As soon as they got into the house, Lindsey made a beeline for her bedroom.
"Linds, honey..." Cath called, but the sentence was punctuated by the definitive slamming of a door.
Groaning to herself in exasperation, she sloped towards the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee, hoping that a bit of space might do the teenager some good.
She had tried to apologise as they left the school. She had tried again in the car. Clearly, Lindsey was not ready to hear it yet.
Catherine had the distinct feeling that she was going to be eating dinner alone tonight.
x X x
Grissom had developed a twitch, Ecklie noted with some degree of amusement.
He always knew that one day the emotionless CSI would start to crack under the strain. Managing people required patience, human understanding and empathy, all things that Gil Grissom lacked.
However, even Conrad had to concede that he had done well to last this long with his team of reprobates. Most managers would have abdicated the post a long time ago.
Speaking of, grave-turned-swing CSIs Nick and Warrick ambled into the gloomy office, surprised to find both men waiting for them.
"Conrad." Nick greeted, exchanging a worried look with Grissom. "What's going on, you said you wanted to see us?"
"Yes, there's something important that we need to discuss with you." Ecklie explained, gesturing to the chairs opposite. "Have a seat."
The younger men shared a brief glance, before electing to remain standing. Ecklie rolled his eyes at their petulance, but chose to ignore it. Bigger fish, and all that.
"We have made an arrest in connection with Greg's assault." He declared, watching a multitude of emotions cross their features at this news. "Belinda Bell is in custody and will be arraigned in the morning."
"Belinda Bell?" Warrick echoed, trying to place the familiar name.
"Wait," Nick held up a hand, getting there first. "The PEAP counsellor? The one that was suspended – she attacked Greg?"
"Yes." Grissom licked his lips slowly. "Bell was suspended for having an affair with a patient. It was initially reported to the hospital, but the relationship was actually taking place while she was working here. The patient was Sara."
This news visibly floored the boys, who finally sank into the chairs that had been offered to them.
"Sara? You're serious?" Warrick gasped, even though it was clear from their sombre expressions that nobody was kidding around here.
Nick was sitting forward, his elbow resting on his knee, propping his head up.
"How long has this been going on?" He demanded, an edge beginning to form in his Texan accent.
"For a while." Grissom answered ambiguously, slinking into his own seat behind the desk, while Ecklie continued to loiter over his shoulder. "Sara started seeing her professionally a few months ago, the relationship started a few weeks later. It had already ended by the time Bell was reported to the hospital."
"And this woman, she's the one who attacked Greg?" Warrick clarified. "Why?"
"She thought Greg was the person who reported her for taking advantage of Sara."
"Wait a minute." Nick's head shot up. "Greg knew about this? About Sara and this ... this counsellor woman having a thing?"
"Yes." Grissom cleared his throat, sharing an uncomfortable look with his boss. "And it turns out he's not the only one."
Taking the hint, Ecklie stepped up to plate. He had agreed to break this part of the news to the guys, in an attempt to spare Grissom from becoming the target of their anger if things went south at this point.
"Catherine has also been aware of this for some time." He explained, watching their reactions carefully. Shock; a little disappointment on Warrick's face, perhaps. Something harder on Nick's. "And since she failed to follow protocol in reporting the matter, the decision has been taken to demote her, effective immediately."
"You're saying that Catherine let this happen?" Nick asked, his cheeks beginning to turn pink with anger at the very idea.
"No, not at all." Grissom scowled, quick to jump to the defence of his old friend. "She was trying to help Sara, in her own way."
"Unfortunately," Ecklie interjected coolly. "It was the wrong way. Had she followed the proper procedures, Sanders might not be in hospital right now."
The boys exchanged an awkward look between them, neither wanting to voice the obvious question that was burning on both their tongues. Finally, Warrick sucked up his courage and cleared his throat.
"So, who's our new supervisor?"
"I am." Grissom declared.
