DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!
RATING: Teen
SPOILERS: Post Ep of S10XE10 - Better Off Dead
PAIRINGS: Catherine/Vartann
SUMMARY: Catherine has a nice quiet night at home for a change. And it turns out to be a lot nicer than she had planned.
A/N: My good friend and beta spent the whole night squeeing about this pairing and I had to admit it was very intriguing. This is the result of me thinking about it a while.
REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.
The day started just like all the days before it. She woke up in time to pick Lindsey up after school, even though her daughter no longer needed a ride from school. Catherine imagined she would still be waking up like that for a while yet. It was still hard to accept that her little girl was growing up.
Instead of rushing to make it to the school in time for the first bell, Catherine sat at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee with her mother and reading the paper. It had been hard on Lily since Sam's death, but she was finally starting to come around. Catherine just never imagined it would happen because of Greg Sanders. The two became fast friends while working on Greg's book, and Lily was experiencing her second heyday as a result of her contributions. Lindsey had even started calling her grandmother Diamond Lil whenever she took another call asking for an interview. And Lily blushed every time she did.
"So, have you got anything nice planned for your night off?" Lily's voice pulled Catherine out of her thoughts.
"Oh, um… Not really." Catherine shrugged off her mother's question. "Probably just grab some takeout and watch a movie."
Lily smiled and nodded impishly, "Yeah, you probably get more than enough excitement from work every day. Makes it nice to just have a boring night at home, huh?"
"Something like that." Catherine smiled, because she knew her mother was trying to make a crack about her life, but it really was true. She had seen more than enough in her life to make her really appreciate a calm, quiet night at home.
Lindsey blew through the house a little while later, gathering up a forgotten bag before dance class, and zipping back out the door after peppering the cheeks of her mother and grandmother with kisses. Lily was still looking at the closed door with a bit of shock when she said, "My goodness! That girl whips through the house faster than you ever did at that age."
Catherine smiled to herself. "Yeah, but at least when she's rushing off to stand on her toes, it isn't so she can kiss a tall biker."
Lily clucked as she stood up and crossed the floor to the sink. "Or so you think."
"Don't even go there, Mom." Catherine folded the paper down to look at her mother over the top of her glasses. "Thankfully, Lindsey's smarter than the both of us put together."
It wasn't long before Lily was out the door for her regular Monday night out with the girls. Lily had been meeting with the old dancers from the Copa every Monday night since she was a dancer there herself. The Girls, as her mother had been calling them her entire life, were a pride of old peacocks, preening and giggling well into the night about their bygone days in the spotlight. But they were also her mother's oldest and dearest friends. They helped Lily through Sam's death more than Catherine ever could, and as vapid as Catherine had always considered them, they were also first rate broads who cared very much for her mother.
Catherine settled in with a few case file folders in front of her on the coffee table. Even though it was her day off, the paperwork she endured as a full supervisor seemed to be never ending. She had long since forgiven Grissom for his supposed failures as an administrator after seeing the true reality of the position. Grissom ran the lab, despite Ecklie's assertions, and in his absence, everyone was now depending on her for that same level of leadership. It was hard at first, but thanks to a well timed suggestion or two things were finally snapping into place.
However, it was her night off, and as her predecessor had shown her, she needed to make sure there was something outside of the job to get her through. As she grabbed the remote for the stereo, Catherine made a promise to herself that she would only work for the length of one album. The rest of the night belonged to her, and not the lab.
She blew out a tired breath as she finished up her notes on the Carrie Warren case. Her hand worked on her neck in an attempt to massage some of the tension away as she thought about how tragic the whole thing really was. So many lives ruined by a few bad choices, and no matter the outcome, Sam Trent would never get back all he lost that day. Closing up the folder, Catherine imagined his name would probably cross her desk again before it was over, and that made her heart ache with sadness.
Catherine looked down at her watch just as the next album began to play. Shaking her head, she realized the time had gotten away from her and she had spent just over two hours doing paperwork on her night off. "What a joke."
Gathering up the folders, she slipped them all back into her briefcase and stood up from the couch. It was almost eight in the evening and she hadn't eaten anything more than a bagel with her mother when she woke up at two. She could dig in the freezer to see if there was anything worth cooking, or she could throw on a coat and find some takeout to bring home. Looking down at her ratty sweatshirt and drawstring pants, Catherine was leaning more towards digging through the freezer. She simply did not feel like changing her clothes, and she was not about to be seen in public looking the way she did right now.
Before she had a chance to begin the desperate search through the freezer, the doorbell rang. She hurried to the mirror in the hall and did a quick check to make sure she could at least pass as human through a barely opened door. Once she realized she had actually remembered to scrub her face after waking up and the only thing embarrassing about her appearance was the abundant supply of freckles she usually kept hidden, Catherine went to the door.
