FIC: Quarrel, 2/3, PG
Title: Quarrel, 2/3
Rating: PG
Summary: "Jim and I had a big fight a couple of days ago."
Notes: Previous installments can be found here.
Disclaimer: Zuiker and company own the rights to CSI and its characters. I own a brand spanking new copy of Serenity. Woo-hoo!
~*~*~
"You lied to her, didn't you?" Catherine's eyes narrow as she stares down the suspect. "You told her you'd be there forever, but you didn't mean that, did you? Guys like you make me sick. You're nothing but a piece of --"
"Catherine!" Sara drags her out of her chair and toward the door. To the suspect's lawyer, she says, "I'll be right back."
"Alone, I hope," says the attorney, though not unkindly.
Outside the interrogation room, Catherine starts pacing. "You shouldn't have taken me out of there. I was getting someplace."
"Yeah. You were. You were on the verge of getting yourself put on administrative leave." Sara shakes her head. "I can't believe I'm the reasonable one. I mean -- were you even listening to yourself in there?"
"He lied --"
"About where he was the night of the murder, yes, and if his alibi checks out -- which I think it will -- lying about having a girlfriend isn’t the end of the world for anyone. Except his wife." Catherine keeps pacing, and it's a shock when Sara reaches out and grabs her arm to stop her. "What the hell is your problem?"
She bites her lips against the tears she's been holding back since her fight with Jim two days earlier. "Nothing."
"It's not nothing." Her eyes narrowed, Sara looks at Catherine for just a little too long before stepping back into interrogation. A few moments later, she comes out and takes Catherine's arm again. "Come on."
"What?" Catherine struggles, but Sara turns out to be surprisingly strong. "Where are we going? We have a suspect in there."
"Had," she says shortly. "After I check out his alibi, I’m sending him home, because you already blew the interview."
"You don't get to make decisions like that!" Sara continues dragging Catherine along; they're heading toward the exit.
"I do when you're in danger of destroying a case." Sara's glance cuts sideways to Catherine. "With any luck, the damage is minimal at worst."
It's enough to make Catherine shut up and take stock. Sara's right about the interview, no matter how much Catherine would like to deny it. She's too honest to do so, and hard on the heels of that thought is what Jim said to her right before she kicked him out of her house. God, he's right -- the only time she lies to herself is when it comes to Sam. "I'm going to be sick."
"Door's right here," Sara says, moving quickly enough to get them outside in time.
Bent over the small patch of green next to the entrance, Catherine vomits. It's mostly bile -- she hasn't been able to bring herself to eat much lately -- and even when her stomach is empty, it still won't calm down.
"Tighten your abdomen. It'll help stop the spasms." Sara pats Catherine's back in an uneven pattern, almost like she's unused to offering comfort. The irregularity doesn't make Catherine feel better, but holding her stomach tight seems to help. After another minute, it's clear that the worst of it is over, and Catherine straightens up again.
"You were right about my behavior," she says stiffly, turning her head away so Sara won't smell her breath. The taste of bile is a bitter accompaniment to her apology. "I was out of line."
"What happened in there?"
"Nothing."
Sounding pissed, Sara says "Don't do this to me again."
"Don't do what?"
"Cut me out." Sara is beyond angry and well into bitter, and Catherine can't understand why.
"What are you talking about?"
"This whole thing with Jim?" Sara looks away for a moment. "I had to find out from Wendy Simms that you two were dating. You know how that made me feel? A lab tech heard about it before I did."
"Sara --"
"I know we aren't really friends outside of work, but I thought I rated higher than a tech. Especially a tech who hasn't even been here that long. Instead --"
"Sara, please." Catherine doesn't want to deal with this, but she's already sent one relationship into the toilet this week, and she can't stand the thought of doing it again so soon. "The thing with Wendy was a mistake. Jim acted on an impulse, and by the time I got back for shift that night, she'd already spread the word." Sara is still standing stiffly, so Catherine lightly touches her shoulder. "I'm sorry. If I'd been thinking straight that morning, I would have called you."
Sara looks at her, measuring Catherine's words. She nods once and asks again, "What's going on with you?"
Of all the people Catherine might possibly talk to about her fight with Jim, Sara is the last name on her list. It's not that she doesn't respect or like Sara; it's that Sara is, in many ways, even more clueless about human interaction than Gil is, and that's saying something. Still, Catherine owes Sara, and she might as well pay up by confiding in her.
