DISCLAIMER: Don't Own It, No Money Made... Just for fun & enjoyment.
RATING: M for Mature. For language and mature situations in later chapters.
A/N: The Plot Thickens :D
REVIEWS: Thanks to all who have reviewed.
Chapter 22
The Click/Pop/Whine of the camera leaked out into the corridor of the Autopsy Room. The repetitious sounds became almost like a cadence, and might have been soothing, were it not for the constant flashing. Warrick was going through the motions of the photographing process for the four bodies before him. They had started out with a triple that night, but another victim was found on scene and rushed to the hospital. About twenty minutes prior, the hospital had delivered the body; the victim did not make it.
He would never admit it to anyone else, but this was the part of the job he was the most uncomfortable with; the documenting of the bodies. The images would stay with him for days, whenever he had to run this part of a case.
It was one of the many things that made working a case with Sara or Catherine easier, because not only were they good at it, that kind of documenting was easy for them. They were able to detach themselves from the task, and break it down to the minutia. There were many times when Sara's photos would yield information that they would not have visualized without her detail work. Her ability to break a case down to the smallest pieces, while still seeing things in the big picture to work out the facts, always seemed to amaze him, and he admired her ability to switch tracks seamlessly. He liked working cases with Sara, because it helped him to look at things differently, and he figured some of her skills would rub off on him eventually.
He stepped back from the cleaning table to get a better view of the body as a whole, and ended up bumping into the woman who was attempting to pass by, "Whoa there… You need some backup beepers on that thing."
He lifted up his eyebrow at her comment, "'That thing?'"
Stephanie was laughing, "Oh please, like you don't know." Warrick blushed.
"You always this forward, Miss Thing?" He shook his head as he attempted to hide his obvious embarrassment.
"Nah… I think it's just you." That time, he laughed. "So, are you done there yet?"
He checked his notes and nodded, "Yeah… I just need a couple reference shots and then he's all yours."
Stephanie plopped down on her stool and leaned her head back, rolling it around from side to side. "Man, isn't this shift over with yet?"
"Not yet… You feelin' that marathon shift still?" He clicked off a few more pictures to finish the roll and cleared the canister.
"Not really, I mean, yeah, I'm still a little drained… But truthfully, I'm just stressing a little bit." She reached up and stretched out her shoulders one at a time.
"What do you have to be stressin' on?"
Stephanie's eyes snapped open at his question, "Oh yeah, you haven't heard yet… Thomas and I sort of had a 'Come to Jesus" about the wedding."
"Do I dare ask?" Warrick's expression showed his apprehension.
"Sure, we decided we just didn't have the time, or the patience for planning a serious wedding… So, we're getting married in two weeks, without all the fuss." Warrick figured it had to be a good thing by the smile that graced her face.
"Oh, well… Then congratulations, I guess." He laughed without reservation, once he knew the situation, and he reached for his cup of coffee.
"But first… I gotta get Gil sorted out."
Warrick nearly choked on his coffee, "Somehow… I think you're gonna need a lot more than two weeks for that one, girl." It was Stephanie's turn to laugh.
"Please, with me and Catherine on the case, we'll have him on the right path by Friday."
Warrick groaned when she mentioned Catherine's involvement, "Well, just remind me to stay on your good side then, because you two together scares me just thinkin' 'bout it."
"Oh that's okay… Because we're getting you in on it, too." She pushed away on her stool to get started on the last body.
"Excuse me?" Warrick's face held his expression of shock well.
"You heard the girl, Warrick." Catherine sauntered across the Autopsy Room to stand between Warrick and Stephanie. "Besides, tell me you don't want to be in on finally getting rid of all that tension on shift?" Catherine's face once again showed her to be her feline self.
"You ladies are dangerous." He rubbed at his chin with a smirk on his face, "But I gotta admit, if you're as good as I think you are, it's gonna be worth it… Count me in."
Catherine winked at him and said, "Well, when we're good… We're very good. And-."
"When we're bad… We're even better." Stephanie added her own flair to the end.
