Chapter 14- Words like Wildfire
Catherine took a long swig of her coffee. It was Friday but her Monday and coffee always kick started her week. The combination of caffeine, sugar, and irish creme left her mouth satisfied. Warrick had passed her office, glanced in at her and kept walking. This was extremely unusual in his case, they usually drank coffee together in the morning. Lately her and Warrick had been together a lot. She loved the conversations they had. They talked about everything from marriage to religion, from kids to gambling.
She walked to the door and noticed him sitting in the break room, his back to her. Maybe he thought she was busy and didn't want to disturb her. Catherine had once again taken pity on Grissom and agreed to do some of his file work. So she decided to go join Warrick in the break room.
"Hey you." She said cheerfully
"Hey." He sounded out of sorts.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing. Look I have to work on the Grant case, I'll uh catch ya in brief. See ya."
With that he got up and walked out. Catherine was stunned at his cold demeanor. The Grant case wasn't high on the priority list. She returned to the cold loneliness of her office. Her mind went back to a few months ago when they had worked a case together.
She and Grissom had been called in to work a scene in the sewers. After seeing the rough conditions, Grissom opted out and had Warrick work the case with her. They had been underground for hours following tunnels, finally when they emerged, the sun was up. As they headed up the side of the ditch, Catherine slipped and fell right into Warrick's muscular arms.
The moment seemed intent on a kiss, her stomach hungered for it with butterflies. But at the last moment a city worker interrupted them. She fantasized about that time often, the possibilities, where it could have lead. Today that memory seemed sad. Her phone rang.
"Yeah Willows."
"Hey it's Grissom."
"Oh hi." Her tone a little monotone.
"Everything all right?"
"Yeah uh fine what's up?"
"Forgot to ask you if you will be my date for tomorrow?"
"Oh?"
"Yeah Disco asked me to come to the club and check out the new lighting system."
"Sounds lovely." She tried not to sound sarcastic.
"Well I thought you could see the dance style there and incorporate it into our lessons."
"Sara will be there is that what you are getting at?"
"Um yeah."
"All right can you pick me up at 8?"
"Your carriage awaits you my lady."
"Oh don't make me gag, Romeo. See you at shift change."
Sara called Disco and told him that the charade was off. She couldn't do this to Grissom. Disco agreed but told her he would keep the idea fresh if she needed it still. Her stomach had butterflies as she thought about the garage scene.
"Sara, I think you need to go to the showers. Hmm or maybe I do, but I want to tell you before you go. I'm not going anywhere."
Those words played on her mind. She wondered how he would be tonight. She was so worked up she thought she had better hit the gym, work off some of her uneasy tension. She couldn't wait to see him.
The mood hadn't changed with Warrick when Catherine walked into the meeting room an hour later. He was sarcastic about one of the witnesses. He kept tapping the table with his pen and he barely paid any attention. The breaking point was when Nick made a joke and Warrick lunged at him. Catherine would have found it funny had the joke not been about her. It seemed like her name somehow set him off. Nick sat back in his chair looking like he'd just been punished.
"Ok Nick get me the DNA results from Jenny Grant's sweater. Call Brass and tell him to meet you at the middle school and I'll be there soon."
"Yeah all right." Nick said still looking wounded.
"Warrick, I want to talk to you in my office."
When Catherine shut the door, she shot him a questioning look.
"Something you want to tell me Warrick?"
"No, Nick pissed me off, I took care of it."
"What does that mean? You and Nick are like best friends, and regardless of what he said, you have no business getting in his face."
"Look I don't want to talk about this, cool?"
"No, I can't send you out on a case like this. You nearly killed Nick, I can't imagine what you will do with our suspect."
"Hey, let's not talk about professionalism around her Catherine. Now if you want me off the case then tell me. But I'm a level 3 and I can handle my business."
Finally he stood up and headed for the door. Maybe she shouldn't have but Warrick was never so cold, so she had to have the last word, or so she thought.
"Yeah that's right a damn level 3 CSI, that acts like an adolescent teenager. What's wong Warrick, jealous that Nick got some last night and you didn't?" She half smiled proud of her little joke.
She expected him to laugh and admit he was being silly but he turned, walked over to her and put his face right in hers.
"Yeah well if I did, it sure as hell wouldn't be with you, I guess I don't got what Grissom has!"
He pushed away from her and walked out. Catherine's heart began to beat out of her chest. Where did he get that from? She knew in her heart that Grissom would never say anything. She quickly picked up her cell and called.
"Grissom we need to talk."
It had been a day of hell for Warrick. He had been so angry with Catherine all day that he never left the garage. He promised Sara he would help dismantle a Volkswagon for her crime scene, said he would work some overtime. But he had been so mad, he dismantled the car all alone, found the stray bullet she needed and a bag of Mary Jane. Had it been the old days he would have lit up just to calm down.
