Disclaimer: Even if I got a huge pay raise, I couldn't even afford the clothes off of their backs...if I could, I'd start with the male t-shirts and work my way down.
Author's Notes: Here's the last bit of happiness for awhile, if things go as planned, there will be a little drama in the next chapter...Thank you to all who replied to chapter six, you guys are great. I hope you continue to enjoy this as I continue, and I'm glad that I'm getting the characters down good. I like happy interaction, I think it builds more on the story than descriptions do sometimes, because while they all interact on the show, it's never enough 'playful' interaction for my liking. Hope you guys enjoy, leave a note on your way out please!
Jenny
Seven:
"How are you holding up?" Catherine asked Sara, as she exhausted collapsed onto the chair at the diner the team regularly frequented, "You look awful."
"Gee, thanks Cath, you look amazingly beautiful, as always." Sara snapped, resisting the urge to take her crutch and throw it through the glass window. She had always thought the thing she hated most was showing weakness in front of those who saw her at her strongest, but suddenly she'd cry in front of all of them, just to get off of those miserable crutches. She saw Catherine's shocked face, and sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I just hate being so...so..."
"Helpless?" Catherine suggested, "Tell me about it. I can't wait until I'm up on my feet again. The things we take for granted...walking, soaking in a hot bath, walking, walking, and did I mention walking?"
Sara smiled, "So we're on the same page then?"
"At least you get to use crutches. If it weren't for my stupid arm..." Catherine muttered, glaring down at her cast, "I'd give anything to be on crutches, at least you have mobility."
Sara glared at the sticks, which Greg had slid under the chair for her, "Oh, I'm not so sure."
"Sara's definitely not getting along with the crutches." Nick informed Catherine, "Or they're not getting along with her."
"Oh, are we going to talk about when Sara fell into the mud outside of my apartment?" Greg asked, spinning around a chair to sit backwards on it as he approached the table. Seeing Sara's evil glare, he said slowly, "I guess not."
"How about when you stumbled and nearly pulled my pants down?" Nick asked, flashing a grin at Sara, who tried to glare at him, but laughed instead when Nick's smile widened.
"Oh, you know you wanted it." Sara muttered, looking at Greg, who was smiling, "You too, I heard what you said this evening when Nicky went into your room."
Greg turned red, looking down at the table, suddenly interested in a chip on the surface. Seeing his discomfort, Catherine leaned in, "What did I miss?"
"Greg was having kinky dreams about our Sara." Nick said, still grinning at his coworkers, from the beet red Greg to the laughing Catherine, to the slightly blushing Sara. "He thought I was her when I went to wake him up, I thought he was going to pull me into bed with him."
"Now you're going a bit overboard." Greg said defensively, "It wasn't a wild kinky dream, it was just a dream about Sara."
Sara tilted her head to the side, glancing at Greg, "Do you have these dreams often?"
"Why are you so interested? Does that make you happy?" Greg retorted, earning an eye roll from his current roommate. "Does it make you...excited?"
"Put a sock in it, Greg." Sara warned, grinning at Warrick approached the table, "Or we'll just have to tell Warrick about your dreams."
"Or better yet, let's wait for Grissom." Catherine teased, almost feeling sorry for Greg, the way everyone was teasing him. "Unless, of course, you're dreaming about the rest of us too, because in that case, I don't want to hear it."
"And you think I do?" Sara laughed, "Yeah, we should definitely tell Grissom, this could count as inappropriate conduct." She teased, winking at Greg.
The table fell silent as a voice asked, "What inappropriate conduct?"
One by one, each member of the team turned to face Grissom, their playful smiles fading as they tried to think of a way to make this conversation sound a little more...well, appropriate.
"Your shift thinks it's amusing to tease me about dreams..." Greg gulped as he thought of how Grissom could ask him what kind of dreams he was having, and then blurted out, "Nightmares, actually." To cover up the sexual content everyone knew had plagued his subconscious the night before.
Sara choked on her coffee, her eyes wide and slightly indignant, "Nightmares, oh?"
If looks could kill, Sara would be a goner this time. Greg stared hard at her, trying to telepathically explain his reasoning, not wanting to offend her in the least bit, although he was pretty sure she wasn't actually mad. Clearing his throat, he nervously jumped up and motioned towards the counter, "I'll go make our order, what do you guys want?"
As Greg scrambled away, the rest of the group started to laugh. Grissom, not knowing what was going on, shook his head in amusement, obviously knowing they weren't telling him something, but unsure as to what exactly it was they were keeping a secret. It was so nice to see his team getting along again, things had been growing tense at the lab, and for once, it felt like old times, where they could share a meal and visit, no one at each other's throats, nothing hanging over their heads.
Once the laughter had died down, Sara spoke softly, looking almost nervous, to Grissom, "Do you think I could come in tonight? Help out around the lab or something? I don't think I can spend another night alone."
"You just got out of the hospital!" Nick chided, "You should be at home, resting and recuperating, not knee-deep in work. You've got to take care of yourself."
Sara rolled her eyes, taking a sip of coffee, "I'm fine, Nick. I just don't want to be alone, is that a problem?" She turned to Grissom, hoping she hadn't winced as the movement caused a stab of pain in her side, "If it gets to be too much, I'll go back to Greg's, and I'll just help out, nothing strenuous."
"I don't think that would be a problem." Grissom replied, giving Nick a stern look as he started to protest, "You can assist Greg in the lab for awhile, maybe look over some cold cases. But the moment you start hurting or you get tired, I want you back at Greg's, in bed, no if's, and's, or but's about it."
