CSI/NCIS Fic: Starting Over 18/?
TITLE: Starting Over 18/?
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: Gil/Catherine, Catherine/LH, and maybe a few crossover pairings along the way.
WARNINGS: GSR for a while, Lady Heather makes an appearance later (and all that that implies), etc.
DISCLAIMER: I own no one... *sigh*
DISTRIBUTION: Graveshift Archive, crimsonchampagne... Others, ask.
SPOILERS: Season 6 for CSI, Season 2-3 for NCIS
SUMMARY/NOTES: I don't know what's happening in this story anymore. Advice? Guidance?
"So, Vegas, why doesn't that brunette like you?"
Ziva rolled her eyes at Tony's question. "She might not want to get onto that, Tony."
"Into," he corrected as he moved his flashlight over the floor of the room of the hotel in which Gerard had been found.
"Into that," she echoed.
Catherine smiled as she examined the bathroom for trace evidence, as she listened to the two of them talk back and forth. Then, she poked her head out into the main room and said, "Baltimore, it's kind of a long story."
"Oh, c'mon," he insisted. "We're just processing a scene... what else are we gonna talk about?"
With a chuckle, she ducked back into the bathroom. "Okay, fine," she replied. "Sara doesn't like me because I was best friends with Grissom. She had a thing for Grissom ever since she came here and started working on his team. And we had been best friends for a decade by that point. I was an obstacle. Which is ridiculous because Grissom never shared his private life with anyone, so it wasn't like he and I were involved. Anyway, they finally did get together before I left. And then... she just got mean. Probably because in her mind, she saw the whole thing as a contest."
"I don't understand why women get batty like that."
"Catty," Catherine corrected as she opened the cupboards under the sink and looked through them.
"Whatever," Ziva muttered. She continued talking, "Seriously, though, if she was interested in your friend, why didn't she just approach you and ask you to back off? Straight forward, simple... no fuss, no muss. And if Dr. Grissom thought you were keeping them apart, why didn't he say anything to you?"
"Who knows," Catherine replied. She sighed. "There's nothing here, guys. The bathroom's clean."
"Yeah," Tony agreed.
Catherine stepped into the room and turned her flashlight off. "Did the CSI's print the outside of the door?"
"No," Ziva answered. "They assumed Gerard knew his killer."
"Okay... that would mean there are three people in on this. How can three people have the same obsession?" Tony asked.
"Might not be three people," Catherine said quietly as she thought about the situation.
Tony stood up and set his flashlight in his bag. "It has to be. We caught one. We're assuming Gerard's another one... so that means---"
"He might have just been at the parties," Catherine interrupted. "Heather said he was a client for a while. He was stationed at Fallon for a few years and every break he received, he would spend it at her dominion. He was transfered to Little Creek. He was probably still involved in scene play, right? I mean, Victoria has a dominion and he probably found that out and started going there. When he heard Lady Heather was in town, he probably jumped at the chance to see her again. The video could have just been... him admiring her technique or something. It was a demonstration---not him spying on a private session."
Ziva looked at Catherine. "And then our suspect's partner traveled to Nevada to kill him?"
Catherine shook her head. "The original stalkers were obsessed with Heather. They targeted the submissives she chose to be with. They wanted to serve her and they didn't think anyone else was worthy. They're probably from Vegas. Our guy had a driver's license from Maryland, but people move all the time. Maybe he saw Heather before and found her enticing, so he went to visit Vegas and got hooked in with his partner. They heard she was going to the East Coast and they followed her, thinking they could get in on the action with her in a new setting, but she never chose them. They got angry, so they got even."
"That's not a bad theory, Vegas," Tony conceded. "It makes sense."
"None of this makes sense," Ziva muttered, shaking her head.
Catherine reached into her bag and pulled out her print powder and brush. "I'm going to dust the door, see if there's anything left," she explained. "Maybe it'll give us a lead."
"DNA's still processing the sheets," Tony said. "But, I'll be happy to check with the wonderful Wendy when we get back."
Laughing softly, Catherine walked over to the door. "I'm sure you would be," she said under her breath as she dropped to her knees in front of the open door. She started to dust the powder over the painted surface, pausing occasionally to shine her flashlight against the powder to check for ridge detail.
At the sound of someone clearing his throat behind her, she jumped, dropped the powder brush, and reached for her gun without thought. When she saw Jim Brass standing behind her, she relaxed and grinned.
