When Catherine arrived home from work that morning, she heard the unmistakable sound of vomiting. "Lindsey," she called, trying to see if everything was alright.

Catherine continued down the hallway and found Lindsey hunched over the toilet. "What's wrong Linds?" she asked.

"I think I might have the flu or something, my stomach is bothering me," Lindsey stated, vomiting again, "I don't think I can go to school today."

Lindsey pulled herself up off of the floor and started brushing her teeth. Catherine reached out and felt her forehead. "Well, you don't feel warm," Catherine stated, "why don't you go lay down, and I'll make you some hot tea."

"I don't like tea," Lindsey complained.

"It'll help you feel better. Go get comfortable in bed."

Catherine left the bathroom and headed back out to the kitchen. She put some water on the stove to boil, and she ripped open the teabag package. After dropping the teabag in an empty cup, Catherine opened the lower cabinet door to throw the wrapper in the garbage. What met her eye caused her anger to rise exponentially. "Lindsey Willows, get out here now!" Catherine yelled.

Sitting in the top of the garbage can were three empty bottles of beer and an empty bottle of vodka. Why does she do this, why must she always find ways of getting herself into even more trouble? Lindsey walked out into the kitchen and stood before her mother with her hands on her hips. "What?" Lindsey asked, her voice laced with attitude.

Catherine grabbed the garbage can and dropped it in between them. "Stomach flu my ass," Catherine seethed, "what were you thinking?"

I can't believe I forgot to get rid of that after I cleaned up everything else. Lindsey stayed silent and glared at her mother. "Did you think I wasn't going to find the evidence?" Catherine continued, "I'm a CSI Lindsey!"

"So you tell me all of the time. All you ever do is work!" Lindsey shouted back.

"So you decided to drink while I was gone? You begged me for weeks to be able to stay here by yourself at night and not have to go over to your aunts! I trusted you, and you did this?"

"You can't tell me that you never experimented!" Lindsey argued.

"It is not your mission in life to turn into me. Twelve year old girls should not be drinking!"

Catherine was about to continue when the phone rang. She walked over to the side counter and picked up the receiver. "Willows," she stated.

"Finally, someone picks up. I have called your cell phone numerous times, and I have left a couple of messages on your home phone."

Catherine looked down at the cradle and realized that the light was blinking and that the display read that there were three messages. "What's the problem Nancy?" Catherine asked.

Lindsey groaned when she realized who was talking. She tried to leave the kitchen, but the look on her mother's face told her to stay put. "I woke up this morning and found my daughter throwing up repeatedly in the bathroom. The clothes that she had on smelt like alcohol, and when questioned as to why, she said that she was at your house, drinking with Lindsey."

"It was almost ten o'clock when I left last night, how could she have gotten out of your house?"

"Apparently she has been sneaking out through her bedroom window."

"Nancy, I assure you that I had no knowledge as to what was going on."

"That's the problem. You leave that girl home alone at night so you can go to work. Did you ever think that this is a time when she needs direction and guidance, not abandonment?" the woman yelled, "I didn't have any disciplinary problems with my daughter until she started spending time with your daughter. Catherine, this is the last straw, I don't want your daughter anywhere near mine. They could have killed themselves last night the way they were drinking. Get your daughter under control!"

Before Catherine had a chance to reply, the other woman hung up. Catherine slammed the phone back into the cradle and turned to her daughter. "You better start explaining things, and you better do it fast," Catherine seethed, "what was Amanda doing over here?"

"We were just hanging out," Lindsey stated.

"At ten o'clock at night with absolutely no supervision? What was the first rule of our agreement?"

"Keep all of the doors locked at all times and keep the security system on."

"Lindsey, this isn't a time for games! What were the two of you doing?"

"Isn't that kind of obvious?"

"What did you drink, what did she drink, and how much?"

"She'd tried stuff at her house before, she said she liked the vodka," Lindsey replied, "it was only half full."

I know it was half full, I do have some control over this house. "So you had the three bottles of beer?"

"Yeah, I couldn't get into the other stuff."

