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PEREGRINI NOCTE

A CSI: Crime Scene Investigation / Pretender Crossover
fanfic by CHris


Disclaimer: The CBS God owns CSI, TNT Gods own the Pretender – I don't. I'm a little angel who likes to play. I'll give them back totally unharmed after I'm finished.
Rose Hannagan belongs to me and my imagination so does this story and the ideas.

Rated: PG 13 – as usual



I hope I didn't make too many mistakes in spelling, grammar and essential things. I have no idea about medicine or crime scene investigation – just the things one learns from watching the series, reading books or playing the CSI computer games… Please contact me if you find something I did wrong and I will try to make it right.
Another thing: English is not my native language and therefore I'm not perfect *g*. I'm living in Germany and I have only seen a single CSI episode in English (on the plane…)
This is my first CSI fanfic. Please be kind with critics and comments which are highly welcome at kylaparker@hotmail.com. And it's the first crossover in that direction. I've written loads of Pretender fanfic but somehow this is different…
Thanks to Ayshea for proof-reading and Sherrie for the corrections.




Friends are like quiet angels
who lift us to our feet when our wings
forget how to fly.



Dedicated to Martin and Nadja.
Thanks for being there when I need you.

«

The first lights are coming on inside the houses as I pass. It's only just four in the morning but I had the urge to get out into the "fresh" air of the city. Last night has been long and loud but I haven't been able to find sleep after the party. I have tried more alcohol, music, reading, meditation and have finally given up. So here I am walking through my hometown in the early morning. It's been quite a time ago since I had the urge to walk through the city in the morning – one could easily call it at night. Giles, my dog, is trotting along beside me and I feel relatively safe with him. He's a German Shorthair and quite big. But he's a coward. I can't help but grin when I imagine the day someone tries to rob me and Giles tries to hide behind me when he should be guarding me. He simply looks at me with his big brown eyes and somehow I feel sorry for him.
Giles stops and starts barking. Gods, it is in the middle of the night. People will kill me. But then I see why he has stopped dead in his track and my feet stop to obey me. There's an arm hanging from a dustbin right in front of me and something is moving directly beside the bin. I grab my cell phone and dial the number I came to know well over the last few years.
"Sorry to bother you, Captain Brass, but I've found a corpse or parts of it. I don't know."
"Rose? Where are you and what has happened?"
"I was taking a walk with my dog and he found it in a dustbin. I believe there's also a baby. Wait a second – yes, there's a baby and it's still alive. Send a team and an ambulance. I'll be waiting here."
"Where are you?"
"Three streets down to the center from my home."
"OK, stay there and see if you can do something for the baby. Be careful your dog stays out of the area."
I can't believe it. It's my first day off in four months, I'm enjoying the evening with a wonderful party and then something like that. I'M HAVING THE DAY OFF! Giles seems to have heard Captain Brass on the phone and is sitting next to the street lamp without making any noise. My job seems to be following me and so I take a pair of gloves from my pocket and remove the blanket from the basket that is standing next to the bin. I so hope its not the baby's mother in there. The baby is covered with blood and bleeding heavily from a wound on the shoulder. It's a girl and she's naked. I take off my sweater and cover her with it. Pressing part of the sweater onto the wound I sit down next to Giles and we're waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I can hear them in the distance. This is such a mess. I'm thankful that it's still quite dark and I can't see everything clearly. I can only feel the baby's heartbeat growing weaker and she's not crying anymore. I can still feel her heart. She's still alive. The ambulance is getting nearer. Just a matter of minutes now. I stand up and walk towards the street. I can see the lights in the distance. Pressing the baby towards my chest I step onto the street and wave them towards me. Thank God, they have seen me and slow down. They stop right beside me. Giles is still cowering next to the street lamp. Blinded from the ambulance light I still see dark circles in front of my eyes. The baby is taken from my arms. More cars stop around us and inside the houses the lights are turned on. Curious faces appear in the windows. I can see Catherine and Sara secure the place with yellow tapes. Someone's hand touches my shoulder and something presses against my knee. Gil has come to stand beside me and Giles is trying to hide behind me. He's afraid of strangers and there are a lot of them around.
"What has happened?"
"I couldn't sleep and decided to take a walk with my dog. Suddenly he stopped and started to bark at the dustbin."
"What happened to you? You're covered with blood."
"Not mine. The baby. She's inside the ambulance."
"Baby? I thought this is a murder scene?!"
"Inside the dustbin. I was afraid to look inside. Captain Brass is checking that at the moment. I don't know why they informed you immediately."
"Guess that was because you said something about body parts inside a dustbin."
"I haven't even checked that. I only saw an arm and heard the baby and assumed this was what it looked like. Guess I'm an idiot."
"No problem, Rose. It's still early in the morning. And look at the Captain's face. There is something inside the bin that doesn’t belong there. Isn't this your day off? You should check on the baby and stay away from corpses or parts of one. And then go home and get some sleep. You look quite pale."

