Author's Notes: Hey again, all! I'm back with another chapter. This one is a bit shorter than the others so far, but I hope you enjoy it. It's mostly fluff between our two ladies. I promise that there will be more excitement in future installments! I hope that you enjoy this new chapter, and I would like to thank kiarcheo for their lovely review!

"So what now?"

"I think we go inside and shift starts, right?"

"I mean what now in regards to, you know, us."

"Oh. Right. Well… I'll take you back to my place after shift, and we'll go from there?"

"How about pizza and beer tonight?"

"Deal."

It was amazing how natural and, dare she say it, easy conversation came with Sara now that the air had cleared between them. After the toughest parts of their conversation at the diner were over, Catherine had found herself relaxing around the younger woman to the point where she felt as though they'd been friends for years. It was almost like Sara had just gone away somewhere for a while and they were picking up right where they'd left off.

Of course, there was the minor-major issue of their mutual attraction, but they'd cross that bridge again when they came to it, apparently over pizza and beer later in the evening.

Catherine unfastened her seat belt as Sara pulled her Tahoe into an empty parking space. It took the blonde only seconds to realize that she'd parked right next to her own vehicle, which she'd left in the lab parking lot overnight after the altercation with Eddie. Catherine suddenly felt a pit of nervousness grip her stomach.

"Catherine?" Sara's soft voice prompted her to turn and meet her gaze. The brunette was biting her bottom lip, shooting her a knowing look. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Catherine slowly nodded. "I'm fine, Sara, really."

"Okay. Before we go in," Sara began, "I just want to give you a heads-up that Grissom might want to talk to you. He called me this morning before you woke up. I took the call outside so I didn't disturb you."

Catherine's eyes widened involuntarily, and that nervous feeling in her stomach suddenly felt more like nausea. Well, that explained Sara's absence earlier this morning. "What did you say?"

"I didn't tell him anything more than I needed to," Sara assured her. "Brass called him because of what happened last night. Because it happened on lab property, the supervisor had to be notified. I told him that you could fill him on any details, but that the CCTV footage will probably speak for itself."

Catherine slowly let out a small sigh of relief. "Right. Well… thanks, Sara. I appreciate you letting me know, and… for not sharing everything with Gil." She truly was grateful. If she'd been in Sara's position, she wasn't sure that her instinct would have been to safeguard the brunette's privacy, especially when put on the spot by her boss.

"Of course."

The two women held held their gazes for a few moments, until Sara cleared her throat to break the silence, afraid that if she didn't, she might be the one initiating a kiss this time. She removed her keys from the car's ignition and unbuckled her seat belt. "You ready to go in?"

"Not really, but sure," Catherine shot Sara a wink, some of her nervousness ebbing away when she noticed the small grin the younger woman shot her in response.

As Catherine detoured to the locker room to put away her purse, Sara continued on into the break room, making a beeline straight for the coffee pot. It was already half-empty, which meant that it was either a fresh pot or leftover from the night before. Crossing her fingers, Sara sighed in relief when she saw the steam rising from the top of the pot, and she poured herself a mug. This was going to be her third cup of the day – okay, closer to fourth if she counted the 2:30 AM cup she'd gulped down after finishing her statement at the police station – but who was keeping track, really?

She set the pot back down and noticed that there was only enough left for maybe one more cup. She grabbed a second mug and poured the remainder in it, setting it aside for Catherine.

"Morning, Sara." She turned at Nick's signature Texan drawl, shooting him a smile.

"Hey girl," Warrick also greeted her. "You save any of that for us?"

"Sorry guys," Sara smiled innocently. "You got here a split second too late. Just enough left for Catherine and I, but I'll fix a fresh one."

"Nah, that's okay, I'll get it," Nick told her, walking over to the pot. He emptied the old grounds and filter into the trash can and began rinsing the pot in the sink, until he thought about what she'd said, and he froze. Warrick seemed to realize it at the same time, and both men slowly exchanged a look. "Wait, did you say Catherine?"

"Yeah," Sara replied, pouring a packet of sugar into both mugs. She'd only shared one meal with Catherine, but she remembered how she fixed her coffee. Like herself, she also took sugar, but the blonde also seemed to like a splash of cream. So focused on her task, she didn't notice how strangely both men were staring at her.

