Disclaimer: CSI ain't mine!!
Spoiler: doubt it!
Author: Sab
Reviews/Feedback: would be greatly appreciated
A/N: thanks to Emily – from graveshiftcsi, for beta! And to all Gcers check out this site www.graveshiftcsi.com, you're gonna love it! Join our yahoo group too!! =)
Chapter 6 : Now it's all out
"Catherine! Grissom! Come on, we'll go back to the 6th crime scene." Jonathan called.
"Oh... um, George, Warrick, could you guys please get me picture of all the victims when they were in their 20's?" Catherine asked.
"What for?" George asked.
"Just get it for me okay?"
"What ever you say, mom!" George teased. Warrick smirked and thought, Vegas or Boston ... Catherine is always mom!
-----------
"So how's the kid and the husband doing?" asked Catherine
"Well, they just got home from Boy Scout camp and instead of a woman waiting for them at the door they found police. So, right now the husband is still in shock the kid is in denial," said Jonathan as he looked around the house. Just then his phone rang.
"Who was it?" asked Catherine when Jonathan shut is phone off.
"Michelle. They found number seven."
"Okay... let's go," Catherine sighed, grabbing her kit.
"Michelle is there already. I'll just go and check it out. I'll send someone to pick you guys up. Look for more trace while you're waiting." With that, Jonathan left with the car, without letting Catherine put up an argument.
Catherine and Grissom started back to work without even talking nor glancing at each other.
They both decided to divide and conquer, both having the same logical explanation; one, it's easier, two, they'll get the work done faster, and three, their distance would be enough to prevent another crime scene.
------------
"So what do we have here?"
"Jonathan!" Michelle was surprised to see her boss.
"Why do you look so surprised?"
"Well, I called for Nick and Sara to come here to help me... I didn't think you'd check it out any time soon."
"Why?"
"Well, I didn't think you would bother to drive Cath and Mr. Grissom all the way out here when Sara and Nick are available. Wait a minute... where are Catherine and Mr. Grissom?" Michelle asked, standing up. She looked over Jonathan's shoulder and glanced by the car but saw no sign of either CSI.
"I left them to take another look at the last scene."
"You left them alone?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Grissom wouldn't hurt her."
"I'm not worried about Mr. Grissom, it's Catherine."
"Wait a minute... how did you ...?"
"Oh, come on boss, I'm a CSI, remember? Besides... who can't notice the tension between them, not to mention the fact that Catherine's eyes seem to be blaze with fire when he's around?"
"Well I don't think Catherine would hurt Mr. Grissom..."
"Who are you trying to convince here?" Michelle asked indignantly, and Jonathan gave her a look, before replying, "Go there, and bring Mr. Stokes with you."
"I can go by myself."
"Trust me, you don't want to be alone when you're standing between them. Besides, I don't think you could handle being referee with them on your own."
Michelle got his point and called Nick right away.
"Where are they going?" Sara asked Jonathan, when Michelle and Nick drove away.
"To the sixth crime scene."
"Oh. I thought you guys covered it..."
"They're not going there to cover it, they're going there to prevent another crime scene."
------------
"If all the vics were killed in different ways, all without any trace, it is possible that whoever our killer is may be a hired a professional," Catherine said, half kneeling by the kitchen door, while Grissom worked the living room.
"How are you so sure someone hired a professional? Maybe the professional did this on their own!"
"Professional assassins are trained to kill for money, not for them to gain revenge."
"How are you so sure?"
"Oh come on! How many professional assassins would kill 7 women for personal issues?"
"I still don't agree." Though he saw her point, he just couldn't say yes. He loved that he was actually enjoying their argument... this was the closest talk they'd had. But at the same time he felt pain caused by her, and he didn't want to make it easy for her.
"Oh, trust me!"
"Trusting a woman who thinks a letter with one paragraph, five sentences and eighty three words enough to put an end and closure to twenty years of friendship... looks like a very easy thing to do!" He said with a voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, OK, and shattering and managing to turn someone's life upside down in a matter of months is much more preferable?!" Catherine's voice rose. She moved from the kitchen door to the other end of the living room. She stood there with her hands on her hips. She was now in the same room as Grissom. The distance was enough for them to be visible in each other's eyes but not enough for either of them to be within reach of each other's hands.
"Catherine, you were the one who turned my life upside down."
"Really! And when the hell was that?"
"The moment you left!" Grissom's voice rose.
"Yeah, right!" she replied sarcastically.
"I nearly lost everything I had, Catherine! I almost lost my will and hope to live - - " Catherine interrupted him.
