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x x x x

Catherine smiled down at Sara and brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face.

She'd offered her the spare room, but Sara had refused and Cath had been too tired to fight her.

She didn't even remember going to bed; Sara must have put her there. It gave her butterflies to imagine the brunette leading her upstairs by the hand, undressing her … she felt oddly warm at the thought that Sara might have seen her body. Had she kissed her when she tucked her under the covers?

And at some point in the night Sara had come back downstairs and curled up on the couch.

Cath dragged a blanket off the back of the sofa and draped it across her friend's sleeping form.

X x x

Working autonomously she clicked the pot on, retrieved the milk from the fridge and a mug from the cupboard.

She dropped into a chair with her coffee, savouring the scent. It was still early and the house was blissfully quiet, giving her a chance to organise her thoughts.

She needed to have a long talk with Lindsey. That was her priority. And however hard it was for her to admit, she owed her mother an apology. It wasn't her fault that Lindsey had run away.

But there was another conversation she intended to have today … one that could potentially make or break a budding friendship.

"Hey," the sleepy voice broke her from her thoughts. Sara shuffled into the kitchen and slid into a seat beside her. "You're up early."

"So are you." Cath pointed out gently. "Coffee?"

"Yeah, please." Sara nodded, wiping at her eyes tiredly.

They sipped their drinks in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning. Usually at this hour they would still be at work.

After a long few minutes, Sara spoke again.

"Have you figured out what you're going to say to the runaway?"

Cath rolled her eyes. "No, I was planning on winging it." She joked, propping her head up on her hand. "You seem to have a way with her, any suggestions?"

"Well," Sara pursed her lips in thought. "For a start, don't let her feel cornered. She'll just push you away again."

"Uh huh." Cath nodded, making a mental note of the advice.

"Let her do the talking. You said it yourself; she's angry. So let her get angry, let her get upset." Sara recommended, staring into the bottom of her mug. "Trust me, she'll feel better for it afterwards."

Catherine watched her colleague from across the table with perplexity. She wanted to ask Sara how she knew all of this; what had happened to her to provide such insight.

Unfortunately, she was prevented from asking the questions burning on the tip of her tongue by the sound of footsteps above them. Their gazes shifted upwards, tracking the impending movements.

"I'll give you guys some space." Sara offered, placing her mug in the sink and running a hand through her hair in an attempt to straighten it out.

"You don't have to go." Cath jumped to her feet.

"It's okay, I'll come back." Sara assured her. "But you two need some time to talk, and I need to go find my motorbike." She smiled, eliciting a soft laugh from the blonde.

Lindsey arrived downstairs just in time to catch a glimpse of Sara slipping out of the front door. She stared at the closed door for a moment - she'd hoped Sara would stay and act as a buffer - before releasing a sigh and wandering into the kitchen. She felt like a convict en route to the executioner.

Catherine was pacing in front of the sink, waiting for her to appear, when she shuffled in and threw herself into the chair Sara had vacated.

"Morning honey." Cath mumbled hesitantly. "Are you hungry?"

"No." Linds murmured, resisting the urge to snap at her mother. She looked up expectantly, waiting for the conversation that she knew was coming. Taking the hint, Catherine slid back into her seat.

"Alright." The CSI began. "Well, I thought maybe you and I could…"

"We need to talk." Lindsey cut her off bluntly, leaving her mother hanging.

"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Last night, where did you go?"

"I went to Billy's." The child answered sullenly, fixing her gaze on the table. Cath pursed her lips.

"We called your friends; none of them know anyone called Billy."

"He's older than me." Lindsey confessed. Cath rolled her eyes knowingly. Like mother like daughter. "He's in 9th grade."

"He's at high school?" Catherine gasped. Noting Lindsey's sheepish expression she let the issue drop for now and softened her voice. "Okay, so what happened when you went to Billy's?" His name felt odd in her mouth, like danger.

"He had some friends round. I stayed there for a while with them. They … I wasn't drinking, I just hung out with them."

"It's okay." Catherine assured her gently. "Did something happen while you were at Billy's?" Linds started fidgeting anxiously, shuffling in her seat. "Baby, did something happen?" Cath pressed uncertainly.

"He tried to kiss me." The girl admitted eventually, wringing her hands in her lap. "I got scared and ran away."

"Why didn't you just come home?" Catherine asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"I tried. But there was a guy in the street; he tried to talk to me so I ran the other way. I ended up in the park and decided to stay there until it got light."

"And that's where Sara found you." Cath finished the story quietly. Right now, staring at her perfect unharmed little girl, she felt like she owed Sara everything. "Honey, why didn't you tell me about this boy?"

"Because I liked the attention from him and I knew you wouldn't improve." The teenager said. Cath breathed out slowly; you couldn't argue with her logic.

"Baby, I wouldn't approve because I've been there. I know how these boys think."

"I'm not like you." Lindsey looked up, hurt. Catherine inhaled sharply at the dig, but let it slide.

"I hope not." She said softly. "I've made a lot of mistakes, and the last thing I want is for you to repeat them."

For the first time, Lindsey met her gaze properly. Having finally made a connection, Catherine held onto those clear blue eyes as she continued.

"I shouldn't have read your diary. That was a mistake and I can't excuse it." She said honestly. "I will never invade your privacy like that again. But, I want you to promise me something in exchange."

"Okay." Lindsey said uncertainly.

"If there is ever anything worrying you, like boys or school, I want you to come and talk to me. I will never judge you, okay, but whatever you're going through I've probably been there myself." She offered what she hoped was a comforting smile. "I might not always know how to fix problems, but I know how not to fix them. And running away is at the top of that list."

Lindsey looked away but a small smile started to twitch at her lips. Catherine caught sight of it and grinned, holding out her arms tentatively. After a moment, Lindsey slipped out of her chair and walked into her mother's embrace.

X x x

She felt better for having talked to Lindsey and it was certainly a refreshing change to have a frank discussion with the girl, but they were still on shaky ground. There was a lot of damage and hurt feelings on both sides on the fence.

And it would take more than a couple of promises to heal those wounds.

Catherine released a breath, wandering onto the front porch. The sun was higher in the sky now, beaming down on her face. She lifted her hand, shielding her eyes from the glare.

Sara caught sight of her from the driveway and smiled.

"Hey." Cath greeted, surprised. "You found it then." She noted, wandering down the path to where Sara was checking her bike over.

"Yeah, right where I left it." The younger woman beamed. Cath let her hand graze the sparkling metal lightly.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to Gil?" She asked softly.

"I wanted to see how you two were first … how do you know…"

"I've known for a while." Cath cut her off. "You do know you're making a mistake, right?" The words had left her lips before she could retract them.

"W..what?" Sara stammered, taken aback. Catherine met her eyes, squinting against the harsh sun.

"He's emotionally unavailable. That's never going to change." She stated. She'd already started down this path, she may as well carry on. "You need to end it before you get any further into this relationship."

"Catherine …"

"You can do better." Cath interjected ardently.

Sara scrutinised her face for a long moment.

"I've got to go." She said at last, climbing onto her bike. "Say hey to Lindsey for me, okay?"

Catherine watched her go, sadness clouding her blue eyes. She knew Sara wouldn't pay heed to her words, but she had given it her best shot. Most likely it would go in one ear and out of the other. But, you never know.

With a sigh, she headed back inside to make a grovelling phone call to her mother.