather than being able to grab a hold of it, she merely knocked it. It skidded across the linoleum floor, tumbling end over end until some of the stitching broke.

Bursting through, and bouncing across the floor with dull, heavy, gross wet thuds, was a female head.

Jaye's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to scream - but the sound was drowned out by all those who were screaming around her...

***

"You took your time, gentlemen." Jim Brass said gruffly.

"Sorry, Brass." Nick grinned. "Greg had to do his hair."

Brass grunted into his chest, which Greg took to be either affirmation or a laugh.

They had pulled up outside the entrance to the airport baggage area. A large, obviously distressed crowd were being interviewed by local police officers.

"How many witnesses?" Greg asked.

Brass sighed. "Oh, about one hundred and four."

Nick whistled. "The perp?"

Brass led them into the building. "Her name is Jaye Tyler. Caucasian female, age 24. Resident of Niagara Falls, New York."

"Tourist?" Greg asked.

"I don't think she knows what she is." Brass shrugged.

With the terminal having been evacuated, it wasn't that hard for Greg and Nick to immediately find the disembodied head.

"Ewww." Greg muttered.

"Ain't that the truth." Nick agreed.

"How the hell did that get through security?" Greg asked.

Nick knelt down beside the red suitcase. "There's a medical waste tag attached to this bag. The perp would have also had to have the appropriate paperwork."

"She's claiming that the suitcase isn't hers." Brass said.

Greg pulled out the camera and started firing off shots. "That's original."

"There were no medical papers on her either." Brass continued.

"It looks like the bag broke open here." Nick pointed out to Greg, who moved over beside him to document the scene. He tried to concentrate on the scene, and not on Nick's natural scent and cologne. "And it must have bounced... there, there and there, rolled a little bit and came to rest."

The series of large, bloody, round circles were duly photographed.

Greg moved in to capture the head on film.

"I guess we should bag the head, and speak to the perp." Nick stood up,

Greg was already snapping on the latex.

--------------------------------------

Jaye had been fingerprinted and taken to the crime lab for questioning. So far she had been left alone, to stew in fear and nervous anticipation. It was safe to say this was perhaps the worst situation she had ever been.

She jumped at the sound of the door opening.

Two pleasant, young-looking men entered.

Oh, good plan. She thought, her eyes narrowed. Distract me with the hunky guys to get my defences down.

"I didn't do it!" she blurted out.

Way to keep it cool, Tyler.

The dark-haired one ignored her pronouncement. "Jaye Tyler?"

Jaye smiled ingratiatingly at them. "That's me."

"I'm Nick Stokes, with CSI. This is Greg Sanders."

"Nice to meet you."

The two men stared at each other, surprised by her politeness.

"Uh, likewise?" Greg finally said.

They sat down across from her.

"Do I need a lawyer?" Jaye asked.

"Do you want a lawyer?" Nick asked.

"Do you think I need a lawyer?"

"Do you think you need a lawyer?"

Jaye's composure broke. "What, am I speaking to myself here, or is there an echo in the room?"

"Ms Tyler..."

"Jaye."

"Jaye. This is a very serious situation."

"I realised that, with Anne Boylen out there."

Nick leaned forward. "Was that her name?"

Jaye rolled her eyes.

"Henry the Eighth's wife." Greg muttered helpfully to Nick. "She was beheaded."

Nick looked at him. "You know your royal history?"

"I watched the BBC miniseries."

"It was good, wasn't it?" Jaye agreed, momentarily forgetting where she was. But Greg had also forgotten, and was nodding eagerly.

Nick silenced them both with a stern glance. But secretly he was impressed that Greg had watched something that wasn't originally broadcast on MTV.

"Look, I just need to know if I need a lawyer, because I doubt my sister wants to fly out here. She kind of said she wouldn't represent me any more."

Nick pulled a file out of his briefcase. "Yes, you do have quite a record."

Jaye blanched at the sight of the heavy manila folder. "Is that my police file?"

Nick nodded.

"Look, no charges have ever been filed against me."

Nick flipped through the pages. "Assault."

Jaye tried to read it upside down. "Which time? The Texan hausfrau or the old Canadian man?"

She looked up to see Nick bristling slightly. "Nothing against Texans. By the way, you have a lovely accent."

A smile tugged at Greg's lips. Nick did indeed have a lovely accent. He probably had no idea what effect it had upon his friend, either.

Nick continued. "Illegally assisting an alien across the American border."

"She wasn't an alien - she was our housekeeper!"

Nick's eyebrows raised. "Coercing a nun to perform an exorcism upon you?"

Jaye made a move for the folder. "That's in there? But I didn't press charges!"

"You were both pulled into a police station because of it, irregardless."

"Hey buddy!" Jaye pointed a finger at him. "I was the victim in that situation!"

"But you weren't the victim when you assaulted a woman with a television."

Jaye scoffed. "Heidi Gotts was no victim. Besides, she was just passing by when I happened to throw my television out the window. Bad timing and coincidence, that's all."

Greg felt like laughing, but held it in. He could see a slight dimple form in Nick's cheek, so knew he was amused as well although he would never show it.

"That's quite a history." Greg mused.

"And all within the past twelve months." Nick agreed.

"So that makes me a potential murderer?"

"Well, you've gotten away with everything else. Maybe you're escalating."

Jaye sighed. "And maybe you should check the security cameras. Then you'll see that it wasn't me who had the red suitcase. It was the tall, pale, and obviously creepy-in-hindsight man."

"Don't worry, we'll be checking it." Nick said, and stood up.

Greg also rose, but then paused. "Oh, by the way, what is the significance of this?" He then produced a baggie from his own briefcase and threw it on the table.

The wax lion stared up at her.

"You!" Jaye hissed. "This is all your fault!"

"What?" Nick asked.

Jaye looked up at him. "Nothing."

"Jaye, if you have anything to tell us, now would be the time."

"Are you going to Green Mile me?" Jaye moaned. "Oh my god, you're going to Green Mile me!"

"The Green Mile is that movie about the man on death row..." Greg started to explain to Nick.

Nick cut him off, rolling his eyes. "I got the reference, G."

"Sorry, it's just, y'know... sometimes you're a bit clueless when it comes to cinema."

"I hate to disappoint you, Greg, but I don't think The Green Mile counts as cinema." Nick said testily.

Greg looked at Jaye for support.