"Jim and I had a big fight a couple of days ago."
Sara frowns then glances at Catherine's left hand. "It wasn't that big a fight."
"What?" Catherine could have kicked herself for deciding to confess to Sara. Talking to Ecklie would have been a better idea, because at least he wouldn't argue about how big the fight was or wasn't. "Of course it was. I told him to get out of my home."
"I don't care what you told him, it wasn't that big a fight."
"How can you say that?"
"You're still wearing his ring," Sara says casually. "If it had been a big fight, the ring would be gone. It's not, so it wasn't a big fight."
"You don't know anything about it."
"I know about fights that end with rings being taken off," she says, looking a little sad. "As long as you still have his ring on, and as long as he hasn't asked for it back, it wasn't a big fight."
Catherine stares at Sara and fails to come up with a response that's more coherent than, "The hell?"
Obviously chagrined, Sara says, "I've been engaged twice. Both times ended with me throwing the ring at him."
"Twice?"
"It was the same guy," Sara says, ducking her head. "The second time I threw the ring at him pretty much killed the relationship."
Catherine blinks at this information. "I never knew."
"It's not something I'm particularly proud of." Sara takes Catherine's arm again and starts walking them to their vehicle. "Anyway, the point is, I know the difference between big fights and little fights."
"I guess you do."
They're silent until they reach the Denali, and then Sara says, "I don't know what your fight was about -- and trust me, I don't want to -- but I do know that letting anger fester isn't a good idea." Sara glances at a point over Catherine's shoulder. "I see Jim's car over there. Maybe you should go talk to him and get a lift back to the lab later."
Catherine turns to confirm what Sara saw then says, "You're right. I need to talk to him."
It won’t be easy, swallowing her pride to admit she was wrong, but the alternative is unthinkable. She starts back toward the building then stops.
"Sara?" Catherine turns back to face her. "Thank you."
Shrugging, Sara turns her face to watch traffic. She won't face Catherine to say, "It's nothing."
Catherine stands there for another moment. Sara's wrong -- it's not nothing. But she won't look at Catherine, and in the face of that rigid denial, she can do nothing more than say, "Fine. But thanks anyway."
She starts back toward the building again and hopes it isn't too late to patch things up with Jim.
Rating: PG
Summary: "Jim and I had a big fight a couple of days ago."
Notes: Previous installments can be found here.
Disclaimer: Zuiker and company own the rights to CSI and its characters. I own a brand spanking new copy of Serenity. Woo-hoo!
~*~*~
"You lied to her, didn't you?" Catherine's eyes narrow as she stares down the suspect. "You told her you'd be there forever, but you didn't mean that, did you? Guys like you make me sick. You're nothing but a piece of --"
"Catherine!" Sara drags her out of her chair and toward the door. To the suspect's lawyer, she says, "I'll be right back."
"Alone, I hope," says the attorney, though not unkindly.
Outside the interrogation room, Catherine starts pacing. "You shouldn't have taken me out of there. I was getting someplace."
"Yeah. You were. You were on the verge of getting yourself put on administrative leave." Sara shakes her head. "I can't believe I'm the reasonable one. I mean -- were you even listening to yourself in there?"
"He lied --"
"About where he was the night of the murder, yes, and if his alibi checks out -- which I think it will -- lying about having a girlfriend isn’t the end of the world for anyone. Except his wife." Catherine keeps pacing, and it's a shock when Sara reaches out and grabs her arm to stop her. "What the hell is your problem?"
She bites her lips against the tears she's been holding back since her fight with Jim two days earlier. "Nothing."
"It's not nothing." Her eyes narrowed, Sara looks at Catherine for just a little too long before stepping back into interrogation. A few moments later, she comes out and takes Catherine's arm again. "Come on."
"What?" Catherine struggles, but Sara turns out to be surprisingly strong. "Where are we going? We have a suspect in there."
"Had," she says shortly. "After I check out his alibi, I’m sending him home, because you already blew the interview."
"You don't get to make decisions like that!" Sara continues dragging Catherine along; they're heading toward the exit.
"I do when you're in danger of destroying a case." Sara's glance cuts sideways to Catherine. "With any luck, the damage is minimal at worst."
It's enough to make Catherine shut up and take stock. Sara's right about the interview, no matter how much Catherine would like to deny it. She's too honest to do so, and hard on the heels of that thought is what Jim said to her right before she kicked him out of her house. God, he's right -- the only time she lies to herself is when it comes to Sam. "I'm going to be sick."