"You're… fixing coffee for Catherine." Nick's tone was equal parts incredulous and questioning.

"Yes…?"

Both men cleared their throats uncomfortably, and Sara finally turned to face them, noticing the strange looks on their faces for the first time. Quirking an eyebrow, she placed a hand on her hip. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Nick glanced over at Warrick for help.

"It's just, we didn't think that you two were getting along," Warrick offered with a shrug.

Sara pursed her lips, her jaw tensing. She'd of course noticed the tension between her and Catherine, but she hadn't been aware that it had also apparently been obvious to other people. She suddenly felt uncomfortably self-conscious, thinking about how much of a bang-up job she'd probably done so far at perpetuating the stereotype of women butting heads in the workplace, as well as how lousy her observation skills evidently were.

Before she could formulate a response, Catherine stepped into the break room, greeting everyone with a bright smile. "Morning, boys, morning, Sara. Spill the gossip. Who's not getting along?"

Sara's momentary look of discomfort slowly transformed into a smirk as she watched Nick and Warrick both stumble over themselves for a response. She also hadn't failed to notice Catherine's casual greeting to her, which was no doubt thrown in for the guys' benefit so they didn't focus on the fact that they'd come in together. She didn't know how it was possible, but Catherine seemed to figure out who they'd been referring to almost instantly – or maybe she'd known all along, and just wanted to watch them squirm for a few seconds.

"Oh, I see." Catherine smirked at them both knowingly as she folded her arms across her chest. "You're talking about me and Sara."

"Yup," Sara's smirk had become a full-blown grin, and she took a sip of her coffee, holding up the one she'd fixed for Catherine. "Apparently, if you have occasional disagreements with someone, you can't fix them a cup of coffee around here."

"Occasional disagreements?" Catherine asked, closing the distance between herself and Sara with a few long strides toward the counter. She gratefully took the mug from her and took a sip, her eyes widening a bit in surprise. It was perfect. How did Sara know?

The boys were still staring at them both in confusion, and never one to miss a beat, Catherine shot them both a sweet smile as she patted Sara's shoulder. "No, babe, more like a lover's quarrel. Keeps things interesting and fresh, right?"

Sara snorted out a laugh at Nick and Warrick's shared reaction of surprise, and she hoped that taking another sip from her mug of coffee would help disguise the light shade of pink now creeping up her neck. Her body was hyper aware of the blonde's hand on her shoulder.

"Nicky, close your mouth," Catherine bit her lip in amusement, "you too, Rick. Really, guys, you don't think two women can get along? And here I had all this respect for you both. Should I tell Gil that we need to revisit last year's sensitivity training?"

"N-no, that's – uh, that's not what we – no, of course not—"

Who was uttering the stammered words became unclear after a few seconds, and Sara had to bite back another laugh at their discomfort. She silently thanked Catherine, and when she met her eyes, the blonde seemed to recognize this. Blue eyes shot her a wink, and Sara's chest fluttered at the silent, secret acknowledgement that passed between them.

Grissom stepped into the break room at that moment, sparing both Nick and Warrick more awkwardness. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose as she flipped through assignments on a clipboard. "Hello, kids. Nick, I hope you were planning on actually refilling that coffee pot?"

"Uh, yes, Boss," Nick cleared his throat as he resumed filling the pot with fresh water. Catherine's smirk grew bigger – not only had she been able to catch the boys off guard, but Gil was in a snarky mood this morning. This just got better and better.

"Once you're done with that, you and Warrick have a 419 off Blue Diamond Road. Cath, Sara, another 419 out near Fremont Street." Assignment slips were handed out, and those in the room definitely didn't fail to notice that both women had been paired up again.

Catherine had to admit, she felt relieved to be paired up with Sara again. It was strange, really, considering how little they still knew about each other and how brand new their friendship was, but Sara's presence really did make her feel more at ease. Maybe it was because she was still feeling nervous about what had happened with Eddie last night, or… no, really, she needed to stop trying to rationalize every little damn thing and just focus.

After Nick set the coffee pot to brew and walked out of the break room with Warrick in tow, Grissom glanced over at Catherine. "Catherine, do you have a minute to chat?"

