"Catherine, hi. It's Morgan." The timid voice began, her hand shaking as it gripped the phone to her ear. "I'm sorry, I know it's late."
"It's okay." Cath assured her, sounding remarkably alert given the time on her end of the line. "Everything alright?"
"No." Morgan swallowed around the lump in her throat, attempting to hold her composure. The last thing she wanted was to break down while talking to the older woman. "Far from it."
Catherine had picked up on her demeanour as soon as she answered, and now an unsettling feeling was making itself at home in the pit of her stomach.
"Morgan, what's going on?"
She swallowed again, gearing herself up to utter those sickening words.
"Catherine, Sara's in the hospital." She paused, taking a deep breath. "It looks like a suicide attempt."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line, which was not doing Morgan's butterflies any good.
"She's going to be okay though." It wasn't a question, but there was more than a touch of hope to Catherine's voice.
"They can't say." She shook her head, even though Cath couldn't see it; tears spilling from her blue eyes unnoticed and dragging a faint line of mascara down her pale cheeks. "Listen, um, Nick's falling apart here, Greg's beside himself. They need you, I … I need you."
"I'm on the first plane back." She could already here the distinctive rustling sound of packing as Cath began opening drawers at random and throwing things haphazardly into a bag. "Just take care of Sara for me until I get there."
"Yeah, of course." Morgan nodded eagerly. "Just, get here soon."
Catherine had recalled that conversation so many times in the last couple of weeks. The tentative concern at receiving the late-night phone call, the heart-stopping moment when Morgan had uttered those painful words. Even now, it still made her wince.
She would have come back anyway, even if Morgan had said that Sara was going to be fine. She would have needed to see it for herself.
And it was that conversation that convinced her that what she was about to do was the right thing.
Doing this would mean that she would always be here for her friends, no matter what happened.
The truth was, she never should have left.
"Catherine, hi."
She looked up and smiled, shaking away the reminiscent thoughts as she rose instinctively from her seat to greet the Sheriff.
"Sherry. Thank you for meeting with me." Cath cleared her throat, sinking back down and waiting for the waitress to fill two mugs of sludge masquerading as coffee.
"Well, you said you wanted to talk." Sheriff Listen pointed out, making herself comfortable in the booth.
"Yeah, I did." Cath licked her lips slowly, tracing a scar in the table sitting between them. "I wanted to ask about the job in Vegas – if it's still available, that is."
Sherry frowned, studying Catherine carefully over the rim of her coffee mug as she took a long, contemplative sip.
"Does this mean that you've reconsidered?" She asked at last, sitting forward. Cath nodded slowly, flicking her blue eyes up to meet the dark ones analysing her own features.
"Yeah, I have."
She had expected some kind of interrogation on the matter, some questions about her change of heart. But there was none. Sherry took another large mouthful of her coffee, pulled a face at the bitter taste, and extracted her cell phone from her pocket.
"I'll have the paperwork drawn up." She stated simply, sliding out of the booth. "Come to my office tomorrow and we'll finalise the details." She moved to leave but paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes at the former CSI. "I'm glad you came around. Vegas hasn't been the same without you."
X x x
"You're sure about this?" DB asked, making a point of closing the door behind them.
"Yeah, I am." Cath breathed, sliding her hands into her back pockets in an attempt to stop them from fidgeting. "I wasn't expecting a parade or anything, but I at least thought you'd be pleased."
"Oh, of course I am." He chuckled, placing a hand on her arm briefly as he passed her en route to his cluttered desk. "I'm just surprised. I didn't even know you were considering moving back."
"I wasn't." She exhaled. "But with everything that's happened, with Sara…"
"Catherine, Sara's going to be okay." He promised, cutting her off. "We're not going to let things get out of hand like that again."
"I know that." She agreed. "I just … I'm not sure I can leave again."
He took off his glasses and tapped them to his chin, analysing her face carefully. He had never seen the usually strong woman look as unsure of herself as she did right now. That said, there was a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn't noticed before either.
"I'm missing something here aren't I." He noted at last.
A guilty smile crept across her face, silently confirming his suspicions. However, to her relief, he decided not to press the issue further.
"Have you told Sara yet?" He asked instead, replacing his glasses on his face.
"No." She breathed, her expression faltering slightly. "No, I haven't figured out how I'm going to do that yet."
X x x
"Hey Hodges." Sara greeted, her attention already submerged in a folder as she ambled into his lab. "You got anything for me?"
"When don't I?" He flashed a grin, beckoning her to the microscope. "The fibres found in your victim's nose were silk. But, that's not all." He produced a second sample for her to view. "The silk in question is ampullate silk, produced by an arachnid to create the outer rim of a web."
"Spider silk." Sara translated, mildly impressed by the discovery.
"The silk of a Madagascar Golden Orb Spider to be precise." The lab rat added with a cocky smirk.
As she straightened up to process this intriguing piece of evidence, tilting her head to the side in thought, she sensed Hodges leaning against the counter beside her with a look of blatant inquisitiveness on his face. She flicked her eyes towards him, quirking an eyebrow.