"Door's right here," Sara says, moving quickly enough to get them outside in time.
Bent over the small patch of green next to the entrance, Catherine vomits. It's mostly bile -- she hasn't been able to bring herself to eat much lately -- and even when her stomach is empty, it still won't calm down.
"Tighten your abdomen. It'll help stop the spasms." Sara pats Catherine's back in an uneven pattern, almost like she's unused to offering comfort. The irregularity doesn't make Catherine feel better, but holding her stomach tight seems to help. After another minute, it's clear that the worst of it is over, and Catherine straightens up again.
"You were right about my behavior," she says stiffly, turning her head away so Sara won't smell her breath. The taste of bile is a bitter accompaniment to her apology. "I was out of line."
"What happened in there?"
"Nothing."
Sounding pissed, Sara says "Don't do this to me again."
"Don't do what?"
"Cut me out." Sara is beyond angry and well into bitter, and Catherine can't understand why.
"What are you talking about?"
"This whole thing with Jim?" Sara looks away for a moment. "I had to find out from Wendy Simms that you two were dating. You know how that made me feel? A lab tech heard about it before I did."
"Sara --"
"I know we aren't really friends outside of work, but I thought I rated higher than a tech. Especially a tech who hasn't even been here that long. Instead --"
"Sara, please." Catherine doesn't want to deal with this, but she's already sent one relationship into the toilet this week, and she can't stand the thought of doing it again so soon. "The thing with Wendy was a mistake. Jim acted on an impulse, and by the time I got back for shift that night, she'd already spread the word." Sara is still standing stiffly, so Catherine lightly touches her shoulder. "I'm sorry. If I'd been thinking straight that morning, I would have called you."
Sara looks at her, measuring Catherine's words. She nods once and asks again, "What's going on with you?"
Of all the people Catherine might possibly talk to about her fight with Jim, Sara is the last name on her list. It's not that she doesn't respect or like Sara; it's that Sara is, in many ways, even more clueless about human interaction than Gil is, and that's saying something. Still, Catherine owes Sara, and she might as well pay up by confiding in her.
"Jim and I had a big fight a couple of days ago."
Sara frowns then glances at Catherine's left hand. "It wasn't that big a fight."
"What?" Catherine could have kicked herself for deciding to confess to Sara. Talking to Ecklie would have been a better idea, because at least he wouldn't argue about how big the fight was or wasn't. "Of course it was. I told him to get out of my home."
"I don't care what you told him, it wasn't that big a fight."
"How can you say that?"
"You're still wearing his ring," Sara says casually. "If it had been a big fight, the ring would be gone. It's not, so it wasn't a big fight."
"You don't know anything about it."
"I know about fights that end with rings being taken off," she says, looking a little sad. "As long as you still have his ring on, and as long as he hasn't asked for it back, it wasn't a big fight."
Catherine stares at Sara and fails to come up with a response that's more coherent than, "The hell?"
Obviously chagrined, Sara says, "I've been engaged twice. Both times ended with me throwing the ring at him."
"Twice?"
"It was the same guy," Sara says, ducking her head. "The second time I threw the ring at him pretty much killed the relationship."
Catherine blinks at this information. "I never knew."
"It's not something I'm particularly proud of." Sara takes Catherine's arm again and starts walking them to their vehicle. "Anyway, the point is, I know the difference between big fights and little fights."
"I guess you do."
They're silent until they reach the Denali, and then Sara says, "I don't know what your fight was about -- and trust me, I don't want to -- but I do know that letting anger fester isn't a good idea." Sara glances at a point over Catherine's shoulder. "I see Jim's car over there. Maybe you should go talk to him and get a lift back to the lab later."
Catherine turns to confirm what Sara saw then says, "You're right. I need to talk to him."
It won’t be easy, swallowing her pride to admit she was wrong, but the alternative is unthinkable. She starts back toward the building then stops.
"Sara?" Catherine turns back to face her. "Thank you."
Shrugging, Sara turns her face to watch traffic. She won't face Catherine to say, "It's nothing."
Catherine stands there for another moment. Sara's wrong -- it's not nothing. But she won't look at Catherine, and in the face of that rigid denial, she can do nothing more than say, "Fine. But thanks anyway."
She starts back toward the building again and hopes it isn't too late to patch things up with Jim.