Please don't boycott me... Enjoy!

Catherine stared ahead, pain overwhelming her. Her gun fell from her hand, and she looked down at her stomach in disbelief. Blood was gushing thickly from where the bullet had entered her body. She could feel the warmth of the blood soaking her back as well, indicating a through-and-through.

As the shock settled and her body went numb, Catherine collapsed.

"No!" Warrick shouted, and-fighting every instinct that told him to go to Catherine-focused his undiluted rage on Gedda. Warrick grabbed Gedda's wrist, jerking so roughly that he could feel the other man's shoulder dislocate. Gedda let out a strangled cry that Warrick hardly heard. A noise in the foyer distracted Warrick, and in the moment it took him to realize his mistake, Gedda was able to land a successful blow to the back of Warrick's head with the butt of the gun.

Stunned, Warrick fell to his knees. Before he could recover, Gedda was able to knock Warrick flat on his stomach and pin him to the ground, despite the fact that he only had the use of one arm. Warrick felt Gedda's arm slither around his neck. As it tightened, another shot rang out. The grip around Warrick's neck went slack, and Gedda collapsed.

Flipping over onto his back, Warrick rolled Gedda off of him and to the side. A quick glance at the body showed him the bullet hole between Gedda's eyes, wide with surprise at being taken down so close to his goal. Warrick shifted his gaze to the foyer, where Sara Sidle stood, just now lowering her gun.

"Nice of you to show up," Warrick said with a grunt as he stood and hurried over to Catherine. Her face was ghostly, and her breathing shallow. He took his jacket off and used it to elevate Catherine's head, then tore the fabric of her shirt to make a compress for the wound. "Is the ambulance coming?"

"I called 911 before I left the lab," she answered, now kneeling next to Warrick. "Oh, Jesus."

A thought occurred to him. "Why did you come? Did Grissom call you?"

"Yeah. Gil was going to come himself, but I was on my way back to Catherine's house when he called, so I made a detour. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner." Her voice was thick with regret, and Warrick noticed a tear traveling down Sara's cheek. He wondered fleetingly if he had ever seen Sara Sidle cry before, but turned back to Catherine before he put too much thought into it.

"Catherine," he said, bending over to brush a kiss to her forehead. "Please, baby, wake up." No response. He shook her gently. Tears had formed in his eyes, and they were beginning to overflow. The sound of sirens permeated the silence.

"Warrick, the ambulance is here," Sara said gently. When he didn't move, she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, we have to give the paramedics room to work."

"I'm not leaving her." His voice was low. He shrugged Sara's hand off his shoulder when he noticed blood pooling under Catherine. He wanted to kick himself. He should have known to check to see if it was a through-and-through.

"I'm not asking you to, Warrick. But the paramedics need space to help her." As if on cue, the paramedics came blundering through the door. Sara called, "Over here."

Suddenly, everything was a blur. Warrick couldn't concentrate on anything but Catherine. She seemed to have gotten whiter in the few minutes that the paramedics took to assess her injuries and lift her carefully onto the gurney. He could see the life draining from her.

He hoped it wasn't too late.

Lindsey walked into the living room, following the sound of voices to the kitchen. She saw Drake first, a grim look on his face.

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice worried. Had something happened to her grandmother? She knew Gedda had gone after Lily, but she didn't know what had come of the situation.

Sympathy was the dominant emotion on every face in the kitchen. She walked over to Drake instinctively, and he wrapped her in a tight embrace. When he released her, he left an arm draped across her shoulder. His hold on her was supportive.

But why was he supporting her?

Grissom was the one to answer her questions. "Your mother and Warrick went to your grandmother's, to get her away from Gedda. Warrick got your grandmother out." He pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut. "When your mother went in the back way, Warrick and Gedda were in the middle of a struggle. The gun Gedda had went off. Catherine was hit."

Lindsey gasped, grateful that Drake had the sense to know she would react this way. "Is she going to be okay?" Her legs nearly gave out beneath her, and she clutched the man at her side with everything she had as she waited for an answer.

The uncertainty in Grissom's eyes cut Lindsey deep. "We just don't know, Lindsey. She's still in surgery, and it's touch and go at this point."

She turned to Drake. "Take me to the hospital. I need to be there."

"Okay," Drake said. "Let's go."