"Thank you!" Sara exclaimed excitedly, a grin spreading across her face. It had been driving her crazy not to be working, she hated being bored and still. The prospect of working a case, even one deemed unsolvable in the past, was thrilling to her, and a definite step up from what she was doing at Greg's: nothing.
Warrick smirked, "You'd think you just told her she won the lottery, the way she's acting. You know Gris, I could trade with her...she can do my work, and I can go to Greg's and veg out on his sofa."
"The only person I want vegging on my sofa is myself and Sara, since she's living with me." Greg said as he sat back down at the table, "Are you sure you're up to working tonight, Sar? Did you get enough rest today?"
Sara rolled her eyes, "Stop babying me, guys, I'm fine. All I've done since the accident is rest, I can take care of myself, you know."
"You can't even walk on your crutches." Nick smirked, earning a jab in the side from Sara. Laughing, he continued, "Although it was really cute to see you sprawled out on the ground, mud everywhere." He tilted his head to the side, "You've still got a little in your hair, you know."
Sara, not being able resist a comeback, retorted, "At least I didn't almost sleep with Greg."
"That's not how it sounds." Greg stammered as Grissom's face registered shock, "It really isn't."
Grissom held up his hand, "No, no, I don't want to know anything about it. I'll pretend this conversation never happened."
"If Sara's going in, I guess I could keep her company looking at cold cases." Catherine said softly, determined to show she was just as strong as her coworker. Even though they were on friendly terms now, that didn't mean she wanted the other woman to outdo her. "I think I've watched all 400 channels on my satellite system."
Warrick reached over the table to grab the coffeepot, tensing a bit when he brushed up against Catherine's arm. He smiled at her, pulling the pot closer to him so he could pour a second cup, "Want some more?"
"Sure." Catherine replied, blushing slightly as a rush of heat filled her body. When did Warrick start looking so handsome? Had he touched her on purpose? His skin felt so soft, how she wanted him to do it again. She shook her head slightly, wanting to smack herself. It must be the pain medication, because this was not how she normally thought of her Warrick. Her Warrick? Oh Lord, things were getting crazier and crazier by the second. Maybe going home wouldn't be a bad idea right now. Only if he was with me... That was it, she had to stop taking the meds, she was starting to talk to herself.
Warrick filled her cup, watching as a blush crept into her cheeks. Did she know just how much he wanted to touch her, even if it had been an accident? Did she mind? Did she have any idea how soft and smooth her skin was? He poured some sugar into his cup, trying to catch up with the conversation he had missed while thinking about Catherine.
Across the table, Greg was staring intently at Sara, who was flirting and joking with Nick, trying not to feel jealous. Of course, she made the same flirty banter with him, it was how she related to her male coworkers, at least the ones she was comfortable with, but it was different when it was Nick. Or maybe it was different because she was living with him. Whatever it was, he wanted the conversation to end, right then. He wanted to wring his own neck, he had never been the jealous type, not until now. In the back of his mind, he wondered if they had put something in the coffee, because he was definitely not feeling like himself.
"Oh, come on, you know you missed me." Sara teased Nick, "I'm sure all week you've been thinking, 'Gee, it's just not the same without Sara, no one to help me break cases, it's so hard without her'. You know it, Nicky, you'd be lost without me, that's why we're always partnered together."
Nick smiled, retorting, "It's not the same, alright, it's a lot quieter. I go home with a lot less headaches, and I'm enjoying having a break from being proved wrong about everything. And we're partnered together, because I'm the only one who doesn't mind being challenged on everything."
"Shut up." Sara said, returning his smile and turning to Grissom, "See how impossible he is? You really need to work on his attitude."
"My attitude?" Nick scoffed, "Gris, if anyone needs a personality adjustment, it's Miss Sara here."
"I'll adjust you" Sara threatened, although the laughter in her eyes disputed every one of her words, "You better watch out Nicky, never tease a lady who can kill you and leave barely a trace of evidence."
Nick looked around the table, not able to hide his huge grin, "Do you see a lady here, Rick?"
"Nope, not at this table." Warrick laughed, ducking as a pack of sugar flew out of Catherine's hand and headed for his head, a balled up napkin from Sara. "Although she's got a point, she knows how to cover her tracks pretty well."
"It all boils down to who's a better CSI." Nick argued, "Who knows more about what they're doing."
Greg couldn't help but add to the conversation with, "Well, Nick, the only way to prove your logic is to actually have everyone murder someone, and since you're insulting Sara, you may not even be able to participate."
"He'd be the first one gone." Sara smirked, leaning back with a satisfied grin, "He's too cocky."
"Man, it's a good thing you guys aren't the writers for Survivor." Catherine joked, "Because the liability on that contest would be atrocious..."
The table shared a laugh, Grissom remaining silent as the rest of his team exchanged barbs. Their fighting tonight was all in fun, as opposed to the many times they had been at each other's throats in the recent past. It was nice to enjoy a nice time together, out of work, it really relaxed all of them. He was confident that this would be a good shift, everyone starting with a great mood, no personal conflicts to haze the cases that would come their way. As the food came, Grissom realized that this was probably the first time they had all been together, and friendly, in months. If only they could stay like this forever.
(Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Coming up: A little bit of tension, a little bit of romance, and a huge surprise. Want to know what I'm talking about? Leave a reply!)
