Disclaimer: CBS owns CSI. If this is a surprise to you, I recommend
reading more fanfiction.
Spoilers: Crash and Burn, baby, Crash and Burn.
A.N. I have never had a beer. I don't know how much beer constitutes a "beer". I don't know how long it takes to drink one. I don't know if bars in the greater Las Vegas serve beer in draft or bottle. Just read and laugh at me later (after you've reviewed!).
This story is somewhat of an experiment. Actually, it's a huge experiment. And I almost got the old Catherine back too.
* * * * * * *
"Drive"
~First Round~
"I haven't had that many boy friends." Sara said, putting down her glass. "I could probably count them on my fingers."
"Really?" asked Catherine.
"Science geek in high school, bookworm in college, work-a-holic in the real world." Sara's voice was dry and more than a little sardonic. "That doesn't exactly spell social success."
Catherine said nothing. There wasn't much of a reply to that, except the light hearted one, and she didn't think that this was the time for light hearted. She watched as Sara pulled the cutlery out from the serviette that was wrapped around them. She set out the knife, fork and spoon neatly on the table between the two beers, and spread the serviette out in front of her, flattening it with her fingertips.
There wasn't a lot of noise in the bar. It was more of a pub really, or as close as you can get to a pub in Las Vegas. There was no dance floor, just a dark smoky alcove wherein stood two billiard tables. The tables was were wooden, well made and with no distinguishing marks. The bar itself was had a highly polished surface, and brass piping running along the edge of the counter. The drinks were laid out in what appeared to be alphabetical order by type on the shelves behind. There wasn't a lot of light, but as people don't come to bars to look at each other, that didn't really matter.
Catherine pulled herself up, wondering when she had gotten to the point where the first thing she did upon entering a room was catalogue everything contained within it. Too well trained, she supposed. And there wasn't really anything wrong with that. Sara didn't speak, but alternated between shredding the serviette and drinking her beer until the glass was nearing empty. Catherine had been there, and she knew that when Sara wanted to talk she would. Until then, all Catherine could do was signal the waiter.
~Round Two~
The serviette was reduced to shreds, and Sara had soaked some of the pieces in the sweat that came off her glass. The waiter had thoughtfully brought her another one when he'd replaced her beer, but she hadn't gotten to it yet. Catherine couldn't take it any more. She had to say something, anything to break the silence.
"Always had amicable break ups?" God, what had possessed her to say that.
Sara took a drink and answered slowly, "Yeah. This was sort of amicable. I mean, I didn't kill him."
If it was supposed to be funny, Catherine thought Sara needed to work on her delivery before she took her act on the road.
"I guess I always broke up with people for logistical reasons." Sara said. "I went to college across the country, so that spelled the end of my high school relationship. I went to work across the country from college, so that was gone. I moved again just as I was staring to get settled, and I've only been in Las Vegas long enough to."she cut herself off and took another drink.
Catherine lifted her own glass to cover her smile. She hadn't drank competitively in a while, but she was reasonably certain that she would be able to get Sara to talk long before she herself was too out of it to pose the important questions. There were many kinds of experience.
"This is ridiculous." exclaimed Sara, setting down her glass with a touch more force than was absolutely necessary. "I spent months telling myself, and everyone else for that matter, that he wasn't my boyfriend, and now that he isn't, urgh. This is like the people I laughed at in high school."
"We always want what we don't have Sara." Catherine pointed out ruthlessly. "The question is, do you actually want him, or do you just want him because you can't have him?"
Sara made no answer, settling instead for emptying her glass. Catherine knew she had to walk cleverly here. This was a golden opportunity, too good to waste. The waiter brought Sara her third beer and cleared away the shredded serviette. Sara began to shred the second one, and Catherine wondered if the serviette had a face.
~Round Three~
Sara had reduced the second serviette to pieces, and Catherine decided it was time to strike up the conversation again.
"He's not worth this Sara. He's not worth misery." she knew the words would be in vain, but maybe if Sara heard them soon enough she could avoid some of the grief.
"It was so little. That stupid gym bag, the finger. We didn't exactly get off to a glowing start. Then it was movies. All he ever wanted to do was go to a movie. Never dinner, never a live show, nothing but movies." her voice turned bitter "Maybe he went to movies with me, dinner with her, and shows with someone else."
"That's the spirit Sara. See him for scum. I didn't see, and look at me now." Catherine wasn't sure if that was entirely appropriate, but she didn't think Sara would care.
"I was so mad at Grissom." This was an interesting turn of events. She was doing it all by herself too, without shepherding or guidance. "I pulled up everything for him to come here for an internal investigation, and then he disregarded my report not once, but twice. I mean, I'm glad he did now, but then I was so mad. But I didn't leave him, I didn't leave the lab."
