Chapter 9

She heard her cell phone ring and had second thoughts about answering it. It was her first day off in almost a month. Of course, she had taken the day off to spend it with her husband and he'd already disappeared on her.

"Beckett," she answered the phone.

"Caterina," it was Isaiah Killian. "I know it's your day off, but we are swamped. Wou—"

"Where's the scene and what is it?" Cate pre-empted the request she knew was coming.

Killian gave her the address. "It's a single. The police are waiting on you." And he hung up.

She changed into some jeans and a t-shirt. Then she grabbed her kit and headed out the door. She thought about calling her husband to let him know she was on her way out, but decided not to. Part of the reason things had been so tense between the two of them was that he was mad at her for working so much. Of course, he really didn't have room to talk—he was at work just as much as she was.

She pulled up to the house and noted that there was only one police car sitting in front. She checked in with the officer and found out that it was a busy day for them too. The officer left was a rookie so he got stuck babysitting.

Cate walked into the home, talking pictures as she entered. The body was easy to see from the front door. The woman's body was lying in the main hall of the house, a pool of blood around the head with a gaping wound in the forehead. She was looking through the lens, trying to get the photo centered just right when she heard some footsteps. She looked up.

"What…what are you doing here?" she asked the man she saw at the opposite end of the hall.

"You shouldn't be here," the man replied.

She saw that he had on gloves, which wasn't totally out of place. "What are you doing?" she asked again, her hand slowly moving towards her cell phone.

"Working," he responded, giving her an odd smile. "What are you doing?"

"Just letting them know you're here," she stated as her eyes drifted to the gun stuck in his front waistband. It wasn't his service weapon; she could still see it in his shoulder holster. This only confirmed her feeling that something wasn't right.

"You need to just turn around and forget you saw anything," he told her.

"You know I can't do that," she pulled the phone off of her belt, looking down to dial.

"Put the phone down," he ordered.

His tone caused her to look up. She saw him pointing the gun from his waistband at her, complete with silencer. Her eyes grew wide. "Let's talk about this. There's an officer right outside."

"And he'll never hear anything," he replied. "Now, are you going to turn around and forget you saw anything or do I need to make you forget everything?"

She started to hit a button on her phone but was cut short. She saw him pull the trigger. She screamed.

She sat up as she instinctively touched her hand to the left side of her chest. "He…he…." She stopped as she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Cate, darlin', it's alright," she heard someone say. She turned to see her Aunt Susan, who had rushed to her side.

Cate also noticed a nurse and Greg, who appeared a bit battered. "What happened?" she asked her aunt.

The older woman looked to Greg. "You don't remember?" Greg questioned.

"I remember the moshing," she replied with the first thing that came to her.

"What about the parking lot?" he inquired.

She started to replay what she could remember from the evening. She remembered the club, the music, moshing, hurting her elbow. Then she remembered outside, the near kiss, the hit that landed on its mark. The look in her eyes told Greg she remembered everything.

She turned to her Aunt. "Can I talk to Greg for a couple minutes alone?"

Her aunt nodded and walked over to the nurse. She hooked her elbow into the other woman's and asked, "I could use some coffee. Could you show me where the cafeteria is?" Then, without waiting for a response, started to walk out of the room, with the nurse in tow.

Once they were alone, Cate motioned for Greg to come close. As he drew near, she could better see the bruises on his face, arms, and knuckles. "Are you ok?"

He smiled, wincing at the pain as it stretched his busted lip. "I'll live. How're you?"

"I'm still in one piece," she responded. "About…about what happened…" She paused, knowing what she was about to ask wouldn't sound right. "Did you, um, call the police?"

Greg was a little surprised by the question. "They came when I called the ambulance," he answered. Her expression soured. "Was I not supposed to?"

She let out a sigh, pondering how to respond. "I'm so sorry you got involved in this," she told him.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, figuring it had something to do with the man's message to her after assaulting them.

"My ex-husband," she replied.

"You were married?"

"He was a detective," she indirectly answered his question.

"Was a detective?"

"He's now on death row and I helped put him there," she ignored his question, needing to get out what she had to say.

Her words sunk in and he understood. Last night was payback.

"But that's the end of the story. Let me start at the beginning," she said before he could ask any more questions.

Sara paced the length of the hall. She wasn't sure how—or if—she should bring up Grissom's meetings with Cate. She knew they had to be accidents. She figured they couldn't have been anything too memorable because he hadn't even mentioned them to her.

Still, it bothered her that he hadn't told her. If he had run in to Nick or Greg or Warrick or even Catherine, it wouldn't even matter to her. But she didn't know Cate very well and what she did know about the other woman—Grissom was the reason Cate was in science, chance meetings, a curious past, and gifts for Grissom—didn't inspire confidence in her intentions and had all the makings of competition.