Grissom walks away without another word. I have no idea what to do next. Dogs are not allowed inside the ambulance. I simply open the door and look inside.
"She will survive. Don't worry about her. Do you need your sweater back?"
"Yes, please."
He hands me the sweater and closes the door in front of my face. I put on the blood stained sweater and start to walk away. Catherine Willows stops me. She looks at me and puts her hand on my shoulder after patting Giles' head.
"Your day off, huh? You look quite pale. Are you OK?"
I want to answer that I am fine but the alcohol from the party starts to work and somehow the events from the last hour do their job. I start to speak and then the darkness creeps into my view and can see myself collapsing into her arms.


«

Grissom turned the moment Rose Hannagan collapsed into Catherine's arms. He had to smile. The woman had always been a good worker but never had had the constitution of a real crime scene investigator. Catherine tried to bring her back to consciousness by slapping her face. The two often worked together and seemed to have build a strong friendship. But they didn't seem to fit together. Catherine was tall and blond, Rose was small and red-haired. Their past had a few things in common but that had nothing to do with their job.
Rose opened her eyes and looked up at Catherine. Catherine smiled at her and helped her sit up.
"Feeling better?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. Such things happen sometimes. I'll bring you home."
"It's just a few blocks away. And there's the blanket I moved to get the baby and –"
"Just calm down, OK? We'll talk about that later. I'll bring you home and you try to get some sleep. When you're finished sleeping you call and we talk things through. This is your day off, remember? Come on, my car's over there."
"I'm sure I can walk home", Rose tried to protest.
"Just look at yourself. You look like someone tried to kill you. Someone would surely call the police and there'd be lots of trouble. No way. Get in my car and we're gone. Grissom," she called to Gil, "I'll bring her home. I'm back in a few minutes."
"OK, but remember to bring the sweater she wears. That's evidence."
She ushered Rose and the dog into the car and drove away. It was a short ride through the morning city traffic. It was 7 am by now and most people were on their way to work. Catherine stopped in front of Rose's house.
"Promise you try to get some sleep, will you?"
"Promise. I'll call ya later."
Rose took off the sweater and handed it to Catherine before she left the car. Catherine turned the car and drove back to the crime scene. Rose and the dog went into the house. She took off the rest of her clothes and went into the shower. The water from the shower mixed with the tears that started to run down her face. She felt so helpless against all the crime.
After the shower she felt somehow better. She had promised Catherine to get some sleep. She felt like she hadn't slept in days but she knew she wouldn’t be able to find sleep after what she had seen. She sat down on the sofa anyway. Giles sat down beside her and put his huge head onto her lap. She caressed his soft fur and somehow she must have fallen asleep. The phone rang. She had no idea where she had put the phone but Giles trotted towards her with the phone in his fangs. She grinned and dried the receiver with her sweater before she took the call.
"Rose? This is Catherine. How are you?"
"Must have fallen asleep on the sofa. Last thing I remember is coming from the shower and sitting down. What's the time?"
"3.30 pm. You did need some sleep. Can you come to the place where you found the baby? We need you to reconstruct the site. I know it's your day off but would you-?"
