FINDING PEACE
By: The Madhatter
Chapter 5 (out of 6): Healing
See first chapter for further details.
A/N: Great reviews! Thanks so much! There's only one more chapter after this. obviously. :P Hope you enjoy this.
Catherine Willows sighed and stretched out on her couch, waiting for her daughter to arrive from school. Lindsey normally carpooled with her best friend, since Catherine was never sure if she would be able to get off of work early enough to pick her up. Besides, Lindsey's best friend only lived a few blocks away. As if on cue, a loud rapping noise echoed through the house. Lindsey was home.
"Hey, sweetie!" Catherine greeted, hugging her daughter.
"Hi, Mommy! Mommy, Liz said I could sleep over tomorrow, can I, can I, can I?"
She smiled and ran her hand through her daughter's hair. "I don't know, sweetheart. Let me go ask Liz's mom, okay?" She walked over to the idle car in front of her driveway and greeted Liz's mother. "Hello, Mrs. Green. Is it okay if Lindsey can stay over tomorrow?"
Mrs. Green smiled. "Of course, Catherine. And please, call me Martha. You don't have to be formal all the time."
"Sorry, bad job habit."
She laughed. "Yeah. So, we'll just take Lindsey to our house right after school, if that's okay with you?"
"Sure, it's perfect. I'll make sure Lindsey has everything she needs. Thanks, Martha."
"No problem, Catherine. Take care!" She zoomed off.
"C'mon, Lindsey, let's go inside. You hungry?"
"Yeah!" Lindsey ran inside and found her favorite sandwich sitting on the table-peanut butter and jelly. "You're the best, Mom!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of food.
Catherine smiled at her little girl, stuffing her face with food. Leaning her head on one hand, the other ran through the blonde hair of her daughter's. "How was school today?"
A wide smile split on her angelic face. "It was great!" And she rattled on about her day with her best friend, Liz. Catherine listened intently as Lindsey went on and on. To her, there was nothing better in the world.
When Lindsey was done telling her day to her mother, she exclaimed, "Oh! Look what I made you, Mommy!" She reached into her backpack and pulled out a white sheet of construction paper with a bright yellow smilie face drawn on it and the word "Smile!" written at the bottom. "I thought this might cheer you up a bit."
Catherine smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart. It's very pretty. I'll hang it up on the refrigerator so when I go to the kitchen I'll think of you and smile."
"But why were you sad, Mom? What happened?"
Her shoulders slumped and sighed. "I. did something stupid. and it hurt some people." The look of confusion on Lindsey's face prompted her to explain further. "I. Remember when we visited Greg in the hospital. did you ever wonder how he got there?"
"No."
"Well, it was because of me." Lindsey flinched, her eyes wide and jaw dropped. Her mother? What? How? "I. did something stupid and made the lab blow up. and Greg. well. he's in the hospital."
"What? Mom, what-how did-Greg?"
She laughed bitterly. "I don't know, sweetheart. One minute the lab was there, the next it was in shambles. I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never done anything like that before. I've never been that clumsy. What the hell is wrong with me?!" She screamed, pounding her fist on the table.
Lindsey jumped and nearly fell out of her chair. Her mom never lost her temper like that. Never. She stared wide-eyed at the blond woman next to her, briefly wondering if this was her real mother and not the one zapped down to earth by aliens, like the boy sitting next to her in class today said.
She considered running to her room and just let her mom vent out all her anger and frustration, but when Catherine laid her head on her arms, those thoughts quickly dissipated. Lindsey needed to be there for her mother.
Slowly placing an arm around Catherine's shoulders, Lindsey sat down next to her and leaned her head against her mom's. "It's okay, Mom. Everything'll be all right."
"Everything's fallen apart since Eddie died," Catherine mumbled. "I thought I was finally rid of him. and he just shakes up my world again."
"I miss Daddy, too."
Catherine looked into her daughter's face and found how reversed the roles were here. Lindsey, her daughter, was the one comforting her, when she should be the one comforting Lindsey. She was growing up so fast. "I do too. I do too."
"Did you ever find out who. who hurt Daddy?"
"No," Catherine replied, staring at the table. "Nothing."
"I miss Daddy, but I like staying with you, Mommy. Daddy's fun and all. but you smell better and nicer."
She laughed. "Smell better? I would hope so!"
"Yeah, 'cause Dad smells like smoke. I don't like that smell." Lindsey emphasized this by wrinkling her nose. "It's gross."
