New chapter. Hope ya'll like it. Dedicated to Suzanne, cause she's awesome, and to Lisa cause she was Skype chatting with me while I typed this out :)

The next morning Catherine woke late; the digital display from the alarm clock on her side of the bed proclaimed that it was a little after noon. She yawned and stretched, smiling as she felt Lou tighten his grip on her waist.
"Hmmm… Morning." His voice was still heavy with sleep as he spoke the pressed a kiss to her neck. She felt him shift, then squealed as he rolled them over, landing so he was on his back with her head resting on his chest.

"A little warning next time if you don't mind," she scolded playfully, leaning up to kiss him. They broke apart after a few moments and Catherine reclaimed her place on his chest once she'd rearranged the sheets over them.
"This is nice," he mumbled, running his finger up and down her bare back. She made a sound of approval and snuggled closer, tangling her legs with his.

"I don't even have a hangover."
Lou snorted. "You should, the amount of alcohol you put away last night. I've never met a woman who can drink that much."
"It's the Irish in me." She looked up at him and smirked. "I also think working up a sweat before I went to sleep helped. Got rid of all the toxins." He groaned and pressed his lips hard against hers, pulling back after a few long moments.
"There is no way I'm letting you leave this bed today," he said with a growl. Catherine giggled and he pulled her closer, a shiver running down her spine at the thought.
"Sounds good to me detective."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, one of Catherine's hands ghosting over Lou's chest causing goose bumps to form on his flesh.
"That bartender definitely has the death glare down. It's almost as scary as yours." The strawberry blonde chuckled. "I'm serious! He looked like he was about to kill me when I walked over to you last night."
"Oh Jack's harmless," she replied. "He just gets a little protective when I'm there alone. He was fine when he realised you were my guy."

Lou's eyebrow rose. "Your guy? You call me your guy?"
"Well, 'boyfriend' just sounds far too… high school. What would you prefer? 'Partner'? 'Lover'?" She laughed.
"How about husband?" he replied quietly.

Her eyes widened and she jerked her head to look at him, holding his gaze for a long moment.
"What did you say?" she whispered.
Lou cleared his throat and opened his mouth to respond when the shrill sound of Catherine's cell phone broke the silence. She groaned and rolled away from him, grabbing the offending item from the bedside table.
"Leave it," Lou said as she glanced at the display, feeling her stomach drop.

"I can't," she replied. "It's Ecklie." She pressed a button and brought the phone to her ear. She didn't have time to utter a greeting before the voice on the other end was barking orders. She rolled her eyes as she listened.
"Fine," was all she said before she hung up and slid out of bed.
"The Sherriff and Ecklie want to see me immediately," she told Lou as she dressed. "I'm guessing Shultz finished his investigation."

Once she was fully clothed she slipped on her shoes and headed for the door.
"Uh, we'll talk when I get home ok?" Catherine offered a small smile then left, shutting the door softly behind her.

Lou leaned back against the pillows, closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He couldn't shake the feeling he'd just ruing everything.

Catherine was hardly surprised to see Jim waiting outside Sherriff Abbott's office when she arrived. He looked up as she approached and moved his jacket so she could sit beside him.
"How long have you been waiting?" she asked once she was seated.
"About twenty minutes. Ecklie calls me wanting me here like yesterday and I'm left waiting. Pisses me off."
Catherine nodded in agreement.

"How you been?" Jim glanced at her.
"Ok, considering. What about you?" Jim pulled a face and Catherine bit back a chuckle. "That good huh?"
"You have no idea," he sighed. "This whole thing feels like a giant nightmare I can't wake up from."
The redhead placed a hand on his arm, her heart aching for her friend.

