As always, many thanks to everyone who reviews my work. It helps keep me motivated.
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Much Ado
"What do you mean, we missed something?" Sara leaned in over her shoulder, trying to see the photograph Catherine was pointing to. It was an occupational hazard, the way they all got so close to one another when looking at the evidence, as if physical nearness let them someone see the same way the other saw, as if they could get inside each other's head and perspective if they could just occupy the same space. It was an occupational hazard and an occupational perk as well, Catherine thought, as the heat from Sara's body warmed her back.
The photo they were staring at was a shot of the back of the victim, the one Sara had just been looking at. Catherine tapped a set of marks. "See that? Those look like finger impressions, like the witness was digging her fingers into the vic's shoulders."
"Well, we knew the witness had her hands there," Sara mused, still trying to see what Catherine was seeing.
"She wouldn't have dug her fingers in if she were trying to push her off. She was pulling her closer."
Catherine could tell Sara's face pulled into a confused scowl by the tone of her voice. "But why would she pull an attacker closer?"
"She didn't." Catherine's voice was triumphant and somewhat smug. She loved figuring out the puzzle of people's motivations and emotions, even though it meant ranging a bit afield from the evidence. "This wasn't an attack. It was... foreplay."
"What?" Sara was suddenly upright, her body conveying the shock evident in her voice.
Catherine turned so she faced Sara, surprised by her reaction. "Yeah, the girlfriend didn't walk into an attack, she interrupted a heavy make-out session." Sara's face was screwed up in disgust and she took a step back from where Catherine was leaning against the layout table.
"But there were bruises all over those two women. That was violence."
Catherine shook her head. "No, it was aggression. A little rough, maybe, but not violent," she continued in a reasonable tone, watching to see Sara's reaction. She knew Sara had an issue with violence against women in some crimes, but this seemed a bit much. Sara shook her head with vehemence. "Oh, come on, Sara, you cannot be this naïve. Or prudish."
Sara's head snapped up and her dark eyes bored into Catherine's own pale ones. Catherine had obviously hit a nerve, and she knew she should stop, but the emotional release was a welcome reprieve from the tension bubbling just below the surface of their interactions, so she didn't heed the voice in her head. "Come on, you were insinuating that you had group sex with three other women just a few weeks ago."
Her eyes widened and her mouth moved, but it took a long time for Sara to frame a response. Catherine let her amusement show on her face as she took in Sara's unintentionally comical expression, finally allowing a giggle to escape. That was the wrong thing to do, as Sara's expression grew stormy. "I did not insinuate any such thing." Catherine just grinned at her discomfort. "And besides, this isn't about me. This is about the case."
"No, this is completely about you," Catherine retorted, the mocking tone a quiet counterpoint to Sara's angry words. "You are refusing to consider a theory of the case because you don't like that idea of..." she paused to make her next words even more dramatic, "aggressive sex." Catherine wasn't sure why she was baiting Sara, but it was definitely working, she noted, as she could almost see the anger boiling in the darkness of Sara's eyes. "What's wrong? You never tried it?" she taunted, trying to provoke a response. "Or none of the people you were with let you be the aggressor?" she asked in a flash of sudden inspiration.
Sara's response was swift. One moment, Catherine was leaning against the table, several feet of institutional flooring separating them. The next, she was swept up, Sara's hands gripping her arms almost painfully as she duplicated their previous reenactments. But the sudden movement was nothing compared to the shock of Sara's lips capturing hers. Catherine instinctively tightened her grip on Sara's shoulders, dragging her closer as she parted her lips to deepen the kiss. Sara nibbled on her lower lip while her tongue teased her upper lip, ignoring Catherine's invitation. After several minutes of teasing, Catherine groaned her frustration, the sound breaking the spell.
Catherine staggered back against the table behind her, the support necessary as the strong hands which had held her let go too suddenly. Sara had retreated several steps, her hand shielding her mouth, as if to distance herself from what had just happened. "Catherine, I..." she stammered, "I'm so sorry, I..." Her words were a confused jumble that lapsed into silence.
It still took Catherine a moment to catch up as she tried to recover her footing, literally and figuratively. Sorry? She was sorry for the kiss? "I'm not." She closed the distance between them so she was standing in front of Sara, who was looking everywhere but at her. "I got what I wanted."
