As always, thanks for the reviews :)
x x x x
After sweet-talking Sara's landlord, an older guy called Gus wearing a Hells Angels jacket, into giving her the spare key, Catherine let herself into her colleague's apartment. The crimson walls and dark wood floorboards were warm and inviting, and very Sara. Cath was there for one purpose, to pack a couple of bags of clothes and bare essentials that Sara would need for staying with Catherine. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't get a feel for the place while she was there. Oh, who was she kidding, she was there to snoop.
She wandered around the small lounge and kitchenette, admiring the paintings on the walls and the extensive music collection on the shelves. Against the bookshelf there were two guitars; one electric one acoustic. She checked the fridge, and unsurprisingly found very little except water and fruit. Rolling her eyes she made a mental note to have a serious discussion with the young woman about her eating habits at some point.
Entering the bedroom, she was surprised to notice several candles dotted around the room and silk sheets on the bed. "Quite the romantic." She commented. Finding a decent sized bag under the bed she began opening drawers and the wardrobe and piling clothes in. Next, she made her way to the bathroom and collected up anything she thought Sara might need. Again unsurprisingly, she noticed that every item specified that it was not tested on animals.
With everything she needed packed, Cath locked up the apartment again, slipping the key into her pocket, and thanked Gus on her way out. He promised to forward her mail and asked her to take good care of 'Trouble'.
X x x
Arriving back, Catherine was pleased to find Sara curled up asleep on the couch, and Nancy sat nearby reading.
"Hey Nance, how's she been?" She asked, placing the bag by the stairs.
"Quiet." Nancy answered, not tearing her eyes away from the page. Cath leant over the back of the couch and stroked Sara's forehead, just to check her fever, but the contact caused the brunette to stir. She turned to look over her shoulder and smiled up sleepily at Catherine.
"We have beds here you know." Cath joked, stroking Sara's hair softly. The young CSI just blinked slowly, adjusting to the light in the room. Nancy stood up and stretched, tossing the book on the coffee table.
"Well, I'd better go and take the kids to school. I'll drop Lindsey off later." She said, before turning her attention to Sara. "And you look after yourself okay." She tapped Sara's forehead softly. The brunette just nodded with her eyes closed, not really listening. Nancy smiled at her and rubbed her arm as she passed. Catherine walked her to the door and thanked her again for her help.
"Hey, just so you know, she had a nightmare while you were out." Nancy told her, once out of earshot. Catherine raised an eyebrow.
"Another one? She had one at the hospital, too." she sighed. This was looking like something else she was going to have to talk to Sara about.
"Yeah, she calmed down quick enough, never woke up. I just thought I should mention it." The sisters parted with a hug and Cath picked the bag up off the floor and went to take it to the guest room, but stopped at the bottom of the stairs to shoot a worried glance in Sara's direction.
X x x
As soon as she heard the door close and footsteps going upstairs, Sara sat up slowly, taking the opportunity to look around the room. She had never been in Catherine's house before. It was nice; the decorating was light, yet intricate. A photo on the mantel piece caught her attention and she stood up on unsteady feet to look at it better. It was of the whole team at a Christmas party a year ago. Sara was stood between Catherine and Nick and Cath was leaning heavily against Sara, her elbow resting on the younger woman's shoulder and a lazy smile on her face. "Too much wine." The voice made her jump and she turned around to find Catherine lingering behind her.
"What?" Sara asked eloquently.
"That night...I had too much wine." She elaborated. "Couldn't stand up the next morning without the room spinning." She chuckled at the memory. They were interrupted by the phone ringing. Catherine took Sara's arm, guiding her back to the couch before answering. After all, the last thing she needed was Sara collapsing while she was dealing with telemarketers.
"Hello..." she answered, and her face changed immediately to one of horror. "Oh my God." She groaned. Sara stared up at her curiously as Cath gave her a bashful look. "Gil, Gil. Its okay, she's fine. She's with me." Understanding now, Sara chuckled quietly while Cath continued to try and calm him down. "I brought her home...Grissom she's fine. Nancy's checked her over...No, she's just got a fever...Well she'll stay here with me for a while...yes I am quite capable of looking after her thank you Gilbert!" She replied indignantly before putting the phone down. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled tightly. "Sometimes that man, I swear..." she stopped and sighed. "C'mon." She breathed, taking Sara's hand and leading her upstairs to the spare bedroom. She had made the bed up already and laid out some clothes for Sara to change into. "Here, not that that hospital gown isn't very attractive but I thought you might be more comfortable in these." She joked. Sara sat on the bed and took them gratefully. She slipped off the coat she was still wearing, before pausing and giving Catherine a strange look, which the blonde returned, until she realised what Sara was hinting at. "You do know that we share a locker room, I've seen you undress before." She pointed out, turning her back and rolling her eyes.
"Not the same." Sara commented, then paused. "When?" Cath laughed.
"Hey, just because you didn't see me does not mean I wasn't there." She remarked, wandering over to the window. "And by the way, as cute as that tattoo on your butt is, I like the fairy the best." The older woman shot over her shoulder with a sly grin. Sara's jaw dropped and she stuttered a bit, but not knowing what to say she shut up. Meanwhile she was struggling to untie her gown at the back of her neck so Catherine, who had been surreptitiously watching her from the corner of her eye, walked over and stilled Sara's fingers, unfastening the garment for her and letting it slide down her shoulders. She could feel Sara tense beneath her touch, but she didn't remove her hands, instead sliding them gently down her back, letting her fingertips graze the sides of her stomach. The brunette's skin was practically on fire.
"It's not a fairy. It's a guardian angel." Sara murmured, relenting and letting Catherine help her into a t-shirt. Cath smiled and brushed her fingers lightly across the little tattoo on the back of Sara's left shoulder, feeling a strange tingle run down her spine at initiating the intimate gesture.
"Cute." She commented. She was sure she could see Sara blush, but did not call her on it. Instead she left to her to continue getting dressed in private on the pretence of getting her a glass of water.
Returning upstairs, she found her now dressed colleague still sat on the bed, her eyes opening and closing sleepily. Cath placed the glass of water on the bedside table and practically tucked her colleague into bed and sat down next to her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the tablets the doctor had given her. Sara's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"Please Sara, just take one. They won't hurt you." Cath pleaded, but Sara refused point blank to budge. Giving up for the time being, Catherine placed them on the bedside table next to the glass and brushed Sara's cheek with her fingertips. "This isn't over Sidle." She whispered, then placed a light kiss on her forehead and brushed her hair away softly. "Sleep tight sweetie."
Catherine was just at the door when she turned and threw a final comment over her shoulder. "Oh, and Gus hopes you feel better soon...Trouble."
"Whatever he's said about me he's lying." Sara called out lazily to Catherine's retreating form, before her eyes finally drifted closed.