"No words describe a mother's tears. No words can heal a broken heart…"

Here's another chappy, yall! Read on…

Grissom headed for the parking lot and hopped into his car. He tried to call Catherine as he swung his car out of the lot and merged with the steady flow of traffic. The lines were busy! He tossed the cell on the passenger seat and tried not to speed as he drove toward her house. His thoughts spun crazily. His pulse pounded in his ears.

Catherine was in trouble. Something was wrong. Something had happened after she'd left his office. But what could have possibly happened in the in one hour?

About fifteen minutes later he parked at the curb and hurried toward the house. He was about to ring the doorbell when the door opened and his eyes rested on a very distressed Catherine. She stared at him with a tear-stained face and grabbed his arm.

"Lindsay's missing…"

"What happened?" Grissom asked after they had gone inside and sat down on her couch.

"I don't know," Catherine answered, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "I came home and she—she was just gone."

"Have you two been fighting again?" She stared at him, the question suddenly striking them as ironic.

Catherine shook her head. "That's the thing…we were actually starting to get along. So, I don't know why she would do this. I thought everything was fine between us. I—I don't know what to do, Gil. I don't know what to do…"

As she started to cry again, Grissom put an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find her. I promise."

Just as he said that there was a knock on the door. They both looked up and watched as Lily went over to the door and opened it. All their eyes widened.

Lindsay was standing there, a small figure shivering in the rain. Her clothes were soaked and water was dripping off her hair.

"Please, don't say I told you so," she sobbed, tears mixing with the rain.

"Lindsay!" Catherine shrieked, dashing toward the door and enveloping her daughter in her arms, not caring that she was soaking wet.

"Mom, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," Lindsay cried, holding on to her mother for dear life. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay, baby." Catherine stroked her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You're okay that's all that matters."

"Hey, get in here, you two," Lily said, coming toward them with fresh towels. "Before either of you get sick."

They obeyed immediately and came inside as Lily wrapped them up in towels. Grissom closed the door behind them and sat back down on the couch, waiting patiently as they dried themselves off and changed their clothes.

When they reappeared, Catherine was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. Lindsay was in her pajamas, a throw blanket around her shoulders. Lily emerged from the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee and a glass of milk. She handed one coffee to her daughter and the other to Grissom, leaving the milk for Lindsay.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Catherine asked, taking a sip of coffee.

Lindsay looked down at the floor, unable to face her mother. "You remember, Jackie, my friend from school?"

Catherine nodded.

"Well, she told me about this party and that everyone was going. And I really wanted to go too, but I knew you wouldn't let me. So, I kinda snuck out. One of Jackie's friends drove us there. It was fun at first, but then there was this guy, Justin…"

As Lindsay continued to talk on about that Justin character, Grissom couldn't help but notice the tenderness with which Catherine rubbed her daughter's hand and the compassion with which she listened to her story.

Tears began to slide down Lindsay's cheeks. "I was so scared. Justin was drunk. We never should have…"

Her mother pulled her into another hug and Grissom saw his friend's pained face for the first time in years—warm, tired blue eyes filled with nothing but thanks for her daughter's safe return and love for the child who's father had left her alone.

He now knew the pain that the strawberry-blonde CSI went through every time her daughter ran away. And yet, she never gave up on her. Despite all the lies the girl had told her, she still loved her.

"Mom, I'm sorry for not listening to you," Lindsay apologized sincerely. "Are you mad at me?"

A smile penetrated her mother's tears as the lines in her tested face told Lindsay all she needed to know. Grissom smiled to himself as he watched mother and daughter reconcile. It was his first encounter with unconditional love.

Not every mother can be pushed to the limits time and time again, and venture back with feelings of love.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Lily came back into the room.

"Time for bed, young lady," she said, more to her own daughter than to her granddaughter.

"Night, Mom." Lindsay hugged her mother tightly.

"Sweet dreams." Catherine brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead.

The girl then walked over to Grissom and gave him a quick hug. "Night, Uncle Gil."

"Linds, it's okay to let your mom into your life," he whispered in her ear, hugging her back.

Catherine watched them curiously, noticing her boss and her daughter share a smile. I wonder what he said to her…

Once Lindsay had disappeared into her room, Catherine turned to Grissom and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

"For what?" he chuckled. "I didn't do anything. She came back all on her own."

"Still…" Everything in Catherine's being wanted to reach out to him then. To touch his cheek and tell him that she cared for him more than anyone she'd cared for in a very long time. But she was a CSI, for heaven's sake. They were teammates! She had to remember that. Besides, she wasn't sure if everything was okay between them yet.

She smiled. "You came."

"Well, I—"

Her phone suddenly began to ring, startling both of them. She reached over to the side table and picked up the white receiver.

"Willows."

Grissom watched as the expression on her face changed. Whoever she was talking to wasn't giving her good news. Her face fell.

"O-okay." She hung up and turned to him, her eyes filled with hot, angry tears.

"Well, it looks like you got your wish."

"Huh?" He didn't understand.

"That was Ecklie. He heard us arguing today. I've been suspended until further notice."

"What?" He stared at her in shock.

"Are you happy now?" she demanded.

"No, of course not. That's not what I—"

"Please, leave…" She turned her back to him and he could see her shoulders trembling. She was crying again. "I can't—I can't deal with you right now."

"But—"

"Get out!" she snapped. "Just—just get out!"

She had used his own words on him. Grissom grabbed his things and walked out of the door feeling terrible. This was definitely not what he wanted. He never meant for any of this to happen.

Ecklie.

This was his fault. He seethed at the name of the self-righteous man that was head of the crime lab. He'd ruined everything. And Grissom wanted nothing more than to wring that weasel's neck right then.

I'm sorry, Catherine. I'm so sorry…

What do u think? Reviews keep the story going. Last chapter 2 b posted, soon.