I'm not sure that this turned out as I wanted, but I don't have time to obsess over it, so hopefully it doesn't disappoint! Thank you guys for reading, and taking the time to let me know your thoughts. I appreciate it so much.

Catherine

The crisp December breeze teased wisps of white blonde hair, branches on the neighbor's trees swaying silently as I raised my porcelain mug up to my lips- the first decent coffee I had consumed in days. Tired grey eyes met mine from two houses down, the hand of a well dressed man whose name I hadn't bothered to learn in our six years here gave a cordial wave, briefcase in hand, before lumbering into a dark blue suburban. I raised my hand in greeting, offering a brief smile from my post on the front steps.

The sun had just peeked over the horizon, bathing the neighborhood in a soft orange glow. Everything appeared deceivingly peaceful beneath the gentle hues of 6 a.m.- the faithful slowly waking for Sunday prayer; the debauchery of a Saturday night in Vegas calmed down to a quiet lull. Here, you could almost pretend that the perpetual noise of downtown wasn't an easy 15 minutes away.

I flexed a foot in my sturdy, unworn hiking boot, flipping my sunglasses down from their perch on top of my head to cover tired eyes. I had almost protested when Sara announced that she would pick us up at 6, but the eager look in her soft eyes had me biting my tongue. She was doing this for Lindsay I had reminded myself numerous times while stumbling sleepily through my morning rituals, fighting the urge to crawl back into bed and bail on this trip entirely.

She had attempted to quell Lindsay's anger towards me with gentle words shared in the break room the other night- I had managed to catch most of them, lingering outside until they were finished talking, my heart a lump in my throat. Despite her basic social ineptness and her struggle with emotional depths, she, in her own charmingly awkward way, seemed to constantly have the right words.

Bonding with my daughter, acting as a support system for me without even realizing the extent of that kindness- I was beginning to feel a soft, malleable something. I could still see her dark eyes raking slowly over my body, meeting mine with a steady, burning confidence. I could feel the way her fingertips traced over my skin after my incident with James O'Riley, soft and concerned. I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut against those invasive thoughts, pushing a hand through carefully styled waves.

This was absurd for so many reasons. We were co-workers, we spent the better part of our waking hours together- there was no room for strange tensions or failed romance. She was dating Sofia, who despite my distaste for, seemed to make her genuinely happy. She was a woman, and the last time I checked I was still entirely interested in men. And most importantly, this is Sara we were talking about- stubborn, reckless, angry, historically speaking quite intolerant of me in just about every sense. It had to be the tensions of the past couple months; the high running emotions blurring lines that needed desperately to be re-sharpened and set into stone.

The sound of Sara's approaching Subaru drew my attention to the street, Lindsay pushing off of her perch against the bottom step, tugging out her ear buds as she headed towards the approaching car. I glanced down at my watch- 6 o'clock on the dot. A smile skirted over my lips as I stood with a light stretch. How very predictable.

"Morning" she greeted with a smile as I slid into the passenger seat, eyes taking a quick scan of my form, lips pursing into an amused grin. I tossed red waves over my shoulder, eyes narrowing slightly, "What?"

She shot me playful look as she shifted the car into drive, glancing in the rearview mirror at Lindsay briefly before pulling back onto the road. "You're very prepared for someone who doesn't hike"

I glanced down at my grey wool top, covered by a down insulated zip-up vest. My black leggings had been sitting in the back of my closet since that one January I had convinced myself I would take up running in my nonexistent free time. The boots were expensive and unworn- a gift from Nancy who a few years back had been naïvely hopeful that five dates with a climbing guide meant that I was on the verge of going against all of my natural instincts and following her footsteps straight into the world of outdoor extremism.

I shot her a look, absently reaching down to straighten out my vest- a shade of blue that perfectly accentuated my eyes, "You're really laughing at me for being too prepared for this?" She glanced over, smile melting from amused to gentle "You look great Cat"

"I still think you look ridiculous" Lindsay piped in from the back seat, a teasing look in her eyes as I turned around to regard her with annoyance. Barely 6 a.m. and this was already shaping up to be a long day.

