"You look more relaxed," Mark commented cautiously as he helped Sara unload equipment from the truck they'd taken to their scene. "Did you and Grissom settle your differences?"
Sara considered not answering at all, but decided there was nothing to gain by keeping silent. "No, not really. We just managed to have a quiet night with no fights, which is a big accomplishment for us."
"Good for you. But if you're not fighting anymore, why aren't you working together tonight?"
"There is such a thing as too much togetherness, my friend," she said with a smile. "Besides, I miss working with the rest of you guys."
"Oh." Mark ruminated upon that for a moment. "Ok. So . . . what are everyone else's assignments?"
"Grissom and Will are out on a home invasion; Walt and Sophie are - or should be - inside, waiting to catch the next case; Jack's representing our shift at a meeting of the Organized Crime Task Force; and you and I are back here, next in line after Walt and Sophie."
He winced. "Poor Jack - what'd he ever do to you?"
"You know he plays politics much better than I ever could."
"True." He hefted a scene light off the bed of the truck, then shot her a sidelong glance and added, "Grissom and Will seem to be getting chummy. You know anything about that?"
"Not really...just that out of the guys, Grissom seems to feel least threatened by Will."
Mark snorted and echoed, "Threatened."
She gave him a dark look. "Don't you start. I've finally gotten things almost-resolved with the other guy, I don't want to get started with you too."
"Well it's just that he..."
"Enough, Mark." She turned and grabbed a field kit in each hand, saying over her shoulder, "I'll see you inside."
-------------------
Sara opened her laptop and clicked Send/Receive, resigned to the fact that she would find a lot of porn, a few departmental emails, and nothing from her Vegas friends. To her surprise, "Catscratch appeared in the "from" field of one of the first emails that showed up. As her Vegas friends went, she probably wanted to hear from Catherine the least, but beggars couldn't be choosers, and she double-clicked:
From: Catherine Willows
Date: Monday, August 18th, 2003 3:02 A.M.
To: Sara
Subject: everyone still alive out there?
Sara,
I know I'm probably not your favorite person to hear from, but I'm writing anyway. I haven't heard from Grissom - and no one's heard from you - in a week, and we're starting to get worried. Have you killed him and buried the body? Or maybe vice versa?
I'm not asking for details, since I know there's no way in hell I'm going to get them - I'm just asking for a reply confirming that you're both still alive, ok, and not at each others' throats.
Well, and a report of how things are going there wouldn't hurt either...
- Catherine
Sara smiled. She had to admit, Catherine knew how to handle her two cantankerous colleagues. No request for details, but she knew very well that they'd likely be forthcoming in any emailed response. She clicked "reply."
From: Sara
Date: Monday, August 18th, 2003 9:24 A.M.
To: Catherine Willows
Subject: Re: everyone still alive out there?
Cath,
Yeah, we're both still alive and kicking. Things have been a little strained lately. I won't get into specifics, but I'll tell you that we've been trying to decide how much longer he's going to be staying (it's still not decided; don't start asking).
Since I'm so nice, though, I'll throw you a bone: Grissom's adjusting pretty well to not being in charge. He's worked with just about all of my team members, and gets along with them decently. They're all dying to know who he really is and why he's here, but neither he nor I am about to tell them details.
I'm starting to think that there ought to be Exchange CSI programs, the way there are Exchange Student programs - I keep seeing things in my guys here and thinking, "Oh he'd be great working with Nick," or "Catherine would set her straight damn quick!"
Well anyway, yes we're both alive and we plan to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Say "hi" to Vegas for us.
- Sara
-------------------
In Las Vegas, Catherine read Sara's reply and smiled. At least Sara and Grissom were still in the land of the living-and-functioning - but the hints Sara had given were just too tantalizing. She scooted her rolling desk chair to the doorway of the fishbowl office and yelled, "Warrick! We need to brainstorm!"
-------------------
Grissom, still sweating from the - in his opinion - oppressive New Jersey humidity, slumped down in front of the computer in the break room and typed in "http/ Logging on, he hoped there would at least be an entertaining forward waiting in his inbox; he could use some light-heartedness after three hours of being berated by a shrewish housewife who seemed think it was entirely his fault that someone had stolen her Lládro figurines. Whatever a "Lládro" was, he figured it was probably ugly.
Focusing his attention back on the monitor, he blinked. An e-mail from Catherine? Either she was delivering bad news or she was demanding an update, and he wasn't sure which he'd prefer less.
From: Catherine Willows
Date: Monday, August 18th, 2003 11:35 A.M.
