Well, everybody... I've gone back to my roots. I started off CSI, and I guess it just never left my system. I've been so disappointed with this season of CSI, I decided to go back to the good old days where Warrick was still alive and Sara was still on the team. Color me nostalgic.

But enough about that, this is actually a belated birthday gift to the beautifully talented lostladyknight, who I love with every beat of my heart. She believed in Yo!Bling until the very end, and, thanks to her, I know it will never die.

Thanks to Nick'sGirlT for beta-ing this for me, because she is awesome.

Enjoy!

"Leave the city to get away from crime, and guns fall out of the sky."

The words hung heavily over Warrick as he turned to look at the woman standing beside him. They took on a completely different meaning than they would have even a year ago, and it broke his heart to see the strained indifference on her face. Every bit of strength Catherine had went to her daughter. And lately she wasn't letting herself feel anything outside of the necessary anymore.

The passion Catherine had once had for the job was lost in the channel that had nearly taken her daughter—and where her daughter had lost her father. Lindsey was changing into a rebellious adolescent, and the strain of a teenager was pulling at the increasing age lines that had begun to mar the once smooth face.

Suddenly, she turned, taking the path they had used to get there back to the Tahoe. Warrick followed her after he recovered from the surprise change in demeanor, and watched as she moved at a near frantic pace to get away from the scene.

"Hey, slow down, Cath," he called to her back, which was retreating at an ever quickening speed. When she slowed, he was able to fall into step with her. As they approached the cars, he caught her by the arm and turned her to face him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Her gaze was focused on something just over his right shoulder, and it seemed that she was avoiding eye contact—something completely outside the norm for Catherine Willows.

"Well, for starters, you were practically running before. And now you're looking past me, instead of at me." Her eyes shot to his, confused, with a hint of something familiar in them. It was another one of those emotions she was refusing to allow anyone else to see. "You're not acting like yourself. What's up?"

She let out a sigh, her gaze falling to the space between her and Warrick. "I have to get home to Lindsey. She's still acting out, and it's gotten to the point where I have to be there when she wakes up or she'll give my mother hell."

"I thought she and Lily got along great?" Was the situation with Lindsey actually worse than he thought?

"They did. But after Eddie died, Lindsey just became really protective. The amount my mother and I have been fighting lately, Linds has just been trying to help. But it's gotten worse. She'll lash out at Mom even if she just wakes her up before she's ready. She's out of control." Warrick was silent, his mind still processing the new information. What had happened to the sweet little girl that he had played computer games with when Catherine needed some time alone with her ex at work? "What am I going to do about her, Warrick?"

"I don't know, Cath. I can't believe she's changed so much." He watched as she batted away a rogue tear nonchalantly, turning her cheek away in a meager attempt to hide the action. "Hey, I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

"Of course." She muttered something practically under her breath, and he strained to hear it, "You always are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, amused by her comment, but also mildly confused.

"I don't know what it means. Maybe it's that you've been more of a father to Lindsey than Eddie ever was? Or it could be that you're the only one I could ever go to about this. I can't even go to my own sister about this. She hated Ed so much, she probably threw a party when she found out he was dead."

She ignored the fresh tears sliding down her porcelain skin, slipping over her high cheek bones and dipping into the hollows of her cheeks. Almost instinctively, he wiped a single tear from her jaw line with his thumb before it finished its path to the ground, the palm of his hand resting on the side of her neck. She turned into the contact, sighing listlessly as she did. Her eyes closed, and the tears overflowed once more.

Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, Warrick pulled Catherine into a soothing embrace. She clutched at the fabric of his shirt, holding him as if he were her only support. It was breaking his heart to see her like this, and as he rested his chin on the top of her head, he began thinking of how much of his heart belonged to the woman he was holding and the girl waiting for her at home.

"Catherine?" He heard a mumbled response vibrate against his chest, and he pushed her to arm's length, then dropped his arms to his side. "Huh?"

"What?" Her cheeks were splotched with red, and the tear tracks were zigzagging down her cheeks in every direction. The dark rings under her eyes were accentuated by the running mascara she had applied so carefully the night before.

"You have a great kid. Sometimes she acts out, but that's because she misses her dad. If you ever need help, just call me. You know she likes me." He grinned when she rolled her eyes, happy to see a bit of her playful mockery coming to the surface. When a smirk lifted her thin lips, he said, "I missed that."

"Missed what?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow in confusion.

"You haven't been acting like yourself lately. It's nice to see you smile again." When the red splotches became more uniform, until they were one solid coloring spreading from her cheeks to her neck, he knew he had gotten to her.

"I didn't even realize. I've been so worried about Lindsey, I guess I just forgot myself." Her voice was tight with emotion, and he found it difficult not to wrap her in his arms again. She looked up at him with a sarcastic twinkle in her eyes, and that smirk was back on her face. "Silly, huh?"

"Not at all." He maneuvered a bit closer, closing the gap between them ever so slightly. "I've told you before you're an awesome mother. You put everything you've got into your daughter. It's one of the things I love about you."

Her eyes widened significantly. "Wha—"

Before she could finish that single word, his lips silenced her. A soft sigh escaped her lips, more than likely to replace the last sound in the word she was forced to leave unfinished. His hands found her waist, and he rested their weight there gently. Her hands lay softly against his chest, the lack of pressure suggesting it was only a resting place. The pressure of the kiss increased when her hands found the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Her lips pressed against his before she nipped his bottom lip lightly, and then soothed it with a gentle tongue.

Suddenly, her arms came back between them and she pushed against his chest. He pulled his head back to look at her as she repeated, "I have to get home to Lindsey."

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, reading her expression. She grinned, a feline look dancing across her face.

"Absolutely."

-Fin-