Warrick/Catherine (CSI)
Title: More Than a Little Somethin’ Somethin’: A YoBling Manifesto
Author: sistasouljah99
Spoilers: Everything up to King Baby (515)
Email: sistasouljah99[at]livejournal[dot]com
Author’s Note: Yes, I know it’s a few days late. Apologies. And yes, I know it’s rather long, obsessive, and rambley. I can’t help it. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
- Season 5 caps courtesy of Erica’s CSI Caps
- All other caps by me
- Episodes are referenced by episode number
More Than a Little Somethin’ Somethin’: A YoBling Manifesto
Warrick Brown and Catherine Willows. Individually, they’re two criminalists who used to work the graveyard shift and are currently working the swing shift (and will soon move back to graveyard, because come on, who do they think they’re kidding) of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Together, they’re YoBling (or Yo!Bling, depending on which online communities you hang around in). YoBling derives from the words “yo” and “bling” (obviously), “yo” because Warrick supposedly says this a lot, and “bling” because Catherine used the term “bling bling” once (Cool Change, 101). Yeah, I don’t know either. But I didn’t make it up, I just report it. And FYI, Catherine’s bling bling conversation is also where I got the title “More Than a Little Somethin’ Somethin,’” because yes, she says, “a little somethin’ somethin.’”
So, why do I ship Warrick/Catherine? Let’s get the obvious and popularly used superficial reason out of the way. Which I hate to even mention, because it's so cliché, but with these two it would be so unfair not to.
They’re hot. Enough said.
But the more substantial reason for why I ship Warrick/Catherine can best be explained by my fanfiction. Which has nothing at all to do with Warrick and Catherine, but it’s the only way I can most succinctly and coherently explain it, so bear with me. Those that are familiar with my writing from FanFiction.net (*coughpimpcough*) know that I am a Nick/Sara shipper. And while Nick/Sara are and always will be my OTP, I’ve loved Warrick/Catherine for just as long and just about as much. Which begs the question of why I’ve never written any YoBling fics. And the answer is a perfect explanation of why I like Warrick and Catherine as much as I do.
Most of my fics are fun and flirty one-shots, for two reasons. One, that’s the way Nick and Sara’s relationship has been, for the most part, portrayed on screen, and two, it’s the only thing I can write well. The one or two angsty fics I’ve written were not my favorites. And don’t even suggest I write some romantic melodrama. It’s just not me. Which is why I’ve never written a YoBling fic. Not that I don’t see Warrick and Catherine as fun and flirty (and not that I don’t think Nick and Sara could have anything beyond their flirtation, of course), but to me their relationship goes much deeper than fun and flirty, in a way that my very unwriterly, science-oriented mind would never be able to put into the right words to do their relationship justice.
Well that wasn’t very succinct. And probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense anyway. But like you really care about me. Let’s just move on to Warrick and Catherine.
So, an easy way to justify a ship is to say that the two characters “fit” together, whether it is a yin and yang, opposites attract situation, or a two-peas-in-a-pod, soul mates kind of deal. So let’s see how Warrick and Catherine fit into this scheme.
Catherine is an ex-exotic dancer, single mother, and supervisor of the swing shift (and yes, hence, Warrick’s supervisor). She knows what she wants and usually does whatever she has to do to get it. Rarely does she show her vulnerability (more on this later), and whether she has the right to or not, she always wants to be in control, which has more often than not caused her to come off as, for lack of a better term, a bitch, resulting in her butting heads with pretty much every one of her coworkers at some point or another. Even Warrick. And she’s also had a few minor mishaps, such as causing a lab explosion that seriously injured then lab tech Greg Sanders (Play With Fire, 322), and utilizing the lab to test her own paternity using DNA from an active case involving her suspected father, casino mogul Sam Braun (Inside the Box, 323).
Less is known about Warrick, unfortunately. Las Vegas born and raised by his grandmother, he’s a former gambling addict who for the most part is a pretty mellow guy, but he has been known to lose his temper from time to time (Pilot, 100, and Invisible Evidence, 404). He’s made his share of mistakes as well (leaving a rookie CSI alone at a scene, gambling on the job), but he’s learned from them and has become as good of a CSI as any.
I suppose the best argument for Warrick and Catherine would be that they have more commonalities than differences. They both have a less than stellar past (Catherine with her days as a dancer and Warrick with his gambling addiction) but have managed to move up and onward. You could say that they need each other because they’re looking for support, and it’s easy to find support in someone who’s been through similar situations. But that argument doesn’t really work well for Warrick and Catherine.
