Lines

Chapter Two

Catherine sat in the lab, staring down a microscope trying to sort out what exactly happened between her and Warrick. What prompted their embrace in the first place? Maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through her body when the man they thought was dead suddenly bust up from the water, scaring the wits out of them.

Laughing about it, she hugged him, and with more ease than what she knew he was normally comfortable with, he wrapped his strong arms around her.

"I'm thinking too much into this," she growled to herself as she fixed herself coffee in the break room.

"Thinking about what?" Nick asked.

She turned.

"Oh, nothing," she sighed as she sipped at the surprisingly good coffee. "Trying to psych myself up into drinking this delicious smelling coffee."

Nick chuckled.

"Yeah, Greg brought in his special brew tonight," Nick said as he started fixing his own coffee. "You know, as long as I've known that kid, I still don't know where he keeps his coffee stash."

"Nicky, I'm afraid no one will ever know," Catherine giggled.

She finished off her coffee then she headed to the labs to find Warrick. She found him in the layout room going over some objects they found in the sewer that could have something to do with their victim's murder.

"Hey," she said, feeling refreshed and calm from the coffee.

He looked up at her and a hint of a smile came across his face.

"Hey," he greeted her back. "Good break?"

"Yeah," she explained. "Good coffee."

Neither spoke for a moment, both feeling an inexplicable joy and comfort in each other's presence. Green eyes met blue as they both sought their next words. All thought had retreated their minds, leaving only their visions of each other.

"I found a wallet," Warrick started, averting his gaze from hers. "I haven't opened it yet. You care to do the honors?"

She smiled and snapped on a pair of gloves.

"Sure," she said with a bright smile.

Their hands brushed again as she took the wallet from his hands. Catherine blushed like a fool and she bowed her head to the table to hide it from him.

The wallet she held in her hand was water logged and covered with God only knew what kind of vermin.

"Catherine," Warrick started as he leaned in close to her to observe the contents of the wallet. "About this afternoon. You weren't-"

"No," she broke in, a little nervous at his proximity. "You didn't-"

"Of course not," he finished.

"Then, I guess its settled?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah," he said.

She turned her attention back to the wallet as she opened it up. A small stream of water dripped out and clumps of dirt followed. She could feel his breath over her shoulder, the hairs at the nape of her neck tickling; with the feeling came a small wave of wantonness and a desire to lean into him, surrendering herself wholly. He seemed unaware of the affect he had on her, or at least he pretended to be. She didn't know: he didn't move away from her, nor did he move closer.

With a shuddering intake of breath, she pushed a few strands of hair away from her flushed face. She placed the wallet onto the table and moved aside.

"The victim's name was Nick Bell," she explained, gaining control of herself.

Warrick nodded.

"I figured," he said. "He was reported missing three days ago."

He turned to her.

"Okay," he started. "Now that we have a name, we can retrace his steps and maybe it will lead us to where he was killed."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, let's go through the rest of it," she said, reaching over him, her hand directly on top of his.

They both noticed and Catherine immediately withdrew her hand.

"Sorry," she whispered bashfully.

Warrick watched as Catherine's cheeks began to glow with a pink blush. He felt his heart skip a beat at their contact over the span of a few hours. First an embrace, then slight brushings of hands. The more they played this strange game, the deeper his affections grew. He saw great concentration being etched into her face at the moment; she was most likely trying not to think about her hand's contact with his own.

A strand of hair fell from behind her ear and before she could push it back, he did, lightly and somewhat teasingly .

Catherine smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

They both knew that their subtleties of affection were blatant and obvious, but neither seemed to care.

"Well, that's about it," she sighed, looking up at him. "Nick had no family, nor any cash."

"Thanks Catherine," he said as he glanced at his watch. "Shift's over now."

Catherine nodded.

"I'll see you later," she whispered before heading out.