"You NEARLY lost everything? Well, guess what Grissom, I did not NEARLY lose everything... I did lose it. That night –– "
Grissom interrupted her, his voice still rising, "You were drunk that night Catherine!"
"I took enough alcohol to have courage, and that doesn't mean I was delusional!" she yelled back.
"Then what does that mean?" he asked incredulously as he lowered his voice.
"That means that, that night, I let all my guard down. Then what? You blew me off just like that. It would have been much, much better if you had just talked to me. I didn't even care if you felt the same or not, because I was ready for that... but I never expected for you to act the way you did. I felt so CHEAP! My self-esteem never dipped as low in my entire life. I lost my focus. I nearly lost the small amount of sanity left in me. I lost my pride... I lost myself! Everything I have been striving to have all my life, all of it, Grissom. All of it. I worked all my life to have all of those and in a matter of months you managed to destroy it." Catherine spoke fast, without taking a pause to breath. "Every single day, I manage to survive through all the problems the world gave me, I fought and face all of it, for my life. MY LIFE Grissom. The LIFE you have managed to shatter in a matter of months." She took another pause before speaking again, her voice still loud but this time tears
began streaming. "You nearly lost it all Gil, but me, I did lose it all!"
At last, she managed to get it all out. Everything she had kept bottled up inside her, all the anger, disappointments... it was all out. She didn't want to think of what Grissom might have felt with her heart wrenching revelation, but for the first time in a very long time she felt free.
"I never meant to do that," was all Grissom could muster up to say. The words that Catherine said were still sinking in. He felt confused... guilty....and in pain. He had no idea that he had done all of that to the one person he loved.
"Well, you did. And maybe I should congratulate you for doing such a great job without putting much effort to it."
"Catherine...."
"But you know, maybe I should thank you. You've made me stronger by breaking my heart, it ended my life. But made a better one start."
"Catherine! Grissom!" Nick called as he and Michelle jumped out of the car. They heard Catherine's yelling, but when they cut the engine they didn't hear anything anymore.
When they opened the door they found Catherine sitting at the edge of the chair with her eyes staring blankly into space. Grissom sank in the floor, his hands to his face. Nick moved to Grissom as Michelle went to Catherine's side.
None of them spoke, they all stayed quiet for a number of minutes. Until Catherine finally broke in, "Come on, let's head back to the lab."
= TBC =
Spoiler: doubt it!
Author: Sab
Reviews/Feedback: would be greatly appreciated
A/N: thanks to Emily – from graveshiftcsi, for beta! And to all Gcers check out this site www.graveshiftcsi.com, you're gonna love it! Join our yahoo group too!! =)
Chapter 6 : Now it's all out
"Catherine! Grissom! Come on, we'll go back to the 6th crime scene." Jonathan called.
"Oh... um, George, Warrick, could you guys please get me picture of all the victims when they were in their 20's?" Catherine asked.
"What for?" George asked.
"Just get it for me okay?"
"What ever you say, mom!" George teased. Warrick smirked and thought, Vegas or Boston ... Catherine is always mom!
-----------
"So how's the kid and the husband doing?" asked Catherine
"Well, they just got home from Boy Scout camp and instead of a woman waiting for them at the door they found police. So, right now the husband is still in shock the kid is in denial," said Jonathan as he looked around the house. Just then his phone rang.
"Who was it?" asked Catherine when Jonathan shut is phone off.
"Michelle. They found number seven."
"Okay... let's go," Catherine sighed, grabbing her kit.
"Michelle is there already. I'll just go and check it out. I'll send someone to pick you guys up. Look for more trace while you're waiting." With that, Jonathan left with the car, without letting Catherine put up an argument.
Catherine and Grissom started back to work without even talking nor glancing at each other.
They both decided to divide and conquer, both having the same logical explanation; one, it's easier, two, they'll get the work done faster, and three, their distance would be enough to prevent another crime scene.
------------
"So what do we have here?"
"Jonathan!" Michelle was surprised to see her boss.
"Why do you look so surprised?"
"Well, I called for Nick and Sara to come here to help me... I didn't think you'd check it out any time soon."
"Why?"
"Well, I didn't think you would bother to drive Cath and Mr. Grissom all the way out here when Sara and Nick are available. Wait a minute... where are Catherine and Mr. Grissom?" Michelle asked, standing up. She looked over Jonathan's shoulder and glanced by the car but saw no sign of either CSI.
"I left them to take another look at the last scene."
"You left them alone?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Grissom wouldn't hurt her."
"I'm not worried about Mr. Grissom, it's Catherine."
"Wait a minute... how did you ...?"
