This author's note comes with a thank you from the very bottom of my heart. As of Chapter 10, not only did I break 100 reviews, but I also broke my personal record for reviews here at . The previous record was 107 for my Law and Order: SVU fic, Branded. As of the posting of this chapter, I am at 108 and I know that I'm gonna shatter the old record by the time this one is said and done.
Thank you to Chris (who was the record breaking 108th review!), Brillows4Ever, MrsWillows, connieLover, AutumnDoe, name-me, aty, Wileret, Double I 4 My Guys, YoblingDramoineLover, and tawnyfur0426 for their reviews on this chapter. Thanks too to the folks who are adding me to their alerts/favorites. Thanks also to Ms. Taylor for betaing. Seriously, I'd be lost without you.
That's about it. Nothing else is really new unless anyone is interested on bidding on some sets of WWE trading cards over at eBay. Lol! Enjoy, and please drop me a review! =)
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Catherine slowly pushed open the door to the interrogation room. Lindsey didn't look up as her mother entered the room; rather, she simply stared at the table in front of her. Catherine felt a lump rise in her throat, wondering what had come between the two of them.
The door clicked quietly behind Warrick, and Catherine walked up to the table. Catherine placed her palms against the table, closing her eyes against the pain radiating through her back. When she finally opened her eyes, Lindsey was staring up at her apprehensively.
The duo looked at each other for several long seconds before Lindsey finally looked away. Shame was written on her face, and if Catherine wasn't mistaken, her daughter looked as if she were going to cry.
"Lindsey…I'm not here to yell at you," Catherine began quietly, shifting so she could sit down in the chair across from her daughter. She involuntarily flinched as her back hit the hard backing of the chair, waves of pain shooting through her spine at the contact. She took a deep breath to continue, but Lindsey spoke up.
"I hurt you."
The three words hung in the air as Catherine blinked, unsure of what to say. "I…yes, you did, Lindsey," Catherine finally answered, hating the look of anguish that crossed her daughter's face.
"What's wrong? Did - is your nose broken?" Lindsey asked.
Catherine shook her head in response. "No, it's just bruising," she said. Seeing Lindsey's dubious look, she added, "No concussion."
"Anything else?"
Catherine wondered to herself whether she should tell Lindsey about her back, but after a moment of debating, she finally said, "I just bumped my back on the coffee table when I went down. Nothing major."
Lindsey nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Mom, I'm so sorry," she blurted out. Her mother blinked in response, settling back carefully in the chair. "I never wanted to hurt you."
"But you have been," Catherine pointed out gently. "When you start fights with me that hurts as much as you physically striking me." She hated having to point out the errors of her child, but it had gone too far. She glanced back at Warrick, noting to herself that he was standing against the wall, his arms crossed almost as if he was on guard.
"I know, and I'm sorry," Lindsey answered, the tears spilling over and making trails down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course I can, Lindsey," Catherine answered, reaching across the table and taking Lindsey's hand, relief flowing through her when Lindsey didn't pull away. "But I think that you need help."
"What kind of help?" Lindsey asked warily.
"Jim and I were talking, and he said that there is a…camp that his friend runs for troubled teenagers," Catherine chose her words carefully. "If you were to attend this camp, there's a very good chance that you won't have to serve jail time due to your driving charges or, uh, any charges that come up tonight."
"What kind of camp is this?" Lindsey asked, fear crossing her face for the first time in months.
"It's a boot camp, Linds," Catherine answered.
"You want to send me to a boot camp?" Lindsey asked, her voice rising a few octaves. "Mom, you can't do that to me!"
"Lindsey, my hands are tied," Catherine pleaded with her daughter. "Please, try to understand. I don't want to do this, but this is the only way that I can keep you from spending time in jail!"
Not only that, but as much as she hated to admit it, Catherine feared that if Lindsey didn't receive some intervention soon, she would hurt Catherine again. While she was her mother, it hadn't stopped her this morning, and seeing that Lindsey had half of Eddie's genes, it was possible that Lindsey would continue to use her mother as a punching bag as her father had for so long. There were so many times that Eddie had sworn that he was going to stop, yet he still beat her senseless so many nights after. Catherine Willows would be damned if she would go through that again.
