DISCLAIMER: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and other related entities are owned, trademarked, and copyrighted by Anthony E. Zuiker, Jerry Bruckheimer Television, CBS Worldwide Inc., Alliance Atlantis Corporation, CSI Productions and CBS Productions. This is fanfiction and is written purely for the enjoyment of fans, and the author acknowledges that no profit is made from the writing and/or distribution of said writing.
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Untitled
By Amy Jo
I feel the slightest movement next to me and a gentle kiss on my forehead. The weight on the mattress next me moves and I suddenly feel lonely.
"Where are you going?" I ask groggily before opening my eyes.
"Cath, baby, go back to sleep." Is the only response I get.
"Where are you going?" I ask again as I open my eyes and sit up.
Sara is at the edge of the bed, pulling on the clothes she was wearing earlier. "I need to go to my place for a quick shower and a change of clothes before work."
"But it's hours before work starts. Stay with me?" I move to the edge of the bed and pull her into a hug. It's an awkward hug, with my arms around her waist and my face pressed against her stomach. Then again, since she isn't yet fully dressed, I kind of enjoy this hug.
He skin smells faintly of sweat and sex. Suddenly wide awake, I move my arms from around her and place my hands on her hips. I can't resist the urge to kiss the soft skin of her belly, and she laughs a little when I do. Sara is ticklish and the light kisses cause gentle ripples in her ab muscles as she giggles.
"Cath, c'mon, stop that." Sara's hands move the back of my head and she pulls very gently on my hair. Above me I hear her breath catch when my tongue dips into her navel. I hook my thumbs into her still unbuttoned jeans and slide them down just under the curve of her ass.
"Cath, please." She's trying hard to keep the desire out of her voice, but I hear it.
"Please what?"
"Please, I've got to go. Really. And that's not fair."
"You really have to go?" I don't know why I suddenly feel so needy, but I want her to stay.
"Yeah, I really have to go. I've got a few things to do before work and if you keep doing that I'm never going to get any of it done." The hands in my hair gently tug my lips away from her skin.
"Okay." I stick my lower lip out in a pout as I tug her jeans back on her hips. I sit at the edge of the bed and watch as she finds her bra and shirt. Soon she is completely dressed and ready to go.
"You want to grab some breakfast after shift?" Sara asks.
"Sounds like a date," I say as I finally move off the bed. I realize that I, too, should be getting ready for work. Even though there's still a few hours before shift, now that I'm awake I might as well get showered and changed.
"I'll see you at work okay?" Sara pulls me into a hug and squeezes tight. She gives me a light kiss before heading out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
When I get to work, Nick is waiting for me in the break room. Warrick, Grissom and Sara are nowhere around. Nick puts down the paper as soon as I enter the room and looks at me expectantly.
"Grissom wants us to head over to the Devon. He's already there with Sara on a suspicious circs."
"And good evening to you too Nick," I tease Nick.
"Sorry Catherine," Nick apologizes.
"I was kidding Nicky. Let's go. I'm driving."
I drop Nick off at the door to the Devon Hotel and quickly try to find a parking spot for the Tahoe. One thing that really sucks about going to hotels in company vehicles is that we can't use the valet parking. And sometimes, parking this behemoth of a truck can really be a bitch. The good thing is that with the LVPD placard and the flashing blue light, I can take just about any parking space I want.
In the lobby I walk over to the elevators and silently watch for a minute as Sara finishes taking pictures of an empty elevator. She is squatting on the floor just inside the elevator and doesn't notice my approach. I put a hand on her shoulder and she twitches under my touch; had she been standing she would've jumped.
"Where are Gris and Nick?" I ask, purely professional. She slowly rises from her position on the floor and puts the camera back in the case.
"On their way up to room 2927. We should get up there soon. They'll be waiting for us."
She turns to face me and smiles. I love that smile, with the gap in her teeth and the little twinkle in her eye. For a second I remember how she smiled at me just like that before she left my house tonight. It's funny how working with her as a lover is just as easy as working with her as a friend.
The only difference is that now when she smiles at me I get these random little flashbacks of time we spent together outside of work. Like this smile that I know is just for me. She smiled at me just like that right after she kissed me goodbye tonight. And when she brushes her fingers across my hand and I remember the last time I held her hand in mine, or felt those fingers pushing through my hair as we kiss.
My mind drifts back to the hotel and I watch with a grin as Sara ducks under the crime scene tape and walks over to elevators that haven't been blocked off by crime scene tape. Sara is a few steps ahead of me and pushes the up button. The elevator opens almost immediately and I follow her inside. The doors close and I say a silent prayer that no one followed us onto the elevator. I grab the hand that's holding the evidence kit and push the kit to the floor. Sara looks at me confused.
"Catherine?" She only calls me Catherine at work. At home she calls me 'Cath' and sometimes when she's out of breath or can't form words, 'Cat'.
"2927?" I ask, stepping closer to her. She backs away from me, but she doesn't get far; she bumps into the wall of the elevator with a soft thud.