Sara asked Lindsay about school and the blonde dove straight into a long-winded description of every class, eventually falling into a conversation about her fascination with cellular biology- 9th grade level, but impressive nonetheless. I was stunned, listening to the depth of information that she so easily shared with her. My attempts at asking about school were typically shut down with a few single worded responses and a general air of annoyance. Any information I did manage to get was based entirely in the ongoing dramas of thirteen-year old life.

It was nearing the canyons when Sara's phone buzzed in the center console, her features darkening as she glanced down at the name lighting up the front. I watched the muscles of her jaw clench as she pressed the Bluetooth button on the dashboard with a slight hesitation. "Sidle"

"Sara, you can't keep dodging my calls" Ecklies tired voice sounded through the speakers. I observed her closely, shoulders tense, a scowl settling onto her features. "No, apparently I can't- you're impressively persistent. What can I do for you Conrad?"

"The sheriff has called a press conference for tomorrow morning- I need bodies. You and Catherine are the leads in this investigation, I need one of you up there as a face of the lab"

I dropped my head back tiredly against the dark headrest and she snorted quietly, "What happened to 'do not under any circumstances speak to the press'?"

We had gotten quite the lecture, primarily aimed at Sara, about keeping our heads down and our mouths shut, so I had to admit, this was an audacious and unexpected change of direction.

There was a tired sigh on the other end, "Different circumstances, Sara."

"I am better behind the scenes, you know that."

Another sigh, followed by the ruffling of some papers "Fine, Catherine has a knack for dealing with the press anyway"

I threw my hands up in silent exasperation, glaring over at Sara who met my eyes apologetically. "Catherine is um, not really at her best right now" she chanced another glance over at me, meeting my unimpressed look. "And those bruises are still healing, it might raise some unwanted questions. I would ask Grissom"

I flipped the mirror down from above me, observing the healed flesh of my cheek. There was barely a mark left. "Right, thanks so much for all of your help" he sneered before the connection clicked off.

"You look fine Cat" she assured me with an amused grin as she reached forward to scan through the radio. I gave myself one last glance for good measure, meeting my own azure eyes in the small mirror before flipping it up, satisfied.

"You know Grissom is not going to do it" I muttered, fully aware that any attempts at saving me from the press were futile. That was my arena- much to my dismay.

Her phone buzzed again and she let out a low growl, jamming the Bluetooth button with an irritated force, "What"

"Good morning to you too sunshine" a smooth, accented voice laced with amusement sounded over the speakers. Sara sighed, tension melting as she leaned back against the seat, shooting a glance in her rearview mirror at Lindsay, engrossed in her phone, ear buds on.

"Sorry, I thought you were Ecklie"

"That's actually what I'm calling about. Thought I'd give you a heads up that he's scouting out recruits for an impromptu press conference tomorrow- you're on the top of the list"

"You're about a minute too late with that warning"

She sighed, the sound of a car door slamming muffled on the other end. "And? Because I was calling to warn you, but actually hoping he might talk you into it so I wouldn't have to face this alone"

She smiled, giving her brunette head a light shake that obviously went unseen.

"Sorry, you're on your own there. But Grissom might make an appearance"

She chuckled lightly at the blonde's quiet groan, the corners of her eyes crinkling, hand sliding down to hold the bottom of the wheel casually "Yeah right. Chances are he nabs Catherine, you know she just eats up the attention"

I raised my eyebrows at Sara who cleared her throat lightly, about to cut their conversation short when Sofia muttered a curse under her breath, the sound of her voice indiscernible and distant for a moment before she sighed into the mouthpiece.

"I've gotta go- enjoy your day away from this headache" her irritated voice shot before the connection clicked off. Sara pursed her lips into a smile as she flipped the radio back on to some quiet blues station that she had previously settled on.

