Sleeping Pills
Summary: CatherineWarrick. Fluff. Maybe he doesn't need the sleeping pills after all...
"Hey," She called down the quiet corridor. "Hey 'Rick!" She continued, waiting for him to stop, turn around or something. Eventually his pace slowed and turned back to where Catherine was standing, hands planted on her hips as she stared directly at him.
"Hey Cath." He replied, rubbing his eyes with his hand.
Catherine's eyes scrutinised his face, coming on rest on his own green eyes. Though usually his best feature, his eyes were known bloodshot with dark circles beneath them. She knew he was taking sleeping pills but it didn't look like they were working.
"God Warrick, you're a mess." She finally commented after the silence had reached its peak.
"Thanks Cath, you're looking very lovely today too." He replied with deadpan sarcasm.
"I'm serious." Catherine replied, her blue eyes narrowing at him. She had watched Warrick go downhill for months but had had no idea how to help him, and then the whole issue with Sara had happened. Now she knew she had to focus on her friend because he had always been there when she really needed him and there was no way she was going to let him down now. "What's going on with you? We haven't talked properly in ages."
Warrick sighed. "To be honest, I don't really want to talk about it."
Catherine tried not to be hurt, she thought he trusted him. God, she trusted him with her life. "Okay,"
He seemed to realise the effect his words had had on her and he felt guilty. With everything else going on in his life he could not face losing Catherine too.
"Sorry, I'm just a little...I don't know." He finished with a sigh.
"Wanna grab a coffee?" Catherine suggested.
Warrick managed the first smile for days. "Decaf, I think."
"Come on then." Catherine said, linking her arm through his and leading him to the nearest coffee shop.
"Is this about Tina?" Catherine asked when they were seated at a table for two with their coffees in front of them. Even after all this time she still felt awkward talking about the woman who had won Warrick's heart and had now, subsequently, broken it and ruined the man Catherine loved.
"Yeah." He mumbled into his coffee cup.
Catherine reached from his free hand across the table, unsure of what to say but hoping her gesture would convey how she was feeling to him.
"I'm having trouble sleeping." He confessed.
"I thought you were taking pills." Catherine replied, confused.
"I am, but they're just not doing the job. Even with the horrors we see everyday I've never had an issue with sleeping, until now that is."
Catherine still had not removed her hand from his. "Is there anything I can do?"
Warrick shook his head slowly. "No, but thanks Cath."
She smiled softly. "It's what friends are for." Her heart ached with the words because she knew that was all they could ever be.
Half an hour later they finished their second round of coffee and Warrick stood up from the table.
"I'll get the bill." He told her.
"There's no need." Catherine assured him. "I suggested going out for coffee so I should pay."
He shook his head firmly and Catherine let him go ahead. He always had been the perfect gentleman. She wanted the old Warrick back, not the shell of the man he used to be.
"Have you got any plans for the rest of the day?" Catherine asked when Warrick returned to their table and put his wallet away.
Warrick shook his head. "Nah, I'm just going to head home and try and get some sleep."
"Would you like some company?" Catherine asked. She realised as soon as the words had come out that she should have rephrased the question.
She almost saw a glimmer of the old Warrick in his green eyes but in a second it was extinguished.
"What are you suggesting Catherine?" He asked, his voice lacking the usual flirty suggestion of their previous banter filled conversations.
"You shouldn't be alone right now, 'Rick." Catherine said, grateful for the opportunity to explain herself. "I'm just offering to wait with you until you fall asleep."
Warrick nodded, his resolve crumbling with her kindess. "Thank you." He replied huskily.
"Come on then," She encouraged again. "I'll drive."
Catherine tried to hide her shock at Warrick's apartment, it mirrored some of the very worst crime scenes she had ever worked. While Warrick changed out of his clothes into boxers and an old white t-shirt, Catherine began to clear up some of the old takeaway boxes and beer cans from the living area. Once she was satisfied with her efforts, she cracked open a window and headed to the bedroom, peeping around the door before stepping in. Warrick was just pulled back the covers as she walked in and her heart leapt, wishing this was the bed they shared together but she knew it was irrational. Warrick had never been her's and for the past two years there had been another woman while she had stayed painfully single.
As Warrick climbed under the covers, Catherine crossed the room and shut the blinds, leaning against the window frame and looking over at him.
"Comfortable?" She asked. It was the only thing you could think to say to him.
Warrick moaned something and patted the empty space in the bed beside him. Catherine's was torn down the middle, she desperately wanted to climb into the bed beside him and hold him until he slept but she also knew that if she did there would no going back for her and Warrick. Biting the bullet, she crossed the room again, kicked off her shoes and climbed into the vacant side of the bed. Warrick's scent surrounded her and the bed was warm as she pulled the covers over her body.
"Go to sleep." She whispered.
"Promise you'll be there when I wake up." He countered.
"Promise." Catherine replied, snuggling into his muscular body, his heartbeat pounding gently under her ear. Eventually she felt his body relax next to her and his breathing become deeper and more even.
It was the alarm Catherine had set on her phone beeping that finally woke them up. Catherine smiled up at the sleepy Warrick, his hair messed from sleep. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, thinking it best to put some distance between. She didn't know where they went from here but she knew it was something neither of them could rush. They both had more baggage that most, and that was an understatement.
Warrick placed a hand on Catherine's shoulder, sending sparks shooting through her body.
"Looks like I didn't need those sleeping pills after all." He smiled.
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