Post-Butterflied

Disclaimer: I still don't own CSI and get no profit from writing these stories…yadda yadda yadda.

Chapter 20

Catherine was nearly asleep when her cell phone rang, startling her.

"Hello," she answered tiredly.

"Hey, Cath, you weren't sleeping were you?" a familiar voice asked.

"Not quite, what did you want, Warrick?" she asked.

"Sorry. I was just noticing that you and I both have tomorrow night off," Warrick said slowly.

"Okay," Catherine replied, "just get to the point, I'm tired here and I'm not catching on."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me?" Warrick spat out.

"Wasn't expecting that," Catherine said, "I would love to."

"Really? Because I've been feeling something between for a while and I was hoping it wasn't my imagination," Warrick laughed.

"No, I noticed it too," Catherine stifled a yawn.

"And I figured, it might be nice to spend time without Lindsey, or having to worry about where she is," Warrick said, "an actual date."

"Sounds like a plan. What time?" Catherine inquired tiredly.

"Is six okay with you?" Warrick asked.

"Yeah, six should be fine," Catherine told him, "see you then."

"Bye," Warrick hung up.

Catherine hung up her cell and couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She was going out on a date with someone that she knew was a nice guy. Someone that she wasn't afraid to have around Lindsey, and someone that she knew Lindsey liked. She had a good feeling about her pending date with Warrick as she fell asleep.


Sara was finally able to remove her boot entirely, the only sign of her injury remaining was some scarring on her foot. She still had to do daily exercises with the foot as it was still slightly lacking in muscles, but she could walk and wear a normal pair of shoes.

"It feels weird to wear two of the same pair of shoes," Sara laughed.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I remember when I got the call that you were hurt," Grissom reminisced, "you have no idea how scared I was."

"I remember, you told me about it. You didn't know what happened and you feared the worst," Sara said, "but here I am now and you can barely tell anything happened."

"I'm glad it was not a serious injury," Grissom kissed her forehead.

"Kissing in the lab," Ecklie announced from the doorway, "now that's professional."

Grissom sighed loudly, "Can I help you, Conrad?"

"I just wanted a cup of coffee," Ecklie pretended to be innocent.

"Yeah right," Sara muttered under her breath.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Grissom asked.

"Well I guess you two were so busy making out that you didn't realize it's almost time for shifts to switch," Ecklie said haughtily.

"We weren't making out," Sara snapped.

"Either way, kissing in the lab is highly unprofessional," Ecklie crossed his arms.

"What are you going do? Tell on us?" Grissom asked.

"No," Ecklie made a face, "just don't let me see you doing that again."

Once Ecklie was gone, Sara spoke, "There has got to be something wrong with that man."

"Did you like the whole act of 'I'm letting you get away with something'?" Grissom asked.

"He's just mad that there's not actually a rule we were breaking," Sara shook her head.

"I swear he does stuff like that on purpose, it's like he has spies so that he can walk into a room at the perfect moment to annoy me," Grissom said.

"He really does live to annoy you," Sara told him, "everyone can tell he just does things he knows will get on your nerves."

"Well, looks like he was right, ready to go?" Grissom gestured to the clock.

"Okay, we're going to go adopt a cat today right?" Sara asked.

"That's right, we were going to the shelter after work, weren't we?" Grissom said.

"You're sure you want a cat?" Sara asked again.

"Of course I am. We decided a cat was the best fit for us because we both work so much, they're much more independent than dogs," Grissom reminded her.

"I know that, I just wanted to be sure you still want a pet," Sara told him.

"Yes I do," Grissom smiled, "it will be nice to have something waiting for us when we come home from work."

Grissom and Sara drove to the local animal shelter. Sara had insisted that they rescue a cat rather than buying a kitten. The shelter employees told them to feel free to look around at all the pets and then let them know if they were interested in adopting.

Sara quickly found the cat area and drug Grissom along.

"They're all so cute, how can I pick just one?" Sara asked.

"Just watch them, then see which one would suit your personality," Grissom suggested.

Sara watched the cats and finally settled on a small orange cat in the corner, "I think I like that one."

"Really?" Grissom sounded surprised, "I had my eye on that one too."

Sara raised her eyebrows, "Well that settles it, we have to see that cat."

The cat was brought out for Grissom and Sara to interact with. It only took a few minutes for Sara to fall in love.

"We have to adopt this cat," Sara turned to Grissom.

"I agree," Grissom said, stroking the young cat's head.

"That's Orion, he's about a year old. His owners had to move out of state a few weeks ago and they couldn't take him with them," the shelter worker explained, "he's already had all his shots and they had him de-clawed."

"What does it take to adopt him?" Grissom asked.

"Well, an adoption runs 75 to cover the cost of the vaccinations and neutering that we performed when he was brought in," the man said, "you have to fill out paperwork and do a quick interview to make sure you're good people."

"We're doing it," Sara said, "this is the cat I want."

"Me too," Grissom agreed.

"All right," the worker said, "I'll go arrange for everything, you can bring Orion into the interview and adoption paperwork if you'd like."

"Okay," Sara scooped the cat into her arms, "hi Orion. Would you like to come home with us?"

Grissom smiled, "You're already talking to him?"

"You will be soon enough, just you wait and see," Sara laughed.

"I'll know I'm crazy the day I start talking to animals," Grissom shook his head in amusement.

"Because talking to bugs and bodies is totally sane," Sara shot back.

"Yes," Grissom smiled, "that's okay, it's animals where I draw the line."

Sara laughed again, "Okay."

Within an hour, they were on their way with a few supplies to get them started: a carrier, a small bag of food and a couple cat toys. They decided they had better stop at a pet store to pick up the rest of the necessary supplies. They bought a bigger bag of cat food, a food and a water dish, a litter-box and litter, a book on cat care, a few more cat toys, some treats and a cat bed. When they got home, they let the cat loose, but Sara made sure to follow him and make sure he didn't get into trouble. Grissom set up a little spot for the cat's food dish near the kitchen table. Then he put the cat bed in their bedroom, as Sara had insisted on it being there.

"So, do you like his name, or should we change it?" Sara asked when Grissom joined her on the floor.

"I think I like Orion," Grissom said, "you know what it is, don't you?"

"It's a star formation," Sara said, stroking the sleeping cat's side.

"I didn't know you were into astronomy," Grissom raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not, I know a lot of little things like that though," Sara told him, "you have your random bits of trivia, I have mine."

"I love you," Grissom kissed her.

"I love you too," Sara returned the kiss.

A/N: Being sick, computer issues, andan exam kept me from writing for a while. The good news is, I'm well again and next week is my Spring Break, so in theory I will have more time to write! Thank you for your patience and reviews! I decided a cat was the best pet for Griss and Sara because as several reviewers pointed out, with the hours they work a cat is a better fit. I used to have a cat and he was mostly independent. Didn't mind when we went to school/work. He owned our house ;)

Other thing, do you like the cat's name, or should it change? I am open to suggestions.