Chapter 3
I smile as I hear Sara's simple explanation of her non-existent marriage. I'm glad that so far, she's still sounding like the Sara I've grown so close to. I sigh as I walk back into my office and sit down at the desk. I shuffle through the piles on my desk for Riley's folder, and pull it out to read. A few phrases stand out and hit me hard: "ineffective leadership," "no team unity," and "poor communication" for starters. I want to hit something, or scream, or throw a tantrum. I need stress relief of some form. I can't attempt any type of relief right now, since Hodges is right in front of me. I can do this…deal with Hodges, then I can find Sara. God, I'm so glad she's here!
"Hodges, who did you blab to?" I just want to get this over with right now. I can't think, I won't be able to properly function professionally until I can get this off my chest.
Recently, when I've needed this kind of relief, I've gone outside and called Sara, even for just a couple minutes. I wonder the halls, looking for Sara; I find her just leaving Ecklie's office. I smile at her "Hey, you got a minute?"
"Always for you," Her smile lights up her face.
Ray fills me in on his latest findings as Sara and I are walking toward the locker room. Once he leaves, Sara takes her turn filling me in. Once we get to the locker room, I know I can really talk to her, the way we have on the phone. That's another habit I've picked up: spilling problems and asking her thoughts on how to fix it. I hope we can keep that up with her back. It's saves my sanity a couple times. "Sara, I know you walked in to some fireworks in the break room," I start.
"What, Ecklie? Please!" She can't believe I'd take Ecklie seriously. Well, she's mostly right. I rarely do.
"No. I just read Riley's exit interview. She had some…" I pause, looking for the right word. "…harsh things to say about my leadership. That the team's fractured; that it lacks…cohesion, because of me, because of my managerial style." I take a breath, still trying to wrap my head around the words I read in that report. "I don't know, I admit it. I admit that things are different since Grissom left." I'm really at a loss on what to do here, and I can tell Sara understands that.
"Well," she stops. I can't tell if she's figuring out what to say or how to say it. "It's like when a great baseball team loses its cleanup hitter. Suddenly everybody's swinging for the fences and nobody's playing small ball."
I quirk my eyebrow at her. "You're using a baseball analogy."
"Yeah, the kids in most of the villages in Costa Rica live for baseball. It's huge there, and I had to learn the game and all that goes with it in order to connect."
I laugh at that a little. I know she didn't have to learn about baseball – the people would have loved her simply for what she was doing for them. But Sara has always gone above and beyond, so this bit of information is not in the least bit surprising to me. "Mmmkay, it's just kind of a weird side of you." I'm still smiling though. It's an adorable side of her. Adorable? Where did that come from?
"I know." She nods her head. Her eyes tell me she's still thinking about my problem though. "Look, you still have a lot of great players, and some new talent. Maybe…you just need to reshuffle your lineup."
I'm having a hard time following that analogy. "English, please?"
Her face is deadly serious for a second. "You are a great CSI, Catherine. And you know how to manage your team." I know she's not flattering me, that I am those things, but coming from her, it feels special. "The only Grissom had, that you don't, is…you." I look up at her and realize she's right. And I realize I know what I need to do. I could kiss her right now. Woah, I could what?
Before I know it, a hoard of men are barreling and shooting their way through the labs, carrying a body bag. I'm on the floor, protecting a witness as I see Sara and Nick plow their way through the doors behind the perps. Oh God, no! I can't lose her, not when I just got her back! I don't even bother to question my thoughts this time.
I got stuck at work, trying to take care of paperwork from the office break-in, so I missed out on that bite to eat with Sara. I talked to her at the end of shift though, for a bit. She's taking a raincheck for after tomorrow's shift. As she walked out of my office, I called her back. "Hey, Sar!"
She popped her head back around the corner, "Yeah, Cath?"
"If this is the end result of your eleven day silence, I'll take it. It's great to have you back, and I'm sorry I had to cancel on you."
She grins at me. "It's good to be back," She eyes me for a few slow seconds before continuing. "And I'll find a way for you to make it up me," she winks at me before she pushes off the doorjamb and heading to the locker room. I could swear she just undressed me with her eyes. Is it getting hot in here? I can feel my blush rise from my chest all the way up into my hairline.
