Friends in Mourning

Another silly story, this time with a brief mention of GSR

Catherine's heart wasn't the only one broken by Warrick's marriage.

Spoiler: Bodies in Motion. In this episode, Catherine tells him she's always fantasized about him. When the night shift crew decide to go out and celebrate Warrick's marriage, Catherine excuses herself.

Note: I've always thought Mandy had a crush on Warrick, though I only remember seeing them together once (in an episode from season 1). But she looks like cares about him.

Catherine Willows took a sip of her bourbon on the rocks and held it in her mouth for a couple of seconds. She enjoyed the flavor but mostly, she enjoyed the anticipation. Soon, the amber liquid would slowly slid down her throat, warming her entire body and easing a little of the pain she still felt over Warrick's marriage.

Sitting next to her, Mandy Webster wasn't as self-contained. She simply picked her colorful drink and drained it with a couple of gulps. She gasped a little, put the glass down and then ordered another one.

Glancing at Mandy, Catherine started to feel a bit uneasy. She'd come to the bar half-hoping, half-dreading meeting Warrick here, still celebrating his recent marriage with the rest of the crew. Instead, she'd only found Mandy. Oh, some of the guys were still there, too, but that was only to be expected; but seeing the lab's prim, self-contained fingerprint expert tossing back drinks… Well, that was a shock.

Still, it was what she said after her perfunctory greeting that stunned Catherine the most.

It turned out the young woman had always had 'a thing for Warrick'.

Well, well.

'Welcome to the club' Catherine had mumbled, but thankfully, Mandy hadn't heard.

Now, a couple of drinks later, Catherine covertly watched the fingerprint tech. Funny, her first reaction upon hearing Mandy's confession had been one of outrage. 'How dare she?' she wondered, as if she had any proprietary rights over Warrick. But her anger quickly dissolved after she realized she and Mandy were in the same boat: they'd lost their fantasy man.

They might as well talk about it.

"So, Mandy," Catherine said, "Do you think Warrick is going to -"

To her surprise, Mandy buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, God," she groaned, "I can't believe I told you!" She remained like that for a couple of seconds, then she lowered her hands just enough to look pleadingly at Catherine, "Just don't tell the others, ok?"

"Hey, don't worry," Catherine said, "I'm not telling." Though considering 'the others' were still hanging out at the bar, she didn't see how they could keep this a secret. Fortunately, they weren't paying any attention to Mandy -or to Catherine, for that matter. All they seemed to care about right now were the drinks on their table. They were downing them as if the answer to all their troubles were to be found at the bottom of a glass.

'Good idea,' Catherine thought, and she tossed back her drink. She waved her empty glass at the bartender, and also pointed at Mandy's glass. The bartender nodded.

"Thanks," Mandy said. She glanced appraisingly at Catherine, "So, you came, after all. The guys said you wouldn't; they said you wanted to spend some time with your daughter, or something -"

"Ah, uh, yes," Catherine mumbled evasively.

"So, where is she?"

"Oh. She's back home. You know. She needs her space now that she's a teen. So…"

But Mandy wasn't listening. The bartender had just brought her a new drink and she eagerly picked it up.

"Hey," Catherine said, "Just take it easy, ok?"

Amazingly, Mandy obeyed. She took a leisurely sip of her drink and then set the glass down. She was silent for a moment, then she sighed.

"You know, deep down, I'm happy for him." She forced a smile. "I really am."

'Me, too,' Catherine thought grudgingly.

"Hey, at least I never told him," Mandy said suddenly. "Oh, thank God! I mean, there was a moment today when I almost said it, you know? But I held my tongue just in time!"

"Uh, huh," Catherine muttered, looking into her glass.

"Oh, my God, that would have been so embarrassing," Mandy said, rolling her eyes. "Imagine telling a recently-married man that you've got the hots for him! Ha!"

"I get it," Catherine said, peevishly. "Can't we talk about something else?"

Mandy glanced over her shoulder.

"What I don't understand is why they're looking so pissed off."

Catherine looked too. In a nearby table, Nick, Greg, Henry and a couple of lab techs were hunched over their drinks.

"They look like they'd just been to a funeral, not a bachelor party," Mandy added. "I mean, it's not like their lives have come to an end just because Warrick got married -" Unfortunately, saying the words out loud made her sad again. She tossed the rest of her drink and then waved at the bartender, "Bring us another round!"