He couldn't believe that Catherine and Grissom had slept together. What was more, he couldn't believe he was this angry. But he realized that he thought a lot about her these days. When he had heard the news he had shucked it off flying as office rumors, but the evidence hit him in the face. So he threw himself into his work. He became so busy he nearly smashed Sara with the tire iron as he was putting the wheels back on.
"Hey Warrick, sheesh."
"Oh hey Sara. Sorry about that, the rim is stubborn from the wreck."
"Why are you putting it on? I thought we were going to take it apart."
"Yeah well I already did, and put it all back together. Took six roles of film and sent a bullet to ballistics, and a bag of MJ to trace and tox."
"Well that was awesome and great news for our case. Grissom will be happy."
"Yeah I just bet he will."
With that he threw the tire iron, it ricocheted off the back door and finally made a clanging sound as it came to rest on the ground.
"What's with you Warrick?"
"Nevermind, I suspect you will hear it soon enough, but I ain't gonna break your heart. I gotta get outta here. See ya Sara."
He walked out and left yet another confused female in his fury. Sara replayed his words in her head. Surely he was mad at Grissom but what would happen to break her heart. She decided to hit the DNA lab and get the blood results from her vic.
When she walked in she was surprised to see Greg there in a lab coat.
"Hey, why are you back in here?"
"Our new lab tech broke a bottle of acid on his arm, they rushed him to the emergency room. Ecklie called me and told me to fill in."
"Yeah ok." She said a little distracted.
Greg walked around the table and put his arm around her. She thought this was another attempt at his childish crush for her. Then when she saw the look on his face, she couldn't say anything.
"Sara, I know that you think of me only as a friend, and I know you would never care for me romantically but I am still a great shoulder to cry on. Whatever the reason was that Grissom and Catherine slept together, I know he still loves you."
Sara flew from his arm. Her eyes cold upon him.
"What did you just say?"
"Uh um damn you didn't know?"
"Why would he sleep with Catherine? The man couldn't find sex in a textbook let alone in a bedroom! Where did you hear this Greg?"
"I, geez Sara, maybe you better ask Grissom."
"Ask me what?"
Grissom stood coolly in the door of the lab. His look of harshness focused on Greg. Grissom had never been this scared in his lifetime. He was more than prepared to defend himself, but Sara did something she never did. She looked at him and began to cry.
"Just when I thought I had made a breakthrough, you show me that I opened the door for everyone else. I have to get outta here. Damn you Grissom. Fire me if you have to, or maybe I'll just quit this time. And don't bother sending me any damned plants!"
As she walked off he thought he heard her call him an insensitive bastard. Catherine had called Nick and asked if he would mind pulling a double. He agreed happily as he was saving up for a new sports car. The extra money would be bank for him. Grissom waited till Nick returned, got someone to cover for Greg and then pulled him into his office.
"What happened? Who told you that Catherine and I slept together Greg? Or is this another one of your attempts to catch Sara?"
"I would never hurt Sara to gain her approval. I'm not you Grissom! She's spent so long running after you. So much so that guys like me don't have any chance. And what do you do? You hurt her more deeply than anything she has ever felt. If you must know Hodges is the one that told me and Warrick."
Grissom waited before speaking, he knew that Greg was trying to defend Sara, at risk to himself.
"What the hell does Hodges know?"
"Well his new girlfriend lives across the street from Catherine, and he has seen you over there a lot lately."
"So Catherine and I are friends, and I am Lindsey's Godfather."
"Yeah well the other night he saw you show up over there, said he saw some pretty intimate stuff in the shadows of the front window, and then her bedroom light when on, then off, and you didn't leave till the following morning."
"I will deal with Hodges, Greg. In the meantime, you are to tell no one of this, especially not Nick when you guys work together tonight. You understand me?"
"Yes sir." He said it more repugnantly than with respect.
Greg didn't dare ask he just followed orders. He had seen the same anger when a baby boy had been killed 4 years ago. He had nearly ransacked his lab to get Greg working primarily on that case. But on the other hand Greg felt good for what he had said.
He and Grissom joined Nick in the conference room.
"Nick, Sara had some personal business to attend to at home, so I appreciate you coming in. You and Greg will be working on the Jasper case. Catherine said Warrick found marijuana and a bullet in the vic's car. I have some loose ends to attend to here but you can reach me on the cell."
As soon as they had gone, Grissom left to meet Catherine at a tiny bar called the Langtree Lounge. It was in the complete opposite direction of any of the crime lab people.
"You know Catherine." He said after sitting in a back table with her.
"Even when I do right by Sara, I do wrong."
"Any idea of where the leak came from?"
"Hodges"
"What? Who told you that?"
"Our little Greg. Hodges told Warrick and Greg who in turn told Sara."
He laid out the story for her. Stopping occasionally to let Catherine get some angry curse words in. When he was done, Catherine didn't know whether to laugh or to cry."
"This would be funny if Sara and Warrick weren't involved."
"I know."
"Think she is writing her leave of absence slip right now?"
"Maybe, she told me not to send her a plant."
"All right well I have a plan, but first you have to swear to me to keep a secret."