Warrick sighed and shot David Phillips a warning look. It wasn't really David's fault. Catherine was just scared and was the type of woman who would show it over her dead body. Taking off his gloves, he followed her out to the parking lot.

"Cat. Ya alright? Don't let him get to you like that."

"I was scared. Still am. Don't tell any one, okay?" She said as she turned into his arms.

"Shh… It's okay. I won't let any one hurt you again."

"You know I love you don't you?" she asked. He just kissed the top of her head. "What'd I do to deserve you?" She smiled up at him, before settling back into his arms.

"Right back at ya." He muttered, pissed at himself for not realizing how much she needed him.

"We should get back inside before they send a search party."

He grinned at her wry sense of humor. Just one of the many things he loved about her.

"Listen Catherine, Warrick and I can handle this." Detective Wolfe said, concern in his voice. Warrick could have laughed. Like that would work. Not surprising Warrick in the least, she said in a voice that told Warrick that she wasn't about to show how scared she was, "I'm going in." Warrick gave the pleading voice a try.

"Well, the guy assaulted you. You don't have to put yourself through this, you know." He said, begging her to understand that it hurt him to see her like this.

"If I don't I'll be scared of the next one and the one after that." She explained, getting out. Inside, he gathered the workers, realizing that they were very much a uniform group. Catherine, as usual, had a plan. "Transfer works both ways." Handing him an evidence bag from her kit, she grabbed a few tissues, handing the first guy a tissue. "Blow your nose," she said

"I don't gotta." he challenged her. She dared him to try her. Warrick nearly cracked up as the guy apparently realized that an angry Catherine was not something he wanted to deal with, and took the tissue. The next guy was much more cooperative when Catherine said, "Guess." She simply held the tissue out for the guy after him, who hadn't gotten the angry Catherine message, and stated, "I don't think so." She said, " I guess I'll just have to look for myself." He decided to hassle her.

"Wanna look at my boogers lady, go right ahead." Apparently he hadn't gotten the angry Warrick message either.

"Hey!" Warrick exclaimed, wanting to jump the guy.

Catherine explained her reasoning as she used an otoscope to look up his nose. Fun.

"Nose hairs are nature's filters. Traps all kinds of things. Dust, dirt… fingerprint powder." She said, venom in her voice "You did it." She explained, as if he didn't already know this. "You inhaled the fingerprint dust I was using" Now Warrick really wanted to jump the guy. However, he kept his calm and simply admired Catherine's ability to mask her fear. She backed away as the uniformed officer cuffed the guy. Warrick placed a hand on the small of her back, subconsciously guiding her out of harm's way, as his new worst enemy walked by. Wolfe watched as Catherine collected herself, and asked if she was okay. She responded with an affirmative lie and Warrick made a mental note to call her bluff later, when they were alone.

Catherine Willows walked into the locker room at the end of the longest shift of her life. She smiled when she noticed the folded white piece of paper on the bottom of her locker. She'd gotten used to seeing them, but they still never failed to make her heart melt. Unfolding the note, she read what he'd written.

Cath,

Don't try to tell me you're "okay". I know you better than Wolfe. Dinner, my place, 6, no buts. You need to talk to someone. Love you.

'rick

She blinked back tears. God he could be so sweet. She collected herself, going to the bathroom, and washing her face before going to tell Grissom she and Warrick had closed the case.

5:30 found Warrick frantically rushing around his kitchen making sure the spaghetti wasn't over done, the meatballs weren't burning, the table was set, and so on. He'd settled on spaghetti and meatballs because he'd had to spend longer than expected cleaning his apartment. He hadn't planned on inviting Catherine over for dinner at the beginning of shift and therefore left a mess.

Catherine was having a little date anxiety herself, though she couldn't for the life of her figure out why, after years of knowing Warrick. However, she found herself tearing her closet apart trying to find the perfect outfit. Finally, after about 15 minutes, she settled on a turquoise beaded halter top with a tan leather over coat and black jeans. She quickly brushed her teeth and put on simple turtle earrings with turquoise stones. She put on some mascara, eyeliner, a light eyeshadow and a pink lipstick. "Lindsey, honey, are you ready?" she called, hoping her daughter wouldn't make her late.

"Almost Mommy." When her daughter was ready she grabbed her keys and her purse and got in the car. A half an hour later, having dropped Lindsey off with Eddie, she parked her car in front of Warrick's apartment building. She sat for a little while, hoping her nerves would calm down, but the wait only served to make her more nervous so she got out of her car and walked up. She hesitated before knocking on the door. Waiting, she heard Warrick tell her he was coming. A few seconds later he opened the door with a grin. "You look great" he said by way of greeting. She smiled before responding, "Thanks, you too." He opened the door wider, guiding her in and taking the opportunity to plant a kiss on her check.

"So, how does spaghetti and meatballs sound?" Warrick asked, hoping she wouldn't mind.

"Great. I love Italian." She grinned. Warrick took a breath for the first time since he'd gotten up at 3:30.

"Good. Let's eat, I'm starved." She grinned at him. They sat down, eating in silence until Warrick broke it. "So is Lindsey pissed at me for stealing you?" He asked, trying to release some of the tension in the room. She laughed.

"Oh, nothing she can't get over. I mean she gets to hang out with her dad."

"Ouch, you're cruel!" He teased.

"Well somebody didn't really give me a choice. I seem to remember the words 'my place, 6, no buts' distinctly." He turned serious.

"You really do need to talk to some one Cat. If not me than some one else" He said, holding eye contact.

"There's no one else I'd rather talk to Warrick." She said. "But there really isn't anything to talk about. Yeah, I'm scared but there's really nothing you can do about it." He gave her a warning look. "You know me 'rick, 'never doubt never look back'" He sighed.

"I know. I just want you to know that I'm here if you do need to talk. I need to know you're okay." He said, his voice catching. She reached over and squeezed his hand.

"I promise I'll come to you if I need to talk." He smiled.

"That's all I needed to hear."

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