Post-Butterflied
Disclaimer: I still don't own CSI and get no profit from writing these stories…yadda yadda yadda.
Chapter 21
Sara had just returned from a crime scene with Nick and was heading for Grissom's office. He had called her about an hour ago and insisted that she meet him in his office when she got back.
"See ya later, Nick, thanks for taking our evidence to the vault," Sara called after him.
"No problem, Sara," Nick headed for the vault.
Sara knocked lightly on Grissom's office door.
"Come in," Grissom called.
"Hey boss," Sara sat down with a grin.
"Don't call me boss," Grissom shook his head slightly.
"What did you want to see me for?" Sara asked.
"I have great news," Grissom smiled broadly.
"Well out with it!" Sara prodded.
"I got invited to teach a forensics seminar in San Francisco!" Grissom announced.
"Okay," Sara said slowly.
"I'm bring you with me," Grissom added.
"All right," Sara was confused about how excited Grissom was.
"Sara Sidle! Don't you tell me you forgot!" Grissom said.
"What?" Sara asked more confused than ever.
"It's where we met," Grissom shook his head, "you remember, don't you?"
"Oh! That! Of course I didn't forget," Sara smiled, "I remember. I was a student."
"Not just a student, you were a very bright student. You asked a lot of questions, I knew right away that you were a smart girl," Grissom leaned back in his chair, "I'm glad you didn't forget."
"I had no idea what you were trying to get at," Sara laughed, "I knew we met in San Francisco, how could I ever forget?"
"I don't know. Am I a forgettable guy?" Grissom asked.
"No," Sara snorted, "not by any stretch of the imagination."
"I was thinking, maybe, and it's up to you, but maybe you could help me teach the seminar," Grissom suggested.
"Oh I don't know about that," Sara shook her head, "I don't think I would do well with a large crowd of people. Besides, I'm not big on entomology."
"Sara, you would do fine with a large crowd. And you are a real crime scene investigator, that's all you will need. You will know more than the students. You would just be helping me out anyway, answering questions at the end, nothing too hard," Grissom assured her.
Sara took a deep breath, "I guess I could do it, if it helps you out."
"It will help, I'm really looking forward to this seminar now," Grissom smiled.
"When is it?" Sara asked.
"Next week. We'll be out there for three days," Grissom added.
"Are we going to have any free time, or is it pretty much teaching the whole time?" Sara asked.
"I'm not sure, they're sending me a schedule later. It will mostly depend on whether or not you want to hear some of the other speakers," Grissom explained.
"At any rate, it will be nice to get out of town for a few days," Sara said.
"It will be," Grissom agreed, "especially because we'll be together."
Catherine and Warrick's first dinner had gone so well, they planned to have dinner again together. Lindsey was very excited that her mother seemed to be getting along with Warrick so well because she liked Warrick a lot.
"You're going out with Warrick again?" Lindsey asked.
"If you must know, yes I am," Catherine checked her hair in the mirror one last time.
"You look really pretty, Mom," Lindsey assured her.
"Thanks sweetie, you don't mind the babysitter again?" Catherine asked.
"No," Lindsey said, "not really."
"I'm leaving you money to order pizza if you want," Catherine handed her some cash.
"Thank you Mom, have a great night," Lindsey added.
"I will dear," Catherine smiled.
The doorbell rang and Catherine checked herself in the mirror one more time before she answered the door.
"Wow, Cath, you look beautiful," Warrick told her.
"Thanks," she kissed him, "you don't look too bad yourself."
"Ready to go?" Warrick asked.
"Yes, goodnight Lindsey," Catherine called out.
"Night Mom!" Lindsey shouted back from the living room, already engrossed in some movie.
"So, where are we off to tonight?" Catherine asked.
"It's a surprise," Warrick smiled, "you'll find out soon enough."
"You can't tell me?" Catherine teased.
"Do you have to know everything ahead of time?" Warrick asked.
"Fine," Catherine pretended to be angry.
"I'm not telling you, go ahead and pout," Warrick shook his head.
"You know I'm glad we both got tonight off," Catherine said seriously.
"Me too, and there's no one else I'd rather spend the night with," Warrick told her.
"I can't believe we've worked together for so long," Catherine started, "it never even occurred to me that you were right there."
"I think we both had our own personal issues for so long that it was hard to see each other, even when we right there," Warrick agreed, "but I think this might have been worth waiting for."
"We've only been on one date," Catherine laughed.
"But you just pointed out, we've known each other for a long time," Warrick reminded her.
"You're right. When I'm with you, there's not any of that awkwardness you usually feel when you're a date with someone for the first time," Catherine explained.
"I know what you mean," Warrick said, "and we're here."
"This is my favorite restaurant," Catherine said, "how did you know?"
"I heard you mention it once," Warrick told her.
"That was a long time ago, you remember that?" Catherine asked in surprise.
"We're here aren't we?" Warrick asked with a smile.
"I can't believe it," Catherine kissed him, "thank you Warrick. For remembering and bringing me here."
A/N: I had an exam in my microbiology class yesterday, so I didn't have any time to write until today. Then I had trouble writing the Catherine/Warrick portion of this chapter for some reason. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm not sure, but this story might be coming to a close soon. Thanks for reading as always.
And to Star-Shimmered-Dragon: Cats can be prettywild all the way up to a couple years old, it depends on your particular cat how soon they will mellow out. As they get older, they tend to calm down more. The cat will probably be a little calmer at a year than it is right now. Even at 16, my cat would still get wild streaks and run around the house like he'd lost his mind! lol
