Apologies, this is a bit of a filler chapter

x X x

If Sara knew that Catherine was watching her, she wasn't letting on.

Eventually, when it became apparent that she was going to have to make the first move, the blonde pushed herself off the doorframe and ambled into the room.

"Making progress?" She asked, placing her hands on the bench and leaning down over Sara's shoulder.

The younger woman started, indicating that she indeed had not known she was being observed.

"Yeah, I think so." She cleared her throat, showing her supervisor the work she had done so far.

As Catherine listened to her update, nodding periodically in approval, she took the opportunity to scrutinise her young friend.

Sara was in work-mode, which automatically made her harder to read, but there were little giveaways; the deliberate lack of eye-contact, the nervous twitches of her fingers as she pointed to certain parts of her report, the subdued tone of voice.

When she came to a natural rest and promptly turned back to the work she had been engrossed in, Catherine seized her opportunity.

"So, I spoke to Ecklie." She offered pointedly, causing Sara's movements to cease. "You shouldn't have any more problems from Natalie and Vicki, but if you do, you let me know."

"You didn't have to do that." Sara mumbled sheepishly, looking away.

Catherine studied her for an uncomfortably long moment, before slowly slinking into the seat beside her, making a point of keeping one possessive arm draped across the back of her companion's chair.

"Sara," she called out gently. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The brunette shrugged, keeping her gaze low.

Sitting forward, Catherine used her free hand to grip Sara's wrist where it lay on the bench, dragging her back and forth over it.

"Would it make this easier for you if I told you that I already knew?"

Sara flinched, shooting her a startled look.

"You ... you did?"

Catherine offered a sympathetic smile and a small nod.

"Well, let's just say it wasn't exactly a shock."

"Does anyone else know ... or suspect?" Sara asked nervously, her eyes watching Catherine's fingertips caress her slender arm.

"I don't know, honey, I've never asked them." Cath laughed softly. "You know, it's nothing you need to be ashamed of."

"I know that." She mumbled.

"Then why all the secrecy?"

Sara shrugged.

"If you knew, how come you never said anything?" She deflected.

"Because it's none of my business." Cath laughed softly, perplexed by the question. "Honey, as long as you're happy and safe, I really don't care who you're with."

"Oh." This seemed to puzzle Sara, who frowned at the thought that Catherine's interest in her love life was truly welfare-based and not for the purposes of gossip. "Well, in that case, thank you."

Catherine shook her head in bemusement at the obvious confusion she had caused. Patting her hand gently, she stood up.

"Remember what I said – any more issues, you tell me."

Sara smiled, visibly more relaxed this time.

"Yeah, I will."

x X x

He dithered outside the office for a moment, twisting his hands nervously in front of him.

He didn't really know what he was hoping to achieve from this. Even if she knew something, she wouldn't tell him.

He should just retreat back to his lab and forget this whole thing.

"What can I do for you, Bobby?"

The question, called calmly from within the office, stilled his attempts at escape and instead he sloped bashfully inside, where Catherine was staring expectantly at him.

"Uh," he started ineloquently. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." She echoed curiously. "Was there a particular reason you were lurking outside my office?"

"No." He answered instinctively, before cursing himself for it. "I mean, yes there was."

She raised a questioning eyebrow, nodding for him to elaborate. Shuffling closer to the desk, he lowered his voice conspiratorially.

"I just wanted to check ... is everything okay with Sara?"

"Sara?" Cath frowned, surprised by the subject matter. "Sure, why?"

"Well, I saw the two of you talking earlier and it looked kind of intense and I just thought ..." he trailed off, feeling his cheeks heat up under Catherine's fierce scrutiny. "You know what, it doesn't matter."

As he spun on his heel to leave, Catherine rose from her seat to stop hip.

"Wait." She called. "What were you going to say?"

Reluctantly, he crept back in and released a sigh.

"I was just wondering whether it had anything to do with the visit I had from Ecklie yesterday." He confessed at last.

Cath cocked her head to the side, intrigued.

"It might." She admitted tactfully, gesturing to the chair opposite the desk and sinking back down into her own seat. "What did he want?"

Accepting the offer and sitting down, Bobby fidgeted for a moment before making himself comfortable.

"He wanted to know whether I've had any problems with anyone in the lab – particularly, if anyone had ever done or said anything which offended me."

Catherine pursed her lips, nodding in understanding. Typical Conrad – he wasn't going to take her word for it' not without digging up a little corroborating evidence first. And, naturally, Bobby would be the first place he would go.

"And, have they?"

"I might have mentioned a couple of names to him." The tech replied diplomatically.

"A couple of names on Swing?" She guessed, earning her a tight smile from him.

"I think you already know that." He mused, causing her to laugh softly.

"Yeah, I do." She hummed in agreement. Sitting forward, she folded her hands on the desk and took them back to the point of his visit. "Sara's fine. She's ... it's dealt with."

"Oh." He nodded, somewhat disbelievingly. "Good. That's good."

"Was that all you needed?" She queried when he didn't move, choosing instead to frown to himself.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, yes, that was it." He babbled, bouncing out of his chair and stumbling around it towards the door. "I was just a little worried about her, you know – if they'd been on her case too. So, I'm glad it's sorted. So, yeah – thanks, Catherine."

She chuckled at his embarrassed rambling when he finally disappeared from her view.

However, her amusement was quickly silenced when he reappeared a moment later, suddenly sombre again.

"Hey Catherine," he said softly, his smooth Texan voice unusually serious again. "Just do me a favour, keep a close eye on her. Those girls ... they've got a mean streak that runs pretty deep. However it's been 'handled', it may not be enough."