After leaving Christina's room, Catherine hurries to her own room and throws herself on the bed, where she finally breaks down. She keeps thinking back to Christina's statement from a few moments earlier that she'd been with thirty men. As she keeps thinking about that, she cries harder and harder as her heart breaks for Christina. She finally finds a voice as she looks up and starts questioning.

"Where did I go wrong as a mother? Was I really that bad? Why is this happening? Why my daughter?"

As the questions spill out, Catherine gives in to the emotions and lies back down and cries until she can't cry anymore. She just lays there in a daze, not even noticing Lindsey coming into the room until she feels her little hands around her neck.

"Mommy, are you okay?"

Catherine jumps slightly. "Lindsey! You scared me."

"I'm sorry Mommy. I heard you crying. Why are you sad?"

Catherine, despite tears flowing freely down her face, tries to offer a smile to reassure the little girl. "Well, as a Mommy, it makes you sad when your child is hurt."

"Christina's hurted bad?"

"Yes, baby. Some bad person hurt Christina."

"Why?"

"Oh, I don't know. Some people just like to hurt other people. They are just very bad and they don't care about anyone. Understand?"

Lindsey tilts her head. "I think so. But why did he take Chrissy from here and not take me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I woke up, Mrs. Anderson was in my room. I asked for Chrissy and she said Chrissy was hurt. Then Grandma got there and told me that a bad person hurt Chrissy. When I went to sleep, Chrissy was here. She saw a movie with me."

Catherine freezes up for a moment, not quite sure how to explain things to her without having to explain things to her that she definitely is not ready to hear at her young age.

"Mommy?"

"Um, well, Chrissy wanted to make some extra money and show me that she was a big girl so she took a job at night without telling me. That's where she was when the bad person hurt her."

Lindsey tilts her head once again. "So she left me alone?"

Catherine nods. "She always locked the door and make sure you were safe in bed first."

"What was she doing for work, Mommy?"

"Do you remember how Mommy was a ballerina when you were just a little girl?"

"When you were Cat?"

"Yes, when I was Cat."

"I don't remember that well, but I remember you and Daddy talking about it."

"Well, Chrissy is a ballerina like Mommy was."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, do you have anymore questions?"

"I think that's it. But I need to talk to Chrissy. Can I go see her?"

"I think she'd like that. But you can only go for a little while because she is still hurt."

"Okay, Mommy."

Catherine turns and faces the wall as Lindsey goes from her room down the hall to Christina's. When she gets to the door, she knocks quietly.

"Come in."

She opens the door slowly. "Chrissy?"

"Yeah, Shorty?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure, come on in."

Lindsey walks slowly into the room, making sure to shut the door behind her. Christina moves slightly, despite her pain, to make room for her little sister on the bed.

"You can sit. I won't break."

Instead of going over to the bed, Lindsey merely shakes her head.

"What's wrong, Shorty?"

Lindsey looks up at Christina with sad and confused eyes, much like she had looked at Catherine when Eddie had moved out.

"Chrissy, why did you leave me all alone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mommy said that you were at work when you got hurted."

"That's 'hurt'. So Mommy told you I was working?"

"Uh-huh. She said you are a ballerina like she was before she went to work with Uncle Gil."

Christina silently lets out the breath she was holding. "That's right."

"I like ballerinas. I woulda wanted to see you. Why did you leave me alone Chrissy? I was scared when Mrs. Anderson waked me up and I didn't know where you were. And then Grandma told me you got hurted…hurt…and I was even scareder."

As Lindsey starts crying, Chrissy reaches out a hand for her. "Come here, Shorty."

"No!!!"

"Shorty, look at me…please."

Lindsey looks up at her. "What?"

"I want you to sit next to me. I'm sorry that I left you alone. That was very bad of me. I promise I won't do it again. You do believe me?"

"I guess so."

"Good, now come sit."

"But…but what if I hurt you?"

"You won't hurt me. It's okay. I'll show you what to do."

