Catherine burst out laughing as Gil attempted to put the changing table together.
"It's not funny," Gil replied, as the table fell apart. Again.
Catherine put her hand over her mouth, trying to force the giggles down. "Sorry."
"These instructions look peculiar."
She grabbed the instructions.
"Catherine!"
"Oh please, you're not making any progress. By the time you finish making this changing table, the baby will be too old to use it." She held the piece of paper up. "This side is in Swedish, dear."
Gil adjusted his glasses. "Ah."
Catherine arched an eyebrow. "Ah?" She smirked and handed him his screwdriver. "Here you go. Try again."
"You should have kept Lindsey's."
Catherine smiled softly. "I didn't think I'd be marrying you and having another baby with you back then."
Gil put the screwdriver down and walked over to her, his hand resting on her swollen abdomen. "But it's a good thing, right?"
Catherine leant in, kissing him deeply. "A very good thing."
A soft knock came at the door. "Ah, sorry for interrupting."
Catherine looked up. "Greg?"
"Greg Sanders popping up in my house is going to take some getting used to," Gil murmured.
Catherine saw the look on his face. "Greg. What's going on?"
"Katie and I went somewhere today."
Gil took a menacing step towards him. "Is she hurt?"
"Not physically."
Gil's eyes widened. "Did you break up with her?"
"Hell no!" Greg cried. "Jesus, Grissom. I'm in love with your daughter. I'm not going to break up with her. She wanted to go and see Sam Braun."
Catherine went pale. "Sam?"
Greg nodded. "I thought I should go with her. I didn't want her going alone."
"Did Sam see her?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah."
"And?"
Greg took a deep breath. "It was all going fine. Except she started going all…Catherine-like." He glanced at Catherine. "No offence. She's gorgeous when she's Catherine-like. But then she asked Sam why he didn't explore the possibility that you were his daughter if he knew there was a possibility."
"And what did Sam say?" Gil asked, sitting Catherine down.
"He suggested it was kind of like you and Catherine exploring the possibility that you could keep her."
"Oh god," Catherine said, putting her head in her hands.
"Where is she?" Gil asked.
"I took her to my place for a while. She just wanted to cry so I just held her. Then I brought her back here. She just went into her room." He fidgeted. "I thought you should know what happened."
Catherine looked up, stern resolution on her face. "Thanks, Greg. I appreciate it." She stood up. "I'll go see her."
"I'm sorry," Greg said.
Catherine squeezed his shoulder as she went past. "Not your fault."
Catherine opened the room to her eldest daughter's room. Katie lay on the bed, face in the pillows. Catherine could tell by her body that she was crying.
"I wanted you."
Katie stirred and looked around. "Mom…"
"When I found out I was pregnant…I was so excited. The fact that Gil and I had made a baby together…" She walked over and sat beside her on the bed. "I started having dreams about this little family. Gil and I, and a beautiful baby. White picket fence, a dog…the whole works."
"But?"
"But then reality gave me a kick in the teeth. Legally, I was still married. I was still hooked on coke. Gil and I hadn't spoken a word about that night since it happened." Catherine took a deep breath. "At first I thought the best thing would be for me and the baby to disappear. Leave everything behind in Vegas. And I was going to. That's when I bought the ticket. I left and spent five months in Miami."
Katie had turned over and was now looking at her mother. "And what happened during those five months?"
"I went to the doctor, who gave me the name of a counsellor the minute she found out I was just getting off coke. The counsellor started talking about what I had to do, what was in the best interests of the child." She sighed.
"And I listened."
"And that's when you decided to give me up?"
Catherine shook her head. "No. I decided when I was at the clinic. A couple had just come out and they were in tears. Their child had died of SIDS. The counsellor then gave me a pamphlet about adoption." She sighed. "I was young and impressionable. And terrified." She rested a hand on her daughter's cheek. "The minute I saw you…when I saw how beautiful you were. How perfect. How much you were a mix of Gil and I." A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it furiously away. "God, I wanted to keep you. I was almost ready to take you out of that hospital and bring you back to Vegas. Show you to Gil and then we'd be a family."
"But you didn't." There was no trace of bitterness to the statement. Just regret.
"No, I didn't. The nurse came and said that your parents were waiting to meet you. And I handed you over." Catherine wiped another tear away. "And then I hopped a plane back to Vegas."
"You should have kept me."
Catherine's eyes jerked down to her daughters.
"Katie…"
"You should have kept me!" The girl burst into tears, falling back against the bed.
Catherine curled up next to her daughter, holding her in her arms. "I know. I know I should've."
Gil walked down to Katie's room, pausing outside. He opened the door slightly, peering in. He could hear Catherine soothing their daughter, murmuring soft words of reassurance and stroking her hair.
Catherine looked up and caught his eye. He felt pain slice through him as he saw the tears on her face.
"I've got her," she mouthed.
Gil nodded and closed the door behind him. He sank down to the floor, resting against the door.
Catherine opened the door to Katie's room. Katie had cried herself to sleep. She almost ran over her husband. "Gil!"
Gil jerked himself awake and stood up. "What's going on?"
"Have you been sitting here all night?"
