Here is the second chapter! I hope you enjoy!
Catherine opened the door to her house, and Simon was sitting on the couch once again. It seemed like it was a cycle that continued on forever, always ending the same at the end of each day.
"Why are you late this time?" Simon said without looking at her.
"The traffic was crazy."
Simon half believed her this time. She wasn't that late, and she seemed calm. "How was your day at work?"
"It was good." She was relieved he didn't seem mad, but she knew she had to say the right thing in order to keep him from becoming angry.
Simon could sense nervousness in her voice. "What are you hiding?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking I had a good day at work... and I thought maybe we could have a good night too. If you know what I mean." Catherine said getting close to him. This was not what she wanted to do, but she knew she had to in order to avoid the beating.
"I do know what you mean." Simon got excited, and set his beer down as she sat on her lap, and started to unbutton her shirt. She leaned in and kissed him, and he took it from there. He always did it extremely rough, but she put up with it knowing it was better than the alternative.
At one point he was going so hard, she feared he would never stop, so she said between heavy breaths, "Stop... please... Simon stop."
To her amazement he did. He wasn't very happy though. "What's the problem?"
"Nothing, sorry." She felt better knowing she had some control, and they continued far into the day.
She woke up with him right next to her, and she could hear Lindsey arrive home from school.
Catherine arrived at work that night. The rest of her team had pulled a lot of overtime working the case. They had a team meeting to review what they had found, and to fill Catherine in. Catherine then got a call, in the middle of them talking to her, and she walked out of the room. It was from her daughter Lindsey. "Hey, Lindsey."
"Hey, um Mom. Simon wants to take me somewhere tomorrow while you're at work. I don't know where, but he said we needed some time to know each other. It's true, we don't know each other at all, and I only think it's fair, you know he is my dad."
Catherine cringed as those words came from her daughter's mouth referring to Simon. "I don't know honey, don't you have homework?"
"I can get it done, it's not like I have that much. Please, can I go?"
"Lindsey, can we talk about this later? I'm at work."
"I don't even know why I asked you, he's my dad. I can go with him whenever I want to."
"No, Lindsey-"
"-Bye. Oh, and Simon says he can't wait to see you, and hopes you come home on time." Lindsey said, then the call was ended.
Catherine stood there for a moment to let it all sink in. How is this happening? How can he just steal my daughter like that? She can't go with him, he'll hurt her. But how can I stop it without getting Simon mad at me? Or would it be worth it if he did get mad, as long as I can keep Lindsey safe.
"Catherine. Catherine." Her thoughts were interrupted by Nick calling her name.
"What? Sorry."
"I was talkin to you, and you just walked out."
"Sorry, Lindsey called, I had to answer it."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yeah." Catherine lied. Then they walked back in and met up with Warrick back in the layout room.
"The COD was the stab wounds to her back. One of them punctured a major artery, and she bled out almost immediately after it was punctured. Leaving... the TOD around ten o'clock last night." Warrick explained.
Grissom was walking by the layout room, then something caught his eye, and he backed up, and entered the room. He pointed to the picture of the victim, "is that Angela Peters?"
"Yeah, why? How do you know?" Nick asked.
"She is a suspect in the case I'm working with Sara, Greg, and Sophia."
"What is she suspected of?"
"Murder, do you know where her husband is? We think they were a team."
Catherine felt the need to defend this woman. "I don't think Angela Peters was involved. If she was, I think her husband forced her to be. Doc Robbins said there were signs of long-term abuse, and Laicey told me it was the husband. I think she is a victim, not a murderer." It felt weird to call this woman a victim after she had been thinking how similar this woman was to herself.
"Do you have evidence to back that up?"
"No, but does it matter now? She's dead, we can't convict her of anything."
Everyone was taken aback by her statement. "Catherine, where is this coming from?" Grissom asked.
"Nowhere, I just... that's my opinion if you want it."
"I'm not interested in opinions, I only want the evidence that will help lead us to the truth."
"Sorry, Boss." Catherine said, and then Grissom left to get the rest of the team. He soon reentered with Sara, Greg, and Sophia following. Nick caught everyone up in the Angela Peters case, and Sara explained the case they were working. After looking over the evidence, it was clear they were looking for the same man, but they still had to find the evidence to prove it. Nick and Warrick had looked for any family of Angela Peters, but they found none. Her parents, who were both only children, had both died in a car accident when Angela was only six, and her older brother who was twelve at the time, had died ten years later of a drug overdose. Her grandparents raised her and her brother, but they died shortly after she moved out. She didn't work, so they didn't know of anyone else who could ID her body... except for Laicey. Catherine hated that she had to be the one to tell Laicey, and explain to her that her mom had died.
They worked the case the entire shift, but they had found nothing useful. They had a few leads left, but they left them for tomorrow. Catherine headed to her locker just before her shift had ended. She was determined to get home on time. She was just about to leave when Grissom stopped her. "Where are you going?"
"Home, shift's up."
"Think again, you need to talk to Laicey. Don't you?"
"Yeah, can I do that later? I really need to get home."
"You can do that now."
"Please, can I just have a few hours to go home?"
