Catherine Willows has a Secret
Title: Catherine Willows has a Secret
Author: WaywardKitty
Rating: Teen
Classification: Grissom/Sara
Disclaimer: As usual, these characters don't belong to me.
Spoilers: Anything Thru LLV is fair game.
Summary: Catherine Willows had been keeping a secret about her friends for quite some time now. Yes, she was capable of keeping a secret, when she approved. But this secret had spawned another secret and now she can't keep her mouth shut.
Status: Maybe finished, maybe WIP. Do y'all want more?
Note: This is the first FF I've had the guts/motivation to publish, so be nice. Unbetaed cuz I'm painfully introverted like Grissom.
Catherine Willows had been keeping a secret about her friends for quite some time now. Yes, contrary to popular belief, she was capable of keeping a secret. When no harm was being done. And it was really no one's business. And telling could get someone hurt. And – well let's face it – when she approved.
Oh, yes, she approved. Ha! Who was she kidding? What they were doing was just RIGHT. In the natural order of things. Her approval was needed about as much as the sun needed her approval to rise, or the seasons needed her approval to change.
But this secret had spawned another secret and now she wasn't sure keeping her mouth shut was doing no harm. See the first secret was that Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle were seeing each other. Catherine wasn't sure exactly when it began, but she had known since last spring – not long before Brass got shot.
Lindsey was participating in one of those dreadful candy sales for school. Uncle Gil had ordered a few things. Although Catherine could have just brought the candy to work, she was already out and about delivering the rest of the candy and Gil's place was conveniently located between two other stops.
Of course, Lindsey's "participation" in the sale had been limited ferrying order forms to and from school. She had promised to help deliver the candy, but a bad hair day had resulted so much teenage angst that Lindsay backed out at the last minute. And Catherine was in no mood for a fight.
So that's how she found herself driving down Gil's street. She paused for a car that was half way out of a parking spot two doors down from Gil. And that's when she saw them. Sara on her hands and knees patting down earth around a freshly planted shrub. Gil trading a shovel for the hose. Catherine panicked a bit realizing that the car she had been waiting for was gone. Quickly, she pulled into a parking spot across from Gil's and turned her rearview mirror to watch them more discreetly.
Sara was now standing, but bent at the waist, brushing soil from her knees. Gil was experimenting with the hose's water pressure and unabashedly admiring Sara's ass. And then he did something very un-Grissom-like: He drenched Sara with the hose, rendering her white shirt practically transparent. Sara lunged him and playfully struggled with him over the hose, getting him wet in the process. Unable to gain control of the hose, Sara leaned in a kissed him. Passionately. Oh. My. God. Catherine couldn't have zoned out for more than a second, but in that time the hose had been dropped and Gil and Sara had migrated to the doorway, still locked in an embrace.
Catherine sat for a moment, thinking. Gil and Sara were together. Happy. Domestically blissful. Normal. Well, as normal as the two of them could be. And Catherine was happy for them. Really. OK, she was a little hurt that they hadn't told her about this development, but she could understand them wanting to keep it under wraps for professional reasons, especially if their relationship was still new. God knows, they must make each other happy. Both of them seemed to have found some semblance of balance at work lately after years of flirting, fighting and fretting.
Sara may have had a calming effect on Gil, but nothing could erase the horror he experienced watching Ernie Dell kill himself. So now he was two weeks into his "sabbatical" and Sara was obviously not herself…
That was the second secret, the new development. Sara was a mess. Easily upset, not in her usual way. No, anger would have looked good on Sara about now. Anything but teary and frail. She'd thrown up twice in autopsies in the last week and today she actually fainted in the layout room. Not to mention that she wasn't working overtime, but still walked around looking tired. Which could only mean one thing. Intermittent flu? Low blood sugar. I don't think so. Her explanations didn't wash. She's obviously pregnant.
Catherine had two problems with sitting on this information. One, Sara hadn't told Catherine, her acting supervisor, and so nothing was being done to keep her away from biohazards and toxic chemicals. Two, she'd bet next month's paycheck that Gil didn't know.
Gil Grissom was emotional tone deaf, painfully introverted and frequently a giant pain in the ass, but he was also the most principled, ethical, honorable man she knew. She may not always agree with him on the priority some values have over others – their disagreement over whether privacy concerns are more important than the sanctity of marriage was a prime example – but she respected him. And she was damn sure that he wouldn't have knowingly knocked up Sara and skipped town for a month. Which could only mean one thing. Gil didn't know. Hell, for all Catherine knew, perhaps Sara herself was in deep denial.
Sighing heavily, Catherine picked up her phone and hit the speed dial button for Gil's cell phone.
"Grissom"
"Hey, Gil. It's Catherine."
"To what do I owe the honor. Don't tell me you need me for a case."
"No, no. I wouldn't dream of interrupting your sabbatical for lab business. Um, have you talked to Sara recently?" A pregnant pause filled the air.
"Yes, I just spoke to her this morning about my tarantula – she's taking care of my pets. She sounded fine." Catherine smiled at the way he skirted the question, giving her a bit of truth without revealing The Truth. "She's alright isn't she?"
"Well, y'see, that's why I'm calling. This last week, she's been… off."
"Off."
"Tired, but not due to overtime. Easily emotional. She's thrown up twice in the morgue and this morning she passed out."
"Flu?"
"That's what she's saying but…" Come on, Gil, get it, Catherine pleaded silently. Don't make me say it. "I think she's pregnant."
"Pregnant." There was that pause again. Gil proceeded in his practiced neutral tone. "Do you have any clue who the father could be?"
And there was that careful wording again. Two can play at that game. "She never even told me she was seeing anyone. I'm not even sure she's recognized it herself."
Catherine could hear Gil panicking mutely across the miles, fighting a flight response. Finally, she heard him draw in a long breathe and heave out a long sigh. "Catherine, what do you want me to do about it." Damn. Damn, Damn, Damn. She hadn't thought this question through. She had wanted him to know, but now she really didn't think she wanted to hold his hand while he figured out what to do. "I mean, you're the acting supervisor. It's your job to set limits on the work-related risks."
Catherine silently thanked him for retreating for the comfortable territory of work and giving her an out. "Well, I was hoping you might be able to offer some guidance about what those limits might be. Maybe one of your connections at another lab may have established guidelines."
To Catherine's relief, the conversation wound down to an amiable conclusion, with Gil offering to email a bunch of his colleagues and CC Catherine so that she could field any responses. Hanging up the phone, Catherine dropped her forehead to her desk. She'd deal with Sara once she heard back on the email. For now, her work was done.