Building It Up
Part 2: Relationship's Walls
The first rays of sunlight entered through the small windows of the cabin as Sara was already up and about. She had slept really well, a constant smile on her face -her dreams filled with images of a certain strawberry blonde's lips.
The brunette had already made breakfast, using the things she found in one of the cupboards, and was now busy gathering their stuff so that they could get moving soon.
We have a race to win, was her new mantra.
Suddenly she heard noise coming from the bedroom. As she looked up she was met by the sight of sleep-tousled strawberry blonde hair, two sparkling blue eyes and a sexy smirk.
"Hi," she greeted as she walked over to the older woman.
"Morning," Catherine answered before placing a chaste kiss on the brunette's cheek. Sara pulled her in for a hug, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman, burying her nose in Catherine's hair.
"Did you sleep ok?" she asked as she put some distance between the both of them, her hands settling on Catherine's hips.
"The best sleep I've had in months," the strawberry blonde quipped.
"Good. Breakfast's ready, I'm almost done packing most of our stuff. So, let's eat then we can head out to the last checkpoints and win our date…erm…vacation," Sara smiled.
"I'm looking forward to our date," Catherine purred, her lips inching closer to Sara's. Suddenly it hit her. "But what if we're not the first to arrive at the finish?"
The brunette cupped Catherine's cheek. "There's no way the other's are going to beat us," she said already very certain of their victory. "But if by some unexplainable way it happens that they do," she said, her lips almost brushing across the strawberry blonde's. "I'm sure I can persuade Ecklie into giving me some time off."
Just as she was about to kiss the shorter woman, Catherine pulled away. "What about me?" she asked, an evil sparkle in her eyes as she noticed the surprised look on Sara's face. The younger woman was momentarily stunned, expecting a kiss instead of a question.
"You, my dear," the brunette said as she gathered her thoughts, "have nothing to worry about. I heard the flue is making its round. Didn't you mention something about Lindsey having a cold?" Her eyes were now also sparkling with mischief.
***
At 8.45 am they had reached the third checkpoint, still ahead of the rest, or so they were told by some guy they vaguely recognized as a day-shift lab-tech who was planted at the checkpoint to keep vigil on the passing teams. The distance to the finish was still about a mile and a half, and so they quickly headed on.
Both of the women's determination to win this time off did miracles to their painful feet, the blister on Catherine's right heel immediately forgotten as she received a full-blown smile and a peck on her cheek.
"We're almost there," the brunette said as she reached for Catherine's hand. Despite never really being a touchy-feely kind of person, Sara had absolutely no problem with PDA when it came to the strawberry blonde.
Well, the brunette thought,
now we're sort of together, that is.
The older woman was surprised by Sara's action, but welcomed it wholeheartedly. "So, what do you have in mind for our date?" she asked, very much enjoying walking hand in hand.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Sara replied giddily.
"Well, I'm sure you've had long enough to think about it and plan the whole thing," the smaller woman quipped.
"That is true, and I have. But," she said, turning to face the strawberry blonde, "you'll have to wait and see." She then placed a chaste kiss on Catherine's lips before turning round again, tugging at her hand and walking towards the last checkpoint.
"Hmm, let's see," Catherine mused. "First, you'll take me to an expensive restaurant, Italian. You'll know the owner of the restaurant so you'll be able to get a table for two in the back, nice and quiet. You'll expertly select a wine, order our dinner. You'll take my hand, lay our entwined fingers on top of the table, stare into my eyes."
"Should I be taking notes of this all?" Sara interrupted, smiling broadly at the strawberry blonde.
"You could," Catherine answered, then continued her musing. "You'll smile like you just did. That beautiful gap-toothed smile of yours."
Self-consciously, Sara stared at her feet, finding an interest in her worn-off walking shoes. "Not nearly as beautiful as your eyes," she managed to whisper.
Catherine suddenly stopped walking, causing Sara to bump into her. She embraced the taller woman, pulling her as close as possible. Looking up into dark, hazel eyes, she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. The gaze she was met with mirrored the emotions passing through the younger woman's mind -first fear, then reservedness, followed by admiration, then adoration.
Catherine had had feelings for the younger woman for some time now, all the while not able to show them. She'd picked up on the way Sara acted around her. Nervous, though always kind, Sara was probably unconscious of the signs she was sending the strawberry blonde.
Many times she'd felt the brunette's eyes follow her wherever she went. One time she even caught Sara staring at her backside, the younger woman's face turning beet-red. That was when she started to really pay attention to the brunette's actions and realized there was a possibility Sara also felt something for her.
