Fic: Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart 5/5
So, I finally got around to finishing this fic, I am so sorry it took so long but some other writing challenges got in the way. Now I need to get working on ralst's Anniversary Challenge fic *g* and then maybe that gorgeous 3some idea that won't leave my head!
Title: Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart 5/5
Author: Debbie.
Pairing: Catherine/Sara
Category: Pre-relationship
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. Please forgive my treading on any toes but I do it for my sanity.
Spoilers: The Strip Strangler (S1)
Word Count: 3229
AN: The continuation of another version of the back-story for these two gorgeous ladies.
AN2: Inspired by my love of the Gene Pitney/Marc Almond epic “Something's Gotten Hold of my Heart”
Dedicated to the memory of the man himself, Gene Pitney, February 17 1941 - April 05 2006, RIP
**********************
“Something gotta hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Yeah something has invaded my night
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey, changing the blue
Scarlet for me, scarlet for you”
Catherine was busy searching for any kind of clue to the person that had so viciously ended the young victim’s life when she saw a glimpse of Sara walking through the crime scene. Smiling to herself her thoughts once again drifted back to the very first time she had glimpsed Sara Sidle.
Katerine waltzed off stage on such an artificial high she always took more than minutes to come down. Tonight was no exception, especially as the vision of dark ebony eyes shining with intelligence, vitality, passion, and something so much darker was imprinted on her retinas.
Carefully removing her heavy make-up she took slow steady breaths until her heart-rate settled to normal. She stared into her own vivid blue eyes, sparkling with life, and was once again assaulted by the hurt hidden behind the young woman’s glowing gaze; eyes begging for some kind of help.
Catherine felt a fluttering in her chest; *she* needed to help the girl. Standing quickly to go front-stage, hoping to catch the brunette before she left, she was stopped in her tracks by the voice of Jimmy Tadero.
“Hey Cat, I’ve got Gil here, he wants to talk about that job to tide you through college.”
An hour later, her future more settled, she was disappointed to find the young woman had already left.
Hearing footsteps above her head, Catherine sighed and brought herself back to the present as she thought back to the fruitless search for three young women in Vegas; even with access to Sam Braun’s connections it had been like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Eventually, she’d resigned herself to never see those eyes again other than in her own moments of despair; until Sara Sidle walked into CSI headquarters nearly one year ago.
She smiled; since their recent joint handling of the fairground case Catherine had kept her promise to herself and had finally enjoyed a couple of friendlier get-togethers. She was pleasantly surprised at how easy their conflicting personalities actually seemed to balance each other out.
Suddenly, a small commotion caused her to glance upwards to see Sara rushing out of the victim’s bedroom.
Her pained voice echoed down the stairway. “Damn that guy.”
Catherine watched as Gil grabbed hold of Sara’s arm.
“Listen, no emotions in here.”
Catherine grimaced. Knowing full well that Sara always reacted badly to any sort of abuse against young woman, Gil’s comment would not go down well. She and Sara may not share the same method of working and may still clash more often than not while working but one thing Sara did not do was to let her emotions affect her judgment.
“He’s escalating, Grissom.”
Catherine could hear the anguish in Sara’s voice and knew this was going to be one of those cases; maybe Catherine could finally prove that she could be there for Sara like she had wanted to be all those years before.
***
Sara, Warrick and Grissom were working the crime scene, the young victim already transported to autopsy. The brunette was getting more and more frustrated with the complete lack of forensic evidence.
“I’ve tape-lifted, roll-lifted… I'm not finding one hair.”
“I wonder what that might mean,” was Grissom’s usual cryptic response.
Sara and Warrick caught each other’s eyes, both pondering his question. It was Sara that came up with something first.
“He vacuumed this place before he left. We've established that he utilizes materials from the victim's domicile.”
She looked at the victim’s vacuum cleaner, only to find it was emptied.
“Well, look for prints,” advised Grissom.
At that moment Catherine entered the room and immediately locked eyes with Sara hoping to convey her support.
“Don't bother. There aren't any. Just like the last time. The guy's Mr. Clean. Here, knock yourself out.” The older CSI handed the laser detector over, allowing her fingers to brush gently against Sara’s.