"She's charming" I muttered, leaning an elbow against the edge of the window, watching the endless miles of shapeless desert pass by. I meant it sarcastically, though I had to admit there was something strangely alluring about her. To me, she wasn't much more than a bitter pill that I was forced to swallow on an almost daily basis, but with her confidence that bordered on cocky and her undeniably good looks, it wasn't much of a question why Sara had fallen for her.

She offered me an apologetic smile, grabbing her aviators from the center console, sliding them over her eyes- something to do with her hands as she found herself caught in a rare moment of emotional transparency. "Sorry about her. She's been just as overworked as us these days".

Sofia's perception of me incredibly low on my list of concerns, I let it go, my mind wandering to the press conference- a formal invitation for discontented chaos. In serial cases like this, press conferences seemed to quell the publics concerns just as much as rile them up, especially when the extent of our information was minimal at best. But the sheriff had pushed it about as far as ethically possible without so much as a word on the matter- likely dreading this break to the silence more than anyone. I sighed, focusing back out the window at the natural walls of red stone we had driven into, firmly shutting off any work related thoughts. It could wait until tomorrow.

/

The breeze had died down by the time we made it to the trailhead, Lindsay and Sara taking up the lead as I settled into an easy pace a few steps behind, drinking in the stark beauty of southern Nevada. Snow coated the ridges in the distance, the warm Mojave sun having melted the remains of the light snow that had fallen last week in the lowlands, wreaking a slight havoc with the early morning commuters.

The two of them had fallen into easy conversation, Lindsay, in typical fashion, shooting off one question after another about Sara's widespread adventures. I found myself entranced as she spoke of her travels- two months spent wandering through South East Asia between her third and fourth year of university; a trip to New Zealand in her late 20's where she had fallen in love with snowboarding. Most fondly she spoke of trails winding along the coast of southern California, sunlit and warm.

I had never considered Sara an interesting person- I really hadn't considered her much at all outside of the lab. But here she was, speaking of early mornings spent surfing the cold water of the Pacific, afternoons spent bouldering in the hills, back in her carefree days in San Francisco. At one point Lindsay had turned to me with a spark of excitement to ask if Sara could take her rock climbing. I cringed at the thought of her scaling up steep rock walls, held up by little more than a rope and carabiners. I had given her a soft non-answer, unwilling to flat out deny her today. The let downs could wait.

I found my eyes wandering over Sara's form as we walked, long legs clad in tight hiking pants, a deep shade of olive green. She had shed her thin down layer to reveal a form fitting black shirt that clung to her toned form as she moved. It wasn't difficult to imagine her on the cold beaches of Southern California, a wet suit clinging to her tall frame, dark hair damp and wind-blown, skin that beautiful shade of deep olive; relaxed, sand beneath her bare feet, shooting that charming, laid back smile at passers by. I could practically see her peeling the neoprene from lightly muscled arms, revealing her toned stomach, the swell of her chest barely concealed by…

I barely managed to stay upright as I stumbled over a loose rock, launching myself forward and sending it tumbling over the edge of the path, my ankle twisting at an almost painful angle, sunglasses slipping down from my their perch on top my head to rest halfway down my nose. I attempted to play it off as Sara turned towards me with concern, shooting her a smile as I pushed the glasses up casually.

You need to get your shit together I berated myself as she turned back around, dropping my gaze and keeping it trained on the ground in front of me.

I had built my life around appealing to men, something that came to me with a natural ease. Looking back, I seemed to fall from one relationship to the next without much thought, eventually entering into my passionate and tumultuous relationship with Eddie that carried me through far too many years.

Lusting after women was not something that I did. For years I had made my livelihood in the company of gorgeous women- even kissed a few on a handful of particularly wild occasions, too high or drunk to think anything through. But it had never occurred to me to take it further than that- there was just no attraction that went any further than a general appreciation for beauty that comes along with being in the company of women.

