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 Welcome to chapter 6. And I thought that last chapter didn't want to be written. This has been a long time in the making. I'm not going to make excuses for why this chapter took so long, does anyone really care? -) And I'm not going to say when the next chapter will be posted, though I will say that I will really try to get it out faster then this chapter. This is a transitional chapter, so I'm not entirely sure what I think of it but it's necessary to continue with the story.
For those new to the lists, the first 5 chapters of this fic can be found at http//www.geocities.com/graveshiftcsi , as well as all of my other fics, and numerous fics by other G/C authors, I highly recommend it.
I really must thank Laeta and Allie for betaing this for me, and basically convincing me that it doesn't suck. -) And lots of thanks to everyone who nominated me in the CGAwards (http//www.pink-martini.net/cgawards/) And words can not express the shock when I actually placed in one of the categories, (http//www.pink-martini.net/cgawards/winners.html) many thanks to everyone, who voted and nominated anyone in these, I'm just glad they were a success. Thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed anything I've ever written, feedback is wonderful for a writer's imagination and when I'm really letting the writer's block get to me nothing makes me get back in the mood more then going back and reading old reviews.
Rating PG-13
Spoilers none really, though anything through the end of season 3 is in fair play.
Distribution The GraveshiftCSI Homepage, ShipperWorldCSI… all others
please ask.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Previously in "The Revolving Door"
"You are definitely all right, Mom," Lindsey stopped and took in her mother's appearance. "They are letting you leave right?"
"That's right," Catherine answered.
"Good. When do we get to leave?"
"As soon as Gil can get the car for us," Catherine looked up and saw Gil and Warrick standing in front of her. "Gil, can we leave now, please."
Nodding his head in agreement, Gil handed his car keys to Warrick. "Warrick, can you and Lindsey go and move my car for us?"
Gil waited until Warrick and Lindsey had left and then moved closer to Catherine and reached out to take her hand. "Let's go home," he said softly, before moving behind her to push Catherine to the waiting vehicle.
And now... Chapter 6
*~*~*~*~*
Catherine's mind fully focused on the scenery they were passing for the first time since leaving the hospital. "Gil? This isn't the way to my house."
"I know."
"Isn't this the way to…"
"My house. It is. You and Lindsey are going to stay with me for a while." He turned his face slightly to see the expression on Catherine's face. "I know you…"
"Thank you," she whispered. "For everything today. I don't know what…"
"You don't need to thank me, Cath," Gil interrupted and reached across the space to grasp her hand in his. "I'll always be here for you."
The two remained in companionable silence for the rest of the trip to Gil's house. Pulling into the driveway, Gil reluctantly released Catherine's hand from his own and put the vehicle into park. "Will you be all right out here for a minute? I need to get the door opened before…"
"I can walk on my own," Catherine replied indignantly.
Rather then argue with her, Gil decided to wait until Lindsey was out of ear shot. "Wait until I get around the car, I don't want you trying anything without some help." He quickly exited the vehicle and made his way to the passenger side. Opening the back door for Lindsey, he handed her his set of keys. "Lindsey, can you run up to the door and get it opened for us? The key with the blue grip on it is the house key." After watching Lindsey run up to the front door and get it opened, he turned to Catherine, who had opened the Tahoe door by this point. "So which of the Doctor's instructions didn't you understand?" Gil said with a smile. "No walking on that cast, remember? So you get two options, wait here and let me get the wheelchair from the back. Or I can carry you. Your choice."
After a minute of running the choices through her mind, Catherine finally answered. "Better get the wheelchair. I'm not sure my ribs will appreciate you carrying me that far."
"Good choice. Just give me a minute to get the chair out of the back." Gil went to the driver's side and popped the hatch for the back gate, before making his way to the end of the Tahoe. He quickly made his way to the back of the vehicle, while keeping an eye on Catherine, to be sure she remained seated. Lifting the back gate, Gil retrieved the wheelchair and slammed the gate down, before continuing his journey around the vehicle to Catherine. Gil opened the wheelchair and set the brakes before turning his attention to Catherine. "How do you want to do this?" He asked, trying to make things as easy for her as possible,
Catherine sat in silence for a bit while thinking of an answer. Looking down she finally made her decision, "I'm not sure I can…"
"It's all right, Cath," Gil interrupted. "Hey, look at me." Gil patiently waited for Catherine to raise her gaze before moving his finger to her chin and lifting her head up. "That's better." He couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face, just from looking into Catherine's eyes. "Don't be embarrassed. Things are going to get easier, this all just too new right now. Let me give you a hand, and hopefully we can make this as pain free as possible." Reaching out Gil placed his hands on Catherine's hips to help her turn sideways in the seat. He paused for a minute looking at Catherine and the wheelchair. "I'm not sure how to do this, Cath," he whispered. "Is that morphine shot still in effect? I don't think we are going to get you into the house without having to place some pressure on those ribs."