Jaye shook her head.

Greg frowned.

"But Nevada is a death penalty state, huh?" Jaye asked.

Nick nodded.

"It does depend where you killed the victim." Greg told her helpfully.

"I'm from New York." Jaye said in a small voice. "And I didn't kill anyone."

"Well, you might just be lucky. They haven't had an execution since 1976." Nick shrugged, and he and Greg left her alone again.

The wax lion looked at Jaye. "One and one makes two."

She knocked him flying, to smash against the wall.

Unfortunately, he stayed in one piece.

***

"Airport security sent over the tapes from the cameras closest to the scene." Brass informed Nick and Greg as they joined him in the audiovisual lab. "While you were interviewing the girl, I took the liberty of syncing the tapes to the time of the ruckus."

"The ruckus?" Greg grinned.

"You'll see." Brass pressed the remote. "It's definitely a ruckus."

Nick and Greg leaned in towards the television screen. Nick was momentarily distracted by the closeness of Greg, swallowed heavily, and turned his full attention to the security vision.

"There's Tyler." he pointed out.

Onscreen, Jaye could be seen yelling, then breaking into a run.

"It definitely looks like she's giving chase to someone." Greg said.

"Oh, that part of the story definitely checks out." Brass agreed, syncing up another piece of vision. "A different camera shows us the man she was talking about."

They could see the tall, thin man running towards the exit.

"There's the suitcase." Nick said.

"He definitely dropped it."

They watched Jaye swerve around the people-mover, slam into the tourists and then fly into the suitcase.

"Ouch." Nick winced.

"All it needs is ragtime music." Greg laughed.

And then the head bursting out of the suitcase - bounce, bounce, bounce, rest.

"Let's not forget there is a victim here." Brass reminded them, as if the vision was inadequate enough to do so.

Chastened, the two younger men nodded.

The crowd around Jaye paused, as if Brass had done so with the remote, then all took off running in different directions. Even though there was no sound, it was easily discernible that all were screaming. Jaye remained on the ground, screaming herself.

"She looks terrified." Nick noted.

"Not like someone who would have known what was in the bag. I don't think she's in cahoots with him." Greg agreed.

"Best not to jump to conclusions just yet." Brass shrugged.

"But why on earth was she chasing him?" Nick wondered.

"That's where you'll focus next." Brass told him.

Greg stood up. "Back to the crazy girl and the wax lion!"

-------------------------------

As they headed towards the room where Jaye was being held, Sara Sidle ran up to them. "Some papers were just faxed here for you guys about the head at the airport."

Greg took the envelope off her. "Thanks, Sara."

"Sounds like an interesting case. Female serial killers are rare."

"I don't think she's a serial killer, sorry to disappoint you." Nick smiled at her. "In fact, I don't think she's a killer, period."

"You calling the case already?" Sara smirked.

"Nowhere near it." Greg said firmly. "Excuse me while I confer with my partner for a moment."

He pulled Nick into the room adjoining Jaye's.

Sara laughed to herself, and headed off to annoy Grissom about the case she was working on.

---------------------------

"Don't forget we need to find out why she was chasing that guy." Greg reminded him, closing the door. Through the doublesided mirror they could see Jaye sitting, dazed, at the table in the centre of the next room.

"Come on, Greg. Do you really think that girl is a killer?"

"No, I was just wanting to pull you into a dark room." Greg said without thinking.

Nick could feel himself blush involuntarily, and covered it up with "Funny."

"Why would that be funny?" Greg said boldly. It was nothing more flirty or outrageous than he had ever said to Nick before, or any member of the team for that sake, but they both could feel the atmosphere in the room.

"Greg, focus." Nick said, with a note of finality. "What do the papers say?"

Greg sighed, and pulled them out of the envelope. "It's transcripts of interviews with airport security from Buffalo... it was a man who checked on with the luggage labelled as medical waste. They've now proved on closer inspection that the paperwork was forged."

"Nice. What name was he travelling under?"

"John Smith."

"Oh, come on!"

"You couldn't make this stuff up, Nicky." he continued to scan through the pages. "Tyler checked on without luggage."

"Without?"

"That's what they say."

"Who the hell goes on holiday without luggage?"

Greg looked at him. "Well, we have a murder and a mystery."

Nick looked back at him. "Greg, about before---"

Greg looked past him, into the mirror. "Who is she talking to?"

Nick turned, and saw Jaye's lips moving animatedly. He frowned, reached over and turned up the sound box on the wall.

"I don't know what game you're playing," Jaye was whispering, "but this is going too far! If they end up euthanasing me, nobody is going to do your little errands any more!"

"Is she... talking to the wax lion?" Nick asked in disbelief.

Fascinated, Greg nodded. "I think so."

Through the mirror, Jaye continued. "So, you better pull some trick out of your cosmic ass and get me out of this. Are we clear? Are we?"

She tilted her head, as if she was getting a reply. "What does that mean? ‘One and one makes two'? Stupid lion!"

Nick turned to Greg. "I think we need to get a psych evaluation."

***

"Who's that?" Jaye asked, her eyes narrow with suspicion.

"This is Dr Jackson." Nick held open the door for the cool-looking female, and Greg who was entering with an extra chair.

"You brought a shrink in?" Jaye asked.

"How can you tell I am a psychologist?" Dr Jackson asked pleasantly, sitting down across from her.

"You just have that look." Jaye sighed.

"There's a look?" Dr Jackson smiled.

Jaye nodded. "Like the pod person hasn't evacuated yet."

Dr Jackson lost her smile, Nick and Greg refrained from smiling.

"Why do I need a shrink?"

"You've been through a traumatic experience." Greg told her. "It's normal for us to offer counselling in such matters."

"Offer, sure." Jaye crossed her arms. "This is being forced."

"Why are you so defensive, Jaye?" Dr Jackson asked.

"Lady, I just watched a head bounce through a terminal. You'd be testy, too."

"We still have some questions for you, Jaye." Nick leaned in.
"We've reviewed the airport security tapes."

"Did you see the guy?"

"Yes. But what we want to know is, what made you chase him?"

Jaye seemed at a loss for words.

The wax lion, still in his baggie, turned to her and sniffed.

The others watched Jaye look at the lion and then back up to them.

"I... smelt something?" she offered.

"You could smell the head?" Greg asked.

Jaye nodded eagerly.