"Jim! You startled me!"
"The feds trained you well," he teased, "so no more sneaking up on you!"
"Oh, wow, it's good to see you," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders for a hug. "You look great, Jim. Tired... but there's no rest for law enforcement in Sin City."
"I thought it was no rest for the wicked," he said with a boyish grin.
She chuckled. "You sent the officer away?"
He nodded. "Gave him a break when I heard you were here," he explained. "It's good to see you, kid."
She chuckled. "Well, that's kind of a surprise, I guess," she murmured. "I'm not really receiving a warm welcome."
"I heard you caused quite a stir earlier tonight."
Catherine blushed as she crouched down and resumed working on the door. "He came down, yelling... and I just... I lost it. And then when I yelled at Gil, Sara had to defend his honour and get her digs in at me... it was... god, it was a long time coming," she muttered. She sighed and looked up at him. "I wanted to hit her," she admitted.
"Hey, I think Warrick and Greg would have let you," Jim replied.
She blinked. "Why? What... what's going on?"
"Oh, the team's falling apart," Jim told her, "and I'm not sure Grissom's noticed. He's enjoying his new life. He shaved his beard, has the younger girlfriend... he's living the good life, you know?"
"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "The good life..."
"And you're living the fast and furious life, I hear," he added.
Catherine smiled at him. "Who'd you hear that from?"
"Sofia told me you're doing dangerous undercover operations and you're armed in four different---"
"Three," Ziva corrected as she looked over the contents of the bedside table drawer. "Three places every day. Four or more if going into a dangerous situation."
"Geez, Cath," JIm commented.
She shrugged. "I'm living the fast and furious life," she said in a dry tone of voice. "Gotta protect myself."
"You sleep with a gun under your pillow, too?"
"Usually," she replied. She caught a print underneath the doorknob and smiled. "Hey, Jim, can you reach into my kit and get me a tape lift?"
"You got something?" he asked as he bent over.
She grinned. "I think so."
"You wore gloves coming in?"
"Yeah... didn't want to taint the scene," she replied quietly as she accepted the tape lift from Jim's hand. "Thanks," she added quietly, before setting her brush down and opening the tape lift so she could collect the print. "Maybe this little print will help us out," she said as she held it up for inspection.
"We should scan and send it to Abby, Vegas," Tony pointed out. "She can get into the Navy system immediately."
Catherine nodded as she tucked the sealed tape lift into her bag. "Sounds good to me, Baltimore," she replied.
She straightened and smiled at Jim. "How are you doing?" she asked quietly, leaning against the door frame. "Really, Jim."
"Ellie visited me a couple of times," he told her.
Her face lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Oh... that's... that's good," she murmured as she reached out and rubbed Jim's arm. "I'm glad to hear it."
"How's Lindsey?" he asked.
She smiled and shrugged. "She's in private school... lots of homework, but it keeps her out of trouble. She wants a dog. That's what we debate these days."
"A dog?"
Catherine chuckled. "Yeah, she seems to think I don't have enough to do."
"What else is going on?" he asked. "You seeing anyone?"
"Yeah, Vegas," Tony asked, his interest piqued, "you seeing anyone?"
Catherine snorted loudly. "Dream on, Baltimore." She chuckled as she looked back at Jim. "No, I'm not... not seriously, anyway," she answered. "You?"
"Sofia."
"Reeeally," she purred, her lips curving into a wide grin.
He blushed and chuckled. "Yeah... really," he said, ducking his head slightly. "Warrick and Tina have patched things up... they're doing much better... Gil and Sara... who knows..."
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, curious by what Jim meant by his comment. "Are they not working out?"
"Not recently," Jim answered.
Catherine arched an eyebrow. "In the... two days I've been here?"
"Something like that."
"But, why?"
Jim rolled his eyes. "You're honestly asking me that?" he replied. "Catherine, for two brilliant forensic scientists, you two are really stupid, you know that?"
"Jim... Gil and I were only ever friends---"
He chuckled. "Yeah. No kidding."
"Jim!"
"Catherine, you need to sit down and talk with Grissom."
She sighed. "I tried," she said quietly. "But, we just... we just couldn't talk. He didn't like the answers to my questions. And then when he started yelling at Gibbs..." she trailed off and sighed again.
"Try again," he suggested. "If you leave and don't get this sorted out, it'll just bug you."
"You know me too well," Catherine accused him. She smiled. "But, it is really good to see you."
