Title: Time Out

Author: Jeanine (jeanine@iol.ie)

Rating: PG

Pairing: Sara/Warrick

Spoilers: Missing scene from A Night at the Movies

Feedback: Makes my day

Disclaimer: If it was in the show, it's not mine.

Archive: At my site Checkmate () , Fanfiction.net; anywhere else, please ask.

Summary: Sara and Warrick steal a moment during a laborious shift

***

"Is this the end of the road?"

"Forensically?" Sara looked across at Warrick, considering the particulars of the case as they'd just laid them out, and there was only one answer that she could give him. "Yes." He didn't look like he liked hearing the word any more than she liked saying it, but she didn't look at him for too long, the futility of their investigations combined with the sheer tedium of logging height, distance and angle of 109 bullets catching up with her. Not caring that she was in the middle of the lab, where anyone could walk in, she shoved the computer keyboard aside, folding her arms on the table, resting her head on top of them, every muscle in her body screaming in agony as she did so.

She wasn't able to keep back a moan, and Warrick's rueful chuckle didn't help her mood. Nor did the fact that she could still see the computer screen with her eyes shut. "I'm going to be seeing those bullets for the rest of my life," she mumbled, but he heard her.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice contrite, but she wasn't in the mood to cut him any slack.

"So you should be," she replied. " 109 bullets… my head is killing me, my back is killing me…" She lifted one hand, rubbing the side of her neck. "And I think I must've cricked my neck…" Without lifting her head much, she moved her neck from side to side, wincing again at the flash of pain that shot through her. "Ow."

She heard Warrick's soft sound of surprise, heard the creak of the stool as he stood, the sound of his footsteps moving around behind her. She wanted to ask him where he was going, but her words vanished in a hiss of surprise when two warm hands landed on the back of her neck, sliding down to her shoulders, beginning to massage gently.

She knew that this wasn't the wisest course of action. After all, they were in the middle of the AV lab, where anyone could walk in or by and see them, but Warrick's hands were doing a wonderful job of rubbing all her cares away, not to mention the ache in her neck, and the last thing that she wanted to tell him to do was stop.

She didn't speak until he spoke first. "You're tired?" he asked, and she chuckled.

"Did you miss the bit about 109 bullets?" she asked dryly, expecting him to joke back, but his reply was serious.

"You work too hard Sara," he told her, and she didn't even try to fight back a sigh, because she'd heard that far too many times, and not just from him. "Don't give me those sighs," he added. "Look at you…you're dead on your feet."

She straightened up then, leaning back slightly, and he stepped into her, so that she could lean against his chest for a moment. "I'm fine Warrick," she said, but even she could hear the fatigue in her voice.

He sighed, and she could see his reflection in the computer monitor, lips pursed as he blew breath out between them. He didn't call her on her words though, instead changing tack completely. "Come home with me when shift's over," he said. "No overtime, no chasing leads. You need some rest." His hands moved back and forth on her shoulders as he spoke, and she smirked, reaching up to cover them with her own, squeezing his fingers gently.

"I come home with you," she chided him, "And I'm not going to get any rest." She knew she was telling the truth, and when he didn't say anything, she dropped his hands, swivelling on the stool so that she could face him, biting back a smile at the look on his face. It was an expression somewhere between outraged innocence that she'd ever think such a thing, and grudging acceptance that she had a point. "You know I'm right."

As he looked down at her and shrugged, a tiny smile began to make its way across his face. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he said, reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek, and she smiled back at him.

"It's not a bad thing," she whispered, her fingers reaching out to play with the buttons of his shirt.

Warrick's smile told her that she'd said the right thing. "So I'll see you after shift?" he asked.

She grinned wickedly at him, looking left and right, assuring herself not only that no-one was looking at them, but also that the pain in her neck was indeed gone. "As long as you promise to finish that massage…" she said, trailing a finger down his chest suggestively, enjoying the way his eyes flared with surprise before darkening with something else.

"Count on it," he promised, his low voice sending shivers up and down her spine, green eyes meeting brown and holding before she physically had to tear herself away from her seat, away from him, going in search of Nick to see if he'd had any luck with the surveillance stills from the liquor store.