This Is Your Song
Chapter Four
Author's Notes: This chapter depends solely on alcohol to keep the plot line going. But no one has complained so far so I figured I'd keep it that way. This is more of a group chapter than a W/C chapter, but there's hinting. Thanks: To Tash, I punched this out while you were in France. I miss you so much, I'm dying here without you as a beta! To Amber, for being my stand-in beta, (and a damned good one, too) You helped me so much with this chapter! Thank you thank you thank you! Also to Allison, (we rule at moderating yahoo groups together) for just being totally cool. You're so cool. Thank you for being cool, and remember, *punches the air* MICROSCOPE! Disclaimers: CSI isn't mine, but we all know that.
By the middle of the night it was evident that my crappy invitations had paid off. The only people that showed up at the party were Gil, Warrick, Sara, and Nick, who brought the "hot waitress" Chantelle as his date.
As my alcohol supply diminished, so did the amount of intelligent conversation that went on in the room.
"So what you're telling me is that you can lower a five inch cooked spaghetti noodle down your throat, and then pull it back out again?" Warrick asked, dumbfounded. Nick nodded. "Cat, have you got any noodles? I have to see this!"
I shook my head. "There is no way I am encouraging this childish behaviour." I said, sitting beside him on the couch. Nick stretched to put his arm around Chantelle and grinned.
"Well then what do you propose we do, Catherine?" He asked me in an all-too fake dignified voice. "You're almost out of beer and Doc Robbins isn't around to make charades fun."
"How did you hear about that?" Gil asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of Sara's chair.
"Word gets around." Nick answered.
"I do know of one game you all might find interesting." Chantelle's soft voice floated across the room and we all looked up. "It's called 'I'm the Dullest Per-"
"I vote for no games at all." Sara interrupted, speaking for the first time in almost the whole night. It was now obvious why, since her words were slurred and her step on the way to the table was a tad tipsy. "Why don't we just sit here and drink?" She held up her glass of vodka and threw us a lopsided grin, attempting to stand straight without the support of the table. "Sara, why don't you sit down?" Gil asked quietly, reaching out a hand to guide her to him.
"No." She spat. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I had never seen her like this. Everyone present, besides Warrick, was a little happy, but she was flat-out drunk. A sober Sara would never have talked to Grissom like that.
Nobody said anything until we heard Warrick chuckling. "Oh man, Sara, you are totally toasted." He laughed out loud and picked up a fresh can of Pepsi. I noticed early on in the party that Warrick rarely drank. "Maybe I should drive you home.." he said, seeing the concern in Gil's eyes. I found myself hoping she wouldn't protest as he grabbed her arm and attempted to steer her toward the door. I knew Gil himself would have offered, but he'd had alcohol that night, too, and he was, if anything, a safe driver.
"I'm not leaving while she's still not leaving!" Sara said, pointing a shaking finger at me.
"I live here." I said simply, inside wondering why she cared so much that I stayed.
Sara snorted. "That's your excuse.." OK, now I was officially confused. "Once I leave, who knows what will happen between you and Grissom.." she trailed off, and was about to pour herself another drink, but Gil put a hand on her arm to stop her.
"Sara, why don't you let Warrick drive you home before you make a complete fool out of yourself?" He said, attempting to calm her down.
"Oh, come on Gil!" She yelled, slamming her fist on the table. "Do you think I don't know what's going on here?" She slanted her eyes and stared at me venomously. "The little touches, the stares back and forth, the pretty earrings you got her for her birthday-" She suddenly began to laugh, at first only a little but then she was howling, her head thrown back. "It was all a joke, wasn't it, Grissom? Everything you made me feel..." Her laughter turned into tears.
The room was silent, and Gil's head was in his hands. This was turning out to be the worst party I'd ever thrown. Why didn't I notice before how many trips Sara was taking to the vodka bottle? I could have prevented all this by being a good hostess.
"Sara, you don't know what you're saying. You're completely drunk." Gil told her.
"I'm not drunk!" She said, almost cheerfully. "I'm just enlightened! I'm glad that I can finally see the truth." She giggled. I felt like one of us should have been doing something, but nobody was moving. This was way more interesting than charades. Sara leaned forward in her chair, accidentally pouring her whole glass of vodka onto my brand new carpet. "How long has this been going on between you two?"
