Part VI: Softball
Grissom almost slammed the brakes on as the impact of the question hit him. Just like her mother, she didn't waste much time getting to what was on her mind. He pulled the car to a stop at the intersection. What was he going to say? Tell her the truth? Try and hide his feelings behind some archaic saying or quote?
Lindsey looked at her mom's best friend waiting for an answer. He almost looked scared when she first asked the question. The silence between them stretched on for several minutes.
By the time they pulled into his driveway he had reached a decision. He would tell her the truth. Maybe it would help him find a way to tell Catherine. He still didn't know if the love he felt for Catherine was romantic or platonic, but he did love her that much he was sure of.
"Yeah, I do love your mom." He parked the car and stepped out. Lindsey followed suit, partially hoping for him to say more. Grissom took Lindsey's hand and knelt before her. "I love both you and your mom, Lindsey, but I don't know how to tell either of you."
Lindsey looked at the older man then hugged him tightly. She whispered in his ear, "The same way mommy tells me that she loves me." She released him and they walked into his townhouse hand-in-hand.
The first thing that stood out for Lindsey as they entered the building was the sheer whiteness of it all. The living room was sparse yet cluttered at the same time. She wordlessly went to the couch and sat down, pulling a thin paperback book from her windbreaker. She never understood why her mom insisted that she wear one, but she did and eventually found it useful to carry things like books around.
Grissom was about to suggest something for her to do while he took a quick shower, but stopped short as he watched her sit down to read after looking around for a little bit. Lindsey reminded him of Catherine. She had a directness about her, but she was also curious. Catherine didn't have to worry about how she would turn out; Lindsey would grow up to be like her mom: self-confident, good with people, intelligent, and beautiful. Bringing himself back to the present, he quickly strode to his bedroom to gather some clothes to change into and went to shower.
Ten minutes later he came out refreshed and found Lindsey looking at his butterfly collection. He watched as she gently touched the glass as she examined each butterfly. She traced the outline of one of the larger specimens before a picture of her mom caught her attention.
She stood up on her tiptoes and reached for the photograph. Once the picture was firmly in her grasp she pulled it off the shelf and stared at it. Her mom and Grissom were smiling. Both had baseball caps on, his was on backwards, and both were wearing shirts that read "Night Shift. LV Crime Lab."
Grissom's voice startled Lindsey, "That was taken during the softball game against day shift about three years ago." Lindsey turned around, face slightly red at being caught snooping. Grissom sat down and motioned for her to join him. When she settled next to him, he continued to explain the picture in her hands. "Your mom won the game for us actually. This was taken shortly after she crossed home plate."
~Flashback~
It was the bottom of the third inning, two runners on, one strike and two balls. The day shift team was leading, the score three to two. Grissom was on second and Greg was on first. Catherine was on deck waiting for her turn at bat. Ecklie pitched the ball twice more; both were called balls.
Nick winked at Catherine conspiratorially as he walked to his spot at first base. The bases were now loaded. Catherine had already shown the opposing team that she could hit the ball deep, even though it had been caught on the fly. No one knew this, not even Grissom, but when the bases were loaded, she was the most dangerous. She smirked as she stepped into the batter's box.
Ecklie started to feel a little uneasy. His team had come back from a two run deficit and now the senior ranking woman from night shift was standing and smiling like she knew something he didn't. He wiped his hands on his pants and pitched.
Ball one. Catherine watched as the ball bounced before the plate. 'Tsk, tsk. Ecklie's getting sloppy,' she thought. The next pitch was to the outside and too low; ball two. Everyone had done what she wanted. Before she left Montana at sixteen, she was known as "Lucky Cat" in her high school. Somehow she would always pull some near impossible feat during a game. Although it had been years since she last played, her instincts were still sharp as ever.
Strike one. 'Oops. Need to focus here.' Catherine stepped outside the box and looked over the field. Bases were loaded. Grissom was staring intently at her. The Day shift team was hanging out in the middle of their respective positions; no one was back deep. Nick and Greg took their lead off positions as she stepped back in the box.
The next pitch came just where she wanted it and she swung. The ball floated up and she ran full speed. The ball soared over everyone's head as she rounded first base. Grissom and Greg had already crossed home. Nick was half way to home when Ecklie threw his glove down on the mound as he watched the ball soar past the fence line and land somewhere in the parking lot.
'At least I didn't hit a car this time.' Catherine crossed home plate smiling. Everything went according to the unknown plan that she had. Grissom hugged her showing a rare full smile. Doc Robbins who was acting as head coach that year took the picture at that point. Night Shift went on to crush the day shift 14-3.
~End Flashback~
"I like this picture," Lindsey said when Grissom finished describing the turning point of the softball game. He looked at her as she touched the glass. "You're both happy."
"Yeah, it's one of my favorite moments with your mom." Grissom looked at his watch. They needed to get going. "I need to make a phone call, then we'll head on back to wake your mother."
"Okay." Lindsey climbed off the sofa and put the photograph back to where it belonged and waited for him to finish making his call.
"Warrick? Yeah, listen. You're in charge tonight. No, no, everything's fine, I'm going to make sure she follows the doctor's orders, but I'll be on call. Okay. Call me if things get busy. Yeah, I'll be over at Catherine's. Night, Warrick." He did it. For the first time in years he voluntarily put himself on call for a shift.