Lindsey goes over to her and stands right next to the bed. "Now what?"

"Sit right here." Christina pats a spot on the bed.

Lindsey sits slowly, afraid that if she moves too fast that she'll hurt Christina more. Once she is fully seated, she looks at Christina.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Of course not, Shorty. Now, I want you to give me a hug. Just come slowly and don't squeeze too hard."

Lindsey does just want she says, except in slow motion. When she pulls back and sees that Chrissy is not hurt, she smiles slightly.

"See, I told you."

"What did the bad man do to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Mommy said he hurt you but I don't know how."

"He just hit me a lot."

"Like Daddy did to Mommy?"

Chrissy looks at her. "Yep, like Daddy did to Mommy."

Lindsey looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry he hurt you." She goes over and touches a bruise on Chrissy's face. She then kisses it.

"That's what Mommy does with me when I fall off my bike."

"I know. That makes me feel so much better. But I'm really sleepy, so I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay. See you later."

Lindsey runs out of Chrissy's room and goes downstairs.

Once the door shuts behind Lindsey, Christina breathes a sigh of relief, thankful that Catherine did not reveal everything to Lindsey about her job…or the fact that she was going to make Lindsey an aunt at her young age. Soon, her exhaustion from the entire ordeal catches up with her and she drifts off to sleep, her hand protectively on her still flat stomach.

After calming down somewhat, Catherine goes back to Christina's room to check on her. When she knocks, she gets no response. Slowly, she opens the door and finds Chrissy sound asleep with her hand resting protectively on her belly, which has yet to show signs of life growing inside of her. Rather than disturb her, despite the need she feels to continue their previous discussion, Catherine gently tucks the covers in around her, kisses her forehead, and leaves the room quietly. She goes downstairs to check on Lindsey and finds that she too is asleep. She places a cover on her as Lily walks in.

"She was watching cartoons one minute and the next she was sound asleep."

"I guess everything that's going on with Christina is taking its toll on Lindsey too."

"It really does, Catherine. She may just be a little kid, but she knows there's something more going on than what we're telling her."

"I know, Mom, but I can't exactly tell her the whole truth. She's just a little girl." She sighs as tears rise to her eyes and a sob threatens to wretch itself from her throat. "I don't know what to do. I mean, Lindsey came in and asked me why the bad man didn't take her when he took Chrissy. I told her that Chrissy was at work and then she asked me what Chrissy did for work. I told her that Chrissy was a ballerina like I used to be…I didn't know what else to say."

"I think you handled it right."

"Thanks, I needed to hear that."

"So, what's next?"

"I don't really know, to be honest. Christina and I have a lot of talking to do."

"What did she tell you after I came down here?"

"Some very hard things-things I'm not quite ready to share nor am I ready to face the reality of what she told me. I just know that many hard conversations are on the horizon."

"I can only imagine. I remember having some very hard conversations with you when you were that age."

'Mom, can I ask you a favor? Can you let Lindsey stay with you for a few days? I need to deal with some things with Chrissy and it's best if it's just the two of us. I don't want this to affect Lindsey any more than it already has."

"And why are you being so secretive?"

"I just need to deal with this on my own for now. I promise to fill you in…all in good time."

"Oh, alright. I hope you know that I'm not your enemy."

"I know that, thanks Mom."

"And yes, I'll keep Lindsey as long as you need me to."

"Thanks Mom."

"Lily goes upstairs to pack a bag for Lindsey. Once she is done, she goes out to the car while Catherine gets Lindsey up and explains to her that she is going to stay with Lily for a few days so that she and Chrissy can have some mother-daughter time and Chrissy can rest without Lindsey having to worry about hurting her. She lets Lindsey go upstairs and give Chrissy a hug before she leaves. Lindsey does it just as Chrissy showed her earlier and smiles when she sees that Chrissy didn't wake up, much less get hurt from the hug. She then goes back downstairs to where Lily is waiting for her.