Sara nodded to them both, already excusing herself. "I'll grab my kit and meet you at the car." Catherine felt the gentle squeeze the brunette gave her shoulder before she walked off.

After Sara departed, Grissom stared at Catherine expectantly. "Jim told me about what happened last night. I also spoke with Sara."

"Yeah," Catherine let out a breath, her nerves back in full force. "I'm sorry about that. It's… being taken care of."

"Are you okay?" he softly asked her.

His question threw her, and Catherine blinked in surprise. She'd known Gil for years and they'd been through their fair share of shit during that time, but it always took her by surprise when he expressed concern. It never ceased to amaze her how the man could be emotionally stunted 99% of the time and almost a human being the remaining 1%.

The man keeps you guessing, that's for sure.

"I'm fine, Gil, really," Catherine replied, recalling how she'd given Sara that exact same assurance right before they'd walked into the lab. Maybe if she said it enough times, she could convince them, or at least herself, that it was the truth.

"Catherine, I read the report. He assaulted you."

"Yes, like he did the other day when you stepped in. I just filed charges this time."

"You know it's more serious than that."

"Gil, if you read the report, then you also read how Sara was there and stepped in before it became serious." Going back and forth with him like this was wreaking havoc on her already frayed nerves. She knew that he was only being persistent because he was worried, in his own way, but she didn't know if she had it in her to effectively comfort him right now over something that she was still processing herself.

"Alright," Grissom finally relented. "Jim mentioned that you've filed for a restraining order and there's a warrant out for his arrest. Lab security and PD have his photograph." At that, Catherine released a small sigh of relief. It did help her feel a bit better to know that at the very least, Eddie wouldn't be accosting her at work again, which had always been somewhat of a sacred space for her. "If you want to take some time off…"

"Thanks, Gil," Catherine finally shot him a smile. "I really appreciate that, but I'll be okay. Sara's letting me stay with her this weekend, and my mother will be back in town with Lindsey tomorrow afternoon, so we'll crash with her until this whole thing gets sorted out. I promise, I can still do my job."

Grissom stared at her in stunned silence for a few moments, and Catherine fought the very strong urge not to roll her eyes. She knew his look of surprise was because she'd mentioned she was staying with Sara, and she felt like throwing her arms in the air and shouting, "Okay, I get it! I was a bitch to her!" to the entire lab to just get it over with.

Instead, she remained silent, and Grissom finally broke the silence by clearing his throat. "Okay." And just like that, he was shuffling out of the break room, head lowered in concentration as he began to read through some sort of document attached to his clipboard. Catherine shook her head ruefully as she watched him go.

There he goes, back to the other 99% of the time.

Still, she couldn't help but smile as she walked off toward the locker room to retrieve her kit.

In his own way, he did try.

The ride to the crime-scene was surprisingly quiet. Sara didn't want to make Catherine feel uncomfortable by asking for details, and Catherine wasn't quite sure of what to say. Before either of them knew it, they'd pulled up at the address and Sara parked the car next to the police cruisers already present. Both women exited the Tahoe and walked toward the crime-scene tape with their kits in hand.

"Ladies," Brass greeted them both with a nod as he held the crime-scene tape up for them to pass under.

"Hey Jim. Thanks," Catherine nodded at him once she and Sara were on the other side of the tape. Sara waved her thanks to Brass, and, seemingly able to sense that the detective wanted a moment alone with the blonde, she grabbed her camera to begin taking the overalls for the scene. The body was still present, a middle-aged man sprawled on the pavement in a pool of blood, dead from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds, and Sara approached it slowly and methodically.

"Got a second?"

"I feel like I'm getting asked that a lot today," Catherine shot Brass the smallest of smiles. "Gil and I touched base before we drove out here," she then explained. "Thanks for cluing him in."

"Of course," Brass nodded, alternating his gaze between Catherine and Sara, who was slowly circling the perimeter of the body as she took multiple photographs. "I just wanted to let you know that we haven't tracked him down yet, but with a warrant out, it's only a matter of time. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sara's, uh… she's a good host."

Brass' lips pursed in slight amusement, and Catherine glanced away to avoid his gaze. "You said last night there'd be CCTV footage to review and there might be additional questions?"

