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Chapter 17

Catherine did not sleep that day. So when she came into work, exhausted and unkempt, Warrick thought it best to get her out of sight before Grissom spotted her.

"I'm fine, leave me alone." She whined, letting him frogmarch her into her own office.

"You don't look fine." He retorted, forcibly seating her on the couch. She folded her arms and chewed on the inside of her cheek anxiously. "Come on Cath, what's going on?" he asked, sitting in the chair opposite her desk. "Is it about Sara?" Catherine's head flew up, eyes wide.

"Is she here?" She asked, a little too eagerly.

"I haven't seen her. Cath, what's happened?" He tried again. "Have you two had a fight?"

"We ... we're not..." She stuttered nervously.

"Cath, it's okay. We kinda worked it out." He sent her a warm smile. She stared at him for a moment, deciding whether or not to open up. Eventually she released the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding, and the floodgates opened.

"I fucked up Warrick." She sobbed. "I didn't want to hurt her, I ..."

"Shush, shush. Hey it's okay." He hushed, leaning forward and taking her into a hug.

"I just wasn't ready for everyone to find out yet. I'm not ashamed of her, I just ... I'm ashamed of myself. I knew what people would think of me, and I couldn't bear that." She mumbled against his strong chest once she had calmed down enough to talk.

"Cath no one's going to think any less of you. We love you, and Sara. We just want you to be happy." He promised.

"She makes me happy." Cath whispered, clutching him tighter.

"So go fix it." He said softly, releasing her.

"I can't." She sighed, running a hand through her unruly blonde waves. "She stayed over last night; I thought maybe it would give me time to think of something. But it didn't work. She left me."

"Because you wouldn't admit you were together?" Warrick frowned. That didn't sound like Sara. Cath looked down guiltily.

"There was a guy." She muttered.

"What?" He asked, leaning closer.

"After we left work that night, I went to a bar to ... I don't know why. But, Sara came to my house to talk to me, to work it out. And she found me with a guy."

"Oh Catherine." Warrick gasped.

"I didn't sleep with him!" She said instantly, more tears springing to her eyes.

"Would you have, if Sara hadn't turned up?" He asked, not judgementally, just making a point. She looked away sadly; an act that spoke a thousand words.

"She hates me." The blonde mumbled, wiping her eyes.

"She doesn't hate you. This is Sara we're talking about." Warrick paused for a moment. "Do you love her?" Catherine looked up.

"Yes." She answered definitively.

"Does she know?"

"I told her more times than I can count; if she doesn't she needs her head checking."

"So prove it." Warrick said.

"How?" she asked desperately. Warrick, however, just smiled.

"That," he said, standing up and kissing her forehead softly, "is for you to work out."

x x x x x

"Are you planning on doing any work tonight?" The voice brought her out of her thoughts and she glanced up tiredly to find Grissom leaning against her doorway with a raised eyebrow.

"No." She answered bluntly, and went back to staring at the floor. Unfortunately he didn't give up that easily.

"Sara's not talking, but I spoke to Greg. He said you hurt her." Cath nodded. Judging by the disgusted looks she was receiving from the former lab rat, Catherine had come to realise that her actions had affected her relationship with Greg too. He was understandably hurting for his best friend, and was making no bones about that. "I spoke to Warrick too. He told me what happened." He continued, ambling in and sitting where the dark skinned man had previously been.

"And I suppose you're here to shed some philosophical light on the matter?" She asked sarcastically.

"No. Actually I came to tell you that you're an idiot." He replied calmly. She scowled up at him. It was not like Grissom to be so forward. But if that was a surprise, what he said next was shocking.

"Catherine, you know how I feel about Sara." He started, licking his lips thoughtfully. "You hurt her. And if it were anyone else I'd tell them to stay away from her. But it's you. And I think you do love her."

"Gil, I..."

"No, let me finish." He stopped her. "Catherine, Sara and I dated. A long time ago, and I messed up. I lost her. I could have done something about it then, but I didn't and now it's too late. But it's not too late for you."

"What are you saying Gil?" Catherine asked softly.

"I'm saying if you love her fight for her. I lost her Catherine, and it was the biggest mistake of my life." He stood up and made to leave, but stopped in the doorway just long enough to deliver one final message. "When she wanted to leave the lab, I sent her a plant. But you said something to make her stay. I don't know what, but it worked. You know her Catherine; you know how to fix this."

x x x x x

She remembered that day. She had told Grissom to fix it, and he sent her a plant. As soon as he ordered that damn thing she knew she was going to have to step in if there was any chance of keeping Sara here. At the time it had never occurred to her why she was so desperate to keep that stubborn, frustratingly enigmatic brunette in her life, but she knew now.

And it was only now that it dawned on her why she stayed.

When Catherine had found Sara, alone in 'her' lab, staring morosely at a plant, she hadn't planned what she was going to do. It just happened. She walked over and gave her a hug. No words; she just wrapped her arms around her; held her tight. She placed a soft, chaste kiss on her lips, and walked out.

She had wanted Sara to stay because she loved her.

And Sara had stayed.

And suddenly everything seemed so simple.

As if something in the universe had suddenly aligned, she looked up in time to see Sara wandering past. Without a second thought she was out of her seat and sprinting down the corridor.

"Sara!" She stopped abruptly upon hearing her name. Slowly she turned around. Catherine cleared the distance between them in a heartbeat. And suddenly her hands were on either side of Sara's face, and her lips on Sara's. The kiss was fierce and passionate, desperate. Catherine felt Sara gasp at the sudden assault and took the opportunity to slip her tongue inside. Her hands slid around Sara's neck to tangle themselves in her hair, holding her close.

And just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Catherine pulled back, offered a small smile, and walked away, leaving in her wake a hallway full of shocked spectators, and one very perplexed brunette.