Sara immediately felt the warmth and smiled her thanks, before sharing one last look as Catherine left to meet Brass with orders from Grissom to ask him to chase up details on past sex-offenders in the area.
Sara set to work on the vacuum. As it became apparent there were no fingerprints to find, she allowed her mind to wander back eleven years
Katerine exited the stage and Sara stood motionless; stunned. The vision of blue eyes staring directly into her brown pair refused to leave. After a few minutes she heard her two friends trying to speak to her. Reluctantly, Sara followed her peers out of the strip-joint, unable to convince them that a visit backstage might be interesting.
The following night, she returned alone and had been disappointed to find no signs of Katerine on the bill of dancers. Two further nights went by before she plucked up courage to ask whether Katerine would be appearing again. The bouncer informed her, with obvious regret, that Katerine had performed her last dance the night she and her friends had been in the audience.
She smiled; knowing that that was the reason the performance had felt so special. The bouncer went on to tell the young brunette that Katerine had gone back to college and gone over to the dark-side, his description for the police department that occasionally raided his establishment. Sara grinned but was nevertheless surprised to hear the pole-dancer was studying forensics and was going to be working in the police department associated with crime scene investigation.
After leaving Las Vegas the young Sara immediately changed a couple of her chosen college subjects making a conscious decision to follow the same path. She also made a promise that one day she *would* return to the city of Las Vegas.
And she had, nearly one year ago, surprised to find that her colleague Catherine Willows was the dancer that had so enraptured her back then. Smiling inwardly, she acknowledged that finally they were beginning to nurture a friendship; a friendship Sara craved, and had craved since that first vision.
Suddenly, Sara was pulled from her musings by Warrick’s excited cry, “Nobody move.”
He held up a hair and immediately offered to run it back to the lab.
Sara sighed; it was moments like this that made her job almost worthwhile. A hair could be the beginning of the final stretch in catching this bastard. She smiled inwardly; the need to gain justice for the victims had always been one of the main reasons for her entering the profession of CSI, that and the knowledge that her own personal angel had gone into the same field.
She sighed again; an idea formulating in her mind, if only she could get Grissom to agree. Sara decided that she too needed a word with Brass; he would know how she could put her plan into action.
***
As it happened Sara didn’t need to talk to Brass. On returning to headquarters she heard that the FBI had been drafted in to the investigation and approached the lead officer with her suggestion.
Special Agent Culpepper jumped at the chance of having a ‘qualified’ woman that fit the victim profile enough to act as bait to the serial killer now known as The Strip Strangler.
Unfortunately, Gil Grissom did not agree with the plan. It hurt Sara to not have the support of her mentor and friend but this was something she had to do, for herself and for the victim.
After hearing Gil’s ridicule of the plan, Sara exited his office. Catherine, who had heard on the grapevine of Agent Culpepper’s plan, immediately grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her into the corner.
“Sara, I’m not here to talk you out of this, though I wish you weren’t even considering it…”
Sara looked at Catherine with disbelief.
“… but I do want to know that you’re doing this for the right reasons, not some gung-ho power trip”
Sara chuckled wryly, shrugging her shoulders.
“Catherine, you *know* why I have to do this; I just do, ok?”
Catherine held onto Sara’s shoulders and looked into her eyes, seeing nothing but strength and resolve. She sighed.
“Ok, just don’t do anything stupid out there, ok?”
“I won’t, Cath.”
“Good, I’ve only just found you; I’m not going to lose you again.”
The only word that Sara’s addled brain could focus on was ‘again’. Catherine didn’t want to lose her again; when had she lost her the first time? The voice of Culpepper calling her brought her mind back to the present; *that* question was going to have to be tabled until later.
Sara looked into Catherine’s eyes, drawing the strength she always did, “I promise.”
“Ok. Go on then. See you later.” Catherine gave an encouraging smile and pushed the brunette towards Culpepper.
***
Much later the whole of Graveyard shift were sitting in easy familiarity around a table of the local Diner. Sara grinned at her colleagues as they listened to Sheriff Mobley and Special Agent Culpepper claim the credit for the eventual solving of the Strip Strangler case.