"The head wasn't that badly decomposed." Greg raised an eyebrow. "In fact, it was pretty fresh."

"I have excellent senses." Jaye said. "In fact, it's like I have a sixth sense in my nose."

"Jaye," Dr Jackson leaned her chin upon her hand. "Do you have a superiority complex?"

"No. Do you?" Jaye scoffed. "I work in retail, for chrissakes."

"Well, it's just that you say you smelled this head, and instead of alerting security, you gave chase to what could have been a dangerous killer. Normal people don't do that. In fact, looking over your police file, a lot of the situations you have found yourself in have arisen because of some innate need to help people."

Jaye looked at Nick and Greg. "Is that a crime?"

Nick shook his head. "It's commendable."

Dr Jackson glared at him. "However commendable, it is at its worst narcissistic."

"I wish it was that simple." Jaye muttered to herself.

"Tell us about the lion." Greg said, and Nick could tell from the tone of his voice that it wasn't professional interest. He was excited.

Jaye immediately stiffened. "Nothing to tell. It's my lucky charm."

Her last sentence seemed to be sarcastically aimed at the wax figure itself.

"We saw you talking to it earlier." Nick explained.

"Did not!" Jaye lied, then looked at the mirror behind their heads. "Oh, I forgot you would be spying on me." She shrugged innocently. "Look, I was nervous. So I talked to the lion. So what?"

"Do you often talk to inanimate objects?" Dr Jackson asked.

"Nope, first time." Jaye lied weakly.

Dr Jackson slammed her folder. "This is a waste of my time, gentleman. She's just your normal, surly disaffected twentysomething slacker. Call me when you get a real person who needs an evaluation."

As the door slammed behind her, Nick gave a low, unimpressed whistle.

"Wow, what a bitch, huh?" Jaye asked, conciliatory. "Sure had me pegged, though. She must have spoken to my mother."

Greg recovered enough to ask, "But why did you have no luggage on you?"

Jaye was by now used to thinking on her feet. "Look, I had a bad day at work, I had a fight with my boyfriend, I was upset. I wasn't thinking straight, and I just ended up at the airport. I just wanted to escape..." she decided to let loose the tears at this point. "...and I bought the first ticket available, ended up... in... Vegas..." she groped blindly in front of her, as if for a tissue. Greg supplied his own handkerchief. "Th-th-thank you. And before I knew it, I was arrested..."

She allowed herself to break into fullblown sobbing.

Nick looked over at Greg, who appeared to be empathising with her pain.

He shook his head. "Can it, Ms Tyler."

She looked up, through dry eyes. "Fine."

"Great performance, though." he said, appreciatively.

Greg looked at him in shock. "How could you tell?"

"Greg, when you've been a CSI for longer, it will just come naturally."

"One and one makes two." the lion said.

Frustrated, Jaye could not respond. "You want to know the truth? Do you guys really want to know the truth?"

"Yes!" Nick threw his hands up in the air.

She picked up the evidence bag with the captive lion inside it. "This tells me to do things! Well, it's one of the many things that tells me to do things! And I can't stop them, because they never shut up!"

"The wax lion talks to you?" Nick asked stoically.

"Yes." she leaned exhaustedly back against the chair she was sitting in.

"What did it tell you to do today?"

All the fight out of her, Jaye mumbled, "To follow the red suitcase."

"So the lion told you about the head?"

"I didn't know about the head! It never gets that specific."

Greg eyed her as if she was an exciting specimen within his microscope. "Do you think the lion wants you to catch the killer?"

"I don't know. His new order makes no sense."

Nick snorted into his chest. "And his new order is?"

"I don't like your tone." Jaye snapped. "You wanted the truth, remember? You must be the bad cop."

Greg smiled at the look of crestfallen hurt on Nick's face. Nick never liked to be thought of as the bad anything.

"What's the new clue?" Greg asked, placatingly.

"One and one makes two." said the lion.

Without thinking, she barked, "He asked me!"

Nick and Greg looked down at the lion.

Jaye sighed. "One and one makes two."

"What does that mean?" Nick asked, but he had a look of wonder on his face.

Jaye shrugged. "Beats me. You're the CSIs, you can figure it out for once. I'm stuck here."

***

"Is it too late to get the psych back?" Nick asked.

They were back in the surveillance room, watching Jaye through the two-way mirror.

"She's an oddball." Greg agreed lightly.

Nick looked at him, and smiled. "She reminds me of you, actually."

"Me?" Greg yelped.

"Endearingly eccentric."

"Endearingly?" Greg asked.

Nick sighed. "Yes. Endearingly."

The moment was broken by Jaye singing out "I know you're watching me."

"See?" Nick asked. "Exactly like you."

"As in, pushy and annoying?"

"I wouldn't say annoying. Well, maybe not anymore."

"You want me to be pushy? Fine, then." Greg sighed. "What's going on between us, Nicky?"

Nick turned to look at him, but couldn't say anything.

"Oh, here we go again. The silent Texan treatment."

"Greg..."

"We both know that something has been happening between between us for ages now, and it only got worse... after... y'know..."

He was so hesitant to bring up Nick's burial, but Nick knew what he was getting at.

Nick folded his arms. "Yes... there is something."

"He admitted it!" Greg crowed. "Halle-fricking-luljah!"

"Calm down." Nick said.

"Why now, Nicky? After all this time, what brought this up?"

Nick nodded through the glass. "She did."

"Jaye Tyler?" Greg asked, disbelievingly. "It takes an oddball to make you admit this?"

Nick laughed softly. "It took two oddballs, actually." He looked shyly at Greg. "One and one makes two."

"The lion? Nicky, it's like a fortune cookie - you can twist it to fit anybody's situation---" Greg didn't even know why he was arguing, when he was finally getting what he had wanted for so long.

"Does it matter if it gets the point across? Why are you fighting this?"

"I'm not fighting anyth---"

Before Greg could finish his sentence, Nick moved in to kiss him---

---as the handle to the door turned.

They jumped apart as Warrick entered, but who was too intent upon the envelope in his hand to have noticed anything.

"Hey, guys." he said, handing them the envelope. "Grissom said they took scans off the airport images of the man with the suitcase and have released an APB."

"Great!" Nick and Greg said in unison.

Warrick looked at them. "You two speaking with the same mind now?"

"No." they both replied.

"Okaaaay." Warrick drawled, on his way back out the door. "I think you two are spending way too much time together."