"Sure. I need to get changed. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"OK, can you bring your dog too?"
"Giles? Animals are not allowed at crime scenes."
"We need him."
"OK, see you in a few minutes."
She changed into something comfortable and walked out of the house. She locked the door, activated the security alarm and walked away. Somehow she felt like someone was watching her.
There were still people standing around the CSI group. It was early afternoon and the first people were coming back home. Rose made her way through the curious people and slipped under the yellow tape into the secure area. Some people protested and tried to stop her. A police officer asked her to step behind the barrier but she showed him her badge and he let her through. Giles was still at her side. Catherine and Sara waved for her to join them.
"We have found lots of evidence. What did you touch and move when you found it?"
"The only thing I touched was the blanket that covered the basket with the baby but I wore gloves."
"Where have you put the gloves?"
"On top of the blanket. And I touched the baby. Nothing else."
"The dog?"
"Nothing. Just stood there and barked. Then he went to the street lamp over there and sat down. He was with me when I went to the ambulance and when you arrived."
"Yes, he was by your side when you collapsed."
"How long was I out anyway?"
"About a minute. How do you feel now?"
"Better. I have slept a few hours on the sofa. What do you need my dog for?"
"We want to test a theory. We have found evidence that she – the woman inside the dustbin – was killed nearby. There were a few footprints but nothing else. Maybe your dog can find a trace and we can find a suspect."
"Can I get a complete update on what you have found?"
"You're on holidays. You're officially not involved in this case except as a suspect. I shouldn't be telling you anything, Rose."
"Sorry, Catherine. This is just so unusual to stand on the other side of the line. I have to talk to Captain Brass later, right?"
Sara took Giles' collar band and looked him deep into the eyes. Rose smiled. She knew that her dog liked Sara and hoped that he would do what they needed. He sniffed at the cloth Sara showed him and trotted towards the dustbin like Sara told him. His nose firmly to the ground he followed the trail he had found and the three women followed him. Two blocks down the road he stopped and barked. They were standing at the main road downtown. The trail seemed to stop. Or he had lost it on the street. They crossed the road and suddenly the dog had found the scent he had been following again. He barked and went on. They still followed him. Then he stopped in front of a huge hotel.
"If the dog has been following a trail we need I doubt that my theory works," Catherine stated. "If he killed the woman here someone must have seen him. No, I think we forget the theory and get back to the crime scene."
"Can I join the investigation? I talk to Brass and let you know what he thinks afterwards. There's another theory I'd like to test."
"Go and talk to Captain Brass first. I think Grissom would like a word as well," Catherine said.
Rose took the dog by the collar band and they walked back to the crime scene. Grissom was gone and all evidence was collected. Everybody was packing their things to leave. Sara and Catherine collected their stuff and took their car after waving goodbye. Rose still stood at the place where she had first seen the scene and tried to remember everything she had seen. She walked home, changed her clothes and brought the dog to her neighbor who would take care of him the rest of the day. She took her helmet and drove away with her motorbike to see Captain Brass.


