Catherine looked all over for Sara, but couldn't find her anywhere. She started to think that maybe she had gone a little overboard with the phone call. Finally, she stopped Nick as he was going down the hall.
"Have you seen Sara?" she asked. Nick shook his head.
"Not since assignments were handed out." He said.
"But you haven't seen her since?" Catherine pressed.
"No! Why do you care, anyways? I thought you didn't like her." Nick said. Catherine waved him off and continued on her way. She spotted Warrick in the DNA lab with Greg.
"Have either of you seen Sara?" she asked, entering the room.
"Grissom's friend? She's hot." Greg said. Warrick laughed.
"Has she even spoken to you yet?" he asked.
"Shut up!" Greg shoved him.
"Ladies?" Catherine crossed her arms, unimpressed.
"No, I haven't seen her." Warrick said.
"Ditto." Greg added.
"Let me know if you find her." Catherine called on her way out. She passed the bathroom and stopped. Pushing open the door, she ran in. Sara was standing at the sink. Catherine immediately saw that something was wrong. She was clutching the counter with both hands, and she was bent over. Her breathing was shallow.
"Sara?" Catherine took a cautious step. Sara jumped, and straightened up.
"Are you okay?" Catherine asked. Sara nodded, running her hand through her hair. Catherine narrowed her eyes.
"Are you sick? You're really pale." She said.
"I'm fine." Sara replied shortly. Catherine didn't believe her, but she backed off.
"Here." She said, holding out Sara's lip gloss. Sara stepped forward, and took it.
"Thanks." She said. Then she started coughing.
"Are you sure you're alright? Should I get Grissom?" Catherine asked, concerned.
"I'm fine." Sara repeated.
"Okay...I'll see you later, then." Catherine said, backing up towards the door. Sara waved her off and turned back to the sink.
"I didn't tell anyone." Catherine said. Sara looked at her.
"About...you know." Catherine added. Sara nodded. Catherine stood for a minute, but then turned and left the bathroom.
Everyone gathered as usual for lunch. When they sat down and began passing the Chinese food buckets around, Catherine noticed something.
"Where's Sara?" she asked.
"I paged her to come." Warrick said.
"She might not." Grissom said. Everyone looked at him.
"Why not?" Catherine asked.
"She doesn't do...food...well." He said. There was a pause as everyone clicked in.
"Really?" Nick asked, lowering his voice. Grissom nodded sadly. Catherine thought back to the day when she overheard Grissom and Sara talking about food. Then she thought about Sara in the bathroom.
"Anorexic, or bulimic?" she asked almost in a whisper.
"I can't be entirely sure. And I don't believe she's stopped all together, even though she's put some weight back on." Grissom replied.
"She can't honestly think she needs to change anything about herself." Warrick said.
"It's not really that. Sara.just doesn't worry about eating. It's not top priority on her list." Grissom continued.
"Work?" Warrick guessed. Grissom nodded again.
"She stresses herself out. Sara's very determined in whatever she does. Pretty soon, she gets so stressed out that she makes herself sick." He explained. As if on cue, Nick spotted Sara walk by.
"Sara!" he called. Sara stopped. She looked like she was surprised to see everyone there.
"Come sit." Nick said, gesturing to the empty chair next to him. Sara shook her head.
"I have to go and..." she began, then saw Grissom looking at her sternly.
"Come eat something." He said. Sara paused stubbornly, as if she wasn't going to, but then slowly entered the room and took the seat next to Nick. "
What would you like?" Warrick asked. Sara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Feeling over defensive, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
"Actually, I don't like Chinese food." She said, glad to have found a loophole. Until Grissom crushed it.
"That's why I got you a salad." He said, pushing it at her. She looked at him, and he stared her down. Finally, she picked up a fork and started stabbing little pieces of lettuce around the edges of the bowl. Everyone tried not to pay attention, and Catherine started up a conversation. Suddenly, Sara's phone rang, and conversation stopped all around.
"That's me. I'll be right back." Sara stood up, looking relieved.
"Sara!" Grissom called after her, but it was too late. He sighed, looking at her almost untouched salad.
"She's not coming back, is she?" Nick asked quietly. Grissom shook his head.
Sara was working on her laptop when Grissom approached her.
"Sara..." he began.
"Don't start with me on lunch, Grissom." Sara cut him off.
"We'll talk about that later." Grissom said. Sara shook her head.
"I need you to go with Catherine." Grissom explained.
"Fabulous." Sara replied sarcastically.
"There was a robbery at a local convenience store. Cashier dead. I need you two to go and dust for fingerprints." Grissom continued. Sara shut her laptop and finally looked up at him.
