Disclaimer: See chapter one

Sara's POV

I turned to look at Wendy who was still laughing at Catherine's comment. "What was that all about?"

Wendy suddenly turned very serious. "Sara, if you don't know what that was about, I'm not about to tell you."

"Was she flirting with me?" I didn't want to misread anything Catherine was saying or doing. Thank god I had a witness to whatever it was that had just happened. And since that witness was Wendy, I'm sure I can count on her to number one, explain it to me, and number two, tell Sofia so she can explain it to me again.

"Sara, her eyes never left yours. She said she preferred satin to handcuffs. And then, she said 'yippy ki ay' to you. She wasn't flirting with you, dear. She was coming on to your ass!"

"No she wasn't." She couldn't have been. Was she?

"That woman was coming on to you and you better do something about it soon."

I turned to leave the lab and then stopped and turned around to face Wendy again. "What should I do?"

"If she asks you to do anything, you need to accept. If she doesn't ask you to do anything by the end of this shift, you need to ask her to do something."

"What about the kids? I can't just do shit these days. I have a kid. She has a kid."

"Take the kids with you two. It makes it safe. And you won't have to worry about her jumping your bones right then and there."

"Is sex all you ever think about, Wendy?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear what you said. I was too busy thinking about sex." She smiled and I left.

I was either going to ask Catherine to do something or I was going to do whatever she asked me to do. But it can't be a date. I can't call it a date. As I'm trying to decide what I can ask her to do, my pager goes off. It's Catherine. We have a case.

We drive to the casino and work our scene like clockwork. We're both consummate professionals on the job and work very easily together. I'd go so far as to say we're a flawless team. I'd put the two of us up against any other team in the country and would bet money that we would come out on top. We work so quickly that we're back at the lab with time to spare before our shift is over. We hand off our evidence to various people and then go our separate ways.

Wendy and Sofia are right. I am a chicken shit.

I'm sitting on the bench in front of my locker with my head in my hands. I didn't even hear anyone enter the room.

I decide I need to get up off the bench and change before heading home after what feels like an eternity of sitting there. As soon as I lift my eyes, I see Catherine standing there in front of me against the lockers.

"Cath? How long have you been here?"

"A few minutes. I have to admit. I'm a bit disappointed. I would've hoped that you'd have noticed I was here before you ever looked up."

"Sorry. I guess I was just wrapped up in my own thoughts."

"Anything you care to share?"

"Thanks, but, don't take this the wrong way, okay? It's something I'm not ready to talk about."

"No problem, Sar. But I do have something I need to talk to you about. Actually something I need to ask you."

I sit up straight and stiffen my shoulders. "What's that?"

"I was wondering if you and Allie would like to join Linds and me up at Lake Mead Saturday? We're going to do a picnic and maybe a little hiking. I thought it would be nice for you and …"

"We'd love to," I say as I spring up from the bench. "I mean, sure, we'd be happy to go. You want me to drive? I know this great spot where we can have the picnic and then some decent trails that aren't too strenuous."

She smiles at me. "You know, I think that would be perfect. You drive and I'll pack the picnic lunch."

I stick my hands in my pockets because I have nothing else to do with them. "It's a date then." Oh shit. Did I just say it was a date out loud.

I look up only to see Catherine smiling. "A date, huh?" I want to die on the spot. This is totally not what she had in mind. She doesn't think of it as a date.

"I'm sorry, Cath. I didn't mean to call it a date. Of course, it's not a date."

"Of course it's not. The kids are with us," she says as she turns to leave the locker room. "Next time, we'll leave them with a sitter."

I almost snap several vertebrae as I spin my head quickly in her direction. But she's already gone, having left me thinking of the next time when we haven't even gotten through a simple picnic.