Title: For Now: Homecoming
Author: Jeanine (jeanine@iol.ie)
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sara/Warrick
Spoilers: None
Feedback: Makes my day
Disclaimer: If it was in the show, it's not mine.
Archive: At my site Checkmate () , Fanfiction.net; anywhere else, please ask.
Summary: Warrick comes home
Notes: Written for the LiveJournal Writer's Choice "Homecoming" challenge. Part of the "For Now" universe, previous parts "Leaving" and "Staying" at my site, as can the Sara POV companion piece is "For Now: Surprised"
***
Until a year ago, Warrick lived in Vegas all his life. He has family there, and friends, and when he finally returns, for good, not for just a visit, there are myriad places he should go, many people he should want to see.
It's surprisingly easy to narrow it down to one place, one person.
He gets to the crime lab just in time for the change of shift, and he smiles when he sees her car in its usual place in the parking lot. It means he hasn't missed her, so he continues to the entrance of the lab, stopping dead when he sees her talking to Nick just outside the door.
He's not sure if he's surprised that she looks exactly the same, because it feels like everything else has changed. He's seen her since his leaving party, since the conversation in the locker room, their dance in the break room. He's been back on visits, she even flew to San Francisco when he was playing there. They talked, and they laughed, just like always.
But Warrick hadn't realised how much he'd missed her until just this minute, and as he looks at her now, faced with the dizzying possibility of seeing her every day, he wonders if being just her friend is going to be enough for him.
Hard on the heels of that thought is an irresistible impulse, and he takes out his cell phone, presses two on speed-dial. He sees her take out her phone, check the display, and when she answers and he hears her smiling hello, he wishes he could see her face.
"Hey" he says. "You busy?"
"Just coming off shift," she says. He hears her tell Nick who's on the line, hears Nick say hello, a message she dutifully repeats. "Where are you?"
He tries to keep back a smile. "Pretty close to home" he says, as he catches Nick's eye over Sara's shoulder, a shake of the head and finger on the lips sufficient to clue the other man in on his intentions.
Unseen by Sara, Nick nods, then taps Sara's shoulder, gesturing towards the lab with a grin. For a moment, Warrick's afraid he's going to blow it, but if Sara notices Nick's face, she ignores it, nodding acknowledgement as she asks Warrick, "So we're gonna be seeing you soon?"
He bites back a smile, because she knows that the tour is drawing to a close, just not his exact date of return. The only person who knows that is Grams, and only because with her medical history, there's no way he'd risk surprising her. Sara is a different story though, so all he says is, "I'd say it's a good bet." Before she can ask him any further questions, he jumps in with one of his own. "So what're you and Nick working on?"
"Robbery-homicide in the Orpheus," she tells him in a very don't ask tone, and he chuckles.
"Happy days," he murmurs, and he can imagine her rolling her eyes. "So, tell me," he begins then, letting his voice trail off for a moment. "Did Stokes tell you?"
Even with her back to him, he can see her frown. "Tell me what?" she demands, almost belligerently, and he grins.
"How good you look in red." Because he's always loved the colour on her, and the shirt she's wearing at the moment is a particularly flattering shade on her.
He sees her freeze as his words register with her, as the meaning sinks in. "Warrick?" she asks, her voice doubtful but hopeful.
Smiling, he steps closer to her. "Turn around Sara," he says, standing still, and it seems to take a long time before she does. Once she sees him, she doesn't react, just stares, and it seems like even longer before her face loses its blank mask.
When it does, the smile that spreads over it is like sunshine.
She smiles at him and he smiles back, and then he's standing still and she's moving towards him at speed. He just has enough time to shove his phone in his pocket before she reaches him, throwing her arms around his neck and hanging on for dear life. His reaction is immediate, wrapping his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around.
He's spent the last year playing music, but her laughter is music to his ears and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that he doesn't want to be without her ever again.
So he stands in the middle of the CSI parking lot with her in his arms, and it doesn't matter to him what people might think, or of the things he has to do, the places he has to go.
For now, he is with Sara, so he's already home.