Author Notes: Better late than never. i apologis for the major delay in updating thsi story but a combination of exams and broken computers led to my temporary downfall. but not to worry im back with a vengence. Here is my second installment, I hope you enjoy it. Please review.
Disclaimer: I Don't Own CSI, no matter how much I wish it was.
After they arranged with Sara to meet her at Catherine's, the rest of the team clambered into the one car. The current confusion and close proximity meant the whole journey was exceptionally quiet and awkward, for everyone except poor Nick. No one wanted to mention the events at the lab and even if they did they wouldn't know what to say. Even though they did not speak aloud their thoughts were filled with questions and concerns which meant Nick had several voices screaming in his head, none of which were calm or quiet.
When the car pulled up onto the driveway, there were slight expressions of anxiety on everyone's faces as they prepared themselves for the night ahead, but once again no-one said a word. Catherine instantly headed to the door and unlocked it swiftly before stepping inside, everyone quickly followed suit. They had barely made it into the hallway when they were all stopped in their tracks; the shock on their faces was the result of seeing Sara step out of the kitchen.
"Hey Cath, I hope you don't mind but doors don't really present a problem for me anymore, so I thought I'd start getting the food ready. I hope Chinese is okay for everyone?" She glanced around at her friends and took their frozen expressions of astonishment as a yes. Catherine was the first to regain her focus and she quickly headed in the direction of the kitchen, towards Sara.
"Err yeah, no problem, that's fine Sara. You just took me by surprise is all, do you need a hand?"
"Thanks but it's all done, I picked up the take-away on the way over, so all that we need to do is grab a few plates." In a display of perfect timing she handed the plates to Catherine, who promptly passed them to the various people scattered randomly throughout her immaculate living room. It was at this point that everyone else seemed to snap out of their frozen stances. The overwhelming need for food magically seemed to overpower the shock.
Even though no-one said anything they all shared a common query about how Sara had had enough time to pick up the food and still beat them to Catherine's house. However instead of vocalising their confusion, the entire team proceeded to sit down around the dark oak coffee table which Sara was now placing a tremendous amount of food on.
"I wasn't sure what everyone wanted so I got pretty much one of everything. Here you might need these." She passed round the chopsticks she had carefully balanced on top of the mountain of food.
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After silently stuffing themselves to capacity, the entire team sat back in almost perfect synchronicity. Aimless glances passed between each of them as they contemplated who would be the first to broach the sensitive subject that was driving them all insane. It made them all jump when Grissom suddenly started to talk.
"So…this is awkward. Are we just going to sit here in uncomfortable silence or are we going to actually talk about what happened back at the lab?" the silence continued for several more prolonged seconds, before Greg piped up.
"Well I thought it was pretty cool, especially when Catherine blew up the fridge." A school boy smile started to spread across his lips, an action that was quickly followed by him being on the receiving end of a swift slap around the back of the head from Catherine.
"It's not funny Greg; I could have blown you up. You wouldn't find it so funny then would you?" Even though her tone was sincerely serious and she meant what she had said about the danger, she could help but find herself agreeing with Greg. It was pretty cool. If she could learn to control this…thing, who knows where it could lead.
Before she realised what she was doing Catherine found herself vocalising her thoughts.
"Hey, if Sara can control her power, assuming that's what these are, then maybe the rest of us can too." She found herself looking in Warrick's direction, only to be taken by complete surprise to find he was looking straight back her, after their eyes locked for a brief second he look away quickly and became the first to respond.
"I don't see why not, we just need to figure out how it works."
"Sounds like we have a plan. Since our powers only seem to manifest at random intervals something must be triggering them, I suggest we start with trying to figure out what that trigger is." Grissom assumed his usual role of supervisor as he quickly devised the most logical next step.
"Sara you seem to have more control than the rest of us, what exactly are you doing and thinking about before you…well teleport I guess." The entire room quickly turned to face Sara, anticipating her answer.
Taken aback by the five pairs of eye focused on her intently Sara struggled to find a constructive answer.
"Well erm… I'm not sure really, I guess I just focus on where I want to be and think really hard, the voile. I'm there."
"Right. Anything else? What are you feeling at the time?"
"I suppose I have a strong desire to be at the place and it just happens."
"Maybe that's the link." The otherwise silent Nick's words caused bewildered expressions to spread over everyone else's faces as they tried to deduce what exactly he meant. "I mean in the movies and stuff the character's powers are usually linked to their emotions, maybe it actually works like that."
For a few brief moments there was silence as everyone considered the possibility of this latest theory. "Grissom agrees with me." The random comment caught everyone's attention as they looked towards Grissom, hoping for a vocalised reassurance since they couldn't apparently read minds.
"He could be right, after all Cath, you only blow things up when you're angry or something makes you jump."
She quickly jumped on board the train of thought. "So what you're saying is that if I can get angry I should be able to control the exploding thing." A small amount of hope caused her heart to jump, or at least she thought it was hope. It could have had something to do with the fact that Warrick had just come over and stood next to her.
"I don't see why not, if Sara can control her power, we should be able to as well. We just need to focus them." Grissom's statement was met with a series of accepting nods and slightly reassured smiles.
"I think it's going to be easier if we split into pairs. That way we can help find each other's triggers without the risk of complete chaos."
The group quickly split off, Sara and Nick were an obvious pairing, while Catherine and Warrick simultaneously turned to face each other, before locking eyes with a knowing glance and walking away together. This left Grissom and Greg to pair off. One look at Greg's boyish grin told Grissom he'd drawn the short straw. Without another word the assorted pairs headed to various parts of the house prepared to practice.