"I'll be all right. I just need to get settled before the shot completely wears off. Kneel down a little, will you?" Catherine waited until Gil complied with her request. Reaching up with her good arm, Catherine grasped onto Gil's shoulder. "Can you hold my leg for me? Then I can slide down, and should be able to pivot into the chair. How does that sound?"
Gil didn't give Catherine's request a second thought, he just complied with her wishes. The two followed Catherine's plan and she settled herself into the chair as comfortably as possible. He began pushing Catherine to the front of his townhouse when he came upon another obstacle, the staircase. Turning the wheelchair around, Gil backed Catherine's wheelchair up to the stairs and began to pull upward when he heard Catherine's voice.
"Stop! Gil, you're going to hurt yourself."
"Catherine, the weight of you and this wheelchair combined is probably less then 150 pounds. I promise I'm not going to hurt myself, and I'm not going to lose grip on the wheelchair either. It's only two steps up."
Catherine remained silent for a minute before giving her reluctant permission. "Just be careful, Gil. I don't think Lindsey will be able to take care of both of us."
Gil chuckled a little and resumed his previous actions. Bending slightly, he took hold of the wheelchair and tipped the seat back slightly before pulling up. He quickly got Catherine onto the landing and pulled the wheelchair the rest of the way into the townhouse, joining Lindsey in the living room. Gil stopped Catherine next to the coffee table and walked around the wheelchair to take a seat on the couch, leaving her seated in the chair.
The two adults sat in silence for a few moments, until their collective thoughts were interrupted by the other occupant of the room.
"Mom?" Lindsey's voice carried from across the room.
Catherine turned attention to Lindsey, and took in the frightened features on her child's face. "Come here, baby," she said as she motioned for Lindsey to sit with the two adults.
Lindsey crossed the room and stopped between the two adults, unsure of where exactly to go.
Sensing her indecision, Gil reached for Lindsey, pulling her into his lap. Once she was settled he wrapped an arm around her waist and reached out with his other arm to grasp Catherine's hand.
"Does that cut hurt?" Lindsey asked as she pointed to the cut on her mother's head.
"No," Catherine answered truthfully. "The doctor had the nurse give me a shot before we left, so I'm not in much pain right now."
"Then where do you hurt?" She questioned, immediately picking up on the fact that her mother didn't say that she was pain free.
Catherine wanted nothing more then to deny the pain she was feeling. But she knew she couldn't hide the fact from her daughter, and she didn't want to keep anything more from her then was necessary. "Well my ribs hurt a little, but it isn't too bad. They're just making me a bit uncomfortable."
"Well if your ribs are broken, why didn't they put a cast on them like they did your ankle?"
Catherine glanced at Gil before looking back at Lindsey, to answer her question. "Well, they can't really put a cast on broken ribs since you can't get to just the ones that are broken, so they put an Ace bandage on it, like the one you had on your wrist last year when you sprained it."
"Can I see?" Lindsey asked as she wiggled out of Gil's lap and stood closer to her mother.
Catherine nodded and slowly crossed her right arm across her abdomen to grasp the bottom hem of the t-shirt the nurse had given her to wear. Lifting her arm slowly, she raised the shirt up a little so Lindsey could see the bandage. Catherine watched as Lindsey brought her hand up to make contact with what she was seeing. Holding still, she let Lindsey touch the bandage and examine her up close for a few minutes before she adjusted her focus to Gil and lowered her shirt back down.
Lindsey stood before her mother for a little longer, after Catherine had lowered her shirt, before stepping back into Gil's awaiting arms and allowing him to pull her back into his lap. "Who did this to you?"
This was the question that Catherine had feared. She knew the answer could very well cause her daughter to become irrationally frightened of every stranger she met, but she also knew that Lindsey had a right to know. "I don't know, honey. I was asleep when it started, and you know how dark my room is when I'm sleeping." Catherine left the answer there and hoped that would satisfy the curious girl for the time being.
Gil watched as Lindsey twisted in his lap and looked her in the eyes waiting for her question. After a moment of silence he decided to give her a prompt. "It's all right Lindsey, you can ask me whatever you want."
"Are you going to catch the bad guy?"
"Yes," he replied without hesitation or an ounce of doubt in his voice. He was going to do what ever it took to make sure that Catherine's attacker was caught and nothing was going to deter him of his goal.
"What Gil means is that he is going to try as hard as he can…"
"I meant what I said, Catherine," Gil interrupted and raised his head to look Catherine in the eyes. "Don't doubt me, I will catch the…the person that did this to you." He had to stop himself from saying exactly what he thought of the person who harmed Catherine but couldn't keep the anger out of his eyes.
