FIC:Metronome 4/?
TITLE: Metronome
AUTHOR: KL
FANDOM: CSI (Vegas)
PAIRING: Catherine/Sara
SUMMARY: One pushes and the other pulls. What will it take to get them on the same page?
RATING: PG13
DEDICATION: This was and still is for wonkots42 who is my everything
A/N: I wrote this story almost five years ago, but it's not archived anywhere and I've never posted it here so...let's pretend it's new, okay?
[ Part 1 - Prologue] [ Part 2] [ Part 3]
Part 4
Alexandra Thompson gave an almost literal meaning to the term “killer looks”. Maybe not first degree murder but definitely in the realms of manslaughter. As they walked down the hallway, Sara could almost hear the whiplash as necks snapped around in their direction. Of course, as with most truly beautiful women, she was indifferent to all the attention.
“So this boss of yours, Grissom, you had a crush on him right?”
“You're just obsessed with fixing me up with someone, aren’t you?” Sara tried to sound indignant but the crooked grin gave her away.
“Just trying to figure out what ticks your clock these days. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t make myself useful?”
“The kind who’d still have half a bed in my apartment tonight instead of the couch.”
“You wouldn’t...”
“Just try me.” Sara threw her a final glare just as they rounded the corner to Grissom's office.
The door was ajar but instead of Grissom sitting behind the desk, Catherine was leaning against it talking into the phone. She saw the two women at the doorway and waved them in, while continuing her conversation. Alex eyed the specimen jars lining the numerous shelves with interest. Picking one up, feigning interest in the label, she murmured, “You never told me your boss looked so hot in a tank top.”
Sara grinned, answering in a low voice, “You’re in luck. That’s your favourite topic of conversation for today.”
Alex adjusted her glasses and eyed Catherine appreciatively.
“Not bad, Sidle. If you’re not going to ask her out, do you mind if I do?”
It took a discreet jab of the elbow to wipe the smirk off Alex’s face. Fortunately, Catherine had her hands full with whoever was at the other end of the line and didn’t catch their little exchange.
“…we have the full team working round the clock. I know the senator is very concerned about justice for his daughter and so are we…”
The voice on the other end of the line grew more agitated and Catherine had to move the receiver a little further from her ear.
“… I have already spoken to him four times today so please explain to the senator again that evidence has to be processed before we can take any action. And thank him for his concern about my job. ”
Catherine hung up the phone a little more forcefully than she had to, muttering under her breath.
“Asshole.”
Sara briefly wondered if Catherine knew how beautiful she looked when she was mad.
“Let me guess - Ecklie?”
Catherine nodded.
“I have been swamped with phone calls the entire morning about the Keely case. The senator. The DA’s office. The Sheriff. Ecklie.”
“Isn’t it Grissom’s job to deal with the brass?”
“Yeah, when he’s actually around to do it.”
Catherine slipped into the lab overall and fluffed her hair over the collar at the back in one fluid movement.
“Where is Grissom anyway?”
“They needed his,” Catherine drew quote marks in the air, "entomological expertise on a federal case in Austin. Left this morning. Or should I say, escaped. The rest of us aren’t so lucky.”
Sara smiled knowingly.
“How are we doing so far?”
“The PD has the suspect in custody but they’re some having problems with the arrest.”
Alex stood back a little way, watching, while this whole exchange was going on. She could see why Sara was attracted to Catherine. Physical beauty aside, she exuded an aura of absolute confidence in the way she moved and talked that was palpable even to a complete stranger.
“You’ve got to be kidding. The perp has priors in four different states. His prints were all over the crime scenes and we even have the victims’ blood on his clothes. He raped and killed three children in Nevada alone. These cases are signed, sealed and delivered.”
“He isn’t disputing our forensic evidence. He’s pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Claims he was not acting on his own volition and there were voices telling him to kill those children. He’s even offered to take the polygraph to prove his claim.”
Sara furrowed her brows.
“So, we’ve done our jobs and it’s now up to the DA’s office to prosecute the case...”
She trailed off seeing the resigned look on Catherine's face.
“By right, it’s out of our hands but since a senator’s daughter is involved, the powers that be are especially determined to see that he spends the rest of his days behind prison bars and not in a padded room. So, we are going back to the evidence and go through them with a fine toothcomb to see if we can find anything to prove that he was lucid when he committed the crimes. Meanwhile, they’re bringing in the heavy guns for this one - a psychiatric expert from FBI Behavioural Sciences.”
“I’m not with the FBI although I do freelance for them from time to time when my expertise is needed.” Alex cut in smoothly, deciding it was time to announce her presence.
Catherine turned towards the voice. She’d been so caught up with the phone call and talking to Sara that she almost forgot there was another person in the room.
