Thanks for reading! And thanks Imagifictions for the reviews- much appreciated :)
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Catherine
A loud bang jolted me awake, eyes flying open to take in my blurry surroundings. I blinked a few times, slowly focusing on Lindsay's form standing in front of me, a manicured hand resting on her hip. Her backpack was sitting on the coffee table, clearly the source of the noise. I squinted at her as I ran a hand through my matted hair, head throbbing.
"I'm going to school" she stated blankly, my eyes still adjusting to the light. I glanced around the room, half coherent. Apparently I had slept on the couch.
"What time is it?" I asked, my voice like gravel
"Six. I'm going in early, Jane's sister is picking me up"
I knew that this was an attempt to get out of that talk I promised her last night, and I shook my head lightly with a humorless chuckle
"You are quite the keener today. I want you home right after school, you and I need to talk"
She sighed, her rolling azure eyes the most common sight for me these days
"Whatever"
I reached out to grab her soft hand, squeezing it gently until she met my gaze
"I love you, have a good day"
"Love you too" she mumbled, throwing her backpack over a slim shoulder. Blue eyes glanced past me with a smirk as she turned to go
"Tell Sara hey for me"
My eyes flew over to the space next to me where the brunette lay, long legs curled up, pressed intimately against mine. I pushed up onto my elbows, eyeing the coffee table with our abandoned wine glasses and the three bottles we had slowly worked our way through.
The throbbing in my head was incessant and I groaned softly- it wasn't often that I drank these days, and this was a grating reminder why.
I pushed myself the rest of the way up, focusing on the younger woman sleeping peacefully, dark hair falling over her relaxed face. It was rare that I got to see Sara so unguarded, especially when it was just the two of us. Even at her most relaxed, I could sense the walls like barricades.
Over the course of this brutal case, my power battle with Ecklie, and the issues I've been having with Lindsay, she had been quietly, tactfully supportive. The guys had been too- offering me kind words and taking me out to keep my mind off of it all, but she had this way of knowing when to be there and when to give me space, though remaining just an arms length away. It was surprising and comforting, and I was deeply grateful.
One glass of wine had become three, which became three bottles from my 'special-occasion' stash in the basement. It wasn't exactly a celebration, but I figured fuck it- life is unpredictable enough and I was just miserable enough to make it justifiable.
We had discussed everything from our current case to our lives to articles from the latest Journal of Science. I had laughed, a lot more than I had in the past few months.
I let my eyes wander over her thin form. Her arms were littered with freckles, a few almost imperceptible scars splayed across her olive skin. I focused on where her legs were slightly intertwined with mine, a hint of a tattoo peeking out from beneath the tight leg of her jeans. I reached out to push it up ever so slightly, revealing a blue sunflower. The things I didn't know about this woman were endless.
I hesitantly untangled our limbs, immediately missing the warmth. I stood up slowly, groaning quietly as the pounding in my head increased ten fold. Glancing at Sara to be sure she was nowhere near waking, I dragged myself towards the bathroom for a quick shower.
It took about twenty minutes to revive myself, throwing on some makeup to counterbalance the way I was feeling, downing a large glass of water. I headed back into the living room, kneeling down next to the brunette. I brushed her dark hair away from her face, sliding my hand up to shake her arm gently
"Sara, hey"
She mumbled something unintelligible, blinking her dark eyes open with a squint. I smiled as she glanced from me to the surroundings of the room and back again in confusion, clearly trying to piece together her current situation.
"Good morning sunshine" I mused, giving her arm a squeeze before sitting back on the coffee table. She glanced behind me at the bottles littering the table, groaning quietly in realization
"I fell asleep" she stated, dropping her long legs off the couch to sit up tiredly.
"Yeah, it's about 6:30. I'm going in early to see if any results are back from trace"
She nodded, running a hand through her hair as she blinked a few times, heavy eyes meeting mine
"Yeah me too"
I slid the sunglasses I had resting on top of my head down to cover my eyes, eliciting a smile from her
"Feeling okay this morning Ms. Let's-raid-the-wine-cellar?" she teased, voice raspy from sleep
I shook my head lightly, immediately regretting it, reaching up to press a hand over my temple with a pained expression
She laughed as she stood, her hand smoothing gently over my head in a fleeting, sympathetic gesture
"Let me buy you some breakfast before we head in- you look like you could use some coffee"
"Observant as always" I mumbled, standing to follow her towards the door.
/
She was smirking at me across the booth of our go-to restaurant- mediocre food, mediocre service, but the closest place to the lab. I glared at her from behind my sunglasses, pushing the eggs I had ordered around on my plate with disgust.
"Just try to eat, you'll feel better" she told me gently. I shook my head, dropping my fork onto the plate and sitting back, raising my hands in defeat
"No, I can't do it"
Her grin widened, taking a bite of French toast.
I caught sight of a dark haired figure walking through the door, familiar brown eyes scanning the room. Groaning tiredly I slid a hand up in a feeble attempt to block my face from view. Sara raised an eyebrow at me in confusion and amusement, glancing around slowly
"If you're trying to look inconspicuous, it's not working" a deep voice spoke gently
I sighed, pushing my sunglasses up onto my head, squinting up at Liev's face with the brightest smile I could muster
"Not at all Liev, good morning"
Sara snorted quietly across the table, taking a long sip of coffee as I threw her a warning glance
"You two must be just headed home"
"Just heading in actually- we took last night off" I told him, glossing over the part where Grissom nearly had to manhandle us out of the lab.