Reaching out, Catherine waited until she felt Gil's hand enclosing her own. She could feel the tension easing from his body as their contact lengthened. Just as she was about to speak, the sound of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. They released their grips on each other, momentarily, as Lindsey left to answer the door.
Minutes later, Warrick was ushered into the room by a smiling Lindsey. Gil quickly made his way to Warrick when he noticed the numerous packages he was laden with.
"I thought you were picking up a pink shirt and a few things…are you sure the kitchen sink isn't in here too?" Gil asked as he took a couple bags from Warrick and placed them on the table.
"I wasn't sure what to bring. And I knew you wouldn't have some of the basic necessities that most women want. So I went a bit overboard. But I did bring you some supper, so no one will have to worry about cooking tonight. I just need to run out to the car and get it, couldn't get everything in one trip." Warrick placed the rest of the packages on the table. He turned to head back out the door when he heard Gil's voice.
"Do you need some help, or can you get the rest in one trip?"
Seeing the look on his boss's face, Warrick reluctantly admitted that he would need some help and the two men left to retrieve the rest of the belongings. They returned a few minutes later with many more bags in their hands.
"How much stuff did you bring, Warrick?" Catherine asked, as her eyes bulged at the site of the numerous bags each man carried.
Warrick smiled when he saw the smirk on Catherine's face, the look the entire crew had all grown to love. "I know you, Cath. How could I have not brought your make-up and hair dryer. Not to mention clothes for Lindsey, and some video tapes, a couple of books, and maybe a couple of different clothing changes for you as well." Warrick put down the bags and went to Catherine, unlocking the brakes on her wheelchair before pushing her into Gil's kitchen and getting her settled at the table. "I know the medicine they've given you probably isn't doing much for your appetite. But you need to eat something. I stopped by Capriotti's and picked up some of that potato soup you love so much. And got a turkey sub for the rest of us." At the look on Catherine's face he added, "there is plenty for you, it you think you can handle the sandwich."
*~*~*~*~*
"Lindsey, it's time for you to start getting ready for bed." Catherine said as she set down her spoon. She wasn't able to finish much of the soup, but she had to admit that what she was able to eat tasted wonderful. She looked at Warrick and smiled her appreciation at his gesture, mentally starting a list of all the people she was going to have to thank by the time this ordeal was over. Looking back over to where her daughter sat, Catherine was surprised to see that Lindsey wasn't going to start her nightly ritual of asking to stay up just a few minutes longer.
Lindsey stood and took three steps away from the table before turning around with a questioning look in her eyes. "Where am I sleeping tonight?"
"I'll get the guest room ready for you while you're in the bath, all right?" Gil replied, as he stood when he saw Lindsey nod her head in agreement. "Cath, are you going to be all right for a few minutes? I'll be right in the other room."
"I'm not helpless, Gil," she replied. "I'll be fine out here on my own for a few minutes."
"I know you'll be all right. But promise me you won't do something foolish, like trying to get up on your own or…" One look at Catherine and Gil let the remainder of his thoughts remain unspoken. Instead, he turned his head to face Warrick. "Can you give me a hand getting the room settled and moving some of Cath's stuff into my bedroom?"
"Sure."
*~*~*~*~*
Catherine watched as the others left the room. Leaving her stuck in the kitchen by herself. The boredom of her situation escalated quickly, and she soon found herself looking for anything that might alleviate her situation. Slowly turning her head, she scanned the room hoping something would jump out at her. With that option quickly ruled out, Catherine slowly lowered her left foot to the ground.
"Shit!" She muttered at the resistance she felt as she pushed back. Looking down, she saw the cause of her stillness; the brakes were firmly in place on the wheelchair.
"Cath? Are you all right out there?"
Her head whipped up at the sound of Gil's voice carrying down the hallway. "I'm fine," she called out and immediately winced. 'Shit… note to self, do not yell with broken ribs.' Reaching down towards the brakes, Catherine slowly released them a slight smile coming to her face as she felt herself moving back from the table. With that step accomplished, she began slowly guiding herself out of the kitchen towards the couch in the living room.
"What are you doing?"
Catherine froze at the sound and turned to the left to face the man questioning her. "I got bored," she replied sheepishly. "I was just going to get on the couch and try to get a little more comfortable."
"I'm pretty sure that would fall into the foolish category Gil was talking about earlier." Warrick couldn't keep the smirk off his face. Both men knew Catherine wasn't going to sit still for long, and she just proved them right. "Let me give you a hand, it will be faster." Warrick quickly moved behind Catherine and took control of the wheelchair without giving her a chance to protest.
