Disclaimer: Not mine (as if that wasn't already known). Jerry Bruckheimer, CBS (who'd ever suspect *that* network would have a show in the top 10 let alone number 1), the cast, the crew, the writers, the directors, the caterers – these are the people that make CSI (but if they wish to share…..).
Rating: PG
Category: Post-ep, C/G friendship, UST
Spoilers: Cats in the Cradle
Author: Traci
A/N: I just watched 'Cats in the Cradle' and was dying at the end cause I'm like you know Catherine was very emotionally affected by the outcome of this ep… sooooo, in true, what were the writers' thinking I'm going to fix it, fashion… I wrote a post-ep J
The Cases That Never End
Grissom stepped aside as the mother ran out of the room to hold her crying, screaming daughter. The daughter who had killed over a cat.
He stood in the room and watched through the window as the girl continued to scream for her mother while her younger sister cried quietly in the chair beside her.
His eyes then fell upon Catherine and he immediately ran from the room.
A police officer was escorting the nearly nine-year-old girl out followed by the mother and sister. Grissom waited until the room was clear then stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
Slowly he walked over to Catherine whose back was towards him. "Catherine?" As she turned around Grissom froze at the site of his friend reduced not just to tears but to barely-able-to-breath sobs.
"Sh… she is the same age as… as Lindsey," she hiccupped. "How… she…"
Giving her a small sympathetic smile, Grissom closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, holding her close to him. He muffled a grunt when she wrapped her arms around him so tightly it hurt. As she wept against him, his heart went out to her. She was the only one on his team who knew what it was like for the parents. She was the only one who could truly put herself in the place of the girl's mother. "Let it out," he whispered into her hair.
"Hey, Griss…" Warrick walked into the observing room followed by Sara and Nick. They all stopped short when, through the two-way mirror, they saw their boss comforting Catherine.
"Tough case?" Sara asked.
Nick nodded. "Nine year old girl killed her elderly neighbor over a cat."
They continued to watch for a moment before Sara said, "I think what we want can wait."
Both men nodded and left Catherine and Grissom to privacy.
Catherine began coughing violently from crying so hard. Grissom continued to hold her, rubbing her back at the same time. "Do you want some water?" He pulled back and looked deep into her watery sapphire eyes.
She nodded amid another coughing fit but as he turned to leave, she grabbed hold of his hand.
He turned back to her. "I'm taking you home," he whispered.
***********************
Catherine looked at Grissom. "This isn't the way to my house."
"I know." He gave her a half-smile.
She smiled and sat back. How he could read her mind was beyond her. Just when she thought he was clueless he surprised her – driving her to her sisters' house was no exception.
He pulled up to the curb. "I'll wait here."
Misty-eyed, she whispered, "Thank you," and stepped out of the SUV.
Fifteen minutes later she returned, her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were tear-stained.
"How is she?" he asked, starting the SUV.
Catherine smiled. "Sleeping like an angel."
**************************
They hadn't said much on the way to her place. Grissom had driven and occasionally tried to say small things to comfort her but he knew there was nothing to be said. He knew the only thing that would help at the moment was fast asleep at Nancy's house. He stopped the Tahoe in the driveway and shifted so as to face her.
Silence engulfed them.
As he watched her breath he couldn't help but admire her. Her strength. Her determination. Her passion. Her compassion. Her love – boundless and undeterred.
"Are you going to stare at me all night or would you rather come inside for a drink or something," she smirked.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, reaching for the door handle.
"Maybe coffee would be better for you," she chuckled. Unlocking the front door, she held the door for him then headed to the kitchen. "I've got all sorts of juice, water, milk…" She looked up when he walked into the room. "Coffee?"
"Water's fine."
Catherine reached into a high cabinet and pulled out two glasses, poured water in them and handed one to him. "Thank you, Gil. I really needed to see Lindsey tonight."
He nodded and followed her into the living room where he sat beside her on the couch. "She's a great kid you know."
"I know." She sighed. "It's just, well… that girl could have been Lindsey…"
Gil placed his glass on the table and took Catherine's hand in his, looking straight into her eyes. "That girl could not have been Lindsey. She had cold, empty eyes. Lindsey is much more like her mother and I know her mother could never do something like that."
Feeling the blush rise in her face, she smiled. "I can't even say you didn't know me way back when cause you did." Holding her glass in one hand, Gil's hand in the other, she rested her head against the back of the couch. "I know how hard it is to be a single mother and I only have one child. From what I could see, she gave them everything they needed. Why? Why kill over a cat?"
Grissom shrugged and removed his hand from hers, also sitting back. "I don't know. Sometimes… sometimes I wonder if there is some credibility to the theory that some people are simply born evil."
Catherine shook her head. "I don't believe that." Lazily, her head rolled to the side so she could see Grissom. "I can't believe that."
They looked at each other for many moments. Catherine drawing on his strength and Grissom giving her all he had.
"I have to get back," he softly told her. "Will you be alright?"
She sat up. "I'll go with you." Reaching over to grab his glass, she was stopped by his hand.
"No, you won't. The shift's almost over anyway, you leaving a couple of hours early isn't going to make a difference."
She smirked at him. "Thanks for letting me know how much you need me there."
Taking a deep breath, he hesitated before saying, "Cath, you know that's not what I meant."
"I know," she smiled slightly. "Just let me come back and do paperwork or something. If I sit here by myself… I just don't want to."
With a slight nod, he picked up both glasses and dropped them off in the kitchen before returning with the car keys. "But only paperwork."
Smiling at him, she got up and followed him to the front door.
He stopped and turned to her. "Well, paperwork and my bugs need feeding." With that he quickly walked to the SUV.
Catherine stood in her doorway, her jaw hanging open. "Gil Grissom, I am not feeding your bugs," she snarled, knowing full well he heard her in spite of him acting as if he hadn't.
Standing at the driver's side, his eyes sparkled and he dangled the keys. "Are you going to join me or catch flies with your mouth open like that all night?" He was comfortable with teasing. He knew how to do that well – besides it was making Catherine smile for the first time in hours.
Soon the passenger door slammed shut and Catherine buckled her seatbelt. "I'm still not feeding those bugs."
He laughed and, together, they headed back to the lab.
Sometimes a case did not end with an arrest. Sometimes a case ended when the investigator, the detective or the police officer came to terms with it. Sometimes… sometimes some cases never truly ended.
The End