Long chapter, since the beginning is taken straight from Early Rollout.

I hope you like. I should have warned you, some of this story is a little over-the-top, but that's part of the fun ;)
Let me know what you think x

x x x x

"We're mid case, why do we have to do this now?" Catherine scowled, picking something up and examining it before replacing it on the shelf.

"I have to get this evaluation in, or I'm going to get written up." Grissom sighed, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk in a direct hint to get started. She rolled her eyes. It was typical of Gil to leave them to the last minute.

"Okay." She frowned thoughtfully. "My goals."

He tapped his pen impatiently, waiting for her to make her mind up. Suddenly she whirled around, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, alright, okay." She dropped into the chair and sat forward eagerly. "For starters, I'd like two consecutive nights off. I would like to cut my triples down to ten a year instead of the usual twenty, and, uh," she groaned, throwing her hands up. "I would love to find a reliable baby-sitter, so I could have myself some kind of a personal life."

Without looking up from the notes he was scribbling, Gil raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have a personal life?" He queried. She quirked an eyebrow.

"I … write this down: I haven't had sex in six – no – seven months!"

He dropped his pen and looked at her, somewhat perplexed.

"How can I help?" He sighed eventually. Catherine's jaw dropped, her blue eyes widening impossibly. "You. Advance, I mean." He babbled in clarification. She continued to stare at him suspiciously as he attempted to extract the foot from his mouth.

She could tell him how he could really help her. She could ask him to give her a night off in a hotel with an attractive man and a bottle of champagne. But she held her tongue. For now.

X x x

"Warrick?" Sara called, swinging into the locker room. She heard a grunt that could have been a response emanate from the showers and slithered around the ajar door, blinking against the steam. "Rick?"

"Damn it!"

"Oh God, sorry!" She whirled around, a shocked smile dancing on her lips as Warrick tried to gather his towel around his waist.

"Damn, girl." He gasped, making himself somewhat decent while simultaneously snatching his boxers from the bench.

"The door was open," she explained weakly, keeping her back to him. "I called; I … I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, well you found me." He mumbled, tugging his jeans on as hurriedly as he could. "What's up?"

"I wanted your opinion on something." She said cryptically. He walked back into the locker room, touching her arm lightly to guide her with him.

"Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?" He asked, rooting through his locker for a clean shirt. She laughed nervously, toying with a loose thread on her sleeve.

"Okay." She pursed her lips. "This ski weekend … it's away from work, a chance to just hang out with friends without it being professional, right?"

"Right." He agreed sceptically, raising an eyebrow at her.

"So, the normal rules that apply at work don't count?" What had meant to be a statement had come out as more of a hopeful question. He chuckled softly, finally seeing where she was going with this.

"Sara, whatever's going through that pretty little head of your – don't."

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Colleagues are still colleagues, even outside of work." He pointed out, running his hands through his damp hair in exchange for combing it. "Anything you do with them away from work is only going to cause trouble."

"Who said anything about a colleague?" Sara asked, trying to disguise the telltale blush tinting her cheeks. He gave her a meaningful look.

"Come on girl, why you trying to play me?" He laughed. "Trust me, whatever you're thinking about doing – and whoever you want to do it with – don't do it."

He placed a firm hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently before releasing her.

She watched him disappear into the hallway with the resigned look of someone who knew he was right. With a weak groan, she dropped onto the bench and frowned.

X x x

"Hey Sara," Nick queried as casually as he could, "What do you think the layouts going to be at this ski lodge?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, sending him a brief glance across the room before flicking her gaze back to the computer screen.

"Like, the bedroom situation." He clarified, shifting uncomfortably.

"Grissom said it's single rooms." She answered. "Why?"

"Just wondering." He shrugged, trying to sound blasé. "'Cause I was just thinking, if we're all in this confined space together, all weekend, things could get … you know…"

Sara looked up, scrutinising him. Realising his error, he tried to correct himself without arousing more suspicion but his words all came out wrong;

"I know we're away from work and everything so the normal rules don't apply, but…"

"Exactly!" Sara agreed a little too readily, making him jump. "I mean, we're away from work so it doesn't count – right?" She added, softening her voice.

"Right." He agreed. He wasn't sure what 'it' was, but if it was the same thing he was thinking about then he liked where this was going. Had Sara been thinking about this too? Is that why she'd asked Grissom about the sleeping arrangements.

"But," she continued, breaking his train of thought. "We still have to come back and work together afterwards."

"Yeah." He hummed. "But hey, we're all adults right? So, whatever happens or doesn't happen; I'm sure we can be grown up and deal with it."

They shared a long look across the room as each tried to read the other; a moment which was promptly broken by Greg swaggering in with a results sheet in his hands.

"I don't mean to brag, but I've solved it for you." He grinned. "Again."

Nick and Sara shared a bashful smile before turning their attention to the lab rat and his results.

X x x

She had taken Nick and Warricks' comments on board and ultimately decided to ignore them both. If her nerve would hold out on her, that is.

