Chapter Three- Sparks and Heartaches

Thanks to obsessedwithstabler, big-smiles-all-around, and CocaCola1052 for their reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone so if I die there wouldn't be a fight over who gets the characters.

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The plane took off on a dreary, rainy day in Las Vegas. Catherine had awoke a dawn and realized her daughter hadn't packed yet. The two had scrambled around trying to get everything together and caused the team to nearly miss their flight. At the moment she was wedge between Grissom and her daughter. Her daughter was staring out the window and laughing at everything. Grissom was examining some files. Catherine was taking advantage of the free time and sleeping, her head leaning on Grissom's shoulder. He didn't mind, in fact, he wanted it there. It made him feel wanted and it felt so right for him to look to one side and see her sleeping form.

Sara was typing furiously on a laptop. She was reading over the case they were going to cover. The killer had apparently moved territories. From Las Vegas to New York. She wanted to know why. She flipped through the old files.

Nick glanced her way. She was so obsessed sometimes. Sara was the hardest worker on the team, beside Grissom himself. She spent nearly all the time in the lab, working on the cases. She wasn't anything gorgeous to look at, with her short brown hair falling in messes around her head and she wasn't really a people person either, but no one could deny that she always did a thorough and good job on her cases. He didn't have a problem with that. He just had a problem when she's a grouch after working all week with no sleep.

Nick let out a sigh. They had already gotten partners for the case. He was with Warrick. Lucky him. At least he didn't have Greg, he felt bad for Sara, she would have to deal with the rookie the entire trip. He silently wished her luck. Grissom had taken Catherine for himself, no surprise there. She was very pretty and all the others noticed how Grissom liked to hover over her. Nick silently laughed. I'm gonna cash in big. He thought.

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Olivia and Elliot sat in the car, waiting impatiently. Well, Elliot was waiting impatiently, Olivia was taking a nap. Elliot checked his watch just as Olivia stirred and woke up.

"Hey El, are they here yet?" She asked yawning and stretching.

He glanced in her direction. How could such a beautiful woman be a cop? He asked himself. But said outloud, "Nope."

Olivia sighed. "Wait, I think we should go in and check." She suggested, opening the door.

Elliot wasn't about to let her go alone and he got up and followed her, locking the car behind him. The two of them hurried into the lobby to find that the flight 987 from Las Vegas was landing. It was only a matter of minutes now.

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"Darling please stop bouncing." Catherine said sternly to her daughter, trying to get her daughter to calm down.

Lindsay pouted. "But Greg is doing it."

Catherine turned to focus a death glare at Greg, who immediately stopped bouncing on the chairs and hit his head on the window, making Catherine roll her eyes and Lindsay giggle.

Greg was the youngest of them. The kid, the rookie, the annoying one. He could make anyone laugh, but he could also annoy the heck out of everyone. He had begged Grissom for the chance to go out on the field and finally Grissom gave in mainly to shut up his whiny voice. Catherine loved Greg personally. He was like a little kid that she had to watch, but sometimes he did get on her nerves and his whining voice was enough to drive the most patient person up the wall.

"Let's do this." Warrick said, handing Catherine her luggage.

Catherine rolled her suitcase and shouldered her daughter's duffel bag, sending a quick look in Grissom's directions.

He cleared his throat. "Let's be polite." He said firmly. "We're on the same team and after the same guy."

"What if they're not polite?" Sara pointed out.

Grissom sighed. "Then be as polite as you can. They want this guy as much as we do and I've heard that the detectives are the best of the best, they just need our help with the forensics."

The team filed out slowly, wondering what the detectives were going to be like.

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Olivia spotted the team first. "I think that's them." She said pointing them out to Elliot.

He looked at the team. "They look rather normal don't you think?" he commented.

Olivia slapped him on the arm. "What did you think they were gonna look like?"

Elliot shrugged. "I don't know, maybe like flashy drag queen costumes."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go." She said firmly, dragging him behind her.

She greeted Grissom first. "Hi." She said. "I'm Detective Benson and this is my partner, Elliot Stabler. Melinda sent us to pick you guys up. She can't get away from an autopsy."

