Brass thought he'd seen it all on his ill-fated trip to Honduras, but he was to be proven wrong that night. He had to check his eyes weren't deceiving him when Warrick and Nick strolled up the driveway side by side. Surely Grissom wouldn't …
"What have we got?" Nick asked, the picture of professionalism, as the pair reached the surprised detective.
"Uh, two dead." He mumbled, gesturing awkwardly to the modern two-story house behind them. "Husband's in the office, wife in the bedroom. Looks like a murder suicide."
"Alright," Nick nodded, taking off his sunglasses and turning to his partner. "You want the husband or the wife?"
"I'll take the husband." Warrick said, nodding politely at Jim as he shuffled into the house with his kit swinging at his side.
"Hey Nicky," Jim held the younger man back for a moment. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah." Nick shrugged, tucking his sunglasses into his top pocket. "Why wouldn't it be?"
X x x
Having dealt with the deceased couple, the CSIs had moved into the open-plan living area. For several minute neither spoke, each focussed on their individual tasks on opposite sides of the room.
"So, you spoke to Sara?" Nick broached the pink elephant at last, daring a glance across the room.
"Yeah, yeah I did." Warrick nodded. He chose not to elaborate in case he said the wrong thing; lord knows he was getting good at that at the moment.
"She okay?" Nick raised an eyebrow.
"I think so." Warrick mumbled. "I didn't stay long; I just wanted her to hear me say it." Again, he neglected to elaborate.
"Cath would've kicked you out anyway." Nick commented dryly. "She's gotten pretty overprotective."
"Yeah?" Warrick chuckled. "Well, she's always had a soft spot for her, even if she hid it well." His offhand comment piqued Nick's curiosity and the Texan turned to him, fingerprint brush in hand.
"You think?" He asked, intrigued.
"Oh yeah; don't you remember when Grissom's 'experiment' backfired and gave her an electric shock? Practically threw the girl across the lab!"
"Yeah, Cath took her to Desert Palms to get her head scanned – against Sara's will if I recollect – and then took her home." Nick recalled with a frown as to the point in this story.
"Yeah, and then she came back to tear Griss a new one." Warrick added, a cheeky grin dancing on his lips at the memory.
"No…" Nick hummed, turning to his colleague. "Seriously?"
"Hell yeah." Warrick nodded. "Man, I thought she was going to slap him. I believe her exact words to him were 'hurt her again and you'll be sharing a cave with Elvis'."
"Man, how'd I miss that?" Nick chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. Maybe Catherine had always been this overprotective, and he'd just never noticed.
They fell back into silence, albeit not an uncomfortable one. After a few minutes, Nick lifted his head again, watching Warrick work across the room from beneath his lashes. "Greg and I are going for breakfast after work." He mentioned slyly. "You could come … if you want to." He tried to sound nonchalant, casually raising his gaze to his colleague's. Warrick, however, made no such effort as he jumped at the meek offer.
"Sure, I'd love to." He nodded. He instinctively began to ask if the girls were coming, but caught himself before he put his foot in it. Probably best not to try his luck too soon.
From his quiet spot in the doorway, Brass shook his head in bafflement at the sudden civility between the boys.
X x x
"Thanks Mandy." Warrick nodded gratefully as he turned to leave her lab, accidently finding himself colliding with Sara as she wandered in.
"Whoa, sorry." He gripped her arms lightly, steadying her.
"Sorry." She mumbled a shy apology. He offered a small smile and stepped aside, letting her pass into the fingerprint lab where Mandy was watching them with a suspicious raised eyebrow.
"You alright?" She asked once Warrick had vanished into the bustling hallway.
"Yeah." Sara cleared her throat, gesturing to the computer. "You, uh, get a match?"
"Yeah." Mandy turned to the screen, albeit with one eye still trained on her colleague. "The print matched a work card of a casino employee," she handed Sara the printout, scrutinising the brunette as her dark eyes scanned the piece of paper.
"Thank you." Sara smiled, making to leave.
"Sara!" She called out impulsively, causing the girl to turn back with a puzzled expression. Not quite sure herself why she'd called her back, Mandy hunted for something to say. "I just wanted to say, I think you're handling everything really well." The lab rat said sheepishly. Sara nodded, a light blush tinting her cheeks.
"Thanks Mandy." She mumbled, offering a genuine smile.
The lab tech watched her go with a fond smile.
X x x
"Have you told her yet?"
Catherine turned to Nancy with a frustrated glare.
"Take a guess." She snapped sarcastically. Nancy's gaze softened over her mug of coffee.
"Well you need to tell her the truth sometime. You can't keep harbouring a secret crush on her forever."
"Shush!" Cath hissed, casting a cautious glance over her shoulder. "Look, Sara's just getting back on her feet; she doesn't need this right now."
"What if she feels the same?" Cath scoffed at the suggestion but Nancy was persistent. "I'm serious; what if a strong, healthy relationship is what she needs and you're just pushing her away."
"I'm her supervisor Nance. Anyway, I'm hardly pushed her away. The girl's practically been living with me." Catherine pointed out.
"Yeah, and you've loved every minute of it." Nance taunted, nudging her in the ribs. "You don't want her to go, why else would you have begged her to stay another night?"
"What I want doesn't matter." The older woman insisted. "I want what's best for Sara, and right now that isn't it."
"Alright. If you're sure." Nancy shrugged. "I'm just saying that sooner or later you're going to have to tell her."
"Tell me what?"
Catherine jumped to face the source of the inquisitive voice, plastering a false smile on her face.
"Sara, I didn't know you were up."
"Clearly." The brunette nodded politely at Nancy. "What haven't you told me?"
"Oh, nothing." The blonde CSI tried to shrug it off but her efforts fell flat. "Just … stuff." Sara quirked an eyebrow curiously.
"I heard my name."
"You were right, she is good." Nancy joked, taking a sip of her drink. Catherine turned to her little sister, biting her tongue against the words dying to escape.
X x x
"Out, now." She hushed, ushering her sister to the door despite her firm protestations.
"But I haven't finished my coffee…" the nurse whined, clamouring to get back inside.
"I'll save it for you." Cath mocked, finally managing to get her outside. "And again, thank you for coming." She added with a sarcastic tone.
"You're welcome." Nancy grinned with a sweet smile before the door was slammed shut. Catherine turned, leaning against it as a relieved look crossed her face. However, it may have been premature. Sara was lurking by the stairs with one eye raised.
"What don't I know?"
Taking a deep breath, Catherine pursed her lips at her predicament. She took Sara's hand and led her to the couch.
"How much did you hear?" She asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.
"You saying something isn't what I need." Cath inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't heard anything incriminating.
"Okay. Nancy knows me better than anyone," she started, trying to think on her feet. "And she found something out about me. But it's nothing for you to worry about; it's just her offering her opinion where it's not wanted."
"You were talking about me." Sara pointed out dryly. Cath laughed softly, pursing her lips.
"Alright, you really want to know?" Sara nodded, an adorable frown on her face. As she had done a few days earlier, Catherine leant in and pressed her lips to Sara's. But unlike a few days ago, this kiss was anything but chaste.
A hand tangled itself in her dark tresses and she felt the blonde's teeth scrape her lower lip, gently asking for permission. Sara, blindsided by the action, pulled away and blinked at Cath in astonishment.
The older woman didn't look surprised by reaction. A sad sigh escaped her lips and she let her fingertips stroke Sara's cheek gently before pushing herself off the couch.
"That's what I was afraid of." She mumbled dejectedly.
Sara remained rooted to the stop, confusion written across her features.