She was so focussed on what she was doing that she never heard the door open, or the soft footsteps approach until a husky voice appeared inches from her ear.

"What are you doing?" Sara jumped, clasping her hands over the note in her lap. "What you got there?" Cath asked seductively, leaning closer.

"Nothing." Sara leapt to her feet, the piece of paper she'd been writing on disappearing behind her back. Her wide, startled eyes belayed her obvious panic at being caught.

"I saw my name." Catherine said with a suspicious half-smile. "It's for me?"

"No." Sara shifted her gaze to the side, trying to think on the spot. Her mind was void of suitable explanations.

"Then it's about me?" The blonde continued, stepping closer. Sara backed up as far as she could, but the lockers prevented her escape. "Let me see it." Cath requested.

"I can't." Sara squirmed under her gaze.

"It's about me, I want to see it." Catherine's hand shot out playfully to grab it, but Sara flitted around the bench. She nearly got away when a strong hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a halt. Sara only had one place to hide the note, so she tucked it under her jeans waistband.

Catherine just raised an eyebrow.

"You think I won't go in there?" She inquired calmly. Sara's expression faltered and she took a distinctive step back.

"You're bluffing." She challenged hopefully.

Never one to resist a dare, Catherine stepped towards her, a devilish smile playing on her lips.

"Sara, come here." She coaxed. Before Sara could put enough distance between them, Cath's hand darted out again and she grabbed the younger woman's belt loop, dragging her closer.

"Cat…" She squeaked disbelievingly, attempting to pull away. Without warning, Catherine's free hand disappeared inside her waistband. "Cat!" She yelped. "What the hell!"

Her back hit the locker and her wrist was suddenly and firmly pinned above her head.

Nick and Greg, en route to the break room, paused in the doorway, watching the scene with a mix of arousal and bemusement. The brunette was furiously trying to free herself from Catherine's manhandling, with little success due to her immobilised position.

"Just give it up, woman!" Cath barked.

"Get your hands off me, you crazy person!" Sara retorted, squirming fiercely.

Nick cleared his throat, stepping into the room.

"Would you ladies like some privacy?" He asked in an amused voice. Catherine turned awkwardly over her shoulder towards them.

"Kinda busy, Nicky." She pointed out, somewhat redundantly. Sara used her moment of distraction to free herself, instantly putting the whole room between them.

Greg was staring at them with wide eyes and a gleeful grin, practically drooling.

"What the hell's going on?" Nick asked, giving Sara a once over. She looked shocked, but unharmed. "What were you doing to her?"

"She's hiding something." Cath scowled, narrowing her eyes at Sara, who pursed her lips anxiously.

"In her pants?" Nick clarified, eliciting a snort from Greg beside him.

"Uh hum." Grissom's cleared his throat, stepping into the crowded room behind Sara. He'd caught the tail end of their conversation but decided he'd rather not know. "Sara, I need you." He said, giving the other people in the room a shifty look. The women were both flushed and Greg looked like he was about to have an aneurism.

"Yep." The girl agreed instantly, sliding past him into the hall, where she was free to scuttle off. She stealthily slipped something into her pocket as she went, which did not go unnoticed by the blonde. She'd nearly had it, too.

She turned, smiling coyly at the two men who continued to gawp at her in shock.

"What?" She shrugged.

X x x

"Cath actually had her hand down Sara's pants?" Warrick repeated with a disbelieving frown.

"Yeah." Nick said, baffled. "She was groping her right there in the locker room."

Greg stirred his coffee lazily, a dreamy grin on his face. "It was beautiful." He crooned until Nick smacked him on the arm. "Hey, you guys have got your ski trip. Let me have this please." He begged, gathering his caffeine fix and stropping to the door.

"Did Cath say what she was looking for?" Warrick asked once he'd gone, joining Nick at the centre bench.

"Some note or something." Nick shrugged.

"A note." Warrick hummed. He started to laugh softly, earning him an odd look from the Texan. "Sidle, you sneaky devil." He suspected he knew exactly what was on that piece of paper and why she didn't want Catherine to see it.

"What?" Nick asked, puzzled.

"Sara came to me earlier, asking about whether it's okay to 'break the rules' on this ski trip." Nick silently flashed back to his own conversation with the brunette and his cheeks flushed involuntarily. "I told her no, but she must have decided to risk it and send her crush a letter." Rick continued obliviously.

"Her crush?" Nick repeated, swallowing. "Catherine?" Warrick laughed.

"No, Einstein." He mocked, pointing across the hall. Nick followed his line of sight to where Grissom was chatting to a lab tech.

"You don't know that." The Texan shifted uncomfortably, his gaze remaining fixed to the back of Grissom's head. "And besides, why would she hide it from Catherine?"

"Because she knows what Catherine will say." Warrick rolled his eyes. "The same thing I said to her and the same thing I'm saying to you: don't go there."

"Me?" Nick feigned innocence.

"Yes you." Warrick snapped. "I can read your mind, Cowboy. You don't want to open that can of worms; and your number one reason is standing right across the hall."