Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, they belong to CBS, and absolutely no copyright infringement is intended.


Back to Basics

by

Nico

Chapter 1

I'm about to scream loudly, very loudly in fact. So loudly that the entire lab would hear me and a good portion of Vegas too I should think. My night is just going from bad to worse and the simple fact that I haven't committed some small act of violence is indeed a miracle. First on my list would be Catherine Willows, the woman is driving me to distraction, and I've got the distinct urge to tape her mouth shut.

I figure once she got free though, I'd be in even more trouble than I am right now. I'd have a better chance of survival if I painted a target on my ass, and handed a fully automatic weapon to her and told her to fire at will. And she usually does, but thankfully the only kind of bullets I've been dodging so far, are verbal ones.

"Sara?" Catherine leans against her office doorway.

"Yes, Cruella?" I say without a trace of humour.

"Grissom wants to see you in his office. I wonder why," she says sarcastically, looking over the top of her glasses at me.

She's trying to imply something is going on between the two of us, but it doesn't bother me. She should have realised that comments about he and I stopped working a long time ago. I'm almost tempted to laugh about it, but manage to keep a straight face or she'd be onto it like a flash.

"My long awaited transfer to Alaska, maybe? I have a feeling your voice would still carry that far to chew me out," I respond, as I walk past her.

"Don't you get over anything?" she asks the back of my head.

"Usually, and having to work with you, I've gotten good at it. I'm just not in the business of forgiveness," my words appear to shut her up, and I grin with satisfaction as I disappear around the corner.

I'm still pissed at her, and not the kind of annoyance you feel when somebody just gets on your nerves. I'm talking full on, all out, complete and sheer aggravation. She's the only person on the planet who knows exactly how to press my buttons and exactly in which order, to achieve maximum results. After three years of working together, I've learned to cope with it, and most times don't even bother reacting to it. But today she managed to get under my skin spectacularly. I can still remember every word.

"Questioning my authority again, Sara?" she snaps at me.

"Not questioning your authority, but questioning your observational capabilities," I respond angrily. "She's terrified of him Catherine, anybody can see that."

"Like all teenagers, she was having a problem with her parents. For whatever reason, she decided to run. She'd been out on her own for three days, and she was probably afraid her parents would be angry that she'd run off like that."

I knew she'd say that. "It was more than that. I could see it in her eyes."

"Jesus, what do you want me to do? Order child protection services to take her away without any proof she's being mistreated by her father? I can't do that, you know I can't."

"I wanted you to listen to me for once, instead of dismissing me as per usual. I'm perfectly aware of how you feel about me, but I'm not a fucking child, Catherine. I've worked hard to get where I am and I won't stand for you treating me like a dumb shit who was born in a barn."

She turned to me, clearly annoyed. "I have never treated you like a dumb shit and you know it. I know these kinds of cases involving kids bother you, but what I don't know is why. Now that's up to you, because I'm assuming you're never going to reveal why that is, so I'm not going to push for an answer. But I will say this, if you can't switch your personal feelings off from your professional ones, then you shouldn't be doing this job."

"And who the hell are you to question my professionalism? Adam Novak ringing any bells, here?" I snap, as she drags me by the arm into her office and slams the door.

"Now that's…" her eyes are on fire and the tone of her voice cuts into me.

"Personal? Hurts doesn't it? If you recall, I asked you several times on that occasion if you were okay and not once did I question your ability to do your job. So don't you ever dare question mine," I reply angrily, because she now has me doubting myself.

"For your information," she replies with a cold fury. "I checked into their background just to make sure the kid wasn't at risk, because contrary to what you so clearly believe, I'm not dismissing any of your observations as stupid. I took it on board and I did something about it, which I would have told you about if you hadn't gone off the deep end, beforehand.

"And you expect me to believe that?" I'm somewhat sceptical she was ever going to tell me, reminding me that I always have my suspicions about her motives.

"I really couldn't care what you believe but I am not, repeat not, questioning your ability as a CSI. I'm merely questioning your interpretation of the facts since it differed from mine. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying nothing piqued my suspicions when I checked."

"Well that explains everything," my words drip with sarcasm. "If it differs from your interpretation then it must be wrong."

"You know what?I tried reasoning with you but you don't want to hear it, so do what ever the hell you want," she dismisses me and sits heavily in her chair.

"Just one of these days…"

"One of these days what?" she snaps, a look of fatigue passing over her face.

"Ah forget it, like I should give a damn," I say curtly, before slamming her office door behind me.

I'm fully aware I acted out of line. I wasn't exactly being fair but questioning my ability to do my job, wasn't exactly fair either. If she'd told me she'd checked, then maybe we wouldn't have fought about it. Having said that, I really didn't give her a chance to explain before I lost my temper with her, yet again. If I was being fair, I'd say that in some respects, she and I are just as bad as each other. But I'm not feeling very reasonable about things. In fact, I'm of a mind to blame it all completely on her and sulk about it for hours, maybe days, on end. Sulking is childish I know, but it works just great when she gets on my nerves.

"Grissom, you wanted to see me?" I ask as I pop my head through his open doorway.

"Come in and sit down. We're just waiting for Catherine," he doesn't bother to lift his head from his paperwork, as he gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"She didn't tell me that on my way past her office."

"She isn't your goddamn PA," Catherine carps, as she slips into the seat next to me.

"Sarcasm, thy name is Willows," I roll my eyes and fold my arms. "What did you need Grissom? I suddenly can't stand being in this office any longer."

