Title: The Revolving Door
Author: Angie
Email: hill@grics.net
Disclaimers: CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Rita for coming up with the title. This part hasn't been betaed, so all mistakes are mine, and mine alone. I really hadn't planned on posting this today, but I actually had some inspiration and got this chapter completed.
Spoilers: nothing really, a slight reference has been made to "A Little Murder" but nothing that will ruin the episode if you haven't seen it.
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage, ShipperWorldCSI… all others please ask.
*~*~*~*~*
*from part 2*
"Just get me out of the house Gil." She was pleading with Grissom now. She had been trying to remain strong, but she knew she was going to lose control if she stayed in that room.
"Do me a favor Cath?" Gil whispered. "Keep your eyes closed as go through the house. We'll get it all cleaned up for you, but you don't need to see it now."
With complete trust, she followed Gil's request and let him carry her away from her nightmare come true.
*And on to part 3 of "The Revolving Door"*
*~*~*~*
"Okay you can open your eyes now."
Catherine slowly opened her eyes and saw that they were now standing in front of her house and heading towards Gil's Tahoe. That's when she saw Lindsey in the vehicle. She made eye contact with her daughter and the last bit of control she had slipped away.
Catherine watched as Lindsey climbed out of the vehicle and ran over to them.
Lindsey's nervousness was obvious as she barraged the adults with more questions then usual. "Mommy! What happened? Are you okay, your bleeding and your crying. Why is Uncle Grissom carrying you?"
"Lindsey, I promised everything would be okay, I'll take care of you and your mother. Can you open the back door for me?" Gil interrupted Lindsey and hoped she would do as he asked. He watched as Lindsey went back to the Tahoe and opened the door. "Lindsey, can you go to the back and get me the first aid kit in there?" Gil asked as he nodded towards the rear of the vehicle. He watched Lindsey go to the back of the vehicle, being sure to keep a close eye on her since he still wasn't sure what had happened here this afternoon. He placed Catherine on the floor of the Tahoe in a sitting position with her legs dangling outside of the vehicle. Once that was finished he took the first aid kit from Lindsey, then asked her to wait in the front seat so he could focus on Catherine.
Turning his attention to Catherine, he finally got a closer inspection of the damage that had been inflicted upon her. There was a gash above her right eye that was bleeding profusely. The cut on her right cheek wasn't bleeding as bad but it probably needed stitches as well. Glancing down from her face he saw the disarray of her clothing, and could immediately tell that it wasn't from his actions. Pushing his thoughts aside he moved his gaze to her arms. The wrist on her left arm was swollen and discolored, he was sure it was at least sprained if not broken. The welts on both of her wrists were more pronounced now that he could view them in proper light. Moving his glance down farther, he saw the tell-tale signs of bruising on her legs and inner thighs. Taking in the last part of his inspection, he spied the reason for her pain earlier. Her right ankle appeared to have suffered the same treatment as her left wrist. And the ropes around her ankles did little to hide the rawness of the skin beneath.
"Cath… what happened?" He asked setting the first aid kit next to her. He knew he couldn't use it, at least not yet.
Looking into his eyes, her heart broke. She knew he was feeling guilty about what happened, even if there was nothing he could have done to stop the attack. Catherine looked to the front seat and saw her daughter sitting there. "Not now Gil," she whispered. "Not in front of Lindsey."
He didn't push any further for an answer, he knew the need she felt to protect her daughter, he shared the same need, only his was to protect mother and daughter. "I have to call this in Cath. Who do you want me to call, Brass and our crew or Ecklie? I'll leave the choice to you." He knew who he wanted to bring in, but he also knew how awkward it could be to have your co-workers that deeply involved in your personal life.
After weighing the pros and cons, she made her decision. "Give Brass a call."
Reaching for his phone Gil punched in the familiar number. "Brass?… No I know it's early. I need some help. Can you come over to Cath's house and I'm going to call in the rest of my team… She's going to be all right, just get over here Jim." Finishing that call he proceeded with the next one. "Warrick?… I'm fine but I need you to get Nick and Sara and get to Cath's as soon as possible. No, I don't know what happened, but I need you guys to process the ….process the… I need you here to gather evidence… Okay, see you in a few."
Looking back at Catherine he could see the sadness in her eyes. "Cath, I need to get you to the hospital."
"Not yet Gil," she said softly. "I still need to be processed…" Noticing that Gil was going to say something she quickly continued before he could interrupt. "Besides you left your kit inside. We have to wait for everyone to get here, keep the scene secure. I'll be fine Gil, I promise, and we aren't going to have to wait long. Just stay here with me, okay?"