"Whoa," Catherine said, "Don't you think you've had enough?"

Mandy didn't reply. She was busy counting bills and placing them on the counter.

"Keep 'em coming," she told the bartender.

"Mandy -"

"Ah, let her be," Greg said, suddenly appearing by their side. "Those are non-alcoholic cocktails." He picked a glass and sniffed it. "Syrup, coloring, and soda -that's all."

"Hey, it's the sugar content in them that worries me," Catherine replied, "Tomorrow she's gonna wake up with big, puffy bags under her eyes. It's not gonna be a pretty sight, believe me."

"None of us is gonna wake up looking good," Greg shrugged. He paid for a half-dozen beers and returned to the table.

Mandy followed him with her eyes.

"Hey," she said loudly, "Can you explain to me why you're acting like someone's just died? I mean, Warrick got married -" she gulped, then valiantly finished, "So what?"

Nick looked up at last.

"Are you kidding?" he said indignantly, "This is a tragedy of epic proportions! I mean, you've never heard of The Two Musketeers, have you? It was thee –I mean, Three!"

Catherine smiled to herself; Nick was cute when drunk. A bit stupid, but cute.

"Now that he's married," Greg added, "He won't be coming to the gym anymore -"

"And there won't be free passes to that Jazz Club he plays in on the weekend -" Henry muttered.

"- 'cause there won't be any Jazz anymore," Greg finished. "His lady hates Jazz –can you believe that? How could he marry a woman who hates jazz?"

"But you don't like jazz!" Catherine retorted.

"Well, it's the principle of the thing!" Greg replied. "And forget about him playing basketball with us every Saturday morning -"

"'Cause his lady will want him to spend all his free time with her," Nick finished. "Without Warrick, the day shift's gonna cream us from now on!"

By the time the men finished telling their list of grievances, Catherine had already ordered a fourth drink and Mandy –well, Mandy had lost count.

"So," Greg said solemnly, "If you want to know why we are here, it's because we're mourning the death of our friend, so to speak."

Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on -" she said, "You're taking it too hard -"

"It's never gonna be the same, Catherine," Mandy said, "You know that."

Catherine sighed.

No, it wasn't gonna be all right.

One by one, they all sighed and looked down into their drinks, their minds focused on Warrick Brown.

Suddenly, a voice broke in.

"What are you still doing here?"

They practically jumped at the sound of that voice. Gil Grissom was standing there, looking at them with obvious surprise.

Catherine frowned.

"What are you doing here? They said you got a call and had to leave in a hurry."

"Yes, but I had to come back."

They all looked at him, waiting for an explanation. Surely Gil Grissom wasn't there to get drunk too...

Or was he?

Grissom seemed to know what they were thinking. He smiled.

"I forgot my book," he said gently, just as the bartender slid a heavy tome across the counter. As Grissom reached for the book, something on his hand glinted under the lights.

Catherine was the first to notice. She gasped in disbelief. So incredible was the sight, she had to look around to make sure the others had seen it too. If they hadn't, then maybe she was drunker than she thought.

But Mandy had seen it, too. She was openly gaping.

Catherine finally managed a word.

"Grissom? Wha -" she couldn't finish. She could only point at Grissom's hand.

Grissom followed her line of vision. He looked at the thin gold band on his finger as if he hadn't noticed it before.

"Oh, this?" he said casually, "It's a ring, Catherine."

"But… but you -you?"

Grissom merely smiled.

Catherine's jaw dropped.

Greg wasn't as restrained.

"Oh, for God's sake, not you, too!" he said indignantly. He looked at Nick, "You know what this means, don't you? Sara's off the track team now."

"Oh, come on," Nick groaned. "What is wrong with you people? Seriously," he added in disgust, "Is there an epidemic going around, or what?"

Catherine shook her head.

"If there is, I'm immune to it," she muttered. "Story of my life." She glanced at the bartender.

"Keep' em coming?" he asked promptly.

Catherine was about to nod but Grissom intervened.

"Actually, no." He looked around, "We're leaving. Come on, guys," he said gently, "I'm driving you home. Oh, and," he glanced at Greg, "Sara's not leaving the track team." He smiled, "She even included it in her vows."

The End