Part 12

Catherine sat in her bed, feeling more alone than she ever had all the years she had been married to Gil. He had gone downstairs after their argument, saying he needed something to eat.

But he was pulling away from her.

In hindsight, taking Max home without telling him probably hadn't been the brightest move she had ever made. But when it came to their children, she was fiercely protective, something that Gil knew.

She knew that he was hurt she hadn't told him, but she couldn't help that. What Sara's lawyer had said to Max had cut deep. She knew it had hurt Gil, but she knew he wasn't fully aware of how deeply it had hurt her.

It wasn't just the rehashing of her dancing career, or the allegation that Gil might not be Max's father.

It was the intrusion into the safe haven that they had created for their children.

Lindsey was the only one that knew about her former career. Catherine and Gil had had long discussions about their pasts, and what their children needed to know.

They had decided that the kids would know that Lindsey had a different Daddy, just like Matt had a different Mommy. Their kids knew about their jobs. But they had never seen the need to bring up any of their former problems. None of them knew about Eddie, about her dancing, about the fire in the lab. Nor did they know about Lady Heather or Sara. Well, they hadn't known about Sara.

Her eyes traveled up to the door when she heard it open and Gil come inside. They glanced at each other for a moment.

He came and sat up in bed beside her, before finally turning out the light. Feeling her heart break, Catherine turned off her light and lay down.

Gil moved closer and finally took her in his arms. They tightened around her, and she let out a sigh of contentment, snuggling closer to him.

"I love you, Catherine," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Don't you ever forget that."

"I won't," she replied, moving closer. "I love you too."

"I'm sorry for being upset with you," Gil told her. "I just felt…it felt like you didn't trust me."

Catherine's eyes widened in the dark and she lifted herself up, so that they were staring eye to eye. "I've always trusted you. Always."

"Then why didn't you tell me you were taking Max home?"

Catherine lay back beside him. "I was afraid you'd talk me out of it."

"It's starting to sound like we don't trust each other."

"It's nothing to do with trust."

"It's everything to do with trust." Gil sighed. "It's not important."

"Obviously it is," Catherine said. She leant over and turned the light on. "We need to talk about this."

"Catherine…"

"You were mad at me when I brought Max home. Is that because you think I don't trust you?"

"Catherine…"

"Stop saying my name and just answer the question."

Gil frowned at her. "Yes, I was mad with you. Because anything could have happened to you or Max and I wouldn't have known how to help you because I didn't know where you were. But more importantly, I was hurt."

Catherine arched an eyebrow. "Hurt?"

"We've never lied to each other since we got married, Cath."

"I never lied to you."

"Concealed the truth then."

"I didn't do that either."

Gil let out a growl of frustration. "Catherine, you left the courthouse and you didn't tell me what was going on."

"You knew what was going on."

"I did?"

"Come on, Gil. You knew how upset I was about Max getting back up there. You saw how upset Max was. What did you expect me to do? Wait around and let him come home even more upset than he was the first time?"

"I expected you to at least talk to me, Catherine! Isn't that what marriage is about?"

"This isn't about our marriage!"

"To hell it isn't," Gil replied. "We're on trial, here Cath. Our home life, our work life, and our marriage is on trial."

Catherine sighed. "I don't believe that, Gil. Our home life, yes. Our children, yes. But our marriage?"

"What would you look at if you were in their position? Our tax record?"

Catherine glared at him. "There's no need to be snide."

"Well be reasonable, Catherine."

"Don't talk to me about being reasonable. You were the one that wanted to let Max stay in that courtroom!"

Gil's eyes widened. "I never said that!"

"You didn't not say it either."

"So you're attacking me for trying to do the right thing?"

"You mean like you've been attacking me for bringing Max home?"

"This is not about attacking anyone, Catherine."

"Then what the hell is it about?" she asked, getting up. "First it was about me leaving with Max and not telling you. Then it's been about our marriage. Now what is it about?"

"You left with Max and didn't tell me. That's what it's all about."

