Catherine stares at the loose soil. There's a hole dug in the earth beside a pile of dirt. She steps forward and looks in the hole. She sees the coffin with her mother in it. She takes another step forward and throws a rose on the box. "Goodbye Mom." She whispers.

It's so unreal. She doesn't even cry.

"Mom!" Catherine hears. She frowns. She doesn't want to destroy this last moment and look up.

"Mom!" Again that whispering voice. Is it Lindsey's?

She turns her head. Lindsey, wide-eyed, points at a spot behind the crowd of people. Catherine can't see what her daughter means so she shakes her head to let her know that.

"Warrick!" Lindsey says with her lips, no sound at all.

"What!" She can't believe it, is he here? There's a part of her that felt happy the moment she heard his name. But all the anger from the last few days comes up again as well. And her anger is more present now than the feeling that she misses him… She doesn't want him here. This isn't the right time nor place to talk to him. She doesn't know if she even wants to talk to him.

She hurries in his way, passes all the people that came that day. Until then he hadn't seen her yet. But when she storms through the crowd he notices her. He waves shy.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asks when she's close enough to him.

"I… I wanted to tell you something…"

"What Warrick, what could possibly be so important that you had to tell me on my mother's funeral?" Now she really can't believe he's here.

"Cath… why don't we have a drink later today to talk about us?" He so knows he's wrong.

"No. No drink. There's no 'us'." He yeah she's angry, she's furious. "You had no right coming here."

Warrick looks at her. He knows she isn't going to change her mind, so he decides to leave.

Catherine watches him go for a minute and then she walks back. She sees Lindsey looking at her and she tries to smile to her but her lips take no convincing shape. She walks to her daughter and hugs her.

"You okay mommy?" Lindsey asks.

"Been better, sweetheart."

Lindsey gives her a compassionate loo and puts her arm around her mother's waist. "It's gonna be okay, mommy. You just need to talk to him."

Catherine kisses Lindsey on her head. "I know honey, I know…"

…

The messages on her answering machine were deleted easily. She could ignore them, and delete them before listening. Then she'd forget about them like a bad dream. Even when there came more and more signs from that damn machine that let her know he was sorry, she just couldn't listen to them.

But the problem now, was that she began to miss him. Really miss him. And she had serious doubts whether she could continue being mad at him. She had thought about it… Should she give him a chance and listen to him?

But there was something else to think about, at the moment. She had found a letter in her letterbox with Warrick's name on the back. Should she open it? She turns it a couple times, then suddenly she holds it in two hands like she's about to tear it apart. But something inside of her holds her back. Having something coming from him in her hands is much more difficult to resist than a digital message on a machine. She really can't help herself and opens it. Her eyes flash from line to line and as she reads, the tears are coming up. Then she notices there's something else in the envelope. She unfolds the papers and reads. The other paper was hand written, but these are typed. She realizes what it is and she can't believe it that he sent her these. It's his divorce papers. He evidently meant it…

She'd never run so fast to the phone as she did now.

…

They're sitting in the same diner as a few weeks ago. When she called, he suggested immediately to get something to eat, to talk things over. Of course he was way too early, but he planned to be there sooner than her. That would make a better impression. He wants her back, that's obvious. Even she knows it.

In the beginning they hardly spoke, besides the "Hello, how are ya?" when she came in. He'd stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek, but all she did was nod at him and then she walked to the other side of the table.

He ordered an extra large meal, so they would sit there long enough to have him explain everything he wanted her to know while eating the meal. After they ordered, there wasn't said anything at all. They only ate. Then he decided to break the silence and say something.

"So, I'm glad you called." He said eventually.

"Me too."

"Really?" He asks.

She nods. "I'm willing to listen to you, if you still want to talk."

"Did you get my letter?"

"Aha." She nods.

"Have you read it?"

"Yes. Why did you send it?"

"I thought you had to know. And if you don't want to talk to me and not even listen to me, this was the way to let you know." He says.

She keeps quiet.

"And Catherine? I'm sorry to burst into your mother's funeral like that. I shouldn't have done that." He says, regretfully.

"No. No, you really shouldn't." She replies, still pissed at him for doing that.

They didn't speak for a couple minutes. Then she said, "Hey Warrick?"

He looks at her, questioningly. She looks him right in the eye. God, she has missed these eyes. She loves his eyes, so honest and caring but more important, sexy and passionate.

"The things you wrote in that letter… You know, those things about us… How you feel about me… Do you mean that?" She asks.

That she still has to ask that! He nods. "Of course."

She bends forward and stretches her arms over the table, reaching for him. He grabs them. She has missed these hands even more. They're so… Warrick. She looks at their hands on the table. They're folded and cherishing each other.

"Cath?"

She raises her eyebrows but does not look up from the pleasurable sight in front of her.

"Cath?"

Now she looks up. "Do you think the letter explained enough, or do you want me to add anything?"

"Well, it would help to hear it out of your own mouth." She says.

"Yeah, okay."

"What did you write about money? I didn't really get that." She says.

"I'll tell you about it. You remember the time I went from casino to casino and I always came out broke?" He says.

"Yes, I remember that. That weren't your best years." She says.

"You're right. Well, a few years back, I didn't gamble as much anymore because it made me realize I'd never win anything."

"Aha." She encourages him.

"But one time, I hit the jackpot and I became an addict again. I wanted more and more."
She looks serious.

"Fortunately, at that time I was luckier than in the past. I've actually won a couple thousand dollars, and I've never spent that. And last year, I have officially quit the gambling, and put an end to my addiction." He says proud.

"Good for you. What have you done with the money?" She asks curious.

"I put in on a bank account." He says.

"What about Tina?" She asks.

"What about her?"

"Why didn't you mention her when you first got married?"

"You know, it was all so new for me. Actually I got married because the thing, you know, what happened to Nick made me realize how short life is. It was a drive-through wedding. But, after the fact, I was ashamed. I felt I over-reacted about the thing with Nick. This marriage had never been a good idea. That's why I hid it."

"Why didn't you divorce her right away?" She says, not-understanding.

"I actually could have done that, but because I suspected Tina to have an affair with her ex-boyfriend, I wanted her to end our marriage, not me. I just wanted her to feel bad." He looks confused. "That didn't come out right, did it?"

She shrugs.

After a short silence, she says, "Now the most important question to me, Warrick: How could you possibly be with me, when you were married to her?"

"That time in the lab, when we were discussing a case… You said to me that thing about a fantasy, right? It made me think about it, and I realized we've always had this thing, you know? You must have felt it too. From that moment on, I wanted to be with you. I didn't wanna wait till my divorce was through. As I pointed out in my letter, my layer needed a lot to take care of, otherwise, Tina would be going with a lot of my gambling money. But before that was settled, we would be a few months further, and I wanted you at that time." He breaks of.

"So I should be flattered?" She asks, not really sure how she feels about it.

"I know… It sounds cruel and absurd, but it's true." He looks at her. "I'm not asking you to forgive and forget, but could you at least try to understand?"

She smiles. "I'll try."

He squeezes her hand. "It will all work out."

…

THE END