A/N: Thank you to those of you who are reviewing and sticking with me :) Tomorrow's chapter will probably be posted a little later, just an FYI, cuz I have been off the last few days and tomorrow is back to stupid work! Again, this chapter isn't out of the angst woods, but hopefully you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel somewhere off in the distance now lol. Enjoy!


Catherine wandered aimlessly through the lab, her muscles feeling sluggishly uncooperative, as though trying to walk through water. Deciding she needed to pick a destination, lest the techs begin to give her odd looks, she came to land in the break room heading straight for the coffee pot. The last thing she needed right now was pity, regardless of how pitiful she certainly looked. The first tech to send her such a look surely would have found themselves with a stiletto heel where it was most certainly unwelcome.

How could she have let this spiral out of control so quickly? Three days is all it had taken to effectively destroy her relationship with Sara. If Catherine could have just let Sara's confession go, swept it under the rug as Sara seemed to have expected her to, then none of this would be happening. They could both be playing dumb, pretending that neither knew the awkward truth. They could have maintained a professional relationship, maybe even some semblance of a friendship.

Now it was glaringly apparent that never would have been her course of action; the feelings she had buried so deeply in the back of her mind couldn't let it slide. It was her own denial that brought them to this point. She was too afraid to accept what was practically handed to her on a silver platter, and now that she knew that it was too late.

Catherine grabbed a coffee mug from the counter, filling it to the brim in the vain hope that she could trick her body into functionality. Her emotions were already in overdrive when the first sip burnt her tongue and she snapped, delivering a swift kick to the cupboard in front of her. She poured all of her anger into the action, immediately cursing herself for doing so when she felt the pain suddenly running through her foot.

Feeling defeated by everything she came into contact with, Catherine slumped down into a chair. A bruised toe, a burnt tongue, and a broken heart. "Perfect." she sneered to herself, wishing more than anything for this shift to end so she could crawl into bed and stay there, preferably for eternity.

"What'd that cupboard ever do to you?"

Catherine's head snapped up, embarrassment briefly replacing all her swirling emotions upon the realization that Warrick had been a witness to her temper tantrum. His voice was concerned despite the lighthearted words, making the feeling short lived. Her emotions resumed their roller coaster course, with highs of anger and dips of self-loathing, complete with loops that turned the entire world momentarily upside down.

"It was the cupboard or a cup of coffee against the wall." she sighed.

Warrick took the seat across from her, folding his hands together under his chin. "So is there a reason we're beating up the break room, or you just gonna tell me it had it coming?"

Catherine forced what she hoped was a convincing smile and shook her head.

"This isn't still about Sara, is it?" he asked, and she could tell that her expression had given her away. "You two seemed so chummy at the bar… I just assumed you'd patched things up."

Again Catherine shook her head. "We were never fighting. Well, we might be now… I don't know." The last sentence came out sounding like a whine as Catherine slumped even further into the chair, attempting to disappear inside it. Warrick momentarily unclasped his hands, a wordless queue for Catherine to elaborate, as though he expected her to physically deposit the answer into his open palms. Catherine sighed. "Sara told me she loves me."

"What? When?" he asked excitedly.

Catherine could tell he wasn't seeing this as a negative in any way, making her reluctant to continue. "The day before yesterday…"

His expression changed as he heard the somber tone underlying her words. "There's more to it, isn't there…?"

She inhaled deeply, running a hand through her hair; ashamed to share what she had done, as though speaking about it would make it more real. "I, um," she paused, chuckling coldly at the callousness of her actions, lowering her voice to a nearly inaudible level. "I… slept with her. With Sara."

Warrick sat in stunned silence a moment, letting out a long sigh as he leaned back in his chair. No further explanation was required; he knew what came next. "Cath, how could you do that?" His tone reminded her of being a teenager, getting the old 'I'm not mad, just disappointed' speech from her mother. She knew that despite Warrick being her confidant he wasn't going to condone her every action. He was in her corner, but he rooted for both teams. She knew that, but all she wanted right now was some one to tell her it was all right. She was strung too tightly to see that he wasn't playing against her, and her blood was beginning to boil again.

"You know what Warrick? You have no idea. No fucking clue how hard this has been. You think I don't feel bad enough already? That I don't care that I crushed her heart into little, teeny tiny microscopic pieces?" Catherine stopped to catch her breath, feeling the urge to cry but fighting it off by channeling it back into her rage. Before Warrick could reply she started up again, keeping her voice low as she spoke through gritted teeth. "I never got over her, ok? I thought I had, but I didn't, and now I've fucked it all to hell!"

Not a moment after she finished her tirade, Wendy appeared in the doorway. "What." Catherine barked harshly before the woman could speak.

"I just… wanted to know if Sara found you?" Wendy asked hesitantly. Warrick turned to face the tech, but not far enough for Catherine to be unable to see him mouthing "not now," to the other woman. Her blood boiled hotter.

"Yes, she did." Catherine spat. "And incase you were wondering, no, we did not resolve anything. In fact, I think she may never speak to me again. So thank you, once again, Wendy."

"Cath, its not Wendy's fault," Warrick said cautiously.

Wendy nodded, obviously not really sure what she was being blamed for but agreeing all the same. "I was just trying to help."

Catherine was just short of shouting now, her mind desperately trying to place the burden on anyone else it could. "Well congratulations, you ruined everything. The next time you feel like helping, try minding your own fucking business instead!"

"Enough!" Grissom shouted, suddenly having appeared in the doorway. "You two, back to work," he gestured to Warrick and Wendy, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Catherine, get your things. You just earned yourself the rest of the night off."

"Fine." she sneered, making her way to the door.

Grissom caught her by the arm, speaking in a much more level tone. "You are expected to behave as a professional in this lab. Whatever's the issue is, get help. If you won't, I expect you to leave it at home when you return tomorrow."