Title: Appearances Author: Amy aka Lady Julieanne Pairing: C/S Rating: R, for content I guess. Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me. I have borrowed them for my, and your amusement. Feedback: By now you should know that feedback is required. The muse that lives in my head threatens to stop writing without it. Distribution/Archive: Just ask. Summary: A string of strange murders causes the whole night shift to pull extra shifts to try to catch the killer. ********************************************************************** Sara heads toward the DNA lab to give Greg the epithelials that she had found and swings into the break room for another cup of coffee. Catherine sits quietly reviewing paperwork at the table. Sara pauses at the doorway, feeling her heart rate increase at the mere sight of Catherine. Sara realizes with sudden clarity that she has somehow found herself standing right behind Catherine. Catherine hadn't noticed Sara entrance to the break room and nearly jumps out of her skin when she feels a pair of hands on her shoulders. She relaxes when she tilts her head up to see Sara smiling a toothy grin at her. Sara's hands move of their own accord and began lightly massaging Catherine's shoulders. "You look stressed," Sara comments, gently kneading Catherine's shoulders, easing the stress away. "Just finishing some paperwork. I want to get it finished before the end of shift today, so I don't have to come in tomorrow," Catherine explains. Under Sara's strong hands, her muscles are loosening up and she is slowly turning into putty. Sara sneaks her fingers up Catherine's scalp and presses her thumbs into the base of Catherine's skull pressing against the spinal column there. Under the pressure of Sara's thumbs, Catherine feels her neck crack, and combined with the gentle feel Sara's fingers massaging her scalp, Catherine cannot hold back the slight moan that escapes her lips. "Dear god, that feels good." Sara eased the pressure of her fingers and smiled at Catherine's reaction. Sara had heard Catherine's light moan, and decided that she needed to pull back before she got carried away. They were, after all, at work. Sara returned her hands to Catherine's shoulders and gave them one last squeeze before walking towards the coffee machine. "Tease," Catherine muttered under her breath. "You say something Cat?" Sara asked with a sly grin. "I said thanks." "Uh-huh," Sara said as she sipped on her coffee. "Sounded more like tease, but I'll take the thanks anyway." Sara chuckled as Catherine's face blushed. "So why aren't you doing your paperwork in the relative quiet of your office?" "I can't seem to concentrate in my office," Catherine says with a sly grin. Sara smiles as she figures out the meaning behind the words. She can't resist teasing just a little. "Anything I can do to help?" "Oh, no. I think you've helped enough." "Well, don't say I never offered to help. So have you got big plans for your day off?" "Nah. Just quality time with Lindsey. Sometimes it feels like I rarely get to see her." There was a note of sadness in Catherine's voice. Sara knew how demanding her job was, and knew that it was much harder on Catherine. Catherine had Lindsey to take care of, and though she was a great mother, Sara knew Catherine wished she could spend more time with her daughter. "I need to go find Warrick. Call me okay?" Sara said as she finished up her coffee and headed out the door. Sara left Catherine and her paperwork and wandered off to find Warrick and see if he was done with those interviews yet. Sara found Warrick just outside Grissom's office. "Got a sec?" Sara asked. "Yeah sure." "I was wondering if you had those interview reports finished. Figured we could swap stories before I headed down to talk with Doc." "Reports are on your desk if you want to read them. Most of it boils down to no one seeing anything unusual. Room was registered to a Jeff Ahmer. No wife or other party listed, so the vic is probably someone he picked up while in town. The credit card he used is from a bank in Milwaukee, I've already called them to have them notify us of any new purchases. No witnesses, no one remembers Mr. Ahmer or the vic." "I couldn't find any form of ID in the room, I'm guessing the perp took it with him. I gave Greg the epithelials, and the rope is bagged and in the lab with Nick. He and Catherine finished up their burglary and he agreed to check into the knots on the rope. I get the distinct feeling that this is going to be a difficult nut to crack. I need to speak with Doc and read those reports." "Let me know what Doc says, I'll check on Nick." Warrick says as he walks off toward the lab rooms. Sara heads down to the morgue to find Doc. As usual, he is ready with her vic and it almost seems like he was waiting on her to come in. "Hey Doc." "Ah. Sara. I was hoping you'd come by. I suppose you want to know all about this young lady here," Doc said pointing at the lady on the table. "Sure do. What interesting tidbits have you got for me?" Sara asked as she walked to the opposite side of the table. "Sara, you manage to get all the funky ones. External bruising around the ankles, wrists, and neck. Definitely ligature marks. You already know that though. Signs of struggle, but no defensive wounds." Sara looks at Doc, confused. "A struggle, but no defensive wounds?" "None. Not in the traditional way. No skin under the nails, no evident bruising on her hands, or arms. But she struggled quite a bit in the ropes she was tied up in. The marks are deep enough, and there is enough rope burn to tell me that this was no ordinary tying up. She was violently struggling to get out of her restraints. "I sent DNA samples up to Greg. She had sex within hours of her death. And you guys got to her pretty quick, so there should be something to that. Tox screen isn't back yet, but I'll have it for you at the end of shift. I had David print her and take the print card to Warrick. Twenty bucks says she was a prostitute. Lots of old healed abrasions in the vaginal area, pretty common when I come across working girls." "Doc, you know I don't make bets with you. You're always right." Sara kidded with Al. She knew the light humor eased both her and Doc. Sometimes a little laugh makes it easier to discuss the horrible things they see everyday. "And I was hoping to earn easy money today. Damn." Doc laughed with her for a minute and turned serious again. "Moving on. Both shoulders are dislocated and she broke her wrists. Cause of death was asphyxiation. Most likely due to strangulation caused by the rope around her neck. I haven't opened her up yet, so all of this is preliminary. I'll have a report on your desk in a couple hours." "C'mon doc. I'm off in a couple hours. You really going to give me your report right at the end of shift? What if I had plans?" Sara feels safe kidding along these lines, because nearly everyone knows that her job is her life and no one knows that she now has a life and that there's a possibility that she will have plans later. "Sara. I know you don't have plans. You'll be here looking over evidence and reading reports until you think you've got it all figured out. And by the time you're finished, you'll go home and change clothes and be back for more." "How do you know I don't have plans? I could have a hot date or something just waiting for me to get off work. All kidding aside, if you could hurry on that report, I'd appreciate it." Sara was grinning at Doc and trying her best to convince him to rush the report. "You know, I know a lot more about what goes on upstairs than you people give me credit for. Just ask Catherine sometime." Doc said with a smile as Sara headed back upstairs. Sara immersed herself in paperwork when she returned upstairs. She had plenty of interview reports to read, and the original police report on the finding of the body was ready and waiting for her. Sara had felt a certain uneasiness about this case before she read the paperwork, but now she felt decidedly bad about this one. Someone was playing games with the CSI's and she was quite surprised that Warrick hadn't picked up on it. By the time Sara looked at the clock again, it was time to go. She decided to talk with Warrick before work later that night. Warrick was never really one to stick around after shift and he was probably already out of the building. Sara still hadn't seen Doc or his final report and was disappointed that he hadn't gotten it to her like he said he would, but she knew most of what was likely to be in it in the first place. She also knew that it would be waiting for her when she returned. **********************************************************************