"Quit whining, and get your job done. I expect more of you, Catherine."
"Sorry Grissom, I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you."
"Make it up to me? Just get your job done." Grissom said and walked out.
Catherine kicked herself for saying that to Grissom. She was used to Simon demanding that she promise to make it up to him, so it just came out naturally.
Catherine sat in her car, and called Simon. "Hey. I have to pull some overtime... I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you when I get home... I don't know... I don't know... I'm sorry, I can't do anything about it... yes, I'll do whatever you want when I get home. Promise." She said, then hung up the phone, and called Lindsey.
"Hey Linds, yeah I was thinking. I don't want you to go with Simon tomorrow."
"You mean Dad? Mom, he is my DAD, and if you don't want me to be around him, you shouldn't have married him. I don't know about you, but I like dad, and I want to spend time with him."
"Just, please, go to a busy restaurant, or something."
"Mom, don't worry about me." Lindsey said, and hung up.
A lady from Child Protection Services had picked up Laicey from the hospital earlier that day. Catherine went to visit her at her new location, and she brought her back to the lab. They were standing opposite of the widow to the morgue, once she knocked on the glass, the blinds would open, and the body of the girl's mother would be lying on the other side. She knew this would be one of the hardest conversations she would ever have in her life. How do you explain the death of a mother to a six-year-old, whose mother is all she has? Catherine swallowed a huge lump in her throat before speaking to the young child. "Laicey." She said softly. Laicey didn't respond. Catherine felt even worse now for what she was going to have to put her through. "Laicey, I need you to be strong for me right now, okay?"
Laicey nodded.
"Laicey, they're going to open the blinds, and I need you to tell me if you see anyone you know on the other side, okay?"
Laicey nodded, and Catherine knocked on the glass. The blinds came up, and Laicey saw her mom immediately. Her eyes lit up, she thought her mom was just sleeping. "Mommy! That's my mommy!"
Catherine's heart broke for Laicey, she had no clue her mom was dead. Laicey ran to the conjoining door, and opened it. Catherine chased her, but she was too slow. Laicey burst through the door, and ran to her mom. She hugged her mom as tight as she could, but she could tell something was wrong. "Mommy? Mommy, wake up! Mommy! I love you!" Laicey said holding her mom's hand as Catherine pulled her away.
Catherine sat her down in the lab, and Laicey was still crying. "Why was my mommy so hard, and cold? She had a blanket on."
"Laicey," Catherine tried to choke back the tears, but they fell anyway. "Your mommy is sleeping, and she's not going to wake up, honey."
"B-but she has to."
"No, I'm sorry, she's not going to." Catherine said, the tears were now streaming down her face.
Laicey fell on Catherine's shoulder crying, and Catherine cried with her. "I want my mommy, I can't live with Daddy!"
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna make you live with him." Catherine told her over and over every time Laicey repeated herself.
Catherine spent the rest of her day with the girl, and headed back to the lab just before her shift started. She wanted to make it back home before Lindsey left with Simon. The last thing she wanted to do after her day with Laicey was face Simon. She was extremely tired, and wanted to fall asleep in peace for once. She was sure, but not certain he wouldn't hurt her when Lindsey was in the house. But she was willing to find out in order to save her daughter.
She drove home, and Simon was there with Lindsey, they were getting ready to leave. She walked into the house, and prepared herself for the worst. "Lindsey, you're not going."
"Mom! What are you talking about?"
"I'm not letting you go."
Simon interrupted, "You don't come home all day, and now you think you can come in and run everything? No, I'm the boss around here. Lindsey, get in the car."
"No, don't." Catherine knew she would get it from him, if Lindsey was out of the house. Simon grabbed Catherine by the arm forcefully.
"She does what I say, okay? Do you want her to see, or not?"
"Go ahead Lindsey." She said to Lindsey who was standing still as she watched the two interact. Then leaving to the car after given the permission from her mom.
Catherine knew it would be ugly now that Lindsey was out of the house. She decided she would have to make the first move if she would have a chance to save Lindsey, he would just drive away with her if she let him leaving Catherine unharmed, but Catherine wouldn't allow that. She picked up a nearby lamp, and hit him over the head with it as he was walking out. He fell to the ground, and before she could react to anything, he turned around, and his eyes looked like the devil. There was undeniable evil, and she was going to get it. She had never seen him this mad before. Simon picked up a piece of the broken lamp, and came at Catherine. This was the first time she truly feared for her life. She tried to stop him, but he managed to cut her arm. She drew back, and he dropped the piece of the lamp. Catherine held her arm, and backed up until her back hit the wall. She was in tears, and he came toward her. "Stop, please, I'll do anything. Anything, just please. I'm sorry."
He kicked her knee, and grabbed her by the hair, and threw her head into the coffee table. "You don't tell me what to do!" Blood was rushing from Catherine's forehead. Simon kicked her already bruised stomach, and Catherine let out a moan of pain. "You promised you would do anything!" She was lying on the floor crying, she couldn't move. She thought this was the end. There was no way he would calm down anytime soon.
Then, Lindsey came in the front door.
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