I looked at Gil and tried not to laugh when I saw his hilarious shocked expression. I got out of my chair to get a towel from the kitchen, proceeding to wipe up Sara's mess. Warrick got another and helped me. Grissom, I noticed, wasn't laughing about Sara's earlier comment.
"Sara, there's nothing going on between me and Catherine." I looked up to stare at him, shaking my head, telling him it wouldn't do any good. He shook his back, telling me he didn't care.
"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" Sara asked, out of nowhere. Gil looked even more shocked, and then embarrassed. He stared down at the floor while she rambled on and on about zambonis, and Charlie Brown, or something. It was barely intelligible.
"Sara..." his voice warned her.
"Is the room spinning to anyone else?" And then she was on the floor. Sprawled, her arm spread out, index finger touching Grissom's shoe. Passed out, she looked peaceful. I thanked God that her rambling was over.
"Jeez.." I whispered, slapping her cheek a bit.
Warrick came up behind me. "Just let her sleep it off." He whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine.
"I don't want her passed out on my living room floor!" I protested, shaking her shoulder and calling her name. "Sara, c'mon, wake up dammit!" She didn't. I sighed and sat, defeated, against Gil's knees, who was still in his chair.
"As much fun as this has been, I think we're gonna leave." Nick told me, standing to move toward the door. I stopped him by shouting,
"Oh no you don't! You're not driving. You drank tonight, too. I don't want anyone dead when I get to work." I stood up and motioned to the hallway. "Just stay here until shift starts."
"Catherine, I'm perfectly sober." Nick said, sighing, but knew it was pointless. "Can Chantelle drive?" I shook my head.
"She finished off my supply of Mike's. I can't drive, and neither can Gil." Warrick stood, obviously noting he would have to be the designated driver for the night.
"C'mon Nicky, hand me your keys." Nick did so and Warrick turned. "Gil, why don't you come, too?"
Gil shook his head. "I'll stay with-" He stopped, staring at the motionless form on my floor. "I'll stay for a while yet."
"Just hang out here till shift, Gris." I suggested, picking up a couple of dirty dishes and carrying them to the kitchen. "Thanks a lot, Ricky." I waved to Warrick and smiled, watching him as he trailed Nick and Chantelle. Glancing at the clock, I sighed. "One more hour."
Gil nodded. "I think Sara gets a day off."
Later on, Gil and I had finished cleaning up and were busy waiting for Sara to wake up. I noticed the way he stared at her while she lay there, but decided to ignore it. I made an attempt at conversation. "So Sara got drunk and did something stupid. I thought I'd never see the day."
"Well, it happens to all of us at one point in time." Gil said, looking at me oddly. I raised an eyebrow.
"We never talked about that night." I said softly, but he raised a hand and shook his head a little. I sighed.
"Let's keep it that way." His voice was a little louder this time, and it signaled the stirring of Sara, who was still in the same position on the floor as she had landed in.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Where the hell am I?" I rolled my eyes and walked out of the kitchen to where Gil was bent over her. Recognition washed over Sara's face and she sat up, holding her head in pain. She groaned, standing to survey her surroundings.
We were watching her so intently that I think she sensed something was wrong. "How big a fool did I make of myself tonight?" She asked us, and I moved to get her an aspirin, leaving Gil to answer her question.
"You'll remember soon enough." He said, putting his hand on her elbow and moving her to the kitchen. "Sit down and drink some coffee, take an aspirin, and then you can sleep, or something. But you're not going into work."
"I'll drive her home." I suggested. Grissom looked at me. "The alcohol will have been worked off by then." He nodded.
"Warrick should be back soon to get his Tahoe."
"Could you two quiet down?" Sara hissed, resting her cheek on my kitchen table. Apparently, she was almost totally into the sober/hangover stage. I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Walking back into the living room, I switched the TV on, flipping through channels to find something interesting. Discovery Channel, documentary on the rainforests of Brazil. I grinned, whipping around to face the kitchen. "Gil, look!" I pointed to the television set. He smiled briefly but went back to staring at Sara. "Wanna watch it with me?" I patted the space on the couch beside me.
"No thanks." He said. "But it's your favourite!" I protested. He looked at me and smiled again.
"I know." He put a hand on Sara's back and I knew what was happening. I was getting shafted for Sidle. I turned back to the Discovery Channel and within minutes was lost in the rainforest.
