I really appreciate your feedback, follows, favourites and the very fact you're reading this! Hoping to get the next chapter up at the weekend, but for now, here is chapter seven. :)

Chapter Seven

I sipped at the can of Diet Coke I had in my hand as I flicked through photo after photo of murder scene. It was a quite night in the lab, with only a few burglaries being called in for investigation and I anticipated that Nick and Warwick would be sent out to them, leaving Catherine and I in the lab again. I was anxious over seeing her after what had happened outside the diner this morning. The only positive thing that had come from the last hours was that a brief sleep had stopped my body from shaking.

I finished my can and chucked it at the bin in the corner of the break room. I hadn't made any progress with the case I had taken on last shift and was close to having to place it back on back log or close it. We were meant to be the victim's last voice and I felt responsible for not being able to make sense of the evidence in front of me. Someone was responsible for the crime and if I didn't find out who it was they may never be found, and possibly may murder again.

"Hey Sara," Grissom joined me in the break room, taking a seat in a chair opposite. He didn't waste any time in vocalizing his thoughts. "What happened this morning at the diner?'

I shrugged. "I thought Catherine looked ill, and when she got up to leave I was worried about her."

"And things are okay between the two of you?"

"Fine." I nodded.

"You couldn't come back to eat with us after you spoke to her?"

I noticed that Grissom seemed to look a little offended and I was unsure as to if he was questioning me to make sure things were alright between Catherine and I or comfort himself that I hadn't left him for no reason. "I felt ill too."

"Are you okay now?'

I nodded.

"Okay, great. I've put you and Catheirne on the burglary on Warm Springs Road."

"Both of us?" I was instantly torn between rejecting his proposal of working with Catherine or grabbing it with both hands in the hope I may be able to talk to her about whatever kind of friendship we had left.

"Yes. That's okay, isn't it?"

I knew that he question was really wasn't a question at all. "Yes. Where is she?"

"In the parking lot waiting for you. You're driving." and with that he left the room to get about his own work.

I tried to settle my nerves as I left the lab building and headed out into the cold Vegas night. I pulled my keys from my black suit trousers, which I wore with a cream, long-sleeved shirt and short leather boots, and spotted Catherine standing by my car. I pushed my key fob for the electronic locks to open and she climbed into the passenger seat without even looking up at me.

I got into the driver's seat and pulled the seatbelt across my body; I put the radio on and tuned it into a station that played mostly pop music in the hope of making the atmosphere a little lighter. I smiled at her, but she only gave a short, polite smile in return and I decided to remain quiet for the remainder of the drive. We soon pulled up to the location Catherine told me she was taking the perimeter before getting out of the car and walking off out of sight.

I met the owners of the house and took their fingerprints so I could compare any that I found around the property. I assured the couple, a young man and his girlfriend, that I wouldn't be too long and that Catherine was outside surveying the scene there, before I started photographing the house. The building itself was nicely decorated if a little small considering the rest of the houses in the area; possessions had been tossed around like the burglar had been in search of particular items - from what I could see they had only been interested in valuables such as TV, DVDs and jewelry. Catherine and I met up again around 4am, both of us having processed our parts of the scene and we got back into the car in silence. The drive back to the lab seemed to go on forever and felt more uncomfortable by the second. I was grateful when I parked us back at the lab but I knew we still had over 3 hours of processing to do - together.

I followed Catherine to an empty room for us to begin sorting through what we'd found out. Unfortunately, with swing shift staying late to clear their back log, the only room that was free for us to use was a small side room that barely anyone ever used. The only light was through the small square window pane in the door and a ceiling light that had an occasional flicker; the room had a long wooden table that ran along the back wall with a computer sat atop, there weren't even any chairs. It would have to do.

I shut the door behind myself and watched Catherine hook her camera up to computer, accessing the photos she had taken that night. I sat down beside her in silence, waiting for her to start explaining what she'd found, slightly worried that instead we would remain in silence. Thankfully she started to speak.

"There were footprints in the soil outside one of the windows, I cast the prints," she signaled to the evidence box on the floor that she had brought in to the room from the car. "They look like trainers, probably a man, judging from the width, size 12. I also found a cigarette end in a nearby bush." She flicked through her extensive collection of photographs from the scene. "Did you say the couple went out for dinner, and came back to find they'd been burgled?" Catherine glanced over at me, and then back at the screen.

"Yes." I took in Catherine's body for a second, the only chance I'd had to look at her properly since we started the shift. She wore a crisp black shirt and cream suit trousers, with black high heels. She looked stunning.

"So it's possible they were being watched before the break-in took place, by a man with size 12 feet and a nicotine addiction. What have you got?"

"I found some material attached to the broken window, I'm guessing the burglar broke in there to gain entry to the property," I looked through my own evidence box that I had placed on the long wooden table. I pulled the small plastic bag up to show Catherine, turning around to face her.

She took a step closer to me, to get a better look of the evidence in my hand.

"What do you think?" I asked. Noticing that her movement had almost closed the gap between us, I wondered if it was intentional or not.

I watched her blonde hair fall over her face as she looked at the material, her beautiful rosy lips pursing a little as she thought. "It looks like cotton, possibly from a t-shirt." she answered me.

I could hear my heart racing as my lungs filled with the sweet smell of her perfume. I tried to focus my attention on the material, but I could feel her warm breath on my face and I felt my knees go a little weak. I knew she was staring at me, and I looked at her to see her eyes watching my lips.

"Catherine..." I turned to face her, my voice just a whisper as my beating heart seemed to drown out my voice.

"Shhh." She put her finger to my lips, her blue eyes meeting mine.

I could have moaned right there, just to feel her finger on my lips, but I kept quiet, still unsure what her next move might be. Then she leant in and slowly captured her lips with mine, cautiously at first, but I soon deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around her waist to pull her closer. I heard her moan as my tongue met with hers and I tried to take in every detail of the moment.

Knowing there was a wall just a few steps away from us I pushed her back up against it and hungrily turned my attention to her neck and the bare skin that her shirt revealed, her hands tangled in my hair as she moaned my name. I knew I was leaving marks on her body with my lips, sucking hard on her skin, and I slid my thigh between her legs before I took her lips again. My hands came up to cup her breasts, feeling her nipples hard beneath my fingers.

My heart came to a stop as she suddenly pushed me away and I took a step back with the force of it.

"I have to go." She choked, her eyes to the ground.

"Please-" I tried to reach out for her hand but she was already too far away for me to touch. She didn't even look back as she walked down the corridor, out of the building, and away from me.