Despite a few nervous reservations, she was undeniably curious to see how Sara would react to her little realisation.
Unfortunately, it was not to be.
Before Sara even had time to turn around, Grissom's stern voice bellowed her name from the doorway.
Both women jumped, turning to face him with matching expressions of shock. He did not look particularly impressed, nor did he look like he had time to stand and chat about Sara's love life; although he did spare a second to raise an eyebrow at Catherine's position draped across the younger woman's shoulders.
"Warrant's come through for the Wilkinson case." He stated grimly, not beating around the bush. "I'll meet you at the car."
Sara continued to stare into the busy hallway for a long moment after his abrupt departure, having still not said a word since his entrance. Finally, she glanced up at Catherine and offered a tight smile.
"I have to go." She slithered out from underneath the blonde and moved swiftly to the door.
Catherine watched her disappear into the hall, a mixture of frustration and impatience at having her thunder stolen by the entomologist's ill-timed arrival.
And she hadn't even gotten any sign that her new theory was right.
X x x
Lindsey and Sam stayed close together as they barrelled their way through the corridor towards the main school entrance.
They had decided, unsurprisingly, that it would be wise to skip lunch today.
A flash of brunette hair in front of them caught their eye and Lindsey's eyes lit up.
"Ruby!" She called, briefly relinquishing her hold on Sam's arm to jog after the final member of their threesome. "Rubes, wait up!"
To her surprise, the girl came to a sudden stop – so sudden, in fact, that Lindsey nearly ran into the back of her – and spun around with a blank expression plastered on her make-up laden face.
"Look, don't take this the wrong way." She held up her hands, flicking her eyes between the two of them. "But, I can't deal with this." She gestured to the mass of people blatantly staring at them from within whispering huddles.
"Ruby, come on…" Lindsey frowned. "You can't just ditch her, not now."
"You don't get it Linds," the olive-skinned girl sighed. "I've been called every name under the sun today, because of her." She nodded at Sam. "I've never been called a bad name in my life!"
"So what?" Lindsey continued, her voice rising in anger. "I've been getting those names today as well."
"Yeah," Ruby scoffed, already backing away from them. "Well, if you want to put up with it, that's your call. But I'm out."
Lindsey felt Sam materialise at her side again and cast a furtive glance at her face. She hadn't said a word, and neither had she had made any effort to stop Ruby from leaving; but the silent tears building in her eyes said it all.
Without waiting for Lindsey to speak again, she turned and walked quickly back down the hall towards the locker rooms, living her best friend standing in the middle of the corridor; exposed and horribly alone.
X x x
"Melissa."
Catherine stilled, turning slowly to blink at Sara in bemusement.
"I'm sorry?" She queried.
"You wanted to know her name." Sara explained, ambling into the garage and lazily surveying the classic car that Cath was currently tainting with fingerprint powder. "I figured I should clear it up before you went to the guys for answers instead."
That got Catherine's full attention and, putting the powder-loaded brush aside, she wiped her forehead and moved closer to her colleague.
"Do they know?"
"No," Sara responded immediately. "And I'd like to keep it that way." Her tone was light, but the look on her face made the point clear. This was a conversation to be kept in confidence.
Cath's lips twitched into a gleeful smile at being the first to know and she pretended to resume her work.
"So, tell me about her." She hummed casually, hoping to keep the discussion going. To her surprise, Sara seemed remarkably unperturbed given the sensitive nature of the topic and answered the question with ease.
"She's a physiotherapist at Desert Palm." She explained, peering into the car. Upon noting that the seats were real animal skin, she quickly straightened up and turned her attention to the engine instead. Given the age of the car and the owner's taste, she doubted it would be electric, but she could always hope. "We met a few weeks ago."
"Is it serious?"
"It was." Came the eerily calm reply "Now it's not."
Cath nodded slowly, eyeing her colleague carefully over the roof of the vehicle.
"She hurt you?" She guessed at last. This time Sara did look up, her eyes clouding over with something akin to anger; although it soon dissipated.
"Yeah." She answered quietly at last, letting her gaze fall back to the ground.
Cath couldn't help but feel for the girl; despite the investigator in her dying to ask more questions, she decided to take pity on her for now.
"Well, if you feel like sharing some more over a beer after shift, you know where to find me." She smiled warmly, hoping to exude understanding rather than intrigue. "Or if you just feel like sharing a beer; that would be fine too."
To her utmost relief, Sara smiled too.
"I'd like that."
X x x
"I can't believe she ditched us like that." Lindsey scowled, pacing in small circles around the lonesome tree they were using for solace.
