Collision
Author's Note: Okay so don't hate me but I had to quote Howie Day's song "Collide," it just screams VinCat at me. Now on with the story...
...
The dawn is breaking
Our light shinning through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah
...
The morning after a first kiss was supposed to be magical. The sun was supposed to shine brighter and the city was supposed to seem cleaner and full of opportunity.
Love is supposed to come with rose tinted glasses.
Instead, for Cat and Vincent it came with fear and hiding. And bucket loads of guilt.
...
Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem too right
Out of the depth that fills my mind
We'll sometimes find, that you and I collide
...
Cat knew she needed to be with Vincent. She deserved to be with him. And yet doing that meant lying. Now more than ever. The fake break up had to hold. She had to be more careful than ever to avoid people, Evan especially, but also Joe, realizing they were connected. It was a burden, and yet as heavy as that weight felt on her shoulders her heart felt lighter because she knew, at last, that he loved her.
Cat didn't know what exactly she was supposed to do about Heather. Joe would need her at the station, she needed to be there, she needed to know how Joe was approaching the hunt for his brother's killer so that she could warn Vincent if necessary. But Heather needed her. She was torn. Heather was still sleeping, she'd taken heavy sleeping pills and they'd come home late. It might be hours until she woke up and Cat didn't want to disturb her but she also didn't want to leave without explanation.
This was one of those times when if her mother had been a live she would have called her. She could imagine the call, "Mom, I've got to go to work, can you keep an eye on Heather until I get home? Thanks." And while things were better with her father, they weren't that much better. To be honest she didn't think her Dad could really hope with seeing Heather grieving. He'd struggled enough the last time, and it seemed kind of cruel when he'd just gotten remarried and was finally getting on with his life.
Which brought her back to Brooke. Her step mother. The term seemed odd when applied to a woman not much older than herself. A woman who would never put her to bed or drop her off to school. But Brooke had shown she was trying, she wanted to be part of their family.
Not sure it was a great idea but also feeling pretty certain she didn't have any other option Cat called her step mother.
"Hey Brooke? Hi it's Cat..herine Chandler. Sorry this is going to sound a bit crazy, but I'm in a tight spot and you can say no." The last thing Cat wanted to do was make Brooke feel obligated to them. She could just imagine her complaining to her friends about her sad desperate step-daughters, grown adults who still needed babysitting after like children.
"What is it Cat? Is everything okay? Your Dad's not home but I can track him down if you need him," Brooke's voice was concerned but not panicked. Most of all it was genuine. That was exactly what Cat needed to hear.
"We're fine, really. But, I"m not sure if you heard about the it on the news, well Darius Bishop my boss' brother, he was killed last night. Heather was with him, they'd been seeing each other. She's pretty upset and I don't want to leave her alone, but I also don't want to call in sick when Joe's counting on me. I know you don't know Heather that well yet but I was just wondering, maybe if you weren't working today..." Cat felt awkward to the power of ten.
"I don't need to go in today, I'll be right over," Brooke replied without hesitation. "Thanks for asking me Catherine, it means a lot."
"Thanks," Cat responded. The word caught in her throat a little. It was one word but it meant a lot. Brooke could never replace her mother, she would never be a regular step mom either, someone you got used too over the years, but maybe, if they let her in, she'd become one of them, and right now Heather needed someone who wasn't going to have to lie to her or make excuses to duck out on her.
"No problem," Brooke returned warmly. Cat ended the call and wrote Heather a note and left it beside her bed. As Cat looked at her sister's sleeping form she was filled with emotion. If Vincent hadn't been there when Darius turned the gun on her... the thought was too shocking. Cat kissed her sister's forehead before heading out to work and prayed silently that Heather's life would never be in danger again. The world was already too short on Chandlers.
When Cat got into her car the radio blasted out a silly Icona Pop song which was much more about breaking up than falling in love, but the beat and the chorus made Cat smile.
"I don't care, I love it," the techno-pop singers crooned and Cat smiled to herself because as straight laced as Catherine Chandler had been before she fell in love with Vincent Keller she felt like a little bit of a rebel now she had finally embraced the fact she was in love with an outlaw of sorts. Besides, she needed to brace herself for what lay ahead at work. An angry Tess. A grief stricken Joe. Evan on his pigheaded crusade. To say she was not looking forward to work was the understatement of the year.
Author's Note: Okay not as much VinCat as I'd hoped but there should be more to come... I suspect we have some very angst filled episodes ahead of us anyway.