"I'm going to use the washroom- I'll see you around Liev" Sara spoke with a smile, sliding out of the booth. I silently cursed her as he took the opportunity to slide into the now vacant seat, looking at me with those dark almond eyes.
I was putting a genuine effort into giving him a chance, but his presence was a constant reminder of being denied a promotion I not only deserved, but spent months working alongside Conrad to ensure. Also, he was a complete misogynist. I could spot that in a man from a mile away.
He was quite attractive with his dark hair and broad build. His eyes were so brown they were almost black- dark, shapely eyebrows framing them. Chiseled jaw line, charming smile, dimples. Usually that would do it for me, but something about him was putting me off.
Perhaps it was the way he moved around like he owned the place after only a couple weeks, appearing much more frequently than I had expected as we worked opposite shifts. I had watched him put his moves on Sofia in the break room the other night, leaning casually against the wall as she poured herself some coffee. I couldn't hear what was said, but I could sense the annoyance in her furrowed-brow frown and heavy stare, offering him a few select words that seemed to back him off quickly enough. I wasn't even fond of the woman, but I found myself silently willing him away from her.
He had attempted conversation with me a handful of times, each of which I had managed to dodge easily enough. That is, until now.
"When do you have another night off?" he asked casually, leaning forward against the table between us. I shook my head lightly, wrapping my hands around the warm cup of coffee in front of me.
"I never have a night off, between the cases I'm working and my daughter…"
He smiled, tapping his fingers on the table lightly
"Well whenever you find yourself with some extra time, I would love to take you for dinner, or breakfast, whichever comes first. It would be a real pleasure to get to know you Catherine"
I sighed, leaning back against the cushion behind me. He had confidence, I had to give him that. He sat back before I could answer, shooting me a dimpled grin
"Just think about it, I'll be around. Good luck with your case today" He said, holding my gaze for a drawn out moment before standing. I offered him a half-hearted smile, raising the large mug to my lips.
It was a few moments before Sara dropped back into her spot, warm eyes meeting mine
"I don't like that guy"
I snorted, reaching for my purse
"You don't say" I said sarcastically, motioning to the waitress for our bill.
/
"Please tell me you found something" I said tiredly as I entered the lab, moving to stand behind the bench Wendy was sitting at, observing a vial of sorts. She sat it down gently, shooting me a smile as she slid her chair across the length of her workspace, grabbing a manila folder.
"The trace you found on your vics shoulder was a mixture of soil and motor oil- synthetic blend, but a low viscosity. 0w, which is typically used for vehicles in much cold climates than Nevada"
I took the folder from her, flipping it open to observe the charts for myself
"So, we're probably looking for a non-local, or someone who spends enough time up North to justify using this stuff" I mused, meeting Wendy's dark gaze
"Yeah, or a mechanic maybe. Either way, that should narrow down your scope a bit"
I smiled, raising the folder towards her with a grateful look
"Thank you"
There were so many people we had spoken to regarding these cases that it was difficult to keep them straight. That was the obvious place to begin though, revisiting all of our suspects.
I found Sara in her usual lab, long legs bent beneath the stool she was perched on, brow furrowed in concentration as she stared down at her own trace results. She tore her eyes away from the file as I entered, coming to stand next to her
"Tell me you have something, because the fingernail scrapings came back with nothing but desert soil" she said, brown eyes meeting mine warily
"He's possibly a mechanic, or someone who spends a lot of time up North. It was motor oil on her shoulder, the type used in cold climates"
She frowned lightly, opening the folder I had placed in front of her. I watched quietly as she went through her own internal thought process.
I noticed the way her forehead wrinkled softly as she focused, the slight narrowing of her eyes as they scanned the graphs in front of her. Her dark hair was tied at the back of her head, and I caught sight of a faint scar trailing from just behind her ear to the base of her neck, almost hidden by the line of her hair.
"The second victim, Emma O'Riley- her uncle had just moved in with them from Colorado- it gets pretty cold in the mountains"
Leave it to Sara to remember these things. I nodded, turning to lean back against the table
"Do you remember where exactly he moved from?"
She shook her head, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone
"Sofia might, she was questioning the family too"
It took a few moments to get through, Sara's fingers tapping against the table- impatiently or nervously, I couldn't tell.
"Hey, it's me. Do you remember questioning the O'Riley family a couple months ago, with the uncle that moved from Colorado?... Do you remember exactly where he was from?"
She listened for a few moments, eyes coming up to meet mine with a light nod, telling me that it was a solid lead
"Do me a favor and bring him in for questioning as soon as possible"
I watched a sly smile appear on her face, the lines beside her eyes crinkling lightly as she turned slightly away from me, lowering her voice
"I'm sure you'll think of something. Thank you"
She set down her phone, lips pursed into a slight smile which fell away the moment she met my scrutinizing gaze. In the year and a half that the blonde had been around, Sara had never regarded her with anything less than irritation.
"She's on it. Uncle moved from Breckenridge- right in the heart of the mountains"
I nodded slowly, offering her a smile
"About time we caught a break"
"Should we go out tonight and celebrate?" she teased, fully aware of the fragile state I was left in this morning. I grabbed the folder from the table, smacking her arm with it as I turned to go
"Be nice. I'm going to fill in Ecklie, he's been circling like a vulture for a progress report"
She chuckled at the begrudging look I shot her, eyes following me out of the room.