But Sara was something different entirely. Her beauty was complex and deep. It was in her expressive eyes; in the way that subtle Californian accent rolled off the edge of certain words. It was in the strength of her slim body, the freckles that littered her skin. It was in the way that she held a certain easy confidence at the same time as a modest unawareness of her appeal. It was in her convictions- as aggravating as it was to deal with her while she was holding steadfast to them. It was in her laid back nature, but also the more intense side of her that drove me crazy in more ways than one. It was in her smile.

I glanced up at her, laughing at something Lindsay was saying, a nervous flutter oscillating through my chest. I muttered a curse to myself quietly, digging fingernails into my palm deeply. I needed a good fuck and a quality man to date, in that order. I needed this drawn out investigation to come to a close so I could put some distance between us. We were friends- it had taken years to be able to consider ourselves that. I was not about to let this sudden, delusional attraction that had found its way in seemingly overnight destroy our newfound peace.

/

It was around noon that we made it to the main point in our hike, walking out onto a high ridge overlooking the vast desert- snowcapped mountains in the distance. I wiped sore hands on my leggings tiredly, ignoring the red dust from our scramble to the top streaking brightly across the black material. Lindsay wandered to the edge, blatantly ignoring my requests to be careful. "You can see everything from here" she announced excitedly, her wide-eyed wonder worth every hour of walking in these blistering boots.

Sara took a long drink from her worn, dark blue water bottle, glancing over at me with a relaxed smile. "Worth it?"

I took in the view once again- the gradients of color, the vastness of the lightly overcast sky, the view of the Sierra Nevada mountains looming large in the distance. I met her brown eyes, frustration tugging at the back of my mind as I realized I couldn't adequately express how grateful I was to her for this. I nodded, running a hand through my now limp waves, offering her a smile. "Absolutely"

Sara pulled a small stove-like contraption out of her backpack, using a match to light a flame beneath, which heated the water above- quickly producing three small, speckled camping mugs of apple cider to combat against the December chill. It was incredible how at ease she seemed out here, away from the horrors of our job. It was an entirely different side to her- a side that I could easily get used to.

I pulled my vest back on, the cold creeping in once again as I wandered over to the edge of the cliff, Lindsay helping Sara lay out the lunch she had picked up for us. Nancy had taken me up into this area years ago, right after Eddie's and my divorce had been filed. It had been a sweltering day in late August and I had cried on the edge of some gorgeous summit in a rare moment of weakness, her thin arm wrapped around me, trying to cheer me up with a succession of bad jokes, entirely inappropriate for the situation. She snuck along some whiskey disguised in water bottles and by the end of it I was sufficiently drunk, feeling far better than I had in weeks. That was the entirety of my experience with hiking, until today.

I drank in the view for a few long minutes, my mind battling the onslaught of thoughts that never seemed to entirely quiet these days. Lindsay's voice beckoned me back to a burgundy and white Mexican blanket laid out beneath a small Joshua tree- three sandwiches from one of Vegas's genuinely decent café's set out next to the steaming cider. I felt my stomach rumble, realizing the extent of my hunger as I came to drop down in the vacant space left for me.

"This is amazing Sara, thank you"

She smiled timidly, mug held between two hands as her brown eyes came up to meet mine. "I figured we better make our day off count- I hope turkey and brie is okay"

I ignored the way my stomach fluttered beneath her gaze, offering her a quick smile in response, taking hold of my own mug, grateful for the comforting warmth.

/

A rugged overlook a ways off the main path caught Sara's attention, eagerly turning around to face the sad sight of Lindsay and I, messy haired and panting, hands covered in red dust from scrambling up the last 200-foot ascent. She had made a valiant attempt at coaxing us into joining her, but we managed to convince her that she would be better off going alone, grateful for the brief rest for our clearly out of shape lungs. I waited until she had disappeared around the corner of a boulder to collapse unceremoniously against the rock wall, eyes closing against the burning pain in my chest.

"Are you okay? I'm not sure you should be doing such strenuous activity"

Lindsay took in my tired form, a hint of genuine concern in her eyes as she came to slide down next to me. I rolled my eyes, unscrewing the cap of my water and taking a long drink.