It had been a hard shift, especially with the ‘resting’ of Grissom by the sheriff. The moment Catherine had refused to accept Gil’s handing over of the case leadership to her at been a defining moment in Sara’s day. Since coming to Vegas she had seen a side to Catherine that she hadn’t wanted to see; the ruthless, hard, sexual side that Catherine cultivated easily to get her own way. The young CSI wanted to see Catherine as her heroine, her savior, not as this woman who had seen the world and played it to the hilt. Now, she could see, behind Catherine’s hard façade was the woman she had fallen under the spell of years before, a woman she could be the perfect compliment for.
She looked around the table, at Nick and Warrick, sharing easy banter, and at Catherine and Gil sharing the loving smiles of two close friends. At last, Sara believed she was a part of this amazing family.
In the background she heard their order number called and joked, “Do we have a breakfast budget, Grissom?”
His easy reply, “I believe Catherine was going to requisition one,” was met with chuckles around the table.
Sara caught Catherine’s eyes as she stood to fetch their order, “Good, cause our plates are up, and nobody has any money.”
The smile she received from Catherine made Sara smile in return. Walking towards the service counter she was pleased to hear Nick and Warrick follow and turned to joke quietly with them.
Catherine smiled gently towards her best friend, Gil Grissom; the man that had stood by her through the hardship of fighting through college, through her pregnancy and return to work, through her battles and subsequent divorce from Eddie, in fact through all that life threw at her. Gil had been her rock for over ten years now. So, when faced with the sight of Sid Goggle, the Strangler suspect, ready to rain heavy blows down on his head, Catherine had not needed to think twice, she had shot. She had shot well and true, killing Goggle stone dead.
Catherine was grateful that the younger half of her team had left the table; she was certain they could feel Gil’s need to talk to his senior colleague. Sure enough, as soon as the coast was clear, Gil addressed Catherine.
“I never should have put you in that position, Catherine. I'm sorry.”
Catherine sighed inwardly, knowing that Gil would feel like this. In truth it had been one of the easiest things she had done in a while, her only thought to save Gil’s life. She tried to reassure her friend, “What position? Never doubt and never look back. That's how I live my life.”
Across the table Gil’s eyes showed the truth of his next words, “I admire that.”
As the others returned to the table Gil and Catherine shared a last look of friendship. Gil Grissom was a man of few sentimental words, so his quiet utterance gave Catherine more comfort than any gushing words of thanks. She looked on, oblivious to the world around for a moment, until she caught Sara’s words in the distance.
“Whole wheat and fruit? Who ordered that?”
The redhead considered the similarities between her friend and his protégé. She already had Gil’s friendship; all she needed now was the same intensity from Sara. Catherine was convinced it was achievable; only something that was meant to be could survive eleven years of separation. Eleven years ago she had felt a connection to the young Sara Sidle; eleven years later, every time she looked in to those ebony eyes, the connection remained.
Lost in her thoughts she was still able to comprehend what was happening around her as she rolled her eyes at Gil’s healthy eating option. Once again engaging with the three younger CSI’s to her left, she chuckled as Nick muttered some ridiculous comment that made the group laugh freely.
This was her life and, as she’d just said to Gil, it was a life that held no regret. Sara was a part of that life, a part that needed to hold a larger position, a part of her life that needed addressing.
Once more she glanced over to the brunette, trying to convey some of her thoughts directly to the young woman. She was gratified when a light blush traveled up Sara’s neck at her gaze and a shy smile was offered in return. Later, she vowed, they would find time to talk.
***
An hour later Warrick and Nick rose to leave offering their goodbyes to the three remaining team members.
Gil smiled at the two women before offering Sara a lift back to her car. Catherine looked up with a start at Sara’s reply.
“Um, no thanks, Grissom, Catherine’s taking me home today.”
Seeing the look of surprise that flittered across Gil’s face Catherine nodded at the truth of the statement and stood to leave.
Sara rose at the same time and waited for Catherine to climb out from the booth before saying her farewell to Grissom. Catherine echoed the sentiment and followed Sara out, resting her hand in the small of the younger woman’s back as they walked side-by-side.
Gil just watched, then smiled.
