Chapter Four- Tidal Wave

Thanks to Dardeile, Daydreamer1127, CissaMalfoy, x-Christa-x, soliz, CanadianHalliwell, Nisha14, and myfairlady for their reviews! Thanks!

Sergeant I'm glad you do. Hehe Don't you just love the nickname I gave you?

Disclaimer: Only in my nonwaking hours do I own anything pertaining to CSI: Las Vegas.

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She was there before the sun set. Her hair up in a ponytail and kit in hand, back in the casino, only now it looked different. It was completely different. Sam was dead. Sam the owner of it, the one she used to sit in the glamorously embellished office upstairs and drink with. He was a lousy father, and a money mongrel, but she had loved him. She missed being called "Muggs." Missed the fact that she could confront him on anything and not expect to be reprimanded. She secretly wondered how her mother would react at the thought of Sam dying right in front of her. The idea made Catherine grimace.

"You okay?" Warrick asked as he approached her.

She forced a smile. "Working helps."

"Best therapy known to man."

"And woman." She retorted

Warrick had to smile. "That wicked sense of humor. Makes me wonder how we ever got along without you."

She laughed. Chime in the wind before turning to the mess before her. Nick was watching, obviously wanting to come over, but refusing. He was still angry. Catherine could not blame him. She buried herself deeper in the world of DNA, blood, and fibers, refusing to think on it. Soon she was lost in it.

Warrick noticed this and approached the former Texas football player, gingerly.

"Hey Nick,"

He turned and fixed an unusually cold brown eye on him. "What?"

Warrick found his tone must to his distaste. "Cut her some slack, man. She's been through a lot."

Nick's face grew dark with rage and he choked out his words. "Tell me Warrick, what about us? Forgive me for being selfish, but she waltzes outta here without a backward glance, without a second thought. We didn't just lose a CSI and mentor, but we lost a friend, or someone we thought was a friend. We had to right ourselves back on our feet without her. And now after we finally do, after all this time, she walks back in and wreaks havoc on our lives. She ran away Warrick. She ran away instead of standing her ground and facing what was haunting her. She walked away from us and this town, and now she's back suddenly. I'm not gonna let her think that her coming back all of a sudden just to help us with a case is gonna make everything okay, when everything it's not." He said bluntly.

Warrick was shocked. Nick was probably the warmest member on the team. The only one that probably could not commit murder during their last little philosophy talk, yet now here he was, refusing to give the woman that had trained him and mentored him a second chance. The one that had helped propel him to one of the top CSIs in the nation.

He didn't understand what had come over him. He let it go.

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Sara was in the worst mood known to man…or woman. It wasn't the fact that she had overheard Grissom talking to Catherine the night before. It was the fact that he failed to mention it to her and when she asked, he just said a friend. What was going on? She wondered. She had built their relationship from the ground up. After Catherine had left, Grissom had been a wreck. He had been depressed, snappy, even to the point where Sara had wondered whether or not he would lose his job for being uncivilized. Sara had worked hard to fix that. She refused to let some former stripper walk away with her man, even if she had been a former friend. Sara was a fighter. She knew Catherine was too, but now it was down to wills. She envisioned a catfight in the future.

Her work was her top priority, however. Nick was by her side when she knelt down to process. He looked at her with sympathy and understanding. She knew Catherine had hurt him when she left. He had crushed on her only to have her break his heart. She had been his shoulder to cry on. Now it seemed to be in reverse. Grissom. Sara could see how he could leave her for Catherine. He had always loved her. She wondered what was it about that woman that would take away the man in her life.

Nick placed a hand on her arm. His eye and silence spoke volumes.

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Cell phones went off. For some reason it was only Catherine and Grissom. From across the room, the two exchanged glances, slowly answering under the staring eyes of the other CSI's. They were not unfamiliar with the incident. Surprised? Yes. But it was not unfamiliar. Before Catherine had left, calls always happened that way. They would call the supervisor and the second-in-command. The only difference was that Catherine was not the second-in-command anymore. Sara was. The Robins seemed to have a clear idea of who was more suited to the role.