Lindsey swallowed, suddenly looking much younger then her fifteen years. "I'm so sorry, Mom," she finally said softly. "I've never really been fair to you, have I?"
Catherine was unsure of what to say at the sudden change in topic. "I, uh…it's not really just you, honey," she finally murmured, "I just wish I had a normal job where I could spend more time with you. I hate that we don't get that much time together."
Lindsey sniffled slightly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Silence reigned over the room for a moment before the younger Willows said, "When do I leave for this boot camp?"
"I don't know, baby," Catherine answered, her voice cracking as tears sprang to her eyes. "I have to talk to a judge."
Lindsey sniffled again, tears slipping down her cheeks once again. Catherine rose to her feet, rounding the table as fast as her aching back would allow her. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around Lindsey, relieved when she didn't pull away or lash out. Catherine's tears fell on Lindsey's head as her daughter repeatedly apologized.
"I love you, Lindsey," Catherine whispered. "Remember that, please?"
"I love you too, Mom," Lindsey replied hoarsely.
A rapid knock sounded at the door, indicating that Jim - or someone - wanted Catherine and Warrick out of the room. Catherine glanced down at her daughter, who looked back at her with red eyes. "I need to go, honey," Catherine finally said softly. "I'll be back to let you know what the judge decides, okay?"
"Okay," Lindsey replied meekly, her hand gripping the sleeve of Catherine's t-shirt. "Mom, please get some sleep, though. You don't look too good."
Catherine managed a smile for Lindsey. "I'm fine," she lied. She squeezed Lindsey's shoulder before pressing a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be back soon." She gingerly made her way to the door, nodding her thanks to Warrick as he held it open for her.
She was met with the irate face of Conrad Ecklie. "Willows, what the hell are you doing in there with a suspect?!" he laid into her the second the door was closed. She flinched at his loud tone, his voice permeating her forehead as the headache throbbed against her skull.
"Conrad, I-"
"Not to mention that that suspect is your daughter!" Ecklie bellowed, stepping close to Catherine. She took a startled step back, gasping in pain when her back hit the door; nevertheless, she composed herself quickly.
"Get away from me!" Catherine warned, her hands clenching into fists, ready to strike out in defense if need be.
"Back off!" Jim yelled, stepping between the pair. "Ecklie, I know you are mad, but there's no reason to invade her personal space!"
Ecklie blinked, realizing a second too late what he had done. Catherine was breathing hard, fury written across her thin features as she silently dared him to come closer. "Jesus Christ," he started, only to shake his head. "Willows, you're suspended," Ecklie finally snapped.
"For what?!" Catherine yelled.
"For interrogating a suspect that you have personal ties to!" Ecklie shot back.
"You can't suspend me-"
"I can do whatever the hell I want-"
"-because I quit!" Catherine finished, snatching her badge off her belt. She held it in her fingers for a few moments before throwing it at his feet. Jim, Gil, and Warrick's mouths dropped open at Catherine's words.
"You can't quit!" Ecklie sputtered. "You're fired!"
"Screw you!" Catherine spat, turning as fast as she could without jarring her back. She stalked to the door, slamming it as she left.
Warrick shook his head to clear it before lumbering after Catherine, sending a glare Ecklie's way before taking off. "You better watch your ass, Brown," Ecklie yelled after Warrick. "You're on thin ice too, buddy!"
"What the hell are you doing?" Gil finally yelled, stepping in front of Ecklie in order to stop his tirade at the retreating CSI's back. "You can't just fire members of my team without grounds!"
"I can fire whomever the hell I want, Grissom, and you better watch your step as well because I'm in a very bad mood," Ecklie snarled, turning to the officer standing at the door. "Officer Akers, make sure that Ms. Willows is escorted off the property!"