"You know, I'm not that old" I protested, the blonde raising an eyebrow at me, face quickly breaking out into a smile at my unimpressed look.

"You having fun?" I reached over to brush a few strands of hair that had fallen out of her loose ponytail away from her face. She looked so grown up these days- the softness of her young face beginning to thin out, wide blue eyes holding hints of budding maturity. It was the freckles littering her cheeks and small nose that hadn't changed one bit. I pressed my thumb to her nose adoringly, eliciting a laugh as she dodged lightly out of my reach. "Yeah, I like hiking" she kicked her foot at a small stone on the ground in front of her.

"I think it's cool that Sara has a girlfriend" She announced after a moment of silence, leaning forward to rest thin arms on her bent knees. I leaned back against the rock behind us, turning to face her. Clearly you haven't met her I wanted to mutter. Biting my tongue, I gave her a soft smile.

"If they ever broke up, I bet she would date you" she threw out nonchalantly, bright eyes staring out at the canyons. I chuckled, pushing a hand through my limp hair. "Well they're not broken up, and I date men, Linds. You know that. Sara and I are just friends"

She glanced at me over her shoulder, holding my gaze with identical blue eyes, a look that perfectly conveyed the sentiment 'oh please'.

What…

I frowned, entirely taken aback as she pressed her lips into a smile and focused back on the scenery in front of us. Was I really that obvious? I wasn't even sure of my feelings and my 13-year old daughter was picking up on them- that was absolutely fantastic. If she could see through me, could Sara? I quickly dismissed that thought, knowing that Sara, for all of her deep seeded knowledge, was about as emotionally dense as they come.

I decided not to insult Lindsay's blindsiding intelligence, sliding a leg down flat against the stone ground, staring up at the cirrus clouds painting the sky with a quiet sigh. "She's got a girlfriend. If you care about someone, and they are happy, you don't do anything to mess that up." I held her gaze as it met mine, silently but firmly stressing my point. I needed to get in my teaching moments were I could these days.

She pushed up onto her feet, dusting off her beige pants as she glanced up at Sara's approaching form. "I don't know, she seems pretty happy here with you" she commented quietly before wandering over to jump up onto a nearby boulder, balancing her way across it before bounding across to another.

"You guys missed out- the view from up there is amazing" Sara came to lean against the rock beside me, taking a moment to catch her breath, wiping thin hands on dusty knees as she smiled down at me gently. "We'll probably make it back in about an hour. You can get back to civilization". She pursed her lips into a teasing smile and I held her brown-eyed gaze silently, her dark brows furrowing after a moment, face falling.

"You're not having fun are you" she stated more than asked. I immediately shook my head, red waves falling over my shoulders as I moved to stand up. She reached out to grab my hand, hauling my sore body up off of the dusty ground. I kept a gentle hold on her, meeting her eyes with a soft, reassuring smile. "Today has been perfect, Sara. I…" I shook my head, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "There's nowhere I would rather be"

Brown eyes searched mine softly and I felt my heart rate quicken, the feel of her soft skin beneath mine, her body mere inches from me overwhelming my senses. I brushed my thumb over her knuckles, resisting the urge to tug her closer- close the small gap between us. It would be so easy to push her back against that rock wall- to feel the muscles that had been tormenting me all day beneath my hands. I wondered what her lips felt like…

This is not the time.

I dropped her hand abruptly, letting it fall to her side as I averted my gaze down at my water bottle, distancing myself from her by dropping down to grab a drink- my mouth suddenly bone dry. It was never going to be the 'time', I chastised myself harshly, gulping down the last quarter of my water despite the grueling hour still left in our hike. She was in a relationship, and even if she wasn't, it's not like she was about to jump into bed with me. I was well aware that I could turn most heads, even the enigma that was Sara Sidle's, but when it came down to it, we were like two opposite ends of a magnet. It was never going to happen. Besides, I'm about as heterosexual as they come.

Really, Catherine? Are you really?