Then and there, Catherine had decided to let Sara set the pace, that is, if there ever would be a pace to set. But now things had developed, and were still developing between them, Catherine felt an urge for more. She had had to keep her feelings to herself for a long time, and was now glad to finally be able to show exactly how she felt.
"Sara, I…I…" She wasn't sure whether to finish what she had planned to say. Her mind was suddenly filled with the thought,
Is this too soon? But she didn't have to make up her mind, because the brunette did for her.
"Shh," Sara said as she softly placed a finger over Catherine's lips. "Let's not jinx this. I feel for you too, deeply. But let's first go on this date, see how that works out."
Her eyes still locked with the taller woman's, Catherine knew Sara was right. She didn't need to say it out loud. Not yet, that is. She could see it already was there -like it had been all along.
Love. It was undeniably there. Sara's love for her.
The strawberry blonde merely nodded. A shiver ran down her spine as her lips were traced by Sara's finger, soon after replaced by the brunette's lips. "Now, let's get going," Sara started as she broke off the kiss. "Where were you…Ah, right. I'll smile, brightly. Then what?"
Catherine, completely put at ease by the younger woman, went back to summing up their date to come. "Then you'll suddenly raise your eyebrow."
"How come?" Sara asked, one eyebrow raised already.
"I'll be playing some footsie," Catherine smirked.
***
There were about a hundred yards left when Sara noticed two people following not that far behind.
"Damn," she hissed.
"What's wrong?" Catherine turned to face her.
"We've got company," Sara huffed. "Better hurry up, I can see the finish already," she said as she pointed towards a tent.
Catherine squinted as she tried to see who their pursuers were. "Are that…"
"Sofia and Wendy, yes," Sara finished.
"Well then, what are you waiting for!" Catherine yelled as she bolted past the brunette and headed for the finish.
Sara just stood there, staring dumbfound at the quickly retreating back of the older woman. And what a nice back it was.
Damn, she looks hot in those jeans.
"Sidle, come on!" Catherine quipped over her shoulder. This shook the brunette out of her reverie and also started to run towards the point marked as the finish. They could see three persons standing near a car, a small table standing beside it. Nearing it they noticed who exactly were standing at the car. Al -who had been assigned to wait at the finish, Nick, and Archie.
Catherine felt her stomach drop as disappointment settled in. They hadn't made it there first. No first place, no vacation. No vacation, no date.
No date with Sara, was the thought running through her mind.
No way, Sara though.
No friggin' way.
As they reached the car, Sara shot daggers at Nick and Archie who were both smiling broadly. "How can…you guys…" Sara started, still breathing heavily from the sprint. "be here first! We were first at the third checkpoint. And,"
"We haven't seen you pass us by!" Catherine finished, threateningly jabbing a finger at Nick.
"Whoa, calm down, Cath," Nick said as he reached for her shoulder. "We're out of the race already."
Catherine looked over at Sara, both surprised looks on their faces. "What? Why?" the strawberry blonde asked.
Archie held up his arm. At least, he tried. "Had an accident last night. Broke my arm. We called the HQ."
"You
called the HQ?" Sara asked.
Archie looked away ashamed as he received an angry glare from the square-jawed Texan. "Mr. Johnson here thought it necessary to take along his new cell phone."
"The cell phone we had to hand in at the start of this survival test?" Catherine inquired.
"Yes," Nick sighed. "So, when we called the HQ, we were immediately disqualified from the test…from winning the vacation."
"So you got what you deserved, huh?" Sara smirked at Archie as she pointed at his plastered arm.
"Hang on," Catherine started, a smile appearing on her face. "That means we're first. We won." She turned to the brunette, repeating her last words, "We won!" The strawberry blonde threw her arms around Sara's neck, pulling her close. "We won," she said again, this time whispered in the brunette's ear.
"I know," Sara smiled as she backed up a little, her arms still around Catherine's waist. "I know."
***
"Congratulations," Ecklie said, smiling half-heartedly as he shook the hands of Sara and Catherine.
"Thank you." Sara beamed. Never before had she been so glad to be off work for an entire week.
Sara and Catherine had won. Nick and Archie were expelled from the test. Sofia and Wendy were second, soon followed by Warrick and Brass. Grissom and Ecklie finished about half an hour later, and Greg and Hodges were the last to finish.
After applause from the other contestants, celebrations were in order , the break room filling with conversation, laughter, and music. Though some were disappointed in not having won the vacation, most were glad for Catherine and Sara to have won some time off. Amicably, they all celebrated having weathered this survival bonding test.
Though they were at opposite ends of the room, talking to other team members, Sara and Catherine were constantly aware of one another, sneaked glances every now and then.
After a while the two women slipped out of the break room and headed for the locker room, finding the privacy they were looking for.