The officer slunk out of the room, not wanting to be the one to make sure that Catherine didn't do anything on the way out of the office. He had been the one to botch one of her cases a few years ago, resulting in the CSI suffering a fairly serious head wound and minor concussion. Akers could only imagine what CSI Willows would say to him at this point.
Grissom stared after Akers, his mouth slightly agape. He shook his head to get out of the momentary stupor, then glowered at Ecklie. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" Grissom finally hissed.
Ecklie blinked at Grissom's question, then glared back at Grissom. "I'm-"
"You know what," Grissom interrupted. "I'm not going to stand here and let you pull politics! You're not firing Catherine!"
"I already did!"
"Well, I'm hiring her back!"
"You can't do that!"
"Yes, I can!"
"No, you can't!"
Grissom turned on his heel, moving to exit the room. He wasn't about to stand around while Catherine probably had half her locker cleaned out already. He had to stop her: and fast.
"You better not walk out this room, Grissom," Ecklie warned.
"Or what?" Grissom couldn't help but challenge.
"I'll fire you too."
"On what grounds?" Grissom laughed disbelievingly.
"For aiding a woman who breaks rules at the crime lab," Ecklie answered.
Grissom quirked an eyebrow at Ecklie, then asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The allegations that Kay Peterson made-"
"Are false."
Ecklie scoffed. "And how do you know?"
Grissom shrugged. "I've asked the team," he responded simply.
"And you trust them to tell the truth about one of their friends?"
"Absolutely." Grissom spoke without hesitation, his voice clear as he stared at the man in front of him.
Ecklie merely shook his head. "Now come on, Grissom, you asked the most biased group possible-"
"They're no more biased then Kay Peterson!" Grissom cut Ecklie off.
That seemed to stall the balding man, who stared at Grissom uneasily for a few seconds. "What are you talking about?" he finally asked warily. "Kay Peterson is a respected journalist – who is a dear friend of mine I might add."
"Figures," Grissom answered with a smirk, turning his back and walking into the hall, his destination being the locker room so he could possibly try to stop Catherine from leaving. His progress was halted, however, when Ecklie grabbed Grissom's shoulder and whirled him around.
"What are you talking about?" Ecklie's tone was no-nonsense, yet there was a trace of fear in his words.
"Well, I didn't believe a word of the article. I know that Catherine and Warrick are not dating because they are my team, and I would notice," Grissom began.
"Yeah, how so?"
Grissom smiled at Ecklie despite the seriousness of the situation. "When Catherine falls for a guy, there's little things that she does. For example, she starts wearing her hair down more," he said. Seeing Ecklie's dubious look, he shrugged. "It's true. I've known her for twenty years and she's always done it."
"That's not proof!" Ecklie sputtered. "Besides, what would Peterson have to gain from lying?"
"You know, Ecklie, when Peterson began making these allegations on Catherine and Warrick, I refused to believe a single word of it," he began. "So I took the liberty of doing a little research."
"What kind of research?" Ecklie asked warily.
Grissom glanced at the file that he held in his hand, flipping it open. Ecklie hadn't noticed the file until Gil opened it, and now he wondered what it contained.
"Harriet Anderson," Gil read aloud. "CEO of a major company, stepped down after Peterson alleged she had an affair with a competing company." He flipped a paper, then continued, "Gina Helgen. Professor at LVU, was fired after Peterson claimed that she was having a relationship with a student. I won't bore you with the details, but there are twenty other women who had their careers ruined thanks to Peterson's unfounded allegations. And trust me, all of them are angry."
"What's that have to do with Willows?"
"Don't you see?" Grissom finally snapped. "She has a problem with women with authority!"
"Not true," Ecklie shook his head. "I refuse to believe-"
"Do you refuse to believe that Peterson plagiarized an article, too?"
Ecklie's jaw dropped. "What are you talking about?" he finally managed to sputter.
Grissom finally smiled, knowing that he had Ecklie. He pulled an article clipping out of his file, holding it up in Ecklie's face. "This article posted in the Vegas Times four years ago was originally written by my dear friend Dr. James Hall. The disk that it was originally on vanished – conveniently, the same day that Kay Peterson happened to be visiting – but James had a copy on paper. He's been waiting for the perfect time to go to the media, and I think that this is it…"
Ecklie's mouth gaped open. "You can't do that," Ecklie finally said. "You'll ruin her career."