Sara paused for another drink, ran her fingers through the white confetti she had made on the table top.
"I threatened to go you know. Of course you know. The orchid was your idea." That was a surprise, Sara obviously had better people skills than Catherine thought. "And I stayed again. And again, nothing happened. Then, one day when I was abseiling out of a helicopter over a body dump in the desert, I heard an EMT throwing up in the bushes, and I innocently said 'I thought you emergency service guys were tough.' and he looked me up even though I smelled awful, and he made me feel special."
"He's a sleaze Sara. He used you."
"And I used him right back." there was something unfamiliar and more than a little scary in Sara's voice. "Did you notice how Grissom would look whenever Hank was mentioned? God, even Greg liked to rub it in his face. I thought Hank was safe, because all we did was movies, but I guess that wasn't all he was doing, and it wasn't what I wanted at all."
"What do you want Sara?" this was it, this was what Catherine was buying five beers for.
Sara took a drink and licked her lips. Catherine was amazed that, even when she was tipsy, you could still hear the wheels in Sara's mind as they spun, albeit, they sounded a little more off centre than usual.
"I want roller coasters, and Shakespeare and unexpected observations. I want cockroach races and that little quirky half smile. I want over time and classical music. I want those crazy experiments next to my dinner and I never want to smell popcorn again."
She finished her beer, and watched as Catherine asked for the bill, and paid for it. They walked out to the tahoe in silence, Sara had said so much, and Catherine had a lot to process. They drove out of the parking lot and passed the lab, where Sara's car remained in the lot. They drove the streets of Las Vegas until they got to Sara's house, and Catherine dropped her off.
"Will you be OK?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." came the reply, not half as garbled as Catherine had been expecting.
"I'll drive you to work tonight." offered Catherine "I'll call before I come."
"You'd better not forget." said Sara with a hint of a smile on her face, the first one Catherine had seen in hours "And don't go telling the boys anything behind my back. I want to see the expressions on their faces just as much as you do."
She turned and walked into the house before Catherine could say anything in reply. Shaking her head, she pulled out of the drive and prepared for the final stretch between lab and home.
The night had been full of surprises, and some of them weren't so bad after all.
* * * * * * *
A.N. That was actually fun to write. What did we think?
Spoilers: Crash and Burn, baby, Crash and Burn.
A.N. I have never had a beer. I don't know how much beer constitutes a "beer". I don't know how long it takes to drink one. I don't know if bars in the greater Las Vegas serve beer in draft or bottle. Just read and laugh at me later (after you've reviewed!).
This story is somewhat of an experiment. Actually, it's a huge experiment. And I almost got the old Catherine back too.
* * * * * * *
"Drive"
~First Round~
"I haven't had that many boy friends." Sara said, putting down her glass. "I could probably count them on my fingers."
"Really?" asked Catherine.
"Science geek in high school, bookworm in college, work-a-holic in the real world." Sara's voice was dry and more than a little sardonic. "That doesn't exactly spell social success."
Catherine said nothing. There wasn't much of a reply to that, except the light hearted one, and she didn't think that this was the time for light hearted. She watched as Sara pulled the cutlery out from the serviette that was wrapped around them. She set out the knife, fork and spoon neatly on the table between the two beers, and spread the serviette out in front of her, flattening it with her fingertips.
There wasn't a lot of noise in the bar. It was more of a pub really, or as close as you can get to a pub in Las Vegas. There was no dance floor, just a dark smoky alcove wherein stood two billiard tables. The tables was were wooden, well made and with no distinguishing marks. The bar itself was had a highly polished surface, and brass piping running along the edge of the counter. The drinks were laid out in what appeared to be alphabetical order by type on the shelves behind. There wasn't a lot of light, but as people don't come to bars to look at each other, that didn't really matter.
Catherine pulled herself up, wondering when she had gotten to the point where the first thing she did upon entering a room was catalogue everything contained within it. Too well trained, she supposed. And there wasn't really anything wrong with that. Sara didn't speak, but alternated between shredding the serviette and drinking her beer until the glass was nearing empty. Catherine had been there, and she knew that when Sara wanted to talk she would. Until then, all Catherine could do was signal the waiter.
~Round Two~
The serviette was reduced to shreds, and Sara had soaked some of the pieces in the sweat that came off her glass. The waiter had thoughtfully brought her another one when he'd replaced her beer, but she hadn't gotten to it yet. Catherine couldn't take it any more. She had to say something, anything to break the silence.
