No Matches Found.

"Damn it!" Catherine swore, just loud enough for Grissom, who was walking into the room, to hear. Sara who had been reading her own book, winced (out of Grissom's sight) at Catherine.

"Giving up again?" Grissom asked angelically.

"Maybe she's better off with him." Catherine said after thinking about it.

"You going to tell her that? I have a feeling she's wanting "Super Mommy" right now." Grissom said.

"Who died?" muttered Warrick as he came into the room and saw the look of shocked horror on Sara's face, leftover from the 'maybe she's better off with him.'

"More like who didn't." answered Nick, never missing a beat as he joined his collogues.

"I thought you were leaving Nick on the rape case," said Sara, more confused then upset.

"I want Lindsey home, even if no one else does," answered Grissom, with a pointed look at Catherine. The only thing that kept her from lashing out at Grissom was her amusement at the triplet expressions of shock on the faces of the rooms other three occupants.

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Grissom sighed as he paced his office. Warrick had gone back to the scene to see if he could find anything Sara, Catherine, or Grissom himself hadn't found on their two trips to the scene. Nick had gone to see if Doc Robbins had turned up anything on the victim's cause of death. Laura. Grissom reminded himself. Not that Catherine would forgive his harsh comment just because he showed a little sympathy, he reminded himself, ruefully. He'd have to apologize soon. He couldn't have Catherine avoiding him like the plague, like she'd been doing for the past hour.

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As Grissom paced his office, Nick walked into the morgue. "Hey, what's the word on the beating victim?" Nick asked by way of greeting.

"Not really anything. Cause of death is blunt force trauma to the heart, stab wound was post mortem."

Nick frowned.

"He stabbed her after she died?" He asked, confused. Doc nodded.

"He had a grudge or something."

"That doesn't really make sense."

"Well, that's how she reads." Doc said with a shrug.

"Okay, keep us in the loop." Nick said, turning to leave.

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Catherine herself walked into the morgue only 15 minutes after Nick had left.

"Hey Doc, what have you got for me on the 7-11 vic?"

"Cause of death, gunshot wound to the head, tattoo on the inside of her thigh."

She nodded, "We'll talk to the boyfriend, see if our missing person had one, thanks," she said, turning to leave.

"Catherine?"

She turned around.

"What grudge could Eddie have had against the victim in Nick's case?"

She frowned "None, that I know of. Why?"

"The stab wound was post mortem."

She shrugged. "I'll think about it." She said, again, turning to leave, and subconsciously dropping her shoulders.

"Catherine, they'll find her, they're good."

"I know," she said with a smile to Doc Ribbons.

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By the end of shift, Catherine was thoroughly exhausted. She sighed as she walked into the break room. To her annoyance Grissom was sitting in a chair, reading a Forensic Science magazine. She glared at him, quickly diverting her eyes and making a beeline to the coffee machine. As she poured her breakfast, Grissom spoke.

"Look Catherine… I… I'm sorry." He said, his voice low. She turned to face him. Whatever she expected to find it his eyes, what she did find was not it. Nothing could have suggested she would find the amount of concern/pain/hope that was in Grissom's eyes. She had been prepared to bitch him out, but she swallowed her words, instead saying softly,

"I know that, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

"I...look…Catherine…"He paused, trying to find his words. But he couldn't. "Can I make you breakfast?"

She thought about it, She had planned to log some over time, as she did often, and some of her wanting to stay mad. She just didn't have the strength. She nodded.

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Grissom, surprisingly, was the first to break the silence, unusual for him.

"Catherine?" He said, steeling himself.

"Yeah?"

"I don't know why I said that to you. But I do know this. I'm worried sick and I can't do a damn thing about it. I can't let my emotions get in the way. I guess I'm just on a tight fuse right now… maybe I was even scared that you were scared. I don't know why, I just know I didn't mean it, and I'm sorry."

"I know that, I think I knew that when you said it. It just hurt to think about the fact that I would have given up on her."

"I know and I'm sorry." Catherine had to smile.

"You've said that… what, three times now?" She teased. He gave her a genuine smile. "I don't know why I reacted like I did, I guess I'm on a short fuse too. I'm sorry" She fought to keep back tears. All she needed was for Grissom to see her cry-again. His smile was replaced with a look of concern.

"No. It's okay." Grissom interrupted, having none of her apology. She smiled at him.

"How's a no-good, ex-stripper like me deserve a friend like you?" She asked ruefully.
"How's a hard-working, loving mother like you deserve an ex- husband like Eddie?" He shot back. They ate the rest of their cold breakfast in quiet, mostly because Catherine was exhausted.

"I better go home now, thanks for breakfast and being there for me…"Catherine thanked her host. He nodded in understanding. "The house could use a cleaning before I have to go back to work." She added, sighing at the thought.

"Don't forget the sleeping in between all that house work." Grissom said, if not the sigh then the exhaustion written on her face concerning him. She nodded as she strode out the door. When she got home, she thought about Gil's last comment as she put the mop away and crawled into bed. Maybe I could use the sleep.