"You know, I wouldn't want to," Grissom said with a sinister smile. "I think I'll leave that up to CSI Willows."
"Ex-CSI Willows," Ecklie called.
"She's not fired," Grissom said calmly.
"Yes, she is," Ecklie answered, though his tone seemed less confident.
"I'm not going to stand here and argue, Conrad," Grissom said sweetly. "I'm sure the state will be more than willing to overturn your wrongful termination of Catherine when they see that you went on the word of a lying, conniving bitch instead of the word of a
dedicated, hard working, top level CSI."
With that, he turned, walking down the hall at a fast pace, his destination being the locker room. "Please don't let her be gone," Grissom muttered to himself, knowing that it was probably a useless plea but still sighing in frustration when he saw that the room was empty. Pulling his cell phone from the clip, he hit speed dial one, waiting a few seconds for the phone to ring.
His gaze snapped to the bench when he heard ringing, and Grissom groaned with disdain when he saw Catherine's vest, gun, and cell phone laying there. "Damn it, no!" Grissom muttered, ducking out of the room and jogging to the exit as he hit speed dial two on his phone. He waited until it connected, letting out an uncharacteristic curse when the phone went straight to voicemail.
"Warrick, call me when you get this," Grissom spoke tersely. Seeing Officer Akers reentering the building, he descended upon the young officer. "Are they gone?" he asked breathlessly.
"Yes, sir," Akers responded. "I didn't realize that you didn't want her to-"
"It's fine, officer," Grissom said with a sigh. "Damn it!"
He had to find away to get Catherine – and Warrick – back.
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Catherine sighed as she entered her house, Warrick just a couple feet behind her. Catherine looked in her house, feeling tears spring to her eyes as she looked at her living room. Her end table was moved from her back striking it, dried blood on her carpet.
"You okay, Cath?" Warrick asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered. She slowly made her way into the room, briefly wondering how she even made it this far. Her legs were shaking and she felt as if she were about to faint. On top of that, Catherine's back was throbbing constantly.
She made her way carefully to the kitchen, shuffling over to the cabinets that were under her sink. Catherine stooped down, finding her carpet cleaner and pulling it out. She grabbed a handful of paper towels, making her way back into the living room, only to be halted when Warrick took the items from her hands.
"Rick, what are you-"
"Cath, just relax for five minutes, okay?" Warrick pleaded with her. "Sit down on the couch and let me clean your carpet and bathroom."
"I can do it," Catherine argued.
"Hey, I know that you can," Warrick answered. "But just let me do it."
Catherine finally nodded, sinking into the couch. She propped her feet up, watching as Warrick sprayed her carpet and attempted to scrub the blood out.
"I'm going to go and clean your bathroom, okay, Cath?" Warrick asked. "I'll be right back."
"Okay," Catherine agreed, stretching out. Her plush couch provided some comfort across her back, and she soon found herself lightly dozing, pure exhaustion overtaking her anxiousness and fragile state of mind.
She awoke minutes later, however, when Warrick attempted to slip his arms underneath her to pick the redhead up. Catherine grumbled in protest when his arm brushed her stitches.
"Sorry, sorry," Warrick said hastily. "I just want to take you upstairs so you're a little more comfortable."
"I'm fine here," Catherine protested, nevertheless wrapping her arms around Warrick's neck as he carefully picked her up. "You don't have to carry me-"
"I know, but I want to," Warrick said gently, carrying her up the steps. "Is it okay if I change your bandage for you before you lay down?"
"Mm hmm," Catherine answered noncommittally, resting her head against his chest.
Warrick made his way into Catherine's room, gently setting her on her bed. "Can you pull your shirt up and then lie on your stomach?" he asked.
Catherine pulled her shirt over her head and laid down as he asked, closing her eyes. She felt Warrick carefully pulling the tape back, looking at her wound.