Alone again, Nick turned back to Greg. "And hopefully spending a lot more from now on."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Okay, this is just weird, you being flirty."

"I can be flirty."

"Hello?" Jaye called out. "I'm still here!"

"What are we going to do with her?" Greg asked.

"Let her go. She's not our perp."


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"But I think I'm meant to help you guys..." Jaye protested as they accompanied her along the hall towards the exit.

"I think we can handle it from here." Nick told her.

"I'm not so sure about that. I'm here for a reason."

"But you don't know what that reason is."

"It will become clear sooner or later."

Greg wandered behind them, perplexed at Nick's attitude. It appeared to be oscillating between staunchly sticking to his normal level-headed beliefs, and then in private veering towards the crazy acceptance displayed in the surveillance room.

Nick paused to look Jaye in the eyes. "Ms Tyler, you've been through a very bad experience tonight. Just go home and forget about it."

"You don't understand. They won't let me." she sighed. "Look, I know to you I sound insane... but twenty years ago didn't they think forensics was a little insane?"

"Forensics is grounded in science."

Jaye threw her hands up in the air. "And I would love to believe I am crazy. Then I could take a pill and stop this. But that isn't going to happen. I can help you."

Nick sighed, opened his mouth to say something, and was interrupted by an alarm going off.

"Stay here." he warned.

"It sounds like it's coming from the lab." Greg said.

"Come on."

Jaye watched them head down the stairs towards the source of the noise. She leaned against the wall, next to an office where a man with greying hair and a beard emerged. He gave her a cursory look, and she gave him a perplexed "don't ask me" expression. He too then disappeared down the stairs.

"Push in the right direction."

Jaye looked around her, but nobody was to be seen.

"Up here."

Jaye sighed.

It was one of those stupid singing fish. It was hanging above the door of the office from which the man had just exited. As if she didn't have to put up with that fish from The Barrel back in Niagara enough, here was its crazy cousin.

"What?"

"Push in the right direction."

"Push what in the right direction?" she asked, exasperated.

The fish sighed, as if tired of her apparent stupidity, and flicked it's tail to the right.

Jaye followed the line of sight, to a bust of... some probably long-dead guy that was on a stand near the stairs.

"That's probably very dangerous." she warned the fish.

"Push in the right direction." it repeated, as the alarm stopped sounding.

Jaye looked back once more at the bust.

Push in the right direction.

"Oh, it cannot be this simple." Jaye sighed, taking note that the bust was a little too close to the edge. Looking around her, happy that things were working in her favour and that the hallway was still empty (and may not remain that way as the alarm probably meant that people would soon be returning to their offices), she quickly shoved at it.

It toppled over easily---

---just as Greg Sanders started walking up the stairs, directly beneath its trajectory.

Jaye froze in fear.

"Greg!"

It was Nick who yelled out, appearing out of nowhere to thrust Greg out of danger. The two of them slammed into the opposite wall, the bust shattering at their feet. Greg looked dazed, just noticing that he had almost been brained.

"Greg, are you okay?" Nick asked, horror in his voice.

"I am thanks to you." Greg smiled.

Their proximity to each other was comforting, warm and too quick to end.

Nick got to his feet, and helped Greg up. It seemed to Jaye that they stood that way for a long period of time, hands clasped together, meeting each other's gaze. They then drew away from each other, and looked to where the bust had fallen from, to see Jaye standing there.

Looking extremely guilty. But there was also a brief flash of recognition playing across her face.

"I didn't do it." she protested, weakly.

***

"Hey, manhandling!" Jaye cried out, as Nick steered her by the arm back into the interview room.

"Sit down." Nick instructed her.

Jaye did so sulkily, then grinned. "So, is there any other manhandling going on?"

Nick and Greg instantly flushed, avoiding looking at each other.

"Hah!" Jaye said triumphantly. "I am getting so good at this." she said, more to herself than them.

Nick struggled to speak.

"Oh, don't worry." Jaye said. "Your secret's safe with me. I haven't told anyone my sister is a lesbian yet, and she is much more uptight than you." she paused. "Well, actually I just told you two. And I didn't even know she was until the night she stabbed the UPS guy in the throat with a Bic pen."

At their stunned looks, she quickly followed up with, "That sounded a lot worse than I meant it to. It was an emergency tracheotomy. Really!"

"Ms Tyler," Greg asked finally, momentarily experiencing brain overload from that glut of information, "Why did you throw that statue at me?"

"Did the lion tell you to?" Nick asked.

Jaye stared at her feet. "No, it was the singing fish."

"The singing fish? In Grissom's office?" Greg asked.

Jaye nodded.

"I always hated that thing." Greg said to himself.

"Why would the fish want Greg dead?" Nick asked. He then gave a short laugh, and said, "Now there's a sentence I never thought I would hear out of my mouth."

"Kind of like ‘I like you, Greg', huh?" Jaye asked devilishly, but also sympathetically. "I understand. It took me a long time to say it to the guy I liked as well."

"You're getting the wrong idea---" Nick started, and Greg looked slightly offended.

"I don't think so." Jaye shook her head. "One and one makes two. It makes perfect sense. Well, except for the whole head in the suitcase thing."

"So why would the fish want to kill me?" Greg asked, glad that neither he nor Nick had pressed the recording equipment into action.

"I don't think it did. It wanted you in danger so you would be rescued."

"And what if I hadn't been?" Greg finally sat opposite her.

"There's no hadn't beens. There never is. They do this because they know this is meant to happen. At least, that's what I think. I don't really know. It's all very confusing."

"Is it like destiny?" Nick asked.

Jaye shrugged. "Fate, destiny, psychic tchotchkes, call it what you want."

"But why would they want to make sure we get together?"

"How should I know? Like I said, they're not that specific. Maybe together you solve a case that saves the life of a future president." Jaye picked up the baggie, opened it and withdrew the lion so that it sat in her palm. "Or maybe they just want you to be happy."

"Happy would be nice." Greg mumbled.

"Look, something is going on here." Nick said. "I don't know exactly what it is, and I don't even know if I believe in it, but it would be nice to---"

"It's best not to fight it." Jaye told him. "I speak from experience, believe me. Last time I questioned their motives I ended up in a hostage situation."

"What?" Nick and Greg asked together.