"Where?" she asked.
"About 20 minutes from here." Grissom said. Sara stood up just as Catherine came into the room.
"Ready?" she asked, and Sara was surprised at her friendly tone. She nodded, and started for the door. Grissom grabbed her arm.
"We'll talk later." He said.
"Can't wait." Sara replied unenthusiastically, grabbing her jacket and following Catherine out of the room.
The ride to the store was relatively peaceful. About halfway there, Catherine spoke up.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to stop for something to eat first?" she asked. Sara looked at her.
"Grissom told you, didn't he?" she asked.
"What?" Catherine asked, acting as if she didn't know.
"I figured he did. He told you guys at lunch, right?" Sara asked. Catherine sighed.
"There's nothing wrong with me, you know. I eat plenty." Sara continued.
"Okay..." Catherine said, not wanting to get into it. Sara shook her head.
"Have you eaten anything today?" Catherine couldn't resist asking.
"Uh, I just had lunch with you guys, remember?" Sara asked.
"Oh, you mean those three pieces of lettuce you picked out of the bowl? Yeah, I remember. I meant other than that." Catherine said. Sara didn't answer.
"That's what I thought." Catherine added.
"I'm perfectly fine. I don't see why everyone worries so much." Sara replied.
Catherine pulled into the store parking lot and shut off the engine. They both got out and headed for the door. The scene was empty except for one police officer named Randy.
"Where is everybody?" Catherine asked.
"Well, you're kind of late. Press has already cleared out." Randy pointed out.
"Hey, we got here as soon as we were told." Catherine shot back. Randy stepped aside.
"It's all yours." He said.
"Thank you." Catherine arched her eyebrows, and ducked under the caution tape. Randy smiled at Sara as she walked past him. As soon as they got inside, Catherine began dusting the counter top. Sara hopped over a knocked over display of paper towels, and crouched next to the body.
"Hey, don't touch." Catherine said, peering over the counter at her. Sara held up her hands.
"I know, I know." She said. Catherine watched as she reached over to where her kit was. But it wasn't the kit she grabbed; it was her purse. She pulled out a double mirror compact, opened it and began using the mirror to examine the body. Catherine smiled.
"Clever." She said.
"The wonders of make-up." Sara murmured.
"I'm going to check out the back room." Catherine said.
"Alright." Sara snapped her compact shut, tossed it in her purse and got up to begin dusting the cash register. Randy stayed with her.
"I haven't seen you around any crime scenes before." He said.
"I just started here yesterday." Sara explained.
"You seem to know what you're doing. Plus, you're not queasy over the DB, so I'm guessing you've done this before. Where'd you come from?" Randy asked.
"New York." Sara replied. Randy nodded.
"A New York girl? I should've known." He said.
"Really? Why's that?" Sara asked distractedly.
"Well, you're beautiful, for one thing." Randy began. Sara's head snapped up. He was smiling at her. She shook her head and moved to the other side of the counter. Randy followed her. Sara picked up a fiber of some sort, and encased it in a bag. She labeled it and placed it aside.
"You're pretty meticulous. You've got it all, don't you?" Randy asked. He ran his hand down her arm, and she stepped away from him.
"I think we can take it from here." She said.
"I think I should stay here, to protect you." Randy said, stepping towards her until she was cornered up against the counter. He put his hands around Sara's waist.
"Leave me alone!" Just as Sara was pushing him away, Catherine came back in. But instead of standing back and watching, she actually jumped in.
"Unless you want to be facing a criminal lawsuit, I suggest you take your hands off of her." She ordered, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him away. Randy backed up.
"I think you two can handle it from here. I'll wait outside." He said. Catherine crossed her arms.
"I'll be speaking to your supervisor." She said. Randy narrowed his eyes, then turned and stormed off. Catherine turned to Sara, who froze.
"Check that display table for prints." She said with a small smile. Sara was startled, but smiled back. About half an hour later, they exited the convenience store. Randy was sitting on a bench, smoking. He watched them get into the Tahoe and drive off.
Catherine drove into the parking lot of a local restaurant. Sara looked around.
"What are you doing?" she asked as Catherine cut the engine.
"Let's go." She said.
"Go where?" Sara asked.
"It's late. We're going to have dinner." Catherine explained.
"I'm not hungry." Sara replied quickly.
"I don't care, really." Catherine said, getting out of the truck. Sara didn't move. Catherine came around to her side and opened the door. She grabbed Sara's arm and pulled her out of the truck. She led the way to the restaurant, with Sara stumbling behind her.
"Catherine..." Sara protested, but Catherine wasn't listening. They sat down in a booth and a waiter came to serve them almost immediately.