"Was there something else?"
Taking the opportunity with both hands, he stood up straight and pursed his lips.
"I'm curious, now that she's staying is she still going to be working in the lab? I mean, not that that wouldn't be good but … too many cooks, and all that."
Sara shook her head, blinking in bewilderment at the confused roll of thoughts.
"Hodges, what are you talking about?"
"Well, I just mean that between Sheriff Liston and Conrad calling the shots, and then DB running the lab … with Catherine heading up the Forensic Science Commission, things could get complicated."
Sara stared at him, eyes wide as his words slowly fell into place.
Catherine … in Vegas … permanently.
Without bothering to dignify Hodges' question with an answer, she spun on her heels and damn-near sprinted from his lab.
He stared after her, glancing around to see if anyone else had witnessed the puzzling behaviour.
"Something I said?"
X x x
"Hey." He coughed, ambling up to the lone figure.
Catherine looked up, blinking against the bright sun.
"Hi." She smiled, gesturing to the seat opposite her. Vartann clambered onto the bench, folding his hands on the table.
"I was hoping I'd find you here." He explained, gesturing to the outdoor café. They had come here a couple of times when they were dating; Catherine liked this place. She always said it was a welcome change from the usual tawdry restaurants on the strip.
"Were you looking for me?" She enquired curiously, taking a bite of her sandwich.
It had been so long since he'd actually seen his ex; he took the opportunity to study her. Before she had left Las Vegas, she had been worn down and emotionally battered. But now, she looked relaxed, calm. She looked happy.
"I heard that you're staying in Vegas?" He asked at last.
"Yeah, I am." She blinked, surprised. "Where did you hear that from?"
"It's all around the station." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured I'd find out the details from the source."
She pursed her lips, biting back a smile.
"Well, I just thought with everything that's happened with Sara … I'm better off staying here. I can't leave her again, not now."
"That's it?" He raised a sceptical eyebrow. "You're staying because of Sara?"
She took a deep breath, tipping her head back towards the sun. Her golden hair shimmered in the light, her eyes dancing like crystal blue waves on the tide. In all truth, he had never seen her look so care-free.
"Yeah," she exhaled at last, shooting him a lazy smile. "Yeah, I guess I am."
X x x
"Hey." Sara greeted, sashaying through the house. She tossed her bag onto the couch, taking a moment to scan the living area. Ornaments had changed places, an unfamiliar jacket was slung across the back of a chair, new DVDs littered the floor beneath the TV. Catherine had only been here for a couple of weeks and already she had managed to make the place her own.
"Hi." The very woman smiled at her from the kitchen. "You hungry?"
"Yeah." Sara hummed, sliding onto a stool. They hadn't spoken since their earlier awkward conversation, but it was clear from Catherine's cheerful demeanour that that couldn't be further from her mind right now.
"So, I heard some interesting news today." The brunette pursed her lips.
"Really?" Cath asked from her position half-in the fridge, before emerging with an armful of salad ingredients.
"Yeah. Apparently you're moving back to Vegas."
Cath stilled, her eyes drifting closed for a moment.
"Who blabbed?" She asked, turning slowly to face Sara across the breakfast bar.
"Does it matter?" Sara challenged. "The point is that you didn't."
"I wanted you to hear it from me." Catherine assured her. "I just wasn't sure how to tell you. And somehow word got out before I could stop it."
"I don't understand." Sara shook her head with a bemused scowl. "Where has this even come from? You never said anything about this to me."
"But, this is what you wanted, right?" Cath frowned, suddenly less self-assured about the whole arrangement.
"I …" Sara shifted, her brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know what I want." She replied honestly, throwing her hands out helplessly.
Catherine swept around the bench until she was stood in front of Sara and took both the brunette's hands between her own.
"But us; I mean … I'm not imagining what happened yesterday, am I?"
Sara chewed on her lower lip, searching Catherine's pleading gaze. She didn't offer an answer, but the silent staring contest was enough to convince Cath that she was right and settle some of her fears.
"Honey you said it yourself, we can't go back." She mumbled, leaning her whole body against Sara's. "But, we can go forwards. If you want to?"
"What about my marriage?" Sara sighed, leaning back and dragging a hand through her hair, if for no reason other than to put a bit more physical distance between them. Being so close to the attractive blonde was pleasing in more ways than one, but it did nothing for her ability to think logically.
"What about it?" Cath frowned, her voice beginning to waver slightly. "You said yourself that it was over."
"Yeah, only just." Sara countered softly. "I'm not sure I can just dive into another relationship straight away."
"Okay." Cath dragged another stool closer and hopped onto it, resting her hands on Sara's knees in an attempt to hold the woman in place. "We don't have to rush into anything. We don't have to do anything at all, if you don't want to. All I want to know is whether there is a chance, one day…"
Sara flicked her gaze up, considering the question. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Catherine – in all truth, she had been from day one, but then most people were.
But could she honestly see herself moving on with the woman? Her husband's best friend?
"On one condition." She murmured at last, a playful smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Next time you decide to up and move cities, I don't want to hear about it from Hodges."