A/N: -slaps self on hand- Bad fanfic writer. Bad! Yes, I know it has been quite some time since my last update, despite my promises to the contrary. Feel free to slap me. I deserve it. However, I feel you should know that I had The Block really bad. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. And now, after about two weeks wait, the next chapter in -cue music- As the YoBling Turns. Jeez, I'm corny. Slap me for that too. Anyway, hope you're happy with the chap. I wasn't but I rarely am. If you want to let me know what you think by means of reviews I promise they will be given good homes in a special folder of my email account made just for them.

Chapter Ten: Messages, Theories and Bubbles

Sara had been unable to get any information out of Nick, much to her chagrin. She'd given up for now, but only because shift had ended. She would get what she was after. She was determined. And a determined Sara was a force to be reckoned with. She almost felt sorry for Nick. Almost.

Although she was annoyed that Nick wouldn't tell her what he knew, she was a little glad to have time to think about what had occurred to her at the Bellagio. She had to decide if it was really a possibility, not just some crazy, print dust induced theory. And a good night-er, days sleep always put things in perspective.

She closed her locker and was headed out the door when Nick walked in. He stopped in the doorway, his expression weary.

"Calm down, Nick," she grinned. "You're off the hook."

He looked relieved and she laughed, brushing by him as she left. "For now," she added and the expression on his face had her grinning all the way to her car.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Warrick walked into his apartment. It was dark, with only thin streams of light making their way through the cracks in the blinds. He didn't bother to open them or turn on any lights, he could see well enough to toss his keys on an end table and head for the bedroom. He was bone tired and if the table it sat on hadn't been on the way to his bedroom, he wouldn't have noticed the blinking light on his phone indicating he had messages on his voicemail.

He had half a mind to just ignore it until he'd gotten enough rest to understand what the hell was being said but procrastination wasn't his thing and he picked up the receiver, pushed a button and punched in his code.

"You have three new messages," came the automated voice. "First message:

'Good morning Mr. Brown. This is Tracy Morris with The Star, wondering if-'"

Warrick deleted the message.

"Next message:

'Hey Warrick. This is Jeff, I just wanted to let you know I didn't get a chance to fix that leak yet. Something came up...'"

Warrick blew out air in a 'hmmpf' sound and deleted that message as well. When it came time to actually do any work, his landlord always had something coming up.

"Next message:"

There was silence on the line for a few seconds and Warrick was about to delete this one too, thinking it was a hang up when a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Hey...Warrick. It's me." There was a pause and Warrick stood stock still wondering what exactly Tina had to say.

"I, uh, I just wanted to give you a call. See how you're doing." She paused again, and Warrick wondered why it was that he hadn't hung up. "Look, I know you have no reason to wanna hear from me but, I...I just wanted to let you know...needed to tell you...I miss you...and I...well...I guess that's it. Bye Warrick...I love you..." there was a sigh, and a click signifying the end of the call resonated in his ears.

His finger hovered over the keypad as he hesitated, unsure of what to press. It seemed an eternity before his finger descended.

"Message saved," came the voice within milliseconds of him depressing the button and he hung up.

He stared at the phone, as though the answer to all his problems lay within its plastic shell. Finally he shook his head and continued on to the bedroom, although he wasn't sure how much rest he'd be getting now.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Catherine walked into her bedroom, glad that Lindsey had spent the weekend with a friend and she had the house to herself. She was tired beyond words but this wasn't surprising considering that after only an hour or so of paperwork Gil had poked his head in her office telling her to grab her kit. The remainder of her shift, all five hours of it, had been spent in the vast Nevada desert helping uncover a series of shallow graves.

Despite the coolness of the night, she had sweat, and sweat hard too. And sweat plus large amounts of dirt and handling dry, decomposed flesh equaled an extraordinary need for soap and water, and lots of it. That, combined with the dull ache in the backs of her thighs for squatting for such long periods of time made her opt for a soak in the tub versus a quick shower.

She barely noticed her keys and purse bounce onto the floor when she tossed them haphazardly on the bed, her mind was zeroed in on the spacious tub in her master bath.

She turned on the faucets, making the gushing water as hot as she could bear, and tossed in a few aroma therapy bath beads and bubble bath, deciding that if she was going to take the time to have a bath, she may as well do it right. Besides, Gil had given her the night off when she'd mentioned her doctors appointment for the following afternoon.

Noticing that she had a little time before tub was full, she twisted her hair into a loose knot and secured it with a hair clip from the counter.

Catherine turned on the radio, spinning the dial to a jazz station and sent a cursory glance around the bathroom, wondering if she needed anything else. She snapped her fingers in realization. A drink. That's what she needed.

She glanced at the tub again before heading downstairs to see what she could see.

Her lips quirked to one side as she surveyed her choices. Wine would usually be her first choice, but that would be a no-no for quite a while. This left her with the choice of flat Pepsi, Lindsey's personal stash of Mountain Dew, and some sparkling water she'd forgotten she had. And since caffeine was not one's first choice to relax, she reached for the non-alcoholic bubbly liquid, pouring it in a wine glass, she could still pretend after all.

She made her way back upstairs, making a brief pit-stop in her den to grab a novel she'd been meaning to start but never had the time. The bubbles were just reaching the tubs edge when she reentered the bathroom and she cut of the water, setting the glass and book on the far edge of the cool porcelain before stripping down to her birthday suit and slipping into the warm comfort of the water, reveling in the silky feel of the water and the bubbles against her skin.

She relaxed into the tub with a sigh, allowing the scents and soft, soothing melody of a piano, sax, and drum piece to overtake her senses, blocking out all thoughts, all reminders of the world and its problems. They could wait.

The wait wouldn't be a long one though.

A/N2: So there was chapter ten. Don't know where that part about Cath came from, but that's what the plot bunnies wanted. And I've learned not disobey the plot bunnies. Think of it as a look into Cath's demeanor before all hell breaks loose. And here's your teaser: Catherine arrived early for her appointment. The house was empty and one could only relax so much before going insane from inactivity. Especially someone in her line of work. The light murmuring of the women in the waiting room and the television tuned to HGTV would provide a change of scenery at least.

But her early arrival proved to be a blessing, seeing as one of Roz's patients canceled their appointment, and Catherine was bumped up.

"Ms. Willows? Dr. Coronado will see you now," called the professionally perky mass of red curls that sat at the receptionist desk.

Catherine stood, setting her copy of Baby Talk magazine back on the coffee table in the middle of the room. A few women glanced up, watching with little interest as she disappeared through the oak door leading to the exam rooms.

BTW, I said this in the previous chapter but it never hurts to say things more than once. I've proofed every chapter but apparently, that's not enough, as I've gone back to read this to a friend and noticed quite a few errors. It seems that even though I've been paid to edit stuff for other people, I just can't do it for myself, so if anybody is willing to give future chaps a quick once over, give me a holler. See you all next time around.