Sara awoke in a strange bed, in a strange room. A familiar scent, one she couldn't quite put her finger on, surrounded her. Blinking her eyes open, it took a moment for her vision to focus. And when it did she found two bright blue eyes staring back at her. She leapt upright like a shot.
"Hi Sara." The little voice sang with a grin.
"Lindsey, hey." Sara gasped, getting her breath back from her surprise awakening. The tiny blonde was on her knees on the bed, an inch away from her face. Before she could say anything else the door opened.
"Good morning sunshine." A warm voice announced. "Or should I say good afternoon." Cath wandered in and placed a mug of coffee next to the bed. "Lindsey, didn't I tell you not to wake Sara." She scolded lightly and Linds looked abashed, but Sara shook her head with a small smile.
"It's ok Cat. It just took me by surprise I'm not used to being watched in my sleep." She tousled Lindsey's hair affectionately, causing the little girl to smile brightly.
"Go get started on your homework honey." Cath instructed, so she clambered off the bed and scuttled out, leaving the women alone. Sara stared at her in confusion, until the memory of yesterday filtered through the fog in her mind. Ignoring Sara's expression, somewhere between embarrassed and bashful, Cath sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her forehead. "Hmm, you feel a bit better now." She said, a soft smile gracing her lips. Sara looked down and played with the bed sheet nervously. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't quite find the words. Catherine scrutinised her for a moment, but deciding that now was not the time to talk, patted her leg softly. "C'mon. I have it on good word that you need feeding."
"Nancy." Sara rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but I'm not really hungry." Sara declined, but Cath didn't listen.
"I wasn't asking Sidle." She said bluntly. "You and I need to have a little chat about your eating habits Missy." She said with a raised eyebrow, Judging by her expression Sara had taken offence at that. "Don't give me that look; I have seen the contents of your fridge." Cath commented pointedly. Sara looked slightly embarrassed and shrugged, a small smile twitching at her lips. "Come on." Catherine tapped her nose lightly, causing Sara to scrunch it up, which looked so cute that she had to laugh.
X x x
Once she had managed to coax Sara downstairs, Catherine pulled out a kitchen chair for her and placed a plate of food that she had already prepared on the table. "Cath you really didn't have to go to any trouble. I'm not that hungry." Sara said, remaining stood and shuffling her feet nervously. Cath gave her a stern look.
"You, Miss Sidle, need to put on some weight. Now sit your butt down and eat." The blonde forced her into a chair. She left for a few minutes and returned with Lindsey in tow. The little girl clambered onto a chair next to Sara and began eating and chattering away happily, while Cath sat on the other side of her, opposite Sara. They ate and chatted for a while. Well, Catherine and Lindsey ate; Sara pushed food around her plate and nibbled a little, which was something that did not go unnoticed by the older woman. Cath moved to sit in the chair next to Sara, pulling it as close as possible, and took the fork out of the bemused brunette's hand. She scooped some food up and held it out to Sara, who continued to stare at her in bewilderment. Cath shrugged. "I thought maybe you were having trouble finding your mouth." She half smiled. Sara chuckled shyly and went to take her fork back but Cath moved it away. "Are you going to eat?" She asked, keeping it out of reach until Sara relented and nodded. "Good girl" Cath praised, handing the utensil back. A giggle brought their attention back to Lindsey, who was gazing at them.
"Do you have to be Sara's mommy too now?" The little girl asked in her innocent voice. Sara nearly choked on her drink while Catherine just laughed and fixed her colleague with a coy grin.
"Hmmm, I don't know Sara, do I?" She asked sweetly. Sara turned beetroot and looked like she wanted the floor to open up beneath her right now as she spluttered to regain her breathing. Lindsey had gone back to her breakfast but continued to chatter away merrily, which was doing nothing to curb Sara's embarrassment.
"Yep. Mommy will look after you. She's really good at being a mommy." Sara's cheeks were turning more and more pink by the minute while Catherine seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. She nudged Sara playfully and smiled cheekily.
"Yeah Sar, I'll look after you. So do as you're told or I'll have to put you on the naughty step."
X x x
After Sara's cheeks had returned to their normal colour and most of her breakfast had been eaten, Catherine left her and Lindsey alone while she tidied the bedrooms. When she returned to the kitchen she was surprised to see Sara stood in front of the sink, while Lindsey was happily colouring at the kitchen table.
"Oi, I thought I told you to stay put." She barked, taking the dishes off of her.
"Catherine, I'm fine really." Sara insisted, as Catherine whipped the dishtowel out of her hands.
"Sit down Sara, I've told you you're here to rest, not work." The blonde said adamantly.
"But I want to help." Sara whined, taking the towel back.
"No." Cath responded, snatching it back. Lindsey laughed again and they both turned to her briefly.