"The footage has been pulled, but we're still going through it," Brass explained. "I'll give you both a call if we need you to come in. Personally, I'm looking forward to watching your junior colleague deliver a long overdue ass-whooping."

Catherine glanced over at Sara, and then back at Brass, suppressing a smirk. She wouldn't exactly mind seeing that again herself. "Well, just don't wear the tape out by rewinding too many times."

"You got it," Brass chuckled, ducking under the tape as he began to walk away.

"Oh, and Jim? If Sara's a junior, what the hell does that make us?"

The detective turned to her with a smile, lifting his shoulders in an exaggerated shrugging motion. "Wise?"

Catherine shook her head wryly as she finally met up with Sara, who was finishing up the overall shots around the body. Setting her kit on the pavement, the blonde retrieved a pair of gloves she began to tug on her hands.

"Did I hear you say something about me being a junior?" Sara quirked an eyebrow in Catherine's direction before she glanced through the eyepiece of her camera.

"You heard that, huh?"

"Well, you two weren't exactly speaking softly."

"True," Catherine replied, tugging on her last glove with a loud snapping sound that echoed throughout the now-empty street corner. "Jim was just saying how he's looking forward to watching you punch Eddie in the face later in the CCTV footage. He called you the junior to his and mine, how shall we say, refined wisdom."

Sara couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "First of all, I'm 27, so technically speaking, I haven't been a junior for quite some time. Secondly, while I'm in no way doubting your wisdom, if you're attempting to politely call yourself old, I do have a problem with that. You're what, like 32?"

Catherine's chuckle came out much louder than she'd intended it to, more to cover up how damn good Sara's words made her feel than anything else. "Good one, Sidle. Try 35. Compared to your spry ass, I'm nearly one foot in the grave."

"Jesus, Catherine." Sara lowered her camera, all pretenses of joking around gone from her face. "Of course you're not. You're 7 years older than me – I'll be 28 in September. My brother and I are 7 years apart in age. That hardly makes you old."

Sara's words, as well as the seriousness of her tone, once again threw Catherine off-guard. For one, had Sara really just volunteered personal information about herself? Second, why was she acting almost as if she was offended by the blonde's self-deprecating humor?

"Sara, I promise you, I'm joking," Catherine finally said. "I don't really think I'm old, as much as I sure as hell feel like it sometimes. But I appreciate you saying so regardless."

It was definitely a warm day out, but Catherine knew the heat and the sun weren't the reason the younger woman's neck suddenly looked pink as she cleared her throat and snapped off a few more photographs. Sara either hadn't realized she was joking and was now embarrassed now that she'd figured that out, or she just really was that shy sometimes.

"Alright, well… good. That you don't really think that, I mean. It's just…" Sara was suddenly stumbling over her words, much the same way Nick and Warrick had earlier in the break room, and Catherine fought very hard to keep the smile from her face, not wanting to make her feel even more self-conscious. It was hard, though. Sara just looked and sounded too damn adorable.

"It's just what?" Catherine gently prodded her.

"It's just that you're beautiful. Gorgeous, even. If a woman who looks like you thinks she's old because she's in her mid-thirties, then there's sure as hell no hope for the rest of us."

And just like that, Catherine was nearly floored by Sara's words. Just how did the brunette do that, one moment acting like she couldn't find the words, the next saying something like that?

The longer Catherine's stunned silence dragged on, the redder Sara's neck and face became. She hesitantly braved a look at the blonde, who was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Damn, Sara. If we weren't at a crime-scene standing over a dead body right now, I'd kiss you so hard, I'd make you forget your own name."

That made the brunette laugh as she lowered her camera, spotting the coroner's van pulling up in the distance. She waved them toward the scene and walked past Catherine to where her kit was lying open a few feet away, intent on putting her camera away. As she slipped the camera back in its case, her back to Catherine, she mumbled, "Tease."

Her one-word retort made Catherine choke in surprise, and she chuckled as she watched the brunette store the camera and retrieve some evidence markers.

"You think so, huh? Wait until tonight and then call me a tease to my face, Sidle."

Off Sara's look of surprise – and something else, perhaps anticipation? – Catherine walked off to greet David for his examination of the body.

Suddenly, Sara had never been more anxious for a shift to end.

TO BE CONTINUED