Nick walked into a break room where Catherine was filling out paperwork.
"Hey Cath, thanks again for that restaurant! It's was fantastic. The steak is to die for!"
Catherine smiled at the younger CSI. She liked Nick and was glad that he and Sara finally admitted their feelings. "Yeah but I bet Sara didn't appreciate your carnivorous dinner. She had salad correct?"
"Yeah. But you gotta respect her for it though." He walked over and dropped his filing folders in a large "In" basket. "You about ready to go? I don't like her at a crime scene alone."
Catherine dropped her folders in the same basket and grabbed her keys, "Don't worry about her. She's got an officer on duty you know that."
"Yeah. Hey what day is it?"
Catherine smiled at the question, "Why I believe that it's April Fools day. Just past midnight, so everyone's fair game," her smile widened, "You gonna play a trick on a certain CSI?"
"Yeah. She can't stay mad at me anyway." Nick said, grinning.
They left the break room laughing, as they proceeded to the parking lot.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara dropped her kit in the living room, obvioiusly her crime scene. A girl's body lay on the ground, her unseeing eyes staring at the ceiling. Sara shook her head, "So young. Can't be a day over 20," she murmurred. Some off markings were carved into her stomach and judging by the towel that was draped over her from the waist down, there had been some kind of sexual assault involved. Guessing cause of death as strangulation by the marks on her neck, she made a not to have Doc Robbins investigate with the post op. Opening her case, Sara reached for her camera and started snapping pictures of the body and a few spatters around it, the yellow cones standing out against the hardwood floor. A gnawing feeling at the back of her mind kept repeating the same thing, I know this scene. But from where? She mentally went over any serial cases that had gone unsolved, but she drew a blank. Then she saw something else. Glinting on the coffee table were a set of instruments. She examined them and put into small bags looked like a scalpel, a tiny spatula and a cloth. As she bagged the cloth, she saw an insturment that made her gasp. It was a point with a handle, covered in blood. Shaking her head, she placed the bagged evidence in her kit and walked around the room, looking for stuff that she might have missed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nick and Catherine nodded at the officer, a smile passing between him and Catherine. He didn't think Sara would like being surprised but it was all in good fun and he'd make it up to her later. He noticed her staring blankly at a wall and winked at Catherine. Silently creeping up behind her, he grabbed Sara around thw waist and spun her around. His smile vanished as he saw the look of sheer terror on her face and her hand swung up in an offensive sweep. He caught it and she made a choking noise.
"Not again," she whispered. Nick held her at arms length.
"Sara?" he almost shouted, panic in his voice, "Sara sweetie what's wrong?"
At the sound of his voice, she blinked rapidly and seemed to finally focus on his face. She noticed her arm straining to make contact with his face and began to sob into his shoulder. Catherine had crossed the room, a concerned look on her face.
"What's wrong hun?" Nick questioned again. Sara looked at him and shook her head, wiping tears out of her eyes.
"Nothing, just you scared me. That's it. There's nothing." She walked back toward her kit to grab some fingerprint powder but Catherine stopped her.
"Nick," Catherne said in an authorative tone, "Take Sara out for coffee. Consider it a half hour break."
"Cath, I'm fine.." Sara replied, "You guys just scared me."
But Catherine was adamant, "Scared is a scream Sara, followed by pummelling Nick. This is something else. I don't want you back here for 30 minutes at least. I'll finish your collection. Leave your kits."
Nick put his arm around Sara's waist and led her out of the house and into one of the Tahoes, calling to the officer on duty to stay until they got back. Catherine sighed as she heard the engine rev and the SUV leave the drive-way. She looked around the room and leaned over the body.
"What could possibly have set her off so badly?" Catherine wondered aloud.
TBC