Chapter Text
Back at Catherine’s house the two women had sat on the couch and continued talking about their lives. Catherine sat close enough to Shannon to show her interest in the younger woman but not close enough as to scare her. The strawberry-blond showed the brunette photos of Lindsey, laughed at her jokes and generally felt more at ease than she had in a very long time. The Scottish Detective was at ease with her co-worker, feeling relaxed and rested. She hadn’t slept, but that didn’t matter to Shannon. She was just happy to have found a friend and potential girlfriend in the woman that made her heart rate increase. She didn’t even notice when she started to yawn.
“Maybe I should drop you home.” Catherine said, not really wanting to let Shannon go, but feeling the same tiredness overtake her own body.
Shannon’s face dropped slightly. It was nearing midday and the truth is she probably should go home and rest, but going back to that empty apartment wasn’t exactly the most appealing idea she’d been presented with. The two women were being careful and considerate of the other and Shannon knew that it was the right thing to do, but she couldn’t help but want to stay. She barely knew the woman she sat next to, but she already knew that leaving her was going to be hard to say the least.
“Or… I mean, I don’t want to rush you into anything…. But you could get a few hours sleep here and then I could drop you home before picking Lindsey up from ballet.” Catherine suggested softly, taking Shannon’s hand.
“That sounds perfect.” Shannon smiled and squeezed Catherine’s hand.
The brunette smiled softly as Catherine led her upstairs, showed her the bathroom and offered her a t-shirt to sleep in. As Shannon headed for the bathroom, Catherine grabbed a shirt to wear herself. She would take this slowly, treat the new woman in her life the way she deserved to be treated and allow herself to feel with her heart rather than rush into things because of her desire. In the older woman’s eyes, Shannon was a delicate flower who needed nurturing and loving.
*
As Catherine and Shannon climbed into bed beside each other, outside the Willow’s residence, the same brunette from the pancake place sat in her car watching the front door. She glared at the house, deeply annoyed and feeling hurt. She wanted to march into the house and demand an explanation as to what was going on. She wanted to know what the hell the two women thought they were playing at and she hated herself for feeling that way. The brunette knew she shouldn’t be there, knew that if someone noticed her watching the house, the police would be called and she’d have an explanation to make. That wasn’t an appealing thought. But it drove her mad to think that given the time that Shannon had been in the house and there was no longer any sign of movement downstairs, it was reasonable to assume that they had gone upstairs to the bedroom. Was Catherine showering Shannon with kisses? Were they exploring each other’s bodies with soft, manicured hands? The brunette let out a loud growl and pulled away from the house. She knew she had no right to feel this way, but she did and in that moment she was certain that neither Shannon nor Catherine should be allowed to feel the happiness she herself was being denied.
*
A few hours of blissful sleep later, and both women were awoken by Catherine’s alarm clock. Catherine opened her eyes, hit the snooze button and smiled at Shannon who looked simply breathtaking, curled up in the strawberry-blond’s t-shirt. For a fleeting moment, she imagined waking up next to the brunette, both of them naked in each other’s arms and then reminded herself that she was going to take this slowly, that she had vowed to herself to take it at a pace that Shannon would feel comfortable with and show the younger woman that she truly was worth being adored. Shannon smiled back at her and reached across, gently pushing a stray strand of Catherine’s hair off her face.
“I think I might have to find out where you got this mattress. That’s the best sleep I’ve had since moving here.” Shannon said softly.
“Well, I’ll give you the name of the store, but I think it might also be because you allowed yourself to relax.” Catherine smiled.
“With your company how could I not?” Shannon leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on the Catherine’s lips, causing Catherine to blush profoundly.
“Why don’t you go take a shower and I’ll put the coffee on?” Catherine asked softly. “I’ve got a couple of hours before Lindsey needs picking up. Enough time to have a coffee, shower and drop you back at your apartment.”
“Only if you agree to brunch again tomorrow.” Shannon smiled; a little shocked at how comfortable she felt.
“Agreed.” Catherine slowly pulled herself from the bed and fetched clean towels for her guest. Then she headed downstairs to get the coffee.
Shannon sighed happily as she got up. Catherine was so gentle, so soft. She was the complete opposite of her ex. There had been no pressure for Shannon to do anything and she could feel how much Catherine wanted her to feel safe. The desire was there in those blue eyes, Shannon saw it clear as day and it warmed her to know that the older woman was ready to wait for her, to take things at a pace that would suit them both. She hummed as she headed for the shower, pausing to listen to the movement downstairs.
*
Catherine was bored by that night’s shift. She was convinced that the time was going slowly on purpose. It wasn’t as if it was an uneventful night. There were several new cases and with the luck of the draw, she’d been assigned the murder case that Shannon was working. It meant she got to glance over at her, sit with her as she interviewed the suspect, but that in itself was torture. Sofia was also on the case and Catherine was certain that the two women had talked about her lunch with Shannon. She could see the way her ex was trying not to laugh every time she caught Catherine looking at Shannon in anything other than a professional manner. The strawberry-blond was going to have to kill Sofia later.
Shannon too was finding it difficult. She wanted nothing more than to do what she had been unable to earlier. She wanted to pull Catherine into her arms and kiss her with a deep passion and it was taking all her strength not to do it at work. She would as they went to brunch. She knew Catherine wanted to take things at her pace and that was the biggest turn on to Shannon. She wasn’t ready for a full sexual relationship as yet, but she was looking forward to showing Catherine that she would be given time. She looked over the crime scene notes again and sighed. The suspect was obviously guilty. She could tell by the way he had reacted in the interrogation room, but without a murder weapon, they had no way to confirm the basis for the charges. The murder had been a meditated crime. The suspect a regular visitor to the house in which it had occurred and the only beneficiary of the victim’s will. Which he swore he had no knowledge of, but Shannon’s instincts told her otherwise. She had always prided herself on her instincts, at least when it came to work matters.
“Over here.” Sofia drew all of the two women’s attentions. “The murder weapon we’re looking for has a flat edge, one that appears sharpened, correct?”
“Correct.” Catherine answered as Shannon headed for Sara’s position.
“This lamp has a sharpness to the flat edge of its base.” She carefully picked it up in gloved hands.
“What’s that?” Shannon pointed to the lamp.
Catherine headed over. She took the lamp from Sofia and examined it. “Fibre traces. Looks like Sofia found our weapon.”
*
At the end of the shift, Catherine had caught Shannon, pulled her out of the view of their colleagues and smiled. She wrapped her arms around her and then gave a mischievous grin.
“How about we get something to eat now? Lindsey stayed at my sister’s and won’t be home until school’s out.”
“Sounds perfect.” Shannon grinned in reply. “We’ll go by mine, I’ll get changed and then we can head to yours. That is if you don’t mind leaving in the same car.”
“Not a problem.” Catherine grinned and looped her arm through Shannon’s heading for the door, not caring any more who saw them.
As they exited the station, Shannon commented on the way Grissom had been watching them as they passed Brass’s office, causing Catherine to laugh heartily. Nothing could get past Gil, but he wouldn’t say anything, he’d just let them get on with it, knowing that she would talk to him if she felt the need.
“Just wait until Brass catches up.” She teased and Shannon laughed as well.
*
The brunette sat in the parking lot, a sulky expression on her face. She had watched as Catherine and Shannon left, arm in arm, laughing over something she couldn’t hear. She hated the way the two of them were so comfortable together. She’d never known that level of comfort and the fact the two women had known each other less than two days was irritating her even more. She put her car into drive and headed away from the Police Department, wanting to hit the nearest bar and drown herself in her own thoughts and several beers.