"Oh, come on! That wasn't in my file?" Jaye asked, visibly upset. "Sure, put in the exorcism but leave out a madman kidnapping me!"

"Been there, done that." Nick said wryly.

Greg grinned at him sadly, and clasped his hand over Nick's. Nick smiled back at him, and didn't pull away this time.

Jaye cocked her head. "Aww."

Remembering where they were, they turned back into business mode.

"That was kind of hot." Jaye smiled wryly.

Greg watched Nick colour again. He had to admit that Nick embarrassed was even cuter than normal Nick.

The lion came to life in Jaye's hand. "Luxor."

"What?" Jaye asked.

"What?" Nick and Greg asked.

"Luxor." the lion repeated.

"Luck sore?" Jaye's brow furrowed.

"Luxor!" Nick breathed.

"What's that?" Jaye asked.

"It's a hotel here in Vegas." Greg informed her.

"Well, I think he wants me to go there."

"Does he say why?"

"More info!" Jaye yelled at the lion.

"Luxor." was all the lion replied.

"Asshole." Jaye whispered to it, then looked up to the two men. "That's all he's giving me."

There was a knock at the door, and Catherine Willows entered. She looked down at the wax lion, slightly perplexed as to why it was occupying the attention of everybody in the room, and then directed her attention to Nick and Greg. "Sorry to interrupt boys, but we've just had a sighting of the suspect at the Luxor."

"The Luxor." Greg looked back at the lion. "Wow. Weird."

"We know." Nick said, without thinking.

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "You know?"

Nick collected himself. "Uh, just a wild guess."

Catherine didn't seem convinced, but let it slide. "Better suit up. We're meeting Brass there."

"I'm coming." Jaye said, as Catherine left.

"No." Nick said firmly. "This could be a dangerous situation."

"I'm a witness. I can ID him." Jaye's eyes narrowed. "And, just so you know, I wasn't asking."

"Jaye---" Greg protested.

"They want me there. And I will go there, regardless of what you guys say. So you might as well give me a lift."

Nick sighed, feeling that the situation was totally out of his hands but they couldn't waste any more time arguing. "Okay."

"Road trip!" Jaye crowed, pocketing the lion and standing up. "I call shotgun!" she cried, heading towards the door.

Nick mouthed to Greg, Just. Like. You.

Greg smiled. "Let's go."

***

"That is one tacky hotel." Jaye said in awe from the backseat of the Tahoe.

"Welcome to Vegas." Greg laughed. "Tacky is a way of life here."

"I dare you to find one hotel in Vegas that isn't." Nick agreed.

Jaye stared up at the giant hotel which was shaped like a pyramid, and had a giant obelisk and Sphinx fashioned in front of it. "It's mesmerising... but I'm not sure in a good way. Do most murderers have the Luxor as their hotel of choice?"

Nick flashed his ID at the valet and pulled up near the lobby doors. "All the hotels here pretty much share them equally."

They jumped out of the vehicle, and entered the lobby. Brass and Catherine were already there, talking in low voices. Brass motioned them over to join them.

"What's the witness doing here?" Catherine asked, looking Jaye over.

"I wanted to see the sights." Jaye said, brightly, in an effort to annoy her as much as she could.

Nick cleared his throat. "So she can make an ID."

"We already know what he looks like." Catherine argued.

"And we still need a positive ID." Greg counter-argued.

Catherine shrugged. "It's your asses on the line."

Jaye looked as if she was about to say something, so Nick jumped in. "So, Jim, who saw the perp?"

"Hotel security. They saw him near the nickel slot machines, but haven't been able to track him down since. They're fanning the area now."

"We should join them." Jaye said firmly.

Catherine and Brass looked at her.

"Or, we could just stay here if you prefer..." she trailed off, noting that she had stepped over some kind of line.

Brass finally spoke. "Let's do this."

"Jaye, you come with us." Nick said.

She practically skipped over to him and Greg. "Gladly." As Catherine and Brass took the lead, she said confidentially, "They're a bit scary."

"They only seem that way." Greg told her.

"I'm just glad you two were assigned to my case. Those two would have definitely Green-Miled me."

"No, they wouldn't have." Nick said, his eyes focusing before him as he searched amongst the casino patrons and the tourists for the perp. "They would have examined the evidence fairly and came to the same conclusion we did."

Jaye felt a headache forming as the bright lights and sounds from the machines wailed and crashed in a delirium-forming cacophony that seemed to rebound against the confines of her skull. Of course, she had been to some of the casinos in downtown Niagara, but they were nothing compared to Vegas. And it wasn't like Jaye had ever hung around those casinos for long either - they just weren't her thing. They were more for the tourists and the fly-by-nighters. Locals tended to avoid them - just like Nick and Greg didn't seem the type for the Vegas equivalent.

Uh, speaking of Nick and Greg - where were they?

It seemed that a sudden crowd of Japanese and German tourists had swept along and carried her away. She was now in a different section - she could tell by the machines - she could feel the people pressing against her and a wave of panic and nausea overcame her. Her breath seemed to be ragged, and she felt like she wanted to pass out and get rid of it all. She leaned against a slot machine for support.

"Pssst!"

The voice seemed to carry above the noise like it was tuned into its own frequency.

"Oh, nooooo..." she moaned. "Not now. I'm going to hurl."

"Hey!"

Reluctantly, she looked up. Yet another sphinx, but this one was watching her every move. "This way."

"Alright, alright." Jaye reluctantly stumbled into the aisle it was guarding. "Nick? Greg? Scary twosome?"

Just another row of dead-eyed, zombified patrons plugging their change into machines. Change that they would never see returned.

"Anybody?" Jaye cried.

Somebody on the stool near her turned around, and she gazed into a set of very familiar eyes.

Red Suitcase Man.

"You!" Jaye cried.

His eyes also widened in recognition. "You!"


-------------------

Greg suddenly rested a hand upon Nick's arm to halt him. "Wait a minute, where's Jaye?"

Nick turned back to look at him, and then around them. "Damn!"

"You don't think---"

"No, this can't be happening. We can't lose our major witness!"


-----------------------

His voice was surprising. Jaye had enough time to reflect upon this. He sounded like a panicked teenager going through puberty. Weren't killers meant to be deep-voiced, gravely and the sound of nightmare itself?

"Where is my head?" he demanded

"Ewww!" Jaye winced. "Gross! That's what you're thinking about right now? Dude, this place is swarming with law enforcement! You are going down!"