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: Gil/Catherine, Catherine/LH, and maybe a few crossover pairings along the way.
WARNINGS: GSR for a while, Lady Heather makes an appearance later (and all that that implies), etc.
DISCLAIMER: I own no one... *sigh*
DISTRIBUTION: Graveshift Archive, crimsonchampagne... Others, ask.
SPOILERS: Season 6 for CSI, Season 2-3 for NCIS
SUMMARY/NOTES: I don't know what's happening in this story anymore. Advice? Guidance?
"So, Vegas, why doesn't that brunette like you?"
Ziva rolled her eyes at Tony's question. "She might not want to get onto that, Tony."
"Into," he corrected as he moved his flashlight over the floor of the room of the hotel in which Gerard had been found.
"Into that," she echoed.
Catherine smiled as she examined the bathroom for trace evidence, as she listened to the two of them talk back and forth. Then, she poked her head out into the main room and said, "Baltimore, it's kind of a long story."
"Oh, c'mon," he insisted. "We're just processing a scene... what else are we gonna talk about?"
With a chuckle, she ducked back into the bathroom. "Okay, fine," she replied. "Sara doesn't like me because I was best friends with Grissom. She had a thing for Grissom ever since she came here and started working on his team. And we had been best friends for a decade by that point. I was an obstacle. Which is ridiculous because Grissom never shared his private life with anyone, so it wasn't like he and I were involved. Anyway, they finally did get together before I left. And then... she just got mean. Probably because in her mind, she saw the whole thing as a contest."
"I don't understand why women get batty like that."
"Catty," Catherine corrected as she opened the cupboards under the sink and looked through them.
"Whatever," Ziva muttered. She continued talking, "Seriously, though, if she was interested in your friend, why didn't she just approach you and ask you to back off? Straight forward, simple... no fuss, no muss. And if Dr. Grissom thought you were keeping them apart, why didn't he say anything to you?"
"Who knows," Catherine replied. She sighed. "There's nothing here, guys. The bathroom's clean."
"Yeah," Tony agreed.
Catherine stepped into the room and turned her flashlight off. "Did the CSI's print the outside of the door?"
"No," Ziva answered. "They assumed Gerard knew his killer."
"Okay... that would mean there are three people in on this. How can three people have the same obsession?" Tony asked.
"Might not be three people," Catherine said quietly as she thought about the situation.
Tony stood up and set his flashlight in his bag. "It has to be. We caught one. We're assuming Gerard's another one... so that means---"
"He might have just been at the parties," Catherine interrupted. "Heather said he was a client for a while. He was stationed at Fallon for a few years and every break he received, he would spend it at her dominion. He was transfered to Little Creek. He was probably still involved in scene play, right? I mean, Victoria has a dominion and he probably found that out and started going there. When he heard Lady Heather was in town, he probably jumped at the chance to see her again. The video could have just been... him admiring her technique or something. It was a demonstration---not him spying on a private session."
Ziva looked at Catherine. "And then our suspect's partner traveled to Nevada to kill him?"
Catherine shook her head. "The original stalkers were obsessed with Heather. They targeted the submissives she chose to be with. They wanted to serve her and they didn't think anyone else was worthy. They're probably from Vegas. Our guy had a driver's license from Maryland, but people move all the time. Maybe he saw Heather before and found her enticing, so he went to visit Vegas and got hooked in with his partner. They heard she was going to the East Coast and they followed her, thinking they could get in on the action with her in a new setting, but she never chose them. They got angry, so they got even."
"That's not a bad theory, Vegas," Tony conceded. "It makes sense."
"None of this makes sense," Ziva muttered, shaking her head.
Catherine reached into her bag and pulled out her print powder and brush. "I'm going to dust the door, see if there's anything left," she explained. "Maybe it'll give us a lead."
"DNA's still processing the sheets," Tony said. "But, I'll be happy to check with the wonderful Wendy when we get back."
Laughing softly, Catherine walked over to the door. "I'm sure you would be," she said under her breath as she dropped to her knees in front of the open door. She started to dust the powder over the painted surface, pausing occasionally to shine her flashlight against the powder to check for ridge detail.
At the sound of someone clearing his throat behind her, she jumped, dropped the powder brush, and reached for her gun without thought. When she saw Jim Brass standing behind her, she relaxed and grinned.
"Jim! You startled me!"