"Well I apologize. I won't do it again." Catherine turned to look at him. "Anything else?"

"We're not finished this conversation, Cath."

"Obviously we are. You're upset, I've apologized. What else do you want me to do?"

Gil stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to tell me why you're upset. And the truth."

"I did."

"No, you told me one of the reasons you're upset." His hand cupped her cheek. "You forget I've known you for over twenty years. I know you as well as I know myself." His hands went to her waist, holding her fast against him. "And I love you too much to see you this upset."

Catherine was silent for a moment, her eyes staring up into his. Then her head rested on his chest and she burst into tears.

Gil's eyes widened and he tightened his hold on her, one hand caressing her back, rubbing it in soothing motions. "Shh," he murmured. "It's okay, baby. I've got you."

"It's not okay," she sobbed, the physical, mental and emotional strain of the trial and of Sara's return finally breaking her down. "It's not okay!"

Gil gently lifted her into his arms and he returned to the bed, resting against the headboard as Catherine snuggled into him. "I'll make it okay, Cath. I promise."

"You can't," Catherine answered.

"I've never let you down before," Gil reminded her.

Catherine looked up at him, her tear-stained eyes staring into his. "I know. But this isn't something you can just fix, Gil." She rested against him again. "Apart from Sara trying to take Matt away from us, her lawyer terrorizing Max and everything else to do with the trial, look what she did to us!? We've never doubted each other before, and here we were, arguing over whether we lie to each other or not!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I hate that she can just come here and make us doubt our family and especially our marriage."

Gil gripped her tightly, forcing her to look at him. "I've never doubted you, Catherine. Never. I love you and our children more than anything in the world, and I will fight for our family." He looked into her eyes. "More importantly, I will fight for you."

A watery smile shone through her face. "Me too, Gil. Me too."

He grinned at her, bending down to capture her lips with his. Catherine moaned and deepened the kiss, moving to straddle his waist. Her hands cupped his face as she kissed him, his arms anchoring her hips close to him.

There was a knock at their bedroom door. "Mom? Dad?"

Regretfully the couple pulled apart, and Catherine slid beneath the covers, wiping her eyes.

"Come in, Max," Gil said, once he was sure Catherine was okay.

The little boy opened the door and crawled onto the end of his parent's bed. He looked between them and sighed.

"What is it sweetheart?" Catherine asked.

"Did I wreck everything?"

Catherine and Gil glanced at each other in surprise.

"Of course not," Gil told him, holding his arms out to the little boy, who promptly crawled into the space between his parents. "Why would you think that?"

"Cause I had to come home and then you and Mommy were fighting."

Catherine kissed her son. "Everything's okay, Max. I promise. Daddy and I were disagreeing about something, but we're okay now. And you didn't ruin anything for Matt. I promise you."

"Just checking," Max replied. "And cause I got a tummy ache, I thought it might be the bad bug."

Catherine smirked. When Max had been little, she and Gil had invented the bad bug. They told him that if he was really naughty, he'd get a tummy ache. Now, however, she was pretty sure what it was. "Max, did you eat any candy that you left in pockets of clothes in your room?"

Max narrowed his eyes. "Maybe."

"Then that's your answer," she chuckled. "Not the bad bug. Just eating things that are probably days old and should be experimented on by your dad and your brother."

"Maybe I should make you my latest scientific experiment?" Gil suggested, staring down at his son.

Max's eyes widened. "I think I'll go to bed now."

"You sure you're okay?" Catherine asked him, as he went to the door.

Max nodded. "I'm good. Just had to double check on stuff. Night Mom. Night Dad."

"Sleep well, Max," Catherine told him, as Gil said goodnight.

When Max had closed the door behind him, Catherine turned to her husband. "It's good to know that the bad bug still works."

Gil nodded. "Not sure how much longer it will work though. Max is no dummy."

"That's true," Catherine replied. "Is there any scientific theories about bad boys?"

Gil tugged her back onto his lap. "Want to test a few?"

Catherine grinned at him, leaning down to kiss him. "I'll be your test subject, Dr Grissom."