"I can't blame her." Sam moped morosely, having settled herself on the floor against the thin trunk. "It's not her fault that I screwed up."
Lindsey softened her features a bit and joined her on the bare, sandy patch of ground.
"You didn't screw up." She said softly. "You made a mistake – you fell for the wrong guy. But you know better now."
"Yeah, but it's not just that though is it?" Sam asked rhetorically. "I didn't just fall for the wrong guy; I fell for a fake guy."
Lindsey felt a twinge in her chest and tried to shake it away, but it settled itself deep; like a lead weight on her heart.
"You weren't to know." She mumbled, dropping her eyes.
Sam cast a suspicious glance at her, and for a second Lindsey thought she'd given herself away, when the blonde relaxed her features.
"You're the best friend in the world, you know that?" She murmured, leaning across to drag Lindsey into a tight hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you right now."
"Yeah." Linds whispered, burying her face in Sam's hair. "You better remember it."
X x x
"So," Cath straightened up in her seat, fixing Sara with a semi-stern look. "Why all the secrecy, Miss Sidle?"
Sara pretended to consider the question for a long minute, before pursing her lips.
"Why do you think I didn't say anything?"
"Because," Cath breathed, letting her head fall back against the soft cushions of the booth; "we work in a male-dominated business and you thought you'd be crucified for it."
Sara tipped the bottle in her hand towards her friend in a sign of agreement, before draining the last of it.
"Can you blame me?" She asked, flashing the woman a grin.
"No." Cath chuckled. "But I wish you'd told me."
"I did tell you."
"Only because you got caught out." Catherine scoffed. "You wouldn't have done if I hadn't asked."
"That's not true." Sara countered, pushing their empty bottles aside and propping her head up on the table. "I told you three years ago."
"You did not." Cath blinked.
"Yes I did." Sara reiterated coolly.
"When?"
"When you took me for a drink after Hank and I…" she pulled a face, shaking the thought away. "I told you that I should have stuck with women. And you said women were too complex and I'd be safer with men because they were easier to understand."
"I do not remember that." Cath continued to stare at her in astonishment, her expression a picture of incredulity. "I said that?"
"Verbatim." Sara laughed softly, greatly enjoying turning the tables on her assistant supervisor. "Of course, you were trashed at the time."
The older woman threw her head back, a bright laugh bubbling out of her. She genuinely didn't remember that conversation, but it did sound like something she would have said under the influence of too much alcohol.
"Well, I stand by it." She shrugged at last. "Women are harder to understand. You, in particular."
"Thank you." Sara smiled, unabashed. Cath smiled too, glad not to have damaged their rapport with her offhand comment. Gesturing to the barman to bring them two more, she made herself more comfortable in the booth and folded her hands on her stomach.
"So, what sort of women catch your eye? Other than the standard cheaters and liars, of course."
X x x
When Lindsey finally arrived home, having dragged her feet all the way from Sam's house, she was surprised in equal measure to find that her mom still wasn't home and they had company.
"Hi Lindsey." Her aunt Nancy greeted chirpily. "You're home late."
"Yeah, I went to Samantha's for a while." She mumbled. "Where's mom?"
"She had an important meeting after work." Nancy explained, although the tone of her voice suggested that she didn't quite believe that was the case. "She was just going to drop someone off afterwards, so she should be home soon."
In a cab, no doubt, the nurse thought to herself bitterly.
Lindsey peered around her into the living room, which she was surprised to find deserted but for her grandmother attempting to get a tan from the safety and comfort of the couch.
"Jeremy's upstairs." Her aunt answered before she could ask. "He's borrowing your laptop."
Lindsey started to nod in acceptance of this, before a horrifying thought struck her and her face drained of colour.
"My laptop?" She repeated quietly, her gaze already disappearing upstairs.
X x x
"Well, Miss Sara, I can honestly say it's been a pleasure getting to know you." Cath chuckled absent-mindedly. "Even if it has taken six years."
Sara opened the door to the cab, letting Catherine climb in first.
"Technically it only took three." She pointed out, following her in. "You were just too drunk to remember it."
Cath initially nodded in agreement, but trailed off as another thought crept into her consciousness.
"Hey, I just have one question." She posited, smacking her friend's knee lightly. "If you thought I already knew, why didn't you ever mention it again?"
The answer, as with earlier in the day, was uncharacteristically blasé.
"Because I knew you'd forgotten."
X x x
"Jem!" Lindsey bellowed, practically throwing the door open. "Don't touch my computer!"
But it was too late. The boy looked up at her graceless entrance, his expression fixed in a look of disappointment and disbelief.
"You are in so much trouble."