"Where are you going?" Catherine questioned, as she was turned to the left and pushed down the hall.
"You, my dear, are going to bed."
"I'm sleeping on the couch."
"You can't honestly tell me that you thought you would be sleeping on the couch. Gris told me to bring you to his bedroom and that is exactly where we are going. Lindsey is done with her bath and Gris is getting her settled in the guest room. He'll be joining us in a minute." Warrick stopped talking as he wheeled Catherine to the bed. Reaching down, he locked the brakes before taking a seat on the bed.
"Anything you want to talk about, while we're waiting?"
Catherine looked deeply into Warrick's eyes, trying to decipher the exact meaning behind his question. "What do you mean…"
"Are you all right? Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"I'll be fine."
"That's not exactly answering either of my questions, but I'll let you off the hook, for now." Warrick let his eyes slide over Catherine as he finally took in the full extent of her injuries. "When was the last time you had any pain medicine?"
"They gave me a shot of morphine right before we left."
Warrick nodded his head as he filed the information in his mind. "Make sure you take something pretty soon. You don't want that shot to wear off." After a slight pause, Warrick decided to continue on a different subject. "When you do decide you need to talk remember that you can always call me, okay?"
"I know, Warrick. Thanks for everything you've done tonight. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay everyone."
Placing his hand, carefully, on Catherine's arm, Warrick echoed the words Gil had told her earlier that evening. "You don't have to thank me, Cath. And I'm sure everyone else feels the same way."
"Warrick?"
"Yeah"
"Gil didn't let me look when he carried me out of the house… how much… I mean, well…"
"Don't worry about it, Cath. I'll make sure that everything gets cleaned up before you are ready to go back home."
"No! I need to see it. To see what's missing, or at least where they were searching. Promise me you want touch anything until I can see…"
"I promise, Cath, I promise." Warrick interrupted before Catherine became more upset. "I'll make sure everything is exactly the way it was when we got there. As soon as you feel ready we can take you there to look things over."
Catherine was just about to respond when she sensed a presence behind her. Turning her head around, Catherine felt her eyes widen in fear as her breathing quickened, both immediately returning to normal as her eyes confirmed who she knew would be in the doorway.
Gil froze in his tracks when he made eye contact with Catherine. The sheer terror on her face as he entered the room was enough to tell him that no matter how much she protested she was not all right. "It's just me. Lindsey is tucked safe and sound in the guest room. Now how about we get you comfortable in here?" Gil slowly made his way across the room, keeping his eyes locked on Catherine. "How do you want to do this? With Warrick here it should be a little easier then it was getting you out of the Tahoe."
Catherine looked back and forth between the two men, and she could tell they were all trying to think of the best options. "It's the ribs that are going to cause the most problems and there isn't anything we can do about it…so maybe fast is best."
Warrick stood from the bed and pulled back the covers, readying the bed for Catherine. "Do you want us to lay you in the bed, or sit you on the edge of the bed?"
"Maybe I better just lay down," Catherine responded fairly quickly. "I think the morphine is starting to wear off."
The two men quickly glanced at each other and silently agreed not to lecture her at the moment. The silent agreements continued between the two men as Warrick moved behind the wheelchair to stabilize it, while Gil gently lifted Catherine into his grasp. Once Catherine was out of the chair, Warrick moved the wheelchair out of the way so Gil would have a clear path to the bed.
With Catherine in his grip and the wheelchair out of the way, Gil walked the four steps to the bed and placed Catherine on it. He slid his hands out from under Catherine and turned in time to see Warrick making his way out of the bedroom.
"Are you all right sleeping in…I mean, do you need me to help you change…"
"I'll just sleep in this tonight. I normally sleep in shorts and a t-shirt anyway, so this is comfortable."
A small smile came to both of their faces at the awkwardness of the situation. Before either had a chance to voice anything Warrick came back into the room.
"The bottle said to take one or two tabs. Two are probably going to knock you out, but that isn't a bad thing. Are you feeling nauseous? There are some pills for that too, but I wasn't sure if you needed that."
Catherine shook her head as she gratefully accepted the pills and water glass that Warrick held out for her. With a little help from Gil, Catherine soon swallowed the pills and rested her head back on the pillow.
"If you two don't need anything else…" Warrick said as he turned to leave the room. "I'm gonna go and get ready for work. If you need anything give one of us a call and we'll be here as soon as we can."
"Let me walk you out."
"No need, Gris. I'll be sure to lock the door behind me." With his final words, Warrick left the bedroom and made his way out of the townhouse. His thoughts remaining with the friend who was now going to have to piece her life back together, and hoping the man she had chosen would be there for her.
