Howdy people! Wow, four reviews already! Thank you so much for your encouragement, it really meant a lot. Since you guys have been so nice, here's chapter 2!
A/N: If F/F relationships aren't your thing, you obviously didn't read the author's note in the first chapter. Also, I don't know what it is about the insistence of getting Sara hurt. It's freaky.
A/N 2: Sorry about the last chapter, the computer in my room refuses to upload stories and so I have to email every new chapter to my dad's laptop and it comes out in one column, blah, blah, blah.
Dialogue heavy chapter, sorry, but I was trying to get a little of Kate and Catherine interaction here.
Kate made pleasant small talk with Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown as they walked down the halls. She was a naturally social person and most people took a liking to her fairly quickly. It wasn't long before she discovered that Warrick was born and bred in Las Vegas, just like herself, and that Nick was from a little town in Texas where his dad was the local judge. Soon enough, she was laughing as Nick regaled her with the hijinks he and his fraternity friends
pulled off in college. Grissom was a little ahead, walking in silence, but somehow she knew he was listening.
"Grissom!"
Kate looked to the front again; a woman was coming at them full speed, looking pissed. Her strawberry blonde hair streamed behind her, resembling a comet's tail. Kate felt like cowering in fear all of a sudden from the mere presence of the woman; the anger emanating from her was enough to send shivers down Kate's spine.
"Uh, Griss, I just remembered, I've got that... that um, thing to work on in the lab. I'll uh, see you later."
Nick quickly turned and slipped out, heading in the opposite direction, Warrick not far behind. Kate bit back a laugh at the look she'd seen on the CSI's face. Pure and utter fear. Grissom's body language however, was strangely calm and collected. Heels clicking loudly in the now empty hallway, the woman came to a halt a few feet from Grissom. Kate took a few steps backward, hiding behind the supervisor's stocky frame.
"Yes, Catherine. How can I help you?" He asked patiently.
"You can help me by not sticking me with a 419 and no help whatsoever. I mean, I know you've got to deal with this internship, but you're still supervisor. Having seniority does not make me a superhero. You're going to have to give me someone."
"Take Sara with you."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
Catherine blinked incredulously, irritation growing on her face. "Because," she replied tightly, "she's on leave for about three weeks more, laid up with a broken kneecap. Remember, two months ago when she slipped on the stairs and fell?"
Grissom ducked his head, suddenly finding the linoleum floors extremely intriguing. "Sorry," he mumbled apologetically, "I forgot."
Kate hung back, not wanting to intrude on the awkward moment. The tension passed when Catherine sighed. "It's okay Gil. Can you give me Nick?"
Grissom shook his head. "Sorry, he and Warrick are working that DB on the Strip."
"Greg maybe?" Catherine asked hopefully.
"Sorry, he's helping me with the Gregory case." Moving with sudden inspiration, he spun around and laid eyes on Kate, who smiled nervously. "Here, this is Kate Farber, she's the new intern. This will be a good learning experience for her." Gently, but hurriedly, he pushed Kate forward under Catherine's annoyed glare. Kate felt completely exposed as the older woman's brilliant blue eyes took her in, mouth twisted into a frown. She couldn't help but feel like some sort of unsavory pet that had been forced upon the adults and they were each trying to dump her on one another without appearing totally heartless. Instead of getting angry about being unwanted, Kate found it strangely amusing.
Catherine sighed, making a decision. "Fine, come on." She quickly turned and headed back down the hall, leaving Kate just standing there in awe of this sudden decision. Grissom had since disappeared somewhere. Catherine whirled around to look back at her, still looking pissed. "Are you coming or not?"
"Uh, yeah. Hold on." Kate jogged slightly to catch up with the CSI as they made their way out to the parking lot. It was then Kate noticed the silver suitcase Catherine held loosely in her left hand. They passed Judy again on the way out and Kate nodded and waved politely. Catherine walked in silence with Kate almost running to keep up with her long strides. Catherine had to be at least 5 inches taller than her with longer legs than Kate could dream of. She moved like a dancer and Kate idly wondered what Ms. Willows did before she became a CSI. In the back of her mind, she could vaguely remember her Uncle Rory once going on about someone named Catherine being an 'exotic dancer' but she'd been too young to ask any more questions.