Gil couldn't keep the slight smile from appearing on his face as he took in the woman before him. He had always admired the inner strength she had, and this moment just emphasized the thoughts in his mind. He knew she wasn't going to leave until the evidence had been collected, but he had to try. Taking a seat next to her he turned to her and whispered, "I'll always be here, Cath." Not being able to hold Catherine's hand, he reached around the seat to hold Lindsey's hand as the three silently sat and waited for help to arrive.
*~*~*~*~*
After seemingly no time at all, Brass pulled up to the house, followed shortly by the rest of their team. Releasing his grip on Lindsey's hand, Gil stood up and opened the passenger door of the Tahoe. After helping Lindsey out of the car he walked her over to Brass's car, motioning for the man to join him.
Kneeling before the girl he asked, "Lindsey, you remember Jim don't you?" At the girls nod he continued, "I want you to tell him everything that happened today okay. And then when your mother's ready we are going to take her to the hospital, just to make sure that everything is all right."
Standing up he watched as Brass led the little girl a bit farther away so he could begin the questioning.
Turning around he saw his team standing around Catherine, no one saying a word. He made his way back over, trying to decide who to assign to the tasks that needed to be done.
"Catherine, who do you want to…" He prayed he wouldn't have to finish the question. Usually in these situations he had Catherine process the evidence from the victim but that wasn't an option this time.
After a minute of silence they heard Catherine say "Warrick."
With Catherine's request in mind Grissom sent Nick and Sara into the house to process Catherine's home.
"Wait."
At the sound of Catherine's voice everyone stopped and turned to her. "Start with my bedroom. That's where…. That's where you will find most of the evidence. Grissom's case is in there too, with some evidence already bagged. Concentrate on the bed and the closet, I know there are hairs in the bed. I ripped out a handful, and…"
"Cath," Nick interrupted. "Don't worry, we'll take care of everything." Nick assured her. After seeing her nod of approval, he and Sara turned back to head into the house.
"Cath, do you want to talk about what happened?" Warrick asked as he set down his case.
"Not right now. I want to wait on Jim."
She didn't need to say anymore. The two men knew she was wanting to tell the story as few times as possible and neither of them wanted to argue with her logic.
"Warrick? Can you get these scrapings from under my nails first?" Catherine said as she slowly released the fingers she had clenched into a fist and had been protecting since leaving her home.
Gathering the evidence from Catherine's nails, he looked to her to see what she wanted done next.
"Gil's going to have transfers on him as well." She knew she was the one that wanted Warrick to do this, he was there when she was attacked a few months earlier so at least he's seen her in this state before. But it was still hard. It probably would have been easier if she had picked Ecklie's team, they didn't know her very well. But she also knew that their team was going to work twice as hard and she wanted to feel safe again as soon as possible.
Everyone took their cue from Catherine and Gil stood up to allow Warrick easier access in processing the evidence from him. Once completed they turned back to Catherine.
"Are you sure you're okay with this Catherine? I can always have Sara come back and…" Warrick began.
"No. I'm fine."
They both could see the steely resolve in her eyes and knew that she had buried her feelings for the time being.
Warrick pulled out his camera and started taking pictures of Catherine's wounds.
"Shit!"
They both turned to Gil at his exclamation.
"I forgot to take pictures inside." He muttered silently, cursing himself for his mistakes.
"I'm sure Nick and Sara are taking care of that Gris." Warrick tried to assure his boss, even though he knew his words would do little to console the man. Not knowing what else to say, Warrick continued with the job at hand. Finishing the pictures he placed his camera back in his case and took out a pair of scissors.
Kneeling before her, he examined the rope that still bound her ankles together, looking for the best place to cut the rope without destroying any potential evidence.
Gil turned his attention back to Warrick and watched him with interest. 'How would she have been able to walk out of that room anyway? I can't believe I forgot to cut those ropes. What else did I screw up in there?' The doubts were starting to come into his mind faster now.
"Gil." Catherine waited until she had his full attention. "It's okay, I forgot about the ropes too." She said with a sad smile on her face. She knew what he was thinking and didn't want him to doubt anything.
Warrick placed the rope into an evidence bag and began scanning Catherine looking for hairs and other transfers she might have on her. After gathering that evidence, he determined that he was done with what he could do for now. "Cath, we need to get you to the hospital. I can get your, um, clothes there and one of the nurses can do the rape kit."
"What?" Catherine's head popped up at Warrick's last sentence.
"Well from the…"
"Is that what everyone thinks?" Cath questioned as Jim came over to them.
"Catherine, are you all right?" Jim asked when he saw the look on her face. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"Warrick, do you mind going with Lindsey. I don't want her to be by herself right now. I'll send Brass over when we're done."
"Sure Gil." Warrick replied, leaving his kit with the group at the Tahoe.
Catherine watched Warrick as he greeted her daughter and then turned her attention back to the two remaining men. "Sure." She said simply, to Brass's earlier question, before beginning her story.