"Yeah," Sara catches the look in my eyes and barely manages to whisper her response.
"Good. Then we've got 15 floors," I say to her. Her eyes widen in shock as I press my lips against hers but her body responds immediately with a low, almost inaudible moan. My fingers inch under the brown shirt she's wearing, anxious to touch her skin again. She opens her mouth to me, letting my tongue move demandingly against hers.
Her hands grab onto my hips under my jacket and squeeze tight. She pulls me into her roughly and I reluctantly ease a hand out from her shirt and brace it against the wall behind her so that I don't crush her. We stay kissing like this with my other hand caressing her skin.
I pull away from her reluctantly. She's not ready for me to go and she tries to pull me into her again; with my hand braced against the wall I don't move an inch. I look at her and her skin is flushed and her lips slightly swollen. Her tongue flicks across her lips quickly and I have to resist the urge to kiss her again.
"What was that for?" Sara asks me when has control of her breathing again.
"No reason, I just wanted to kiss you."
"Then why'd you stop?" She sticks her lower lip out at me in a pout. I run a finger across her lip and feel her body shudder at the touch.
"Because," I turn and look at the elevator's display panel, "you now have only eight more floors to pretend like I didn't just kiss you senseless. Wouldn't want Grissom and Nick to see you breathing heavy and your skin flush with desire. That's for me only."
I watch as she regains control over her body. She might be pouting but she knows that I'm right. If she walks out of this elevator looking like she did just a minute ago, the guys would definitely think something was up. And they are trained investigators so I'm sure it wouldn't take them long to figure things out.
By the time the elevator stops and the doors open she looks like her normal self again. She walks just a few steps ahead of me, carrying one kit in her hand and the soft case that holds the camera is slung over her shoulder. The guys won't notice, but there's an extra bit of swagger in her step.
Up ahead of us Grissom and Nick are just getting to the door to room 2927. Either they were on the slowest elevator in the hotel, or Sara and I rode up on the fastest elevator.
Grissom stops at the door and teaches us one of his little lessons, this one about 'Murder Central'. Nick looks clueless about this 'Murder Central' concept, and Sara looks smug when she asks him if he doesn't know what it is. I notice that Sara doesn't elaborate and explain the term, and it's my best guess that she doesn't know either.
I can't help but let my eyes roam appreciatively up and down her body. She's got that cocky little smirk on her face that I love so much. Neither Grissom nor Nick notices the look I give her. Sometimes the boys just aren't very observant. I've noticed every look she's gotten since she came to Vegas. The lustful stares from Greg, the hopeful looks from David, even the odd look Grissom gives her occasionally that I just can't figure out.
Grissom tells Nick and I to process the elevator and he and Sara will get started on the room. Sometimes I wonder at the decisions that Grissom makes. It will really only take one of us to process the elevator, and now I have to go all the way back downstairs. Not that I'm complaining about the trip up here, but he really just could have told Sara to have me process the elevator when I was already downstairs.
"All yours girl," I say as I hand the evidence kit in my hand to Sara. I was tempted to say something more personal, but with Grissom and Nick standing right there I don't. As I hand her the case, my hand lingers just a little longer than necessary and Sara gives me a slight smile that neither of the guys notice.
Nick and I head towards the elevators and he says something about Sara not knowing what 'Murder Central' was any more than he did. I tell him to just give it up and worry about our case and the work ahead of us.
Down in the elevator I notice some white specks in the blue carpet. Nick immediately thinks cocaine, but I know better.
"What do you think, cocaine?" He asks as we take a look at the specs through a magnifier.
"Nah, I don't think so," I say as he hands me a tape lift.
"How can you tell just by looking?" Nick asks. Sometimes the downside to working with investigators is that they are constantly asking questions.
""Never you mind," I tell him mysteriously. There are some parts of my life that I do not discuss with anyone. And a previous drug habit from my youth is one of them. I lift some of the specs from the carpet and thankfully Nick chooses not to ask any more questions.
I head back to the lab with the evidence from the elevator. I drop the tape lift off with trace and occupy myself with some work that has backed up from other cases. I get a page from Greg in DNA and I go to see what he's got for me.
Greg points me to a microscope and I take a look. On the slide are the white specks from the elevator.
"I gave this to trace, why do you have it?" I ask him.
Greg goes on to explain in his own way that the specks are scalp skin. Our perp has a dandruff problem. I thank Greg for the information and turn to leave. I'm only a few steps away when Greg stops me.
"Hey Catherine? Do you think Sara would ever go out with me?"
Not a chance in hell.
"Sure," I say instead. He looks so hopeful that I can't just tell him no. And it would be a little too harsh if I told him what I really thought. "As long as you don't tell her it's a date."
Greg has had a crush on Sara since she came to Vegas. Everyone in the office knows it, including Sara. But I know something about Sara that no one else knows. That at the end of the day she's not going home with any of the guys, that she's going home with me.
The End