Suddenly the door to the office opened and Ecklie stuck his head out, a smarmy smile on his face.
"We're ready for you."
Both Catherine and Jim stood and entered the office, Jim closing the door behind them. They took their seats – coincidentally the same ones they'd occupied a few days prior – and waited for the Sherriff to look up from the file he was reading.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity he looked up, levelling the two people opposite him with an unreadable gaze.
"I've just finished reading Officer Shultz's report. While he has no real proof of any criminal conduct by either of you, neither of you come out looking good." He turned his attention to Jim. "Captain Brass, Shultz makes some very serious allegations about your involvement in a possible cover up of the true motives behind the death of Nate Haskell. While there is no evidence to fully substantiate them and level criminal charges against you, they cannot be ignored." He paused for a moment, leaning back in his chair and removing his glasses. Catherine side spied Jim but his face was a stone mask.
"I want you to understand that this was not something I came to lightly. That being said, I have made the decision to demote you to Lieutenant. You will be issued a new badge once your suspension is up. An official reprimand will be placed in your file."

Catherine's eyes widened; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned and stared at the man next to her, her heart aching for her long-time colleague and friend. Jim's eyes blazed, his jaw clenched much like his fists.
"For the record, this is a pile of crap," Jim spat out.
"Thank you for that Lieutenant Brass," Ecklie sneered, the emphasis he put on Jim's new title enraging both he and Catherine. "Your statement will be noted."
"Go to hell Conrad! You don't have to look so pleased about this," Catherine raged. "This is a man's career we're talking about here!"
"Ms Willows I suggest you lower you're tone," Abbott interrupted, afraid there would be a blood bath in his office if he didn't. "Officer Shultz had plenty to say about you as well."

The strawberry blonde glared at Ecklie, wanting nothing more than to knock the smug look off his face, preferably along with a few teeth from his mouth.
"He accuses you of deliberately omitting things from your report."
"There was no hard evidence, only supposition. I was not about to make serious, career ending allegations against a colleague with nothing substantial to back them up. I made a note of the coroner's findings, anything else would have been assumption and guesswork, not something I put much faith is as a scientist."
Ecklie opened his mouth to say something, but the look he got from Catherine made him reconsider.
Abbott sighed.

"As with Lieutenant Brass none of your actions can result in criminal charges being brought against you, but they do call a lot of things into question."
Catherine's eyebrow rose.
"Like what exactly?"
Before Sherriff Abbott could respond, Ecklie's asinine voice cut in.
"About whether you're still an asset to this lab."

"I'm sorry, I was under the impression that I was talking to the organ grinder, not the monkey," she shot back, causing Jim to cough to cover a laugh. The undersheriff narrowed his eyes but decided against further comment, a wise choice in Jim's opinion. Had she still been in possession of her gun, the former captain had no doubt in his mind that she would have used it had Ecklie said anything more.
Abbott shot him a look of disdain before continuing.
"About your effectiveness as a leader."

Catherine's heart dropped as realization hit.
"You're demoting me too."
The Sherriff nodded.
"I feel it's for the best."

Catherine leaned back in her chair, feeling like someone had punched her in the gut. The thought 'Grissom would never have let this happen' flitted through her mind briefly and she shook her head to dispel it; there would be plenty of time for self-flagellation when she was alone.

Steeling herself, she looked Abbott straight in the eye.
"Nick will make a great supervisor."
The man opposite shifted slightly under her gaze; out of the corner of her eye she saw Ecklie's grin grow.
!I felt it best to bring in someone new, new blood for the graveshift."
The strawberry blonde felt her blood beginning to boil.
"You think the answer to all this is to bring in a stranger, someone we know nothing about? My team is solid Sherriff, and they're damn good. They don't need someone from God knows where telling them what to do."

"The decision has already been made. You are to bring him up to speed with regards to everything he needs to know, finish your suspension then report for duty as normal."
"Or you can quit," Ecklie sneered.
Catherine shot him a dirty look.
"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction Conrad."
Before anything else could be said there was a knock at the door. Catherine and Ecklie were still glaring at each other as the Sherriff shouted for the person to enter. All eyes in the room turned as the door opened, revealing a tall man with ash grey hair and black glasses.

Unsurprisingly, Ecklie was the first to speak.
"Catherine, we'd like you to meet your replacement, D.B. Russell."
The man in question winced minutely at the introduction, though his smile of greeting never faltered.

"Is this a bad time?"

Thanks for the reviews, they're much appreciated
Lily
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