Long AN: So, this is my new story. Few things you need to know. First, this story has not yet been beta'ed. My betas are both busy, but I wanted the story to be up for Halloween (at least the first chapter). So, for once, you have to read it without it having been proof read. I tried to sound as English as I can, and sort out all the typos, but things happen. As soon as my girls have the time again, you'll get perfect chapters. Second, before you read this story, you might wanna either check the song out ("Put the blame on Mame" can be found on Youtube, in both versions. First the guitar one, then the night club one) or at least check out the lyrics to it. It might help you understand Nicole in this chapter. Now, off to the story ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI Miami, or Gilda, or the Song Put the blame on Mame. Inspiration hit me again. I do own Mame herself though, and Nicole, of course, and Ann Evans. Also Ron as portrayed here is mine, although the idea of Ron belongs to CBS.

Chapter One

"Now, look at this, Natalia! That's what I call drop dead gorgeous!" Nicole Ferguson leaned against the wall next to the girls' dressing room Natalia Boa Vista was just leaving.

Natalia looked and smiled, "Well, yeah, he's… pretty attractive."

From inside the dressing room, an annoyed voice said, "Ladies, I'd like to see it too." Natalia opened the door for Maxine Valera. When Valera saw what her two best friends were looking at, she grinned, "Well, not exactly my type, but I wouldn't say 'no' to him… Mr Wolfe, what's the occasion?"

Ryan, who had acted cool and pretended not to hear the girls, now turned to them. He was wearing a tuxedo and his hair was neatly styled. "Thank you, ladies. I do appreciate the nice words." Then he sighed, "My uncle is throwing a party. Something fancy, you know, with dress code and everything. And all I want to do is go to bed and sleep!"

Nicole shook her head, "Believe me, you don't. You wanna go to that party."

Ryan gave her a look, "Is there something I should know? Did Ron invite some girls for me again? Or is it about his job?" Uncle Ron was a safe cracker, and more than once Ryan had been invited to parties only used by his uncle to check out possible victims. Nicole, who barely knew his uncle, was good friends with Ron's girlfriend, and if she said something like this, it meant she knew something he didn't. "Tell me."

She only shrugged, "I don't know anything. You drive, right?"

"Where to?"

"To Ron's. I plan to drink tonight."

Ryan frowned, "You're invited, too?"

"Sure. Ann asked me already ages ago. I'm just waiting for you to go home with me so that I can change and leave the car there."

"Yeah, right, so that you can get totally drunk on the champagne? Again?"

"Exactly."

Ryan shrugged, "Oh well. At least you're funny then."

"I know. And if some of the girls your uncle invites for you annoy you too much, you can pretend I'm your girl."

"Deal."

They arrived at the location of the party half an hour later. Nicole had changed into a long, pale green dress that for once went good with her red hair. Ryan opened the door for her, "I have to say that you look great. Seriously, I mean, normally you just look…"

She gave him a look, "Yes?"

He blushed, "Well, you know, normally, you wear those… now you… Can we go in?"

She laughed, "Yes, please. But I appreciate the compliment. You look super snazzy, too. If only you wouldn't talk such rubbish." She entered the big hall.

Ryan, wiping the sweat from his forehead, followed. The first person he recognized was his sister, Deborah. "Oh, no."

"What?" Nicole asked while reaching out for a glass of champagne.

"The woman in the trouser suit. That's my sister."

Nicole made a grimace. "If I had known we can wear trouser suits, I wouldn't wear this awful dress now. You don't sound too happy she's here."

"Well, let's just say we're not on good terms. Plus, she doesn't like Ann." Ryan quickly scanned the room to check if other members of his family were there. And yes, in fact, he found who he was looking for. "That woman over there. In the black dress. That's my mother."

But Nicole had already noticed somebody else. "The man next to her. That's your father." Ryan only nodded. "Damn it. If you look like him once you're old, I'm definitely going to marry you. Where's the waiter with the champagne?"

"Here, young lady." The soothing voice of Ryan's uncle Ron was followed by a hand which held a glass of champagne. "I ordered some extra bottles, just for you, Nicole."

Nicole turned to Ron, "I'm definitely going to marry you, Ryan. Not only will you look great once you're old, you have an uncle who has champagne. Thanks, Ron. Where's your lovely girlfriend?"

"Probably right next to the other bottles."

"That's a good place to be. I'll see you later, Ryan." Nicole wandered off to look for Ann.

Ryan turned to Ron, "What is my father doing here?"

"It's gonna be a special day today, and I wanted your mother to be there. And I couldn't invite her over without saying she could have a Plus One, so, she brought him. I hope it's alright. I told him that if he tries shit around my nephew, I'm going to drown him in the pool."

"Yeah, don't worry. I mean, I don't worry about him anyways. After all, we sort of buried the past. I'm just worried about Nicole. You know, I already don't like the fact that my team knows about what he did to me. She's my best friend, and if she finds out, I fear it'll make things complicated between us."

But Ron shook his head. "Don't worry about that. In a few minutes, Nicole and Ann will be totally wasted, and you can be happy if she remembers who she came with. In the meantime, I want to introduce you to somebody. Where is she?"

Ryan had to suppress a groan, "Ron, please, I had a rough day with half a dozen dead bodies from a car accident, I'm really not in the mood to meet a girl tonight."