"So, about this date," Sara started as she pulled Catherine closer.
"Uhuh," the strawberry blonde purred as she nuzzled Sara's neck.
"How 'bout I pick you up at eight tonight?"
Catherine looked into hazel eyes, a smile finding its way onto her lips. "You aren't losing any time on this, huh?"
"Nope," Sara simply answered.
"Good," was the last thing the older woman said before she claimed Sara's lips.
Her hands found their way up into the taller woman's hair, fingers twirling brown locks around. Sara traced the hem of the back of Catherine's shirt, earning her a groan as her fingers started to caress the soft skin underneath. Just as things were about to get heated up even more, the door opened.
"Ahem."
The women quickly entangled themselves, straightening their clothes in the process. Looking towards the door they were met with two persons smirking at them evilly.
"Sorry," Sara started.
"Yeah, you'd better be," Sofia started. "You guys stole our vacation," she said seriously.
"On the other hand," the detective continued. "It's good to know this team bonding thing did actually have effect on some of us, don't you think so Wendy?"
The DNA-tech's cheeks reddened a bit before she smiled at Sofia then started to laugh. "Yeah, I have to agree with you on that."
"Well," Catherine started. "We're not sorry, we winners have to go now. Vacation and all…You know how it is, right?" she kidded. Grabbing her purse, then Sara's hand, she started to walk off, heading out of the locker room.
"Wait a minute," Sara said as she passed Sofia and Wendy. She had noticed the glint in the detective's eyes, and now saw a matching one in the lab-tech's. A smirk settled onto her lips. "Ah, I see. You two are just pissed off because we won your time to
date!"
The two women found a sudden interest in the floor as their faces turned beet-red while Sara and Catherine burst out in laughter. "Well, you guys have fun!" Sara said as she ushered Catherine out of the locker room. "You can always go for an after-shift-breakfast-date!"
And with that said she grabbed her helmet and also left the locker room. She reached for the strawberry blonde's hand, entwined their fingers and together they headed for the CSI HQ parking lot.
Reaching Catherine's car, the strawberry blonde finally let go of Sara's hand and turned to face the taller woman. "Well," she started, then looked at her watch before continuing. "I'll see you in five hours."
Sara smirked and pulled the shorter woman closer, her hands finding their place on either side of Catherine's waist as the arms of the other woman sneaked their way around her neck. Slowly she inched closer to the strawberry blonde, her lips first grazing Catherine's, then claiming them fiercely. She let her tongue sneak out and slide along the luscious lips of the shorter woman, a moan escaping her lips as Catherine's tongue found hers.
Suddenly, the brunette ended the kiss and backed away, smirking evilly at Catherine. She put on her helmet, took the last steps towards her motor and sat down. After starting the engine she waved once more, then headed off.
"And what a long five hours it will be," Catherine sighed as she got into her car and also drove off.
***
Just as Sara entered her apartment her cell phone rang. She placed her helmet on the counter and reached for the phone.
"Hello," she said as grabbed her mail and started skimming through all the junk she had received.
"Sara? It's me, Catherine."
The brunette's annoyance of the rainforest-wrecking pile of junk mail she'd been sent was replaced by a giddy feeling of happiness the second she heard the strawberry blonde's voice. She tossed the envelopes back on the table and walked over to the couch, settling herself comfortably.
"You miss me already?" she smirked.
"Yes, terribly. But that's not the reason I called."
Sara sat up straight, a nagging feeling settling in her stomach as a scary thought settled in her mind. "You're not canceling the date, are you?"
"Well, actually I am," the strawberry blonde replied. "I mean," she quickly continued as she realized how that must have sounded to the younger woman, "I would like to reschedule our date."
Sara sighed in relief as the other woman's last words registered in her brain.
"Sara? Are you still there?" Catherine asked after a moment of silence.
"Yes," the brunette started. "Yes, I'm still here. I thought you'd changed your mind about…" She couldn't even finish her sentence.
"Of course not," Catherine replied, sincerity tangible in her voice. "It's just that Lindsey has the flu. For real."
Sara started to laugh at the irony of it all, and was soon joined by the strawberry blonde. Here she was almost ready to cry her eyes out because she thought the woman she was in love with had a change of heart, while actually the thing she had suggested to be their backup plan had now become reality.
"So," Catherine continued as they both quieted down. "You see I can't leave home tonight."
"I understand," Sara said.
"But," Catherine said, then hesitated.
"But what?"
"You could come by tonight if you like?" the older woman asked, a sudden shyness in her tone.
"I'd love that. Is seven o' clock ok?"
"Make that five-thirty and I'll throw in dinner."
"Deal."
The End
…For now
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