"What's going on?" Catherine asked, walking onto the back porch, where Gil was taking deep breaths of the evening air.
He kissed her gently. "Nothing."
She narrowed her eyes and took his face in her hands. "Don't lie to me, Gil. We've been together too long for that."
"I think Matthew has started his rebellious teenage years."
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"
Grissom shrugged. "Call it father's intuition."
##########################
"Morning, Matt," Catherine smiled, as her son came into the kitchen for breakfast.
Max and Lizzie were already there. Max dipped his cereal bowl and started slurping the milk.
"Max Grissom you stop that this instant!"
Max grinned sheepishly. "Yes mom."
"Did you sleep well last night?" Catherine asked Matt, thinking perhaps he hadn't heard her.
There was silence.
She frowned slightly, watching him sit down.
"Morning Max, Lizzie," Matt said sullenly and poured himself a glass of milk.
Catherine was in shock. This was certainly a change from her fun loving fifteen year old that had lived in her house the day before.
"Jamie!" she called her other son, trying to ignore the hurt inside her.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Jamie said, sliding into a seat.
"I'm here too," Gil murmured softly, his arms snaking around Catherine's waist.
"So I can tell," Catherine whispered back. "And just where have you been?"
"All by my lonesome in the shower," he whispered in her ear.
Catherine smirked. "Perhaps we can remedy that later."
"Perhaps," Gil winked, sitting at the table.
"Hey Dad, can I have $29.99?" Max asked.
Gil narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"I wanna buy a rocket launcher."
Catherine looked at Gil. Gil looked at Catherine.
"Max, I think rocket launchers cost more than $29.99," Jamie commented.
"Nuh-uh. There's some selling on ebay."
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you been surfing ebay?"
Max shrugged. "Everyone does it."
"I'm finished," Matt said, pushing his plate away. "Gotta go get ready for school."
Catherine and Gil shared a worried look as Matt disappeared upstairs.
"Who'd want to get ready for school?" Max muttered.
"I think you would," Catherine said, reminding him.
Max smiled at her sheepishly. "Absolutely. Cause I love school. Best place in the world. Gonna go get ready for it now…" He slid off his chair and raced upstairs.
When the two other kids had disappeared, Catherine sat down beside her husband. "Is this more of Matt's teenage rebellion years?"
Gil sighed. "I don't know. When he came home yesterday, he was in a very bad mood, saying all kinds of things he shouldn't have."
"Such as?"
"Nothing important."
Catherine narrowed her eyes. "I know when you're keeping something from me, Gil. This would be one of those times."
Gil groaned. "You know me too well. It's annoying."
Catherine leaned over and kissed him, her lips lingering on his. "Really?"
"You're trouble, you know that?"
"Mhm." Catherine sipped her coffee. "So tell me everything. And I mean everything."
"He got some ridiculous idea from somewhere that you hate him and I bribed you to keep him and that you love him less than the other kids."
Catherine hmphed. "Well that's just ridiculous."
"That's what I told him. He wasn't really listening though."
"Well where did he get that idea from?"
"He wouldn't tell me."
With another of her hmphs, Catherine stood up. "We'll see about that."
#######################
"It's open," came Matthew's grumble.
Catherine walked in. "Who gave you this ridiculous idea that I hate you, that Gil bribed me to keep you and that I love you less than the other kids? Because I'm going to kill them."
"Isn't it true?"
"I can't believe you just asked me that."
Matthew sat on his bed. "It's a simple question."
"It's a stupid question."
"So now I'm stupid?"
Catherine frowned at him. "You know I meant nothing of the sort. Who told you all this nonsense?"
"Sara," Matthew finally mumbled.
Catherine's eyes widened and then her face turned into one of fury, one that Matthew knew to be afraid of…very afraid of.
"I'll kill her."
She stalked downstairs muttering things to herself, and grabbed her coat off the hook. Before she could leave the house, Gil put his hand on her shoulder.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to murder Sara Sidle."
"Huh?"
Catherine turned to her husband. To his surprise, tears were streaming down her face. "She was the one that told Matthew I hated him! She told him that I loved him less than the other kids and that you had to bribe me to keep him! I love that child more than anything! She has no right in saying any of that, particularly after what she did to that kid!"
"Mom?" came Max's little voice.
"Go upstairs, Max," Gil ordered him.
#######################
Max stomped into Matthew's room and pushed him off the bed.
"HEY!" Matt cried. "What was that for?"
"Because you're a jerk!" Max yelled back.
"What did I do to you?""Mom's crying downstairs! You made her cry!"
"So you came up here and pushed me off my bed?"
"You deserve it! I hate you! You're a rotten brother!"
#######################
Lizzie clattered downstairs. "Mom! Dad!"
"Not now, Elizabeth," Gil said sternly, looking up from where and Cath were sitting on the couch.
"Max and Matthew are fighting!"
########################
The two were upstairs in an instant, Gil grabbing hold of Matthew while Catherine got Max.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Gil growled.
"He started it," Matt said, pointing at Max.
"You're a jerk and a rotten brother!" Max yelled.
"Okay, how about you come with me?" Catherine said to Max.
########################
Matthew shrugged his shoulders out of Gil's grip. "He just went psycho on me!"
"That's no excuse to fight with him. He's smaller and younger than you. And you both know better than to fight," Gil reprimanded.
"He started it!"
######################
"What's gotten into you?" Catherine asked her son. "You know you're not allowed to fight with anyone, let alone your own brother!"
"He's a rotten brother and a jerk!"
"Why on earth would you say that?"
"Because he made you cry!"
Catherine sighed and sat on the bed, pulling Max into his arms. "Max, you can't just beat up your brother because he made me cry. I cry at a lot of things. I cry at movies sometimes. Are you going to beat up the makers of the movie?"
"Can I?"
"No, you can not." She stroked his hair. "Max, honey, you can't beat up your brother. Not even if he makes me cry. Understand?"
Max shrugged. "I guess so."
"Good. Now you and I are going into Matt's room, and the two of you are going to shake hands and make up." Catherine stared her son down. "No arguments."
#########################
Catherine and Gil watched the two kids shake hands.
"Okay, now Matt and I need to have a chat," Catherine said, shooing the other two out and shutting the door.