"The feds trained you well," he teased, "so no more sneaking up on you!"
"Oh, wow, it's good to see you," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders for a hug. "You look great, Jim. Tired... but there's no rest for law enforcement in Sin City."
"I thought it was no rest for the wicked," he said with a boyish grin.
She chuckled. "You sent the officer away?"
He nodded. "Gave him a break when I heard you were here," he explained. "It's good to see you, kid."
She chuckled. "Well, that's kind of a surprise, I guess," she murmured. "I'm not really receiving a warm welcome."
"I heard you caused quite a stir earlier tonight."
Catherine blushed as she crouched down and resumed working on the door. "He came down, yelling... and I just... I lost it. And then when I yelled at Gil, Sara had to defend his honour and get her digs in at me... it was... god, it was a long time coming," she muttered. She sighed and looked up at him. "I wanted to hit her," she admitted.
"Hey, I think Warrick and Greg would have let you," Jim replied.
She blinked. "Why? What... what's going on?"
"Oh, the team's falling apart," Jim told her, "and I'm not sure Grissom's noticed. He's enjoying his new life. He shaved his beard, has the younger girlfriend... he's living the good life, you know?"
"Yeah," she agreed quietly. "The good life..."
"And you're living the fast and furious life, I hear," he added.
Catherine smiled at him. "Who'd you hear that from?"
"Sofia told me you're doing dangerous undercover operations and you're armed in four different---"
"Three," Ziva corrected as she looked over the contents of the bedside table drawer. "Three places every day. Four or more if going into a dangerous situation."
"Geez, Cath," JIm commented.
She shrugged. "I'm living the fast and furious life," she said in a dry tone of voice. "Gotta protect myself."
"You sleep with a gun under your pillow, too?"
"Usually," she replied. She caught a print underneath the doorknob and smiled. "Hey, Jim, can you reach into my kit and get me a tape lift?"
"You got something?" he asked as he bent over.
She grinned. "I think so."
"You wore gloves coming in?"
"Yeah... didn't want to taint the scene," she replied quietly as she accepted the tape lift from Jim's hand. "Thanks," she added quietly, before setting her brush down and opening the tape lift so she could collect the print. "Maybe this little print will help us out," she said as she held it up for inspection.
"We should scan and send it to Abby, Vegas," Tony pointed out. "She can get into the Navy system immediately."
Catherine nodded as she tucked the sealed tape lift into her bag. "Sounds good to me, Baltimore," she replied.
She straightened and smiled at Jim. "How are you doing?" she asked quietly, leaning against the door frame. "Really, Jim."
"Ellie visited me a couple of times," he told her.
Her face lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Oh... that's... that's good," she murmured as she reached out and rubbed Jim's arm. "I'm glad to hear it."
"How's Lindsey?" he asked.
She smiled and shrugged. "She's in private school... lots of homework, but it keeps her out of trouble. She wants a dog. That's what we debate these days."
"A dog?"
Catherine chuckled. "Yeah, she seems to think I don't have enough to do."
"What else is going on?" he asked. "You seeing anyone?"
"Yeah, Vegas," Tony asked, his interest piqued, "you seeing anyone?"
Catherine snorted loudly. "Dream on, Baltimore." She chuckled as she looked back at Jim. "No, I'm not... not seriously, anyway," she answered. "You?"
"Sofia."
"Reeeally," she purred, her lips curving into a wide grin.
He blushed and chuckled. "Yeah... really," he said, ducking his head slightly. "Warrick and Tina have patched things up... they're doing much better... Gil and Sara... who knows..."
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, curious by what Jim meant by his comment. "Are they not working out?"
"Not recently," Jim answered.
Catherine arched an eyebrow. "In the... two days I've been here?"
"Something like that."
"But, why?"
Jim rolled his eyes. "You're honestly asking me that?" he replied. "Catherine, for two brilliant forensic scientists, you two are really stupid, you know that?"
"Jim... Gil and I were only ever friends---"
He chuckled. "Yeah. No kidding."
"Jim!"
"Catherine, you need to sit down and talk with Grissom."
She sighed. "I tried," she said quietly. "But, we just... we just couldn't talk. He didn't like the answers to my questions. And then when he started yelling at Gibbs..." she trailed off and sighed again.
"Try again," he suggested. "If you leave and don't get this sorted out, it'll just bug you."
"You know me too well," Catherine accused him. She smiled. "But, it is really good to see you."