Thank you all for your wonderful words! You blow me away with your kindness!
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this, silly holidays and travel got in the way. But I'm back and since the holidays are over and our two lovely ladies do need to get back to work, I'm taking a break from the theme of the story for a chapter or two. Don't worry though; they still have New Years Eve to look forward to :)
I hope you like it. Feedback is much appreciated, so is any advice on how to improve my writing or stories. Thank you.

Jellicos

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Chapter three: Dangerous Games

The worst thing about Christmas is that no matter how hard I try, it all comes to an end. Every single year.

It's not that I'm so terribly wild about Christmas that I mourn its passing. No, it has more to do with having to go to work after having several days off with my little girl.

Have you ever tried to tell a seven year old why work is so important that you can't spend the day with her?

Although I must admit my spirits rose as I stepped foot in the break room. Well, both my spirits and my eyebrows.

"Sara?" I couldn't hide that chuckle if I'd wanted to.

"Hey Catherine." She flashes me that gap-toothed grin that for the past few days had seemed to have funny effects on my body.

Oh, she is attractive I'd noticed that from the start. I'd have to be blind not to. That smile was the first I noticed, along with those soulfully deep smoothly dark eyes. Well, that and her body. Who could not notice legs that go on forever only to finally be attached to a toned killer body? Uhm, yeah, perhaps not the train of thought I should be having in a packed break room.

The point is that I always knew she was attractive, but it wasn't until just of late that I've come to realise that I'm attracted to her, in the sense that someone must have stuck a magnet in my stomach that seemed to gravitate in all kinds of funny directions around her.

And now she's sitting there, happily sipping her coffee with a damn Santa hat on her head! It's too cute.

"Hey…" I offer tentatively as I make my way over to the coffee pot. "You seem to be in the Christmas spirit this year." I say as I start to pour the dark liquid into my cup.

Warrick is playing it cool, flipping through some magazine that like all the others in the room is dated back at least seven months.

Nick on the other hand isn't as successful in hiding his amusement as a wide grin breaks out on his face every time he glances in Sara's direction, something he tries but fails to avoid.

"Yeah, it was something about all this snow that just puts me in such a good mood." Her voice is casual but the look she's giving me says differently and I find myself smiling. Seems our little snow-adventure really did lighten her spirits and suddenly I find my chest start to swell.

Oh shit.

My body tenses at the reaction because I realise just what it means. Oh shit, oh shit, not good!

"Sorry, I left…" I try to come up with a decent explanation, but fail desperately. So I decide to forget it, I just need to get out of here for a second. Without another word, I leave.

I'm not quite sure how I ended up in my office. Of course I walked here; I just can't really remember doing so.

As I close the door I realise my coffee cup is still in my hand and I put it down carefully on my desk before my legs start pacing the room.

Shit, shit, shit. Ok, thinking is a good strategy; this isn't the end of the world.

I stop and take a deep breath. It's not logical; I don't know her well enough to have these types of feelings.

Ok, standing still isn't working. I start pacing again, my hands suddenly buried in my hair.

Alright, let's be rational about this. I've known her for three years; we work together, side by side almost daily. How could I not have seen this coming?!

I'm not sure if I'm scared, shocked or just pissed. I spend one day with the woman and all of a sudden I have these feelings around her? I can't help but wonder what would have happened if I'd actually decided to get to know her sooner. I know everyone else around here.

Sure, it's easier for me to hang around men; it's always been like that. I have tried to make more girlfriends, but it just ends up a mess in the end. Women rarely like me, and I'm not so stupid I don't know why.

I'm a flirt, I'm tactile, I like it when people look at me and I like to feel appreciated. There's nothing conceited about it, it's just who I am, and usually men are more inclined to accept that then women.

Maybe I just assumed she'd be like that, and really, I didn't have to assume a lot because she has told me more than once, but I guess I deserved it at the time.

Either way, this is insane. Sure, I've had feelings for women before; I've even slept with a few. Well, two, and I'm not sure the second time counts because I was pretty wasted, but my point is that the thing freaking me out isn't that she's a woman, it's that she's Sara Sidle.

I've caught her watching me a few times, but never read much into it. Why should I? She's never given me any indication that there might be more to her gazes than just friendly appreciation, women watch other women. And she's straight, she's dated men; I've seen her date men. And Grissom for crying out loud!

Only time I've ever been surprised by her actions was in the past few days. The music box, now that was a surprise. I'm still not quite sure why she gave it to me, or how she knew. But I'm starting to realise that maybe this is who she is, thoughtful like that.

The way she responded to my thanks was a bit of a surprise too. Or her lack of reaction I should say. Maybe she was shocked. Yeah, that would be a logical reaction.

I come to a halt, take a few deep breaths and tell myself I really should be getting back out there. Grissom will be there waiting to hand out assignments and honestly, I can't stand thinking much more right now. Especially since I have no idea what's going on with me.

So with a final nod of my head at my decision, the one I still haven't made, I walk out of my office and back to the break room, my cup of coffee still on my desk.