***
Setting the coffee pot to brew, Sara turned to address Catherine. “So, Cat, I thought we needed to talk. We say that a lot, don’t we? Maybe it’s time to stop talking, maybe it’s time to address this thing,” she motioned between the two of them, “head-on.”
Catherine laughed. “Yeah, this thing, huh? This… um, what is it, Sara? What is it that draws me to you?”
Sara smiled shyly, hearing Catherine admit there was this connection between the two of them was important to the younger woman.
“I’m serious, Sara, what is it, this connection? It scares the hell out of me, I can tell you.”
“Don’t ask me what it is? I was 18 when I first laid eyes on you, 18 years old and as naïve as hell, but something clicked, something that’s still there even now. You push my buttons, Catherine, all of them.”
“Yeah, and I was 25 and a stripper, already attached to Eddie, and about to change my life for the better, what was I supposed to think?”
Catherine looked up and smiled softly at Sara. She whispered, “I looked all over Vegas for you, you know.”
Sara stammered, convinced she’d heard wrong, “Huh, what?”
“I searched for you, even got Sam Braun to use his contacts. Do you know how many young women were vacationing in Las Vegas that summer?”
Sara couldn’t hold back the laughter. “No, no, I don’t know how many, quite a few I should think. But I bet none of the others were ensnared by Katerine of the gorgeous blue eyes. Hell, Cath, all you had to do was return to the strip-joint, it cost me a bloody fortune sitting waiting for you to dance again. Money I could ill afford.”
This time it was Catherine’s laughter that echoed around the room.
“Oh, I’m sure it was worth your while, hon.”
Sara smiled at the innuendo. “No, Catherine, not a one came close to making me feel what you made me feel.”
Handing Catherine her mug of coffee Sara directed the redhead towards her living area. Once sitting at opposite ends of the couch Sara continued.
“I don’t know what this connection is. I do know it’s something I want to explore. I think we can be good for each other. Friends, or something more, I don’t really know, but I think we need to try.”
Catherine sipped her coffee, surprised that Sara had been bold enough to say her piece, she needed to formulate her reply.
“I agree with everything you’ve said, Sara, I really do but…”
Sara sighed, disappointed that Catherine appeared unwilling to follow her heart.
Seeing the look of disappointment cross Sara’s face, Catherine sighed in return. “Hey! I said I agree with you, I want to give this a try but… I think you really need to consider the facts. I’m eight years older than you, a mother of a young child, an ex-stripper, a coke addict, and a murderer.”
Catherine couldn’t believe she had said the last thing, Gil needed saving and that was all that mattered, looking to see Sara’s response, she tabled that analysis for another time.
“Catherine, I’ve been a little in love with you since that very first time I laid eyes on you, and if I remember rightly you were already a stripper and more than likely an addict even then, so I’m sure I’m not going to let a simple thing like you shooting a guy in order to protect your best friend put me off, I promise you.”
Catherine smiled and gave a prayer of thanks before realizing just what Sara had admitted to. Instantly, another realization hit her, the explanation for the connection. Quietly, she agreed. “Yeah, I think, maybe, some small part of me as loved you for the same amount of time…“
Catherine smiled at Sara’s look of surprise. “… oh, don’t get me wrong, not the heart-stopping, happy-ever-after type of love, not yet… “ once again a look of shock flittered across Sara’s face, “… how could it be when to all intents you were only ever a figment of my imagination.”
“But now?” queried Sara.
“Now, I want to see where this can go. But, whatever happens, I promise I’ll always be here for you.”
Sara reached for Catherine’s hand and nodded in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Cat. I know we’re always going to have spats, whatever happens you’re always gonna drive me crazy but yeah, angry or not, I’ll always be here for you too.”
Catherine smiled. “Each other’s guardian angel, huh?”
“Yeah.” Sara’s utterance was so soft Catherine barely heard it. She reached across the couch and gently caressed the brunette’s cheek in silent acknowledgment of all they had shared and would go on to share.
“So Sara, the next time we go for breakfast after shift, how about it being just you and me? You know, like a date.”
“That sounds good, very good in fact, but, um, maybe, before that, I could take you to dinner?”