"Ready to go?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright then, let's go. We're going to have fun this week." Lily turns to Catherine. "I'll call you in the morning to check on Chrissy. Take care of yourself and call me if you need me."

"I will. Bye Mom. Bye Lindsey."

Lily and Lindsey leave as Catherine goes over to the couch to try to collect her thoughts. She buries her face in her hands as her tears threaten to resurface. There is so much that she needs to know, but she has no clue as to how to even begin getting the information out of Christina. She thinks back to her own conversations with Lily when she herself was that age and she finally realizes that all that time Lily did have her best interests at heart. She shakes her head and laughs to herself. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she'd see eye to eye with her mother. After a brief chuckle, Catherine pulls herself back to the situation at hand…Christina and how she got herself into the situation she was in…16, pregnant, and the victim of a serial killer, a victim who happened to survive.

"Where do I begin? How can I just go in there and not be affected by what she told me. My baby has this secret life and I had no clue. What kind of mother am I?"

She is pulled from her self-questioning by the sound of her phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Catherine, it's me, Gil."

"Hi Gil. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just had a break and wanted to call and check on you and Chrissy."

"Chrissy's sleeping. She's still very tired."

"Ah and how is Lindsey?"

"Mom took her to her house to spend a few days so that I can sort some things out with Chrissy."

"What kin of things?"

"Things I never thought I'd hear my sixteen year-old daughter admit to."

"Such as?"

"Well, she's been dancing since she was fifteen."

"FIFTEEN?!?!"

"Yep, not long after I initially forbade her to see Rocky."

"Really? Is he the one who forced her to dance?"

"She says no. She said he suggested it, but didn't force her to."

"Oh, sure. I don't buy it. Anyway, does he know he's going to be a father?"

"It most likely isn't his."

"What do you mean?"

"She's been with other men."

"So, it could be a classmate?"

"No, another man…one of many other men from what she told me."

"How many?"

"I'm not sure, but since she has been with Rocky – he's her first – she's been with about thirty men. In ONE YEAR, THIRTY MEN!"

Grissom says nothing for a moment, clearly in shock.

"Grissom? Please say something."

"I…I never would have suspected. How are you handling it?"

"Alright, I guess. She and I still have some talking to do."

"I see. Well, I should get back to work. I'll call you when I'm done here."

"Can you come over after work…I…I need you."

"Sure. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Catherine hangs up the phone and goes back upstairs to check on Chrissy. When she gets to her room, she finds her waking up. Upon hearing her door open, Chrissy opens her eyes.

"Hey Mom."

"Catherine fights her emotions as she speaks.

"How are you feeling?"

"I still hurt."

"Well, that will continue for awhile."

"Yeah. Um…Mom…about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just being honest."

"I'm glad you were. I want us to be able to communicate."

"Me too."

"Christina, tell me something. How can you have slept with that many men in one year?"

Christina sighs as she realizes another difficult conversation is at hand. "Well, there's Rocky, the constant. When I'm not working, I go to parties with Rocky…sometimes without him…and we play games and get drunk and wake up with random people. Then, there's the men who come to the club who want a good time. They are willing to spend lots of money for some girls to party with them, so I usually volunteer. It's an easy way to make good money."

Catherine's hand goes up to her mouth as she has to fight her stomach again.

"They pay you to party?"

"Yeah."

"How do you manage that? I mean, I never suspected a thing."

"I'd sneak out around 10pm and sneak back in around 4am to crash before going to school. Or I'd go to school for show then cut and come back home to sleep before I had to work again."

"I see. Well, you ARE my daughter. I was the same way when I was Cat."

"Mom, I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know you didn't. And I still love you no matter what. It's just hard to digest."

"I love you too."

Catherine gently hugs her. As she does so, she glances down at Chrissy's back, where her tank top has ridden up, revealing a butterfly tattoo. Catherine's eyes bulge as she recognizes the tattoo as one that one of the groups of hookers has. Her voice trembles as she speaks.

"Christina, what's this tattoo?"