She had to stand on her toes to look through the peephole. Even then, all she could make out was the back of someone's head. But there was a familiar neck peeking out over the collar of that charcoal car coat. She slipped the chain off the door and swung it open, one hand firmly planted on her hip as she leaned against the door. "What are you doing here?"
Turning around, a broad welcoming smiled splayed across his face, Tony Vartann held up both hands to show his bounty. "I brought the pizza and beer."
Catherine laughed at his easy delivery. "You know what I mean… You're supposed to be working tonight."
Tony gestured with his head to move out of his way and he slipped into the house as he explained, "Yeah, that." He turned his head and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Brass needed tomorrow night off for a hockey game, so we traded shifts."
Closing the door, she turned back to find him already headed for the kitchen. "And you just assumed I'd be sitting here waiting for you?"
"Nope." She heard the fridge open and the clinking of bottles as Tony put the beer away. She came around to the kitchen and he was already pulling off his coat. "I ran into Lindsey on my way out of the dry cleaners. She said you were planning a quiet night at home." He draped his coat over the back of the stool at the kitchen island. "And I figured you'd probably try to get caught up on paperwork." He looked around her to spy the tell-tale briefcase resting by the coffee table.
With a sly grin he winked at her and concluded, "Which would lead to you forgetting about dinner," he slapped the pizza box, "and your favorite pizza joint is on the way from my dry cleaners, with the liquor store next to it. So, while I waited for Nunzio to make the Willows' special, with turkey bacon and pineapple…on half I picked up something to drink."
Catherine finally lost her stern expression and laughed at his deduction. "One of these days…I'm gonna convert you to the pineapple side."
He smiled at her confidence, then shook his head, before popping the top off of the first beer and handing it over to her. "Take your beer and sit down. I'll bring the rest."
She turned to take her beer to the table and then had another thought. "Um, bring it in the living room."
Tony stopped in midstream with both hands around the second bottle when he asked, "Are you sure you trust me in there? I mean, I wouldn't want to mess up your pretty furniture."
"Bring extra paper towels, and I'll keep my eye on you." It was her turn to give him a suggestive wink. "Besides, I have this movie I need to watch tonight, before Lindsey takes it back to her boyfriend."
With the paper plates and a roll of paper towels stacked on the pizza box, Tony quick timed it into the living room. That was when Catherine noticed what he was wearing; a well-worn pair of jeans, sneakers and an aging green rugby shirt. In all the years she had known him, it was probably the most casual she had ever seen Tony. Of course, looking down at her own ensemble, they were definitely a matched set. He stopped and took a look at himself, holding the box away to get a good view. "Yeah, I know…pretty shabby, huh? But wearing a suit when I'm not working or going out feels weird, and well…I just dropped off the rest of my stuff at the cleaners." He set the food down on the coffee table and pulled at his shirt a little. "Does this totally destroy the image?"
Catherine chuffed at his question, gesturing to her wardrobe. "Oh please, like this is gonna win me any fashion awards."
Tony shrugged, "Yeah, but you look great in everything. Even those hideous coveralls you C.S.I.'s have to wear."
"Nice line." Catherine shook her head with his obvious attempt to recover.
"What line? I'm serious." Tony was standing his ground and that surprised her. "The clothes don't make the woman, Cath. A real woman makes everything look good. And you…" He gave her an appreciative look and concluded, "You are the genuine article." She felt the blush rising in her face and wanted to look away, but his sincerity irresistible.
Instead of making a big deal about it, Tony merely took a seat on the couch and started setting up their plates. As he got dinner ready, Catherine went to the DVD player and loaded up the movie.
When she returned to the couch with the remote, Tony looked up at the screen and asked, "So, what're we watching?"
"Um, it's this new version of Star Trek. Linds has been raving about it since last summer, and she borrowed the DVD from Ryan so I could watch it." Catherine sat on the edge of the couch and stopped the preview menu from playing.
"It's awesome. I didn't think it would work, but they really took it to another level." Tony slid a full plate in front of her on the coffee table and handed her a paper towel.
"Oh, well, if you've seen it then I can-"
Tony interrupted her, "No way. I love this movie and I haven't had a chance to see it since it came out on DVD. It's perfect." His genuine smile told her he was honestly interested in the movie.
"Well, okay." She hit play on the remote and then brought the plate to her lap. When she reached for her beer, Catherine saw another plate sitting on the edge of the coffee table.
He must have noticed her glance and explained, "I figured the kid wouldn't be too far behind…and it is pizza."
Catherine glanced at her watch and nodded. "Yeah, she's probably on her way home right-"
"Hey, Mom! I got out of dance class early so I could study for my history mid-term."
