Warrick walked into the break room twenty minutes before shift, grinning at Catherine and Nick as he sat at the table. Catherine noticed his cat-that-ate-the-canary look immediately, and gave him a quizzical look. "What's up with you?"
"I found out a secret. About the secret life of our girl Sara."
"Really?" Catherine's tone was intrigued and Nick was staring at him, googly-eyed. "So?" Catherine demanded when Warrick let the pause stretch.
He checked over his shoulder and leaned in; Catherine and Nick followed suit, huddling together over the center of the break room table. "So I found out from a friend of mine in the PD that Sara is becoming somewhat of a regular at the shooting range downtown." He glanced over his shoulder again. "With Brass. Apparently, they are in there once a week."
He leaned back, enjoying the look of surprise and shock on his co-workers' faces. "Sara?" was Catherine's reply, to which Nick added an outraged, "Brass? You've got to be kidding me." Warrick shook his head solemnly. "Nope."
Catherine sat back in her chair thoughtfully. "Huh. So some of those times we were inviting her out to dinner, she was sneaking off with Brass?" Her tone was teasing, but the way she said it implied a scandal, and she was rewarded with NIck's look of horror at the thought.
"No way. No way. I refuse to believe it," he said, shaking his head in denial.
"Believe what?" asked Sara from the door. All three looked up at her with an expression of some degree of amusement, interest, and horror, and Sara's eyes widened when she realized exactly who they had been talking about. As the silence stretched, Sara examined her co-workers faces carefully, trying to figure out what exactly they had been saying about her. Catherine seemed to be viewing her with a new respect, Warrick just smiled at her happily, and Nick looked like he swallowed a whole cup of coffee down his airway and was trying desperately to breath.
"Ok..." Sara said slowly as she walked further into the room and took a seat at the table. "I think I know 'who' the topic of conversation is." Her co-workers made the classic, guilty glances at each other, and Sara smiled in spite of herself. "I don't know the 'what' though. Anyone care to share?" she asked sweetly, sweeping her gaze around the table to catch everyone's eyes.
Warrick laughed, good-naturedly. "You caught us. I was just telling Cat and Nick," he indicated the two guilty-looking faces across from them, "that I heard you've been burning up the shooting range with Brass lately." He lightly punched her on the shoulder, obviously enjoying catching her and her co-workers out.
"It's not exactly a secret," Sara replied, looking around the table at her co-workers with an amused grin, until she had to laugh at Nick's outraged expression.
"But you. And Brass," Nick sputtered, clearly unable to understand the two of them spending any time together. Or else, Sara thought, he was thinking some pretty twisted thoughts.
Sara nodded her head, grinning broadly at Nick's discomfort. "We were just there today, as a matter of fact." Catherine was still sitting back in her chair, staring at her with a mixture of admiration and fascination while Nick seemed to trying to process the information. "What?" she asked, her hands flying wide for emphasis.
Catherine grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "It's just... unexpected. You've been so... quiet lately," she said, trying to explain. "Finding out anything about how you've been spending your off time is big news."
"If this ranks as prime water-cooler gossip, then this must be a slow news week," Sara commented dryly, but secretly she was pleased. While it wasn't pleasant to find herself the topic of the conversation, the way they were relating to her was a welcome change from the way they had been tiptoeing around her for months. Warrick, who was enjoying the moment as much as she was, slid an arm around her shoulder and squeezed, jerking his head at Nick and winking at her in shared camaraderie. Nick glared for another minute at being the butt of the joke before his good-natured personality took over and he joined in the laughter around the table. When Grissom came into the break room, even he noticed the relaxed atmosphere and animated conversation flying around the room. Mostly, he noticed Sara's huge smile and Warrick's arm still loosely draped over her shoulder.
Later, in the locker room, Warrick sidled up to her apologetically, with a hang-dog look somewhat spoiled by the grin he couldn't completely hide. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be spreading gossip about you behind your back. It's just, you know, we're all trying to figure you out. Am I forgiven?" His sad expression was just the right side of comical, and elicited a smile from Sara.
She swatted at him playfully, tagging him on the shoulder. "Brat." Her sigh was over-the-top theatrical. "You had Nicky thinking Brass and I were..." She shook her head in mock disgust. "I can't even verbalize what he was thinking."
His grin broke through, then. "You have to admit, that was really funny." She laughed in agreement, feeling again warmth from her co-workers that had been missing for months.