*~*~*~*~*
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 Welcome to chapter 6. And I thought that last chapter didn't want to be written. This has been a long time in the making. I'm not going to make excuses for why this chapter took so long, does anyone really care? -) And I'm not going to say when the next chapter will be posted, though I will say that I will really try to get it out faster then this chapter. This is a transitional chapter, so I'm not entirely sure what I think of it but it's necessary to continue with the story.
For those new to the lists, the first 5 chapters of this fic can be found at http//www.geocities.com/graveshiftcsi , as well as all of my other fics, and numerous fics by other G/C authors, I highly recommend it.
I really must thank Laeta and Allie for betaing this for me, and basically convincing me that it doesn't suck. -) And lots of thanks to everyone who nominated me in the CGAwards (http//www.pink-martini.net/cgawards/) And words can not express the shock when I actually placed in one of the categories, (http//www.pink-martini.net/cgawards/winners.html) many thanks to everyone, who voted and nominated anyone in these, I'm just glad they were a success. Thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed anything I've ever written, feedback is wonderful for a writer's imagination and when I'm really letting the writer's block get to me nothing makes me get back in the mood more then going back and reading old reviews.
Rating PG-13
Spoilers none really, though anything through the end of season 3 is in fair play.
Distribution The GraveshiftCSI Homepage, ShipperWorldCSI… all others
please ask.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Previously in "The Revolving Door"
"You are definitely all right, Mom," Lindsey stopped and took in her mother's appearance. "They are letting you leave right?"
"That's right," Catherine answered.
"Good. When do we get to leave?"
"As soon as Gil can get the car for us," Catherine looked up and saw Gil and Warrick standing in front of her. "Gil, can we leave now, please."
Nodding his head in agreement, Gil handed his car keys to Warrick. "Warrick, can you and Lindsey go and move my car for us?"
Gil waited until Warrick and Lindsey had left and then moved closer to Catherine and reached out to take her hand. "Let's go home," he said softly, before moving behind her to push Catherine to the waiting vehicle.
And now... Chapter 6
*~*~*~*~*
Catherine's mind fully focused on the scenery they were passing for the first time since leaving the hospital. "Gil? This isn't the way to my house."
"I know."
"Isn't this the way to…"
"My house. It is. You and Lindsey are going to stay with me for a while." He turned his face slightly to see the expression on Catherine's face. "I know you…"
"Thank you," she whispered. "For everything today. I don't know what…"
"You don't need to thank me, Cath," Gil interrupted and reached across the space to grasp her hand in his. "I'll always be here for you."
The two remained in companionable silence for the rest of the trip to Gil's house. Pulling into the driveway, Gil reluctantly released Catherine's hand from his own and put the vehicle into park. "Will you be all right out here for a minute? I need to get the door opened before…"
"I can walk on my own," Catherine replied indignantly.
Rather then argue with her, Gil decided to wait until Lindsey was out of ear shot. "Wait until I get around the car, I don't want you trying anything without some help." He quickly exited the vehicle and made his way to the passenger side. Opening the back door for Lindsey, he handed her his set of keys. "Lindsey, can you run up to the door and get it opened for us? The key with the blue grip on it is the house key." After watching Lindsey run up to the front door and get it opened, he turned to Catherine, who had opened the Tahoe door by this point. "So which of the Doctor's instructions didn't you understand?" Gil said with a smile. "No walking on that cast, remember? So you get two options, wait here and let me get the wheelchair from the back. Or I can carry you. Your choice."
After a minute of running the choices through her mind, Catherine finally answered. "Better get the wheelchair. I'm not sure my ribs will appreciate you carrying me that far."
"Good choice. Just give me a minute to get the chair out of the back." Gil went to the driver's side and popped the hatch for the back gate, before making his way to the end of the Tahoe. He quickly made his way to the back of the vehicle, while keeping an eye on Catherine, to be sure she remained seated. Lifting the back gate, Gil retrieved the wheelchair and slammed the gate down, before continuing his journey around the vehicle to Catherine. Gil opened the wheelchair and set the brakes before turning his attention to Catherine. "How do you want to do this?" He asked, trying to make things as easy for her as possible,
Catherine sat in silence for a bit while thinking of an answer. Looking down she finally made her decision, "I'm not sure I can…"
"It's all right, Cath," Gil interrupted. "Hey, look at me." Gil patiently waited for Catherine to raise her gaze before moving his finger to her chin and lifting her head up. "That's better." He couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face, just from looking into Catherine's eyes. "Don't be embarrassed. Things are going to get easier, this all just too new right now. Let me give you a hand, and hopefully we can make this as pain free as possible." Reaching out Gil placed his hands on Catherine's hips to help her turn sideways in the seat. He paused for a minute looking at Catherine and the wheelchair. "I'm not sure how to do this, Cath," he whispered. "Is that morphine shot still in effect? I don't think we are going to get you into the house without having to place some pressure on those ribs."
