A/N: Sorry it's taken this long, thanks for sticking with it!

*****

Some Truths and a Cat

*****

Charisma collapsed on her bed, and just laid like that for a while. 'Oh my God! I kissed him. Why did I kiss him?' She smiled though, it had been nice, and his lips-

DING-DONG!!!

Charisma looked at her bedside clock, 7:15. "Ugh! They're early." She got up and walked down her staircase that split in two as you neared the bottom. She crossed the huge foyer to the door and opened it. "Hey guys, your-"

A delivery-man stood on her stoop, "Hello Miss, is there a," he looked down at his clip-board, "a Miss Charisma Chase that lives here?"

She nodded, "Uh, yeah! That's me."

He handed over the clipboard and pointed to a dotted line, "Sign here please."

She took the board and signed it with the pen attached to it, "Here you go."

"Thanks! And here, these are for you," he said handing over a box that was wrapped in lavender paper. "Have a great day!" And with that he left.

"You too!" She called out while she closed the door.

She went into her lavishly decorated living room and sat on a couch. She tore open the wrapping to find a box filled with roses, the shade of blood. She quirked an eyebrow. Secret admirer?

She saw a card and read it: Go out with me tomorrow at 8:00. Meet me at the old park near the school. Love Jasper

She gagged. 'EUW! Jasper asked me out?! That's sooo nasty!' She thought as she all but ran to her kitchen and dumped the roses into the trash with last night's fish. "I mean he has the worst hair, greasy with gel and other things I dare not guess. Yuck!!!" She shuddered and looked at the clock, 7:23. "Just enough time to take a bath before Gary and Chels get here."

*****

"Hi! Is Cat there?"

"Nooo. Char? Is that you?"

Charisma smiled, "Yep. Look, can you have Cat call me back when she gets home?"

"Yeah sure. It's great hearing from ya, and I'll make sure she knows you called."

"Thanks, bye!"

"Bye!"

Charisma hung up the phone right when the doorbell rang. Charisma got up and answered it; it was Chelsie and Gary. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Char!" Gary grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "Yo, we come bearing food!"

Charisma then noticed the box of pizza that Gary was holding. "Gary, give me that before you drop it," Chelsie laughed as Gary almost dropped the box. She took the box from him as his arms wound themselves around her waist. Chelsie turned to her and said, "Your room?"

Charisma took the box from Chelsie, and led the way to her room, which was the size of her living room, almost. Gary took in the room and whistled, "Damn girl, you are rich." Then, more to himself than anyone else in the room, "Why are all my girlfriends rich?"

Charisma smiled, "So you can spend the night at what seems like a 5 star hotel!"

"Hey! Anything would beat staying at my house, where the yelling never stops." Gary's parents weren't the happiest couple. Since Chelsie and Gary met, he would spend the night at her house more often than he would sleep at home. He could stand the yelling and the fighting and then the loud make-up sex afterwards for a while, but when it got to be too much he went to Chelsie's house.

They put the box on the floor and sat around it. They stayed like that for a while, eating pizza and talking about nothing. Then came the moment that Charisma had been waiting for all night, "What's the real reason you guys came over tonight? Does it have to do with Gil? And if it does, why?"

The smiles that had been on their two faces disappeared, but were quickly replaced by anger and. Fear? Charisma wondered what could possibly be scary about Gil? 'I mean besides that he's a little odd in the way he thinks,' she thought.

Gary looked her in the eye and said; "Don't hang out with him ok? He's bad news." Then he held up a finger to stop her from speaking, "And before you ask, cause I know you will, I don't agree with him getting shit knocked out of him on a regular basis."

"So, it has been going on for a while now?" At their nods, she looked at Chelsie and said, "So, why don't you help him? I mean you guys use to be friends right? And don't lie, I saw the picture of you, him, Rebecca and I guess your old boyfriend, Joey."

Chelsie paled visibly at the name, "Oh God, how do you know?" Then it dawned on her, "You went in his house. Alone?!" She stood up and ran out of the room.

Charisma got up to follow her but Gary grabbed her arm, "Gary! Let go!"

"No!" She stopped struggling as she heard the front door open and slam shut, "Go to the Library and look in the newspapers. Look under May and June of 1971. And you'll see why you shouldn't hang out with him."

And with that, he left her standing there, by her bedroom door, as he slammed the front door.

*****

Gil nudged his foot into the dirt and kicked at it. He had been thinking about way to many things since Charisma had kissed him and then Billy had had to come over and drop another case in his lap. Damn him for making it worse! Another German Shepard owner had died exactly like the other three had almost five months ago. Gil was going to go in early tomorrow for the autopsy of the dog, he doubted it was different from the other three either. An ice pick to the stomach, it was always the same. Gil ran a hand through his short-curly hair.