The grin that split Catherine’s face was answer enough.
***
The End.
******************
Thank you so much for reading :)
Title: Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart 5/5
Author: Debbie.
Pairing: Catherine/Sara
Category: Pre-relationship
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. Please forgive my treading on any toes but I do it for my sanity.
Spoilers: The Strip Strangler (S1)
Word Count: 3229
AN: The continuation of another version of the back-story for these two gorgeous ladies.
AN2: Inspired by my love of the Gene Pitney/Marc Almond epic “Something's Gotten Hold of my Heart”
Dedicated to the memory of the man himself, Gene Pitney, February 17 1941 - April 05 2006, RIP
**********************
“Something gotta hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Yeah something has invaded my night
Painting my sleep with a colour so bright
Changing the grey, changing the blue
Scarlet for me, scarlet for you”
Catherine was busy searching for any kind of clue to the person that had so viciously ended the young victim’s life when she saw a glimpse of Sara walking through the crime scene. Smiling to herself her thoughts once again drifted back to the very first time she had glimpsed Sara Sidle.
Katerine waltzed off stage on such an artificial high she always took more than minutes to come down. Tonight was no exception, especially as the vision of dark ebony eyes shining with intelligence, vitality, passion, and something so much darker was imprinted on her retinas.
Carefully removing her heavy make-up she took slow steady breaths until her heart-rate settled to normal. She stared into her own vivid blue eyes, sparkling with life, and was once again assaulted by the hurt hidden behind the young woman’s glowing gaze; eyes begging for some kind of help.
Catherine felt a fluttering in her chest; *she* needed to help the girl. Standing quickly to go front-stage, hoping to catch the brunette before she left, she was stopped in her tracks by the voice of Jimmy Tadero.
“Hey Cat, I’ve got Gil here, he wants to talk about that job to tide you through college.”
An hour later, her future more settled, she was disappointed to find the young woman had already left.
Hearing footsteps above her head, Catherine sighed and brought herself back to the present as she thought back to the fruitless search for three young women in Vegas; even with access to Sam Braun’s connections it had been like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Eventually, she’d resigned herself to never see those eyes again other than in her own moments of despair; until Sara Sidle walked into CSI headquarters nearly one year ago.
She smiled; since their recent joint handling of the fairground case Catherine had kept her promise to herself and had finally enjoyed a couple of friendlier get-togethers. She was pleasantly surprised at how easy their conflicting personalities actually seemed to balance each other out.
Suddenly, a small commotion caused her to glance upwards to see Sara rushing out of the victim’s bedroom.
Her pained voice echoed down the stairway. “Damn that guy.”
Catherine watched as Gil grabbed hold of Sara’s arm.
“Listen, no emotions in here.”
Catherine grimaced. Knowing full well that Sara always reacted badly to any sort of abuse against young woman, Gil’s comment would not go down well. She and Sara may not share the same method of working and may still clash more often than not while working but one thing Sara did not do was to let her emotions affect her judgment.
“He’s escalating, Grissom.”
Catherine could hear the anguish in Sara’s voice and knew this was going to be one of those cases; maybe Catherine could finally prove that she could be there for Sara like she had wanted to be all those years before.
***
Sara, Warrick and Grissom were working the crime scene, the young victim already transported to autopsy. The brunette was getting more and more frustrated with the complete lack of forensic evidence.
“I’ve tape-lifted, roll-lifted… I'm not finding one hair.”
“I wonder what that might mean,” was Grissom’s usual cryptic response.
Sara and Warrick caught each other’s eyes, both pondering his question. It was Sara that came up with something first.
“He vacuumed this place before he left. We've established that he utilizes materials from the victim's domicile.”
She looked at the victim’s vacuum cleaner, only to find it was emptied.
“Well, look for prints,” advised Grissom.
At that moment Catherine entered the room and immediately locked eyes with Sara hoping to convey her support.
“Don't bother. There aren't any. Just like the last time. The guy's Mr. Clean. Here, knock yourself out.” The older CSI handed the laser detector over, allowing her fingers to brush gently against Sara’s.