As Lindsey came into view, Catherine laughed. "Or she could be here already."
Tossing her dance bag into the chair, Lindsey smiled to see Tony standing up from the couch. "Hey, Tony… I see you found her."
"Ah, yeah, right where you said she'd be." He quickly gestured at the pizza on the coffee table. "Did you eat yet? I got the extra large, just in case."
Lindsey pulled up on her toes to get a look at the pizza box and Catherine could see the light go on in her daughter's eyes. "Oh man… Nunzio's?"
"Sausage and mushroom on half and the Willows' Special on the other." Tony flipped open the box and reached for the extra plate. "Got a plate for you right here."
There was only half a moment of hesitation before Lindsey skipped to the other side of the room. "Thanks… I was just going to grab something from the fridge, but this smells so good."
Cross-legged in the big overstuffed chair, Lindsey was happily munching on a piece of pineapple in no time flat. "Oh my God! This is amazing." She stumbled through the words as she tried to chew up her next big bite. "Thanks, Tony."
Catherine was several bites into her own pizza when she realized the movie was still on pause. As the Paramount logo began to spin on the TV screen Lindsey piped in, "Oh good! You're finally watching it." She leaned forward to look around Catherine and asked, "Have you seen it yet, Tony?"
He quickly wiped his mouth and answered, "Yeah, I caught it last summer, but not since it came out on DVD."
"We've been trying to get Mom on the bandwagon for a couple weeks now, but you know how it goes." Lindsey rolled her eyes as she reached over for another slice of pizza. With a speed and grace that only a dancer possesses, she practically leapt up from the chair and then leaned over to kiss Catherine on the cheek. "Enjoy the movie, Mom. And Tony…" She called to him over her shoulder as she tried to balance the plate and her backpack, "Thanks for dinner."
And in a flash they were once again alone.
She watched as Tony continued to stare at the place where Lindsey was no longer standing. "Man…" He leaned back into the couch with his plate, shaking his head. "You could make a fortune if you could figure out how to bottle that?"
"Sell it, hell… I want some for myself first." Catherine laughed at his comment. "To have that kind of energy right now would be a miracle."
"Tell me about it."
They both settled in to the couch and started watching the movie.
It really was a great movie, with plenty of action and a fantastic storyline, but the normally long hours and just coming off a series of those infamous C.S.I. double shifts had done a number on Catherine. Some time after Kirk had gotten back on the Enterprise with Scotty, she drifted off.
When she woke up, she was lying on the couch, carefully covered with a blanket, the television was turned off and the lights were turned down. Sitting up, Catherine brought her bleary eyes to the digital time display on the cable box. It was a little after one in the morning, and she had passed out on the couch during the movie. Worse yet, Tony was nowhere to be found.
Catherine threw off the blanket and sat up the rest of the way. She was well on her way to a full blown pity party when she spotted note on the table in front of her. Scrawled on the back of a sheet of coupons taken off the pizza box, she found Tony's handwriting.
Thanks for a completely boring night.
Probably the best I've had in a really long time.
Tell Lindsey she can have the rest of my pizza in the fridge.
Beers are in there, too if you need another sleep aid.
If you get up early, let's grab some breakfast before shift.
-Tony
Her cheeks warmed as the words sunk in.
"Oh, hey, you're awake." Lindsey walked into the living room with a bottle of water in her hands. "You were pretty zonked out when Tony left. I didn't think you'd be up 'til morning."
Catherine started folding the blanket up to hide her blushing from Lindsey as she asked, "How long ago did he leave?"
Lindsey glanced at the clock and shrugged, "Maybe half an hour. He stayed through the movie. I actually found him trying to reach the remote without waking you up after it was done. Then he cleaned up the food, and helped me with my ECON homework before he got paged to go in to work."
"Really?" Catherine shook her head as Lindsey reached out for the blanket.
"Yeah, seriously." Lindsey tucked the blanket under her arm and winked at her. "You need to hold on to this one."
Catherine was shocked by her daughter's suggestion. "Is that so?"
"C'mon, Mom…" Lindsey gave her an exasperated look that Catherine had only ever seen in the mirror before. "You'll never find anybody else who knows your hours better, or understands your life better than a detective. Plus, he's good looking, he's not a slob, and he can spend a boring Monday night with the two of us and still have fun." She paused long enough to let her assessment sink in before she delivered the final verdict. "He may not be the glitter and shine you're used to, Mom, but I'm telling you…Tony's a keeper."
"Yeah, you might have a point, kiddo." Catherine wrapped her arm around Lindsey's shoulders. Fingering Tony's note in her other hand, she gave her daughter a screwed up smile and said, "And I've recently come to the conclusion that boring is good for me."