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When I return, Grissom is nowhere to be seen, but my co-workers are flipping through their folders and papers of assigned cases.

I notice Sara's hair is slightly ruffled and her Santa hat is gone. Damn, I get the feeling I've ruined something, I'm just not sure how or what.

"You okay?" She asks as she walks up to me, looking at me like she's concerned.

"Fine." I flash her a little smile but she doesn't seem completely convinced. Luckily she leaves it at that.

"Here." She hands me the papers she was looking through. Seems like we're on the same case today. "I'm driving." She adds and is out the door before I can object.

A fifteen minute drive and half an hour of processing later, I find myself starring at a blank spot in the bedroom of our vic's house. Something is off, I just can't place it.

We arrived to find Mr and Mrs Garret, a married middleclass couple in their late thirties, shot dead in their kitchen. No sign of forced entry and nothing is missing, or so I thought until I started working the bedroom. Something is missing here.

It's a lovely suburban home, with a picket fence and everything. If it wasn't for the two pools of blood on the kitchen floor it would look like the perfect American household.

I feel the adrenaline rushing through my body as I realise what it is that's off. The room is too small. There is a big part of the house that appears to be missing between the bedroom and the bathroom.

I start knocking on the wall, and sure enough, it sounds hollow. Now if I could only find the door to… Oh my god…

I stand there; arms limp at my sides and just gaze wide-jawed into the tiny, almost closet sized, room I've discovered before bursting out laughing. The things you find out about people in this job.

I start to walk inside, making sure the door doesn't close behind me as I start examining the secret room. The walls are lined with shelves and hooks showing off various tools and toys; it's like something out of Lady Heather's mansion.

I can't help but let my curiosity take charge, and after I've snapped a few pictures, I open up the big chest at the door.

"Oh my…" My eyes grow wide as I pull out one article of clothing after another. The right side seems to be reserved for various latex toys while the left one is filled with a wide variety of leather and lace attire. I stand up and unfold a barely there silky gown and hold it up to inspect. It looks a little too familiar for my liking.

"Holy shit." I hear behind me and I visibly jump.

"Shit, Sara!" I place my left arm on my pounding heart, forgetting that I'm still holding the silk dress. "Don't sneak up on people at a crime scene." I scold her, but she doesn't reply.

As I look back over at her I see why. Her eyes are glued to the sheer fabric that I've unconsciously pulled towards me.

"I think it's a bit too… pink for you." I tell her and seem to get her attention.

"Huh?" She looks up at me, confusion written all over her face. "Oh, no, I wasn't…"

"And I'm not quite sure it's your style, but if you like it that much it does come in different colours." I say conversationally as I fold the garment back up and replace it in the chest.

"And you know this how?" She asks as I move over to the objects hanging off the wall and snap a few pictures. Everything looks clean and undisturbed.

"I have one in black." I tell her as I pull an odd contraption off its hook, not waiting for her answer to my revelation. "I found something." I say, still looking at the tiny speck of red on the leather. "Hand me my kit." I ask her and about two seconds later there's a moist cotton swab in my hand. "Thanks." I offer, but do not dare to look at her in fear of loosing sight of the little spot.

"That's a weird place for blood." She says over my shoulder as I drip some clear liquid on the swab and it turns red.

"And you know this how?" I repeat her words with a grin before placing the cap on the swab and bagging it carefully.

"I have one at home." She says with a shrug of her shoulder. I think I snapped a vertebra or two as my neck cranes towards her. "I'll go process the bathroom." She adds with a smirk, leaving me in the Garret's playpen alone. Well shit, so much for having the last word around her.

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We get through the rest of the scene without any other incidents, I found a couple of other smears in the hidden room, and Sara was terribly excited about the samples she'd collected in the bathroom and kitchen.

I have a hard time telling my body to ignore the wide range of emotions it's going through because frankly it's freaking me out a bit. Teasing and flirting is one thing, but this is just lunacy, stupidity, suicide even. And I still refuse to acknowledge what it is, if it really is anything but me being silly.

We drop off a few bags with Wendy and she smirks widely as she pulls a rubber toy out of one of the bags.

"Don't even." I warn, pointing a stern finger at her.

"I didn't say anything." She holds her hands up in surrender, but the mischievous twinkle in her eyes isn't lost on me.

"Just get to work on those will you." I say with a sigh and turn to leave.

"You could at least buy me dinner first Catherine." She says as she pulls on her gloves and starts preparing to process.

"Sorry Wendy." I turn as I get to the door. The Christmas break must have really put me in a playful mood. The wonders some time off can do for you. "You're just too… innocent for my taste." I smirk at her sudden loss for words before making my exit, fully aware that Sara is still standing by the door.

What is it with me? I can't seem to help teasing her. I don't want to admit how much I like getting her attention, how there is a soft tingle that seems to make its way down my spine every time she blushes. And somehow I can't escape the fact that getting a reaction from her is addicting. It's a dangerous game to play, but it's a delicious high.

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Thanks for reading, I promise, the next update will not take as long.

Jellicos