"Hamburger and fries." Catherine said.
"Both of you?" the waiter asked. Catherine nodded.
"I don't eat meat." Sara said.
"Fine. Make hers a veggie burger." Catherine said. The waiter left.
"Catherine, I don't eat this stuff." Sara pointed out.
"Oh well. There's a first time for everything." Catherine shrugged.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened back there." Sara said. Catherine just looked at her, so Sara rushed on.
"I can't help it. I mean, guys just...I don't know. I guess it's my fault. You're right, I don't belong here. I thought it would be different from New York, but it's not." Sara said, rubbing her forehead with her hand.
"No, Sara. You're wrong. I was wrong. You do belong here. You're great at what you do." Catherine said.
"How would you know? You haven't seen me do anything besides check out a corpse with a mirror. Oh, and get hit on inappropriately by various guys." Sara shot back.
"I looked into your records." Catherine explained. Sara looked up at her.
"Turns out, I was dead wrong. You're pretty amazing for a Serie 5." Catherine continued.
"And I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I judged you, and I shouldn't have." She added.
"...Don't worry about." Sara said.
"No. I want to know that you forgive me. I feel horrible for the way I acted." Catherine replied. Sara paused, then nodded.
"I forgive you." She said. Catherine was relieved.
"But, now you have me worried." She said.
"Correction. Grissom has you worried." Sara answered.
"I'm not kidding. You need to eat. I know it doesn't seem important to you, but it is." Catherine said.
"I do eat." Sara lied.
"No you don't. You make excuses, and then you work too hard and make yourself sick." Catherine said. Sara saw the waiter heading their way.
"Catherine. Please don't make me eat this stuff." She begged. Catherine sighed, and thought about it.
"We'll leave. If you promise to eat something tonight." She said. Sara nodded quickly.
"Okay, fine." She said.
"I don't trust you for a minute. So you and me are going to get something to eat after shift." Catherine crossed her arms.
"I'd like that." Sara smiled.
"Really? You mean.you don't hate me for being such a bitch?" Catherine asked.
"I don't hate people. Period." Sara shrugged. Catherine smiled.
"You really are a great person." She said.
"You're not too bad yourself." Sara winked. Just then, the waiter approached with the food. Sara glanced at Catherine, who nodded.
"Change of plans." Catherine threw down a 20, and her and Sara ran for the door, giggling. Then the two CSI's shared their very first friendly car ride.
End
"Have you seen Sara?" she asked. Nick shook his head.
"Not since assignments were handed out." He said.
"But you haven't seen her since?" Catherine pressed.
"No! Why do you care, anyways? I thought you didn't like her." Nick said. Catherine waved him off and continued on her way. She spotted Warrick in the DNA lab with Greg.
"Have either of you seen Sara?" she asked, entering the room.
"Grissom's friend? She's hot." Greg said. Warrick laughed.
"Has she even spoken to you yet?" he asked.
"Shut up!" Greg shoved him.
"Ladies?" Catherine crossed her arms, unimpressed.
"No, I haven't seen her." Warrick said.
"Ditto." Greg added.
"Let me know if you find her." Catherine called on her way out. She passed the bathroom and stopped. Pushing open the door, she ran in. Sara was standing at the sink. Catherine immediately saw that something was wrong. She was clutching the counter with both hands, and she was bent over. Her breathing was shallow.
"Sara?" Catherine took a cautious step. Sara jumped, and straightened up.
"Are you okay?" Catherine asked. Sara nodded, running her hand through her hair. Catherine narrowed her eyes.
"Are you sick? You're really pale." She said.
"I'm fine." Sara replied shortly. Catherine didn't believe her, but she backed off.
"Here." She said, holding out Sara's lip gloss. Sara stepped forward, and took it.
"Thanks." She said. Then she started coughing.
"Are you sure you're alright? Should I get Grissom?" Catherine asked, concerned.
"I'm fine." Sara repeated.
"Okay...I'll see you later, then." Catherine said, backing up towards the door. Sara waved her off and turned back to the sink.
"I didn't tell anyone." Catherine said. Sara looked at her.
"About...you know." Catherine added. Sara nodded. Catherine stood for a minute, but then turned and left the bathroom.
Everyone gathered as usual for lunch. When they sat down and began passing the Chinese food buckets around, Catherine noticed something.
"Where's Sara?" she asked.
"I paged her to come." Warrick said.
"She might not." Grissom said. Everyone looked at him.
"Why not?" Catherine asked.
"She doesn't do...food...well." He said. There was a pause as everyone clicked in.
