Catherine Willows hung up her phone with a sigh of relief she was sure Nick and Warrick in Dallas could hear. She quietly set the dish she was washing down and walked to her bedroom, throwing herself onto her bed in exhaustion as she sobbed into her pillow.
When she woke up, she glanced at her clock, and shot bolt upright. Gil was going to kill her! Then, she remembered that he had told her to take the night off. Having calmed down, she got up, dressed, and finished the dishes she'd so quickly abandoned. Which, she noticed ruefully, didn't take long without LindseyWalking into the living room, she turned on the TV. Boring…boring…boring With a sigh, she went over to the video collection. The only problem with that was that most of them were Lindsey's. Feeling silly, she picked out Finding Nemo, and put it in. She was surprised at how much she related to Marlin's character, even chuckling softly as Nemo defied his father's orders to "look both ways", or check for larger fish before exiting the eneminy.
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She was glad she'd kept the check from Sam. It would come in handy when she paid for them. Them being the round trip ticket to Dallas, and the return trip ticket (for Lindsey). Yes, she was going to Dallas. To hell with what Gil says. She wasn't planning on compromising evidence. Besides, it was her day off. Gil couldn't honestly say anything if she went to visit "friends in Dallas" could he? We'll find out she thought, pulling her cell out before sitting down in her seat. She hit 1 on the speed dial.
"Gil Grissom." Said a familiar voice.
"Guess who Nick and Warrick found."
"I don't do guesses Cath. You know that." She rolled her eyes. Of course he would take the obviously rhetorical question literally.
"Yeah. I'm taking the next few nights."
"Okay, I'll call you if I really need you to fill in for Nick and Warrick."
"Actually…" She said, bracing herself for his wrath. Grissom sighed.
"Just don't get involved in the investigation. Go, get Lindsey and come back. Sin City is better off if it's not just me and Sara." He pointed out. She hung up, her mind wandering back to the fact that her daughter was still not home safely. Her eyes filled up with tears as she dropped her head into her hands, attracting, she was sure, glances from the other passengers. Right now, however, she didn't care. She just wanted life to be simple. No having to fly half way across the country. No having to worry that your ex-husband was hurting your daughter. No having to worry that your daughter actually wanted to get away from you and most certainly, no being worried that despite the evidence against him, you wouldn't be able to take your daughter away from the father who hurt her.
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Pulling the rental car into the house, she sighed. This was it- the moment of truth. Walking up to the door, she knocked.
"Hi, I'm…" She started when a female she didn't know answered. She was interrupted by a blonde blur that almost knocked Becky over trying to get to her.
"Mommy!"
"Catherine." Becky finished with a laugh as Lindsey clung to Catherine. Catherine just nodded as she hugged her daughter and smoothed her hair.
"Somewhere, there is a verrryyy pissed Grissom," joked Nick when he saw who was on his parents' doorstep. Warrick just smiled. Standing up, though still clinging to her daughter's hand, Catherine followed suit.
"Yeah, there would be one of those somewhere in the world." Catherine replied as her daughter dragged her inside.
"So, what'd you just skip out on shift?" Nick asked with a confused expression.
"Insulting me again Stokes? Of course not. Grissom suggested taking the night off."
"So what, this was all Grissom's idea?" Warrick asked, disbelievingly. He glanced at Nick.
"Yeah-Right." They chorused sarcastically.
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"No daddy! Not Auntie Laura…No! I don't want to go!" Instantly the light flicked on it the spare bedroom that Lindsey was staying in and Catherine flew to her daughter's side.
"Shhhh… baby. Mommy's here. Daddy's not going to hurt you." She murmured, running her fingers through her baby's blonde hair, a surge of extreme anger running through her body. Lindsey sobbed into her mother's shoulder, as Becky, receiving a smile from Catherine, joined them. When Lindsey had calmed down a bit, Becky handed her a glass of water.