Author's Notes: This chapter depends solely on alcohol to keep the plot line going. But no one has complained so far so I figured I'd keep it that way. This is more of a group chapter than a W/C chapter, but there's hinting. Thanks: To Tash, I punched this out while you were in France. I miss you so much, I'm dying here without you as a beta! To Amber, for being my stand-in beta, (and a damned good one, too) You helped me so much with this chapter! Thank you thank you thank you! Also to Allison, (we rule at moderating yahoo groups together) for just being totally cool. You're so cool. Thank you for being cool, and remember, *punches the air* MICROSCOPE! Disclaimers: CSI isn't mine, but we all know that.
By the middle of the night it was evident that my crappy invitations had paid off. The only people that showed up at the party were Gil, Warrick, Sara, and Nick, who brought the "hot waitress" Chantelle as his date.
As my alcohol supply diminished, so did the amount of intelligent conversation that went on in the room.
"So what you're telling me is that you can lower a five inch cooked spaghetti noodle down your throat, and then pull it back out again?" Warrick asked, dumbfounded. Nick nodded. "Cat, have you got any noodles? I have to see this!"
I shook my head. "There is no way I am encouraging this childish behaviour." I said, sitting beside him on the couch. Nick stretched to put his arm around Chantelle and grinned.
"Well then what do you propose we do, Catherine?" He asked me in an all-too fake dignified voice. "You're almost out of beer and Doc Robbins isn't around to make charades fun."
"How did you hear about that?" Gil asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of Sara's chair.
"Word gets around." Nick answered.
"I do know of one game you all might find interesting." Chantelle's soft voice floated across the room and we all looked up. "It's called 'I'm the Dullest Per-"
"I vote for no games at all." Sara interrupted, speaking for the first time in almost the whole night. It was now obvious why, since her words were slurred and her step on the way to the table was a tad tipsy. "Why don't we just sit here and drink?" She held up her glass of vodka and threw us a lopsided grin, attempting to stand straight without the support of the table. "Sara, why don't you sit down?" Gil asked quietly, reaching out a hand to guide her to him.
"No." She spat. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I had never seen her like this. Everyone present, besides Warrick, was a little happy, but she was flat-out drunk. A sober Sara would never have talked to Grissom like that.
Nobody said anything until we heard Warrick chuckling. "Oh man, Sara, you are totally toasted." He laughed out loud and picked up a fresh can of Pepsi. I noticed early on in the party that Warrick rarely drank. "Maybe I should drive you home.." he said, seeing the concern in Gil's eyes. I found myself hoping she wouldn't protest as he grabbed her arm and attempted to steer her toward the door. I knew Gil himself would have offered, but he'd had alcohol that night, too, and he was, if anything, a safe driver.
"I'm not leaving while she's still not leaving!" Sara said, pointing a shaking finger at me.
"I live here." I said simply, inside wondering why she cared so much that I stayed.
Sara snorted. "That's your excuse.." OK, now I was officially confused. "Once I leave, who knows what will happen between you and Grissom.." she trailed off, and was about to pour herself another drink, but Gil put a hand on her arm to stop her.
"Sara, why don't you let Warrick drive you home before you make a complete fool out of yourself?" He said, attempting to calm her down.
"Oh, come on Gil!" She yelled, slamming her fist on the table. "Do you think I don't know what's going on here?" She slanted her eyes and stared at me venomously. "The little touches, the stares back and forth, the pretty earrings you got her for her birthday-" She suddenly began to laugh, at first only a little but then she was howling, her head thrown back. "It was all a joke, wasn't it, Grissom? Everything you made me feel..." Her laughter turned into tears.
The room was silent, and Gil's head was in his hands. This was turning out to be the worst party I'd ever thrown. Why didn't I notice before how many trips Sara was taking to the vodka bottle? I could have prevented all this by being a good hostess.
"Sara, you don't know what you're saying. You're completely drunk." Gil told her.
"I'm not drunk!" She said, almost cheerfully. "I'm just enlightened! I'm glad that I can finally see the truth." She giggled. I felt like one of us should have been doing something, but nobody was moving. This was way more interesting than charades. Sara leaned forward in her chair, accidentally pouring her whole glass of vodka onto my brand new carpet. "How long has this been going on between you two?"
