Now the school are making us do work experiaence, ha, more like slave labour. We don't even get paid. I now know why caffinated beverages are sooooo important with such long hours. So what I meant to say was I love the reveiews you keep sending, thanx and sorry I'm so slow at updating.

A friendly wager

The three mischievous CSIs and the lab rat decided they needed to regroup after the slight road bump that drove their little plan to a grinding halt last night. They were in the break room with Warrick and Nick sat on the sofa and Catherine near the coffee pot with the circles under her eyes that showed how much she could do with some of the caffinated beverage. Greg was hovering near the doorway.

"My god, what are the chances! Just as it get interesting that Griss would actually risk conversation by exiting his office on a slow night." Warrick said after hearing the explanation of the previous nights failed plan.

"Yeah I know." Nick added.

"Well I tried to stop him going in, but he was determined." Greg defended with a slight shrug as he stepped further in to the room.

"Yeah we heard." Catherine chortled. "So is that game what you do when you pretend to be working on the computer."

Nick laughed.

"What game?" A clueless Warrick asked.

"Oh well it's volleyball on the computer and..." Greg, choosing to ignore the mocking, launched into explanation.

"And it doesn't matter." Catherine interrupted making a warning hand swatting motion at Greg before he could get into a full-blown explanation.

"Hey how come everyone interrupts me?" Greg asked straightforwardly.

"Well most people don't want to hear about the games you play Greg." The blonde replied.

"Nick did."

"No, I did not. That was a joke." Nick jumped in to defend himself.

"Ok, somebody better tell me 'bout this game now." Warrick added putting an end to their bickering.

"Think girls and volleyball" Nick suggested with a grin that showed he was picturing this image in his own head.

"Ok got the idea." Warrick confirmed, "Now back to the topic at hand."

"Thank you." Catherine added with a sigh of relief.

"Ok, but you guys should stop making a habit of interrupting me because one day you'll regret it." Greg whined. "So are you sure this will work this time?"

"Well Sara had the look when I was talking to her, so her defences are going down." Catherine said softly.

The response was immediate from all the males in the room. "What look?"

Catherine had expected this. "Well the look a women gets when she is hiding a happy thought of a special someone and she is made to think of that someone. Sara definitely had that look."

"Oh there's a look for that?" Greg had a new found interest in Catherine's knowledge of the female species. He was obviously hoping to get pointers. "So Catherine, what other looks should we know about?"

"Yeah, what is it like a hidden code only females can decipher?" Warrick asked with a hint of a laugh at the idea of this.

Catherine taking the questions in order and being one step ahead of Greg's thinking said "Greg the only look you have to know is the one I'm giving you now, and as long as the girl you're about to ask out isn't wearing this look you should be okay." Then she continued. "No it's just common sense."

"So how come out of all of us here only you knew about this look?" Nick said without thinking.

"Well I'm afraid to say that I don't think that males as a species in general have much common sense. Well, the examples I've seen don't show much hope of it anyway." Catherine said with a self-satisfied grin.

Greg laughed at Nick for even asking that question when it could so easily be used against him. Warrick laughing too turned to Nick and said "She got you man."

"Yeah, well with men it's not looks, okay, it's actions." Nick said as he sat upright to argue his case and he looked to Greg and Warrick for support "Right?"

The two men agreed in a way that showed they were happy to have a fighting chance in this battle of the sexes, which was slowly breaking out in the break room. Greg had now moved to lean against the counter to the side of Catherine so, with the others on the sofa, they had her pretty much surrounded as they waited for her reaction to this.

"Well the actions matter, but it is totally the look that counts, you can say anything with a look and I bet that if these two finally get together it will be the way one of them looked at the other that set off the explosion of this time bomb. I mean, you men may not know it but women do wrap men around their fingers by looking like they are up for it." Catherine said quite knowledgably.

"Well that is true." Greg said.

"No it's not." Nick showing more feeling in his speech. "It totally gonna be the way one of them acts if they brush against one another or if they act all seductive, that will win them over."

"How much are you willing to fork out if you're wrong?" Greg asked throwing in a little mild distraction to the conversation.

"What? Oh I don't know how are we going to find out? Unless we psychically link with Grissom and Sara." Catherine said sensibly.

"Not to mention this all involves our plan to work." Warrick injected

"You have so little faith in my abilities." Catherine said with an accusing glance over at him. Warrick went to explain, but stopped himself when he saw that Catherine's face was now in a satisfied smile.

"Well after we fix them up we should ask what they think attracted them to each other most?" Nick said. "Then we can put an end to this."

"Ok well I'm on the side of the look obviously." Catherine began. "Nick definately for actions and what about you two?"

Warrick looked up in thought. "I don't think I'll be on either side 'cause I think that it's a mix."

Greg realized what he had started with his comment and said. "I won't choose either," he looked at Catherine and then at Nick. "I really don't know which is true but I'd love to hear which wins."

"Okay how much?" Nick said getting down to business.

"A ten ok." Catherine said with a very intimidating poker face.

Nick nodded just as the long awaited arrival finally came and She spoke up with. "A ten ok for what?"

"Never mind." Was Catherine's replied. "So how are you?"

"Fine." She answered

"Why does everyone say that automatically?" Greg queried her response.

"Well it's nice to see you too Greg." Sara said to Greg and then put on a wicked smile and continued. "Don't you have to be playing some game somewhere or something like that?"

"Hey just ignore him he's just been getting some pointers from Catherine about women, so he's actually been thinking about all his failed relationships, and obviously he's still suffering the after affects of using his brain." Nick jumped in. "Hey Sara."

"Is it me or has he been doing that a lot lately?" Catherine spoke like Greg wasn't even in the room.

"Hey Sara." Warrick finally spoke up to acknowledge her presence. "Is it true that there is a look that women have to show they are thinking of someone they like.

"I don't know." Sara responded distractedly she was taking a seat at the table and sorting out some of her things. "Why?"

"Oh no reason really it's Cath says there is and none of us knew, we were wondering if it's a female thing to interpret." Nick answered.

"You're asking the wrong person then aren't you?" Greg stated with a smirk.

"Hey Cath I'm too far away would you mind doing the honours." Sara said with a look to confirm Catherine knew what she meant.

"Hey" An indignant Greg said after receiving a swat round the head from Catherine.

The rest just laughed at the display.

Grissom arrived just in time to find a break room full of laughing CSIs and a huffy lab tech. He wasn't sure quite what had gone on, but he could guess.

Upon Grissom's arrival Greg found the perfect opportunity to leave, he wasn't really that upset with the way they treated him in fact he enjoyed living up to the stereotype of crazy, quirky and slightly annoying lab rat. Before leaving he made eye contact with each of his accomplices to check their plan was still on.

Now the three scheming CSIs just had to wait to see who was working with Sara and start the 'operation' from there.

TBC