"Always had amicable break ups?" God, what had possessed her to say that.
Sara took a drink and answered slowly, "Yeah. This was sort of amicable. I mean, I didn't kill him."
If it was supposed to be funny, Catherine thought Sara needed to work on her delivery before she took her act on the road.
"I guess I always broke up with people for logistical reasons." Sara said. "I went to college across the country, so that spelled the end of my high school relationship. I went to work across the country from college, so that was gone. I moved again just as I was staring to get settled, and I've only been in Las Vegas long enough to."she cut herself off and took another drink.
Catherine lifted her own glass to cover her smile. She hadn't drank competitively in a while, but she was reasonably certain that she would be able to get Sara to talk long before she herself was too out of it to pose the important questions. There were many kinds of experience.
"This is ridiculous." exclaimed Sara, setting down her glass with a touch more force than was absolutely necessary. "I spent months telling myself, and everyone else for that matter, that he wasn't my boyfriend, and now that he isn't, urgh. This is like the people I laughed at in high school."
"We always want what we don't have Sara." Catherine pointed out ruthlessly. "The question is, do you actually want him, or do you just want him because you can't have him?"
Sara made no answer, settling instead for emptying her glass. Catherine knew she had to walk cleverly here. This was a golden opportunity, too good to waste. The waiter brought Sara her third beer and cleared away the shredded serviette. Sara began to shred the second one, and Catherine wondered if the serviette had a face.
~Round Three~
Sara had reduced the second serviette to pieces, and Catherine decided it was time to strike up the conversation again.
"He's not worth this Sara. He's not worth misery." she knew the words would be in vain, but maybe if Sara heard them soon enough she could avoid some of the grief.
"It was so little. That stupid gym bag, the finger. We didn't exactly get off to a glowing start. Then it was movies. All he ever wanted to do was go to a movie. Never dinner, never a live show, nothing but movies." her voice turned bitter "Maybe he went to movies with me, dinner with her, and shows with someone else."
"That's the spirit Sara. See him for scum. I didn't see, and look at me now." Catherine wasn't sure if that was entirely appropriate, but she didn't think Sara would care.
"I was so mad at Grissom." This was an interesting turn of events. She was doing it all by herself too, without shepherding or guidance. "I pulled up everything for him to come here for an internal investigation, and then he disregarded my report not once, but twice. I mean, I'm glad he did now, but then I was so mad. But I didn't leave him, I didn't leave the lab."
Sara paused for another drink, ran her fingers through the white confetti she had made on the table top.
"I threatened to go you know. Of course you know. The orchid was your idea." That was a surprise, Sara obviously had better people skills than Catherine thought. "And I stayed again. And again, nothing happened. Then, one day when I was abseiling out of a helicopter over a body dump in the desert, I heard an EMT throwing up in the bushes, and I innocently said 'I thought you emergency service guys were tough.' and he looked me up even though I smelled awful, and he made me feel special."
"He's a sleaze Sara. He used you."
"And I used him right back." there was something unfamiliar and more than a little scary in Sara's voice. "Did you notice how Grissom would look whenever Hank was mentioned? God, even Greg liked to rub it in his face. I thought Hank was safe, because all we did was movies, but I guess that wasn't all he was doing, and it wasn't what I wanted at all."
"What do you want Sara?" this was it, this was what Catherine was buying five beers for.
Sara took a drink and licked her lips. Catherine was amazed that, even when she was tipsy, you could still hear the wheels in Sara's mind as they spun, albeit, they sounded a little more off centre than usual.
"I want roller coasters, and Shakespeare and unexpected observations. I want cockroach races and that little quirky half smile. I want over time and classical music. I want those crazy experiments next to my dinner and I never want to smell popcorn again."
She finished her beer, and watched as Catherine asked for the bill, and paid for it. They walked out to the tahoe in silence, Sara had said so much, and Catherine had a lot to process. They drove out of the parking lot and passed the lab, where Sara's car remained in the lot. They drove the streets of Las Vegas until they got to Sara's house, and Catherine dropped her off.
"Will you be OK?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." came the reply, not half as garbled as Catherine had been expecting.
"I'll drive you to work tonight." offered Catherine "I'll call before I come."
"You'd better not forget." said Sara with a hint of a smile on her face, the first one Catherine had seen in hours "And don't go telling the boys anything behind my back. I want to see the expressions on their faces just as much as you do."
She turned and walked into the house before Catherine could say anything in reply. Shaking her head, she pulled out of the drive and prepared for the final stretch between lab and home.
The night had been full of surprises, and some of them weren't so bad after all.
* * * * * * *
A.N. That was actually fun to write. What did we think?
