Chapter 9

Linking

In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems

          -unknown

When Warrick returned with Lindsey from the hospital – no more than 20 minutes later – he looked like he'd been beaten on the way there. He met up with Catherine in the break room.

"Next time some one needs to go to the hospital, one of you can go. It was brutal," he said, as Catherine took her daughter's hand.

"Where's Amanda?"

"In surgery. Seems some one recently broke her rib. She won't be coming in any time soon." Catherine shook her head.

"Good news," Warrick continued, pausing and looking at Lindsey. Lindsey took the hint.

"Sara gets out of the hospital tomorrow," she said excitedly. Catherine smiled down at her daughter.

"That's great to hear," she said.

"Where's Grissom?" Warrick asked, glancing quickly around the room.

"Paper work," was all Catherine offered in response. Warrick nodded in understanding. He knew better than to go and disturb Grissom while he was doing paper work. Lindsey, however, was much more mischievous. She was off Catherine's lap before Catherine had the chance to react. Grissom's office door was never locked and so, Lindsey opened it quickly.

"Hey Uncle Grissom," she said happily, perching herself on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Hello Lindsey," he responded politely. "How was the hospital?"

"White." He couldn't hold in a smile at her prompt response.

"It's easier to see dirt that way. And the people?"

"Sara gets out tomorrow but Amanda… not so much." Grissom was confused. Amanda had bee completely healthy when he had last seen her, only yesterday.

"What happened?" Lindsey shrugged.

"She was in surgery when we got there. Sara said she just started coughing up blood. There was some on Sara's bed sheets. The nurses hadn't had a chance to change them yet."

"Did the doctors say she was going to be okay?" Lindsey nodded.

"Is it okay if Mommy and I go home now?" Lindsey knew that Catherine provided moral support for her Uncle Grissom when he was doing paper work, even when she was out of the room. She, therefore, also knew asking to go home was something he didn't want to here.

"If you want to," he responded finally, adding his signature to another form. Lindsey stifled a smile. His silence was enough of an indicator that he didn't want Catherine to leave just yet.

"Okay, we'll wait." She couldn't hold in her smile this time and Grissom, however belatedly, realized she wanted to see his reaction. Lindsey had always been too smart for her age. Catherine chose that moment to enter the room.

"Here you are. Hey, Lindsey, Warrick said he had some games you could possibly play on his computer. You had mentioned you wanted to play earlier…" Catherine trailed off as Lindsey bounded out of the room. Lightly closing the door, she turned her attention back to the exhausted supervisor in front of her.

"My, my. I told you yesterday that some of that paper work should have been done," she chastised once again. It definitely wasn't the first time she was right about his workload, nor, he determined, would it be the last.

"I know, Cath, but won't you give an old man a hand?" Catherine snorted.

"Me? Do paper work? Gil, I hate mine enough. What makes you think I'll pick up yours too?" He stood slowly, making his way over to her.

"I can think of a few reasons…" he started, backing her up against the door. Catherine looked up at him.

"I'm listening." He didn't say anything though. Instead, he swooped down to capture her lips. Catherine's eyes closed immediately, allowing herself to get lost in not only the kiss, but also in Gil Grissom. He broke the kiss and raised and eyebrow at her. Catherine grinned.

"Getting there," she responded to the eyebrow. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. When they broke apart moments later, Catherine had long since made up her mind.

"If it'll get us home faster," she said dropping down in front of his desk. He moved back behind it, handing her a few file folders to look over. Catherine rolled her eyes, opening the top folder.

"Next time when I tell you to get some of that paper work done before hand you will, right?" Catherine inquired, not looking up from the files.

"Of course, my dear," was his response.

Grissom couldn't stop worrying. Yes, he hadn't known Amanda all that long, but she… a broken rib? It reminded him all too much of Catherine when she was still with Eddie.

Catherine caught him staring at her when she looked up from the files. He looked pained, legitimately. Worry immediately washed over her features. She saw him sigh heavily and waited, hoping he would tell her what was wrong without her having to pry it out of him.

"Did Amanda go through domestic abuse like you and Sara?" he finally asked. It was really more of a statement than a question but it might be the only lead they ended up with. Unfortunately, Amanda was in surgery. Catherine shook her head.

"I wish I knew."

"Can we afford to wait? For all we know, you could be the next target, or Lindsey…" Catherine smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"Amanda doesn't know us all that well, Gil. There is no reason for whoever is attacking her friends to attack Lindsey or me. Nick will keep Sara safe when she gets out of the hospital tomorrow… Our team is safe, Gil. Right now we need to concentrate on who could possibly be the next victim." Grissom nodded leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. Catherine took the time to just watch him, the worry lines very visible on his tired face. She needed to get his mind off of the case, if only for a moment.

