To say that the team of CSIs was confused was a mild understatement. They had prepared themselves for some sort of intensive teambuilding and to be told that other than scheduled meals that how they spent their time was up to them had thrown them all for a loop. Surprisingly, the only one who didn't seem to be put out by the announcement was Grissom and that presumably was because of the substance that had been slipped into his champagne.
"Well if all we were going to do was sit around for a week, I could have stayed back in Vegas." Greg let out a harrumph. He was clearly still rather perturbed at missing out on his date with Chiliana.
"Greg, the idea is to explore your deepest desires." Grissom was waxing philosophical.
"Well right now my deepest desire is to be at that U2 concert with Chiliana." Greg had no desire to be on the island or to even entertain what it all meant. All he knew was that he was missing out on a date with a future super model.
"Your loss man." Nick jabbed as he got up and chuckled. "I plan to take advantage of everything this island has to offer starting with a little swim in the ocean." Nick had come so close to dying while he was buried alive that he had no intention of missing out on anything.
"Oh, that sounds fun." Sara chimed in; the idea of seeing what was below the surface was intriguing. She glanced around the table to see if anyone else was interested in joining them.
"I'm in." Warrick pulled himself out of his seat, glancing back at Catherine and then over at Grissom. "Either of you want to come?"
"I'm going to take a walk in the jungle." Grissom smiled, he was looking forward to seeing just which variety of insects inhabited this island and whether perhaps he might stumble across a new species or variety; an entomologists dream.
Catherine smirked at Grissom and then glanced up at Warrick. "Well, if those are my two options, I think I'll take option three for now." Her muscles were sore and all she wanted to do was take a nice long soak in the Jacuzzi tub she'd found in the bathroom of her bungalow.
"Three?" Nick glanced at her curiously. "What are you going to do?" He had an impish sort of grin that had a bit of a devilish quality to it.
"Never you mind, boy." There was no need to tell them exactly what she was doing, she thought that she just let them wonder, and her smile reflected just that.
"Looks like Catherine's jumping right in." Greg had managed to toss in a quip even though he was still wallowing in self pity.
"Meet you guys in five minutes?" Sara gestured towards the front of the lodge. She reasoned that five minutes was plenty of time to change into her swimsuit and grab a towel.
"Eh yeah." Warrick was momentarily distracted as his imagination wondered just what Catherine was going to be doing with her free time.
"Right out front." Nick agreed, trying to stifle a smirk as he glanced over at Warrick. Since Mr. LaRourke had implied that there would be no repercussions from this week, he had half a mind to whack Warrick upside the head and tell him just to go for it with Catherine to put to rest once and for all the wedge that had come between he and Tina. However, he wasn't one to advocate cheating on your spouse, so he decided he wasn't going to say anything.
"Greg, are you going to join them?" Grissom looked at the youngest of the CSIs with concern; he'd thought that by now Greg would be able to join in with the spirit of the whole thing, but no one so far had been able to pull him out of his funk.
"No." Greg scowled.
"Good, then come with me, it would be helpful to have someone to assist if I find anything interesting." Grissom reasoned that walking alone in the jungle probably wasn't the best course of action, and given that everyone else had already chosen an activity, Greg was the logical choice to ask.
"You want me to go for a walk in the jungle." Greg just wanted to make sure that he was hearing him correctly.
"Yes." Grissom gave him one those looks that left no room open for more questions. "And you might want to put a sturdier pair of shoes on too." Grissom quirked an eyebrow at the flip flops Greg was sporting.
"Sturdy shoes? Are you suggesting that we are going to hike all over the island? It's a big island. Do you even have a map?" Greg wasn't sure that a walk in the jungle was what he wanted to do, but at the same time the idea of getting to spend some time alone with Grissom to pick his brain a little was intriguing. He was curious about a thing or two, mainly relating to Sara, and maybe if they were gone long enough, Grissom might tell all.
Grissom smirked. "Greg, when have I ever gotten lost?" The idea of getting lost on an island seem irrelevant to Grissom, even if they became disoriented, they couldn't truly be lost given that there was a limited area they could be in.
"Well, there was a crime scene, once, I think, that you had to back track...or maybe it was Nick." Greg realized that his argument didn't hold water and he furrowed his brow. "Just how sturdy do these shoes need to be?"
"As much as I find this exciting, I think I'll leave you two alone." Catherine gracefully extricated herself from the situation and meandered towards the doorway of the lodge, pausing for a moment to take in just how gorgeous the scenery was and to smile as she noticed Warrick, Nick, and Sara talking animatedly as they headed towards the beach. The fact that the guys kept stealing glances at the rather skimpy bikini Sara had on wasn't lost on her, and suddenly Catherine realized that she'd given Sara far too little credit on using her curves even if she seemed oblivious to it.
She let out a sigh as she walked into her bungalow. Yes, a nice long bubble bath in that tub was exactly what she needed. She'd had several difficult cases of late and her life at home hadn't been a picnic either. Her mother was constantly telling her that she worked too much and Lindsey seemed to be fourteen going on thirty-five; even private school only helped so much. There were days she wished that she didn't have to worry about either one of them.
As base as it sounded, right then Catherine's deepest desire was for a few moments of peace where she didn't have to think about work or home, where she could simply relax and escape from the worries of everyday life. As the water filled the tub and the peachy scent of the bubbles permeated the bathroom, Catherine lit a few candles and turned the lights down. This was perfect, exactly what she needed just then.
As she sank down into the bubbles and let the Jacuzzi jets work on her tired muscles, she smiled and let out a sigh. She felt better, more relaxed than she had in months, and yet she felt like something was missing. It only took a moment and a fleeting thought for her to realize that it was going to be a long week.
More than anything just then, she wanted Warrick in that tub with her.