*~*~*~*~*
To be continued…
Author: Angie
Email: hill@grics.net
Disclaimers: CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Rita for coming up with the title. This part hasn't been betaed, so all mistakes are mine, and mine alone. I really hadn't planned on posting this today, but I actually had some inspiration and got this chapter completed.
Spoilers: nothing really, a slight reference has been made to "A Little Murder" but nothing that will ruin the episode if you haven't seen it.
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage, ShipperWorldCSI… all others please ask.
*~*~*~*~*
*from part 2*
"Just get me out of the house Gil." She was pleading with Grissom now. She had been trying to remain strong, but she knew she was going to lose control if she stayed in that room.
"Do me a favor Cath?" Gil whispered. "Keep your eyes closed as go through the house. We'll get it all cleaned up for you, but you don't need to see it now."
With complete trust, she followed Gil's request and let him carry her away from her nightmare come true.
*And on to part 3 of "The Revolving Door"*
*~*~*~*
"Okay you can open your eyes now."
Catherine slowly opened her eyes and saw that they were now standing in front of her house and heading towards Gil's Tahoe. That's when she saw Lindsey in the vehicle. She made eye contact with her daughter and the last bit of control she had slipped away.
Catherine watched as Lindsey climbed out of the vehicle and ran over to them.
Lindsey's nervousness was obvious as she barraged the adults with more questions then usual. "Mommy! What happened? Are you okay, your bleeding and your crying. Why is Uncle Grissom carrying you?"
"Lindsey, I promised everything would be okay, I'll take care of you and your mother. Can you open the back door for me?" Gil interrupted Lindsey and hoped she would do as he asked. He watched as Lindsey went back to the Tahoe and opened the door. "Lindsey, can you go to the back and get me the first aid kit in there?" Gil asked as he nodded towards the rear of the vehicle. He watched Lindsey go to the back of the vehicle, being sure to keep a close eye on her since he still wasn't sure what had happened here this afternoon. He placed Catherine on the floor of the Tahoe in a sitting position with her legs dangling outside of the vehicle. Once that was finished he took the first aid kit from Lindsey, then asked her to wait in the front seat so he could focus on Catherine.
Turning his attention to Catherine, he finally got a closer inspection of the damage that had been inflicted upon her. There was a gash above her right eye that was bleeding profusely. The cut on her right cheek wasn't bleeding as bad but it probably needed stitches as well. Glancing down from her face he saw the disarray of her clothing, and could immediately tell that it wasn't from his actions. Pushing his thoughts aside he moved his gaze to her arms. The wrist on her left arm was swollen and discolored, he was sure it was at least sprained if not broken. The welts on both of her wrists were more pronounced now that he could view them in proper light. Moving his glance down farther, he saw the tell-tale signs of bruising on her legs and inner thighs. Taking in the last part of his inspection, he spied the reason for her pain earlier. Her right ankle appeared to have suffered the same treatment as her left wrist. And the ropes around her ankles did little to hide the rawness of the skin beneath.
"Cath… what happened?" He asked setting the first aid kit next to her. He knew he couldn't use it, at least not yet.
Looking into his eyes, her heart broke. She knew he was feeling guilty about what happened, even if there was nothing he could have done to stop the attack. Catherine looked to the front seat and saw her daughter sitting there. "Not now Gil," she whispered. "Not in front of Lindsey."
He didn't push any further for an answer, he knew the need she felt to protect her daughter, he shared the same need, only his was to protect mother and daughter. "I have to call this in Cath. Who do you want me to call, Brass and our crew or Ecklie? I'll leave the choice to you." He knew who he wanted to bring in, but he also knew how awkward it could be to have your co-workers that deeply involved in your personal life.
After weighing the pros and cons, she made her decision. "Give Brass a call."
Reaching for his phone Gil punched in the familiar number. "Brass?… No I know it's early. I need some help. Can you come over to Cath's house and I'm going to call in the rest of my team… She's going to be all right, just get over here Jim." Finishing that call he proceeded with the next one. "Warrick?… I'm fine but I need you to get Nick and Sara and get to Cath's as soon as possible. No, I don't know what happened, but I need you guys to process the ….process the… I need you here to gather evidence… Okay, see you in a few."
Looking back at Catherine he could see the sadness in her eyes. "Cath, I need to get you to the hospital."
"Not yet Gil," she said softly. "I still need to be processed…" Noticing that Gil was going to say something she quickly continued before he could interrupt. "Besides you left your kit inside. We have to wait for everyone to get here, keep the scene secure. I'll be fine Gil, I promise, and we aren't going to have to wait long. Just stay here with me, okay?"