Grissom firmly shook her hand and then Elliot's. "Gil Grissom." He said. "This is my team. The redhead is Catherine Willows, that's Nick Stokes, the guy with the afro is Warrick Brown, the other woman is Sara Sidle, and the idiot with the hat is Greg Sanders."

Olivia smiled and tried to process the torrent of information. The team took turns getting and shaking hands with the detectives. Olivia noticed that Elliot was glancing in the redhead's direction a lot. Olivia could understand why. The woman was beautiful. You didn't meet many people with strawberry blonde hair and sapphire eyes. Olivia felt an unexpected current of jealousy. She never thought of herself as beautiful, but she thought Elliot would like girls with brains not some Barbie doll from Vegas. Olivia made a point to ignore the woman for the rest of the small conversation, but she couldn't help noticing how much attention the woman put on the little girl that was clinging onto her hand.

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The ride went by in silence. The CSI team were too exhausted from the time difference to find topics for small talk, and the detectives were unsure what to say. Elliot glanced back and smiled slightly at the sight of Catherine sleeping with her daughter snuggled close to her, also asleep. Grissom caught his glance and felt a wave of jealously wash through him. Olivia was thinking the same thing. She glared at the woman, but she couldn't dislike her. Catherine had been nothing but friendly to her and attentive to no one other than that little girl. Olivia couldn't hate someone like that.

Back in the squadroom, the CSI team left their bags in the car. They went in to be briefed and to meet the rest of the detectives and the DAs. Everyone looked up as they entered.

Melinda ran up to Grissom and they hugged tightly. "Hey you." He said laughing.

"Oh my gosh it's been too long." Melinda exclaimed. "And you are looking good." She said, taking in his put together appearance.

"So are you." Grissom replied, his eyes twinkling. Then he rememberd his team.

"My team." He introduced all the members again.

Olivia moved sit between Casey and Alex and whispering a few words to them about Elliot's attention on Catherine. They both glanced in the direction of the girl.

"She's pretty." Alex mused to herself. The question was if she had brains. If looks meant she didn't, then she would be slow. Her attention was quickly diverted though but a soft southern voice. She turned to spot a brown haired man looked directly at her with a hand offered. She pulled herself together.

"Alex Cabot." She said, taking the hand and meeting his eyes with a blue gaze.

"Nick." He answered with a low southern accent. "Nice to meet you ma'am."

Alex had never met a country boy before and she was smitten by his manners and obvious respect for women. She blushed furiously. She hadn't dated in years, hadn't even thought about it, but she felt butterflies in her stomach as she gazed at Nick.

Olivia and Casey obviously noticed this exchange. They smiled to themselves glad Alex was coming out of her shell. They turned their attention away from the lovebird's conversation and to the rest of the group.

Cragen explained the case and to his surprise, it wasn't Grissom who spoke up, but Catherine.

"Sir, we'll get this guy." She said determinedly.

Grissom nodded in agreement. "My team and I will work until we get this guy."

Melinda smiled at her old friend. "We know Gil, that's why I called you. You're not the type to turn down a challenge." She said.

Grissom smiled. "You know me too well Melinda."

"Or not at all." She retorted.

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The CSI group was staying in the same hotel. They were sharing rooms with their partner, except for Catherine, who was staying with Lindsay. They promised to be at the precinct early the next morning to start working on the case.

Olivia and Alex were in her office talking when Casey walked in. "I think we need to have a girl's night out." She stated.

Elliot walked in at that moment. "Fin's invited the new people for a drink. You girls feel like coming?" he asked.

Olivia didn't really want to go and watch Elliot stare at Catherine all night, but she didn't want to leave them alone together either. "Sure. I'll come." She said, getting up.

Alex and Casey exchanged glances. They both knew perfectly why Olivia was going, but found necessary to follow and give moral support.

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The CSI team was in the bar together. It was different from home so they all dressed up a little. Elliot turned his head when he saw Catherine enter in a fitted red dress with a confident stride. He liked her. She was smart, funny, and a confident. He sneaked a glance in Olivia's direction. He loved Olivia so much, but she never looked his way and he was giving up on hoping that she would.

Grissom was in a suit and Melinda was talking excitedly to him. They had a lot of years to catch up on and neither of them were waiting to talk. Catherine kept her distance. She was jealous of Melinda since she obviously knew Grissom well, but so did she. She just didn't want to intrude.

