Twists
"The deepest sin against he human mind is to believe things without evidence."-- Thomas Huxley
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"How would you like to be a CSI for a couple of hours, Greg?" Catherine asked, turning to face the exuberant youth. Greg's grin split his whole face.
"Are you serious?"
"Not on the field, but I don't think they'll be enough of us to look up all of the information we need. This Anthony Lopez… we need full background on him. No exceptions, nothing is left out. Get it?"
"Got it," Greg replied with a serious nod.
"Good." Catherine turned on her heel heading back towards Grissom's office. It was time for Lindsey to go home.
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"Lindsey, sweetheart, wake up," Catherine said, shaking her daughter lightly. Lindsey's eyes fluttered open and she looked up into her mother's face.
"Are we going home now, Mommy?" she asked. Catherine nodded and smiled.
"It's about time you did too," Grissom said from the doorway.
"We're going. I won't be back until next shift. I promise," Catherine said with an affectionate roll of her eyes. With a kiss on his cheek, she and Lindsey left the lab.
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After pulling an unremembered number of shifts without sleep, Catherine was ready to collapse but there was an angry red light flashing in the general vicinity of the phone. Catherine groaned when she realized it was the answering machine. She waved Lindsey to press play. The message had been left at 8 pm. Catherine checked the clock: 9pm.
Grissom gave me shift off, she thought as the beginning of a little girl's voice floated through the house.
"It's Bekki calling, um… my mommy's in the hospital and I was wondering if I could stay with you. Mommy gave me a babysitter until 10…" Catherine erased the message and turned to her daughter.
"Let's go get your friend," she said with a smile. They started to walk down the street to find Lindsey's best friend. Rebekkah, who went by Bekki, lived just down the street. Bekki was out on the front porch with her babysitter and a book.
"Bekki! You can stay over!" Lindsey called up the driveway. Bekki jumped off of the porch and ran to hug Lindsey.
"Thank you so much," Catherine heard Bekki murmur. Catherine smiled when Bekki met her eyes, gratitude shining in her gaze. Catherine's smile dropped slightly. She'd seen eyes like Bekki's before and in the last little while. Lindsey and Catherine followed Bekki up the stairs. Catherine stayed to talk to the babysitter while Lindsey and Bekki went to get her stuff.
"Miss Bell called me at about four to tell me she wouldn't be home and to start looking for some one to take Rebekkah," she explained. Catherine nodded absently too tired to really register what the teenager was saying.
"Come on, Mommy!" Lindsey called, standing at the front door with a large duffle. Catherine stared at it.
"Her mommy's in the hospital," Lindsey reminded her, pouting. Catherine just nodded. Bekki came down moments later when her school bag. The three said goodbye and walked down the street.
"What happened to your mommy?" Catherine vaguely heard Lindsey ask. She saw Bekki shrug.
"She called Shaena from the hospital. Shaena wouldn't tell me what happened." Then Bekki turned to Catherine.
"Can I go visit Mommy tomorrow, Ms Willows?" Catherine smiled down at Bekki.
"We'll see."
"Mommy's been pulling multiples at work. She's really sleepy," Lindsey explained as they mounted the steps. Catherine swung open the door and allowed the girls in first.
"Catching the bad guys. My aunt Emily used to make sure they were put where they belonged. That was before she became a teacher," Bekki said proudly, preceeding Lindsey up the stairs. Catherine made sure all of the doors and windows were locked before heading up herself. Lindsey and Bekki were already in their pyjamas curled up on the floor of Lindsey's room.
"If you girls get to sleep early, after school you can visit Bekki's mommy, okay?" Both girls immediately hunkered down into their sleeping bags. Catherine smiled.
"I might not be there to pick you up though. It might be Uncle Warrick." The girls agreed and snuggled into sleep.
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Catherine woke to harsh sunlight and an eerily quiet house. The silence was what made her check her alarm clock. The clock read 1pm and the alarm was off. She was sure she'd set the alarm before she went to bed and rushed through the house looking for her daughter. She couldn't find anyone upstairs and so headed to the kitchen where she found a note.
Mommy,
Bekki and I have headed off to school. We didn't want to wake you up because of the hard work you've been doing. I made peanut butter and jam sandwiches for us and we'll look for someone after school.
Love always,
Lindsey
PS I turned off your alarm clock to make sure you wouldn't get up.
Catherine dropped the letter and rushed to call the school. The secretary affirmed that both Lindsey and Bekki had made it to school safely and Catherine vowed to have a long talk with her daughter when they next met. Her phone rang as soon as she returned it to its cradle.
"Catherine, thank god!" Grissom's voice floated through the receiver. "I couldn't get through or you didn't answer…"
"I was asleep. Lindsey turned off my alarm clock when she and Rebekkah left for school." Catherine replied, running a hand over her forehead.
"Bekki? What's she doing there?"
"Her mom's in… the…" Catherine trailed off, her mind returning to the words the babysitter said and Bekki had said.
Miss Bell called me at about four…
My aunt Emily used to make sure…"Catherine?"
"Bekki! Bekki's mother is in the hospital. The babysitter called her Miss Bell…. Gris, Amanda is Bekki's mother!"
I am so incredibly sorry that this took so long. I meant to put the next chapter up right after I finished the previous one but I never finished writing it until now. Anyway, I'm working on the next one as we speak and I'll try to get it up faster than this one.
Coming soon…
Bekki and the caseGreg's research results
Amanda's story
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-Kavi Leighanna