Title: Letting Loose
Author: ScullyAsTrinity
Rating: PG-13...ish... ness.
Category: Slight angst, humor, romance.
Disclaimer: Do you have any disclaimers I've written? Do you KNOW how hard it is coming up with new and interesting ways to say I DON'T OWN THEM? So frustrating...
Notes: Thanks to Lauren AKA TriplePirouette, who's been there from X-Files to CSI. Who's been my fan ficcie buddy...
DSUOphelia5: And like all drunks do- called him on her cell phone, but just ended up crying into the phone, so he comes to pick her up
BNLXPhile12: Ohhh I've done that! It's soooo true!
She tossed a shot of the amber liquid back. It burned a fierce trail down her throat and she felt free. She felt unbridled. She was confident enough to meet up with an old friend and leave her dark, dank apartment and hit the strip with the bright lights and the fake smiles.
The amber liquid was enough to make her dare to show her midriff. It was enough to make her walk into a bar with her friend, Vanessa and dance with a random man. It was just enough to make her sit in a chair and get her navel pierced. It was enough to make her flirt and act coy.
It was enough to leave her with a monster of a hangover. One so bad that she swore that she would never drink again.
She, of course, wondered how the small diamond stud had gotten on her bellybutton, but she didn't take it out. She studied it endlessly and it, in the end, withheld the Sara Sidle approvement test. She thought it made her look sexy.
The next Friday it was the same. She contemplated taking a few shots before she even got a call, but decided against it. When she did get the call she was surprised that she found herself agreeing to go out again. Two weekends in a row. She hadn't made a move this bold since her freshman year at college, and that experience had been enough to deter her for the rest of her life.
Nick wondered why it had been so easy to get Sarah to go out with them but he didn't mind. None of them had really seen her, seen her alive... in months.
A black suburban had rolled up to her apartment complex and beeped and the inhabitants were surprised to be met with a very strange vision: a smiling Sara Sidle. A smiling Sara Sidle, all color and flare. Life coursing through her veins, apparent in her words.
Something was in her and she seemed so unlike she had been before. She wasn't devoid of life, she was willing to socialize with her coworkers. She was ready to walk arm in arm with Nick into the club. She was willing to do tequila shooters with them until she was dizzy with the rush.
She was ready to forget all about Gil Grissom and the sluggishness he painted over her life, but then again, she thought that way a lot. She spoke with Catherine as any normal woman would. She followed her out onto the dance floor at some point during the evening. She ground with Warrick. She even indulged Greg in some dancing.
The fact that they were all tipsy made it far more fun. Each and every one of them lost their inhibitions, and danced like idiots. Sweat began on their brows and trickled down their cheeks when they tipped their heads back to laugh. Catherine tossed her hair and felt the heat on her neck. Warrick moved closer to her and felt it also.
They were swallowed by the crowd.
Sara felt the sweat beginning to roll down between her cleavage, but continued to move in between the two men. Nick bent down as close to her as he could and yelled into her ear. "Where did my baby sister go?" He moved back and smiled.
"I checked her at the door." She replied coyly and flipped her hair, grabbed Greg's hips and started to move. The younger man was surprised and raised his eyebrows at Nick, almost in terror. Nick simply laughed and grabbed Sara's hips from behind and swayed along as well.
"Good time?" Greg yelled, leaning in close to Sara, smelling her.
"Great time." She said and winked and spun around into Nick's arms. He laughed, and she laughed, and for a moment, they all took to dancing like complete idiots.
Warrick and Catherine returned minutes later, drinks in hand, sweat covering their exposed skin. "This place is insane." Catherine shouted, clinking her glass with Warrick's and winking at him. She swiveled her hips and spun around. "I like it."
"You're back!" Sara shouted, letting go of Greg, much to his dismay. She reached her arm out and grabbed Catherine's. The blonde smiled, loving the new wild side of her co-worker. She grinned wider, and without turning, shoved her drink into Warrick's hand and moved into the crowd with Sara, wanting to see just how crazy she would allow herself to get.
The three men stood in the center of the chaos and watched in fascination. "What has gotten into that girl?"
"More like what has gotten out." The Texan replied, clapping Greg on the back and making his way to the bar. The two others stood for one more moment, eyes lingering, and followed him.
On the floor, Sara threw her hands above her head and shook it from side to side, causing her curls to tangle into one another. Catherine did the same, moving backward and getting low to the floor. Sara reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back up as she swiveled her body.
And suddenly, something on Sara's hip tickled. Something was tickling her hip. Letting go of Catherine's hand, she reached down and snatched her cell out of her hip carrier.
"Sidle." She shouted happily, making eye contact with Catherine, who rolled her eyes but continued to dance.
"Sara, where are you? You said you'd be done with the file by tonight." Grissom said, his voice incredibly irritated. He stood outside Sara's apartment, quite ready to leave, case file in hand.
"Whoops."
"What?" He struggled to hear her over the loud music in the background. Catherine moved up to her and tried to pluck the cell phone away, but she instead spun around and continued talking."
"Oh! 'S in the mailbox Griss." Hearing Sara utter her boss's name, Catherine spun around, her eyes wide.
"But... it's your night off." He was at a loss for words, and sounded rather indignant. He expected her to be home, home looking over case files, listening to her police scanner. She generally was. He knew because he often drove by her apartment after shift and on her nights off, just to alleviate himself of the constant worry that he felt for her when she wasn't near him.
"I'm out!" She grinned again, and Catherine shot her one to match, expecting her to hang up. When she didn't, Catherine took her hand and guided her off the dance floor.
Nick noticed the alarmed look on the approaching blonde's face and the goofy look on the brunette's and moved over the both of them. Catherine squinted, pointed to the cell and cocked her head. "Guess who."
Nick chuckled and plucked the phone from Sara's hand. She protested and jumped for it, but he held it out of her reach, as a schoolyard bully would do with someone's glasses. He laughed at her, stuck his tongue out and fended her off with his other hand. Raising his brows, he slowly brought the phone to his lips. He was more than three sheets to the wind, they all were, so when he spoke, it was with a note of random happiness that made Greg giggle.
"I wonder who this could be." Nick said into the phone, moving his head from side to side, staring pointedly at Sara, who was glaring at him, her face inflamed.
"...Nick?" Grissom asked, noting the distinct southern twinge in the man's voice.
"One and the same." He replied, sipping a beer. "And you are calling our Sara because?" For a moment, Nick wondered if he would have ever have acted in such a way towards his boss if he wasn't in such a state of inebriation. Then, he remembered he didn't much care and waited for Grissom's response.
"What's going on? There's... I can't really hear you." Grissom said, blocking an ear and bending over, walking around attempting to hear better.
"Nothing's going on. We're out. At a club. Dancing. Drinking." Nick said, and lipped 'Grissom' to Greg, who was cocking his head in question. Greg's eyes lit up and he nodded, smiling and ordering a shot of tequila.
"Well, Sara's doing most of the dancing and Greg's doing most of the drinking but... hey, whatever."
"Right, well..."
"What're ya calling Sara for anyway? It's her night off..." Nick said suggestively. Sara heard the mischief in his voice, knowing where he was going to take the conversation and spun around in anger. She barreled her way into the crowd, Nick calling after her.
"Nick, what's wrong?" Grissom asked, irritated beyond belief, wanting nothing more than to go home and read over the case file.
"Aw, Sara's pissed, I think she just left." The Texan said dejectedly, upset at himself.