"Oh, really?" he snarled.

"Really! That'll teach you, next time you decide to decapitate someone. Except there won't be a next time, because you are so busted!"

"Do you ever shut up?" he asked.

"No, actually!" she put her hands on her hips. "Is that what you said to your last victim?"

"She wouldn't shut up either."

"You don't scare me!" Jaye felt immensely brave, surrounded by people and in the middle of a casino. Dangerously brave, in fact. And equally foolish to be so brave.

He grabbed her by the arm, and she saw the gleam in his eyes.

"Okay." she admitted. "You're scaring me now."


---------------------------------

"Jim! Catherine!"

They turned at the sound of Nick's voice.

"We've lost Jaye!"

Brass was immediately alert, and spoke into his receiver. "The suspect may have hold of the witness. Repeat..."

"What happened?" Catherine asked.

"She was right behind us one minute, and the next she was gone." Greg said, realising how incompetent it sounded.

Catherine closed her eyes, but she was sympathetic. This was the way it went down sometimes. But they had to get to work, time was of the essence here.

"Where?"

"We've already checked that area---"

"Just take me there, Nick."


-----------------------------------------

"Just keep quiet." Red Suitcase Man hissed in Jaye's ear.

"Helllllllp!" Jaye wailed, trying to pull away from him.

He looked at her, dumbstruck, that she was disobeying him without pause. No one else had ever dared.

"He's a killer!" Jaye cried out to the people sitting around them.

They gave her a cursory glance, then returned to their nickel-slotting. Such a scene in public had been witnessed many times before - argumentative partners fighting, usually drunken or as a result of money woes. There was no use getting involved. Or leaving their machine. The next big win might be lost.

"What is wrong with you people?" Jaye protested.

"This is Vegas." the killer whispered. "Nobody cares."

The CSI team loomed in Jaye's mind like bizarre superheroes. "Not true."

"Too late for you. You're my ticket out of here." He grabbed Jaye roughly again, and started dragging her to the exit.

"I'm a hostage?" she moaned. "Oh, crap! Not again!"

***

"It was around about here, when we discovered she was missing." Greg told Catherine.

They stood in front of the giant plaster Sphinx that adorned a whole row of slot machines.

Catherine bit her lip. "This place is surrounded. They couldn't have gotten that far."

"Maybe he has her holed up in a restroom, or staff area." Nick suggested.

"Brass is arranging searches of those areas." Catherine informed him.

Greg tapped a gambler on the shoulder. "Ma'am?"

"I'm playing here!" the woman snapped, not taking her eyes off the machine.

"We're looking for a young woman," Greg continued hopelessly, "aged 24, about yey high," he pointed his palm to just below his neck, which was useless, as the woman hadn't even looked at him yet. "She possibly looked very scared, possibly dragged away against her will?"

The woman plugged in another nickel.

Greg was now babbling. "Maybe yelling for help? Are you even listening to me?"

The woman sighed, and finally looked at him. "You're the first person I've seen since I sat down here six hours ago. Now, leave me alone!"

"Hey!" Catherine yelled. "This is a serious matter, lady! Let me tell you, I remember faces... and if yours is ever in trouble I won't even cross the street to help you!"

The CSIs left her alone, walking on a bit further; while the woman continued playing, nonplussed.

"That was a bit of an empty threat." Nick smiled wanly at Catherine.

Catherine shrugged. "She wasn't even listening to me, anyway."

Nick felt like punching a machine. "This is stupid!"

"Calm, Nicky." Catherine said. "Losing our heads isn't going to help here."

"So to speak." Greg couldn't help himself.

Nick shook his head, and walked away.

------------------------------


It was a cliché, but Jaye felt it was appropriate. "You won't get away with this!"

"All you have to do is get me through the doors." Red Suitcase Man replied with a sneer.

"Then you can let me go, right?" Jaye asked hopefully. "No more need for me then?"

He glanced at her. "Oh, I don't know about that. Let's just see how the night goes."

"I really don't think I'm your type." Jaye protested. "Wasn't that head a blonde?"

"I'm not fussy."

"Y'know, that's kind of strange... don't you guys usually have a type?"

He stopped. "Us guys?"

"Yeah. Psychopaths."

"You really don't know how to keep quiet, do you?"

She was pulled along again by him. "It is a fault of mine."

---------------------------------


"Nick." Greg said gently.

They had split up from Catherine, the two of them down one aisle while Catherine was up another.

Nick knew what he was going to say. "I can't help it, G."

"Yeah, well it's not going to help the situation."

Nick looked at him, frustrated.

"She's going to be okay."

"And how do you know that?"

Greg smiled slightly. "She told us. They're not going to let her die. She has work to do for them."

"I wish that could make me feel better."

They had reached a dark corner. Nick leaned one hand against the wall, and stonily stared away. Greg watched his jaw set, realised how tense his muscles were. He hesitated, then reached forward and let his fingers brush Nick's dangling left hand. Nick turned slightly, and moved his hand. The two clasped together.

Nick was surprised at how comforting that simple touch was. It was as if Greg's hand---along with the mere presence of Greg---was draining all his tension out of his body.

Greg wished he could lean in and kiss him - but this was not the time. And it definitely was not the place.

Nick gave his hand one last squeeze. "Let's find Jaye."

------------------------------


Okay, Jaye thought to herself as she was pushed along. I am hoping you can hear me. Now is the time for you to intervene, if you don't want me to die. It would be really nice if you intervene. If you do, I promise not to complain about whatever you want me to do for the next three months. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll complain anyway. But I'll do it. You know I will...

But the only reply that filtered through to her was the maddeningly chirpy muzak of the slot machines.

It was up to her now. Obviously they were going to ignore her. Little bastards---

"Play a nickel."

Red Suitcase Man suddenly stopped. Jaye, surprised by this, wondered if he had heard the voice as well. But his mind was elsewhere.

Looking to where his gaze was directed, she could see the backs of two policeman who were guarding the exit they were headed for. He was obviously trying to decide what to do next.

"Play a nickel!"

Jaye looked wildly around her, trying to ascertain where the voice was coming from.

The woman sitting at the machine closest to them was wearing her backpack rather than placing it by her feet. A black and white cat soft-toy was dangling from one of the zipper tabs. Noting that it finally had Jaye's attention, it gestured to the floor below from where it hung. "Play a nickel!"