By the time they reached the issued Denali, Kate was panting slightly with the exertion. Catherine watched her with barely hidden amusement. "Did I wear you out?" She asked, a bit too happily.
Kate nodded, giving in gracefully. "Yeah, a little. Usually I can keep up fairly well, I play a lot of sports and stuff, but I've been out with a bad case of bronchitis the last few months so I haven't been able to do he stuff I used to do without wheezing like an asthmatic." She leaned against the navy blue SUV to catch her breath, not seeing the pained look that flashed across Catherine's face.
She didn't know that bronchitis was the reason behind Kate's wheezing. She'd just thought this was some air-headed bimbo with no muscle whatsoever. When she actually stopped and listened it sounded exactly like when Lindsey had just been getting over the same thing when she was about five; Catherine cursed herself for not noticing it earlier. It was so obvious; in her irritation at Grissom's air-headedness, she'd just taken out her proclivity to giving the cold shoulder on this poor intern. She watched as Kate leaned her head against the Denali's door, breathing deeply to try and even it out.
Taking one last deep breath she looked at Catherine and gave her a sweet, honest grin. "Shall we?" Shoving a tangle of ebony curls out of her face, she walked around the front of the Denali to get in the passenger's seat.
Catherine shook her head in confusion at this girl's cheerfulness. Most people would be defensive and moody if someone had just made fun of them for no reason. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her head, Catherine climbed into the SUV. Kate sat, staring out the window absently, an absent grin on her face. She looked over to Catherine who was starting up the car.
"So, where are we going?"
Catherine pulled the Denali into gear and carefully backed it out of its parking space; she didn't answer until she was out on the street. "We have a 419, that's a homicide, and a robbery on the strip."
"What happened?"
Catherine looked over at her; Kate was watching her curiously. "Uh, guy walks in the store, demands all the cash in the registers. Storeowner decides to play cavalier, grabs the shotgun under the counter and tries to take out the guy himself. Robber was faster, plugs him, grabs the cash and runs."
Kate scoffed cynically. "Everyone insists on playing the hero."
Catherine furrowed her brows, surprised at this jaded view. "Well, what would you have done?"
"If I valued my life? I'd do what the guy said. I mean, he probably had insurance. Did the guy have any family or what?"
"Don't know yet."
Kate shook her head. "See, my dad's an anatomy professor at UNLV, he used to be a coroner. God, I'd go see him when he was a coroner and I'd be shocked how many times some person died because they tried to go and do something stupid and courageous."
"So you're saying that courage is overrated?" Catherine could not honestly believe she was having this conversation.
"No, but there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Bravery is doing something that you don't realize is brave at the time. Stupidity is doing something because you know it'll make you look good in the end." Kate went back to staring out the window. Her expression was vague, as if recalling a distant memory. Sara got the same look when she thought too hard about some of her more difficult cases; Catherine found it just as hard to endure from this girl as with Sara.
Trying to break the tension that had suddenly been created, Catherine turned on the radio, pleased to find her favorite station. A Carpenter's song was on and she was pleasantly surprised to see Kate mouthing along with the words.
"You like the Carpenters?" She asked innocently.
Kate nodded, perking up a little bit. "Yeah, my mom's a huge seventies fan, she always has it playing on the radio. Kind of grew on me I guess." Her face softened a little. "I get a bittersweet feeling whenever I hear a Carpenter's song though."
"Why?"
"I guess just because that they wrote such happy songs, but Karen Carpenter was such a sad person in real life. Every time I see a picture of her, I feel kind of guilty for liking her music so much, because I can't figure out if I should be happy or sad when I hear one of their songs." Kate's green eyes sought her out. "What do you think?"
Catherine stared ahead at the road for a moment, honestly considering her answer. She'd never really thought about it, but now that it was in her brain, she wanted to give a good answer. "I think…" she said slowly, "that it's good you enjoy their music. I think…I think that Karen Carpenter sang those songs so other people could be happy."
Kate's question was almost childlike. "But why didn't she keep any of the happiness for herself?"