I snorted quietly at myself, screwing the cap back onto my bottle with an unnecessary vigor, turning back to face the brunette. Her eyes were focused down at me intently- heavy and scrutinizing, as though I was some puzzle she was trying to solve.

"Are you okay?" she crossed her arms over her chest, concern in her voice. I was nodding before all of the words had left her mouth, offering a tense but genuine smile. " Yes"

"I know that it's been a difficult couple of weeks"

She left that statement open and I sighed, glancing over at Lindsay jumping between boulders in the distance. I let the silence hang for a moment before daring to look back at her, finding nothing but softness and concern in her eyes.

Before I could tap into my better judgment I was standing, hesitating for a just a breath before sliding my arms around her waist, my cheek coming to rest against the hollow of her neck. It took her a moment to respond- a fair reaction, as I'm not sure we had shared anything more intimate than a comforting hand on the shoulder here and there over the past seven years. She smelled of earth and patchouli; felt like safety and imminent danger, all at once.

"You being there for me- for Lindsay… it means everything. This past month would have been a lot harder without you, Sara" I spoke gently into her shoulder, her arms moving to wrap around me securely, a hand rubbing a slow, comforting pattern over the small of my back. I tried not to focus on the feel of her body against mine, her face pressed into my tangled hair. Before I could allow myself to revel in the feel of her, a painful sense of vulnerability began to creep in and I pulled away gently, giving her arm a final squeeze before putting some distance between us.

I could still feel the weight of her eyes on me as Lindsay rejoined us, sliding her arm casually through mine, asking Sara something that my hazy mind didn't catch as she tugged me back towards the trail.

/

A mile out of the park boundaries, the quiet buzz of Sara's phone indicated that we had returned to the land of cell towers. She sighed, glancing at the offending item with irritation as it buzzed a few more times with a slew of incoming messages. "Welcome back to reality"

I rolled my eyes at the succession of loud dings and buzzes coming from the back seat, glancing back at the small blonde eagerly flipping open her phone. "Sounds like Colton missed you" Sara glanced in the rearview mirror, meeting Lindsay's embaressed gaze with a teasing smile. "Sounds like Detective Curtis missed you" she shot back casually, clearly impressed with herself as Sara's brown eyes widened slightly, clearing her throat as she focused back on the road, a hint of confusion written across her features.

I chuckled quietly, pulling my phone out of a small pouch in my backpack, dolefully holding my thumb down over the power button, watching it spark back to life. I glanced over at Sara, her brown eyes flicking over to meet mine, offering me a soft smile. There was a tightness in my chest- I wanted so much more than a day alone with her. I didn't bother to unpack that loaded thought, leaving it heavy and untouched in the back of my mind.

Predictably, messages from Ecklie and Grissom flooded my inbox. I sighed, clicking on Gil's last message, eyes scanning over the words a few times, my stomach plunging violently as I processed the meaning behind it.

444- officer involved shooting. 3439 Flamingo. All hands on deck

I glanced over at Sara, fingers tapping casually against the steering wheel to the beat of the soft music filling the car.

"Sar" I cleared my suddenly dry throat, an air of seriousness immediately overcoming her as brown eyes flicked down to my phone and then back up to meet mine, "what's going on?"

"Officer involved shooting, all hands on deck"

I could almost see the color drain out of her face, fingers tightening around the steering wheel, the muscles of her jaw tensing. She was eerily silent for a moment, before uttering a tense "where?"

"Downtown, Flamingo"

She gave an almost imperceptible nod, the tension inside the confines of the car palpable as the vehicle picked up speed. I wanted to ask if Sofia was on shift today, but the look on her face was enough to tell me that she was. It could be anyone- hell, it could be one of the boys, though I'm sure we would have heard about it by now if it was. I leaned back in my seat, pinching the bridge of my nose in response to the beginning tinges of a headache starting to settle in, thumb lingering over Grissoms name, ready to call but inherently knowing that he wouldn't pick up.

After a moment I settled on tossing the item back into my bag, pushing both hands into my messy hair tiredly. Nothing like gunfire to the put a punctuated end on a beautiful day.