"I was worried about you. And Katie."
She leant up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "I love you."
Gil took her in his arms, holding her tight. "I love you too."
"I should've kept her."
Gil gently walked her into their bedroom, and sat her down on the bed. He then sat down beside her. "I thought we had talked about this."
"We did. Obviously, Katie didn't deal with it as well as I thought." Catherine rubbed her tired eyes. "Not that I blame her."
"Did Sam Braun do this?"
"No, Gil! I did this!" Catherine put her hand to her chest. "Me! I ruined our daughter's life! Just like I ruined yours!"
Gil's hands gripped her wrists. "No! No, Catherine. No. You made our lives better. Catherine, just by giving half your DNA to Katie you made her life better." He forced her to look at him. "You made my life better. You taught me how to live. How to love."
She looked up at him. "Gil…"
"Please believe me," he whispered. "Out of everything in our lives that I've asked you for, this is what I want the most. Believe me."
Catherine leant up and pressed a kiss to his lips. "Okay."
Gil cupped her face and deepened the kiss, his lips peppering kisses to her face. "I love you," he kept repeating, over and over. "I love you so much."
"What?" Sam Braun barked into the intercom.
"A Mrs. Grissom is here to see you."
Sam arched an eyebrow. An interesting turn of events indeed. "Send her in."
Catherine came into the room. "We need to talk."
"Certainly. Have a seat." Sam stood up and joined her at the couches. "It's certainly been a week of visits from the Grissom family."
Catherine glared at him. "You had no right to say what you did to my daughter."
"And she had a right to come in here and blast me about ancient history?"
"She's eighteen years old, Sam! She got tossed into a family she's not used to!"
"And who's fault is that?"
Catherine nodded. "You're right. It's mine. But if you want to start attacking someone about her being adopted, attack me. She's just a child and she doesn't deserve that."
"Catherine, she came to me. If she hadn't wanted a fight, she shouldn't have arrived."
"Do you even distinguish between people? Or are they all just blurry images to you?"
"If you're referring to your mother…"
"Discussing that disaster would take more time than I'm willing to give you."
"It wasn't too much of a disaster. It brought you into the world."
"Let's remember that all you did was sleep with my mother. You're not my father, nor are you grandfather to any of my children."
"You've made that abundantly clear. And yet you still cashed my check."
"That's right, Sam. Let's bring that back up again, because nothing you do comes without strings."
"I haven't asked for anything from you, Catherine."
"You have a funny way of getting things without asking."
"If you're referring to the check I gave you…"
"Don't try and deny that that came with strings," Catherine growled.
Sam leant back in his chair and folded his arms. "I haven't pulled them yet."
Catherine smiled thinly. "I knew there were some there."
"Why are you here, Catherine? Is it just to insult and accuse me of things I haven't even done?"
"You've done plenty."
"What in our past are we referring to now?"
"Hard to choose, isn't it?"
"I loved your mother."
Catherine glared at him. "Don't you dare say that. You have no right to say that."
"You loved Dr. Grissom from afar for years. What makes you think that's not what happened with your mother?"
"If you had loved her, you would have stayed with her. Just as Gil and I are together."
"If we're working by your logic, that means you should have stayed with Gil when you slept with him."
Catherine said nothing for a moment, but Sam's words had hit her hard. "Just stay away from my family."
Sam stood up. "Catherine…"
"What?"
He handed over a file.
Catherine arched an eyebrow. "What is this?"
"It's a file on the man I was dealing with. I believe him to be the same man that directed the bombing."
Catherine opened the file, glanced at it momentarily and then looked up at him. "Why are you giving me this?"
"You work with people who can legally do something about it."
Catherine folded her arms. "When has that ever stopped you before?"
"Because this means something to you. To your family." He shrugged. "Do whatever you want with it."
"Why this sudden change of heart?"
"Lots of things. But they're not important."
A voice came over the intercom. "Mr. Braun? Your 2 o'clock is here."
Catherine picked up the file. "I better go."
"Catherine?"
She turned to face him. "Yes?"
"Do you think things could ever go back…to how they were?"
Catherine said nothing for a moment. "I…I don't know Sam." With that, she turned around and left the room.
Gil glanced at the file. "You're going to give this to Brass?"
Catherine sank down into the chair opposite him. "I don't know what to do."
He reached over, taking her hand. "You should have let me come with you."
Catherine smiled slight and kissed his hand. "I was okay. I'll be okay."
Gil watched her carefully for a moment before sitting back. "I'll show this to Brass." He smiled at her. "I love you, you know?"
She grinned at him. "I love you too." Leaning back on the chair, she looked over at him. "Where are the kids?"
"Lindsey's at Nancy's. Katie's in the lab somewhere." He wrinkled his nose. "Probably with Greg."
Catherine chuckled. "Our girl is growing up."
Gil hmphed. He glanced over at her belly. "At least you still have a long way to go. Right little one?"
Catherine got up, stretching her back. "You look tired."
"So do you."
"Then why are we still here?"
"Paperwork."
"Are people going to die if the paperwork isn't completed?"
"Ecklie might…" Gil paused and a smile lit up his face. "Hey! Let's go home!"