An hour later, Gil was standing just inside Lindsey's cubicle in ER. They were waiting on an OR to become available. Her internal injuries were extensive and surgery would be required to stop the bleeding. He was sick with worry and afraid to go back to Catherine and tell her what had happened to her baby….their baby, because Grissom was now convinced that the child in the bed was his.

Lily had arrived while Gil was having his blood drawn for the testing. She was being very brave; Gil could see where Catherine got her strength from. Now she sat next to Lindsey, holding her hand and speaking in soft tones, even though the girl couldn't hear her.

Upstairs, Catherine woke up. "Gil?" She looked around but of course, he wasn't there. Glancing at the table next to her bed, she saw the note. Reaching for it, she had to bring it close to her face to read. Her eyes still weren't quite in focus after the blow to the head.

Cath,

Had to go check on some things. You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to wake you. Will be back soon.

Gil

Briefly she wondered how long he had been gone. And what did he have to check on? Maybe he was worried that Hank had been alone for too long. Well, it had to be boring just sitting there watching her sleep, she couldn't blame him for wanting a break.

The doctor entered Lindsey's room and stood next to Gil. "I think you should probably bring her mother down to see her," he said quietly. Gil turned sharply and stared at him. "There are no guarantees here and …well; she should have a chance to see her. I'll call the nurse and arrange for a wheelchair. Why don't you go on up?"

Gil hurried upstairs. He wasn't sure what he would say but the doctor had made it clear that this might be the last time Catherine would see Lindsey. Fear filled his entire being. He was afraid for Lindsey, afraid of how Catherine was going to handle all of this, and afraid for himself. He couldn't stand the thought of losing either of them.

Exiting the elevator, he headed for her room. Seeing him arrive, the nurse followed with a wheelchair. Catherine was awake when he walked in. The nurse pushed the chair in and then left. "Hey," she smiled. "You're back." Her smile faded as she saw his face. "Gil…what's wrong?"

"Cath, honey…" he was fighting back tears. "There was an accident…Lindsey…she's downstairs."

"Oh my god, Gil….how….how bad?" Pushing her covers off, she stood. "I have to go see her. I need to go to her Gil."

"I know…that's why we have the chair. I'm going to take you down." Reaching in her little closet, he pulled out her jacket. "Here, it's cold down there. Put this on."

Catherine knew by his urgency that it was bad. Slipping into her jacket, she sat in the chair. "Let's go."

Gil pushed her down the hall and into the elevator. Down in the ER, he wheeled her down the hall to Lindsey's cubicle. Lily was there, still holding Lindsey's hand. "Mom?" Catherine intoned.

Lily turned to look at her daughter. "They snuck out, Catherine….they snuck out of the house."

Gil pushed her close to the bed. Catherine stood and for the first time saw how bad things were. "Oh god…" Gil put his hands on her arms to support her, steadying her. "Gil…..what did the doctor say?"

"They are waiting for an OR, Cath. They need to stop the internal bleeding. And there is extensive damage to her kidneys. We don't know yet if….."

She put her hand up, her face crumpling into a mix of terror and tears. Gil knew she had heard all she could bear. He gathered her into his arms, holding her tightly, whispering, "We'll get her through this, Cath….I promise. We'll get her through it…." Catherine drew in a deep breath and turned to look at her daughter again. Gil kept his arms around her, hoping she could draw strength from him. They stood like that for a few minutes with Lily standing next to her daughter; the three of them willing the teen to get well.

Entering the room, the doctor was glad to see the support they seemed to be giving one another. They would need that for the next few hours…days. "Ms. Willows….we'll be taking Lindsey to surgery in about fifteen minutes. We need to get the bleeding to stop and then I think we can all breathe a little easier."

"What else…what else is wrong?" Catherine asked.

The doctor ran down a list of her injuries, saving the kidneys for last. "We won't know how bad they are until we get the bleeding stopped and can do further testing. I'm not going to soft peddle here; she could lose them and if she does, it will be a very rough road ahead."

"But…she has to have kidneys to live…" Catherine was beginning to panic. Gil squeezed her again, letting her know he was there for her.

"Yes, she does. There are things we can do to maintain life for awhile but she would eventually need a transplant." Looking at Gil, the doctor continued, "were you certain or was it just a guess?"

Gil winced and shifted his weight. "A guess based on evidence," he replied. "So it's a match?"

"Yes, as good as it gets. The odds are getting better." Looking at the group, he excused himself and left.

Catherine turned to Gil. "What was he talking about? Was what a match?"

"When he told me about her kidneys, I had them test me as a possible donor."

"And you matched? How can that be…." Her voice trailed off as the science clicked in. "Gil…oh, Gil…..are you….does this mean….."

"I'm her father, Cath. Not Eddie. That one night together, we made Lindsey."

"I…I just assumed it was Eddie. I never even thought…oh, God….I made a mess of everything."

"No, hon. You made Lindsey, a beautiful baby and a lovely young lady. Honestly, I never suspected until recently. If she needs a kidney, she can have one of mine."

Catherine hugged him, his arms holding tightly around her. Lily had witnessed the scene and was stunned. She had no idea that the two shared that kind of past. But Gil had always been around, quietly lending support when Catherine needed it. They would need each other now.

The wait seemed endless. Gil had insisted that Catherine try to stretch out on one of the couches in the waiting room. She wasn't able to stay down for long though, nervous energy propelling her off the furniture and into a high speed ramble around the room. Gil's eyes followed her and as she passed in front of him, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "Honey, come sit down. You shouldn't be so active yet."

She looked at him knowing that he was right, she should sit down. But she needed to move, the waiting was killing her.

He saw that in her eyes, but he had to try again. "She's going to need you to take care of her and you won't be able to if you haven't healed. And if you collapse, I can't take care of you both. Please Cath…."

She made herself sit down next to him. He put his arm around her and held her close to him. It was then that she felt the tension in him. He was as scared as she was, she realized. Resting her head on his shoulder, she wondered how he was handling all of this. It was far beyond his usual emotional limits. And he had just found out that he was a father. She wasn't even sure he was dealing with that yet.

His hand was gently stroking her hair. Quietly he began to speak. "She's beautiful Catherine. And she has your strength. Ever since I first gazed into her eyes at the hospital when she was born I've felt a connection. I wish I had understood what it was before now."

She patted his chest. "I do too Gil. You would have been a good father to her….better than Eddie. But you've always been there for her, just on the fringe in case she needed something." She grimaced. "Hell, even not knowing she was yours, you were a better father than Eddie."

"Thank you," he whispered poignantly.

"For what? Keeping your baby away from you?"

"You didn't know….but no, for saying what you said and more importantly, for her….letting me be a part of her life even though you thought Eddie was her father."

"We have a lot to talk about, sort out."

"We do. But for now, let's concentrate on her getting better," he said as he continued to hold her. He was beginning to get really worried; the surgery seemed like it was taking too long.

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Okay, is this twisted enough? What do you think?