I own nothing, unfortunately. Where'd you guys go? So many reviews last time and now, nada...oh well. Enjoy!

"Cath..." Nick slowly said as he watched her inch cautiously toward Sam. She spun her head around to look at him when he called her name, but seemed to shrug it off.

"Catherine, just stop right there." Sam sternly admonished her. She stopped for a minute, looked over to Nick as if to ask his opinion on the matter, then proceded to growl at Sam again. It was clear she was really only angry at him. Before she could act any further, Sam quickly took a step forward and plunged the needle into her shoulder. She whimpered from the pain and the tranquilizer, which was quickly taking affect. Her movements slowed down and she had difficulty as she stumbled over to Nick. Nick's heartrate elevated for only a moment before he reminded himself yet again, that the fairly large wolf lumbering over to him was still Catherine.

He slid down the wall to the floor as she slumped beside him, laying her head in his lap.

"What now?" Nick asked the older man when he was pretty sure Catherine was asleep.

"We need to get you to shift." He said matter of factly.

"Why is that? I mean, I haven't even gotten close to the way Catherine was feeling way before she did. Besides, can't I just, not?"

"No, you can't. If a werewolf is unable to shift during their first full moon, then they never really gain complete control over it. I can shift whenever I want and am pretty good at controlling the urge to change during the moon. Catherine will be able to do the same once she gets a handle on it, but if you don't before the night is over...it's just not a good thing, trust me."

Nick looked down at Catherine, really wishing she was awake to help him with Sam.

"Ok, point taken. What do you suggest?"

"Well, I'm sure you've figured out that Catherine's emotions played a big part in the matter. She was really angry and that set it off, but then, any intense emotion will do."

"So, I need to get really....something?"

Sam chuckled, "Yes, you do....but don't worry, I have an idea." He picked up the phone and whispered something into it that Nick couldn't quite make out, even with his improved hearing. Sam soon hung up and faced Nick. "I'll be back in under an hour." He said, taking a blanket out of a cabinent and tossing it to Nick. "The tranquilizer has probably calmed her down enough that she may shift back in a while... and she'll probably be cold. There's another one in here if you need it. If she doesn't, don't worry...it could be sometime tomorrow before she does."

"Alright." Nick answered unsurely, not really wanting to be left alone with Catherine. In no way out of fear, but just plain old worry.

"And Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't either of you leave this room. I don't care what my daughter may say or do...keep yourselves here."

Sam had been gone around fifteen minutes when Catherine began to stir. At first, she seemed frightened and unsure of her surroundings, but Nick was able to calm her down.

"Cath...I'm right here...everything's ok." He whispered to her as he stroked her head, a little weirded out by that part. She looked at him as if to say she knew he was there and then grunted and snuggled closer to him.

The tiredness in Nick's bones began to surface as he sat there, Catherine close, and he felt himself drifting off.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep when Nick was awakened by Catherine's hand grasping for his.

Her hand...but He thought, opening his eyes sleepily.

She was still partially in his lap, shivering, her hand in his, still under the effects of the tranquilizer but human again and very...without clothes on.

Nick, ever the gentleman, looked away as much as he could as he grabbed the blanket on the floor beside him and spread it over her.

"Catherine..." He gently prodded, trying to wake her up.

She jerked, letting out a short little growl, only calming when she regained her bearings. She was with Nick, she didn't seem to have fur at the moment, and Sam was gone.

"Nick...?" She asked.

"Yeah..?"

"It wasn't a dream was it...?"

Nick sighed, putting a piece of her wayward hair behind one ear. "No."

She sat up, wrapping the blanket tighter around her and stared at the floor for a moment or two. "So we really are werewolves then...it's so..." She paused searching for the right word. "...surreal."

"Tell me about it." Nick chuckled.

"Hey, you don't even know the half of it yet...it is beyond frightening to feel your bones rearrange themselves....not being able to speak....trying to squealch the urge to rip into everything with your teeth..."

"Now, Cath...let's not pretend you don't always have to stifle that urge..." Nick laughed, earning him a playful but hard hit from Catherine. He reacted and then pulled her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. "So Sam said that you're still....you when you shift but not quite....." He stopped, allowing her the chance to take it from there.

"Well, I guess that's a good way to put it. I mean, I was definitely aware of everything, you saw me look over at you when you called me, but...I was more..." She stopped as if searching for the right words. "You know how the past few days we've been dealing with what we now know is the half of us that's apparently wolf? It's like when I'm me, er...in this form then the human part of me is dominant, but the animal is still there..."

"Like the growling at people?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, so when I shifted..."

"Your canine half was dominant..."

"Exactly...but the thing was, when I first shifted I was kind of disoriented and freaked out."

"Yeah, Sam said that usually happened....and that a lot of times people get hurt....so that's why he pulled out that tranquilizer."

"Oh is that the crap that he shot me up with? Well, trust me, I did not almost attack him because I was disoriented. I was still really angry, this is all his fault, and he was standing right there....easy target." She looked around, "Where is he?" She asked sounding annoyed.

"I don't really know...he said that he was going to 'take care of some things." Nick shrugged.

"Well I'm hungry," Catherine said, getting up and heading to the pile of her clothes across the room.

"Me too, but Sam said we have to stay here."

"Since when do you know me to do as I'm told?" She said.

"Never, but...Cath....I mean, he's right. We need to be careful...."

She ignored his statement at the same time she realized that her clothes weren't going to work. They'd ripped earlier and were unsalvagable. "Damn it. This was my favorite blazer! Great..." She yelled, startling Nick. It was obvious the tranquilizer was long gone and she was getting worked up again.

"Why don't we just relax on the couch until your dad gets back?"

"He's NOT my dad!" She fired back. "My biological father, maybe...definitely the one who passed on his genetic curse to me...but not my dad!" She yelled. Nick tried to put his arms around her but she tried to push him away.

"Hey...hey....Cath...." He said as she swatted at him. He finally got the upper hand, enveloping her in his arms, where her eyes met his and she soon calmed down. He leaned down and kissed her and she went up on her toes to meet him.

"Now...why don't we call Sam and ask him to bring us something to eat..." He looked her up and down. "..and you some clothes...we'll stay here until dawn at least. I think we'll be safer if the moon isn't out."

She rolled her eyes, completely agreeing with him, but fervently not wanting to. This whole thing was stupid and weird and she felt like she could cry and lose it all at the same time. She hadn't even thought about work in the past hour or so and Grissom was probably wondering where the heck they were. She was off her game....and she hated that. She hated letting anyone or anything throw her for a loop.....and this was one hell of a loop. Nick was right, though....it was probably better for everyone if they stayed til sunup. She didn't want to admit it, but truth be told, she felt as if she was on the edge of shifting again at any moment, something she definitely never cared to do in front of anyone.

She thought she would never care to DO it again, period, but had been shocked by how....free she had felt. A painful transition, sure, oddly disorienting, yeah, but not bad in anyway.....she definitely wouldn't mind if Nick decided to join her anytime soon, either.

Truth be told, she was more than just on the edge of shifting.....as the minutes crawled by, the two of them on the couch in Sam's office, the more she wanted to do it. Of course, this annoyed Catherine to no end because it meant she wasn't in complete control. It was probably that damn full moon.....calling to her, inviting her......summoning her almost......

Working the night shift just got exponentially more difficult.

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