"Gil? How did you know Lindsey sang?" Grissom shrugged at her question.

"I stumbled over it really. You remember last year, for your birthday, Lindsey wanted to bake you a cake and make everything in the house 'perfect' for your special day? She told me, while the cake was baking, that she wanted to sing you a song for your birthday."

Tears sprang to Catherine's eyes at the happy memory.

"So naturally I asked to hear it. She was nervous but she sang it for me anyway," Grissom finished the Reader's Digest version of the story with a shrug. Catherine smiled.

"So you suggested it for the talent show?" Grissom nodded.

"Then you'd better have booked the day off for both of us." She held up a hand before he could say anything, keeping him silent.

"It was your suggestions and she will be so crushed if you're not there. I would have asked for the day off anyway, you know that." Grissom considered this, pulling out a schedule for days off.

"Three weeks?"

"Yeah."

"I think I can manage that."

"Great. I want to take Lindsey home. She can't miss another day of school, and shift seems pretty slow," Catherine said, standing and dropping the files back on his desk. Grissom also closed his folder, pinching the bridge of his nose where his glasses sat.

"I'm coming," he said, stacking the folders in two neat piles on his desk and standing. Placing his hand on the small of Catherine's back he guided her out of the door, making sure it was shut and locked behind him.

Then came the dreaded beeping.

Catherine groaned looking down at her pager. It was most definitely Brass with a new case.

"Do we have to?" Catherine whined softly. Grissom smiled, pulling out his cell phone to call Brass and check and see what this was all about. He sighed heavily when he got off the phone a few minutes later.

"It's another one of the girls. We have to go, Cath, I'm sorry."

Part of Catherine was extremely frustrated that another night with her daughter and love at home had been ruined but the other part wanted to get this done and over with. The faster they could get the case solved, the more time she would have with both of them.

"Let me tell Lindsey," she said, voice impassive – not excited nor weary – and so Grissom let it pass.

"Parking lot in 10?" He didn't need the affirmation but waited for it anyway. It came in a nod and a smile.

"Probably less."

Catherine found Lindsey at a computer, playing games with Warrick right beside her, going over a case file. He looked up when he heard Catherine enter.

"You got Brass' page?" Catherine nodded silently, watching the back of Lindsey's head as she concentrated on the screen in front of her.

"Grissom and I are going to take care of it. I just thought I'd come apologize to my daughter for having to postpone leaving time." She moved and rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders, looking over her blond head to see the game.

"I'm okay, Mommy. I'm just going to finish this and then Uncle Warrick is going to help me pick out a song for the talent show. Uncle Grissom was right, I should sing for it." Catherine smiled proudly.

"I got your uncle Grissom to take that day off so he could come and see you," she said. Lindsey's face lit up, the reflection seen in the sudden black of the screen as the little girl finished one part and waited for the next to load.

"Okay. We'll be back as soon as we can. I need you to get some sleep tonight though, okay? You need to go to school tomorrow." Lindsey nodded mutely and Catherine turned to Warrick to make sure some one would watch over her daughter. He too, nodded.

"I don't have any pressing cases so I'll stay with her." Catherine smiled, kissing her daughter on the cheek. Greg chose that moment to skip into the room.

"Can we help you Greg?"

"Nah. I just heard that Lindsey was here and I need a little bit of help in the lab…" Lindsey was out of her chair in an instant and at Greg's side, darting around her mother and Warrick.

"Be careful, both of you," Catherine said. Both of them rolled their eyes and left.

"I'll get Grissom to give you the key to his office. You can leave Lindsey in there when she falls asleep." Warrick followed Catherine out to the parking lot and the Tahoe where Grissom was waiting. Catherine opened the passenger's side door.

"Can we leave your office key with Warrick? Lindsey's not asleep yet and I'd feel safer if she was in your office," Catherine explained, holding out her hand. Grissom nodded, removing the key from his chain. Catherine handed it to Warrick, who turned and headed back into the building. Catherine hoisted herself into the passenger's seat.

"This one put up quite a fight," Brass said upon spotting Catherine and Grissom. Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"Everything's askew, the place is a mess, backyard and inside." Catherine smiled at Brass' use of more complicated words, following slightly behind the two men as they made their way up the front stairs.

"Victim is Anna Summer. Neighbours called it in when they heard smashing and screaming and then sudden silence. Those ones," he said indicating a young couple, "say they saw some one come out of the house at around 10." Grissom nodded, pushing open the front door. What he found inside was something he hoped he would never have to see again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry this took so long. I got caught up with other things and exams… stuff like that. Anyway, that's irrelevant, especially since this chapter is now posted! Hope you enjoyed.

Coming Soon:

Clues surface from other investigations.

Greg pulls up a "lost" file.

Catherine worried about Sara's assault testimony.

~Kavi Leighanna