"Tell you what, how about we go to the park or the mall and just get out of here? I'm bored at home. What do you say?"
Lindsey's face lit up. "Yeah!"
Within fifteen minutes, they arrived at the mall. Both mother and daughter went around the mall just enjoying the time together, since it was very rare. They went around to the different stores and bought some clothes and a new pair of shoes for Lindsey. Once all the shopping was done, they bought some ice cream from Dairy Queen. Lindsey told her mom more stories from school, while Catherine listened eagerly to the young girl sitting across from her.
By the time they arrived back home, both women were exhausted from the shopping. Catherine was sad that this was her last day of suspension and the last time she'd be able to spend a whole day with her daughter, yet delighted at the fact that she would be going back to work the next day. She sent Lindsey to the shower, while she slumped on the couch and propped up her aching feet on the coffee table. Life was great right now. The little trip had taken both her mind and Lindsey's mind off of Eddie's death. It served as the perfect distraction.
"Tired, Mom?" Lindsey asked, coming out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas and drying her hair.
"You bet. I haven't gone shopping like that since I was a kid."
"Today's your last day, isn't it?" The little girl asked, a trace of disappointment in her voice.
Catherine nodded. "You know, if I don't work, we won't have money to go shopping like that again! Don't worry, I promise we'll go shopping once I've saved some money up, okay?"
Lindsey smiled a bit. "Okay, Mommy. As long as I can get that Barbie next time!"
The older woman was beat. Lindsey sure knew how to strike up a deal. "Okay, okay. You'll get that Beach Barbie that you've always wanted. How about we watch a movie?"
"Monster's Inc?"
"Sure, honey. Put it in."
Lindsey grabbed the Monster's Inc. DVD and popped it in, and then joined her mom on the couch. By the time the movie was one fourth of the way through, Lindsey fell asleep with her head on Catherine's shoulder. Catherine smiled at the little girl beside her. She turned off the movie and slowly placed her down on the couch and tucked her in.
"Goodnight, Lindsey," she whispered to the sleeping beauty.
Catherine shut off all the lights and headed toward to her room. As long as Lindsey and she had each other, they would be able to get through everything. They had each other's support, which was the first step to the healing process. And that was more than enough for Catherine.
By: The Madhatter
Chapter 5 (out of 6): Healing
See first chapter for further details.
A/N: Great reviews! Thanks so much! There's only one more chapter after this. obviously. :P Hope you enjoy this.
Catherine Willows sighed and stretched out on her couch, waiting for her daughter to arrive from school. Lindsey normally carpooled with her best friend, since Catherine was never sure if she would be able to get off of work early enough to pick her up. Besides, Lindsey's best friend only lived a few blocks away. As if on cue, a loud rapping noise echoed through the house. Lindsey was home.
"Hey, sweetie!" Catherine greeted, hugging her daughter.
"Hi, Mommy! Mommy, Liz said I could sleep over tomorrow, can I, can I, can I?"
She smiled and ran her hand through her daughter's hair. "I don't know, sweetheart. Let me go ask Liz's mom, okay?" She walked over to the idle car in front of her driveway and greeted Liz's mother. "Hello, Mrs. Green. Is it okay if Lindsey can stay over tomorrow?"
Mrs. Green smiled. "Of course, Catherine. And please, call me Martha. You don't have to be formal all the time."
"Sorry, bad job habit."
She laughed. "Yeah. So, we'll just take Lindsey to our house right after school, if that's okay with you?"
"Sure, it's perfect. I'll make sure Lindsey has everything she needs. Thanks, Martha."
"No problem, Catherine. Take care!" She zoomed off.
"C'mon, Lindsey, let's go inside. You hungry?"
"Yeah!" Lindsey ran inside and found her favorite sandwich sitting on the table-peanut butter and jelly. "You're the best, Mom!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of food.
Catherine smiled at her little girl, stuffing her face with food. Leaning her head on one hand, the other ran through the blonde hair of her daughter's. "How was school today?"
A wide smile split on her angelic face. "It was great!" And she rattled on about her day with her best friend, Liz. Catherine listened intently as Lindsey went on and on. To her, there was nothing better in the world.
When Lindsey was done telling her day to her mother, she exclaimed, "Oh! Look what I made you, Mommy!" She reached into her backpack and pulled out a white sheet of construction paper with a bright yellow smilie face drawn on it and the word "Smile!" written at the bottom. "I thought this might cheer you up a bit."