Alex stepped forward and offered a hand.
“Dr. Alex Thompson.”
“Catherine Willows.”
Sara felt like she was at the OK Corral. There wasn’t any hostility per se, just an air that the two women were sizing each another up.
“Welcome to Las Vegas, Dr. Thompson. I’ve been expecting you.”
Catherine’s cool gaze was famous for making a person feel uneasy even when he or she hadn’t done anything wrong but Alex held it effortlessly.
“I hope you aren’t expecting much in the heavy artillery department because the closest thing I have is a pen that writes in three different colours. And please, call me Alex. I like to save the formalities for psychopaths and assholes.”
Sara had known Alex long enough to be aware that her acerbic sense of humour was definitely an acquired taste. She found herself involuntarily holding a breath, waiting to see how Catherine would react to Alex’s candour. She needn’t have worried; if there was one thing Catherine could appreciate, it was someone who didn’t pull any punches and stood her ground. A smile broke on her face and the atmosphere relaxed as the three women departed Grissom’s office post haste, before the phone rang again.
“Someone must have screwed up giving you directions because the suspect is being held at the station. That’s a couple of blocks away.” Alex shook her head.
“I got a ride in with Sara this morning because I wanted to look at what you’ve got so far before I interview the suspect.”
Alex watched Catherine for a reaction and caught her flicking a curious glance in Sara’s direction. Interesting.
“I figured that I could get a clearer picture from the people who are actually working the case since your superiors don’t seem to welcome my presence - even if they have to tolerate it.”
Both Sara and Catherine looked surprised so Alex explained.
“I got a two page summary of the investigations yesterday morning. I may be good but I can’t do a proper evaluation with such a veritable trove of information. Maybe I should have brought a flak jacket instead of the pen.”
“Let me guess whose name was on the cover of the summary - Conrad Ecklie?”
Alex looked impressed.
“How did you guess?”
Sara grinned.
“He's what you would call a ‘Dr. Thompson’ kind of guy.”
"I'll keep that in mind when I meet him."
“We have files and paper ‘this high’ on the guy - it’ll take all day and maybe all night to go through them. You sure you’re up to it?”
Alex smiled at Catherine.
“Clock’s a ticking - the sooner I get started, the better I’ll know this man by the time I have to talk to him. Besides, my stamina’s pretty good. Must be all that practice from my college days studying Quantum Physics, right, Sara?”
AUTHOR: KL
FANDOM: CSI (Vegas)
PAIRING: Catherine/Sara
SUMMARY: One pushes and the other pulls. What will it take to get them on the same page?
RATING: PG13
DEDICATION: This was and still is for wonkots42 who is my everything
A/N: I wrote this story almost five years ago, but it's not archived anywhere and I've never posted it here so...let's pretend it's new, okay?
[ Part 1 - Prologue] [ Part 2] [ Part 3]
Part 4
Alexandra Thompson gave an almost literal meaning to the term “killer looks”. Maybe not first degree murder but definitely in the realms of manslaughter. As they walked down the hallway, Sara could almost hear the whiplash as necks snapped around in their direction. Of course, as with most truly beautiful women, she was indifferent to all the attention.
“So this boss of yours, Grissom, you had a crush on him right?”
“You're just obsessed with fixing me up with someone, aren’t you?” Sara tried to sound indignant but the crooked grin gave her away.
“Just trying to figure out what ticks your clock these days. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t make myself useful?”
“The kind who’d still have half a bed in my apartment tonight instead of the couch.”
“You wouldn’t...”
“Just try me.” Sara threw her a final glare just as they rounded the corner to Grissom's office.
The door was ajar but instead of Grissom sitting behind the desk, Catherine was leaning against it talking into the phone. She saw the two women at the doorway and waved them in, while continuing her conversation. Alex eyed the specimen jars lining the numerous shelves with interest. Picking one up, feigning interest in the label, she murmured, “You never told me your boss looked so hot in a tank top.”
Sara grinned, answering in a low voice, “You’re in luck. That’s your favourite topic of conversation for today.”
Alex adjusted her glasses and eyed Catherine appreciatively.
“Not bad, Sidle. If you’re not going to ask her out, do you mind if I do?”
It took a discreet jab of the elbow to wipe the smirk off Alex’s face. Fortunately, Catherine had her hands full with whoever was at the other end of the line and didn’t catch their little exchange.
“…we have the full team working round the clock. I know the senator is very concerned about justice for his daughter and so are we…”
The voice on the other end of the line grew more agitated and Catherine had to move the receiver a little further from her ear.
“… I have already spoken to him four times today so please explain to the senator again that evidence has to be processed before we can take any action. And thank him for his concern about my job. ”
Catherine hung up the phone a little more forcefully than she had to, muttering under her breath.