"Oh, come on boss, I'm a CSI, remember? Besides... who can't notice the tension between them, not to mention the fact that Catherine's eyes seem to be blaze with fire when he's around?"
"Well I don't think Catherine would hurt Mr. Grissom..."
"Who are you trying to convince here?" Michelle asked indignantly, and Jonathan gave her a look, before replying, "Go there, and bring Mr. Stokes with you."
"I can go by myself."
"Trust me, you don't want to be alone when you're standing between them. Besides, I don't think you could handle being referee with them on your own."
Michelle got his point and called Nick right away.
"Where are they going?" Sara asked Jonathan, when Michelle and Nick drove away.
"To the sixth crime scene."
"Oh. I thought you guys covered it..."
"They're not going there to cover it, they're going there to prevent another crime scene."
------------
"If all the vics were killed in different ways, all without any trace, it is possible that whoever our killer is may be a hired a professional," Catherine said, half kneeling by the kitchen door, while Grissom worked the living room.
"How are you so sure someone hired a professional? Maybe the professional did this on their own!"
"Professional assassins are trained to kill for money, not for them to gain revenge."
"How are you so sure?"
"Oh come on! How many professional assassins would kill 7 women for personal issues?"
"I still don't agree." Though he saw her point, he just couldn't say yes. He loved that he was actually enjoying their argument... this was the closest talk they'd had. But at the same time he felt pain caused by her, and he didn't want to make it easy for her.
"Oh, trust me!"
"Trusting a woman who thinks a letter with one paragraph, five sentences and eighty three words enough to put an end and closure to twenty years of friendship... looks like a very easy thing to do!" He said with a voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, OK, and shattering and managing to turn someone's life upside down in a matter of months is much more preferable?!" Catherine's voice rose. She moved from the kitchen door to the other end of the living room. She stood there with her hands on her hips. She was now in the same room as Grissom. The distance was enough for them to be visible in each other's eyes but not enough for either of them to be within reach of each other's hands.
"Catherine, you were the one who turned my life upside down."
"Really! And when the hell was that?"
"The moment you left!" Grissom's voice rose.
"Yeah, right!" she replied sarcastically.
"I nearly lost everything I had, Catherine! I almost lost my will and hope to live - - " Catherine interrupted him.
"You NEARLY lost everything? Well, guess what Grissom, I did not NEARLY lose everything... I did lose it. That night –– "
Grissom interrupted her, his voice still rising, "You were drunk that night Catherine!"
"I took enough alcohol to have courage, and that doesn't mean I was delusional!" she yelled back.
"Then what does that mean?" he asked incredulously as he lowered his voice.
"That means that, that night, I let all my guard down. Then what? You blew me off just like that. It would have been much, much better if you had just talked to me. I didn't even care if you felt the same or not, because I was ready for that... but I never expected for you to act the way you did. I felt so CHEAP! My self-esteem never dipped as low in my entire life. I lost my focus. I nearly lost the small amount of sanity left in me. I lost my pride... I lost myself! Everything I have been striving to have all my life, all of it, Grissom. All of it. I worked all my life to have all of those and in a matter of months you managed to destroy it." Catherine spoke fast, without taking a pause to breath. "Every single day, I manage to survive through all the problems the world gave me, I fought and face all of it, for my life. MY LIFE Grissom. The LIFE you have managed to shatter in a matter of months." She took another pause before speaking again, her voice still loud but this time tears
began streaming. "You nearly lost it all Gil, but me, I did lose it all!"
At last, she managed to get it all out. Everything she had kept bottled up inside her, all the anger, disappointments... it was all out. She didn't want to think of what Grissom might have felt with her heart wrenching revelation, but for the first time in a very long time she felt free.
"I never meant to do that," was all Grissom could muster up to say. The words that Catherine said were still sinking in. He felt confused... guilty....and in pain. He had no idea that he had done all of that to the one person he loved.
"Well, you did. And maybe I should congratulate you for doing such a great job without putting much effort to it."
"Catherine...."
"But you know, maybe I should thank you. You've made me stronger by breaking my heart, it ended my life. But made a better one start."
"Catherine! Grissom!" Nick called as he and Michelle jumped out of the car. They heard Catherine's yelling, but when they cut the engine they didn't hear anything anymore.
When they opened the door they found Catherine sitting at the edge of the chair with her eyes staring blankly into space. Grissom sank in the floor, his hands to his face. Nick moved to Grissom as Michelle went to Catherine's side.
None of them spoke, they all stayed quiet for a number of minutes. Until Catherine finally broke in, "Come on, let's head back to the lab."
= TBC =