"Oh yeah?" Her flippant tone did nothing to mask the bitterness in her voice. "What's that? Proof of your theory of the case?"
"No," Catherine said softly, ducking her head to try to meet Sara's elusive gaze. She stretched her hand out to cup Sara's chin, stroking the soft skin with her thumb gently. Her other hand settled on Sara's hip as she stood on tiptoe to press a light kiss on Sara's mouth. "That's what I wanted," she whispered. Sara was standing, unmoving, and Catherine was suddenly afraid to open her eyes, afraid of what she might see. "Didn't you?"
"Yeah." Sara's breath played over her lips as she spoke, the moment before Catherine felt her lips brush against hers. Catherine flicked her tongue out to taste Sara's lips, catching the bitter taste of coffee, as her hand slid around Sara's neck to hold her mouth there. She marveled as Sara pulled her in closer, the way her body fit perfectly, the way Sara's hands pressed against her back to hold her just so, and the way her hand immediately tangled in Sara's hair. The moment was perfect, and it was over entirely too soon.
Predictably, it was Sara who tried to bring some semblance of reality. "Cath? Someone could come in." Catherine ignored her words and kissed her, trying to distract her. "We're at work."
"We're on a break,"
"We're the supervisors. What if someone needs us?'
"They can page us," she replied sensibly, wrapping her arm around Sara's waist as she felt her try to pull away, clinging and hoping Sara didn't have to willpower to resist. Her lips twisted into a smirk as Sara rained kisses along her cheekbone to her mouth. When their pagers erupted in the quiet of the layout room, Catherine smiled ruefully at how quickly her words were confirmed.
"Damn." Sara broke the embrace and glanced down at her pager. "The witness and her girlfriend are here."
Catherine sighed, her frustration evident. "Back to work?"
Sara chuckled before pressing one last kiss against her lips. "Yeah, back to work." Sara slowly, reluctantly, eased her hold on Catherine's waist, sliding her hands around for extra seconds of contact before letting go.
"I hope Annemarie got that warrant," Catherine said, switching into work mode.
"Let's go see."
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Much Ado
"What do you mean, we missed something?" Sara leaned in over her shoulder, trying to see the photograph Catherine was pointing to. It was an occupational hazard, the way they all got so close to one another when looking at the evidence, as if physical nearness let them someone see the same way the other saw, as if they could get inside each other's head and perspective if they could just occupy the same space. It was an occupational hazard and an occupational perk as well, Catherine thought, as the heat from Sara's body warmed her back.
The photo they were staring at was a shot of the back of the victim, the one Sara had just been looking at. Catherine tapped a set of marks. "See that? Those look like finger impressions, like the witness was digging her fingers into the vic's shoulders."
"Well, we knew the witness had her hands there," Sara mused, still trying to see what Catherine was seeing.
"She wouldn't have dug her fingers in if she were trying to push her off. She was pulling her closer."
Catherine could tell Sara's face pulled into a confused scowl by the tone of her voice. "But why would she pull an attacker closer?"
"She didn't." Catherine's voice was triumphant and somewhat smug. She loved figuring out the puzzle of people's motivations and emotions, even though it meant ranging a bit afield from the evidence. "This wasn't an attack. It was... foreplay."
"What?" Sara was suddenly upright, her body conveying the shock evident in her voice.
Catherine turned so she faced Sara, surprised by her reaction. "Yeah, the girlfriend didn't walk into an attack, she interrupted a heavy make-out session." Sara's face was screwed up in disgust and she took a step back from where Catherine was leaning against the layout table.
"But there were bruises all over those two women. That was violence."
Catherine shook her head. "No, it was aggression. A little rough, maybe, but not violent," she continued in a reasonable tone, watching to see Sara's reaction. She knew Sara had an issue with violence against women in some crimes, but this seemed a bit much. Sara shook her head with vehemence. "Oh, come on, Sara, you cannot be this naïve. Or prudish."
Sara's head snapped up and her dark eyes bored into Catherine's own pale ones. Catherine had obviously hit a nerve, and she knew she should stop, but the emotional release was a welcome reprieve from the tension bubbling just below the surface of their interactions, so she didn't heed the voice in her head. "Come on, you were insinuating that you had group sex with three other women just a few weeks ago."