Sara immediately felt the warmth and smiled her thanks, before sharing one last look as Catherine left to meet Brass with orders from Grissom to ask him to chase up details on past sex-offenders in the area.
Sara set to work on the vacuum. As it became apparent there were no fingerprints to find, she allowed her mind to wander back eleven years
Katerine exited the stage and Sara stood motionless; stunned. The vision of blue eyes staring directly into her brown pair refused to leave. After a few minutes she heard her two friends trying to speak to her. Reluctantly, Sara followed her peers out of the strip-joint, unable to convince them that a visit backstage might be interesting.
The following night, she returned alone and had been disappointed to find no signs of Katerine on the bill of dancers. Two further nights went by before she plucked up courage to ask whether Katerine would be appearing again. The bouncer informed her, with obvious regret, that Katerine had performed her last dance the night she and her friends had been in the audience.
She smiled; knowing that that was the reason the performance had felt so special. The bouncer went on to tell the young brunette that Katerine had gone back to college and gone over to the dark-side, his description for the police department that occasionally raided his establishment. Sara grinned but was nevertheless surprised to hear the pole-dancer was studying forensics and was going to be working in the police department associated with crime scene investigation.
After leaving Las Vegas the young Sara immediately changed a couple of her chosen college subjects making a conscious decision to follow the same path. She also made a promise that one day she *would* return to the city of Las Vegas.
And she had, nearly one year ago, surprised to find that her colleague Catherine Willows was the dancer that had so enraptured her back then. Smiling inwardly, she acknowledged that finally they were beginning to nurture a friendship; a friendship Sara craved, and had craved since that first vision.
Suddenly, Sara was pulled from her musings by Warrick’s excited cry, “Nobody move.”
He held up a hair and immediately offered to run it back to the lab.
Sara sighed; it was moments like this that made her job almost worthwhile. A hair could be the beginning of the final stretch in catching this bastard. She smiled inwardly; the need to gain justice for the victims had always been one of the main reasons for her entering the profession of CSI, that and the knowledge that her own personal angel had gone into the same field.
She sighed again; an idea formulating in her mind, if only she could get Grissom to agree. Sara decided that she too needed a word with Brass; he would know how she could put her plan into action.
***
As it happened Sara didn’t need to talk to Brass. On returning to headquarters she heard that the FBI had been drafted in to the investigation and approached the lead officer with her suggestion.
Special Agent Culpepper jumped at the chance of having a ‘qualified’ woman that fit the victim profile enough to act as bait to the serial killer now known as The Strip Strangler.
Unfortunately, Gil Grissom did not agree with the plan. It hurt Sara to not have the support of her mentor and friend but this was something she had to do, for herself and for the victim.
After hearing Gil’s ridicule of the plan, Sara exited his office. Catherine, who had heard on the grapevine of Agent Culpepper’s plan, immediately grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her into the corner.
“Sara, I’m not here to talk you out of this, though I wish you weren’t even considering it…”
Sara looked at Catherine with disbelief.
“… but I do want to know that you’re doing this for the right reasons, not some gung-ho power trip”
Sara chuckled wryly, shrugging her shoulders.
“Catherine, you *know* why I have to do this; I just do, ok?”
Catherine held onto Sara’s shoulders and looked into her eyes, seeing nothing but strength and resolve. She sighed.
“Ok, just don’t do anything stupid out there, ok?”
“I won’t, Cath.”
“Good, I’ve only just found you; I’m not going to lose you again.”
The only word that Sara’s addled brain could focus on was ‘again’. Catherine didn’t want to lose her again; when had she lost her the first time? The voice of Culpepper calling her brought her mind back to the present; *that* question was going to have to be tabled until later.
Sara looked into Catherine’s eyes, drawing the strength she always did, “I promise.”
“Ok. Go on then. See you later.” Catherine gave an encouraging smile and pushed the brunette towards Culpepper.
***
Much later the whole of Graveyard shift were sitting in easy familiarity around a table of the local Diner. Sara grinned at her colleagues as they listened to Sheriff Mobley and Special Agent Culpepper claim the credit for the eventual solving of the Strip Strangler case.
