Title: Just My Luck
Author: Angie
Summary: Catherine's having a bad day
Disclaimers: CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them.
Author's Notes: Here is my "J" fic, down to 3 letters left for my alphabet challenge. Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Marianne.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: none
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage
XOXOXO
Catherine shrieked, jumping back and glaring at the younger criminalist in front of her. A sizeable splash of freshly poured coffee went sailing over the rim of Greg's mug
"I am so sorry, Cath."
The heat of the liquid burned into her skin. Ignoring Greg, she turned and ran down the hall to the drinking fountain. Pressing the button, she plunged her forearm under the cool liquid.
"I am so sorry." Greg said minutes later, returning with the first aid kit from Grissom's office, as well as the office's occupant.
"Are you alright?"
Catherine turned her head in Gil's direction, then looked back down at her coffee stained arm. Seconds later, she felt a hand sliding her thumb off the button.
"Let me get that."
She nodded at Gil and pulled her hand down to the side of the fountain.
"Want to tell me what happened?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Gil didn't answer. Taking the first aid kit from Greg, he grasped Catherine's uninjured arm and pulled her down the hallway with him. "Tell the others we'll be in the break room in a few minutes." He called behind his shoulder, watching as Greg darted off down the hall. He opened the door and guided Catherine to the bench in front of her locker. "How bad do you think the burn is?"
She shrugged. "I got my arm in cold water pretty fast. Shouldn't be too bad."
"Can you get your sleeve up? Or do you need to take off your shirt?"
She raised her hand to the buttons, slowly revealing the shell underneath.
Gil stepped behind her, watching as she took the good arm out of the sleeve, then straddled the bench as he eased the rest of the shirt down her injured arm. "Let me know if this hurts…" He stopped when his eyes caught the glare she shot him. "If it hurts more then it does now." He modified, holding her arm still and easing the material over the wound.
As the wound came into view, Catherine turned her head, hissing slightly as the air contacted the raw skin.
"It's not too bad. I've got some Neosporin and bandages in this first aid kit." He carefully set her arm in her lap and turned to open the kit he had brought from his office. He quickly got to work, applying the antibiotic and bandage. "There, all finished."
Catherine turned amd looked at Gil, before glancing at her arm. "Wow."
"What?"
"That wasn't very painful at all. Where did you learn how to do that?"
"From you." At Catherine's look, he continued. "I've watched you bandage Lindsey up so many times I can't even begin to count. You always soothe her. I just followed your lead."
Catherine smiled, and took the offered hand before her, letting Gil pull her into a standing position. "Thanks."
"I have an extra shirt in my office if you want something else to wear."
Catherine shook her head, declining his offer. "I'm fine for now. But I might take you up on it a little later." She walked out the locker room door he had held open for her and the two made their way to the break room.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Greg." Catherine said, sliding into the open chair at the end of the table. She looked back to Gil, waiting for him to begin passing out the assignments.
Gil was just passing the first folder to Nick when Brass walked into to room.
"Catherine… can I see you for a minute?"
She looked up at Gil, who nodded his permission, before standing and leaving the room. "What's going on?"
"There was a little accident out in the parking lot."
"Accident?"
"A suspect escaped from custody. Got out to the parking lot and stole a car…"
"He stole my car?" Catherine asked, disbelief in her voice.
"No. He crashed the car he stole into yours." Jim sighed at the look of shock on Catherine's face. "Come on." He reached for her arm, pulling back as he glanced at the bandage.
"What happened?"
"My luck." She quipped before walking down the hall towards the exit. She walked towards the back of the parking lot. She gasped as her car came into view… or at least what was left of it. "Oh my god."
"It's not as…."
"Please don't tell me it's not as bad as it looks. At least wait until it stops smoking."
"If it helps any, the smoke is from the other car."
"That doesn't really help." Catherine ran her hand through her hair, watching as the firemen monitored her car, ready to douse any more flames that might pop up. "The suspect?"
"On his way to Desert Palms. He's just added a few more years onto his sentence."
Catherine remained silent, simply watching what was left of her car.
"At least you can get that new car you've been talking about." Jim chuckled at his joke before turning to the stoic person next to him. "Come on. I'll help you fill out the reports you need for your insurance."
"I can't. Work. We were in the middle of getting assignments when you came and got me. I'll stop by your office after shift, is that alright?"
"Sure." Brass was stopped from continuing by the loud gasp from behind them. They both turned to see the night shift crew walking towards them.
"What happened?" Gil asked, handing a folder to Catherine.
"Suspect tried to run. My car stopped him."
"Do you need to stay and take care of this?" Gil asked, releasing the folder as Catherine's hands grasped it.
"Nothing I can do now. I'll call my insurance in the morning. Might as well go to work." She opened the folder in front of her glancing at the case she had been assigned. Once she read through the file, she looked back up at Gil. "I'm ready. Let me just grab my kit."
"No need. I had Greg get it for you, he's waiting for us by the Denali."
"I just need to grab…"
"Extra shirt? I have that too." He said holding up the item in his hand. He held the shirt open for her and let her slide into it. He watched as she turned to face him, taking in the sight of her. "I have to say that shirt looks much better on you then it ever has on me." He slid his hand behind her, gently placing it on the small of her back as the two walked towards the Denali.
XOXOXO
Catherine opened the door of the Denali as Gil pulled the vehicle to a stop. As soon as they were at a complete stop, she was out of the car, walking back to the crime lab.
"Catherine!"
Ignoring the two men yelling her name, she continued to the lab, only turning as she watched the doors shut behind her, drowning out the two men still trying to get her attention.
Greg turned his head towards Gil, waiting to see what their next move should be.
"Do me a favor. Get this evidence logged in. I'll go find Cath."
He didn't wait for a response. Seconds later he was in the building, instinctively knowing where to go. He opened the door to his office, shutting the door behind him before moving to flip on the light switch.
"Leave it off."
Nodding, he walked across the room to his desk, stopping when he was an arms length from her. "Want to talk?"
"Am I hearing you correctly? Are you offering to talk? Actually suggesting it?"
"You've had a bad day. I just thought maybe…"
"I know. I'm just wondering how much worse this day is going to get. I should probably just go home and go to bed before anything else can happen."
"It wasn't that bad."
Catherine looked up, her eyebrows arched. "Not that bad? How can you say that?"
"It's…"
"It's a really bad day. First I oversleep. Which causes me to be late for work. Rushing in, I get steaming coffee dumped on my arm, ruining my shirt and causing second degree burns. Then my car is destroyed. I drop evidence at the scene, shattering it and probably destroying our chances of recovering any usable fingerprints. Oh, and to top it all off I slide through a puddle of a yet to be determined substance completely ruining my outfit and the shirt you let me borrow. Not to mention causing some slightly embarrassing bruising and scrapes in places I'd rather not mention."
"You were hurt?"
She reached out and took his hand. "Nothing that wont heal in a couple days." She replied as she pulled him closer to her. "Thanks for letting me vent."
"You don't need to thank me." Gil stepped closer, his free hand moving to rest on the desk next to her hip. Slowly he leaned in, his face hovering inches above hers.
"Gil?"
He closed the difference, brushing his lips against hers before pressing harder, feeling her lips give in to his own.
Catherine looked up as she felt Gil pull away from her. "What was that for?"
He shrugged before answering. "I just thought you could use a little change in your luck."
finis