FIRST BOYFRIEND

Warrick groaned. He just knew who was on the phone before he even looked at the caller id. "Lindsey, you know I need my beauty rest," he said as a greeting.

"Warrick," said a stuffed up Lindsey, "Me and mom are really sick..."

Warrick sighed. "How sick?" he asked resignedly.

"Mom's got a blanket and a pillow and she's sleeping in front of the toilet. I haven't really reached that point yet," she said, looking over at her mom's sleeping form.

Warrick was already pulling on his jacket and heading out the door. "I'll be there in a sec," he said and hung up.

Lindsey looked down at the cordless phone in her hands. "Rude," she muttered miserably.

After making a quick stop at a store, Warrick was standing on Catherine's doorstep with several cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. He knocked on the door and a pale shivering Lindsey answered immediately. Warrick automatically pressed his hand to Lindsey's forehead. She was burning up. "Child, you need to get to bed," he ordered, moving to the thermostat and turning it up a couple of degrees.

Lindsey watched him. "I don't want to go to bed," she said.

"Well it doesn't matter what you want because I'm an adult and you're not," Warrick said, putting the bag down on the coffee table. "Get into bed, cover yourself really well and I'll bring you some noodle soup."

Lindsey slowly did as he said. She couldn't let him think she was actually being obedient. "First thing first," Warrick muttered. He grabbed the biggest pan he could find and took it into Catherine's room. Then he went into the bathroom and picked her up. She whimpered and moved as close as possible to Warrick's body heat. He shook his head at her stupidity. You don't lay on the cold bathroom floor when you're sick.

After getting her situated and putting the pan in her eyesight and easy reach, he went and heated up the soup. The first bowl he took to Lindsey since she was awake. She took one look at the soup and refused.

"Lindsey, you have to eat it," Warrick said firmly.

She shook her head. "No. Just looking at it makes me wanna barf," she whined.

"You need fluids," Warrick said.

Lindsey shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "No way."

They stared at each other in a fierce battle of wills. It was difficult, but Lindsey was no Catherine. Lindsey ate the soup and Warrick sat there the whole time. When she was done, he gave her a glass of water and an asprin.

When Warrick walked into Catherine's room, she was vomitting in the pan. Warrick put the soup, asprin, and water on the night stand and started rubbing soothing circles on Catherine's back.

When she finally stopped, Catherine sat back into Warrick and moaned. "Mmmmm, I think I'm going to die."

Warrick laughed. "You'll be fine. It's probably just the flu or some kind of bug."

"Ugh. I have to call Grissom and tell him I'm sick," she moaned, "And I think--" She lurched forward and started throwing up again in the pan.

"You have to eat," Warrick said, gesturing toward the bowl of soup.

Catherine leaned back just as the doorbell rang. "I'll eat it just so I have something besides my insides to throw up," she said.

Warrick nodded. "Well there you go," he said smartly, "I'm gonna to see who's at the door."

When Warrick opened the door, the boy who was on the doorstep walked in without being invited. "Name's Colt. Which room is Lindsey's?"

Warrick took a threatening step towards the punk-looking boy. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded with a glare.

Colt pushed his chin-length red hair out of his shocking blue eyes. "I brought Lindsey her homework. She's sick, right?" Warrick nodded. "Well..." Colt sighed. "You have absolutely no idea who I am."

Warrick shook his head. "No and right now, I don't really care. You need to leave."

"Come on! I'm Colton Shepard...Lindsey's non-boyfriend? You have to know who I am!"

"What's a non-boyfriend?" Warrick asked.

Colt sighed. "You can not be serious!" Warrick stared at him. "She said she's not my girlfriend but she likes me and we hang out all the time. I can't figure out why she won't be my girlfriend...so I'm her non-boyfriend and she's my non-girlfriend."

"Have you tried asking her?" Warrick asked carefully.

"Of course I..." Colt trailed off. "Well, I ask her out like every day of the week."

Warrick sighed. "Ask her to be your girlfriend...it's the last door at the end of the hall. Leave the door open." He went back to Catherine's room while Colt headed to Lindsey's.

"Who was at the door?" Catherine asked when Warrick laid down beside her.

"Lindsey's non-boyfriend Colt," Warrick answered as he closed his eyes.

Catherine looked over at him. "The boy who hasn't figured out that he has to ask her to be his girlfriend?"

"Yes. That one," he said. Catherine scooted closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

In Lindsey's room, Colt was pulling her homework assignments from his pockets and smoothing them out while Lindsey watched. "You didn't have to bring me my homework you know," Lindsey said with a smile.

Colt glanced at her. "I remembered where you lived from when I followed you home that one time and decided to come by. Then I thought that maybe I should bring an excuse in case your mom answered...who was that guy?"

Lindsey shrugged. "My mom's wannabe boyfriend."

"Speaking of wannabe boyfriends...I just figured something out," Colt said, moving so that their faces were about three inches apart.

"What was that?" Lindsey whispered.

Colt gave her a secret smile before sitting back. "Lindsey Willows," he declared dramatically, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Lindsey laughed. "You are so...yes. I will be your girlfriend."

Her laughter drifted down the hall and into Catherine's room. "She's giggling," Warrick said with a nauseous look on his face.

Catherine patted his arm soothingly. "It's okay," she said sympathetically.

Warrick sighed and laid on his stomach so that his face was just mere inches from Catherine's. "Why is it," he said, "that everything Lindsey does bothers me more than it does you?"

Catherine smiled and blinked lazily. "I guess it's because I'm used to Lindsey being Lindsey. I've accepted that she has to grow up sometime even though I don't like it. You..." she trailed off as she reached up and ruffled his hair.

Warrick licked his lips and moved in. Catherine stopped him just shy of kissing her. "I'm sick. You'll get sick. Plus, I've been throwing up all day," she informed him.

He ignored her and kissed her. It was sweet and passionate at the same time. Finally, Catherine forcefully pushed him away and threw up all over the floor beside her bed.

"Well I hope that wasn't aimed toward me," Warrick joked, "I should really be offended by your reaction."

Catherine gave him a dirty look as she wiped her mouth. "You knew I was sick," she said dangerously, "and I hope you get sick too."

Warrick shook his head and scooped her up. He ignored her protests and carried her to the living room couch. "I'll clean up your mess. Just...go to sleep or something."

Lindsey was watching from her doorway. Colt stood beside her. "They're in love, right?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yep," Lindsey said, "I think they have been for a while."

"Poor dude," Colt said, "I'd hate to be dating a Willows girl...oh wait..." He laughed when Lindsey hit him. "I gotta go. My mom's gonna kill me."

Lindsey laughed. "Sure. You just don't like me as much as you said."

"Yeah. That must be it," Colt said seriously. Then he smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

Warrick walked out of Catherine's bedroom with a disgusted look on his face. He glared at Colt as he left. "What is wrong with you?" he asked Lindsey, "Go lay down. As soon as I clean this up, I have to go to work."

Lindsey did as she was told for once in her life. Warrick finished cleaning up the vomit, kissed both his girls goodbye and went to work.

If Grissom was surprised that Warrick was the one to tell him that Catherine was sick, he didn't show it. The very next day, Warrick came down with the same thing Catherine and Lindsey had.

END

A/N-People! The reason it took so long to post is...my phone got shut off! Sorry, but...yeah. Today, it got turned back on...March 20, like three or four months later. Sorry 'bout that. I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow...have to revise and edit.