"Linds, I'm going to go get my pillow, you stay here with Becky a sec, okay?" Lindsey nodded and Catherine quickly returned with her pillow and a blanket.
"Thanks, you don't have to stay up." Catherine told the red head.
"You sure?" Becky asked, continuing when Catherine nodded. "Night Lindsey, you going to be okay?" Lindsey nodded, smiling at her new friend. Becky kissed her forehead and turned to leave.
"Daddy's different Mommy. He's mean now."
"Yeah, but you know what?" Catherine asked as she returned to her post next to Lindsey.
"What?"
"You don't have to deal with him anymore." She said, repeating Becky's gesture of affection before getting up to turn off the light. Climbing back into bed, Catherine hugged her daughter, breathing in her peaches and cream shampoo.
Two weeks later….
The evidence against Eddie was enough to get him a life sentence, without parol. And so, it was with a slightly relaxed tone that Catherine, Lindsey, and Warrick, who was along on Lindsey's orders, found themselves eating breakfast at a small diner off the Strip, gearing up for a fun filled day at Six Flags.
"Uncle Gil!" Lindsey shouted, receiving a scolding look from her mother. They were, after all, in a diner. Never the less, she ran up to Grissom, giving him a hug. Gil, for his part, recovered nicely and actually hugged her back. "Guess what!"
"What?" said Grissom with a smile, saving the 'I don't do guesses' line for his team.
"I got to ride in an airplane. My ears kind of hurt now though."
"That's because when the air pressure…"
"I know Uncle Gil. Mommy told me." Catherine must have been more shocked than she realized at her daughter interrupting her boss because she, for one, didn't remember that conversation.
"Hey Linds, I think I know someone who wanted to go ride the roller coasters. Do you remember who?" Catherine teased her daughter.
"Me Silly!"
"You Silly?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, why don't you and Uncle Warrick go meet Mommy out in the car? I just have to pay for breakfast and then we can go."
"Yay!" exclaimed a very excited Lindsey.
"Sorry. She's a little excited. Plus she slept the whole plane ride but don't tell her that." Catherine told her boss, rolling her eyes a little.
"Don't worry about it. Have a great time with your daughter, Cath. I hear Six Flags has some pretty good rides." Catherine wondered if all this man did all day was study facts. Suddenly, she got an idea.
"Have any plans for today?" Gil looked at her like she'd grown a couple extra heads but shook his. "Why don't you come with us? I mean I'm sure roller coasters aren't really your thing, but… " Catherine trailed off, sure she'd gone completely mental. Now he looked at her as if her extra heads had grown extra heads. After a while he responded
"Umm…I wouldn't want to intrude. Today was supposed to be about Lindsey. But thanks for the offer."
"Which is why I want you to come too. How often does she get to see you?"
At that moment Lindsey popped back into the diner.
"Are you coming Mommy?" She asked, exasperated. Catherine looked at Grissom.
"Fine. But only for Lindsey." Catherine arched an eyebrow.
Three and a half hours, and a half a dozen roller coasters later, Grissom, Catherine, Warrick and Hyper Bunny sat at a little café in Six Flags.
"I liked the really fun one, Uncle Gil, did you?"
"Yeah." Gil gave. Catherine laughed.
"Me too." She said, exchanging glances with Grissom. Suddenly Lindsey froze.
"Mommy, I'm going to the bathroom."
"Okay, but go to that one so I can keep an eye on you," she said, pointing out one about a yard away. Lindsey rolled her eyes, but headed towards it none-the-less. Her eyes on her daughter, Catherine watched her approach a strange family, sitting 4 tables down. Starting to get up, something about the way Lindsey talked to the boy, who was about her age, made Catherine stop. Then she got it. Justin. Catherine smiled, glancing at Warrick, who, she noticed, was also on the edge of his seat, prepared the follow her. He stared at her blankly, well questioning really. Ignoring that, she turned back to her daughter, filled with a strange sense of pride. My daughter's braver than I am. Yep, life is definitely back to normal.
Scene.
