Catherine stood in the doorway to Matt's room, as he furiously brushed his hair to keep it down.
"You want some help?" she asked.
"My hair doesn't want to look presentable."
Catherine smiled and grabbed the gel he offered her, gently rubbing it in so that his hair smoothed down.
"You used to do this all the time for me when I was a kid," he said.
"You still are a kid," Catherine reminded him, brushing his hair.
"I don't feel like one at the moment." He sighed.
"Hey," Catherine turned him around to face her. "Listen to me for a second. "No matter what happens in there today, you are still my son, and I love you more than anything. And your dad loves you more than anything. And your brothers and sisters love you more than anything." She hugged him tight to her. "Okay?"
Matt hugged her back for a moment and grinned. "And you'll always be my mom, no matter what."
"You bet your ass," Catherine agreed. She kissed his forehead. "Now, I've got to go get the other guys off to school. Call me if you need anything, okay?"
Matt nodded. "Okay."
Catherine smiled at him and went down the hallway, almost colliding with her husband's chest.
"Hey, beautiful," Gil murmured, kissing the top of her head. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Hi. I was just going to get the other guys ready for school."
"They're doing just fine." He took her hand. "I want to borrow you."
She arched an eyebrow as he yanked her into their bedroom. "Gil…"
"Sit," he ordered.
"I'm wondering if I should woof," Catherine replied, sitting on the bed.
Gil sat down beside her, his hand brushing a lock of hair from her face. "I'm worried about you."
"Worried about me? I'm fine. A little tired, but…"
"Catherine."
"What?"
"Don't shrug it off. You're not just a little tired. You're close to a breakdown."
"A breakdown?" Catherine laughed slightly. "Gil, I don't have time for a breakdown."
"I'm serious, Cath." He cupped her face with his hands. "I'm worried about you."
"Well, there's no need to be," she replied, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Now, we have to get ready to…"
Gil took her hand as she went to stand up. "No, Catherine. We're not going anywhere until we've talked about this."
"Gil…" She held his cheeks in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "We've been under a lot of stress lately. And we haven't been able to be as…close…as we usually are." She kissed him. "And I miss you. I miss just talking and not worrying about anything except what Jamie is going to blow up next, or what major crisis Max brings upon the world."
"Cath…"
"Let me finish," she murmured. "When this is over…however it turns out…I want you and I to take a vacation. Just the two of us." She shrugged. "I miss my marriage. And my best friend."
"Me too," he whispered.
She smiled slightly at him, one hand taking his, the other caressing his cheek. "Maybe…tonight…we could have dinner at home, and make love?"
"I'd like that," Gil smiled back.
"It's a date, then?"
"It's a date."
Warrick grinned. "Sure, we can do that. We'll divvy the kids up according to who's got girls and boys the same age…and we'll draw straws over Max."
"Very funny, Warrick," Gil said. He smiled. "I really appreciate this."
"Are you kidding? It's about time you and Catherine had a night to yourselves."
"You're right, it is. Thanks, Warrick."
"No problem. I'll call you back later with the details."
After Gil hung up, he turned to find his wife leaning against the table, biting her lip.
"Well?" she finally asked.
He grinned at her. "What shall we have for dinner tonight?"
Catherine's eyes lit up and she let out a cry of excitement, hugging him tightly.
Lizzie, Max and Jamie came into the room, confused expressions on their faces.
"What's going on?" Lizzie asked.
"Your mother and I are having a date tonight," Gil said proudly, holding Catherine to him. "Warrick, Nick and Greg are taking you guys tonight."
"That's it?" Jamie said, bewildered.
"That's it," Catherine murmured, leaning up to kiss Gil.
Max rolled his eyes. "A date. Big deal."
"Matthew Grissom. I'm fifteen."
Mr. Andrews stood up. "And Sara Sidle is your biological mother?"
Matthew shrugged. "She slept with my dad."
Catherine and Gil's eyes almost bugged out of their head.
"That's a very crude description," Andrews commented.
"She hasn't acted like a mother to me. Mother is an important word. She doesn't deserve it."
"She raised you for five years, isn't that correct?"
"I lived with her for five years."
"You don't seem to like your mother very much."
"Sara has done things to me and my family. Besides, I'm not required to like her."
"Such as?"
"How long do we have?"
"Your honor!" Andrews said, turning to the judge.
The judge looked down at Matthew. "I know this is hard for you. But please, try to answer the questions." He turned back to Andrews. "Be more specific."
"Matthew, what did your…Ms. Sidle, tell you about your father?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"She said that my dad wasn't important, and to forget about him. I had her and that was all I needed."
"What changed?"
Matthew shrugged. "One night she came into my room and said we were going to Las Vegas. I asked why, and she said we were going to bring Daddy home."