It had been a hard shift, especially with the ‘resting’ of Grissom by the sheriff. The moment Catherine had refused to accept Gil’s handing over of the case leadership to her at been a defining moment in Sara’s day. Since coming to Vegas she had seen a side to Catherine that she hadn’t wanted to see; the ruthless, hard, sexual side that Catherine cultivated easily to get her own way. The young CSI wanted to see Catherine as her heroine, her savior, not as this woman who had seen the world and played it to the hilt. Now, she could see, behind Catherine’s hard façade was the woman she had fallen under the spell of years before, a woman she could be the perfect compliment for.
She looked around the table, at Nick and Warrick, sharing easy banter, and at Catherine and Gil sharing the loving smiles of two close friends. At last, Sara believed she was a part of this amazing family.
In the background she heard their order number called and joked, “Do we have a breakfast budget, Grissom?”
His easy reply, “I believe Catherine was going to requisition one,” was met with chuckles around the table.
Sara caught Catherine’s eyes as she stood to fetch their order, “Good, cause our plates are up, and nobody has any money.”
The smile she received from Catherine made Sara smile in return. Walking towards the service counter she was pleased to hear Nick and Warrick follow and turned to joke quietly with them.
Catherine smiled gently towards her best friend, Gil Grissom; the man that had stood by her through the hardship of fighting through college, through her pregnancy and return to work, through her battles and subsequent divorce from Eddie, in fact through all that life threw at her. Gil had been her rock for over ten years now. So, when faced with the sight of Sid Goggle, the Strangler suspect, ready to rain heavy blows down on his head, Catherine had not needed to think twice, she had shot. She had shot well and true, killing Goggle stone dead.
Catherine was grateful that the younger half of her team had left the table; she was certain they could feel Gil’s need to talk to his senior colleague. Sure enough, as soon as the coast was clear, Gil addressed Catherine.
“I never should have put you in that position, Catherine. I'm sorry.”
Catherine sighed inwardly, knowing that Gil would feel like this. In truth it had been one of the easiest things she had done in a while, her only thought to save Gil’s life. She tried to reassure her friend, “What position? Never doubt and never look back. That's how I live my life.”
Across the table Gil’s eyes showed the truth of his next words, “I admire that.”
As the others returned to the table Gil and Catherine shared a last look of friendship. Gil Grissom was a man of few sentimental words, so his quiet utterance gave Catherine more comfort than any gushing words of thanks. She looked on, oblivious to the world around for a moment, until she caught Sara’s words in the distance.
“Whole wheat and fruit? Who ordered that?”
The redhead considered the similarities between her friend and his protégé. She already had Gil’s friendship; all she needed now was the same intensity from Sara. Catherine was convinced it was achievable; only something that was meant to be could survive eleven years of separation. Eleven years ago she had felt a connection to the young Sara Sidle; eleven years later, every time she looked in to those ebony eyes, the connection remained.
Lost in her thoughts she was still able to comprehend what was happening around her as she rolled her eyes at Gil’s healthy eating option. Once again engaging with the three younger CSI’s to her left, she chuckled as Nick muttered some ridiculous comment that made the group laugh freely.
This was her life and, as she’d just said to Gil, it was a life that held no regret. Sara was a part of that life, a part that needed to hold a larger position, a part of her life that needed addressing.
Once more she glanced over to the brunette, trying to convey some of her thoughts directly to the young woman. She was gratified when a light blush traveled up Sara’s neck at her gaze and a shy smile was offered in return. Later, she vowed, they would find time to talk.
***
An hour later Warrick and Nick rose to leave offering their goodbyes to the three remaining team members.
Gil smiled at the two women before offering Sara a lift back to her car. Catherine looked up with a start at Sara’s reply.
“Um, no thanks, Grissom, Catherine’s taking me home today.”
Seeing the look of surprise that flittered across Gil’s face Catherine nodded at the truth of the statement and stood to leave.
Sara rose at the same time and waited for Catherine to climb out from the booth before saying her farewell to Grissom. Catherine echoed the sentiment and followed Sara out, resting her hand in the small of the younger woman’s back as they walked side-by-side.
Gil just watched, then smiled.