"I'll be all right. I just need to get settled before the shot completely wears off. Kneel down a little, will you?" Catherine waited until Gil complied with her request. Reaching up with her good arm, Catherine grasped onto Gil's shoulder. "Can you hold my leg for me? Then I can slide down, and should be able to pivot into the chair. How does that sound?"
Gil didn't give Catherine's request a second thought, he just complied with her wishes. The two followed Catherine's plan and she settled herself into the chair as comfortably as possible. He began pushing Catherine to the front of his townhouse when he came upon another obstacle, the staircase. Turning the wheelchair around, Gil backed Catherine's wheelchair up to the stairs and began to pull upward when he heard Catherine's voice.
"Stop! Gil, you're going to hurt yourself."
"Catherine, the weight of you and this wheelchair combined is probably less then 150 pounds. I promise I'm not going to hurt myself, and I'm not going to lose grip on the wheelchair either. It's only two steps up."
Catherine remained silent for a minute before giving her reluctant permission. "Just be careful, Gil. I don't think Lindsey will be able to take care of both of us."
Gil chuckled a little and resumed his previous actions. Bending slightly, he took hold of the wheelchair and tipped the seat back slightly before pulling up. He quickly got Catherine onto the landing and pulled the wheelchair the rest of the way into the townhouse, joining Lindsey in the living room. Gil stopped Catherine next to the coffee table and walked around the wheelchair to take a seat on the couch, leaving her seated in the chair.
The two adults sat in silence for a few moments, until their collective thoughts were interrupted by the other occupant of the room.
"Mom?" Lindsey's voice carried from across the room.
Catherine turned attention to Lindsey, and took in the frightened features on her child's face. "Come here, baby," she said as she motioned for Lindsey to sit with the two adults.
Lindsey crossed the room and stopped between the two adults, unsure of where exactly to go.
Sensing her indecision, Gil reached for Lindsey, pulling her into his lap. Once she was settled he wrapped an arm around her waist and reached out with his other arm to grasp Catherine's hand.
"Does that cut hurt?" Lindsey asked as she pointed to the cut on her mother's head.
"No," Catherine answered truthfully. "The doctor had the nurse give me a shot before we left, so I'm not in much pain right now."
"Then where do you hurt?" She questioned, immediately picking up on the fact that her mother didn't say that she was pain free.
Catherine wanted nothing more then to deny the pain she was feeling. But she knew she couldn't hide the fact from her daughter, and she didn't want to keep anything more from her then was necessary. "Well my ribs hurt a little, but it isn't too bad. They're just making me a bit uncomfortable."
"Well if your ribs are broken, why didn't they put a cast on them like they did your ankle?"
Catherine glanced at Gil before looking back at Lindsey, to answer her question. "Well, they can't really put a cast on broken ribs since you can't get to just the ones that are broken, so they put an Ace bandage on it, like the one you had on your wrist last year when you sprained it."
"Can I see?" Lindsey asked as she wiggled out of Gil's lap and stood closer to her mother.
Catherine nodded and slowly crossed her right arm across her abdomen to grasp the bottom hem of the t-shirt the nurse had given her to wear. Lifting her arm slowly, she raised the shirt up a little so Lindsey could see the bandage. Catherine watched as Lindsey brought her hand up to make contact with what she was seeing. Holding still, she let Lindsey touch the bandage and examine her up close for a few minutes before she adjusted her focus to Gil and lowered her shirt back down.
Lindsey stood before her mother for a little longer, after Catherine had lowered her shirt, before stepping back into Gil's awaiting arms and allowing him to pull her back into his lap. "Who did this to you?"
This was the question that Catherine had feared. She knew the answer could very well cause her daughter to become irrationally frightened of every stranger she met, but she also knew that Lindsey had a right to know. "I don't know, honey. I was asleep when it started, and you know how dark my room is when I'm sleeping." Catherine left the answer there and hoped that would satisfy the curious girl for the time being.
Gil watched as Lindsey twisted in his lap and looked her in the eyes waiting for her question. After a moment of silence he decided to give her a prompt. "It's all right Lindsey, you can ask me whatever you want."
"Are you going to catch the bad guy?"
"Yes," he replied without hesitation or an ounce of doubt in his voice. He was going to do what ever it took to make sure that Catherine's attacker was caught and nothing was going to deter him of his goal.
"What Gil means is that he is going to try as hard as he can…"
"I meant what I said, Catherine," Gil interrupted and raised his head to look Catherine in the eyes. "Don't doubt me, I will catch the…the person that did this to you." He had to stop himself from saying exactly what he thought of the person who harmed Catherine but couldn't keep the anger out of his eyes.