"Willows."

"Grissom."

Silence. Nods. Mmm- hmms. Both their faces grew pale.

As they hung up their phones, they exchanged another glance. Grissom looking away and taking a step back, clearly indicating that Catherine would be the one to break the bad news. She didn't back away.

"Two bodies have been stolen. The ones containing the bullets." She said darkly.

Stares.

"How did that happen?" Greg asked, being the first to speak.

"Some from the inside. Had access to the lab." Catherine noted.

"I'll get the list of suspects." Sofia said walking toward them, having just gotten off her own cell phone and hearing the news.

Nick looked grim. "That means we got another crime scene."

"Unless it's a separate case." Grissom spoke up.

Sara looked annoyed. "Who else would steal one of the bodies? The guy who did this. Duh! Simple."

Catherine looked skeptical, but didn't verbalize it. Something just didn't fit. She chose to keep her mouth shut to avoid further aggravating Sara. Catherine wanted to get in, solve the case, without starting WWWIII.

"Well that means we have a second scene to process, connected or no." she said, playing peacemaker.

Nick's eyes softened for a moment at Catherine's attempt for peace, but he quickly fought it down. She didn't see.

"A few of us will head back to the morgue. Process that scene. Some of us will stay here." She said, looking at Grissom.

He was the supervisor. It was his role to make the next plan of action. He was agreeing.

"Ok since Sara's my second. I want her here. Miss nothing. Without the bullets we can't do firearms comparisons. Finish up this scene; find the bullets of the other two victims. Nick and Warrick you stay here with her. Back her up. Catherine and Greg, you're coming with me. Sofia call Brass. His retirement is over for the moment. Have him question the witnesses here. Sofia you're with us." He commanded, voice soft, but the softness emphasized it's impact.

Everyone obeyed, even Sara who was not sure she liked the arrangement.

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Grissom drove. Catherine…shotgun. Sofia was driving off the pick up Brass, while Greg was taking the other Tahoe and following behind them.

"Brass's in retirement?" Catherine asked.

"Yeah. Been there for a few months, though he volunteers to come back when we need help." Grissom replied.

"Like now?"

"Like now."

"Catherine you've been away a long time."

"I know."

Grissom let silence linger. He didn't know what to say. A million things were on his tongue, but his throat closed and silence lingered.

She looked thoughtful, and her hands were clasped together in her lap. Unlike what she used to do.

Grissom noticed this, wondering why she wasn't leaning toward the radio turning it on to rock and then bobbing her head to the music with her legs propped up on the dash, making jokes, bantering with him, and treating him with charming smile and sarcastic words. It was unlike her. It unnerved him.

"How was Montana?" he asked breaking the silence.

"Quiet." She replied with a smile.

He laughed. "Not much of that here."

"Never."

"So you a cop now?"

Catherine thought it over. "I'm not sure. I don't think you ever stop being a CSI but a cop is the second best choice when a CSI is something that brings back painful memories for you." She mused.

"Are we the memory?" he asked quietly.

She looked him in the eye. Blue eyes locking with his.

"If I say yes, will that make me coming back here a bad idea? Will it make me sitting here facing you a bad idea?" she asked softly.

He could not break away from her gaze. The blue eyes spoke of something deeper, something he desperately wanted. Something he had convinced himself he would never have. He opened his mouth. No sound. The intensity in her eyes was fervent. Flame in water.

Neither of them saw it coming. Neither predicted it.

A tidal against the driver's side. Metal scrapping against metal. Glass shattering and falling around them, both desperately trying to wrap them minds around what was happening. What twist fate has thrown in their faces. The car veering of the road. Catherine opened her mouth and screamed, before a second wave silenced her cry. Grissom reached for her hand, he never touched it. Darkness. Silence.

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WHOOOO MORE USE OF SYMBOLISM!