Grissom almost slammed the brakes on as the impact of the question hit him. Just like her mother, she didn't waste much time getting to what was on her mind. He pulled the car to a stop at the intersection. What was he going to say? Tell her the truth? Try and hide his feelings behind some archaic saying or quote?
Lindsey looked at her mom's best friend waiting for an answer. He almost looked scared when she first asked the question. The silence between them stretched on for several minutes.
By the time they pulled into his driveway he had reached a decision. He would tell her the truth. Maybe it would help him find a way to tell Catherine. He still didn't know if the love he felt for Catherine was romantic or platonic, but he did love her that much he was sure of.
"Yeah, I do love your mom." He parked the car and stepped out. Lindsey followed suit, partially hoping for him to say more. Grissom took Lindsey's hand and knelt before her. "I love both you and your mom, Lindsey, but I don't know how to tell either of you."
Lindsey looked at the older man then hugged him tightly. She whispered in his ear, "The same way mommy tells me that she loves me." She released him and they walked into his townhouse hand-in-hand.
The first thing that stood out for Lindsey as they entered the building was the sheer whiteness of it all. The living room was sparse yet cluttered at the same time. She wordlessly went to the couch and sat down, pulling a thin paperback book from her windbreaker. She never understood why her mom insisted that she wear one, but she did and eventually found it useful to carry things like books around.
Grissom was about to suggest something for her to do while he took a quick shower, but stopped short as he watched her sit down to read after looking around for a little bit. Lindsey reminded him of Catherine. She had a directness about her, but she was also curious. Catherine didn't have to worry about how she would turn out; Lindsey would grow up to be like her mom: self-confident, good with people, intelligent, and beautiful. Bringing himself back to the present, he quickly strode to his bedroom to gather some clothes to change into and went to shower.
Ten minutes later he came out refreshed and found Lindsey looking at his butterfly collection. He watched as she gently touched the glass as she examined each butterfly. She traced the outline of one of the larger specimens before a picture of her mom caught her attention.
She stood up on her tiptoes and reached for the photograph. Once the picture was firmly in her grasp she pulled it off the shelf and stared at it. Her mom and Grissom were smiling. Both had baseball caps on, his was on backwards, and both were wearing shirts that read "Night Shift. LV Crime Lab."
Grissom's voice startled Lindsey, "That was taken during the softball game against day shift about three years ago." Lindsey turned around, face slightly red at being caught snooping. Grissom sat down and motioned for her to join him. When she settled next to him, he continued to explain the picture in her hands. "Your mom won the game for us actually. This was taken shortly after she crossed home plate."
~Flashback~
It was the bottom of the third inning, two runners on, one strike and two balls. The day shift team was leading, the score three to two. Grissom was on second and Greg was on first. Catherine was on deck waiting for her turn at bat. Ecklie pitched the ball twice more; both were called balls.
Nick winked at Catherine conspiratorially as he walked to his spot at first base. The bases were now loaded. Catherine had already shown the opposing team that she could hit the ball deep, even though it had been caught on the fly. No one knew this, not even Grissom, but when the bases were loaded, she was the most dangerous. She smirked as she stepped into the batter's box.
Ecklie started to feel a little uneasy. His team had come back from a two run deficit and now the senior ranking woman from night shift was standing and smiling like she knew something he didn't. He wiped his hands on his pants and pitched.
Ball one. Catherine watched as the ball bounced before the plate. 'Tsk, tsk. Ecklie's getting sloppy,' she thought. The next pitch was to the outside and too low; ball two. Everyone had done what she wanted. Before she left Montana at sixteen, she was known as "Lucky Cat" in her high school. Somehow she would always pull some near impossible feat during a game. Although it had been years since she last played, her instincts were still sharp as ever.
Strike one. 'Oops. Need to focus here.' Catherine stepped outside the box and looked over the field. Bases were loaded. Grissom was staring intently at her. The Day shift team was hanging out in the middle of their respective positions; no one was back deep. Nick and Greg took their lead off positions as she stepped back in the box.
The next pitch came just where she wanted it and she swung. The ball floated up and she ran full speed. The ball soared over everyone's head as she rounded first base. Grissom and Greg had already crossed home. Nick was half way to home when Ecklie threw his glove down on the mound as he watched the ball soar past the fence line and land somewhere in the parking lot.
'At least I didn't hit a car this time.' Catherine crossed home plate smiling. Everything went according to the unknown plan that she had. Grissom hugged her showing a rare full smile. Doc Robbins who was acting as head coach that year took the picture at that point. Night Shift went on to crush the day shift 14-3.
~End Flashback~
"I like this picture," Lindsey said when Grissom finished describing the turning point of the softball game. He looked at her as she touched the glass. "You're both happy."
"Yeah, it's one of my favorite moments with your mom." Grissom looked at his watch. They needed to get going. "I need to make a phone call, then we'll head on back to wake your mother."
"Okay." Lindsey climbed off the sofa and put the photograph back to where it belonged and waited for him to finish making his call.
"Warrick? Yeah, listen. You're in charge tonight. No, no, everything's fine, I'm going to make sure she follows the doctor's orders, but I'll be on call. Okay. Call me if things get busy. Yeah, I'll be over at Catherine's. Night, Warrick." He did it. For the first time in years he voluntarily put himself on call for a shift.