Note: Hi all, sorry for the huge, huge delay! I've been so busy with.. Well, being a graduated girl and hanging around outside in the nice weather that I haven't been writing for some time now. Here's an update though. It isn't a very big one, just a little more drama before the long awaited chapter that revolves around Weeping Willows! Please enjoy, xx.

12. 4X4

Catherine could tell it was Lou who'd been waiting for her on the porch of her house. She recognized both his car and figure when she parked her own car in her driveway. She knew he was unpleased with the fact that she'd chosen to go out for dinner with Warrick instead of him. But she wasn't quite ready to talk to him. After the sneaking around in her room he'd done, she needed time to think. And Warrick had always been the one she talked to whenever she needed someone. So that was what she'd done the last couple of hours; eat, drink and talk with Warrick. Catherine still didn't have a clue of what to do about the issues she had with Lou. Catherine wanted to turn her car around and drive away again, but she knew she couldn't keep avoiding him. With a loud sigh, she got out of her car, trying to prepare herself for an interesting conversation with the man she was obiously still in love with. As soon as she put one foot on her porch, Lou got up and started talking. "Hey. I've been waiting for you.. I want to talk."

Catherine looked at Lou and she hated herself for only thinking about how handsome he looked. And how much she missed having his arms around her. But she hated the way he'd found out about her past. That should've never happened. "Lou.. I really don't want to do that right now. I need some more time."

Catherine could tell Lou wasn't very pleased with that as he said: "Catherine, I told you I was sorry… I still am. What more can I do?"

Catherine sighed and said: "I just… You have to understand that my past.. It's difficult. It's not something I wanted you to find out bye reading about it. I wanted to tell you about it myself."

He grabbed her hand and stroke her hand lightly when he said: "But I don't care about your past, Catherine. I can imagine that it's… Well, that it's not something you like to talk about in public. But I love you, Catherine, I don't care about your past."

Catherine bit her lip and said: "But I do. And that you don't understand that… That's just… That you don't understand that I do care about that makes me feel like you don't know me. At all."

It stung Lou that she said that; he loved her. He wanted her to be with him. "Catherine, don't.."

She didn't even let him finish talking as she said: "Lou, I need to think. This.. This just made me doubt about everything we have. I… I think I need some time… Apart. From you."

He raised his eyebrows and said: "You need time apart? Catherine, come on… Please. Can't we just talk this over?"

Lou could tell Catherine wasn't going to change her mind, and instead of yelling at her and throwing out all of his frustrations, he knew it was better to walk away. So that was what he did, knowing that it would take more than just his apologies to get her back.

Lou was disappointed when he saw Warrick approaching him and David. He had secretly hoped Catherine would've come to his crime scene. He knew that had been false hope though; he knew her better than that. Catherine wouldn't put herself in a situation like that. Lou wasn't too happy with Warrick though; he liked the man, but he knew how close he and Catherine were. And he was pretty sure Catherine had told him about everything that had happened. Warrick wasn't showing anything unprofessional though when he stepped on the stage and said: "Gentlemen."

Lou looked at Warrick, but he still wasn't showing any signs of aversive. Lou simply answered: "Hey," while Warrick put his kit down and said: "What's going on here?"

Lou grabbed the victim's ID cared and said: "Lisa Schumacher, 26," before handing Warrick her ID-tag. "There's no surveillance on the floor, and none of the rent-a-cops remember the last time they saw here."

Warrick looked at the older man and stated: "A convention girl." Warrick looked at the detective's face, and couldn't help but notice the dullness in his eyes. Catherine had told him about the two of them having problems. She hadn't said a word about what exactly had happened, but she had explained that there were some issues between them. They bothered her a lot, and Warrick could tell that Lou was suffering from them as well.

Somewhere between their cases, Warrick and Catherine were able to find the time to have lunch together. The crime lab had been turned up side down that shift; four mysteries in one night. Catherine was glad she was finally able to sit down and eat. Catherine could tell Warrick was looking at her while she was eating, and after not even a minute, she said: "You're staring at me. Stop staring."

Warrick shrugged and said: "Sorry. I was just… Thinking."

Catherine raised an eyebrow and said: "About what?"

"About Lou. I saw him this morning; he looked… Well, sad."

Catherine tilted her head to the side and thought about Lou for a split second. She hadn't seen him that shift. It stung her; they usually met up when they had a chance. And now, there had been a possibility for them to work together, and she didn't want to. Why were her relationships always complicated? "Why you're telling me that?"

"Because I know you're hurt. And believe it or not, but so is he. I could see it. Look Catherine, I don't know what happened between the two of you and it isn't my business.

But both of you looked so much…. Happier without the fighting. If I look back on it. So… Unless it's something you truly can't get over… Try to fix it. You know it's worth it."

Green eyes were staring deeply in Catherine's while she was listening to Warrick's words, thinking about everything he said. No, it wasn't his business. But she was happier with him than without him. And she definitely knew Lou was worth it.

Catherine knew Vartann's shift hadn't finished yet; she'd seen his car in the parking lot. She'd been thinking about Warrick's words for a while now, and she knew he was right. And what he'd done was so much less important than Eddie had ever done to her. Searching Lou wasn't as easy as she thought it would've been though; he was nowhere to be seen. After almost twenty minutes of Catherine skipping her work and searching for Lou instead, she saw his back standing in the locker room. She felt pretty stupid for not checking there before. Catherine quietly closed the door and stepped a little closer to Tony, who was standing at the total end of the locker room. The moment she wanted to start talking, she heard Lou say: "No, of course I haven't told her about you."

Catherine raised an eyebrow, too curious to hear where Lou was going to continue his previous sentence with. "We're currently… Well, we're having some issues. But I'm sure things will be fine soon."

Now, Catherine was pretty sure Louy was talking about her. When he answered to the person on the other end after a couple of seconds in silence, Catherine's heart almost stopped beating. She heard him say: "No, that doesn't mean I can come and see you more often!"

It seemed as if she heard Eddie talk. The low, muffled voice she heard Lou talk with. The high, pitched voice she heard on the other side of the phone when she listened very carefully. Lou was seeing someone else. Catherine was sure about that. How could he even think about that? Was she really that replacable? She didn't continue listening to Lou's conversation. Instead, she opened the door of the locker room and walked out again.

The door closed with a loud bang, which made Lou spin around and look into the direction of the door. He hadn't seen anyone come in. But the door had been closed after he'd entered it, he was sure about that. He heard his ex-wife talking on the other side of the phone; she'd been calling him three times that day, and every conversation was more annoying. He sighed and decided to continue his conversation, hoping that the woman on the other end of the line would finally be able to understand that their relationship wasn't anywhere near a new shot.

Note: I hope you liked it, even though the update wasn't very big. Let me know, and I hoop you all look forward to the Weeping Willows chapter! xx.