So clearly, that approach isn’t very satisfactory. But luckily, it’s not necessary, because there’s the wonderful cop-out reason of “love knows no reason” and sometimes two people belong together just because they do. Because while there may not be a logical reason for YoBling, it is there, with plenty of subtext to prove it. There aren’t any long, overdrawn story arcs that are explicitly designed to showcase any YoBling (as there has been with Grissom and Sara); there have only been a spattering of scenes here and there, but it’s been more than enough to establish that there is something between them.
The chemistry between Warrick and Catherine has been there from the very beginning. The very first case that we see either one of them working on, in the pilot episode, is a case in which they work together. However, Warrick ends up working solo while Catherine helps out the newbie Holly Gribbs. So actually this really means nothing, but it’s an interesting piece of YoBling trivia.
The YoBling journey officially begins in Crate and Burial (103), their actual first case together. Their first scene together is at a crime scene of a hit and run involving a young girl. Now, as CSI viewers have come to learn, any case involving young girls (or single mothers, or exotic dancers, etc.) usually serves to remind the viewer of Catherine’s personal life. So, appropriately, Catherine makes some comment about her daughter Lindsey, the point being that it appears this case might be hard for her to handle. And accordingly, Warrick picks up on this.
Warrick: You want me to take this case alone?
Catherine: (looks a bit confused) You feeling alright, Warrick?
Warrick: Oh, I’m fine. I’m just looking out for you.
We learn that Warrick’s comments are mostly related to the fact that he believes his failure to properly supervise Holly Gribbs resulted in her death (Pilot and Cool Change), and so he’s “turning over a new leaf” and learning to look out for his coworkers more. So granted, it’s not overtly a YoBling moment, but it’s the tone he uses that really suggests he’s not viewing things on a strictly professional level. Imagine Grissom or Nick in Catherine’s place and you’ll hopefully see what I mean.
Later in that episode, Warrick offers to finish up the case by himself so Catherine can pick her daughter up from school, it being Lindsey’s birthday.
Warrick: Hey, why don’t you run on home? I’ll handle this.
Catherine: Is this more of your new leaf?
Warrick: Your daughter gets out of school in a half hour, right? On her birthday. Why do you want to pick a fight with me now?
Catherine: I owe you.
Warrick: Don’t think I won’t collect.
This is the start of a running theme regarding Warrick and his concern for Lindsey, which shows how he doesn't just care about Catherine, but about all aspects of her life. And also the fact that he’d make a great father, but that’s getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.
In The Finger (214), Catherine gets kidnapped/taken hostage by a suspect in a case, and when she returns to the lab, Warrick takes her to see Lindsey, who was brought to the lab (by Warrick, maybe? Hopefully?) after performing in a school play and is now asleep in an empty room.
Warrick: She ate but she didn’t fall asleep until way late. We had her helping Greggo out in the lab.
Catherine: I bet she loved that.
Warrick: Yeah.
Catherine: Thanks. I owe you.
Again, it’s the tone Warrick uses (and again, Catherine “owes him.” Is he ever going to collect?). “She ate but she didn’t fall asleep until way late.” It's like he’s Lindsey’s babysitter, telling Catherine how he fed Lindsey and put her to bed. Which is not only adorable but also proof again that he cares about Lindsey and therefore Catherine. And as part of Catherine’s thanks, she gives him a kiss. It’s just a friendly peck on the cheek, which she probably would have given to any of the other guys. But it’s not any of the other guys, it’s Warrick. Incidentally, up until Who Shot Sherlock? (511), in which Catherine gives Greg a congratulatory kiss after becoming a full fledged CSI, Warrick was the only other person in the lab she’d kissed. Yet another piece of YoBling trivia that obsessive people like me keep track of.
Lindsey is also briefly mentioned in passing on several other occasions (Sex, Lies and Larvae (110), Play With Fire (322), and Turn of the Screws (421), to name a few), and while these moments are usually just to remind us that Catherine does have a daughter, the person who brings up the subject on each occasion is, maybe not coincidentally, Warrick.
Of course, while it’s sweet that Warrick cares for Lindsey, it would be nice if he showed he cared about Catherine too. And of course, he does.
In A Little Murder (304), Catherine is attacked by a suspect at a crime scene. Warrick arrives after she’s already been attacked, and after chewing out the police officer who left Catherine alone, he kneels down next to her on the floor and instinctively wants to touch her and make sure she’s alright. But unfortunately he can’t, because she fell on top of the victim lying on the floor and is now covered in blood (and other body fluid) evidence.