Reaching out, Catherine waited until she felt Gil's hand enclosing her own. She could feel the tension easing from his body as their contact lengthened. Just as she was about to speak, the sound of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. They released their grips on each other, momentarily, as Lindsey left to answer the door.
Minutes later, Warrick was ushered into the room by a smiling Lindsey. Gil quickly made his way to Warrick when he noticed the numerous packages he was laden with.
"I thought you were picking up a pink shirt and a few things…are you sure the kitchen sink isn't in here too?" Gil asked as he took a couple bags from Warrick and placed them on the table.
"I wasn't sure what to bring. And I knew you wouldn't have some of the basic necessities that most women want. So I went a bit overboard. But I did bring you some supper, so no one will have to worry about cooking tonight. I just need to run out to the car and get it, couldn't get everything in one trip." Warrick placed the rest of the packages on the table. He turned to head back out the door when he heard Gil's voice.
"Do you need some help, or can you get the rest in one trip?"
Seeing the look on his boss's face, Warrick reluctantly admitted that he would need some help and the two men left to retrieve the rest of the belongings. They returned a few minutes later with many more bags in their hands.
"How much stuff did you bring, Warrick?" Catherine asked, as her eyes bulged at the site of the numerous bags each man carried.
Warrick smiled when he saw the smirk on Catherine's face, the look the entire crew had all grown to love. "I know you, Cath. How could I have not brought your make-up and hair dryer. Not to mention clothes for Lindsey, and some video tapes, a couple of books, and maybe a couple of different clothing changes for you as well." Warrick put down the bags and went to Catherine, unlocking the brakes on her wheelchair before pushing her into Gil's kitchen and getting her settled at the table. "I know the medicine they've given you probably isn't doing much for your appetite. But you need to eat something. I stopped by Capriotti's and picked up some of that potato soup you love so much. And got a turkey sub for the rest of us." At the look on Catherine's face he added, "there is plenty for you, it you think you can handle the sandwich."
*~*~*~*~*
"Lindsey, it's time for you to start getting ready for bed." Catherine said as she set down her spoon. She wasn't able to finish much of the soup, but she had to admit that what she was able to eat tasted wonderful. She looked at Warrick and smiled her appreciation at his gesture, mentally starting a list of all the people she was going to have to thank by the time this ordeal was over. Looking back over to where her daughter sat, Catherine was surprised to see that Lindsey wasn't going to start her nightly ritual of asking to stay up just a few minutes longer.
Lindsey stood and took three steps away from the table before turning around with a questioning look in her eyes. "Where am I sleeping tonight?"
"I'll get the guest room ready for you while you're in the bath, all right?" Gil replied, as he stood when he saw Lindsey nod her head in agreement. "Cath, are you going to be all right for a few minutes? I'll be right in the other room."
"I'm not helpless, Gil," she replied. "I'll be fine out here on my own for a few minutes."
"I know you'll be all right. But promise me you won't do something foolish, like trying to get up on your own or…" One look at Catherine and Gil let the remainder of his thoughts remain unspoken. Instead, he turned his head to face Warrick. "Can you give me a hand getting the room settled and moving some of Cath's stuff into my bedroom?"
"Sure."
*~*~*~*~*
Catherine watched as the others left the room. Leaving her stuck in the kitchen by herself. The boredom of her situation escalated quickly, and she soon found herself looking for anything that might alleviate her situation. Slowly turning her head, she scanned the room hoping something would jump out at her. With that option quickly ruled out, Catherine slowly lowered her left foot to the ground.
"Shit!" She muttered at the resistance she felt as she pushed back. Looking down, she saw the cause of her stillness; the brakes were firmly in place on the wheelchair.
"Cath? Are you all right out there?"
Her head whipped up at the sound of Gil's voice carrying down the hallway. "I'm fine," she called out and immediately winced. 'Shit… note to self, do not yell with broken ribs.' Reaching down towards the brakes, Catherine slowly released them a slight smile coming to her face as she felt herself moving back from the table. With that step accomplished, she began slowly guiding herself out of the kitchen towards the couch in the living room.
"What are you doing?"
Catherine froze at the sound and turned to the left to face the man questioning her. "I got bored," she replied sheepishly. "I was just going to get on the couch and try to get a little more comfortable."
"I'm pretty sure that would fall into the foolish category Gil was talking about earlier." Warrick couldn't keep the smirk off his face. Both men knew Catherine wasn't going to sit still for long, and she just proved them right. "Let me give you a hand, it will be faster." Warrick quickly moved behind Catherine and took control of the wheelchair without giving her a chance to protest.
