Title: Summer's Eve

Summary: One of the only C/B shippy stories. R and R. This would NEVER happen in real life. Character death.

Disclaimer: I'm borrowing the characters; I'll return them. I promise. LOL

Rating: PG for blood and character death

Catherine was walking through the crime scene, giving it the first- look around, shining her flashlight everywhere. Brass followed her to make sure all the danger was gone. She inspected every door and what was behind the doors. She checked each and every cabinet. She was thorough.

Catherine walked into a room and moved the closet door to check behind it. It squeaked as she moved it, masking the noise of the man breathing behind it. She wiggled the door. Then. She spotted the eyes glaring of a man crouched at the bottom of the closet. "Hey, you. This is a crime scene." Catherine aid. Brass came trotting up next to her. They looked at the man. He was afraid. He was crouched in the back of the closet with his hand in his pocket.

"Take you hands out of you pocket and come forward." Brass said. He drew his gun. "Step back, Catherine." Brass instructed. Catherine slowly moved back. The man sprung at Catherine, drawing a knife. He slashed Catherine across the chest and Brass shot his weapon. Three times. Catherine fell backwards and the man fell on top of her, dead. Catherine struggled to get the ma off of her. He was too heavy. Brass radioed in for help and pulled the man off of Catherine. "Dang. I'm sorry." Brass said.

"About what?" Catherine said. She tried to sit up but the pain in her chest was too much to bear. Brass pointed at the gunshot wound in Catherine's stomach area. Catherine knew immediately what it was. She had been shot in the midst of the struggle. She lay down on her back. Brass took off his jacket and propped it behind Catherine's head. "Jim, am I going to die?" She asked, wheezing.

Jim shook his head. "I don't know." He said truthfully. He could lie to this woman. He took her hand and held it. Catherine squeezed Brasses hand to help ease the pain.

Catherine inhaled sharply. "I think--that this is the end for me." She said coughing up blood.

"No, it's not." Brass said. He tried to make Catherine will herself to life. "Think of Lindsey, what will she do with out you?" Brass said. Making small talk was all he could do until the EMTs arrived.

"You will take care of her. I give her to you. I can't--make it." Catherine stuttered.

Jim placed his hand on her stomach and pressed to ease the pain. "You know, Catherine, that pain and pressure receptors take the same nerve, and the pressure senses are stronger than pain. So, if you press, the pain will ease." Catherine's eyes started to glass over. Jim shook her head. "No." He repeated over and over. Catherine's eyelids fluttered closed. Jim squeezed Catherine's hand harder. He squeezed so hard that his fingernails dug into her skin and drew blood. That was went he knew she was still alive. He bent down over her face to see if she was still breathing. His hand slipped in the blood and he fell on top of her. His lips pressed against hers. He lifted his head. Catherine's eyes open.

"What are---" was all Catherine could say before the paramedics arrived. They lifted her onto the stretcher and took her to the ambulance. Brass climbed into the back of the ambulance to go with Catherine. He held her hand the whole way there. When they arrived at the hospital, Catherine flat lined.

"The doctors did everything they could to save her. There was too much blood loss." The nurse said. Brass walked out of the hospital an unhappy man that day. But, he had a promise to with hold. He drove to Catherine's house and knock on the door.

Lindsey opened the door cheerfully. "Hi, Mr. Brass." She said. She let Brass into her house.

"Lindsey, I have something to say to you." Jim said. He wrung his hands.

"What?" Lindsey said cattishly.

"You mom--she has died." Brass said bluntly.

"Huh? No. You're lying." Lindsey said. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"No, Lindsey, I'm not. Your mother gave full guardianship to me. You're my child now." Brass said.

Lindsey looked at him wild eyed. She walked over to Brass. She wrapped her arms around him and started to cry. Her mother was gone and she was stuck with this hard-nosed man.

*****

One month Later

Brass pushed Lindsay on the swing. He was grown accustomed to having a child around the house. In fact, it brightened up his day. Every time he looked at Lindsey, he saw her mother and how much he loved her. Their relationship was a secret, until Catherine died. Then he made it public to the whole world. They had been dating for a year. Grissom had been startled when he found out. He hadn't expected anything quite like that. The lab was back to normal, or a normal as could be with out a key player in the scheme of things. Brass went to go sit on the bench. He watched his foster- daughter playing. She ran over to him.

"Jimmy," She said playfully, "Please come and play on the slide with me." She said in the same sultry voice that her mother had. Brass followed the little girl over to the red slide. He climbed up the stairs to it and slide down. Lindsey followed him. Brass caught his little foster-daughter at the bottom of the slide and twirled her up in the air.

Off in the distance, Grissom and Warrick watched Brass playing with the girl. Grissom said to Warrick, "You know, Brass has been in a better mood since he obtained custody of little Lindsey."

Warrick nodded his head. "You just might be right."

"I think it happened for a reason." Grissom said. He and Warrick went back to the lab, leaving the happy two to play in the beautiful August day.