Back at the lab, the assistant coroner David makes a lighthearted comment about Catherine being attacked (“That had to have been scary, huh?”), to which Catherine responds with a rather harsh comment of her own (“I didn’t have time to be scared, David”) before storming out of the morgue. Warrick, who is also there, goes to follow her to make sure she’s okay.
Warrick: Don’t let him get to you like that.
Catherine: I was scared. And I still am. (she turns around) Don’t tell anyone, okay?
And then, the hug.
This scene also has implications about Catherine’s feelings for Warrick, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
In Assume Nothing (402), Warrick walks into the locker room and sees Catherine looking a bit troubled. He takes the time to ask what’s wrong and sits with her while he listens.
Warrick: Need some help with that?
Catherine: Help with what?
Warrick: That weight on your shoulders.
Catherine: That obvious, huh?
Warrick: Yeah. What’s up?
Catherine: Oh...Sam Braun.
Warrick: Mm-hmm. I heard about that. He made his bones in Vegas. I mean, what do you expect? The guy’s bulletproof.
Catherine: I’m not.
Warrick: (sits down) Want to talk about it?
(Blah, blah, blah...)
Catherine: Yup. And I’m just afraid.
Warrick: Of what?
Catherine: Of backlash.
As with their hug, this also tells us about how Catherine sees Warrick. Don’t worry, we’re getting there.
With all the scenes presented thus far, it seems that there is more overt evidence that Warrick cares for Catherine than vice versa. Interestingly, the writers had originally planned to have Warrick tell Catherine that he loved her in Harvest (503), the episode following the famous sewer scene (Down the Drain, 502.) Which, while I don’t doubt that he does, would have been a bit too much to throw at an audience that hasn’t been obsessively following YoBling through the years. And even to someone like me, I’m in a way glad they chose to cut it. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression of their relationship, and I think it’s best to more explicitly flesh out their feeling for each other before we get to the “L” word.
But back to the point. There doesn’t seem to be as much evidence that Catherine feels the same way about Warrick as he so obviously does about her. Which is most probably due to Catherine’s prominently showcased social life. She always has, or if not, always seems to be on the look out for, a boy toy. Now yes, it would seem that if the men she’s picked up have all been men she’s met at a crime scene, it would make sense that she wouldn’t be opposed to a relationship with someone in the lab and wouldn’t also be looking for love there. But maybe she’s smarter than that and we’re not giving her enough credit. Or maybe it’s the opposite. Have you seen the men that work there?
In any case, at first glance it doesn’t appear that she sees Warrick as anything more than a friend and coworker. Yes, she’s flirted with him on occasion, but that’s probably because no sane heterosexual woman would not be compelled to flirt with a man like Warrick, and she’s never really expressed any feelings beyond that (well, aside from maybe one time, in Lucky Strike (316), where Catherine was concerned about Warrick in a situation which was sort of a reverse of Crate and Burial).
However, subconsciously, or maybe even consciously, she does care about Warrick. She expresses her feelings for him through her trust in him, which is a really big deal, especially for Catherine, a person who I see as having major trust issues. Who knows how it started, but I think it’s safe to say that a majority of her insecurity stems from her failed relationships, most notably, her marriage. Eddie Willows was her first real love (okay, I’m assuming here) and was the father of her child, and she caught him cheating. She got burned, so she now feels she has to overcompensate by controlling everything, or at least giving the appearance that she’s in control, and hence the “stop at nothing” attitude.
So accordingly, she rarely shows her vulnerability. Only four times that I count has she significantly let down her guard. Two of these times, with Eddie’s death (Lady Heather’s Box, 315) and Lindsey’s hitchhiking incident (Harvest (503), specifically after Lindsey storms out of the morgue), she was alone. But the other two times, she was with Warrick.
In the hug scene in A Little Murder, she admits to Warrick that she was scared, which in itself is pretty significant, but more importantly, she turns to him for a hug. I think Warrick is the kind of guy that would have given her a comforting hug anyway, but the fact that she was the one that turned to him, and not the other way around, is key. She’s not ashamed to admit to him that she’s scared, and in this case it appears like she actually needs his comfort and strength.
In the locker room scene in Assume Nothing, again Catherine feels comfortable enough with Warrick to confess to him that her improper use of lab resources was the reason Sam Braun’s case was dismissed (while it was general knowledge that the case was kicked, most people probably didn’t know why). She also admits she’s scared of the repercussions, something she probably didn’t disclose to Grissom or any of her other superiors who knew about her mistake.