"Where are you going?" Catherine questioned, as she was turned to the left and pushed down the hall.
"You, my dear, are going to bed."
"I'm sleeping on the couch."
"You can't honestly tell me that you thought you would be sleeping on the couch. Gris told me to bring you to his bedroom and that is exactly where we are going. Lindsey is done with her bath and Gris is getting her settled in the guest room. He'll be joining us in a minute." Warrick stopped talking as he wheeled Catherine to the bed. Reaching down, he locked the brakes before taking a seat on the bed.
"Anything you want to talk about, while we're waiting?"
Catherine looked deeply into Warrick's eyes, trying to decipher the exact meaning behind his question. "What do you mean…"
"Are you all right? Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"I'll be fine."
"That's not exactly answering either of my questions, but I'll let you off the hook, for now." Warrick let his eyes slide over Catherine as he finally took in the full extent of her injuries. "When was the last time you had any pain medicine?"
"They gave me a shot of morphine right before we left."
Warrick nodded his head as he filed the information in his mind. "Make sure you take something pretty soon. You don't want that shot to wear off." After a slight pause, Warrick decided to continue on a different subject. "When you do decide you need to talk remember that you can always call me, okay?"
"I know, Warrick. Thanks for everything you've done tonight. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay everyone."
Placing his hand, carefully, on Catherine's arm, Warrick echoed the words Gil had told her earlier that evening. "You don't have to thank me, Cath. And I'm sure everyone else feels the same way."
"Warrick?"
"Yeah"
"Gil didn't let me look when he carried me out of the house… how much… I mean, well…"
"Don't worry about it, Cath. I'll make sure that everything gets cleaned up before you are ready to go back home."
"No! I need to see it. To see what's missing, or at least where they were searching. Promise me you want touch anything until I can see…"
"I promise, Cath, I promise." Warrick interrupted before Catherine became more upset. "I'll make sure everything is exactly the way it was when we got there. As soon as you feel ready we can take you there to look things over."
Catherine was just about to respond when she sensed a presence behind her. Turning her head around, Catherine felt her eyes widen in fear as her breathing quickened, both immediately returning to normal as her eyes confirmed who she knew would be in the doorway.
Gil froze in his tracks when he made eye contact with Catherine. The sheer terror on her face as he entered the room was enough to tell him that no matter how much she protested she was not all right. "It's just me. Lindsey is tucked safe and sound in the guest room. Now how about we get you comfortable in here?" Gil slowly made his way across the room, keeping his eyes locked on Catherine. "How do you want to do this? With Warrick here it should be a little easier then it was getting you out of the Tahoe."
Catherine looked back and forth between the two men, and she could tell they were all trying to think of the best options. "It's the ribs that are going to cause the most problems and there isn't anything we can do about it…so maybe fast is best."
Warrick stood from the bed and pulled back the covers, readying the bed for Catherine. "Do you want us to lay you in the bed, or sit you on the edge of the bed?"
"Maybe I better just lay down," Catherine responded fairly quickly. "I think the morphine is starting to wear off."
The two men quickly glanced at each other and silently agreed not to lecture her at the moment. The silent agreements continued between the two men as Warrick moved behind the wheelchair to stabilize it, while Gil gently lifted Catherine into his grasp. Once Catherine was out of the chair, Warrick moved the wheelchair out of the way so Gil would have a clear path to the bed.
With Catherine in his grip and the wheelchair out of the way, Gil walked the four steps to the bed and placed Catherine on it. He slid his hands out from under Catherine and turned in time to see Warrick making his way out of the bedroom.
"Are you all right sleeping in…I mean, do you need me to help you change…"
"I'll just sleep in this tonight. I normally sleep in shorts and a t-shirt anyway, so this is comfortable."
A small smile came to both of their faces at the awkwardness of the situation. Before either had a chance to voice anything Warrick came back into the room.
"The bottle said to take one or two tabs. Two are probably going to knock you out, but that isn't a bad thing. Are you feeling nauseous? There are some pills for that too, but I wasn't sure if you needed that."
Catherine shook her head as she gratefully accepted the pills and water glass that Warrick held out for her. With a little help from Gil, Catherine soon swallowed the pills and rested her head back on the pillow.
"If you two don't need anything else…" Warrick said as he turned to leave the room. "I'm gonna go and get ready for work. If you need anything give one of us a call and we'll be here as soon as we can."
"Let me walk you out."
"No need, Gris. I'll be sure to lock the door behind me." With his final words, Warrick left the bedroom and made his way out of the townhouse. His thoughts remaining with the friend who was now going to have to piece her life back together, and hoping the man she had chosen would be there for her.
*~*~*~*~*
To be continued