I see her grinding her teeth in my peripheral vision, but unusually for her, she resists answering back. I think I may have pissed her off and if I have, then that's fine by me. I wait for Grissom to stop fannying about with his paperwork, and look at him expectantly when he blinks at us from behind his glasses.

"Having trouble finding your volume switch Gil?" Catherine remarks dryly, when he still doesn't speak.

"We all know you never had trouble finding yours," I carry on bitching, to see if it causes a reaction. It does, and I think may just be beginning to actually enjoy myself.

"You know, one of these days Sidle, I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face," she raises her eyebrow at me.

"Just try it, you'll get tired of picking yourself up off your ass," I shrug, and watch as her azure blue eyes get darker.

"Oh I'm not talking about anything physical," she husks. "I can make you do exactly what I want, without even touching you."

Okay now I'm a little confused, I think she may just have turned flirty and if that's the case, I need to get the hell out of here.

"Have you two quite finished? Just because there's silence doesn't mean to say you have to fill it with bickering," Grissom says sternly. "I want the two of you to learn to start getting along, and until you do, I'll be pairing you together as often as possible."

We both groan at this.

"How often is often?" Catherine crosses her legs irritably, and begins swinging an elegantly booted foot back and forth in annoyance.

"Each and every case you work," he says with a grim smile, plainly taking satisfaction in what he's doing and I can't really blame him, since I bet they're all sick of us fighting.

"Well if that's all, I'm going to go and sit on a hot rock in hell to get used to the idea of working with Catherine," I stand up and begin to leave the office when he calls me back.

"I'm not done yet, we've got a long way to go," he points to the chair and I reluctantly sit again. "Not only will you work the same cases until further notice, I'm sending you both on a two week course, where you will learn to work together as a team."

"Hell no," Catherine shakes her head. "I'm not going anywhere. I've got Lindsey to think about."

"She's on a school trip, Catherine. She left this morning, you told me so yourself," Grissom says triumphantly.

"Yeah well, that's not the point. Besides, if I was going to go on a course for two weeks with anybody, there's no way I'd pick hellcat Sidle here."

"Hey, what makes you think I'd even agree to it myself?" I turn in my seat and glare at her. "The last thing I want to do is toss around some crappy fake forest, wearing a little orange vest while you fire paint bullets at my ass in the vain fucking hope that it's going to foster trust between the two of us!"

I think I may have gotten a little carried away with my rant because Grissom has gone a little red in the face, and Catherine is struggling not to laugh at me.

"No need to bother, I've got my service weapon right here," Catherine pats the gun currently resting on her hip. "I could quite happily shoot you in the ass, it's not like I've never fantasized about it."

"Yeah well if I'd shot you every time I'd wanted to, right about now you'd be holier than the Vatican," I quip and she bursts out laughing this time.

"Will the pair of you shut up for five minutes? I'm not done yet."

"Ah Jesus, Gil, could you move it along a little here? Lincoln didn't take nearly this long to deliver the Gettysburg Address," Catherine rolls her eyes at him as I snort into my hand.

"Yeah and this is definitely taking four score and seven," I banter back and by this time we're both laughing but Grissom looks a little pissed with us.

"Why is it, the only time the two of you ever seem friendly, is when you're trying to piss me off?" he says puzzled.

"It's a girl thing Grissom. Women will always team up against guys, it's a survival of the fittest kind of thing," she smiles and I momentarily notice how nice her eyes are when they twinkle.

Oh god, I can't believe it. I'm beginning to thaw out towards her. Whose idea was that and why wasn't I consulted? I seriously have no control over my brain, I should be worried.

"Anyway, this training course, I'll be going along with you," he imparts this little piece of information as Catherine and I look at each other sympathetically for once. "It's already booked, we're due to be there on Sunday, and it will give us a day to orient ourselves with the campus, before beginning the course on Monday."

It's 5am Saturday morning now, so it doesn't give us a hell of a lot of time to sort anything out. That's typical of Grissom, I mean I could have plants to water and a cat to find a foster home for until I'm back. Okay I have none of these things but that isn't the point. In reality all I have to do is scrunch my stuff up into a ball before launching it into my suitcase, but he could at least help me pretend I actually had a life he could interrupt.

"Where are we going?" Catherine asks.

"San Francisco," he replies, as I grin enthusiastically.

"Ooooo Frisco, time to partayy," I rub my hands together as Catherine smiles in my direction curiously, as if she never realised I had a fun side.

"We're not there for a two week vacation, Sara," he says disapprovingly. "We'll be flying, so we need to meet up here at 10am on Sunday morning, before we head off to the airport."

But a look passes between Catherine and I. We make a silent pact that if we're going to be stuck there for two weeks, we might as well enjoy our 'off time' when we have chance.

"Speaking of which, seeing as how Gil wants us to forge closer ties," Catherine looks her watch. "I see there's only an hour left of shift. Why don't we knock off early and go grab a beer, chat a while?

I think about it for a moment, probably more like a nanosecond before I nod, and stand up. "First round is on me. Let's get hammered."

"Good idea," she smiles enthusiastically at my suggestion. "Its not like we'll need to worry about a hangover, we'll be off work tonight since Grissom can't expect us to work a full shift and then travel without any sleep."

Ah, the art of blackmail and man, is she good at it. He looks as if he's going to argue, but decides against it. We'll get to go home early and get our night off, Catherine has seen to that.

"Ladies, you know you could at least pretend you recognise my authority here," he smiles slightly, he's probably relieved she and I aren't ripping each others eyes out still.

"We do Gil, that doesn't mean we're taking any notice of it though," Catherine grins at him and pulls me out of the office alongside her.