Gil couldn't keep the slight smile from appearing on his face as he took in the woman before him. He had always admired the inner strength she had, and this moment just emphasized the thoughts in his mind. He knew she wasn't going to leave until the evidence had been collected, but he had to try. Taking a seat next to her he turned to her and whispered, "I'll always be here, Cath." Not being able to hold Catherine's hand, he reached around the seat to hold Lindsey's hand as the three silently sat and waited for help to arrive.
*~*~*~*~*
After seemingly no time at all, Brass pulled up to the house, followed shortly by the rest of their team. Releasing his grip on Lindsey's hand, Gil stood up and opened the passenger door of the Tahoe. After helping Lindsey out of the car he walked her over to Brass's car, motioning for the man to join him.
Kneeling before the girl he asked, "Lindsey, you remember Jim don't you?" At the girls nod he continued, "I want you to tell him everything that happened today okay. And then when your mother's ready we are going to take her to the hospital, just to make sure that everything is all right."
Standing up he watched as Brass led the little girl a bit farther away so he could begin the questioning.
Turning around he saw his team standing around Catherine, no one saying a word. He made his way back over, trying to decide who to assign to the tasks that needed to be done.
"Catherine, who do you want to…" He prayed he wouldn't have to finish the question. Usually in these situations he had Catherine process the evidence from the victim but that wasn't an option this time.
After a minute of silence they heard Catherine say "Warrick."
With Catherine's request in mind Grissom sent Nick and Sara into the house to process Catherine's home.
"Wait."
At the sound of Catherine's voice everyone stopped and turned to her. "Start with my bedroom. That's where…. That's where you will find most of the evidence. Grissom's case is in there too, with some evidence already bagged. Concentrate on the bed and the closet, I know there are hairs in the bed. I ripped out a handful, and…"
"Cath," Nick interrupted. "Don't worry, we'll take care of everything." Nick assured her. After seeing her nod of approval, he and Sara turned back to head into the house.
"Cath, do you want to talk about what happened?" Warrick asked as he set down his case.
"Not right now. I want to wait on Jim."
She didn't need to say anymore. The two men knew she was wanting to tell the story as few times as possible and neither of them wanted to argue with her logic.
"Warrick? Can you get these scrapings from under my nails first?" Catherine said as she slowly released the fingers she had clenched into a fist and had been protecting since leaving her home.
Gathering the evidence from Catherine's nails, he looked to her to see what she wanted done next.
"Gil's going to have transfers on him as well." She knew she was the one that wanted Warrick to do this, he was there when she was attacked a few months earlier so at least he's seen her in this state before. But it was still hard. It probably would have been easier if she had picked Ecklie's team, they didn't know her very well. But she also knew that their team was going to work twice as hard and she wanted to feel safe again as soon as possible.
Everyone took their cue from Catherine and Gil stood up to allow Warrick easier access in processing the evidence from him. Once completed they turned back to Catherine.
"Are you sure you're okay with this Catherine? I can always have Sara come back and…" Warrick began.
"No. I'm fine."
They both could see the steely resolve in her eyes and knew that she had buried her feelings for the time being.
Warrick pulled out his camera and started taking pictures of Catherine's wounds.
"Shit!"
They both turned to Gil at his exclamation.
"I forgot to take pictures inside." He muttered silently, cursing himself for his mistakes.
"I'm sure Nick and Sara are taking care of that Gris." Warrick tried to assure his boss, even though he knew his words would do little to console the man. Not knowing what else to say, Warrick continued with the job at hand. Finishing the pictures he placed his camera back in his case and took out a pair of scissors.
Kneeling before her, he examined the rope that still bound her ankles together, looking for the best place to cut the rope without destroying any potential evidence.
Gil turned his attention back to Warrick and watched him with interest. 'How would she have been able to walk out of that room anyway? I can't believe I forgot to cut those ropes. What else did I screw up in there?' The doubts were starting to come into his mind faster now.
"Gil." Catherine waited until she had his full attention. "It's okay, I forgot about the ropes too." She said with a sad smile on her face. She knew what he was thinking and didn't want him to doubt anything.
Warrick placed the rope into an evidence bag and began scanning Catherine looking for hairs and other transfers she might have on her. After gathering that evidence, he determined that he was done with what he could do for now. "Cath, we need to get you to the hospital. I can get your, um, clothes there and one of the nurses can do the rape kit."
"What?" Catherine's head popped up at Warrick's last sentence.
"Well from the…"
"Is that what everyone thinks?" Cath questioned as Jim came over to them.
"Catherine, are you all right?" Jim asked when he saw the look on her face. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"Warrick, do you mind going with Lindsey. I don't want her to be by herself right now. I'll send Brass over when we're done."
"Sure Gil." Warrick replied, leaving his kit with the group at the Tahoe.
Catherine watched Warrick as he greeted her daughter and then turned her attention back to the two remaining men. "Sure." She said simply, to Brass's earlier question, before beginning her story.
*~*~*~*~*
To be continued…