“Asshole.”
Sara briefly wondered if Catherine knew how beautiful she looked when she was mad.
“Let me guess - Ecklie?”
Catherine nodded.
“I have been swamped with phone calls the entire morning about the Keely case. The senator. The DA’s office. The Sheriff. Ecklie.”
“Isn’t it Grissom’s job to deal with the brass?”
“Yeah, when he’s actually around to do it.”
Catherine slipped into the lab overall and fluffed her hair over the collar at the back in one fluid movement.
“Where is Grissom anyway?”
“They needed his,” Catherine drew quote marks in the air, "entomological expertise on a federal case in Austin. Left this morning. Or should I say, escaped. The rest of us aren’t so lucky.”
Sara smiled knowingly.
“How are we doing so far?”
“The PD has the suspect in custody but they’re some having problems with the arrest.”
Alex stood back a little way, watching, while this whole exchange was going on. She could see why Sara was attracted to Catherine. Physical beauty aside, she exuded an aura of absolute confidence in the way she moved and talked that was palpable even to a complete stranger.
“You’ve got to be kidding. The perp has priors in four different states. His prints were all over the crime scenes and we even have the victims’ blood on his clothes. He raped and killed three children in Nevada alone. These cases are signed, sealed and delivered.”
“He isn’t disputing our forensic evidence. He’s pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Claims he was not acting on his own volition and there were voices telling him to kill those children. He’s even offered to take the polygraph to prove his claim.”
Sara furrowed her brows.
“So, we’ve done our jobs and it’s now up to the DA’s office to prosecute the case...”
She trailed off seeing the resigned look on Catherine's face.
“By right, it’s out of our hands but since a senator’s daughter is involved, the powers that be are especially determined to see that he spends the rest of his days behind prison bars and not in a padded room. So, we are going back to the evidence and go through them with a fine toothcomb to see if we can find anything to prove that he was lucid when he committed the crimes. Meanwhile, they’re bringing in the heavy guns for this one - a psychiatric expert from FBI Behavioural Sciences.”
“I’m not with the FBI although I do freelance for them from time to time when my expertise is needed.” Alex cut in smoothly, deciding it was time to announce her presence.
Catherine turned towards the voice. She’d been so caught up with the phone call and talking to Sara that she almost forgot there was another person in the room.
Alex stepped forward and offered a hand.
“Dr. Alex Thompson.”
“Catherine Willows.”
Sara felt like she was at the OK Corral. There wasn’t any hostility per se, just an air that the two women were sizing each another up.
“Welcome to Las Vegas, Dr. Thompson. I’ve been expecting you.”
Catherine’s cool gaze was famous for making a person feel uneasy even when he or she hadn’t done anything wrong but Alex held it effortlessly.
“I hope you aren’t expecting much in the heavy artillery department because the closest thing I have is a pen that writes in three different colours. And please, call me Alex. I like to save the formalities for psychopaths and assholes.”
Sara had known Alex long enough to be aware that her acerbic sense of humour was definitely an acquired taste. She found herself involuntarily holding a breath, waiting to see how Catherine would react to Alex’s candour. She needn’t have worried; if there was one thing Catherine could appreciate, it was someone who didn’t pull any punches and stood her ground. A smile broke on her face and the atmosphere relaxed as the three women departed Grissom’s office post haste, before the phone rang again.
“Someone must have screwed up giving you directions because the suspect is being held at the station. That’s a couple of blocks away.” Alex shook her head.
“I got a ride in with Sara this morning because I wanted to look at what you’ve got so far before I interview the suspect.”
Alex watched Catherine for a reaction and caught her flicking a curious glance in Sara’s direction. Interesting.
“I figured that I could get a clearer picture from the people who are actually working the case since your superiors don’t seem to welcome my presence - even if they have to tolerate it.”
Both Sara and Catherine looked surprised so Alex explained.
“I got a two page summary of the investigations yesterday morning. I may be good but I can’t do a proper evaluation with such a veritable trove of information. Maybe I should have brought a flak jacket instead of the pen.”
“Let me guess whose name was on the cover of the summary - Conrad Ecklie?”
Alex looked impressed.
“How did you guess?”
Sara grinned.
“He's what you would call a ‘Dr. Thompson’ kind of guy.”
"I'll keep that in mind when I meet him."
“We have files and paper ‘this high’ on the guy - it’ll take all day and maybe all night to go through them. You sure you’re up to it?”
Alex smiled at Catherine.
“Clock’s a ticking - the sooner I get started, the better I’ll know this man by the time I have to talk to him. Besides, my stamina’s pretty good. Must be all that practice from my college days studying Quantum Physics, right, Sara?”