Freshly brewed tea in hand, they made their way back to the couch and lapsed into an awkward silence. Sara cleared her throat.

"So ... what are we going to do about work?" She asked eventually. Catherine paused, that little problem hadn't even entered her mind yet.

"Well..." she said slowly, exhaling a deep breath. "Obviously I can't continue acting as your assistant supervisor. But, that's okay; I just won't sign off on any of your cases or write up your evaluations. I'm sure Grissom won't notice that your files find their way back onto his desk and ... what?" She asked when she noticed Sara looking at her with an expression of surprise.

"You write my evaluations?" Catherine smiled a sweet, coy smile and said nothing. "What do you say about me?" The brunette asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Ah ha, wouldn't you like to know?" she answered, tapping Sara's nose. Sara stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, causing Catherine to laugh. The sound made Sara smile, reluctantly breaking her pout, so she tossed a cushion at her new girlfriend instead. Catherine stared at her in bewilderment for a moment, like she was not sure what had just happened, before launching herself at Sara. Sara squealed with laughter – all her earlier sadness momentarily forgotten in a brief, delightful moment of glee – as Catherine tickled her mercilessly. Eventually, after several breathless pleas from Sara, Cath gave in and stopped her motions. And here they found themselves: Sara flat on her back on the couch, Catherine on top of her, their lips barely an inch apart and their breath mingling together in the air between them. Sara lifted her head, closing the space and pressing her lips to Catherine's.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Catherine mumbled into the kiss. Yet, she never broke contact. Instead, she slowly trailed a hand down Sara's side, her fingertips slipping underneath the thin shirt, teasing the soft skin beneath. Sara ran her hands up and down Catherine's back, gliding them underneath the fabric, revelling in the feel of Catherine's bare skin. Cath pulled back and looked at Sara, passion and lust burning in her crystal eyes. "If you don't stop that, pretty soon I'm not going to be able to resist you." She whispered. Sara, never breaking their hungry gaze, captured her lips once more. Tongues duelled in a blazing battle that neither would win. Catherine shifted her position, causing Sara to moan as their bodies grated together. The contact seemed to create sparks to ignite and engulf them.

So lost in their passion, they had misplaced all sense of time and space. Catherine groaned and kicked her booted feet behind her...

'CRASH!'

The sound made both women jump out of their skin, so much so that Sara nearly fell of the couch. They turned to see the remains of the mug splintered on the floor, cold tea spreading like a blood pool around the wreckage.

"Oh my God, Sara I'm sorry." Catherine apologised, climbing off the brunette. Sara sat up slowly and just smiled, waving a nonchalant hand in the direction of the mess.

"Don't worry about it."

"It's gonna stain the rug, I'll clean it up ..." Cath flapped about trying to gather the broken remains, her composure shot after the fiery kiss. Her body was still tingling where Sara's hands had roamed, like her touch had been permanently tattooed just beneath her skin forever. Sara gripped her wrists lightly, stopping her motions.

"Don't worry about it." She repeated, a soft smile gracing her face. Her cheeks were flushed and Cath could feel the heat from her, but this time it wasn't because of a fever.

"I'm sorry." Cath whispered, though she could not tell you what she was apologising for. Sara pecked a kiss lightly on her cheek and got off the floor to sit on the couch.

"Do you always get this flustered when you break something?" She asked, amusement dancing in her euphonious voice. Catherine laughed and joined her on the couch.

"No. Only when you're around." That made Sara grin. "It's not funny Sidle, I can't help it." She whined, but laughed all the same. Looking straight at the young woman before her, a gentle sigh left her lips. "What do you do to me Sara?"

x x x x

Thank you all for the reviews so far. Only one or two more chapters to go :)