You guys really are the best. Well, here's a chapter that doesn't involve Kait and Nick. At least part of it anyway. I'm starting with Warrick/Sara. I apologize for the extremely out-there characterizations. Warrick and Sara as a couple are VERY hard to write. Also, I mentioned before that my writing my be cut down because of school and work responsibilities. I'd like to update that to my writing DEFINITELY being cut down. My class schedule includes Honors Spanish, Honors Chemistry, AP European History, and Trig. Those are the most difficult classes I registered for, so I will be VERY busy with them and work. Here we go anyway...

Also, just for the record, I have nothing against interracial dating myself. I actually defend it when my stepfather says things that shouldn't be said in polite conversation about it. My stepfather and I don't get along to begin with and have VERY different views of the world. I just wanted to say that so that no one takes any offense from this part.


Telling Dad and Moving On: Part 4
By LissaMarie
September 1-8, 2002


Sara sat in the uncomfortable kitchen chair staring at the plate that was set in front of her. More accurately, she was looking intently at the "food" on the plate. Her gaze lifted to her companion.

"It just doesn't look normal, does it?" she asked Warrick of the crooked mold that was supposed to be meatless meatloaf on her plate (I need something entertaining, so I stole Harm's -- from JAG -- "famous" meatless meatloaf. I hope this doesn't bug anyone.).

"Now that you bring it up..." Warrick admitted trying to keep his laughter in check. "It does sort of remind me of the time my grandmother got me this puppy that wasn't paper-trained at all, and he--"

"I get the point," Sara interrupted trying to look at him sternly. The expression of pure innocence on his face managed to make her chuckle nevertheless. "Now that we've established that my cooking looks a lot like puppy crap, maybe we should order out or something."

"Or you could learn to cook," Warrick suggested ducking just in time to miss the cloth napkin that had been thrown at his head.

"I didn't see you out there trying to make anything, and it IS your kitchen."

"Hey, I've already discovered that I'm beyond help when it comes to culinary skill," Warrick shot back. The playful banter that came to the two of them naturally through the previous months was a welcomed distraction from the case they were working on.

"And you think I am? I somehow screwed up a step-by-step instructional recipe," Sara reminded him picking up her plate and showing it to him. "Besides, my learning to cook won't get us food now, and I'm starving." At Warrick's grin, she continued. "For food. Pizza or Chinese?"

"Whatever you want. I'm going to go stretch out on the couch. Let me know when it's here?" Warrick stood up and rubbed his eyes.

"Sure. Vegetable pizza good for you?"

"Great." He made his way out to the living room and carefully sat down. It was almost 6:00, and they had been at his house for just over an hour. He had gone into work a few hours early the day before, so he had been at the office for somewhere around 24 hours straight. He had down that plenty of times before, but his body protested this time. He was getting old...er.

"Should be here in a half hour," Sara whispered to him as she entered the room. She noticed that he didn't open his eyes but knew he was awake. Gingerly sitting down on the edge of the sofa by his waist, she ran her hands up his well-toned chest. "Mind if I join you?"

Instead of reminding her of the small size of the couch, Warrick turned onto his side and welcomed her into his arms. They laid in silence for a few minutes before he heard Sara speak.

"What could make a person do those kind of things?"

Good question. "I don't know. We'll have to remember to ask when we catch the guy."

Sara smiled. "Do you really think that we'll catch him?" Her voice was soft and completely unlike her usual self-confident tone. She sounded more like a lost little girl than a well educated scientist.

Her change of character didn't go unnoticed by Warrick, who pulled her closer to him. "I know we will. He made mistakes. It's just a matter of time before he makes another one." Warrick tried to reassure her, but he was uncertain himself.

Sara decided to change the subject. "What do you think the people at work would say if they saw us right now?" She threaded her fingers through his and placed their clasped hands against her stomach. Against her back, she felt Warrick's chest quake with chuckles.

"I really don't know. They couldn't look down on it. We'd really be just another couple in the office," he simplified.

"Has Nick told you what is going on with him and Kait?"

"Nope. Not for my lack of trying. There's the two of them, and then there's Catherine and Grissom--"

"Catherine and Grissom? Since when?" Sara interrupted, turning to face him.

"For awhile, I think. It's not really any of my business, so I try to stay out of it. Lately, though, it seems like they're spending a lot of time together. You know, coming in for shift together, that sort of thing," Warrick told her. He pulled Sara closer to him and closed his eyes.

"So you think that both Kait and Nick AND Grissom and Catherine are in a relationship like ours?"

"Not Nick and Kait. I think they have a little LESS of a relationship than we do," Warrick mock-growled into her ear, and he started kissing her neck.

Sara giggled--A sound Warrick himself was still getting used to--and pulled his lips down to hers.

