Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Her decision made, Sara looked up and said, "What do I need to do to make all of this official?"

The lawyer smiled and reached down to pat her hand. "You will not regret this decision. There's the matter of her home. I assume you'll move in there to care for the minor child? Sara nodded her consent. A sizable trust was established for the child. We can discuss those terms later. Then there is the sum Ms. Willows left for you. We'll start with the paperwork for you to assume guardianship of the child…"

"The child has a name!" Sara said firmly.

"Of course, I'm sorry. Her name is Lindsey. I'll have someone in the office take care of transferring the deed into your name. You'll also need to take care of the utilities, insurance, etc. The vehicles transfer to you as well. Any questions? Okay? Let's go ahead and get you to sign the guardianship paperwork," the lawyer said as he slid the papers across the desk.

As Sara signed her name, she didn't quite realize the awesome responsibility she was taking on. After a few more formalities, Sara made an appointment to return the next day to finish the rest of the paperwork.

She exited the lawyer's office and nodded to the two expectant women seated outside the office. They both smiled and wrapper her in a warm hug. "Cath would be so proud of you. She knew you'd be the best person to raise her daughter," Nancy offered.

Catherine's mom interjected, "We know you've never raised a child, so we'll do whatever we can to help." Sara couldn't help but wonder if that was meant to sound as harsh as it came out.

"I think this is just going to take some getting used to. I'll have to take some more time off of work to get settled in and make sure Lindsey is adjusting okay. I'm scared to death that I'm gonna screw this up," Sara confided in the two women.

"Where's Lindsey now?" Nancy asked.

"Greg has her. He was taking her to the zoo today. Look, I'm going to head on over to Cat's house and try to sort through some things," Sara said to Catherine's family.

"Do you need any help, dear?" the elderly woman offered.

"No, I think I need to do this on my own." With that, Sara said her goodbyes and promised to call each of them later in the evening.

An hour later…

As Sara pulled into the driveway of the now empty and dark house, she immediately began to sob as the memories of Catherine—of her and Catherine—flooded her mind. Their first case together. Their first big fight in the lab. The guilt Catherine made her feel over not finding Eddie's killer. The time they went for drinks after she found out about Hank. How Catherine had trusted her above all others when she thought she had been raped. Her being shocked into silence when Catherine confronted her about her drinking problem. How bitter Cath had seemed when she dated Grissom and how elated she had been when it ended. How their friendship had really began to blossom in the months following Catherine's diagnosis. How as they grew closer once again, their time together grew shorter. Her deciding to take a leave of absence to be with her friend and care for her. Her holding Catherine's hand and Lindsey in her lap as she drew her last breaths.

Sara gathered what strength she had remaining and made her way into the house. She had pretty much lived here the last two months. Deciding to get comfortable and go through some of Catherine's things, she changed clothes and went to Catherine's room filled with trepidation and fear. Only a week ago, Catherine, a mere shadow of her former self, lay in that bed. Pushing those thoughts aside, Sara crossed the room to the table where lay what remained of Cath's numerous medications. One by one, she reviewed the labels and walked to the bathroom to flush them away. She couldn't risk having some of these around with Lindsey in the house. It was at that moment—with that thought—that the full weight of her new responsibility hit her. She was going to have to consider Lindsey in every decision she made from now on. How had Catherine managed to do this for so long? God, I hope she was right about me, Sara thought to herself.