Catherine struggled for an answer. Suddenly, the shrill scream of her cell-phone broke the quiet strain that had been growing once again. Pulling out the phone, she flipped it open, answering with a curt, "Willows."
"Will you PLEASE have a talk with YOUR daughter?"
"Hello to you too, Ms. Sidle." Catherine answered pleasantly, pulling into the parking lot of the scene. "What's up with Lindsey?"
"I don't know! That's the problem. She came storming home from Brittany's in tears and she won't talk to me. I have tried everything and it's starting to scare me."
"Well, when did she come home?"
There was a slight pause. "About five hours ago."
"She's been in her room that long?" Catherine asked, completely unsurprised. She sighed, knowing Kate was observing her inquisitively. "Put her on the phone."
There was another pause and she heard Sara calling Lindsey, telling her it was her mother. Something clicked and a sullen voice came on the phone. "Hello."
"Lindsey?"
"Yes?" Lindsey asked sulkily.
"Is everything all right? Sara told me you came home from Brittany's all upset and haven't come out of your room all afternoon."
"It's nothing mom, just a fight Brittany and I had. We'll be over it by tomorrow, Sara's just being paranoid."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, mom." Catherine heard Lindsey groan. "It's fine."
"Okay, put Sara back on the phone."
Yet another click. "Yeah?"
"She's fine. It's just a fight. Just let me know if she, I don't know, stops eating or suddenly starts giving away all of her personal belongings or something."
"Catherine!"
Catherine put up her hands in mock surrender. "Just kidding sweetie. Jeez, lighten up. Listen, I'm at a scene. I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Love you."
"Love you too. Bye." She hung up the phone to see Kate looking at her, eyebrow raised. "What?
Kate just shook her head. "Nothing."
"Okay." Catherine reached back and grabbed (what Kate assumed) her kit and looked at Kate calmly. "Now, don't touch anything. Understand?"
Kate nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Are you going to touch anything?"
Kate shook her head. "No ma'am."
"Good." Catherine got out of the Denali and set her sunglasses on her nose. Kate took a deep breath, trying to settle her fluttering stomach. Okay, this was it. First day and already she was on a scene.
"Are you coming?" Catherine called.
Kate scrambled out of the SUV to catch up with the leggy blonde. The sudden assault of the Las Vegas sun hit her full blast as soon as she stepped out of the car. Kate had to blink for a few moments to get her eyes to adjust. Once everything wasn't in muted sepia tones anymore, she dashed across the parking lot only to stop mere centimeters from Catherine, nearly crashing into her as she was talking to a tall, round faced Hispanic man with heavy brows and a gloomy face. Panting, she rested her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. Stupid bronchitis, screwing with her lungs. Now her mom would never let her play soccer next fall. There was a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up into two concerned blue eyes.
"Are you all right?" Catherine asked worriedly.
Kate nodded, making a thumbs up. "Lack of humidity dries out my lungs and I just ran across the parking lot. Sorry to scare you." Standing up, she stretched, trying to extend her diaphragm as much as possible. Catherine was still watching her anxiously and Kate smiled reassuringly. "Really, Ms. Willows. I'm fine."
Catherine gave her one last look before disappearing into the store. Kate looked to the Hispanic guy, who just shrugged. "She's like that."
Kate nodded and headed into the blessedly air-conditioned store. Vegas born and bred she may have been, but that didn't keep her from hating the heat with a vengeance. Taking a deep breath of the cool air, she spotted Catherine's blonde head poking out from behind the counter. Sticking her hands in her pockets, making good on her promise not to touch anything, Kate sidled up beside the wooden counter and peered over. Catherine and a small guy with thick, black-framed glasses and messy brown hair were looking at a guy in his mid-fifties with graying brown hair. Three red circles, about an inch in diameter spotted his chest. He was staring ahead, a surprised expression on his face. Kate was surprised to find herself surprisingly calm; then again, she'd seen her share of dead bodies with her dad's job. Keeping her hands in her pockets, she slipped around to the side to see better.