Then the doorbell rang.

"If we kill him, we won't have to pay," Sara suggested in a tone that made the idea seem completely logical. She laid down on her back to allow Warrick to get up to get the door. After their first few meals together, she had given up on trying to get him to let her pay, so she watched him grab his wallet from the coffee table and walk toward the door. Rolling off the couch to her feet, she followed him.

Warrick gave the older man that was delivering their pizza the money he owed him plus a tip when he caught the man's eyes traveling behind him. He followed the deliveryman's gaze and realized that he was looking at Sara, not with the expression of a man admiring a woman, but of a man shocked and almost disgusted. It wasn't the first time that he and Sara had received looks like that, but it didn't get easier. It seemed that every time they went out there was someone that said something about them behind their backs.

Warrick schooled his features to show no emotion and took the food before closing the door. It was obvious to him that Sara had seen what he had since she was out of the somewhat playful mood she had been in when he had left the room and a frown was evident on her face. They made their way to the dining room table and sat down to eat both remembering another time that they had eaten dinner together.

That time had been much more uncomfortable.

* * * *


I got the idea for this from something that happened to a friend and I when we went out together. He's Hispanic, and I'm a VERY pale Irish-American. We had a...difficult and very uncomfortable time at the restaurant we selected. So I just made it a little more grown up (I'm 16, so I'd go to places a little different than those 30-something people attend) with a few alterations (It's an abridged version). Sara's reactions are what mine were. People can just be so rude sometimes.


The restaurant that Warrick had brought her to made Sara's eyes widen. When he had told her to dress up, she had thought that they would go to some place nice, but what she had in mind was nothing like where they were. Antonio's (I made up a pizza place in DD, and I'm making up a restaurant in this fic. Deal with it *g*) was one of the most expensive restaurants in Las Vegas. She had no idea how he could even afford it.

"I need something to spend my money on now," he whispered in her ear as if he had read her mind.

Sara flushed at the memory that popped up at that remark. She remembered--all too well--his gambling problem. They walked side by side into the restaurant both enjoying their first "real" date as far as they had gotten with it.

"May I help you?" the host behind the podium asked in a tone that was supposed to be friendly but came out cold.

"Reservations for Brown," Warrick offered as if he didn't notice the hostility at all. He could feel Sara tense next to him and moved close to her lightly touching her hand.

"You must be mistaken, sir. We have no reservations under that name," the man responded after looking down at his portfolio. He smiled mock-politely at Warrick and didn't see Sara crane her neck to see what her had read.

"Yes, you do," she informed him in the voice she always used when telling a suspect about the evidence she had collected that would put him away for the remaining years of his natural life (How would you describe that tone?).

The man had the decency to blush slightly. "I must have missed that." His words portrayed the same arrogance that they had before.

"Maybe you should see a doctor about that. It could be something serious," Sara told him. She was careful to keep her tone even and knowledgeable. She was a criminalist; she had to keep her emotions in check all the time. One would think that it would begin to come easy. One would be wrong.

"I think I will. Thank you. Your table is right this way." He led them to the back of the restaurant to a table tucked in a corner, walking away when neither Warrick or Sara said anything.

"And they call us ignorant," Warrick mumbled looking up at Sara. "So, are we having fun yet?"

"Does that happen to you a lot?" Sara asked gently. She looked from him down to the menu on the table.

"No, not really. I also don't regularly come to places like this," Warrick picked up his menu to avoid looking around. He could feel the overt stares that had made their way to he and Sara.

Sara leaned over the table toward him careful to make sure the low cut neckline of her dress didn't reveal too much as she did so. "Why don't we just go somewhere else? We aren't going to enjoy ourselves here, and we'll just be uncomfortable all night. This is Vegas; there are plenty of things for us to do." She leaned back in her chair looking around. "I know you wanted to do something nice tonight, but I don't want to be somewhere we aren't welcome. We get that enough at work."

Warrick sighed and put his menu down. He heard a harsh whisper behind him that was something about "their kind" and rolled his eyes. "If that is what you want." Both stood up gracefully and started for the door. One couple gave them small smiles that were sympathetic, but no one else did anything except watch them leave.

They went to eat at a small cafe and spent the remaining hours of the evening at a club before going back to Warrick's apartment to forget about the rest of their date.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Just a personal note for anyone who is curious, my friend and I did end up leaving the restaurant, ate at a small cafe, and went to a club before going to our SEPARATE homes to forget about the beginning of the night.

I wanted to also include Grissom/Catherine in this part, but it's pretty long with just Warrick/Sara. I wanted to get this out asap because of work and school commitments that have been keeping me busy. The next part will be G/C, and the part after that will be back to the case if the next part doesn't touch it.