Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CIS. I only wish I did.

Author's Note: If you read this, please, please, please review it. I know it doesn't always happen because truthfully, I don't always review, but I would really like it. And to those of you who reviewed my last chapter thank you.

Catherine was woken up by a very loud pounding on her door. She glanced at her clock and found it to be five minutes after noon. For most people this wouldn't be a problem, but Catherine had worked all night. She slowly got herself out of bed. Moving across the room she threw on her robe and straightened the back of her hair that seemed to always be messed up after she'd been asleep.

She made her way to the door hearing the constant pounding as she walked. Finally opening it she found a woman. The woman looked to be somewhere between 35 and 55, although she couldn't quite tell. She had light brown hair with grey showing through on the roots. Her eyes were dark brown, almost black, yet they seemed kind. She was a heavy set woman, not fat, just heavier with a round face that showed few lines, except for three directly above the bridge of her nose and between her dark, bushy eyebrows. The look in her eyes was showing her fear no matter how much she was trying to hide it. Instantly Cath knew this had to be the girl's mother, Mona Hoscheid.

Mona looked her over and smiled slightly, "Graveyard shift, huh?"

"How could you tell?" Cath joked.

"I work the same. I'd just gotten to sleep when you called." Mona replied, her eyes giving away her hurt and fear.

"Please, come in." Cath said moving aside so Mona could walk in. Mona walked through the door and smiled. Cath shut the door behind her and lead her into the living room. They sat in a very uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, truing to figure out what to say to one another. Finally Cath stood up and asked, "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Mona just looked up at her with the slightest of smiles and said, "I would love some."

A few hours later Cath and Mona had started getting to know each other. They were sitting in the living room simply chatting. They sat in a relaxed silence for a few seconds when out of no where Mona asked, "So, do you have any kids?"

Cath smiled and proudly said, "One girl, her name is Lindsey, she's eight."

"I had a feeling you had kids." Mona replied taking a sip of her coffee.

Cath looked around for a second and found a picture of her. She picked it up and turning around she saw a tear start to form in Mona's eye. She gave her the picture and couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman sitting across from her. Mona swallowed the huge lump forming in her throat and gave Cath a tearful smile saying, "She's beautiful. You'll have to watch out in a few years, she'll have all the boys chasing after her."

"I just hope not all the boys." Cath joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

Mona smiled through tears starting to spill out onto her cheeks. She ran her finger over Lindsey's bright blonde hair and instantly thought of her daughter's dark brown. She looked into Lindsey's crystal blue eyes and thought back to her daughter's chocolate brown. There was no physical similarity in the two girls, but to Mona it felt as if looking at Lindsey she was looking at her own daughter.

The tears started coming with more force until she finally tore her eyes away from the little girl and handed the picture back to Cath. Mona finally smiled and looked back up at Cath, "I mean it Catherine, you'll have to be careful. She's gorgeous."

"Thanks." Cath smiled looking down at the picture and then setting it back down. She wasn't sure what to say next. Looking down at her coffee mug she found it empty. "Need a refill?"