"I just want to help Catherine." Sara picked up another towel that was lying next to her.
"Absolutely not. Now sit down or I'll handcuff you to the chair." Cath insisted, taking this dishtowel back once again and lightly whipping Sara's stomach with it. Sara stuck her tongue out playfully and sat down reluctantly.
X x x
With the dishes done, Cath told Lindsey to go put her colouring upstairs and get into her pyjamas, as by this time it was gone 7. Alone, Cath handed Sara a mug of tea and sat down next to her. She was trying to get the brunette to cut down on her coffee, but she had a feeling that the young woman was onto her, judging by the way she examined the contents of the cup suspiciously.
"So...Trouble? Do I want to ask?" Sara laughed and shook her head, her cheeks turning slightly pink.
"It's just a nickname; don't read too much into it. It's kind of followed me through life really." Cath chuckled.
"Yeah I'll bet." She remarked, nudging her colleague slightly with a grin. They lapsed into silence as Sara looked around the room, almost as if she was trying to memorise every little detail. Cath, meanwhile was trying to figure out how to broach the subject that needed discussing. Deciding that she had to start somewhere, she opened her mouth.
"Sara, honey can I talk to you about something." She asked, but before Sara could answer Lindsey bulleted through the door.
"Mommy, can we watch a movie?" She asked sweetly, holding up two DVDs in her small hands. Catherine glanced at Sara who shrugged and smiled.
"Sure sweetie, you go decide which you want." She skipped back out, and Sara looked back at Cath.
"What did you want to talk about?" She asked, sipping her drink. Cath debated whether to say it, but in the end shook her head.
"Forget it, it can wait. Come on," she offered her hand to Sara, who accepted and they wandered through into the lounge, where Lindsey was sat in a self-made fort of DVDs, trying to decide which to watch with great concentration.
X x x
Apparently what Lindsey wanted was Disney. So, they got the popcorn and the movie was in and ready to go. Cath sat down next to Sara, close but not too close to impose on her personal space. However, evidently it was too close for Lindsey, who looked at the two women carefully and promptly clambered onto the couch, settling herself between the two of them. Catherine looked down at her daughter, who shuffled until she was comfortable, and then at Sara, who chuckled softly at the little girl and rolled her eyes.
By eight o'clock the three of them were curled up on the couch as the opening titles rolled. By twenty past nine Lindsey was fast asleep, coiled comfortably between the two women. Cath glanced down at her sleeping daughter and smiled before looking up at Sara, whose eyes were opening and closing slowly. Cath removed her arm from under Lindsey and tapped Sara lightly.
"Bed time." She whispered. Sara nodded. Cath clicked off the TV using the remote and shifted slightly to look at her companion better. In the dim light filtering through the curtains Sara's dark hair shimmered and her face looked ghostly pale. Sara lifted her eyes, suddenly dark as night, slowly until they met Catherine's, and a shiver ran down her spine. Those midnight black orbs seemed to burn right through her, almost drawing her inside. The blonde bit her lip nervously and continued to stare into Sara's eyes, unable to tear her gaze away. Both of them could feel how, seemingly in an instant, the mood had changed. Something had shifted between them. Within them. In the silence, and the darkness there was a strange electricity in the room that hadn't been there before, holding them in this exhilarating current. A small leg stretched out and landed squarely in Sara's stomach, forcing both women to break their gaze, turning to the snoozing seven year old. Cath pulled Lindsey into her arms and lifted her up carefully, so as not to wake her. "I'll just put her to bed." She said, her voice hoarse and weak. Alone, Sara sat up and stretched, running a hand through her hair and letting out a shaky breath, not entirely sure what had just happened.
X x x
When Catherine came back downstairs, Sara was tidying the lounge. Cath put a hand on her arm, stopping her motions. "It's okay. I'll sort it out in the morning." She said quietly and this time Sara didn't argue. The blonde kept her eyes averted, avoiding meeting the brunette's gaze.
"If you're sure. I might just head to bed." Sara said. Cath nodded and, after a moment, released Sara's arm. The brunette started up the stairs, but was held back by Catherine's voice.
"Sara ..." She started to say something, but cowardice took over. "Sleep well honey." She finished softly. Sara nodded and disappeared upstairs. As soon as she heard the guest room door click shut she let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. What had that been about?
Sure, Catherine had noticed her colleagues 'like that' before, including Sara. She was an attractive woman, there was no denying that. But, tonight, that was different. She had gotten lost in Sara's mysterious eyes, and a part of her had been ... scared? But another part had been excited. She found herself wanting to know more, wanting to look deeper. But that was not what was scaring her. She had never felt such a ... connection before. A sudden, sharp electric shot had run through her whole system, and frozen them in this kind of time slip. Never in her life had someone had such a profound effect on her. No one had ever taken her breath away. And tonight Sara Sidle had done it in one look.