Disclaimer: CSI belongs to Anthony Zuiker
The lights were off in the break room when Catherine looked into it. Day shift was getting ready to leave in the locker room, and no one besides her was here from the night shift. Except maybe Brass. But then again, he seemed to live at PD. Hell, he's even got a bottle of Scotch stocked away in his cupboard somewhere, along with two glasses. A small smile manifested itself onto Catherine's face, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Leaving the lights off, she continued towards her office, but kept the lights off when she entered it. She sat down in her chair, it molding perfectly to her body, as it always had.
A sigh escaped her lips as she eased into it, the pain in her lower back subsiding. Her eyes had closed sometime between her entering the office and the sigh, but she couldn't remember when. All she could think of was when Grissom left a couple years back, how separated the team had been. She couldn't do that to them again, even if they are more stable as a team now than back then. Nick would make a great supervisor, along with Ray as his right-hand man. Six months earlier, she would've chosen Greg as the assistant, but with what's happened… she wouldn't be surprised if he ended up quitting before her. He was an excellent CSI, but after what he'd been through, Catherine wouldn't blame him if he decided he couldn't do this job anymore.
"Excuse me, Catherine," intruded upon her thoughts. Almost involuntarily, and very slowly, she opened her eyes to look into the ever-smirking face of Hodges, except he was looking rather curiously at her, probably because she looked like she was taking a nap. Why was it no surprise that he was here as early as she was?
"Just wanted to say good morning. Or, it would probably be more appropriate to say good night, as we are the night shift, but"-
"I get it, Hodges. Now get to work," Catherine said with more bitterness than she had hoped for. With a small frown on his face, Hodges opened his mouth to speak yet again, but his supervisor help up a hand, effectively silencing him. "Not now, Hodges. Don't you have some trace to analyze?" This time, the bitterness was not accidental.
Obviously not expecting this retort, Hodges mumbled something about the darkness affecting one's mood and walked off. Catherine closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable in her chair again, but no position felt right. Cursing Hodges's impromptu interruption, she stood up and walked over to the light switch near the door. Nick passed by her office, throwing her a casual wave and a smile before yelling a greeting to Ray down the hall. Wendy was getting settled in her lab and looked to be talking to Hodges across the hall. Leaning up against the doorframe, Catherine saw Greg enter the break room, a smile on his face like old times. Her lips curled up at the ends, and a few teeth popped up into the open. This time it stayed there, despite the news she had to break to the team. Grabbing the night's assignments, Catherine headed over to the now brightly-lit break room. The lights in her office remained off.
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