Sara shook her head. Jealousy had no place in her life. Grissom was coming home to her, not Cate. Plus, she knew, if Grissom ever didn't want to, he wouldn't.

She heard his keys in her door, causing her to cease pacing. She walked towards the living room where she planned to plop in a chair and pretend like she had been reading. Before she made it though, she caught her expression in the hall mirror; she hadn't realized she had been scowling. She softened her expression, then quickened her step, making it to the chair just in time.

Grissom walked in the door, his arms full of books. Sara looked up from her staged posed. "Hey Gil," she greeted him. Then she put the book down and stood up.

"Sara," he returned her greeting, kissing her on the cheek.

"Rough shift?" she asked, seeing the expression on his face. "You're running a little late," she added, noticing the time.

"Just finishing up some paperwork," he replied.

Sara should have guessed. There was nothing he hated more about his job than the paperwork. "Did you have a chance to get something to eat?" she asked as she walked in to the kitchen. She secretly hoped his answer would be yes, because she wasn't sure if there was anything edible in her refrigerator.

Grissom shook his head, following Sara, placing his books on the table. He'd been too engrossed with the paperwork to take time to eat. Her bringing up food reminded his stomach of how empty it was. "Anything good?" he asked as he peered over her shoulder.

She pulled out a carton of take-out that she believed was only a few days old and sniffed it. "This looks…ok," she turned and handed it to him with a smile.

He returned her smile. He always loved her smile. It was what finally caused him to give in to her. He leaned in and kissed her, placing the container on counter.

She returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around him. After a few moments, she opened her eyes. They were drawn towards the stack of books on the table because she knew he had run in to Cate at the bookstore. As much as she wanted, she couldn't get it out of her mind and she was looking for some excuse to ask him about it. And the top book gave her an excuse.

She withdrew from the kiss and smiled again. Then she turned her head and looked towards the table. "Oh, Thomas Rusetski?" She walked over and grabbed the book. "In the mood for poetry?" She gave him a little wink.

"Oh, I was just thinking of one of his poems the other day…"Grissom half explained.

"Isn't he Cate's uncle?" she questioned.

Grissom was a little surprised. "Great uncle, actually."

"Is she the reason you thought of the poem?" Sara asked, her emotions rising slightly.

Grissom had a feeling he knew where this was going—and he didn't like it. Even more, he didn't like the answer to her question when he really thought about it. "Well, yes," he replied hesitantly. "I, by chance, ran into Cate at the bookstore the other night and it reminded me of a poem about fate that Rusetski wrote."

"Fate," Sara repeated the word, nodding. It was a plausible explanation. "I'm sure with it being the second chance meeting…"

Grissom could see the agitation in her eyes. He wanted to diffuse the situation before it got any worse. "Yes, it was the second time. The first time I happened to help her with a flat tire."

"How come you didn't tell me before?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

Grissom took a deep breath. He could tell she'd been thinking about this for a while. He knew Sara's insecurities when he started his relationship with her. But, she had never acted quite like this before. He wondered what it was that really caused her concern. "Do you tell me every time you run in to Greg or Nick?" Grissom replied, trying to shed some logic on to the conversation and because he didn't really know the answer to Sara's question.

She exhaled trying to calm herself. She knew she was getting upset for no reason. "You're right," she conceded.

Grissom felt a tinge of guilt. He knew he wasn't telling her everything.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, seeing something in his expression.

Grissom pinched the bridge of his nose. She asked and he wasn't a liar. "Cate kissed me."

Sara's face burned a deep red. "And you didn't tell me?" she seethed.

"Sara," he said soothingly. "She kissed me and I quickly stepped back. I told her I was seeing someone and she apologized. I didn't say anything because I knew it would upset you and it was meaningless," he tried to explain, as he slid his arms around her.

She wanted to believe him, but she'd been burned so man times before. Sara broke his hold as she couldn't stop her brain from replaying a scene where Gil and Cate shared a passionate embrace then an even more passionate kiss. She took a few steps back, folding her arms across her chest. "Maybe you should go."

He searched her eyes, trying to figure out if she really wanted him to go or if she was just testing him. "Sara," he again said soothingly, placing a hand on her arm.

She shook it off. "I…I just don't want to say anything I'm going to regret."

He nodded in understanding. She did want him to go. He silently picked up his books and walked to the door. "Call me when you want to talk," he told her and then left.

Sara clamped her eyes shut, fighting back the tears. She believed him, she really did. And she knew she was the one being irrational. But, she couldn't get over the image of Cate kissing Gil. She just needed time. And she was glad he was willing to give it to her.