"That must have surprised you."
"You're telling me. Especially since I was starting to think I was the Immaculate Conception."
"Tell me what happened when you came here?"
"We went straight to the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I met Uncle Warrick first. Then we went into Dad's office, and he and mom and Lindsey and Lizzie were there. I was really thirsty, but Sara said we didn't have time to get a drink. Mom asked Dad to take me, Lindsey and Lizzie to get one."
"Did you know that you were related to Dr. Grissom at the time?"
Matthew shook his head. "We just hung out in the breakroom." He grinned at his father. "It was cool."
"Then what happened?"
"She took me back to the motel. A couple of days later, we went to Greg's place."
"Your mother must have been very stressed."
"Have you MET Sara? She's ALWAYS stressed."
Andrews sighed. "So you found out Dr. Grissom was your father. What happened then?"
"We hung out for awhile. I liked that. Their house was always happy."
"Tell the court what happened the night your mother disappeared."
Matt fixed him with a stare. "She didn't disappear. She DUMPED me."
"The night she left?"
"She put some money on the counter, and said that she had to go out for a while. If I needed anything, to call my father."
"And you did."
Matt sighed. "I ran out of money. The pizza guy came. I had nothing to pay him with." A smile slowly spread over his face. "Then mom came and took me home."
Catherine smiled up at him.
"Then what happened?"
"I got to live there. I got to eat normal food, play soccer. Mom helped me decorate my room. Mom and Dad listen whenever we want to talk."
"What about Ms. Sidle? Don't you ever miss her?"
Matt glanced over at Sara. "I finally got to live when she dumped me. So, no. I don't."
"Matthew, tell me about being a teenager."
Matt arched an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"Well, fifteen…you're a teenage boy. What's life like for a teenage boy in the Grissom household?"
"I get up, I go to school, I come home, I go to bed."
"Do you play sports?"
"Basketball and soccer."
"What about a girlfriend?"
Lindsey jumped up. "Relevance?"
"Just want to see how well-adjusted he is."
The judge sighed. "Carefully, Mr. Andrews."
Andrews nodded. "So, Matt…have a girlfriend?"
"I have some friends who are girls. But no one special, yet."
"What about sex?"
"YOUR HONOR!" Lindsey was up again."
"Goes to how well he's been taken care of and taught," Andrews prompted.
"Careful, Mr. Andrews," the judge reminded him.
"He can't ask him that! How can he ask him that?" Catherine asked her husband. "He's only fifteen!"
"Well…I'm positive he's not having it." Gil paused. "I don't think."
"He better not be. I'll ground him for life if he's having it," Catherine told him.
Andrews nodded again. "Know all about sex, Matt?"
"I know what it is, if that's what you're asking."
"Have your parents talked to you about it?"
"Yeah."
"Have you had sex, Matthew?"
The court exploded into uproar.
"OBJECTION!" Lindsey cried.
Matthew sat there boggle-eyed.
"Can I kill him?" Catherine asked Gil.
"Me first," Gil decided.
Andrews sat down, and Lindsey Dole got up.
"Matt, what was your favorite food to eat when you were five."
Matt grinned. "Hot dogs."
"How often did you have them when you lived with Ms. Sidle."
"Never. She's a vegetarian."
"What did you decorate your room with when you moved to live with Dr and Mrs. Grissom?"
"Airplanes. Lots of them."
"Did you have any at your old house?"
"No. She said we didn't need them."
"How did you cope when you were left alone at that hotel room."
Matt sighed. "I tried to clean up. I was short, so I couldn't reach the sink real well, and the water sometimes overran. Sara told me I wasn't allowed to leave the room, so I couldn't do my laundry."
"Did your parents try and contact Ms. Sidle?"
Matt nodded. "Yeah. But she never called me back. And I waited."
"Any complaints about your life with the Grissoms?"
Matt grinned. "None at all."
"That was…eventful," Gil said, as he, Catherine and Matt left the courthouse.
"I haven't had sex mom, I swear," Matthew promised Catherine.
Catherine chuckled and ruffled his hair. "I know. Just…just make sure you talk to one of us first, okay?"
Matt nodded. "No problem." He headed over to the car.
"What if he does?"
"What if he does what?" Catherine asked.
"Come to us first."
"Then we hope like hell we can answer him."
Gil frowned. "I don't know if I want to discuss sex and my son anymore today."
"I'm there with you a hundred per cent. They're still my babies."
"You were gorgeous when you were pregnant. A real glow."
Matt looked over at them. "Uh…guys. You're going on a date tonight. Don't you want to save up all that stuff for later?"
"We always have plenty," Catherine chuckled, going to her car door.
Matt wrinkled his nose. "If you're trying to put me off sex…it's working."
TBC