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Sara was bored out of her mind. She wore a simple black dress that she had borrowed from Catherine. She wished she had just stayed in the hotel and babysat Lindsay, but Lindsay wouldn't hear of it. The little girl was too much like her mother in that sense. She insisted on going to the movies with Greg. Sara sighed. Secretly she missed Greg and his wild sense of humor. Some guy walked up to her. She searched her mind for the name. Munch right.

"Hi." He said. "You looked bored."

Sara eyed him and then flashed him a wry grin. "Wow you're a genius." She retorted, taking a sip of her martini.

"People tell me that I am." Munch replied, attempting to flirt.

She gave him a strange look. "Mentally challenged people?" she asked.

"You know you are a very unfriendly person." Munch pointed out to Sara.

She glared at him. "And you're a very nosy one." She retorted.

"Hey I thought we were here to get to know each other."

"Yeah, but you're just here to annoy me."

"No I'm not. I'm trying to have a civilized conversation and you're making it difficult."

Sara made an exasperated noise in her throat and finally laughed when Munch handed her a glass of water. Munch smiled. She was different than his wives. She was smart and just as cynical as he was. He liked that.

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Alex and Nick were chatting it up in the corner. She was feeling flirty and he was sweet talking her. Nick hadn't met many girls like her. Smart and fierce at the same time.

"So what's it like being a DA?" he asked, visibly curious.

Alex was flattered by such attention. "Well, it's busy."

Nick laughed. "So is everything else." He answered her.

His hand brushed hers as he put his hand on the bar. They both flushed a little. Alex gazed at his warm brown eyes and felt a little skip in her chest. She was breathing quickly and she knew it. O Lord what am I doing? She wondered.

Nick was so nervous. He had never lost control of himself like this. One look from Alex was all he needed to get his heart going. He usually didn't fall for anyone this quickly and preferred to take things slow, but Alex got to him…fast. He didn't have a chance to say no.

He took her hand and kissed it. "May I have this dance?" he asked.

Alex giggled. "Sure." She said as he led her onto the dancefloor.

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Casey and Warrick were on their fifth beer. Casey was trying to keep things in control, however. The two had something going on right away. They were laughing and it shocked the rest of the SVU to see their usually serious ADA, shooting straw wrappers across the room with a CSI. They were having a good time.

Warrick glanced at the redhead. She was hilarious. She looked serious but had that little playful aura around her. Sweet. He thought. Casey was laughing and a little drunk. The former DJ was making her heart bubble and she was loving every moment of it.

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Cragen observed. He didn't drink. Didn't really talk. He could tell some of his people were already falling for the CSI. Alex and Nick and Casey and Warrick. He was just waiting on Grissom and Melinda to make a move.

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Olivia was watching Elliot and she felt her heart constrict when he walked up to Catherine. She didn't seem interested, but he was persistent. Olivia felt tears stung her eyes as Elliot forgot completely about her and started to laugh and joke with the redhead. She walked away and went into the bathroom to make sure she hadn't messed up her makeup.

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"So you're a single mom?" Elliot asked Catherine between sips of his beer.

"Duh." Catherine replied lightly.

"That must be hard." He said.

Catherine laughed. "Don't try and flirt with me by talking about my daughter, Detective Stabler." She said seeing right through his tactic.

Elliot smiled. He knew Olivia had gone to the bathroom. It pained him to move on, but he knew it had to. "Well then how can I flirt with you?" he asked moving a little closer to the CSI.

She laughed, low and sultry. "You can just come straight out. I'm not one for pick up lines." She said.

"Fine then will you dance with me?"

Catherine sneaked a glance in Grissom's direction. He hadn't even turned her way. Her heart plummeted, but her face never showed her heartbreak. "Why not?" she answered Elliot, letting him lead her onto the dance floor.

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Olivia returned from the bathroom and the first thing she saw was Elliot and Catherine in each other's arms on the dance floor. The tears she had tried to hard to control, leaked out of her eyes and she rushed to the restroom again before the everyone saw her break for the first time in years.

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GASP HOW COULD ELLIOT? Lol don't hate Catherine. She's hurting too. Lol R&R for more! Sorry it was so long!