"How did she get home?"

"She walked."

"You let her leave this house drunk?"

"She wasn't drunk."

"She had half a bottle of vodka!"

"I said the bottle was half full, I never said she drank it all!"

"How much did she drink?"

"She had a couple of cups of vodka mixed with soda. She'd pour some vodka in the bottom and fill the rest of the cup up with soda."

Great, now I've got a kid who knows how to mix drinks. I was wondering what would possess them to drink straight vodka, it doesn't taste so good. "Where did the rest go?"

"Well, some spilled on her shirt, and the rest went home with her in the soda bottle she brought with her."

"How long was she here?"

"About eleven to three. She said she had to get back, so I said bye, and she walked home."

"Has this happened before?"

"The drinking? No, I had never touched the stuff."

"How about her being over here?"

"We've done it a couple of times. She had never stayed that late though."

"We're going to have a long talk about this later," Catherine stated, "I need to call Amanda's mother back. Go to your room and lay down."

Lindsey turned and walked out of the kitchen. Catherine picked up the phone again and called Nancy back. "Nancy, I just got most of the story out of Lindsey, I think you have a bigger problem on your hands," Catherine explained.

"How can you say that? You're the one who has the messed up daughter."

"Right now your daughter is in possession of a soda bottle filled with vodka. I thought you would want to know so you could take it from her. You also might want to keep a better eye on your alcoholic beverages. Lindsey told me that Amanda had been experimenting with them before."

"How do you know that your daughter hasn't?"

"That is one thing that I keep close tabs on, I would have noticed if any was missing."

"So you keep tabs on your alcohol, but not your daughter? That's encouraging."

"Nancy, I am not trying to argue with you. Believe me, this will never happen again. I just wanted you to know that you might need to sit down and talk with your daughter."

"Do you have any idea how long this has been going on?"

"Lindsey told me that Amanda has only been over here a couple of times and that last night was the first time they had had anything to drink. They drank over the span of four hours, and although both of them are pretty hung over right now, neither of them drank any amount that would be lethal. Lindsey states that Amanda didn't seem drunk when she left here."

Catherine heard a long sigh on the other end of the line. "This is coming from your daughter who was probably also drunk. I think it is best that the two of them stay away from each other right now," Nancy stated, "this can't happen again."

"They'll see each other at school, that's enough. Lindsey isn't going to be going out of the house for a while."

"Neither is Amanda. Thank you for letting me know about the vodka, my husband just found it."

The two exchanged an awkward goodbye, and Catherine ended the call. She sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. How did I let this happen, am I that bad as a mother? I can process evidence to find criminals, but I can't control my own daughter? She's twelve, if this is where it's starting, what is she going to do next? Lindsey and I need to sit down and have a long talk. She's not going to be leaving this house for a while. Phone in hand, Catherine started dialing a familiar number.

Sara woke up to Grissom's thumb lazily grazing the underside of her breast. "Gil, don't," she mumbled.

Grissom stopped and slid his hand back down to rest over her stomach. He settled on kissing her neck and holding her close. "They're tender, they definitely do not want to be touched right now," Sara tried to explain.

"That's okay," Grissom spoke, continuing kisses behind her ear and down her neck.

"Gil, stop, please," Sara stated, pulling slightly away from him, "I can't do this right now."

Sara sat up on the edge of the bed and then walked over to her dresser to pull out a pair of sweatpants. She put them on and looked back at Grissom. She ventured back over to the bed and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm going to go make breakfast, why don't you go take a shower?"

"Sure, I'll be out in a few minutes."

Sara nodded and walked out of the bedroom to head to the kitchen.

When Grissom walked out into the kitchen, Sara was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. She had set out a bowl of cereal for him across the table, and the milk was sitting next to it. "Why Ms. Sidle, you did so much cooking this morning," Grissom joked, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"I didn't feel like it," Sara explained, "so I thought cereal would be okay."

"It is," Grissom stated, "are you alright though?"

"Yeah, just the usual."