Now, as a comparison, take Lady Heather’s Box. Her ex-husband and father to her daughter dies in a car accident. After she learns of his death, she continues to work and assures everyone who’s concerned about her that she’s fine. But the last scene of the episode shows her at home, where nobody from the lab can see her, crying in bed. While no one would have blamed her if she’d had this breakdown at the lab, she couldn’t allow herself to do it.
Of course, it's not like Catherine is completely closed off to everyone else in the lab. She has opened up to Grissom on a few occasions. Lest we forget Catherine’s line to Grissom in Early Rollout (415).
Catherine: I...write this down - I haven’t had sex in six...no, seven months.
But really, Catherine is anything but a prude, and moreover she’s been friends with Grissom long enough that she feels comfortable with telling him things about her personal life. She’s talked to him about Lindsey a few times (Crate and Burial and Harvest) also, and she does trust him, but not to the extent that she feels comfortable enough to expose her vulnerability to him, or to anyone else for that matter, the way she does with Warrick.
So maybe in that respect, there is an argument for why Catherine and Warrick “fit” together. What Catherine sees in Warrick is what’s been missing from all her other relationships - trust. And with that trust, maybe Warrick can help Catherine with those issues and show her that she doesn’t always have to be in control. He can help her to relax, and they can live happily ever after. So think that if you want, I personally just don’t like reducing a relationship down to one convenient little justification like that.
Now, all that being said, that brings us to season five. Specifically, two episodes in, Down the Drain.
Yes, the famous sewer scene, where Catherine conveniently falls into Warrick’s arms, and there’s that gaze that they hold long enough to more than suggest that there’s some sexual tension there. Now many people thought that the scene was unnecessary and a little out of nowhere, but when placed in the context of everything else mentioned previously, it doesn’t really seem random at all.
Of course the fact that the two have yet to talk to each other about that moment doesn’t help strengthen the YoBling argument much. But there have been a few promising signs since then that suggest the writers haven’t forgotten about it.
Over the previous four seasons, I count only a handful of times in which Warrick’s love life has come into play. He almost got involved with a suspect in a case (Lily Ivers in Primum Non Nocere, 216), he mentioned to Sara that he once bought a girlfriend a $300 purse (Hunger Artist, 223), and he bargained with a police department dispatcher to get some information in exchange for drinks, “at his place” (All For Our Country, 403). There are probably more, but I can’t remember everything. But those are the three major ones I remember. But since Down the Drain, in a span of just 13 episodes, I also count three. And two of these incidents have involved Catherine. Coincidence? I’d like to think not. (Oh, and it goes without saying that this argument clearly can’t also be applied to Catherine and her love life.) In Mea Culpa (510) Catherine reminds Warrick that he once had a girlfriend who kept calling him while they were working at a crime scene, and in Unbearable (514) Warrick explains to Nick how he’ll go to great lengths to retrieve a girl’s phone number.
And then there was the scene from Nesting Dolls (513) when Nick, Warrick and Catherine are discussing mail order brides.
Warrick: Well, life is short, dating’s complicated. This makes it much simpler, doesn’t it.
Catherine: It’s not supposed to be simple. Complicated is the whole point.
Warrick: It is?
Catherine: Well, yeah.
Which has to mean something. Catherine and Warrick having a conversation about how relationships are supposed to be complicated? After they shared an awkward, sexually charged moment that neither has been brave enough to bring up yet? Please. And given the context in which all of these recent scenes were placed, they were just random enough such that they didn’t really serve any other purpose than to suggest that YoBling is not dead. Or maybe I’m just so desperate that I can turn anything into a YoBling moment. But I think it’s a little bit of both. Or so I hope.
And that, in a (rather large) nutshell, is YoBling. It’s certainly not a popular CSI ship, and I can understand that. Warrick and Catherine don’t have the history and angst of Grissom/Sara, they don’t have the flirty chemistry of Nick/Sara, and they don’t have the twenty year friendship of Grissom/Catherine. But I believe that the reason this ship has sailed so far under the radar is the very reason why it is the one that has the greatest possibilities.
They don’t need an angsty history. They don’t need to flirt. They don’t need a longstanding friendship. Their feelings for each other are just there, for whatever they’re worth. Not glaringly explicit or overtly melodramatic, but definitely there, and definitely more than a little somethin’ somethin.’
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For some YoBling fanfic: YoBling Fanfic Archive
Also: yobling
And, to finish, some YoBling eye candy. Because I said so. Or, bonus for you for actually sticking around until the end. Place your mouse pointer over the cap for episode info.