I looked at Gil and tried not to laugh when I saw his hilarious shocked expression. I got out of my chair to get a towel from the kitchen, proceeding to wipe up Sara's mess. Warrick got another and helped me. Grissom, I noticed, wasn't laughing about Sara's earlier comment.
"Sara, there's nothing going on between me and Catherine." I looked up to stare at him, shaking my head, telling him it wouldn't do any good. He shook his back, telling me he didn't care.
"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" Sara asked, out of nowhere. Gil looked even more shocked, and then embarrassed. He stared down at the floor while she rambled on and on about zambonis, and Charlie Brown, or something. It was barely intelligible.
"Sara..." his voice warned her.
"Is the room spinning to anyone else?" And then she was on the floor. Sprawled, her arm spread out, index finger touching Grissom's shoe. Passed out, she looked peaceful. I thanked God that her rambling was over.
"Jeez.." I whispered, slapping her cheek a bit.
Warrick came up behind me. "Just let her sleep it off." He whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine.
"I don't want her passed out on my living room floor!" I protested, shaking her shoulder and calling her name. "Sara, c'mon, wake up dammit!" She didn't. I sighed and sat, defeated, against Gil's knees, who was still in his chair.
"As much fun as this has been, I think we're gonna leave." Nick told me, standing to move toward the door. I stopped him by shouting,
"Oh no you don't! You're not driving. You drank tonight, too. I don't want anyone dead when I get to work." I stood up and motioned to the hallway. "Just stay here until shift starts."
"Catherine, I'm perfectly sober." Nick said, sighing, but knew it was pointless. "Can Chantelle drive?" I shook my head.
"She finished off my supply of Mike's. I can't drive, and neither can Gil." Warrick stood, obviously noting he would have to be the designated driver for the night.
"C'mon Nicky, hand me your keys." Nick did so and Warrick turned. "Gil, why don't you come, too?"
Gil shook his head. "I'll stay with-" He stopped, staring at the motionless form on my floor. "I'll stay for a while yet."
"Just hang out here till shift, Gris." I suggested, picking up a couple of dirty dishes and carrying them to the kitchen. "Thanks a lot, Ricky." I waved to Warrick and smiled, watching him as he trailed Nick and Chantelle. Glancing at the clock, I sighed. "One more hour."
Gil nodded. "I think Sara gets a day off."
Later on, Gil and I had finished cleaning up and were busy waiting for Sara to wake up. I noticed the way he stared at her while she lay there, but decided to ignore it. I made an attempt at conversation. "So Sara got drunk and did something stupid. I thought I'd never see the day."
"Well, it happens to all of us at one point in time." Gil said, looking at me oddly. I raised an eyebrow.
"We never talked about that night." I said softly, but he raised a hand and shook his head a little. I sighed.
"Let's keep it that way." His voice was a little louder this time, and it signaled the stirring of Sara, who was still in the same position on the floor as she had landed in.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Where the hell am I?" I rolled my eyes and walked out of the kitchen to where Gil was bent over her. Recognition washed over Sara's face and she sat up, holding her head in pain. She groaned, standing to survey her surroundings.
We were watching her so intently that I think she sensed something was wrong. "How big a fool did I make of myself tonight?" She asked us, and I moved to get her an aspirin, leaving Gil to answer her question.
"You'll remember soon enough." He said, putting his hand on her elbow and moving her to the kitchen. "Sit down and drink some coffee, take an aspirin, and then you can sleep, or something. But you're not going into work."
"I'll drive her home." I suggested. Grissom looked at me. "The alcohol will have been worked off by then." He nodded.
"Warrick should be back soon to get his Tahoe."
"Could you two quiet down?" Sara hissed, resting her cheek on my kitchen table. Apparently, she was almost totally into the sober/hangover stage. I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Walking back into the living room, I switched the TV on, flipping through channels to find something interesting. Discovery Channel, documentary on the rainforests of Brazil. I grinned, whipping around to face the kitchen. "Gil, look!" I pointed to the television set. He smiled briefly but went back to staring at Sara. "Wanna watch it with me?" I patted the space on the couch beside me.
"No thanks." He said. "But it's your favourite!" I protested. He looked at me and smiled again.
"I know." He put a hand on Sara's back and I knew what was happening. I was getting shafted for Sidle. I turned back to the Discovery Channel and within minutes was lost in the rainforest.