«

It had been easier than she had feared. He had simply asked her how she had found the corpse and what she had seen. She had told him all she knew and she had been assigned to solve the case. She wasn't a suspect in this case – there had been too many fingerprints all over the female corpse and the blanket that had covered the baby. The sun was hanging just over the horizon as she drove out of Las Vegas. She had to get out of town for a while. With her motorbike she drove to her favorite place just outside of Las Vegas and watched the sun go down. The semi-darkness that followed the sunset made her calm down. She drove back into town, got some food to go on the way and collected her dog from the neighbor. She parked the bike in the garage and went inside.
The food tasted awful and she gave it to the dog. She took an old bag with nachos and sat down in front of the TV. She found nothing worth looking and took a book she had started to read a few months back. A few hours later the book and the nachos were finished and Rose had fallen asleep on the sofa with Giles at her feet.
A small noise at the back door made her jump from her sleep. Giles didn't even dare to look. She got up and silently went to the kitchen where she had heard the noise. On the way she took the frying pan as a weapon. The noise was repeating itself. It sounded as if someone was trying to break into her home. She lifted the pan and prepared herself to strike and with the other hand reached for the doorknob. She opened the door and wanted to knock out the enemy. There was nobody except a squirrel that scurried away as she opened the door. It left the nuts behind it had tried to crack. Rose sighed and put down the frying pan. The moment she closed the door she saw a movement from the corner of her eyes but when she turned her head it was gone. She wondered if she was going crazy or if she was starting to become a persecution maniac. She locked the back door and went to the front door to check if she had locked the door and activated the security alarm. Then she went to the bedroom. She hadn't slept in her bed in a long time she had always fallen asleep on the sofa. It was already one am but she had a few hours left before she had to get up and go to work again.
She took of her clothes and slid into a huge shirt that had once belonged to a boyfriend of hers. Out of pure sentimentality she had kept it and had gotten used to it over the years – or so she tried to tell herself. She covered herself with the blanket and fell asleep immediately. She didn't hear the noise at the backdoor again and didn't hear Giles trot into her room and curl up under her bed.

«

Jarod clenched his teeth. He knew that she had almost caught him. He was getting sloppy. He had to be a little more careful if he wanted to save her. He had observed her for quite a while now and she must have suspected something. She hadn't activated the security alarm the last days. Only last night she had started to do so. He had to find out the code. He couldn't save her if he didn't know. He didn't know why he was still here.
The door sprang open. He hoped that her dog hadn't heard him or was too afraid to come. He closed the door. He didn't hear the dog. The lights were off. He so much hoped she wouldn't hear him. She had a gun, he didn't. At least not at the moment. She was a little like Miss Parker. Blue eyes, absolutely stubborn, perfect target shooter and a little ice queen to those she didn't know. He could live with the blue eyes and the ice queen but he didn't like the thing with the target shooting. She would get him if she wanted. And she would definitely NOT like him sneaking around her house in the middle of the night without being invited. The dog wouldn't be a problem but she would.
He placed the red folder onto her kitchen table. She would hate him if she got to know him because he had known that this was going to happen. That the woman had had to die. And he hadn't had time to prevent it. But he would help them to solve the case. It was his fault that Carolina Mayweather was dead. It was his fault that Kennedy Mayweather had to grow up without knowing her mother. And it was his fault that Carolina had been in Las Vegas. He felt somehow helpless and he knew he had to do a lot of things to make up for the mistake. He could have prevented it, couldn't he? He heard a noise from the bedroom. The dog must have heard him. He slid through the kitchen door and out of the house. He carefully closed the door behind him and climbed over the fence and onto his motorbike. He so much hoped that Rose would use the hints he had given her. He would shortly know. By tomorrow morning. He would be at her side. He would be in the midst of the investigation and he would be able to make up for his mistake to ask Carolina to join him on this trip and for letting her walk alone.
He drove to his new home. He had a lot to do until he had to start working. They had to believe him. He had to be convincing. He had to fake some papers and his new ID had to be finished as well. So no time for sleep and no time to waste. He parked his new BMW in front of his new home. It wouldn't be home for long but it was home anyway. He even had a pool. He only hoped he would be able to use it at least once. He didn't know how long he would be able to stay until Parker found out where he was. He wasn't ready to admit it but he missed her terribly. Only last night had he dreamed of her. But this wasn't the time for dreaming. Someone had died and it was his fault once more. But this time it was different. When he was younger it had been his pretends at the Centre that had been used by the military or the Centre itself that had killed people. Now it had been his decision. His very own decision to ask Carolina to join him on his journey to Las Vegas and his very own decision to let her walk the streets alone. Would he have been able to prevent her death if he had taken her with him? Was this destiny? Maybe her death had been predestined. Maybe the one he had had a meeting with would have had her killed. There was no use in trying to find a scapegoat. It had happened and Carolina was dead. Now it was his job to make sure that those who did it would be found by justice.

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