The guy with the glasses had a blue windbreaker on, CORONER in bold white letters along the back. He slid what looked like an oversized meat thermometer into a small incision in the man's abdomen. After a moment, he pulled it out again and checked the digital display. "Okay, TOD was approximately four hours ago." Tucking the thermometer into a box, her turned and seemed a bit surprised to see Kate standing there. "Oh, hello." He adjusted his glasses.
Catherine looked up from the body and seemed equally as surprised to see Kate there. "Uh, David, this is Kate Farber. She's an intern. Kate, this is David Phillips, assistant coroner."
Kate shook his hand, grinning. "Hi, nice to meet you."
David nodded politely and disappeared out the front door.
"Kate would you do me a favor? My kit's in front of the counter, would you open it up and grab two pairs of gloves?" Catherine looked at her expectantly. Kate nodded and picked up the case and opened it. She spotted the gloves easily enough and grabbed two pairs. Handing them to Catherine, she watched as the older woman put on one pair and handed the other to her. For a moment, Kate just stared at them stupidly. Catherine shook them in front of her face. "For God's sakes, put them on, I don't have all day!"
Kate grabbed the white, latex gloves and slipped them on, waiting for Catherine to tell her what to do. She really didn't want to mess anything up on her first day. Kneeling, she watched as Catherine checked over the man. "Three bullet holes to the front." She muttered to no one in particular. "Looks like the perp shoved him out of the way to get to the register." Kate patiently waited as Catherine finished her cursory exam.
There was the sound of a bag being unzipped and Kate looked behind her to see David and a younger man standing there with a body bag. Kate and Catherine stepped out of the way to let the coroners do their job. Neatly, they zipped up the bag with the body in it and slowly held it up, dropping it onto a gurney. Kate watched distractedly as they wheeled it out.
"Kate!" She turned to see Catherine glaring at her. "If you're going to work with me, you need to stay focused all right?"
Kate nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Are you being cute?" Catherine asked irritably.
"Beg your pardon?"
Catherine's eyes flashed. "With the 'yes ma'am' and 'no ma'am. Are you trying to be funny?"
Kate desperately searched for an answer that wouldn't piss off the CSI. "N-no, ma'am. That's just how I was raised. I was brought up to treat my elders with respect, no matter what. If it bothers you, I can try to stop."
Catherine looked at her with a curious expression. "No, no. It's all right." She sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Okay, Kate…I want you to…" Catherine tried to think of something. "Damn you Grissom." She muttered. "Okay, for right now, just watch me, all right? Can you do that without touching anything?"
Kate nodded, happy to just be doing something.
An hour and a half later, she was still happy just being able to be here. Catherine was fingerprinting the register, lightly powdering the drawer and checking for any prints. Setting the jar down, she laughed softly. Bending over, Kate saw two distinct markings of thumbprints on the middle of the drawer, making out that someone grabbed it and pulled it open. She scoffed again.
"Got a criminal genius on your hands here."
Catherine grinned wickedly, tape-lifting the print. With a pen, she wrote the identification on it and handed it to Kate, who set it with all the other evidence Catherine had collected. Closing the fingerprint powder lid, Catherine reached to her waist and swore softly. She looked at Kate, blowing the hair out of her eyes. "Kate, I left my cell in the car. It's on the dashboard, could you run out and get it for me?"
Kate nodded and turned, jogging out into the now dark parking lot. Streetlights illuminated the Denali enough for Kate to see where it was. Thankfully, it was unlocked and Kate easily found the cell resting on top of the dashboard, right where Catherine said it would be. Holding it lightly in her hand, Kate made her way back to the store. Inside it was still lit like before, but Kate suddenly had a terrible feeling in her stomach. Catherine was nowhere to be found.
Worriedly, Kate looked around. "Ms. Willows? Hello, are you in here?"
She almost expected a call from the back, near the shelves, but there was no answer. Kate's stomach clenched even as she told herself there was nothing to worry about. Still, she stepped carefully on the wooden floors over to the register where she'd last seen Catherine. The older woman's blonde head was no longer visible from in front of the counters; Kate peered over the side and her entire digestive system dropped to her toes. Catherine Willows lay unconscious on the floor, a nasty cut on her forehead.