Grissom kissed the top of her head and moved to sit across the table from her. "Before you sit down, you might want to call Cath," Sara relayed, "she left three messages on the machine, and she called my cell a couple of times. I'm assuming it's about something important."

"Alright, I'll call her from my cell," Grissom said, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Grissom left the kitchen and walked back into the bedroom to retrieve his cell phone off of the side table. He sat down on the bed and speed dialed Catherine. "Willows," she answered.

"Cath, what's so important that you called so many times?"

"Well, after covering shift for the two of you, I went home and found my twelve year old daughter hung over. I was calling you because I need to take off tonight."

Grissom was silent for a minute while he digested the information. "Catherine, I think you need to sit her down and have another talk."

"I realize that Gil. Right now I've got a huge mess on my hands. Can I have tonight off or not?"

"Of course you can have tonight off. Is there anything else you need?"

"I need to figure out where the hell I went wrong in raising my kid. I'll call later or something Gil, I just need to go now."

"Alright Cath."

Grissom closed his cell phone, set it back on the table, and sat on the bed. One day I might have to deal with that. How would I deal with that? With our jobs the way they are, how will we raise a child? Grissom tried to clear the negative thoughts out of his head, and he ventured back out into the kitchen.

"What did Cath need?" Sara asked when Grissom sat down at the table.

"She's having some problems with Lindsey. She asked for the night off," Grissom explained.

"Oh, that doesn't sound like fun," Sara stated, finishing the last bites of her cereal.

Sara got up from the table and put her bowl in the sink. "Do you think we can go for a walk after you're done eating?"

"Sure."

"Okay, I'm going to jump in the shower while you're finishing."

Sara exited the kitchen and walked down to the bathroom.

When Sara exited the bedroom, she found Grissom sitting on the couch in the living room. "Are you all ready?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah."

Grissom got up off of the couch and led her to the door. He locked it behind them, and they started walking down the sidewalk. "Where do you want to go?" Grissom asked, taking her right hand in his left.

"I thought we could go down to the park. The doctor said that walking can help alleviate some of the symptoms."

"Yeah, I read about that. Some extra rest can help too."

"Oh, is that your not so casual way of hinting that I need to get some more sleep?"

Grissom shrugged. "Am I that readable?"

"Sometimes," Sara replied, "what do you really want to talk about?"

"You don't have to push so hard at work. If you don't feel well, just say something, and I'll keep you in the lab."

"Griss, you know I don't want to stay in the lab all of the time. It is perfectly fine for me to go into the field."

Grissom definitely did not want to start an argument. "How about this. If you don't feel well, say something ahead of time, and maybe you can take the few extra minutes that you need to feel a little better. I can't have you passing out in the field on me again."

"Griss, I can't prevent that, it's unpredictable. I can't control so many of the things that are going on with me right now."

"I did some reading," Grissom explained, "I know the three meal a day thing isn't working for you. Why don't you try eating smaller meals throughout the day?"

Sara stopped walking and looked down at the ground. "You're not going to gang up on me too, are you?"

Grissom rested his hand on her shoulder, and Sara looked up at him. "Sara, I'm not trying to push you to do anything. I merely thought that if I did some research I might be able to find something that would work for you. The baby needs food."

Sara leaned into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you," Sara spoke, "I know you're trying to help. You're probably just as worried about this as I am."

"I do worry about you when you push too hard, or when you don't get enough sleep, and you feel horrible. I just want to know if there is anything that I can do to help."

"For now, can you just walk with me?" Sara asked, looking up at him again.

Grissom smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Sure honey."

Grissom wrapped an arm around her waist, and the two began walking once again.

When Catherine finished her telephone conversations, she took two bottles of water out of the refrigerator and walked down the hallway to Lindsey's room. Well, here goes nothing. Hopefully I can try and get some things sorted out. "Lindsey, I brought you some water," Catherine stated, handing the water to her, "you should drink it so you don't get dehydrated."

Lindsey sat up in the bed, and Catherine sat on the end of the bed. Catherine let Lindsey take a few sips of water before she spoke. "Lindsey, I don't know what to do about this. I don't know why you keep doing these things. What can I do so this doesn't happen again?"