To: Grissom
Subject: Hello?
Gris,
Hello? You guys there? I sent Sara an email this morning asking if everything is ok and got a typically short, un-detailed reply. So now it's your turn! Spill it, how are things going out there? Sara says you aren't planning on killing each other, but she doesn't say much more than that. I'm depending on you here, Gil - tell me what's going on! Come on, this is Catherine, who helped you plot and scheme this in the first place, remember?
Have you guys even discussed "you"? Have you managed to quit smoking again? Sara's e-mail only whetted my appetite for information, and you know I can give you good advice for dealing with females.
Ok, I'm starting to repeat myself. Anyway, write back and fill me in.
-Cath
He groaned inwardly. What to do? Leaning back in his seat, he scratched his ear and pondered for a moment, then sat up again and started typing:
From: Grissom
Date: Monday, August 18th, 2003 12:18 A.M.
To: Catherine Willows
Subject: Re: Hello?
Cath,
Shameless, aren't you? You just want to hear the newest gossip! Ok, ok, I can't say I blame you. I guess Sara and I are probably the closest thing to a soap opera you nocturnal workers have.
Like Sara said, we haven't killed each other yet. We had a big blow-up yesterday - I was fed up with waiting around for a sign and she thought I was being too competitive with her pet CSI, Mark - but we've sort of resolved it. Basically, I went into her office and said, "I'm sick of this, if there's going to be a move made you'll have to make it," and she couldn't think of anything to say to that. But then later on, after we got home from work, she asked for a sort of truce, and we decided that we would just do our best to spend a night enjoying ourselves and not talking about anything that induces fighting. Before you say it, it has occurred to me that I was being stupid, and angering her is not the best way to win her heart, but argh, that woman can drive me nuts!
So since you've opened the door, I'll ask for some advice. I am really tired of making the moves. I feel like I'm pushing her, and you know I'm not that sort of person. However, my attempt to tell her that and ask her to make the decisions ended up in a big fight. So, how should I go about it? What's a way to tell her to start acting without pissing her off or scaring her away?
Anyway, say hello to everyone in the lab for me and Sara.
-Gil
-------------------
Catherine flipped open her cell phone and hit the speed-dial combination for Warrick's number.
" 'Lo Cath," he answered, obviously having checked his caller ID.
"Hi. I got an answer from Grissom," she rushed, not bothering with pleasantries.
"And?"
"Well he wasn't as open as I would have liked, but for him it was pretty good. He basically says he's tired of having to be the pursuer, but when he tried to tell Sara that, it sparked an argument. Also, Sara has a 'pet CSI'."
"A...what?"
"His words, not mine - that Mark guy Sara talked about in the very beginning. Do I detect a hint of jealousy in Grissom's phrasing?"
"Sounds like it. Poor guy's so turned around he doesn't know which way is up!"
"No kidding." She sighed. "Well, he asked for my advice about how to explain things to Sara. What do you think I should tell him?"
Warrick, on his end, raised his eyebrows. "You're the relationship person, not me."
"Come on, I need some input, here!"
"Ok, ok. Well...what did he try that didn't work?"
"Basically, he marched into her office and announced that if she didn't do the chasing from now on, there wouldn't be any chasing."
"Ouch! Sometimes I wonder about him, you know?"
"Ohhh yeah. But come on, think!"
"Hmmm. Well he could try not saying anything at all, and just start acting 'normal'. But Sara would probably spot something contrived in that, too."
"Yeah, that's kind of what I thought too," Catherine said. "Can you think of a way that he can have the discussion without getting her back up?"
"Well, it kind of depends on how they're interacting. I mean, if it were me in that situation I would probably try to right before bed, because everyone tends to be more mellow then. But somehow the concepts of Grissom, Sara, and bed don't go together in my head."
She laughed. "Well, he is staying at her apartment. Hell, for all we know they've got a rollicking sex life..."
Warrick, at a loss for a reply, shuddered.
"...or maybe not," Catherine finished. "But you're right that people tend to be mellow before bed. So ok, I'm putting that on my 'List of Things Grissom Should Try'. What else have you got?"
"Uh...I can't think of anything else at the moment. What have you got?"
"I was going to suggest he write it out. For most people, and probably for Grissom especially, things come out better when you have time to thing everything out before someone else hears it."
"That's a good one, Cath. I like it!"
"That was my best idea. You think of anything else?"
"Nope."
"Ok, well, I'll email this to him. I'm crossing my fingers for them!"
"Me too. Bye."
"Bye."