"Believe me, Ryan. When you see this woman, you will be in the mood for much more!" He looked around. "Ah, there she is. The woman in the long red dress."

Ryan checked out the woman Ron was pointing at. And yes, his uncle had been right. She was gorgeous. Long reddish blond hair, flowing in soft curls over her shoulders. She was wearing a red dress that matched beautifully with her hair colour, gloves and high heels. Her green eyes sparkled. Ryan caught himself saying, "Wow. Jesus, Ron, where did you find that woman?"

Ron grinned, "I knew you'd like her. Let's say… she's the daughter of one of my 'clients'."

"And you want me to help you?"

"Nah, don't worry. I have Ann to help me with the guy. I want you to meet her because she's special. So, you go, bring her a glass of champagne and talk to her, while I'm trying to figure out how I can keep Nicole away from you."

"What do you want me to talk to her about?"

Ron rolled his eyes, "Seriously, you should be old enough to know how this works. Now go!" He literally shoved Ryan over to the woman.

Ryan gave him a look, but then got hold of the first glass of champagne he could find and walked over to her. She turned to him even before he had reached her, and smiled at him. Ryan smiled back, "Hey. I'm Ryan Wolfe. Ron's nephew. I thought you looked kinda thirsty, so… here." He held out the glass for her to take it. By now, he had already started blushing a bit. He hated chatting women up.

But her smile only became bigger, "Hey, Ryan. Nice to meet you. I'm Mame Collins." She took a sip of the champagne. "And yes, I was rather thirsty."

"There's more champagne, you know. If my workmate doesn't drink all of it, that is." Damn, what a gorgeous woman. Okay, Ryan, come on. You gotta stay cool. Hey, you got Natalia. She can't be that much more difficult. "So, what brought you here?"

"My father and Ron are business partners. Actually, Ron invited him to come over; he was already busy tonight, so I came." She took another sip, and eyed him closely. "You're a cop or a soldier."

"Pardon me?"

"The way you talk, the way you move, the way you're standing there… cop or soldier." She tilted her head, waiting for him to answer.

And he did, "I'm a cop, yeah. You have a good eye. So, are you gonna tell me what you do for a living?"

"Sure. I work in my father's firm as an accountant." She looked over his shoulder. "That woman you came with, the noisy Brit., is that your girlfriend?"

Ryan turned around to see Nicole who was just hitting on some random waiter. "Nope. She's my workmate. Why do you ask?"

"Because it didn't look right to me. You don't look like you would put up with a girl like her."

Ryan felt immediately defensive. After all, Nicole was a close friend, and he wouldn't have that woman talk about Nicole like that, "She's a good girl, and one hell of a cop, and she could kick your ass anytime." See, Ryan, that's why you don't have a girlfriend. "No offense."

She smiled again, "None taken. It's nice to see that some men actually defend their friends. Would you like another glass of champagne?" As he nodded, she said, "We could have it outside on the balcony. I think it's a little crowded here…"

They made their way to the balcony. It was empty. Mame lit up a cigarette, "So, if you're here with your workmate, I suppose you don't have a girlfriend?"

Ryan shook his head, "You suppose correctly. Why?"

She shrugged, "I just avoid wasting time. You're quite good looking, you seem like a nice guy, and if you are available, I'd like to get to know you closer. But if you're not …"

Ryan frowned, "That's kind of straightforward…" He wanted to add something but was interrupted by the sudden noise inside. "What's happening?" As he glanced inside, he could see that Ron and Ann were standing in the middle of the large room, and everybody was cheering to them. "Mhm. Seems like something bigger is going on…" He saw Nicole standing a bit away from the crowd and waved her to come.

She came outside, "Now, isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever heard?"

"I didn't hear anything, what's going on?"

"They're getting engaged. A reason to celebrate. Where's that waiter with the champagne?" She looked around and saw Mame. "And you are?"

Mame reached out her hand, "I'm Mame Collins. And you are…."

But Nicole only grinned, "Mame? As in Put the blame on Mame?"

"Yeah. And believe me, I've heard the joke millions of times before today. You got a name, too?" Mame's voice was icy; it was obvious she didn't like Nicole from the first moment on.

But apparently the feeling was mutual, "Nicole Ferguson. And before you ask, yes, some people do call me Fergie, no, I don't mind, and yes, I am British."

"Wouldn't have guessed with that accent. I gotta tell you, nothing sounds as snobby as a Brit."

"Yeah, but at least we don't sound like we have a hot potato in our mouths." Nicole turned back to Ryan. "So, yeah, your uncle is getting engaged. You might want to go and say how happy you are before your new friend burns Chicago down. I'll be with Ann in the meantime…" She left the balcony without looking at Mame.

Ryan, who had with curiosity followed the conversation between the girls, now smiled, "My uncle is getting engaged. That is so cool."

"What an impolite little woman!" Mame shook her head.

"Nah, don't worry, she needs some time to warm up to people… I'll just go and talk to my uncle, yeah? I'll be right back."

"Yeah, sure. Hey, take this with you." She laid her hand around his neck and wrapped him up in a kiss.

Ryan returned the kiss after a moment of surprise. When Mame let go of him again, he only muttered, "I'm sure Ron will still be there in a few minutes…"

Mh. She is straighforward. But something's odd about her, don't cha think? We'll see. Likey?