"Ow!" He had gone through a knot. He hated having curly hair sometimes; it was always knotty.

He called over to the side of the house, "Hey, Cheyenne? Come here girl!" A huge mutt came pouncing over to him. He took her huge black head and scratched her behind the ears. "How's my girl? Good I hope?"

He stopped suddenly when a small tapping sound reached his ears. He pushed the dog off of him and jumped off the table he had been sitting on, and cautiously crossed over to the side of the house that the sound had been coming from. He reached the back gate and peered over the edge. A smile reached his face as he saw the familiar auburn haired.

"Hey! Char-"

A small squeak erupted from Charisma's throat and she launched one of the pebbles in her hand at his face. It caught him in the eye, "Shit!"

"Oh God! I'm sooo sorry Gil!" She ran to the gate and swung it open. She found him on his knees with the heel of his hand pressed to his eye, he was mumbling.

"Ow, ow, ow! Jesus, Chari!" He looked at her, blinking only one of his eyes in rapid possession, "That hurt- Hey! What are you laughin' about?!"

Charisma had fallen on her knees beside him, laughing her ass off. She gained control long enough to look at him; he stared back at her, one eye was twitching. She burst out laughing again. He glared at her as she clutched her side to catch her breath. "Your eye. It was . . . It was twitching! It was hilarious!" She managed to gasp out. He looked at her flushed face and started to giggle.

All of a sudden, Gil flew forward as something jumped on his back. It was Cheyenne. Having been knocked of breath, Gil gasped, "Jeez, dog! God, you're heavy."

Recovering from another laugh attack, Charisma said, "Ahhh, she's so cute and huge!" Cheyenne lifted herself off of Gil's back and shoulders and padded over to Charisma. Charisma took in the huge dog with wide eyes. She was absolutely beautiful; entirely black, with one white spot on the back of both her ears, a white heart-shape on her chest, and the most striking ice-blue eyes. "She's gorgeous Gil . . . Is she Husky?"

He slowly shook his head as he said, "Yeah." Charisma giggled. "She's half -German and half-Husky. She's only about a year and half old but she's already fully grown." He smiled and added, "Though as you can see she still thinks she's a puppy and the size of one too."

Cheyenne licked Charisma's cheek then went over to Gil and laid beside him, laying her head on his leg. "So, why are you here?"

Charisma's smile vanished and she looked down at her hands. "I, uh, I came because I wanted to ask if something was true."

Gil, a little bit worried about her tone and actions said, "Sure, go ahead."

"Did you really kill Joey Garcia?" Her eyes met his and pleaded for the answer to be no.

He quickly stood up and his hands went to his hair, tangling themselves in the curly mass, "Look, the thing with Joey, you gotta understand-"

"Just answer the question!" she yelled as she stood up.

He stopped pacing and looked at her, "I might as well have."

"What?" She crossed over to him, "What do you mean 'I might as well have'?"

"Here, let's sit down." He led them over to the picnic table he had been sitting on and perched himself on the table, while Charisma took one of the seats. "It was a bet I had made with him; my bet killed him." She was about to interrupt but he stopped her, "No, let me tell you without interruptions . . .Please?" She nodded and he continued.

"I used to race bikes, dirt bikes."

'Ah, that's why he had that helmet,' Charisma thought, then turned back to his explanation.

"I was good, but then again, I had started when I was twelve," he smiled, "my brother had taught me. I could do about any trick and I was fearless on all jumps. I'd hug tight turns as if they were made for me, and I landed jumps about as perfectly as you could." The smile was slowly fading, "Joey and I were always competing to see who was the best. I usually won but it made no difference, we still were friends. It was friendly competition.

"And here's where the bet came in. It wasn't really my bet, it was his, but I was foolish enough to take it. There was this course that was the hardest I'd ever ridden. I could ride it but barely." He sucked in a ragged breath; she thought he was about to cry but there were no tears in his eyes. "The bet was a hundred dollars to who ever won, and the track was going to be that course. When I found out which one he had planned for us, I begged him to back out. We could make a draw.

"I didn't back out and neither did he. My own foolish pride is what got him killed," he put his head in one hand and continued. "The first round was good, all went well. But on the second round I noticed the bridge that was in the middle of the course gave in a lot when I went over it. I knew it wouldn't last another round of racing. I started to slow down and gave Rebecca and Chelsie the sign that meant that we couldn't go on, the course was dangerous. They signaled to Joey but he didn't see or he ignored it.

