Aqua Velvet
TEASER: The deception continues. Poor Catherine! Response to the 10-9-05 Unbound Improv Challenge and sequel to "Scarlet Fever".
RATING: T for innuendo.
SPOILERS: Set between Season 6 "Room Service" and "Shooting Stars", though spoilers are general up to Season 6.
DISCLAIMERS: Not mine. No matter how hard I wish or pray, they never will be. So I'm just playing with them for fun without profit. All of that goes to Bruckheimer, et al.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: You'll get more from this story if you read the others in the series first. Reviews appreciated, archived at my site, and my Red Sox mourning band has a pin-striped "HA HA" on it now, too. First and last lines given, 1000 word limit for the story itself; according to MS Word 2003, I made it with 23 words to spare.
CSI CSI CSI
"So did you know that water molecules are promiscuous?" Greg's infectious smile stopped Grissom mid-stride.
"Yes, Greg, I did. Why are you in such a good mood?"
"I just nailed a sick bastard for his crimes against children."
Grissom nodded. "Michaelson?"
"All six kids." Greg handed him a thick sheaf of papers. "Do you think we should avoid Sara now that the Red Sox have been eliminated?"
"No. She'll be ecstatic with the Yankees' loss tonight." He glanced through the pages. "Great work, Greg. We may have found another DNA tech, but you're still the best."
Greg's eyes went wide and he skipped off. Grissom chuckled all the way to his office. Seeing Catherine in his office didn't faze him much.
"Couldn't wait another five minutes for shift to start?" he said by way of greeting, dropping into his chair.
"I didn't think you wanted me to ask this in public. Marjorie doesn't really exist, does she?"
God bless Sara's foresight! He pulled out his wallet and extracted a snapshot of his mystery lover.
"Marjorie Mason, mystery lover," he told Catherine as he handed her the photo.
"Wow." She held it up close to look at details. "That's a spectacular dress."
"Aqua, her favorite color, and velvet, her favorite fabric." Sara looked even more beautiful in that dress than the woman she'd created, but Grissom wanted Catherine to see that for herself.
Catherine frowned as she handed the picture back. "This is for real?"
"Yes, Catherine, it's for real. I even talked to Sara's Michael while we were in Chicago. I'm very pleased for her."
Catherine cursed, but with a small smile. "Okay. But if Nicky or Greg ever settle down, I'll retire to Palm Springs with Sam's money."
He didn't like the reference to Sam Braun, but he understood her sentiment. "Thanks. Give me a few minutes."
A little while later, he slid into the break room without interrupting Warrick's story about his weekend with Tina's family.
"So her brothers decide to see how tough I am. They targeted me, man. I must have been sacked a dozen times in three drives and I am hurtin' today."
Grissom chuckled with the others. "Did you win?" he asked.
"Yeah, finally. Catherine says your mystery lover has a name and a face now, boss. Care to share?"
"In a minute." He looked up at Sara, but restrained a wink. "Nothing new so far. Greg got us the DNA on Michaelson," he waited while the team high-fived their resident tech-turned-CSI, "and we're waiting for Hodges to get us the road debris analysis from last week's pile up. Let's use the lull to play paperwork catch up, shall we? Sara and Greg get first call, then Catherine, Warrick, and Nick."
Nick held up his camera. "Good. That will give me a chance to figure out what's gone wrong with the flash settings."
"What about you?" Sara poured a handful of peanuts from the communal jar.
"I will be chained to my desk completing quarterly reports. After I show you all some pictures."
He and Sara spent the next few minutes sharing their pictures of Marjorie and Michael. Sara's foresight proved salvific to their cover stories when the questioning got detailed – he had an answer when Nick asked Marjorie's birthday and only hesitated for a few seconds when Greg wondered if she had ever been married before.
Nick took several pictures as they talked, just candids that helped him with the obstinate flash. He growled on occasion, obviously not happy with the results on the screen, but contrite every time his disappointment interrupted Grissom's story.
Meanwhile, Grissom overheard snippets of Catherine's inquisition of Sara, overseen by a smirking Warrick, who stood between the women as though separating potential brawlers.
"So, is he a good kisser?"
"Dreamy. He makes my toenails sweat."
"So he must be good at . . ." Grissom assumed Catherine raised an eyebrow to fill in the blank.
"Best ever. Haven't faked one yet and it would surprise me if I ever feel the need to. He's just so caring about that."
He resisted the temptation to swell up with pride as he talked with Greg and Nick; he and Sara had agreed to speak the truth about those things.
A few minutes later, he heard Sara again. ". . . he's already said I'm the one. He asked me about jewelry preferences the other day – you know, gold or platinum, stone shape, ring size. I think he might be getting ready to propose."
Catherine sighed. "I guess it's time to close down the pool give everyone back their investment, then."
Grissom saw Warrick shake his head. "Naw. Let's wait until the first one ties the knot with someone else. Besides, don't you think it would be better to donate the proceeds to charity, instead?"
"Uh . . . um, that sounds like an idea." Clearly, Catherine would rather have her thousand dollars back.
"That's a great idea, Warrick. I bet you could get tax receipts for everyone, too." Sara's quick thinking got Greg and Nick's attention.
"Tax receipts for what?" Greg asked.
"The wedding pool. If we donate the proceeds to charity rather than give it all back." Warrick leaned against the wall. Catherine's eyes followed his movements with what Grissom suspected was deep-seated longing.
Nick high-fived Warrick. "I love it!" He lifted the camera to his eye, snapping pictures again.
"You don't have a thousand dollars invested," Catherine groused.
Nick's camera whirred and the flash exploded a nanosecond after Grissom said, "Catherine, bite me."
A moment later, Nick flashed a big grin and held the digital display up for everyone to see. The perfect picture of Catherine in full pissed as hell mode filled the tiny screen.
Grissom doubled over laughing at both the picture and Catherine's single finger response. "This one goes in the scrapbook!"