And lastly.
<3
Author: sistasouljah99
Spoilers: Everything up to King Baby (515)
Email: sistasouljah99[at]livejournal[dot]com
Author’s Note: Yes, I know it’s a few days late. Apologies. And yes, I know it’s rather long, obsessive, and rambley. I can’t help it. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
- Season 5 caps courtesy of Erica’s CSI Caps
- All other caps by me
- Episodes are referenced by episode number
More Than a Little Somethin’ Somethin’: A YoBling Manifesto
Warrick Brown and Catherine Willows. Individually, they’re two criminalists who used to work the graveyard shift and are currently working the swing shift (and will soon move back to graveyard, because come on, who do they think they’re kidding) of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Together, they’re YoBling (or Yo!Bling, depending on which online communities you hang around in). YoBling derives from the words “yo” and “bling” (obviously), “yo” because Warrick supposedly says this a lot, and “bling” because Catherine used the term “bling bling” once (Cool Change, 101). Yeah, I don’t know either. But I didn’t make it up, I just report it. And FYI, Catherine’s bling bling conversation is also where I got the title “More Than a Little Somethin’ Somethin,’” because yes, she says, “a little somethin’ somethin.’”
So, why do I ship Warrick/Catherine? Let’s get the obvious and popularly used superficial reason out of the way. Which I hate to even mention, because it's so cliché, but with these two it would be so unfair not to.
They’re hot. Enough said.
But the more substantial reason for why I ship Warrick/Catherine can best be explained by my fanfiction. Which has nothing at all to do with Warrick and Catherine, but it’s the only way I can most succinctly and coherently explain it, so bear with me. Those that are familiar with my writing from FanFiction.net (*coughpimpcough*) know that I am a Nick/Sara shipper. And while Nick/Sara are and always will be my OTP, I’ve loved Warrick/Catherine for just as long and just about as much. Which begs the question of why I’ve never written any YoBling fics. And the answer is a perfect explanation of why I like Warrick and Catherine as much as I do.
Most of my fics are fun and flirty one-shots, for two reasons. One, that’s the way Nick and Sara’s relationship has been, for the most part, portrayed on screen, and two, it’s the only thing I can write well. The one or two angsty fics I’ve written were not my favorites. And don’t even suggest I write some romantic melodrama. It’s just not me. Which is why I’ve never written a YoBling fic. Not that I don’t see Warrick and Catherine as fun and flirty (and not that I don’t think Nick and Sara could have anything beyond their flirtation, of course), but to me their relationship goes much deeper than fun and flirty, in a way that my very unwriterly, science-oriented mind would never be able to put into the right words to do their relationship justice.
Well that wasn’t very succinct. And probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense anyway. But like you really care about me. Let’s just move on to Warrick and Catherine.
So, an easy way to justify a ship is to say that the two characters “fit” together, whether it is a yin and yang, opposites attract situation, or a two-peas-in-a-pod, soul mates kind of deal. So let’s see how Warrick and Catherine fit into this scheme.
Catherine is an ex-exotic dancer, single mother, and supervisor of the swing shift (and yes, hence, Warrick’s supervisor). She knows what she wants and usually does whatever she has to do to get it. Rarely does she show her vulnerability (more on this later), and whether she has the right to or not, she always wants to be in control, which has more often than not caused her to come off as, for lack of a better term, a bitch, resulting in her butting heads with pretty much every one of her coworkers at some point or another. Even Warrick. And she’s also had a few minor mishaps, such as causing a lab explosion that seriously injured then lab tech Greg Sanders (Play With Fire, 322), and utilizing the lab to test her own paternity using DNA from an active case involving her suspected father, casino mogul Sam Braun (Inside the Box, 323).
Less is known about Warrick, unfortunately. Las Vegas born and raised by his grandmother, he’s a former gambling addict who for the most part is a pretty mellow guy, but he has been known to lose his temper from time to time (Pilot, 100, and Invisible Evidence, 404). He’s made his share of mistakes as well (leaving a rookie CSI alone at a scene, gambling on the job), but he’s learned from them and has become as good of a CSI as any.
I suppose the best argument for Warrick and Catherine would be that they have more commonalities than differences. They both have a less than stellar past (Catherine with her days as a dancer and Warrick with his gambling addiction) but have managed to move up and onward. You could say that they need each other because they’re looking for support, and it’s easy to find support in someone who’s been through similar situations. But that argument doesn’t really work well for Warrick and Catherine.