"I started to slow down as I neared the finish line but Joey zoomed past me, I figured just to be cocky. That he was showing off to his girlfriend, Chelsie. But he didn't even slow down as he crossed that finish line, he actually sped up. When I saw he had no intention of stopping the race, I pushed my bike to its limit. I had never gone that fast. I never slowed down, even on the bumps; I had to get to him before he got to that bridge. When we were about twenty-five yards away from each other I tried signally him by yelling but I knew it was futile, I could barely hear myself over the roar of my engine." His free hand balled into a fist, "I saw him go through the wood as he went over the bridge. I saw the dust and the dirt cloud the air around where he had fallen through. I was never going to be able to stop my bike in time by using the brakes, so I fell to the side and skidded to a stop, less than a yard away from the hole." He winced, "I was pinned beneath my bike and the bridge collapsed from under me. I had four broken ribs, a broken leg and a concussion. I was in the hospital for three days. Joey died instantly."

He sighed, "So you see, I did kill him in a way . . ." He took a shaky breath, like he was about to cry but, once again, there were no tears in his eyes. He looked at her and cocked his head, "Who ever told you was right, I did kill him."

She just stared at him and then blew-up, "What the fuck? I'm going to kill them!"

He looked at her and looked over to her, "Who?"

"Chelsie! Gary! I can't believe they think you killed him!"

"I did!"

Charisma sucked in a breath, the anger at her friends disappearing as fast as it had arrived. She looked at him. His head was down and he was taking ragged breaths, she could not believe that he could think it was his fault. She had heard him say it before but the way he said this time had sounded so . . . She didn't know, but it had caused her heart to break for him. She put a hand on his chin and gently made him meet her gaze.

"Listen up Gil Grissom. It was not your fault; it was an accident, pure accident. It wasn't your fault that the bridge was rotting out from under you and it was not your fault that he didn't see the signal to stop; nor was it his for that matter. And it was certainly not your fault the bridge collapsed from under him."

She pulled him down into a hug and whispered, "It was just an accident Gil. It wasn't anybody's fault . . . It just happened."

*****

Charisma walked into her house and was greeted by Sheri Smith, the Chases' maid. Charisma let a long sigh.

Sheri nodded, "I'm afraid so."

"When are they coming back?" Charisma closed the door and leaned up against it.

"Your dad, Tuesday. Your mom, either Sunday or Monday."

Charisma pushed off the door and crossed over to the stairs, "Who is it this time? Kevin, Jack, or Jeff?"

"I think it was Jeff . . . I'm sorry Chari."

"Yeah, me too." She started to climb the stairs; "I'll be in my room if you need me!"

"Uh, Charisma???" Charisma looked down at the maid, she was smiling, "Who were you with?"

"Ah, a boy."

"Who and what's he like?"

"He's a rich jock, who's 21," she smiled and added cheerfully, "oh, and he's pimply and a nasty pervert, right up my alley."

Sheri laughed and said, "Meaning, he's a not rich geek, who's probably 18, smooth skin and he's a gentleman. Wow, you're right, he's not the typical guy you like!"

Charisma smiled and nodded, she started walking down to her room, "You worry more than my parents do!"

"Yeah well, be grateful!"

Charisma closed her door and said to herself, "Dammit! I hate my parents!"

Charisma's parents were like strangers to her. They never asked her about school, just if she passing or not. They never talked to her about anything except for, 'Honey, how much money do you need?' And what's worse was that her mom was affairs with three guys that she didn't even try to hide from her father, he was never home, why hide?

Sheri was like her sister, though. When Charisma had met her, they had immediately become friends. She was a little older than her and had been a maid since she was nine; her mother had been one too. Though Sheri only came in on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays. Or when her parents were going to be away for a while.

Charisma's head shot up when the phone rang. She crossed the room to her bed and looked at the clock, 10:57. Whoa, she hadn't realized she had been with Gil for over an hour and half. She sat on her bed and picked up the phone wondering who would be calling at this time of the night. "Hello?"

"Hey Ri? Guess who?"

Charisma smiled, "Hey Cat! What's up?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. I called as soon as Nancy told me. So, what's up with you?"

"A guy."

*****

"Why should I care if they hurt you

Somehow it matters more to me

Than if I were hurting myself

Save you (save you)

I'll save you

Give unto me your troubles

I'll endure your suffering

Place onto me your burden

I'll drink your deadly poison"

'Give Unto Me' by Evanescence

*****

Ok, I hope you enjoyed it. And I'm sorry it took so long to get it up, it's been hectic lately. The next part should be here within the next 24 hrs! And thanks for all the reviews . . . Now tell me what you think of this chap.