Catherine smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart. It's very pretty. I'll hang it up on the refrigerator so when I go to the kitchen I'll think of you and smile."
"But why were you sad, Mom? What happened?"
Her shoulders slumped and sighed. "I. did something stupid. and it hurt some people." The look of confusion on Lindsey's face prompted her to explain further. "I. Remember when we visited Greg in the hospital. did you ever wonder how he got there?"
"No."
"Well, it was because of me." Lindsey flinched, her eyes wide and jaw dropped. Her mother? What? How? "I. did something stupid and made the lab blow up. and Greg. well. he's in the hospital."
"What? Mom, what-how did-Greg?"
She laughed bitterly. "I don't know, sweetheart. One minute the lab was there, the next it was in shambles. I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never done anything like that before. I've never been that clumsy. What the hell is wrong with me?!" She screamed, pounding her fist on the table.
Lindsey jumped and nearly fell out of her chair. Her mom never lost her temper like that. Never. She stared wide-eyed at the blond woman next to her, briefly wondering if this was her real mother and not the one zapped down to earth by aliens, like the boy sitting next to her in class today said.
She considered running to her room and just let her mom vent out all her anger and frustration, but when Catherine laid her head on her arms, those thoughts quickly dissipated. Lindsey needed to be there for her mother.
Slowly placing an arm around Catherine's shoulders, Lindsey sat down next to her and leaned her head against her mom's. "It's okay, Mom. Everything'll be all right."
"Everything's fallen apart since Eddie died," Catherine mumbled. "I thought I was finally rid of him. and he just shakes up my world again."
"I miss Daddy, too."
Catherine looked into her daughter's face and found how reversed the roles were here. Lindsey, her daughter, was the one comforting her, when she should be the one comforting Lindsey. She was growing up so fast. "I do too. I do too."
"Did you ever find out who. who hurt Daddy?"
"No," Catherine replied, staring at the table. "Nothing."
"I miss Daddy, but I like staying with you, Mommy. Daddy's fun and all. but you smell better and nicer."
She laughed. "Smell better? I would hope so!"
"Yeah, 'cause Dad smells like smoke. I don't like that smell." Lindsey emphasized this by wrinkling her nose. "It's gross."
"Tell you what, how about we go to the park or the mall and just get out of here? I'm bored at home. What do you say?"
Lindsey's face lit up. "Yeah!"
Within fifteen minutes, they arrived at the mall. Both mother and daughter went around the mall just enjoying the time together, since it was very rare. They went around to the different stores and bought some clothes and a new pair of shoes for Lindsey. Once all the shopping was done, they bought some ice cream from Dairy Queen. Lindsey told her mom more stories from school, while Catherine listened eagerly to the young girl sitting across from her.
By the time they arrived back home, both women were exhausted from the shopping. Catherine was sad that this was her last day of suspension and the last time she'd be able to spend a whole day with her daughter, yet delighted at the fact that she would be going back to work the next day. She sent Lindsey to the shower, while she slumped on the couch and propped up her aching feet on the coffee table. Life was great right now. The little trip had taken both her mind and Lindsey's mind off of Eddie's death. It served as the perfect distraction.
"Tired, Mom?" Lindsey asked, coming out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas and drying her hair.
"You bet. I haven't gone shopping like that since I was a kid."
"Today's your last day, isn't it?" The little girl asked, a trace of disappointment in her voice.
Catherine nodded. "You know, if I don't work, we won't have money to go shopping like that again! Don't worry, I promise we'll go shopping once I've saved some money up, okay?"
Lindsey smiled a bit. "Okay, Mommy. As long as I can get that Barbie next time!"
The older woman was beat. Lindsey sure knew how to strike up a deal. "Okay, okay. You'll get that Beach Barbie that you've always wanted. How about we watch a movie?"
"Monster's Inc?"
"Sure, honey. Put it in."
Lindsey grabbed the Monster's Inc. DVD and popped it in, and then joined her mom on the couch. By the time the movie was one fourth of the way through, Lindsey fell asleep with her head on Catherine's shoulder. Catherine smiled at the little girl beside her. She turned off the movie and slowly placed her down on the couch and tucked her in.
"Goodnight, Lindsey," she whispered to the sleeping beauty.
Catherine shut off all the lights and headed toward to her room. As long as Lindsey and she had each other, they would be able to get through everything. They had each other's support, which was the first step to the healing process. And that was more than enough for Catherine.