"You will both be moving back to Grave, under Grissom's supervision, along with Catherine." Ecklie explained. "We're going to advertise to cover swing and in the meantime, Grave and Days can split their cases."
To Grissom's relief, the guys seemed satisfied enough with this arrangement, pleased even; although Nick continued to fidget in his seat.
"Where's Sara now?" He asked, his brown orbs softening at the utterance of his colleague's name.
"She's at the hospital with Greg. She's asked to take a couple of days off."
"What about Catherine?" Warrick chimed in.
"She had something to deal with regarding Lindsey." Grissom checked his watch. "But that was a few hours ago. I guess she's at home."
"Okay." Ecklie smiled tightly, pressing his hands together. "Well, that's all we had to tell you right now. I'll be in touch regarding the changes to your contracts and I'm sure Grissom will keep you in the loop regarding the investigation if there are anymore developments."
Realising that they were being dismissed, they both stood up and sloped back into the hall, leaving the bosses to dissect how the conversation had gone.
"Wow." Nick exhaled once they were out of earshot, dragging a hand over his shaved head.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Warrick hummed absently, his mind elsewhere.
"Can you believe that Catherine knew about this and didn't say a word?" Nicky continued, huffing indignantly. "I mean, why the hell wouldn't she..."
"Hey, can we catch up later," Warrick cut him off, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "I got something I gotta do."
Nick watched him walk away, a scowl settling on his face.
"Yeah, yeah okay." He called to his mate's retreating back, raising his voice. "I'll call you later, yeah?!"
x X x
She looked so pathetic, it was hard not to feel sorry for her.
He hadn't bought Grissom's explanation of where she was, and he suspected the supervisor didn't really believe it himself either.
But Gil wouldn't have known where to start looking for her.
"You think that'll help?" He asked, sliding onto the stool beside her and gesturing to the drink clasped in her hands.
She blinked, glancing over her shoulder to check he was alone.
"What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you." He answered easily, gesturing to the bartender to bring him a whiskey.
Catherine exhaled, shaking her head slowly.
"I take it you heard?"
"Yeah, Ecklie and Grissom filled us in." He agreed, accepting his drink and sliding a note across the bar to pay for it.
"I don't know how this happened." She closed her eyes against the tears threatening to fall. "It's all such a mess."
"Yeah, it sure seems that way." He sighed, snaking an arm around her back. "Why didn't you tell us once you knew what was going on between Sara and this woman?"
"Sara begged me not to." She answered with a small shrug, dragging her fingertip around the rim of her glass in slow, rhythmic circles. "The relationship was already over; I didn't think there was any need to make it public knowledge. I mean, I knew that Belinda wanted to get back together with Sara, but I never thought she would escalate to this..."
A frown embedded itself on Warrick's face, but he let the comment slide for now. There was obviously still a lot that he and Nick didn't know about this situation; but since it had been going on for several months, he supposed that made sense.
And given Catherine's current emotional state and Greg's injuries, now was hardly the time to start pumping either of them for more details.
"Why don't I take you home?" He offered instead. "You can spend some time with Lindsey and try to put this out of your mind for a little while."
"Lindsey isn't speaking to me." She sniffed.
"Why not?"
"You know she got suspended a while back for fighting?" She propped her head up on the bar, swirling her straw around the near-empty glass. "I found out today that she wasn't fighting at all – she was trying to defend another girl, who was being picked on for being gay."
"Well, surely that's a good thing?" Warrick asked. "She was trying to do something nice for someone else?"
"Of course it is!" Cath agreed, her words beginning to slur as the alcohol settled into her bloodstream. "And I've been punishing her for it because I never bothered to give her chance to explain it to me. I just assumed she was in the wrong."
"Ah." He realised where the issue of contention was. "So she's feeling vindicated and you're the bad guy."
Catherine chuckled bitterly, draining the last of her drink and nudging the glass away.
"Aren't I always?"