So clearly, that approach isn’t very satisfactory. But luckily, it’s not necessary, because there’s the wonderful cop-out reason of “love knows no reason” and sometimes two people belong together just because they do. Because while there may not be a logical reason for YoBling, it is there, with plenty of subtext to prove it. There aren’t any long, overdrawn story arcs that are explicitly designed to showcase any YoBling (as there has been with Grissom and Sara); there have only been a spattering of scenes here and there, but it’s been more than enough to establish that there is something between them.
The chemistry between Warrick and Catherine has been there from the very beginning. The very first case that we see either one of them working on, in the pilot episode, is a case in which they work together. However, Warrick ends up working solo while Catherine helps out the newbie Holly Gribbs. So actually this really means nothing, but it’s an interesting piece of YoBling trivia.
The YoBling journey officially begins in Crate and Burial (103), their actual first case together. Their first scene together is at a crime scene of a hit and run involving a young girl. Now, as CSI viewers have come to learn, any case involving young girls (or single mothers, or exotic dancers, etc.) usually serves to remind the viewer of Catherine’s personal life. So, appropriately, Catherine makes some comment about her daughter Lindsey, the point being that it appears this case might be hard for her to handle. And accordingly, Warrick picks up on this.
Warrick: You want me to take this case alone?
Catherine: (looks a bit confused) You feeling alright, Warrick?
Warrick: Oh, I’m fine. I’m just looking out for you.
We learn that Warrick’s comments are mostly related to the fact that he believes his failure to properly supervise Holly Gribbs resulted in her death (Pilot and Cool Change), and so he’s “turning over a new leaf” and learning to look out for his coworkers more. So granted, it’s not overtly a YoBling moment, but it’s the tone he uses that really suggests he’s not viewing things on a strictly professional level. Imagine Grissom or Nick in Catherine’s place and you’ll hopefully see what I mean.
Later in that episode, Warrick offers to finish up the case by himself so Catherine can pick her daughter up from school, it being Lindsey’s birthday.
Warrick: Hey, why don’t you run on home? I’ll handle this.
Catherine: Is this more of your new leaf?
Warrick: Your daughter gets out of school in a half hour, right? On her birthday. Why do you want to pick a fight with me now?
Catherine: I owe you.
Warrick: Don’t think I won’t collect.
This is the start of a running theme regarding Warrick and his concern for Lindsey, which shows how he doesn't just care about Catherine, but about all aspects of her life. And also the fact that he’d make a great father, but that’s getting a little bit ahead of ourselves.
In The Finger (214), Catherine gets kidnapped/taken hostage by a suspect in a case, and when she returns to the lab, Warrick takes her to see Lindsey, who was brought to the lab (by Warrick, maybe? Hopefully?) after performing in a school play and is now asleep in an empty room.
Warrick: She ate but she didn’t fall asleep until way late. We had her helping Greggo out in the lab.
Catherine: I bet she loved that.
Warrick: Yeah.
Catherine: Thanks. I owe you.
Again, it’s the tone Warrick uses (and again, Catherine “owes him.” Is he ever going to collect?). “She ate but she didn’t fall asleep until way late.” It's like he’s Lindsey’s babysitter, telling Catherine how he fed Lindsey and put her to bed. Which is not only adorable but also proof again that he cares about Lindsey and therefore Catherine. And as part of Catherine’s thanks, she gives him a kiss. It’s just a friendly peck on the cheek, which she probably would have given to any of the other guys. But it’s not any of the other guys, it’s Warrick. Incidentally, up until Who Shot Sherlock? (511), in which Catherine gives Greg a congratulatory kiss after becoming a full fledged CSI, Warrick was the only other person in the lab she’d kissed. Yet another piece of YoBling trivia that obsessive people like me keep track of.
Lindsey is also briefly mentioned in passing on several other occasions (Sex, Lies and Larvae (110), Play With Fire (322), and Turn of the Screws (421), to name a few), and while these moments are usually just to remind us that Catherine does have a daughter, the person who brings up the subject on each occasion is, maybe not coincidentally, Warrick.
Of course, while it’s sweet that Warrick cares for Lindsey, it would be nice if he showed he cared about Catherine too. And of course, he does.
In A Little Murder (304), Catherine is attacked by a suspect at a crime scene. Warrick arrives after she’s already been attacked, and after chewing out the police officer who left Catherine alone, he kneels down next to her on the floor and instinctively wants to touch her and make sure she’s alright. But unfortunately he can’t, because she fell on top of the victim lying on the floor and is now covered in blood (and other body fluid) evidence.