"Really?" Nick asked, lowering his voice. Grissom nodded sadly. Catherine thought back to the day when she overheard Grissom and Sara talking about food. Then she thought about Sara in the bathroom.
"Anorexic, or bulimic?" she asked almost in a whisper.
"I can't be entirely sure. And I don't believe she's stopped all together, even though she's put some weight back on." Grissom replied.
"She can't honestly think she needs to change anything about herself." Warrick said.
"It's not really that. Sara.just doesn't worry about eating. It's not top priority on her list." Grissom continued.
"Work?" Warrick guessed. Grissom nodded again.
"She stresses herself out. Sara's very determined in whatever she does. Pretty soon, she gets so stressed out that she makes herself sick." He explained. As if on cue, Nick spotted Sara walk by.
"Sara!" he called. Sara stopped. She looked like she was surprised to see everyone there.
"Come sit." Nick said, gesturing to the empty chair next to him. Sara shook her head.
"I have to go and..." she began, then saw Grissom looking at her sternly.
"Come eat something." He said. Sara paused stubbornly, as if she wasn't going to, but then slowly entered the room and took the seat next to Nick. "
What would you like?" Warrick asked. Sara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Feeling over defensive, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.
"Actually, I don't like Chinese food." She said, glad to have found a loophole. Until Grissom crushed it.
"That's why I got you a salad." He said, pushing it at her. She looked at him, and he stared her down. Finally, she picked up a fork and started stabbing little pieces of lettuce around the edges of the bowl. Everyone tried not to pay attention, and Catherine started up a conversation. Suddenly, Sara's phone rang, and conversation stopped all around.
"That's me. I'll be right back." Sara stood up, looking relieved.
"Sara!" Grissom called after her, but it was too late. He sighed, looking at her almost untouched salad.
"She's not coming back, is she?" Nick asked quietly. Grissom shook his head.
Sara was working on her laptop when Grissom approached her.
"Sara..." he began.
"Don't start with me on lunch, Grissom." Sara cut him off.
"We'll talk about that later." Grissom said. Sara shook her head.
"I need you to go with Catherine." Grissom explained.
"Fabulous." Sara replied sarcastically.
"There was a robbery at a local convenience store. Cashier dead. I need you two to go and dust for fingerprints." Grissom continued. Sara shut her laptop and finally looked up at him.
"Where?" she asked.
"About 20 minutes from here." Grissom said. Sara stood up just as Catherine came into the room.
"Ready?" she asked, and Sara was surprised at her friendly tone. She nodded, and started for the door. Grissom grabbed her arm.
"We'll talk later." He said.
"Can't wait." Sara replied unenthusiastically, grabbing her jacket and following Catherine out of the room.
The ride to the store was relatively peaceful. About halfway there, Catherine spoke up.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to stop for something to eat first?" she asked. Sara looked at her.
"Grissom told you, didn't he?" she asked.
"What?" Catherine asked, acting as if she didn't know.
"I figured he did. He told you guys at lunch, right?" Sara asked. Catherine sighed.
"There's nothing wrong with me, you know. I eat plenty." Sara continued.
"Okay..." Catherine said, not wanting to get into it. Sara shook her head.
"Have you eaten anything today?" Catherine couldn't resist asking.
"Uh, I just had lunch with you guys, remember?" Sara asked.
"Oh, you mean those three pieces of lettuce you picked out of the bowl? Yeah, I remember. I meant other than that." Catherine said. Sara didn't answer.
"That's what I thought." Catherine added.
"I'm perfectly fine. I don't see why everyone worries so much." Sara replied.
Catherine pulled into the store parking lot and shut off the engine. They both got out and headed for the door. The scene was empty except for one police officer named Randy.
"Where is everybody?" Catherine asked.
"Well, you're kind of late. Press has already cleared out." Randy pointed out.
"Hey, we got here as soon as we were told." Catherine shot back. Randy stepped aside.
"It's all yours." He said.
"Thank you." Catherine arched her eyebrows, and ducked under the caution tape. Randy smiled at Sara as she walked past him. As soon as they got inside, Catherine began dusting the counter top. Sara hopped over a knocked over display of paper towels, and crouched next to the body.
"Hey, don't touch." Catherine said, peering over the counter at her. Sara held up her hands.
"I know, I know." She said. Catherine watched as she reached over to where her kit was. But it wasn't the kit she grabbed; it was her purse. She pulled out a double mirror compact, opened it and began using the mirror to examine the body. Catherine smiled.
"Clever." She said.
"The wonders of make-up." Sara murmured.
"I'm going to check out the back room." Catherine said.
"Alright." Sara snapped her compact shut, tossed it in her purse and got up to begin dusting the cash register. Randy stayed with her.