Her eyes widened and her mouth moved, but it took a long time for Sara to frame a response. Catherine let her amusement show on her face as she took in Sara's unintentionally comical expression, finally allowing a giggle to escape. That was the wrong thing to do, as Sara's expression grew stormy. "I did not insinuate any such thing." Catherine just grinned at her discomfort. "And besides, this isn't about me. This is about the case."
"No, this is completely about you," Catherine retorted, the mocking tone a quiet counterpoint to Sara's angry words. "You are refusing to consider a theory of the case because you don't like that idea of..." she paused to make her next words even more dramatic, "aggressive sex." Catherine wasn't sure why she was baiting Sara, but it was definitely working, she noted, as she could almost see the anger boiling in the darkness of Sara's eyes. "What's wrong? You never tried it?" she taunted, trying to provoke a response. "Or none of the people you were with let you be the aggressor?" she asked in a flash of sudden inspiration.
Sara's response was swift. One moment, Catherine was leaning against the table, several feet of institutional flooring separating them. The next, she was swept up, Sara's hands gripping her arms almost painfully as she duplicated their previous reenactments. But the sudden movement was nothing compared to the shock of Sara's lips capturing hers. Catherine instinctively tightened her grip on Sara's shoulders, dragging her closer as she parted her lips to deepen the kiss. Sara nibbled on her lower lip while her tongue teased her upper lip, ignoring Catherine's invitation. After several minutes of teasing, Catherine groaned her frustration, the sound breaking the spell.
Catherine staggered back against the table behind her, the support necessary as the strong hands which had held her let go too suddenly. Sara had retreated several steps, her hand shielding her mouth, as if to distance herself from what had just happened. "Catherine, I..." she stammered, "I'm so sorry, I..." Her words were a confused jumble that lapsed into silence.
It still took Catherine a moment to catch up as she tried to recover her footing, literally and figuratively. Sorry? She was sorry for the kiss? "I'm not." She closed the distance between them so she was standing in front of Sara, who was looking everywhere but at her. "I got what I wanted."
"Oh yeah?" Her flippant tone did nothing to mask the bitterness in her voice. "What's that? Proof of your theory of the case?"
"No," Catherine said softly, ducking her head to try to meet Sara's elusive gaze. She stretched her hand out to cup Sara's chin, stroking the soft skin with her thumb gently. Her other hand settled on Sara's hip as she stood on tiptoe to press a light kiss on Sara's mouth. "That's what I wanted," she whispered. Sara was standing, unmoving, and Catherine was suddenly afraid to open her eyes, afraid of what she might see. "Didn't you?"
"Yeah." Sara's breath played over her lips as she spoke, the moment before Catherine felt her lips brush against hers. Catherine flicked her tongue out to taste Sara's lips, catching the bitter taste of coffee, as her hand slid around Sara's neck to hold her mouth there. She marveled as Sara pulled her in closer, the way her body fit perfectly, the way Sara's hands pressed against her back to hold her just so, and the way her hand immediately tangled in Sara's hair. The moment was perfect, and it was over entirely too soon.
Predictably, it was Sara who tried to bring some semblance of reality. "Cath? Someone could come in." Catherine ignored her words and kissed her, trying to distract her. "We're at work."
"We're on a break,"
"We're the supervisors. What if someone needs us?'
"They can page us," she replied sensibly, wrapping her arm around Sara's waist as she felt her try to pull away, clinging and hoping Sara didn't have to willpower to resist. Her lips twisted into a smirk as Sara rained kisses along her cheekbone to her mouth. When their pagers erupted in the quiet of the layout room, Catherine smiled ruefully at how quickly her words were confirmed.
"Damn." Sara broke the embrace and glanced down at her pager. "The witness and her girlfriend are here."
Catherine sighed, her frustration evident. "Back to work?"
Sara chuckled before pressing one last kiss against her lips. "Yeah, back to work." Sara slowly, reluctantly, eased her hold on Catherine's waist, sliding her hands around for extra seconds of contact before letting go.
"I hope Annemarie got that warrant," Catherine said, switching into work mode.
"Let's go see."