Back at the lab, the assistant coroner David makes a lighthearted comment about Catherine being attacked (“That had to have been scary, huh?”), to which Catherine responds with a rather harsh comment of her own (“I didn’t have time to be scared, David”) before storming out of the morgue. Warrick, who is also there, goes to follow her to make sure she’s okay.
Warrick: Don’t let him get to you like that.
Catherine: I was scared. And I still am. (she turns around) Don’t tell anyone, okay?
And then, the hug.
This scene also has implications about Catherine’s feelings for Warrick, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
In Assume Nothing (402), Warrick walks into the locker room and sees Catherine looking a bit troubled. He takes the time to ask what’s wrong and sits with her while he listens.
Warrick: Need some help with that?
Catherine: Help with what?
Warrick: That weight on your shoulders.
Catherine: That obvious, huh?
Warrick: Yeah. What’s up?
Catherine: Oh...Sam Braun.
Warrick: Mm-hmm. I heard about that. He made his bones in Vegas. I mean, what do you expect? The guy’s bulletproof.
Catherine: I’m not.
Warrick: (sits down) Want to talk about it?
(Blah, blah, blah...)
Catherine: Yup. And I’m just afraid.
Warrick: Of what?
Catherine: Of backlash.
As with their hug, this also tells us about how Catherine sees Warrick. Don’t worry, we’re getting there.
With all the scenes presented thus far, it seems that there is more overt evidence that Warrick cares for Catherine than vice versa. Interestingly, the writers had originally planned to have Warrick tell Catherine that he loved her in Harvest (503), the episode following the famous sewer scene (Down the Drain, 502.) Which, while I don’t doubt that he does, would have been a bit too much to throw at an audience that hasn’t been obsessively following YoBling through the years. And even to someone like me, I’m in a way glad they chose to cut it. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression of their relationship, and I think it’s best to more explicitly flesh out their feeling for each other before we get to the “L” word.
But back to the point. There doesn’t seem to be as much evidence that Catherine feels the same way about Warrick as he so obviously does about her. Which is most probably due to Catherine’s prominently showcased social life. She always has, or if not, always seems to be on the look out for, a boy toy. Now yes, it would seem that if the men she’s picked up have all been men she’s met at a crime scene, it would make sense that she wouldn’t be opposed to a relationship with someone in the lab and wouldn’t also be looking for love there. But maybe she’s smarter than that and we’re not giving her enough credit. Or maybe it’s the opposite. Have you seen the men that work there?
In any case, at first glance it doesn’t appear that she sees Warrick as anything more than a friend and coworker. Yes, she’s flirted with him on occasion, but that’s probably because no sane heterosexual woman would not be compelled to flirt with a man like Warrick, and she’s never really expressed any feelings beyond that (well, aside from maybe one time, in Lucky Strike (316), where Catherine was concerned about Warrick in a situation which was sort of a reverse of Crate and Burial).
However, subconsciously, or maybe even consciously, she does care about Warrick. She expresses her feelings for him through her trust in him, which is a really big deal, especially for Catherine, a person who I see as having major trust issues. Who knows how it started, but I think it’s safe to say that a majority of her insecurity stems from her failed relationships, most notably, her marriage. Eddie Willows was her first real love (okay, I’m assuming here) and was the father of her child, and she caught him cheating. She got burned, so she now feels she has to overcompensate by controlling everything, or at least giving the appearance that she’s in control, and hence the “stop at nothing” attitude.
So accordingly, she rarely shows her vulnerability. Only four times that I count has she significantly let down her guard. Two of these times, with Eddie’s death (Lady Heather’s Box, 315) and Lindsey’s hitchhiking incident (Harvest (503), specifically after Lindsey storms out of the morgue), she was alone. But the other two times, she was with Warrick.
In the hug scene in A Little Murder, she admits to Warrick that she was scared, which in itself is pretty significant, but more importantly, she turns to him for a hug. I think Warrick is the kind of guy that would have given her a comforting hug anyway, but the fact that she was the one that turned to him, and not the other way around, is key. She’s not ashamed to admit to him that she’s scared, and in this case it appears like she actually needs his comfort and strength.
In the locker room scene in Assume Nothing, again Catherine feels comfortable enough with Warrick to confess to him that her improper use of lab resources was the reason Sam Braun’s case was dismissed (while it was general knowledge that the case was kicked, most people probably didn’t know why). She also admits she’s scared of the repercussions, something she probably didn’t disclose to Grissom or any of her other superiors who knew about her mistake.