"I have gauze, medical tape, Neosporin, and antiseptic wipes under my bathroom sink," Catherine murmured into the pillow. "How does it look?"
"It looks nasty," Warrick admitted. "It's bruising and swollen, but it's not infected."
"That's good," Catherine replied sleepily.
"I'm gonna go grab the stuff, I'll be right back," Warrick promised.
Catherine closed her eyes, waiting for her friend to come back. She started to doze off again when she felt the bed dip, and she sleepily looked up at Warrick.
"Thank you for doing this," Catherine murmured. "I hope that you didn't get in trouble for leaving with me."
"Don't worry about that, Cath," Warrick chastised her gently. "Think about yourself for once, okay?"
She closed her eyes again against the soothing Neosporin, enjoying the feel of Warrick's smooth palms on her back. "It's weird, I'm out of a job and my daughter is going to a boot camp yet for some reason I feel….at ease," Catherine admitted. "I don't understand it."
Warrick was silent for a moment, then he spoke up. "Catherine, I don't know what to say," he told her hesitantly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Catherine mumbled against the pillows. "It's not your fault. And besides, maybe it's for the better."
"How can you say that?" Warrick asked, placing a large piece of tape over the gauze he had placed over her wound. He worked quickly in order to prevent infection from it being uncovered.
Catherine felt him putting the last bit of tape on the gauze, and she carefully pulled her tank top down before rolling on her side and looking up at him.
"Maybe we can…" she trailed off, a blush coming to her cheeks. "I don't know, Rick. Forget it."
"No," Warrick chastised gently, forcing her to look at him when she glanced down. "What about us?"
"Maybe…" Catherine hesitated again, trying to work up her nerve in order to say what she was thinking to Warrick. She had waited too long a few years ago and lost him to Tina, which had broken her heart. Now, the pair was divorced, yet Catherine couldn't seem to work up the nerve.
"Maybe we can try something."
The words came out so fast that Warrick could hardly understand them. Catherine flushed even deeper as she waited for Warrick to turn her down.
"I'd like that."
Her eyes shot up to meet his, the strawberry blond seeing nothing but truth, honesty, and love in the depths. "Warrick…" she breathed, hesitantly reaching her hand to his.
Warrick's fingers instantly interlocked with hers, the tall man easing his body next to hers. He propped his elbow on the pillow as he stared at Catherine. "I'd like that," he finally repeated. "For so long…God, Catherine, for so long, I've wanted to be with you. You don't know how long I've regretted marrying Tina. I should have gone after you so long ago."
Catherine swallowed nervously when Warrick moved closer, his knee touching hers. Suddenly, it seemed as if the temperature in the room went up one hundred degrees, and she wanted nothing more then to make love to Warrick right then and there…to feel his hands on her body and him inside of her…
She shook her head clear of the thoughts, reaching her free hand to brush an errant curl away from his forehead. "Do you think that…that we could try this?" Catherine asked shyly.
"Are you asking me out on a date, Catherine Willows?" Warrick asked, a tiny smile playing at his lips.
"Well, I – yes," Catherine admitted. "I've liked you for so long, and as I told you so many years ago, I've fantasized about us, and I would love to try this."
Warrick leaned forward and pressed his lips chastely against her forehead. Catherine stared dreamily up at him…
…then promptly yawned.
Warrick laughed at the horrified look that came across Catherine's face and moved closer to her, hugging her slim body to his, being mindful of the stitches along the base of her back. For a brief moment, he couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to run his hands over her heated skin, but he controlled himself. She was still injured, after all, and he didn't want to ruin what would undoubtedly be a special moment for them.
"It's okay, baby, get some sleep," Warrick encouraged her, letting go of her hand for a moment so that he could pull a pillow closer to her head, encouraging Catherine to rest her head.
"Are you going to leave me?" Catherine asked sleepily, looking to him with pleading eyes.
"No," Warrick said gently, interlocking their fingers once again. "I'm not leaving you now, or ever."
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End 11/15