"Actually be home for once, actually spend time with me," Lindsey stated, "you're either at work or tired from work. You never have time for me."

"Lindsey, you know I have to work nights," Catherine started.

"That's always what you end up saying. Work always comes first," Lindsey interrupted.

"Lindsey, that is not true."

"You have a great way of showing it. I don't want to talk to you, leave."

"Lindsey, this is my house, and I am your mother, you need to show some respect."

"I never had a problem with dad, he was there for me all of the time."

"Don't make this about your father."

"He's dead mom, why don't you show some respect?" Lindsey shot back.

"You're grounded," Catherine stated, walking toward the door.

"For how long?"

"Indefinitely. When you lose your attitude we'll talk about your sleeping arrangements."

Catherine walked out of the room before Lindsey could argue. As she walked back into the kitchen, she heard Lindsey slam the door closed. That went wonderfully. I have no idea what I'm going to do with her. Catherine grabbed a cooler from the closet and turned toward the refrigerator. If I can't trust my daughter, I've got to get the house cleaned out. This isn't happening again. Catherine opened the refrigerator, took out the bottles of beer, and set them in the cooler. She then added all of the rest of the alcohol that was in the house. She put the lid on the cooler and carried it out to her car. I'll figure all of that out later, right now I need some sleep. At a loss as to what to do to make sure Lindsey stayed in the house, Catherine pulled a security sensor from the living room window and affixed one side of it to the door and the other side to the doorframe. It may be extreme, but I'll know if she gets up. Catherine headed to her bedroom, changed, and tried to relax in bed. She reminds me so much of me, it's scary.

When Grissom and Sara got to the park, Grissom led Sara over to a bench, and the two of them sat down. "How do you feel?" Grissom asked.

"A little tired, but I'm okay," Sara replied, leaning against his shoulder.

"I would like to go back to that vendor and get a bottle of water for you," Grissom stated, "will you be okay here for a few minutes?"

Sara sat up straight and smiled. "I'll be fine."

Grissom squeezed her hand and walked back toward where he had seen a vendor.

A few minutes later, Grissom sat down next to Sara and handed her a bottle of water. "Thanks," Sara spoke, taking it from him and opening it to take a sip.

Grissom opened a bottle of his own and took a long pull from it. Sara slid over on the bench so she was leaning against him once again. "It's a pretty nice day," Sara stated.

"Yeah, it's not really hot," Grissom replied.

The two sat together for a few minutes before either one of them said anything else. "How are we ever going to be involved in our children's lives?" Grissom asked, playing with a lock of Sara's hair.

"What do you mean?" Sara questioned.

"We work nights, how are we ever going to see our kids?"

"Kids? We don't even have one yet, and you're thinking about more?"

"Sara, that's not what I mean. How would we be there for our child while working strange hours at work?"

"Right now, I don't have the faintest idea. I'm sure we would be able to manage juggling our child and our work."

"It's going to be challenging."

"Since when are you not ready for a challenge? Why are you so worried about this right now anyway? We have plenty of time before we have to start worrying about school and stuff like that."

As soon as Sara spoke, she realized what had brought the conversation on. "Gil, we're going to make mistakes," Sara stated, "but I have confidence that we will be able to work through things together. Nothing is set in stone."

Grissom furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Things may change, but we'll have to deal with that when we have further context."

Grissom wasn't quite reassured by her statement, but he decided that the park probably wasn't the best place to have their conversation. Grissom kissed the top of Sara's head and ran his hand up and down her arm. "You're going to laugh at this," Sara broke their silence, "but can we start walking back to the house?"

"Sure," Grissom spoke, taking her empty bottle from her.

They got up from the bench, and Grissom threw their empty bottles in a nearby recycling bin. Grissom took Sara's hand in his, and they started their walk back home. She didn't come straight out and say it, but she admitted that she was tired, that's one step in the right direction. Hopefully I can get her to lay down again when we get home.