Nessa Owen---you're awesome. Thank you.
"Catherine, you're late." Grissom said as she passed by his door.
Catherine stopped in her tracks, a little confused at his abrupt tone and entered his office. He had his eyes on the papers in front of him but she could tell that they did not hold his attention.
"Uh, yeah, I left you a message." Not getting any acknowledgement, she continued, "The babysitter was running late."
"You missed assignments. You're with Sara." Finally lifting his eyes to meet hers, "If you hurry you can catch her."
"Hey, Gil. You OK?" His face fell and for a minute it looked as though he was going to answer but then his expression hardened.
"I'm fine," Grissom said, turning his attention back to his desk. Catherine, taking that as her cue the conversation was over, left to find Sara. She didn't have to look for long. Turning the corner she almost collided with her.
"Catherine, you're here."
"Hey. I hear we're together."
"Yeah, possible suicide at the Mirage. You ready?"
Nodding at Sara, Catherine followed her out to the parking lot and into the car. "Listen, what's up with Grissom? He seems a little testy today."
"I'm not really sure. He's been that way since beginning of shift. Maybe it was because you were late." Sara winked just before pulling out of the parking space, letting her know she was teasing.
"Hey! Not you too. I called in!"
Walking through the entrance of the Mirage, Catherine took the lead and headed for the elevators. "What room is our victim in?"
"The storage room, actually. I think it's in the back. Our victim was an employee."
"Huh. Guy kills himself at work? Lack of privacy. That kinda rules out suicide, don't you think?"
As they walked down the hall towards the storage room Catherine couldn't help but notice the smile that suddenly appeared on Sara's face. Looking further down the hall she saw Det.Vartan talking with the hotel manager.
"Hey, looks like your man is working tonight too," Catherine said nodding in the direction of Det Vartan.
"So it seems."
They entered the storage room and immediately started collecting evidence. She and Sara have never been the best of friends but regardless of what anyone thought, Catherine cared for her a great deal. She was happy to see parts of the old Sara back and knew that most her happiness had to do with the detective in the hall.
"How are things going with you two?"
Sara gave her a sidelong glance. "Are you fishing around for information?"
"Not really. Well, yeah---kinda. I'm just wondering if he is the reason for your good mood lately."
"I'm always in a good mood, Catherine." Sara almost laughed at her incredulous look. "Things are good, really good. Actually, if you want some information, I have some to give."
"Really. What is it?"
"I just requested some vacation time. We're planning to get out of the city for a few days."
"Oh, wow. So you guys are getting serious, huh?"
"Getting that way, yeah." She said, glancing up at Alex. "It looks like he's done questioning the manager. I'm going to go see what he has."
"Yeah, ok." After giving her a thoughtful look she asked, "Hey Sara? With Alex? Are you happy?"
"Yes," Sara said giving Catherine the biggest smile she hadn't seen since her first year or two in Vegas.
Watching Sara walk over to the detective, Catherine's face fell as she realized the source of Grissom's sour mood.
Oh, Gil.
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"So, I hear that we are going to be short a person next week," she said, not wasting any time getting to the point.
"Yes. Sara is going to be on vacation."
"Wow," she said raising her eyebrows with a look of surprise, " Sara taking time off. I never thought I'd see the day, what about you?"
Ignoring her question and giving her a pointed look he asked, "How is the case going?"
"Well, we are going to do some more questioning tomorrow. We are waiting for Doc's autopsy results but so far it doesn't look like a suicide."
"OK. Keep me updated."
"We will. By "we" I mean me and Sara and Vartan."
"Hmm. What is it that you really want to say Catherine?"
"Not what you are expecting me to say."
"Ok, consider my curiosity peaked," he said, meeting her eyes, "What?"
"This attitude you had this morning, was it about this?"
"This? I'm not sure I know what you are talking about."
"Yes you do. Sara and Alex are going away next week. I don't understand, Gil, I thought you were OK with this. They have been dating for months, why are you acting like this now?"
"Catherine, I really don't want to discuss this." He knew that the time had passed by and he really didn't need to discuss his failure with anyone.
"That was always your problem. Look, all I am asking is that you don't start acting like an ass again. It's not fair to her and it's not fair to us."
"I know," he snapped. Suddenly tired, Grissom rubbed his face. Not having the energy to fight anymore, he decided honesty was the best route. "I thought I was OK with this. For some reason I didn't think that it was getting that serious."
A little stunned by his admission, Catherine lowered her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him off. "Why did you wait so long?"
"I thought I was giving her space." Grissom winced as the words came from his mouth. Saying them sounded just as lame as thinking them. He had already given her too much space---years of space.
"Gil,"
"Listen, I'm going to talk to her."
"About what?" Catherine asked cautiously.
"What do you mean about what? I need to talk to her about ... I need to explain things." Grissom decided to go for broke. "I can't let her go away with him."
"Gil, don't." she pleaded. After all the pushing he had done lately, the last thing Sara needed was him pulling again.
"Don't? Catherine, you were the one who told me to lift my head from under the microscope."
"I don't think I need to tell you how long ago that was."
"You're right. It was a while ago, which is why I need to do this now. Don't you think I've waited long enough?"
"No, Gil. I'm sorry but you waited too long. You're too late." Catherine wasn't prepared for the haunted look that her words caused.
"What did you say?" his disbelief evident.
"She's happy---she's smiling again. Don't do this."
"Catherine, I have to do this. I don't want to lose her." He got up from his chair and grabbed his jacket. He needed to talk to Sara now while he still had the courage and the chance.
Catherine grabbed his arm as he walked pass. "I just don't want anybody to get hurt."
"I won't hurt her." Disengaging himself from her, he continued out the door.
"I wasn't talking about her." Grissom took one more step and turned around. Seeing the apologetic look on Catherine's face, he nodded once and continued down the hall.
TBC
