Present

“Waste not, want not?” asked Sara looking angrily at Grissom. Grissom’s look was a mixture of pride and embarrassment and when his eyes met with Sara’s he felt his ears burn red. Once Sara’s eyes locked with Grissom’s her anger faltered and her fixed facial resolve melted into a tiny upturn of her lips that only she could pull off.

“I was making sure you were okay as well,” added Grissom.

“More like making sure she didn’t waste all the blood, dripping it on the floor,” interrupted Catherine breaking the moment between the two geeks.

“Well, at least it explains the blood,” said Sara looking away from Grissom.

“Did you get any blood?” asked Greg accompanied by a snort of laughter from the senior female blonde CSI. With a lightning flash response Sara was up from the sofa and her glass of water was poured straight over Catherine’s head, leaving the blonde stunned with water dripping down her face.

“SIDLE!” shouted Catherine wiping her face.

“Girl fight,” shouted Greg with a bit too much enthusiasm that ended just as quickly when Catherine threw her glass of water at him.

“Children,” warned Nick holding his hands in the air. “Now that we are finished playing how did we get here?”

Last night-outside Catherine’s house

“Are you still bleeding?” asked Catherine as Sara gingerly touched her face.

“No,” replied Sara slightly muffled from the swelling and the fact she had dried blood caked around her face and hands.

“What about Lindsey?” asked Warrick as Nick stood playing with Catherine’s letterbox: opening and closing the lid.

“She’s at her friends,” replied Catherine.

“Why aren’t we inside?” asked Greg as the group stood gathered on the driveway.

“Oh! Key,” smiled Catherine rummaging through her bag that had somehow managed to spend the entire night in at least a four-meter radius of her. “Got it,” smiled Catherine pleasingly holding up the object.

“Open it,” demanded Grissom who had been quiet since they left the park.

“You know, I think I’m sobering up,” said Catherine as she had three attempts at getting the key in the lock. “My heads hurting; it’s okay though, I have more beer,” she announced swinging the front door open.

“Beer,” smiled Greg pushing the group through the front door into the darkness of the house and falling flat on his face as he shuffled his feet into the doorstep.

“Greg don’t sleep there,” complained Catherine in a mothering tone as she and Warrick ushered Sara into the kitchen. If anyone was sober enough to make any observations they might have noticed that Warrick had an extremely good idea of were everything was kept; as demonstrated when he opened a cupboard and retrieved a washcloth, which he handed to Catherine. Luckily for them Grissom was busy checking Sara’s nose wasn’t broken by prodding haphazardly at her face receiving a loud squeal when he missed and poked her in the eye. At present Nick was dragging Greg along the floor by his arm in danger of pulling the appendage from its socket.

“Sara sit,” instructed Catherine with the tone people used when commanding canines.

“I’m okay,” said Sara as Warrick firmly pushed on her shoulders so she was forced to sit while Catherine began prodding at her face with a wet cloth.

“That’s cold,” said Sara slapping Catherine’s hand.

“Hey,” with that Catherine slapped Sara’s arm and in seconds it had turned into a childish slapping match as the two hit each other’s arms leaving pronounced red patches.

“I’m going in,” announced Nick suddenly from where he was standing watching. Before Warrick had time to do anything Nick had taken his top off and moved towards the fighting females waving his arms and whistling like a referee.

“Ladies,” said Nick grabbing Sara around the middle and lifting her off the floor making her a much easier target for Catherine to whip with the wet cloth.

“Hey that’s me!” shouted Nick as the material whipped his side.

“Alright,” Warrick came in grabbing Catherine’s waist and pulled her away. “Time out.”

“Aren’t you going to take your top off?” whispered Catherine to Warrick as he and Nick let go.

“I was enjoying that,” smiled Greg getting kicked by Sara and Catherine as he did.

“Not nice,” grinned Sara waving a finger at Grissom rather than Greg. “Where’d you go?” she slurred slightly spinning on her heels.

“Okay, I think we should lie down,” said Grissom grabbing Sara’s flailing arms before she did anyone any damage.

“Spare room’s down the hall and don’t throw up on anything,” shouted Catherine waving her arm in the general direction completely missing the fact that Grissom had just said that he and Sara should lie down.

“You know what? I don’t have more beer,” said Catherine sounding like someone had just told her Santa wasn’t real.

“Maybe you should lie down too,” suggested Greg wandering off to explore Catherine’s house.

Somehow Grissom and Sara had found the spare room and Sara was now lying fully dressed under the covers hugging them like her life depended on it.

“Move over,” muttered Grissom shoving the pile of duvets that Catherine seemed to have out over Sara who looked incapable of moving.

“Their down there…the hall,” said Sara half heartedly lifting her arm up.

“Too late,” said Grissom as he pulled the pile of duvets over him. “I can’t get up anymore, the rooms running away,” he finished as Sara shoved a blanket over his face drunkenly laughing to herself.

“Where am I supposed to sleep?” asked Nick in an uncharacteristically whiney voice.

“The floor?” replied Catherine laying down on the sofa and flicking the TV on.

“The floor?” repeated Nick.

“You’re not going in my room and you’re not going in Lindsey’s. The sofa’s mine,” she added as Nick slumped down to the floor his arms folded across his chest.

“I can’t sleep with my clothes on,” announced Nick as he lied on Catherine’s rug. With that he pulled the rug over himself them bits of clothing came flying out from underneath. Catherine had now lost the will to do anything as clothes were scatted across her floor so she simply rolled over so she couldn’t see them and began to drift into a drunken sleep. She was just drifting off when the sofa suddenly became a lot comfier and warmer.

“That better not be you Nick,” mumbled Catherine as the other person’s body heat began to warm her.

“It’s not,” came the familiar voice of Warrick Brown.

“Good, “replied Catherine allowing herself to succumb to sleep.

Greg had now become bored of wandering round Catherine’s house looking at every shiny object he could find and went in search of somewhere to sleep. Going into the spare room he saw Sara’s head and arm poking out from a mountain of blankets, sheets and duvets. There was still a good bit of room left on the king sized bed so Greg laid down next to her pulling a blanket from Sara getting some sort of muffled response.

“You need tucking in,” smiled Greg pulling the top blanket away from her and over himself completely unaware as he turned away of the man sleeping under the blanket on the other side of Sara.

Present

Four pairs of eyes were now fixed on Sara and Grissom who were looking like they wanted to melt into the ground.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” said Catherine with a hint of a smile.

“Us?” asked Sara suddenly eyeing up Catherine and Warrick.

“Fine. Warrick and I have been dating for a couple of months,” answered Catherine as Nick punched Warrick in the arm for not telling him. “How long have you and Grissom?” The replies came simultaneously.

“Two years.”

“Nine years.” Both Grissom and Sara turned to look at each other.

“You need to get your stories straight,” said Catherine with a smile.

“How about breakfast? I’ll buy,” suggested Greg suddenly as muttering broke out between Sara and Grissom followed by Sara bursting into laughter.

“Good idea,” said Catherine getting up as Sara began repeating nine years at Grissom.

Grissom and Sara could still be heard arguing as they left the house.

“Have you two decided yet?” shouted Nick.

“We’ve been together two years married four months,” replied Grissom as Catherine walked straight into her mailbox causing a pile up of CSI’s behind her.

THE END

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