A lone nickel glinted on the floor, by the woman's feet.

"Okay." she whispered.

"What?" Red Suitcase Man asked, finally looking at her.

Jaye bent down and scooped up the nickel. As Red Suitcase Man angrily leant down to grab her, Jaye let out a war cry and scrabbled wildly between the feet of the woman and the slot machine. Unfortunately, there was not enough room. The stool was knocked over in her haste, and the woman went flying onto her back - which was cushioned by her bag. Even with all the noise around her, Jaye could hear the cat exclaiming, "Oof! Ouch!"

The woman screamed as Red Suitcase Man towered over her.

They were now finally attracting attention, as some patrons stood up from their machines to see what all the ruckus was.

Jaye jumped back onto her feet. The next machine was empty, and she triumphantly jammed the nickel in and pulled the slot.

Spin.

Gold pot.

Spin.

Gold pot.

Red Suitcase Man grabbed her from behind. She twisted in his grasp as he tried to pull her away, and wrapped her feet around the machine's footrest.

As much as he pulled, she was providing too much opposing strength at the moment.

Spin.

Gold pot.

Jackpot.

The noise around them increased tenfold as sirens went off, and flashing lights strung along all the machines suddenly pulsed into action - a beacon that flooded towards them and made them the centre of attention in the whole casino.

Thank you, Jaye thought. Oh, thank you.

"You're welcome." replied the cat, muffled, from where it was still lying slightly crushed beneath the screaming woman.

***

"Still no sign of either of them." Nick sighed, snapping his mobile phone closed.

Greg moved a few steps away, looking up another aisle of slot machines. He could see a pair of security guards at the other end. He gave them a look of "anything?", to which they responded with a defeated shrug of the shoulders.

"Was that Catherine?" Greg asked.

Nick nodded. "What next, G?"

"Maybe we should go back to security - try another look at the tapes."

"They already have people on that---"

Nick was interrupted by the jackpot siren going off. He gritted his teeth in frustration at the distraction, and glanced over at the direction the sound was coming from.

Greg was already breaking into a run.

Although slightly obscured by a nickel machine, Nick could see Jaye struggling in the grip of the suspect. She had wisely wrapped her legs around the machine itself, and seemed to be hanging on valiantly for life itself.

Nick raced in Greg's wake.

--------------------------


Jaye could feel her sneakered feet losing their ground as the Red Suitcase Man began to pull her away. She drew back her elbow and viciously punched him in the stomach with it. He gasped in pain, and she could feel the outtake of his breath against her neck. She gave him a second dose for good measure, and this time he let her go as he staggered back, severely winded.

Unfortunately, they both lost their balance and toppled to the ground. Jaye's fall was cushioned by her would-be-killer's body, but as he was so lanky it wasn't that soft a landing. No sooner had their bodies contacted, than she felt his hands grip her waist, and she was flying through the air again.

She landed on her side, and looked up to see Greg running towards her, his gun drawn. Nick wasn't that far behind, yelling into his cellphone as he ran.

Jaye looked back behind her, to see Red Suitcase Man getting to his feet and trying to escape. He was still unsteady on his feet, and Jaye thought swiftly enough to stretch out her foot and kick it underneath his. He fell to his knees again, and shot her a look of pure hatred. But it was a mere second before he was off the ground and running again.

Greg dropped to his knees beside her, while Nick continued past them in pursuit of the killer.

"Are you okay?" Greg asked, concerned.

Shaken, she nodded. "Where did you guys go?"

"Us? It was you who disappeared!"

"Let's just blame it on the tourists." Jaye said. "Help me up?"

He offered her his hand, and she gladly took it. As her equilibrium was restored, she looked down to the aisle where Nick was tackling Red Suitcase Man down to the ground.

"Wow." Jaye breathed appreciatively. "He's like GI Joe or something."

She elbowed Greg in the ribs, and he blushed.

Instantly Nick and his collared criminal were surrounded by a crowd of security and police officers. Greg could see a flash of red hair, and knew Catherine was in the thick of it.

"Was it you who set off the jackpot?" Greg asked, still watching the melee further down. As the crowd of blue-uniformed officers parted, he could see Nick and Catherine pulling the freshly-handcuffed Red Suitcase Man off the ground, and he realised he had been mentally holding his breath until he was assured Nick was safe.

"Ooh, my money!" Jaye turned back to the machine. By this stage the woman with the stuffed cat toy was inching towards it, her back injury forgotten. "Hey, back off! That's mine!"

"It was my nickel!" the woman protested.

"Oh, yeah? Prove it!" Jaye insisted. She turned back to Greg. "Grab me some of those cups there."

He found himself obeying her.

Jaye started scooping the winnings into the plastic cups supplied by the casino. "I may need a trolley." she muttered.

"I guess they really didn't want you to die." Greg mused, crouching down beside her.

"I guess not." Jaye handed him a full cup. "Plus, this is the first time I have ever been rewarded. Which is cool. They should really do it more often."

"A cosmic paycheck?"

"If only. Then I could quit my crappy job."

He looked back at her. "You know what? I think deep down you actually like it."

"It did take me a while to reach that conclusion." she mused. "And if you ever repeat that, I will deny everything."

"You helped save lives tonight, Jaye."

She paused in the scooping of her money. "Not enough to save the poor woman whose head was in the bag."

"But what about the future women you saved? Who would have died had he not been caught tonight?"

She looked up at him, nothing but seriousness and truth in her eyes, all vestiges of snarkiness temporarily abandoned. "Is that what you have to tell yourself to get through your job?"

He swallowed. "Sometimes."

"Does it work?"

He smiled sadly. "Sometimes."

She quickly looked down, and resumed collecting her winnings. "You know, I heard beer can sometimes help."

"What was that I heard about beer?" They were joined by Nick, who was reholstering his gun. "As good as that would be right now, we may have to wait. Catherine and Brass are taking our ‘John Smith' in for questioning."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "What, they're taking our perp off us?"

"I don't know about you, Greggo, but I have had enough excitement for one night."

Jaye handed Nick a full cup of coins. "I don't know about that."

Nick and Greg looked at their feet.

Nick cleared his throat. "Anyway, we have to get Jaye's final statement."

"Oh, what?" Jaye complained. "He grabbed me, I fought back, you guys shot him---"

"Nobody shot anybody!" Nick protested.