***
Setting the coffee pot to brew, Sara turned to address Catherine. “So, Cat, I thought we needed to talk. We say that a lot, don’t we? Maybe it’s time to stop talking, maybe it’s time to address this thing,” she motioned between the two of them, “head-on.”
Catherine laughed. “Yeah, this thing, huh? This… um, what is it, Sara? What is it that draws me to you?”
Sara smiled shyly, hearing Catherine admit there was this connection between the two of them was important to the younger woman.
“I’m serious, Sara, what is it, this connection? It scares the hell out of me, I can tell you.”
“Don’t ask me what it is? I was 18 when I first laid eyes on you, 18 years old and as naïve as hell, but something clicked, something that’s still there even now. You push my buttons, Catherine, all of them.”
“Yeah, and I was 25 and a stripper, already attached to Eddie, and about to change my life for the better, what was I supposed to think?”
Catherine looked up and smiled softly at Sara. She whispered, “I looked all over Vegas for you, you know.”
Sara stammered, convinced she’d heard wrong, “Huh, what?”
“I searched for you, even got Sam Braun to use his contacts. Do you know how many young women were vacationing in Las Vegas that summer?”
Sara couldn’t hold back the laughter. “No, no, I don’t know how many, quite a few I should think. But I bet none of the others were ensnared by Katerine of the gorgeous blue eyes. Hell, Cath, all you had to do was return to the strip-joint, it cost me a bloody fortune sitting waiting for you to dance again. Money I could ill afford.”
This time it was Catherine’s laughter that echoed around the room.
“Oh, I’m sure it was worth your while, hon.”
Sara smiled at the innuendo. “No, Catherine, not a one came close to making me feel what you made me feel.”
Handing Catherine her mug of coffee Sara directed the redhead towards her living area. Once sitting at opposite ends of the couch Sara continued.
“I don’t know what this connection is. I do know it’s something I want to explore. I think we can be good for each other. Friends, or something more, I don’t really know, but I think we need to try.”
Catherine sipped her coffee, surprised that Sara had been bold enough to say her piece, she needed to formulate her reply.
“I agree with everything you’ve said, Sara, I really do but…”
Sara sighed, disappointed that Catherine appeared unwilling to follow her heart.
Seeing the look of disappointment cross Sara’s face, Catherine sighed in return. “Hey! I said I agree with you, I want to give this a try but… I think you really need to consider the facts. I’m eight years older than you, a mother of a young child, an ex-stripper, a coke addict, and a murderer.”
Catherine couldn’t believe she had said the last thing, Gil needed saving and that was all that mattered, looking to see Sara’s response, she tabled that analysis for another time.
“Catherine, I’ve been a little in love with you since that very first time I laid eyes on you, and if I remember rightly you were already a stripper and more than likely an addict even then, so I’m sure I’m not going to let a simple thing like you shooting a guy in order to protect your best friend put me off, I promise you.”
Catherine smiled and gave a prayer of thanks before realizing just what Sara had admitted to. Instantly, another realization hit her, the explanation for the connection. Quietly, she agreed. “Yeah, I think, maybe, some small part of me as loved you for the same amount of time…“
Catherine smiled at Sara’s look of surprise. “… oh, don’t get me wrong, not the heart-stopping, happy-ever-after type of love, not yet… “ once again a look of shock flittered across Sara’s face, “… how could it be when to all intents you were only ever a figment of my imagination.”
“But now?” queried Sara.
“Now, I want to see where this can go. But, whatever happens, I promise I’ll always be here for you.”
Sara reached for Catherine’s hand and nodded in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Cat. I know we’re always going to have spats, whatever happens you’re always gonna drive me crazy but yeah, angry or not, I’ll always be here for you too.”
Catherine smiled. “Each other’s guardian angel, huh?”
“Yeah.” Sara’s utterance was so soft Catherine barely heard it. She reached across the couch and gently caressed the brunette’s cheek in silent acknowledgment of all they had shared and would go on to share.
“So Sara, the next time we go for breakfast after shift, how about it being just you and me? You know, like a date.”
“That sounds good, very good in fact, but, um, maybe, before that, I could take you to dinner?”
The grin that split Catherine’s face was answer enough.
***
The End.
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Thank you so much for reading :)