Warrick must have sensed her thoughts, because he paused at the door of the locker room before leaving. "Hey, Sara?" When she looked up, the soft expression on his face surprised her, as did his words. "It's good to have you back."
"I found out a secret. About the secret life of our girl Sara."
"Really?" Catherine's tone was intrigued and Nick was staring at him, googly-eyed. "So?" Catherine demanded when Warrick let the pause stretch.
He checked over his shoulder and leaned in; Catherine and Nick followed suit, huddling together over the center of the break room table. "So I found out from a friend of mine in the PD that Sara is becoming somewhat of a regular at the shooting range downtown." He glanced over his shoulder again. "With Brass. Apparently, they are in there once a week."
He leaned back, enjoying the look of surprise and shock on his co-workers' faces. "Sara?" was Catherine's reply, to which Nick added an outraged, "Brass? You've got to be kidding me." Warrick shook his head solemnly. "Nope."
Catherine sat back in her chair thoughtfully. "Huh. So some of those times we were inviting her out to dinner, she was sneaking off with Brass?" Her tone was teasing, but the way she said it implied a scandal, and she was rewarded with NIck's look of horror at the thought.
"No way. No way. I refuse to believe it," he said, shaking his head in denial.
"Believe what?" asked Sara from the door. All three looked up at her with an expression of some degree of amusement, interest, and horror, and Sara's eyes widened when she realized exactly who they had been talking about. As the silence stretched, Sara examined her co-workers faces carefully, trying to figure out what exactly they had been saying about her. Catherine seemed to be viewing her with a new respect, Warrick just smiled at her happily, and Nick looked like he swallowed a whole cup of coffee down his airway and was trying desperately to breath.
"Ok..." Sara said slowly as she walked further into the room and took a seat at the table. "I think I know 'who' the topic of conversation is." Her co-workers made the classic, guilty glances at each other, and Sara smiled in spite of herself. "I don't know the 'what' though. Anyone care to share?" she asked sweetly, sweeping her gaze around the table to catch everyone's eyes.
Warrick laughed, good-naturedly. "You caught us. I was just telling Cat and Nick," he indicated the two guilty-looking faces across from them, "that I heard you've been burning up the shooting range with Brass lately." He lightly punched her on the shoulder, obviously enjoying catching her and her co-workers out.
"It's not exactly a secret," Sara replied, looking around the table at her co-workers with an amused grin, until she had to laugh at Nick's outraged expression.
"But you. And Brass," Nick sputtered, clearly unable to understand the two of them spending any time together. Or else, Sara thought, he was thinking some pretty twisted thoughts.
Sara nodded her head, grinning broadly at Nick's discomfort. "We were just there today, as a matter of fact." Catherine was still sitting back in her chair, staring at her with a mixture of admiration and fascination while Nick seemed to trying to process the information. "What?" she asked, her hands flying wide for emphasis.
Catherine grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "It's just... unexpected. You've been so... quiet lately," she said, trying to explain. "Finding out anything about how you've been spending your off time is big news."
"If this ranks as prime water-cooler gossip, then this must be a slow news week," Sara commented dryly, but secretly she was pleased. While it wasn't pleasant to find herself the topic of the conversation, the way they were relating to her was a welcome change from the way they had been tiptoeing around her for months. Warrick, who was enjoying the moment as much as she was, slid an arm around her shoulder and squeezed, jerking his head at Nick and winking at her in shared camaraderie. Nick glared for another minute at being the butt of the joke before his good-natured personality took over and he joined in the laughter around the table. When Grissom came into the break room, even he noticed the relaxed atmosphere and animated conversation flying around the room. Mostly, he noticed Sara's huge smile and Warrick's arm still loosely draped over her shoulder.
Later, in the locker room, Warrick sidled up to her apologetically, with a hang-dog look somewhat spoiled by the grin he couldn't completely hide. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be spreading gossip about you behind your back. It's just, you know, we're all trying to figure you out. Am I forgiven?" His sad expression was just the right side of comical, and elicited a smile from Sara.
She swatted at him playfully, tagging him on the shoulder. "Brat." Her sigh was over-the-top theatrical. "You had Nicky thinking Brass and I were..." She shook her head in mock disgust. "I can't even verbalize what he was thinking."
His grin broke through, then. "You have to admit, that was really funny." She laughed in agreement, feeling again warmth from her co-workers that had been missing for months.
Warrick must have sensed her thoughts, because he paused at the door of the locker room before leaving. "Hey, Sara?" When she looked up, the soft expression on his face surprised her, as did his words. "It's good to have you back."