"Oh?" Jaye wrinkled her nose. "I guess I'm really not the best witness."

"Tell us that now."

"Hey, you got your guy in the long run." she smiled suggestively. "In more ways than one." At their looks, she snorted. "Come on, let me have a little fun!"

"Seeing as you've discovered a body, been hauled in for questioning, kidnapped and had a spot of gambling," Greg smiled. "I think you've had the full Vegas experience."

"I suppose this is going to go on my file, huh?" Jaye asked, filling her last cup.

"I will even print it on yellow paper so it stands out." Nick informed her.

Jaye raised an eyebrow towards Greg. "Hey, he cracked a joke."

"He does do it occasionally."

"Don't worry, Jaye." Nick smiled. "I'm sure it won't be the last entry on your police record."

"Yes." she sighed. "I have so much to look forward to. Now, let's go and cash this. It may just cover my plane ticket."

She headed off to the cashier's booths. "Come on, boys. You have the rest of the money. I don't want that woman trying to make a claim for it."

***

"No offence, but I hope this is the last time I see the inside of this room." Jaye said as she sat down at the desk in the interview chamber again.

"None taken." Nick pushed forward a stack of forms towards her. "If you could just sign where I've made crosses for you."

"I trust you've left... some of the more fantastical elements of my interview out of this report?" Jaye asked.

"Believe me, we don't want to become known as the Mulder and Scully of the crime lab." Nick smiled at her.

"Yeah, nobody wants an alien baby." Jaye muttered to herself as she started signing.

"Imagine the nappies." Greg shuddered.

"Do you wish to speak to a counsellor?" Nick asked of Jaye.

She looked worried. "Uh, I thought we had all that cleared up?"

Greg collected the papers from her. "As I said when we first brought you in tonight, it's procedure to offer it after a traumatic experience."

"Oh, that." Jaye waved her hand. "I still haven't recovered from my last hostage experience, so really, the two will just kinda blend into each other in a nice, neurotic mess that I will make sure to repress."

"Sounds just like what we do around here." Nick agreed, random thoughts of a green light and the sound of cracking glass surfacing in his brain before he quickly dismissed them.

"It can be surprisingly healthy." Jaye nodded.

Greg shook his head at the pair of them, wondering if Nick saw the similarities between himself and Jaye.

Jaye stared at the wax lion.

Greg and Nick unconsciously found themselves leaning forward at the same time and looking at it as well.

"Did it say something?" Nick asked.

Jaye leaned back. "No, it's remaining suspiciously silent."

"That's a good thing, right?" Greg wondered.

"I guess. Who knows?"

"Leave me here." said the wax lion.

Jaye jumped. "Oh god!"

"What?" Nick and Greg asked in unison.

The wax lion shook his head. "Ssshhh."

"N-nothing!" Jaye said breezily. "Charley horse." At their disbelieving expressions, she bent down and rubbed needlessly at an unaffected leg. "Mmm, much better!"

They didn't believe her, but they didn't push her either. They now knew not to question whatever she was up to.

"So I guess this is goodbye." Jaye finally said, and she couldn't believe that she actually felt a little bit sad about it. Standing, she shook hands with both of them, and paused to look down at the wax lion again. She scooped him up, and handed him to Greg. "Here, it's yours."

Stunned, Greg almost took a step backwards. "Don't you need it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh,trust me, I have plenty of them back in Niagara. They just keep making themselves whenever they need to."

Still surprised, Greg held it as if it was a prayer idol. Nick shot him a look of bemusement. "So, it's work is done?" he asked, leaning over to look at it's glossy, impassive face.

"No, I think it has a little something left in it." Jaye said cryptically, but with a knowing smile. "But whatever I was meant to do, I've done. For whatever else needs to get done, well, someone else needs to do it. And when they've done it, then it's done." she paused. "That made sense in my head."

"Well, then, maybe this is just one of those times you don't get full closure. You just know that you did what you were meant to do, and hope that it works after you've moved on." Nick said kindly, after he also had to take a pause in order to digest what she had actually said.

Jaye tilted her head. "I guess you guys get a lot of that, huh?"

"It's not always cut and dry." Greg agreed.

"Well, thank you for all your help. And for not letting me get killed. Or Green Mile-ing me. Or putting me in an institution."

Nick shook her hand again. "It's been a pleasure working with you."

"So are you off to solve any more bizarre mysteries?" Greg asked.

Jaye snorted. "No way. I am going to put on headphones on the plane and keep my eyes closed so nothing can interrupt me. I need to get home and have a beer. And maybe some pizza."

Greg's stomach immediately rumbled at the thought.

"Well, so long!"

And with that, she was out the door.

There was a long moment of silence as they stood in her wake.

Nick finally turned back to Greg. "I can safely say that was the strangest case I have ever worked on."

"I liked her." Greg smiled. "Did... did you believe all that?"

Nick moved closer to him. "There was definitely something weird going on."

"I think I'm going to miss her a little bit."

"You know what? Me too."

"I could really use a beer." Greg found his mouth going dry. "What about you? We, uh, never got around to it the other night."

"A beer sounds good." Nick also seemed hesitant.

They stared at each other for just an instant too long--- back at the same place they were almost hours before--- still hesitant about what they wanted---

"Just kiss already!"

Shocked, they both turned to the door.

The doorway was empty. They could see Jaye was long gone, a blur in the distance heading out the main entrance.

Open-mouthed, Greg looked down at the wax-lion. It stared back at him, immobile.

"You don't think---"

"Don't even start." Nick was just as dumbfounded.

"It's good advice, though." Greg smiled at him, nervously running a small slip of his tongue over his lips.

The sight was almost driving Nick crazy. "It sure is."

As they kissed for the first time, without fear and the nervousness dissipated, and with about four years of unrequited passion behind it, neither of them noticed the lion grinning to itself.

Mission accomplished.

--------------------


As the lights of night-time Vegas faded into the early morning sun, a young woman on a plane slept with a smile on her face as the city disappeared beneath her and her headphones drowned out any voices that may have disturbed her rest.

And on the ground, in a small diner, two men sat in a booth they had shared many times before as friends - but now shared together as something more. It seemed that time was now stretching out before them, filled with so much promise.

When the waitress brought them their food, she stared with a raised eyebrow at the small orange wax figurine of a lion that sat between them.

***