Disclaimer: CSI and characters aren't mine and never will be.
A/N: This is a bit of an experiment...and may turn out fairly angsty, you've been warned! (It's not angsty yet, mind you). This piece will be Sara/Cath but it's going to take a while to get there, so if you stick with it, I promise good things in the future! I'll also do my best not to leave a six month gap between updates ;) Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!
"Anything good?" came Sara's voice as she entered the break room looking for her first cup of coffee.
Catherine was leaning against the counter as the coffee maker stuttered out the aromatic liquid. She had her face buried in one of the magazines from the small coffee table in front of the boys' TV. From the two beefy football players ramming into each other pictured on the cover Sara figured she could guess the answer but she chose to ask anyways.
Catherine shrugged. "Did you know over 10% of retired football players admitted to taking steroids at some point in their careers?" She asked without looking up.
Sara wrinkled her nose. "Uh, ew."
"Yeah."
Sara picked up her mug from beside the sink, wiped it out with a paper towel then leant against the counter on the other side of the coffee maker, drumming her fingers along the side of the mug. She liked the way her nails clicked neatly against the ceramic. Normally her nails weren't long enough to make the sound clearly. She made a mental note to take better care of her nails, if only to be able to make crisp clicking sounds against a variety of surfaces. She glanced over at Catherine, still engrossed in some article. She watched as the blonde sighed and started rapidly flipping through the pages. She slapped the magazine down against her thighs and turned towards the coffee maker, which was still chugging away.
Sara watched Catherine's eyes grow wide in frustration.
"I swear the damn thing takes longer to brew the same amount of coffee every night". She said looking over at her taller companion.
"Have you timed it?"
Catherine gave her an odd look. "No."
"Then how do you know it takes longer?"
Catherine rolled her eyes. 'Here we go...' she thought. "I don't. It just FEELS that way. Is it allowed to FEEL longer without having to be scientifically proven?!" she exclaimed.
Sara looked taken aback. "Sorry" she muttered.
"Sara, look, I know it's my job to ask questions and I'm sure that on a slow night timing the coffee maker down to the nanosecond would be a fascinating experiment, but right now I'm in a crappy mood and I just want a hot cup jammed full of sugar and caffeine to keep myself going for the next hour."
"It was a valid question" Sara added in her own defense.
"Yes, ok it was. But Sara you" she stopped, fighting with her words, "you just, you don't have to be such a smartass all the time."
"Right" said Sara slowly, turning away slightly and gazing down at her mug. She was startled by the warm hand on her arm. She looked back at Catherine, realizing the older woman was trying to catch her gaze. She still found extended periods of eye contact with the blonde slightly unsettling, but Catherine had a way of capturing her attention that made it very hard to look away.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you" Catherine apologized. She gave a small grin at the confused look on Sara's face. "Yes that was the sound me apologizing. Don't get used to it. And you're still a smartass!" she added, letting go and turning back to the machine which had just let out a loud beep to signal the end of the brewing cycle.
Sara let out her breath and then poured herself a cup as Catherine rooted in the fridge for the cream.
"So what's your night look like?" Catherine asked as she footed the fridge shut, cream in one hand, water bottle in the other.
"Don't know yet. I wrapped a case last shift, so I have to wait for assignments. You?"
"What do you think?"
"Paperwork." answered both women simultaneously. Sara grinned as Catherine glared out into the hall at an invisible Grissom.
"Gotta love it, right?" Catherine said with a slight shake of her head.
"Yeah."
"mmm, what is that wonderful smell?" asked Greg as he entered the room taking a deep whiff of the air.
"Hey Greg" greeted Sara and Catherine.
"Hello sexy" was his reply as he suavely draped an arm around Sara's shoulders and puckered his lips.
Sara laughed lightly and shoved him off. Greg wasn't a jerk, he was just a playful little boy stuck in a lab tech's body. Greg sauntered over to the coffee maker to serve himself. Coffee in hand he turned to face Catherine:
"Why hello there Catherine, may I say you look especially hot this evening." He took care to place his emphasis on 'hot'.
"Thank you" she answered darkly.
Nick and Warrick entered shortly afterwards, discussing football.
"You read that article about ex NFL players?" Nick asked his friend as he too made his trip to the coffee machine.
"Yeah" answered Warrick following Nick across the room.
Greetings were exchanged between the four CSIs and Greg. They took up various spots around the room, each sipping a cup of coffee and waiting for Grissom to arrive with assignments.
"Whose brew is this?" asked Nick pointing to his mug after a moment.
"That would be mine," replied Greg, "you're welcome."
Nick nodded and turned back to his mug. The coffee was definitely better tonight then it had been for the last few weeks. Lab coffee was famous for its appalling taste which according to Grissom could be likened to motor oil.
At that moment Grissom himself arrived waving several post-it like assignment slips.
"Assignments. Nick, Sara car reported stolen last week turned up in a ditch just off of Lakeshore Rd. Warrick, you and I are on a four-nineteen at the Stardust Country Club. Catherine—" he was cut off as she interrupted him.
"Paperwork, I know."
"Good. Warrick" he inclined his head towards the door and the tall man followed him out. Sara and Nick followed leaving Catherine and Greg alone in the room.
"Ooh, paperwork" he teased as he bounded past.
"Shut up. Don't you have enough to do?"
"Yup."
"Maybe you should get started."
"Yes m'am." Greg sauntered off down the hall.
TBC...feedback much appreciated, as always!