Now, as a comparison, take Lady Heather’s Box. Her ex-husband and father to her daughter dies in a car accident. After she learns of his death, she continues to work and assures everyone who’s concerned about her that she’s fine. But the last scene of the episode shows her at home, where nobody from the lab can see her, crying in bed. While no one would have blamed her if she’d had this breakdown at the lab, she couldn’t allow herself to do it.
Of course, it's not like Catherine is completely closed off to everyone else in the lab. She has opened up to Grissom on a few occasions. Lest we forget Catherine’s line to Grissom in Early Rollout (415).
Catherine: I...write this down - I haven’t had sex in six...no, seven months.
But really, Catherine is anything but a prude, and moreover she’s been friends with Grissom long enough that she feels comfortable with telling him things about her personal life. She’s talked to him about Lindsey a few times (Crate and Burial and Harvest) also, and she does trust him, but not to the extent that she feels comfortable enough to expose her vulnerability to him, or to anyone else for that matter, the way she does with Warrick.
So maybe in that respect, there is an argument for why Catherine and Warrick “fit” together. What Catherine sees in Warrick is what’s been missing from all her other relationships - trust. And with that trust, maybe Warrick can help Catherine with those issues and show her that she doesn’t always have to be in control. He can help her to relax, and they can live happily ever after. So think that if you want, I personally just don’t like reducing a relationship down to one convenient little justification like that.
Now, all that being said, that brings us to season five. Specifically, two episodes in, Down the Drain.
Yes, the famous sewer scene, where Catherine conveniently falls into Warrick’s arms, and there’s that gaze that they hold long enough to more than suggest that there’s some sexual tension there. Now many people thought that the scene was unnecessary and a little out of nowhere, but when placed in the context of everything else mentioned previously, it doesn’t really seem random at all.
Of course the fact that the two have yet to talk to each other about that moment doesn’t help strengthen the YoBling argument much. But there have been a few promising signs since then that suggest the writers haven’t forgotten about it.
Over the previous four seasons, I count only a handful of times in which Warrick’s love life has come into play. He almost got involved with a suspect in a case (Lily Ivers in Primum Non Nocere, 216), he mentioned to Sara that he once bought a girlfriend a $300 purse (Hunger Artist, 223), and he bargained with a police department dispatcher to get some information in exchange for drinks, “at his place” (All For Our Country, 403). There are probably more, but I can’t remember everything. But those are the three major ones I remember. But since Down the Drain, in a span of just 13 episodes, I also count three. And two of these incidents have involved Catherine. Coincidence? I’d like to think not. (Oh, and it goes without saying that this argument clearly can’t also be applied to Catherine and her love life.) In Mea Culpa (510) Catherine reminds Warrick that he once had a girlfriend who kept calling him while they were working at a crime scene, and in Unbearable (514) Warrick explains to Nick how he’ll go to great lengths to retrieve a girl’s phone number.
And then there was the scene from Nesting Dolls (513) when Nick, Warrick and Catherine are discussing mail order brides.
Warrick: Well, life is short, dating’s complicated. This makes it much simpler, doesn’t it.
Catherine: It’s not supposed to be simple. Complicated is the whole point.
Warrick: It is?
Catherine: Well, yeah.
Which has to mean something. Catherine and Warrick having a conversation about how relationships are supposed to be complicated? After they shared an awkward, sexually charged moment that neither has been brave enough to bring up yet? Please. And given the context in which all of these recent scenes were placed, they were just random enough such that they didn’t really serve any other purpose than to suggest that YoBling is not dead. Or maybe I’m just so desperate that I can turn anything into a YoBling moment. But I think it’s a little bit of both. Or so I hope.
And that, in a (rather large) nutshell, is YoBling. It’s certainly not a popular CSI ship, and I can understand that. Warrick and Catherine don’t have the history and angst of Grissom/Sara, they don’t have the flirty chemistry of Nick/Sara, and they don’t have the twenty year friendship of Grissom/Catherine. But I believe that the reason this ship has sailed so far under the radar is the very reason why it is the one that has the greatest possibilities.
They don’t need an angsty history. They don’t need to flirt. They don’t need a longstanding friendship. Their feelings for each other are just there, for whatever they’re worth. Not glaringly explicit or overtly melodramatic, but definitely there, and definitely more than a little somethin’ somethin.’
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For some YoBling fanfic: YoBling Fanfic Archive
Also: yobling
And, to finish, some YoBling eye candy. Because I said so. Or, bonus for you for actually sticking around until the end. Place your mouse pointer over the cap for episode info.
And lastly.
<3