Disclaimers: Not mine
Spoilers: Inside The Box
+++++
THE PERFECT FAMILY
(Chapter 6)
"Hey, where's the boy..." Katie trailed off as she caught the warning glare from her sister and finished with a smile, "...guy friend?"
Catherine rolled her eyes but managed a smile. "Linds and Nina dragged him to the stables to show him the horses."
"Hmm."
"What?" Catherine looked at her sister suspiciously.
"Nothing." Katie shrugged, answering overdramatically.
"Katie."
"No, you obviously don't wanna talk about it so I'm not going to ask." The younger sister raised her hands in mock surrender.
Catherine laughed, enjoying this sisterly banter, having missed it for so long. "But you obviously wanna ask so why don't you just do it?"
"Ok...why aren't you dating that beautiful man out there?"
"Why should I be?"
"Well let's see: he came all the way from Vegas to be with you. If he didn't care, he wouldn't have dumped all his work and flown here. From what I remember, you said he's pretty much the number one workaholic in the world, right? And he actually took time off to be here. Aren't you the least bit touched by that?"
"Just because I'm grateful for him doesn't mean I should marry the man."
"Who said anything about marriage? Cat, you're not still in love with Eddie, are you?"
"No! No, of course not."
"Then?"
"Then what? Katie, it's not that simple."
"He's a single, hard-working, intelligent man who obviously cares about you very much. What is so complex about this?"
"Gee, are you sure you don't want him?"
"I don't go for my sister's men."
"He's not mine, Katie. If you want him, I can talk to him..."
"And break his heart? You are cold-blooded, sis."
"No, I'm just sane."
"Cat..."
"Katie, I came here to be with Mom."
"And what a good job you're doing of it." Katie said sarcastically.
Catherine raised her eyebrow. "And for a moment there, I thought we could actually be civilized."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Cat. It's just that I missed out on being the annoying little sister to you for so many years. I'm just trying to make up for lost time."
Laughing, Catherine reached out and patted her sister's hand. "Katie, despite what first impressions told you, I'm trying my best here. I do wanna be here for Mom and that's gonna take about all my strength. I just don't have the energy or desire to worry about anything else."
"Ok, so no more questioning you about your love life. But can I ask you something about Mom?"
"I'm not sure what I'd know that you wouldn't but alright."
"Why are you so angry at her? I mean, the last time I visited you in Vegas, I don't recall all this bitterness. You seemed like you had already gotten past what happened before. You told me yourself that having Lindsey made you realize how much it must've hurt Mom and Dad for you to run away. You sounded so understanding. So what triggered all this anger again? Did something happen?"
Catherine thought back to the night she spoke with Sam Braun. It was the night Greg gave her evidence that Sam was her biological father. It was also the night she pieced the puzzle together and realized Sam was a murderer. Ever since that night, she had been wondering how her mother could've kept something like this from her for so long. And the more she thought about it, the angrier she felt. But how could she tell her sister this? She hadn't even told her mother she knew. She wasn't sure she was ready to deal with this yet...
"Mom! Guess what? Uncle Grissom used to be a cowboy! Did you know that?" Lindsey burst into the kitchen from the back porch, running up to Catherine in excitement.
Grateful for the interruption, Catherine looked up at Grissom, who trailed behind the two girls and had just entered the house. "Cowboy?"
"Yeah! He had to be! Cuz he knows how to ride horses and he knows everything about horses!"
"That doesn't mean he's a cowboy, Linds."
But Catherine's comment fell on deaf ears. Lindsey was already racing out the kitchen behind Nina, who had suggested another game already.
"I've been trying to tell them that all afternoon." Grissom sighed tiredly. "It's like when they set their minds to something, no one can change their opinion."
Catherine and Katie laughed. "That sounds like our girls."
"Alright, time to start cooking dinner." Katie got up, rolling up her sleeves.
"I'll help." Catherine got up after her sister.
"Uh, no you won't." Katie shook her head. "We actually want an edible dinner."
Grissom laughed but stopped at Catherine's glare. "How about I help out?"
"No, no, you're a guest here. It's enough that you're here. Why don't you two go out to the living room and wait for dinner to be served?" Katie gave Catherine a smirk and nudged her out of the kitchen with Grissom.
*To be continued*