"I haven't seen you around any crime scenes before." He said.
"I just started here yesterday." Sara explained.
"You seem to know what you're doing. Plus, you're not queasy over the DB, so I'm guessing you've done this before. Where'd you come from?" Randy asked.
"New York." Sara replied. Randy nodded.
"A New York girl? I should've known." He said.
"Really? Why's that?" Sara asked distractedly.
"Well, you're beautiful, for one thing." Randy began. Sara's head snapped up. He was smiling at her. She shook her head and moved to the other side of the counter. Randy followed her. Sara picked up a fiber of some sort, and encased it in a bag. She labeled it and placed it aside.
"You're pretty meticulous. You've got it all, don't you?" Randy asked. He ran his hand down her arm, and she stepped away from him.
"I think we can take it from here." She said.
"I think I should stay here, to protect you." Randy said, stepping towards her until she was cornered up against the counter. He put his hands around Sara's waist.
"Leave me alone!" Just as Sara was pushing him away, Catherine came back in. But instead of standing back and watching, she actually jumped in.
"Unless you want to be facing a criminal lawsuit, I suggest you take your hands off of her." She ordered, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him away. Randy backed up.
"I think you two can handle it from here. I'll wait outside." He said. Catherine crossed her arms.
"I'll be speaking to your supervisor." She said. Randy narrowed his eyes, then turned and stormed off. Catherine turned to Sara, who froze.
"Check that display table for prints." She said with a small smile. Sara was startled, but smiled back. About half an hour later, they exited the convenience store. Randy was sitting on a bench, smoking. He watched them get into the Tahoe and drive off.
Catherine drove into the parking lot of a local restaurant. Sara looked around.
"What are you doing?" she asked as Catherine cut the engine.
"Let's go." She said.
"Go where?" Sara asked.
"It's late. We're going to have dinner." Catherine explained.
"I'm not hungry." Sara replied quickly.
"I don't care, really." Catherine said, getting out of the truck. Sara didn't move. Catherine came around to her side and opened the door. She grabbed Sara's arm and pulled her out of the truck. She led the way to the restaurant, with Sara stumbling behind her.
"Catherine..." Sara protested, but Catherine wasn't listening. They sat down in a booth and a waiter came to serve them almost immediately.
"Hamburger and fries." Catherine said.
"Both of you?" the waiter asked. Catherine nodded.
"I don't eat meat." Sara said.
"Fine. Make hers a veggie burger." Catherine said. The waiter left.
"Catherine, I don't eat this stuff." Sara pointed out.
"Oh well. There's a first time for everything." Catherine shrugged.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened back there." Sara said. Catherine just looked at her, so Sara rushed on.
"I can't help it. I mean, guys just...I don't know. I guess it's my fault. You're right, I don't belong here. I thought it would be different from New York, but it's not." Sara said, rubbing her forehead with her hand.
"No, Sara. You're wrong. I was wrong. You do belong here. You're great at what you do." Catherine said.
"How would you know? You haven't seen me do anything besides check out a corpse with a mirror. Oh, and get hit on inappropriately by various guys." Sara shot back.
"I looked into your records." Catherine explained. Sara looked up at her.
"Turns out, I was dead wrong. You're pretty amazing for a Serie 5." Catherine continued.
"And I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I judged you, and I shouldn't have." She added.
"...Don't worry about." Sara said.
"No. I want to know that you forgive me. I feel horrible for the way I acted." Catherine replied. Sara paused, then nodded.
"I forgive you." She said. Catherine was relieved.
"But, now you have me worried." She said.
"Correction. Grissom has you worried." Sara answered.
"I'm not kidding. You need to eat. I know it doesn't seem important to you, but it is." Catherine said.
"I do eat." Sara lied.
"No you don't. You make excuses, and then you work too hard and make yourself sick." Catherine said. Sara saw the waiter heading their way.
"Catherine. Please don't make me eat this stuff." She begged. Catherine sighed, and thought about it.
"We'll leave. If you promise to eat something tonight." She said. Sara nodded quickly.
"Okay, fine." She said.
"I don't trust you for a minute. So you and me are going to get something to eat after shift." Catherine crossed her arms.
"I'd like that." Sara smiled.
"Really? You mean.you don't hate me for being such a bitch?" Catherine asked.
"I don't hate people. Period." Sara shrugged. Catherine smiled.
"You really are a great person." She said.
"You're not too bad yourself." Sara winked. Just then, the waiter approached with the food. Sara glanced at Catherine, who nodded.
"Change of plans." Catherine threw down a 20, and her and Sara ran for the door, giggling. Then the two CSI's shared their very first friendly car ride.
End