Hey guys, back again :) Not much to say on this one; title is from a book I read a while ago, summary is a quote from Will Rodgers. Hope y'all enjoy, let me know your thoughts as I go. Future chapters will be longer.

Oh, and there is a theme in my chapter titles :)

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or the characters ... yet. I also do not own the book 'This Perfect World' by Suzanne Bugler (although I do recommend it to anyone who has been a bully or a victim of bullying ... can't promise it will make either side feel better but it's an interesting read)

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Chance Encounter

Good job...great friends...a beautiful little girl.

For all intents and purposes I had the perfect the world.

Then I met her...

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"Fuck." Catherine muttered, stooping down to retrieve her dropped purse.

It had been an ordinary, if somewhat unlucky day. She had slept through her alarm, had an argument with Lindsey about a sleepover and then, to top it off, her car wouldn't start.

So she was not entirely surprised, albeit a little pissed off, when she finally managed pay for her iced coffee-to-go and subsequently walked straight into the person behind her.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry." She stuttered, looking up into the startled gaze of a pretty red-haired woman. "I didn't see you." She attempted to explain hurriedly.

"It's okay." The woman assured, mopping up the cool dark liquid staining her blouse while Catherine fumbled helplessly with more napkins.

"I'm so sorry." Cath repeated, practically throwing the tissues at her. The woman shrugged it off, looking up curiously. "Catherine?" She queried. Cath blinked, surprised. "Catherine Flynn?"

"Uh, it's Willows now." She corrected, scrutinising the redhead closely. Hazy memories of vodka shots and drunk dancing flashed into her mind. "Lorna?" She guessed tentatively.

"Yeah, how ... how have you been?" She asked; the cold mark on her shirt long since forgotten.

"I'm good. I ..." Cath paused, noting to mess she had made of Lorna's clothes. "Are you okay? That's gonna stain."

"Don't worry about it." Lorna disregarded bluntly. "So, you're married?"

"Divorced." Cath corrected again. "Look, let me pay for the dry-cleaning at least?" She tried again, reaching for her purse, but the other woman wasn't budging on the matter. When Catherine refused to let it drop, she came up with a compromise.

"Tell you what, buy me dinner tonight and we'll call it even." She bargained with a sweet smile that stirred memories of long girly nights in Catherine's past. The blonde returned it with a bright smile of her own.

"Deal."

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Despite the tumultuous start to the day, Catherine left that coffee shop with a spring in her step.

Truth be told, her life had fallen into a pattern of monotony and this invitation was the first time in months that she had felt that spark of life in the pit of her stomach again.

But it was just dinner ... right?

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:)