DISCLAIMER:Don't own it... No money made... Just for fun and enjoyment.
SUMMARY: Sequel to Displacement. The CSI team and their recently hired coroner Stephanie are back to work solving cases, sharing companionship and generally making their way through the dire world of criminal investigation with humor and friendship... This one will show the development of the relationship between Grissom and Sara and there should be some other surprises down the road as well. Romance/Drama/Angst/Mature Situations
RATING: M for Mature - I'm starting this one out at "M", since we won't be waiting quite so long for the smut this time out ;) Also, there is a sprinkling of language throughout the story.
A/N: I hope you guys are ready for the ride (not even the best of Grissom's rollercoasters will compare)... Things are gonna start getting REALLY interesting after this. :)
REVIEWS: I am always looking for ways to improve my writing, and your reviews let me know if I am hitting my mark. Thank you in advance for the time you take to review this story.
Chapter 26
Catherine began to worry about Stephanie from the first time her call went straight through to voicemail. It was not like the young woman to turn off her cell phone, and when she called the house, it also just rang until the answering machine picked up. She had not wanted to seem overly concerned or protective, so she just kept calling and waited for Stephanie to return one of her calls.
By four that afternoon, concern had turned to worry, and Catherine tried calling Gil to find out if he had talked to Stephanie, but his phone was turned off as well. When Lindsey had asked her mother what was wrong, Catherine simply said that she was worried about Stephanie being alone for the weekend, and that was when Lindsey suggested that they just pack up and go over there to get her. She told her mother that they could take her out to dinner at the health place she had gone to with her volleyball team the week before, and Catherine thanked God once again for giving her such an amazing daughter.
As they were pulling up in the driveway, Catherine had a sinking feeling deep in her gut. There was another car in the drive, and she was certain she knew whose car it was, but she did not want to jump to any conclusions. The moment her car stopped, Lindsey was on the pavement and headed for the backdoor. "I'll get her, Mom… You stay here." For once, Catherine was eternally grateful for Lindsey's independent streak.
Lindsey practically ran to the back door of the townhouse and almost ran right into Warrick as he was exiting the door. "Whoa! Where's the fire, Linds?"
"Wow! Sorry, 'Rick… What're you doing here?" Lindsey smiled at the man who had always been a friend to her as she was growing up.
"I had to get some stuff for Stephanie before I went to work tonight… What're you doin' here?" Warrick smiled at the girl, because her smile was infectious; Just like her mother.
"Mom was being a worry-wart and wanted to check on Steph, so we were gonna take her out to dinner."
Warrick nodded and then told her why that was not going to work, "Well, that probably would've been nice… But Steph's already at work. She got called in early."
Lindsey's face instantly turned into a scowl, "Dang… I was looking forward to talking to her, too."
"Sorry 'bout tha-…"
Lindsey interrupted him before he could finish his statement, "Hey! Why don't you come with us instead?"
Warrick tried hard not to wince at her suggestion. He had mostly managed to avoid Catherine since his marriage had fallen apart. Not because of her disapproval, but because she had warned him it would come to this from the beginning, and the last thing he wanted was for someone to tell him, "told ya so."
He tried to come up with some kind of valid reason for refusing the girl's offer, but he was drawing a total blank. So, he stumbled through a lame excuse instead, "Ya know, Linds… Your Moms might have some other plans or maybe sh-…"
"Mom'll love the idea… You lock up and I'll go ask her." And with that she disappeared out the back gate. She had not given him any way to back out of the dinner, and Warrick was nervous.
When he reached the driveway, he found Lindsey hanging out of the driver's side window talking animatedly with her mother. As he got closer he could hear a few snippets of their dialogue, and it sounded to him like Catherine was not really interested in having dinner with him. So, when he did finally reach her car, he was fully prepared to be gracious and kind, and to offer her an out on Lindsey's plan. "Hey, Cath."
Catherine nodded as Lindsey stepped back from the car to let the "grown ups" talk a bit. "Warrick… What are you up to tonight?"
"Just running an errand before work." Warrick was working up the nerve.
"So, Steph got called in?" It was obvious to Warrick that she was trying to avoid a real conversation with him as well.
"Um, yeah… That's what she said."
Catherine simply shook her head in disgust and said, "Then I wonder why her phone is turned off."
Warrick grinned, since he knew then what was causing Catherine's foul mood, so he held up the charger he had been requested to retrieve for his friend, "Probably because she needed this." As soon as Catherine recognized the object he was holding up, she blushed and smiled.
Warrick smiled back, because he could not help it, and then he tried to remember the last time he had seen her really smile. Since his marriage, he had truly missed the close friendship he and Catherine once shared, and seeing her smile only reminded him of that loss even more. "Well, I hear my daughter has invited you to have dinner with us."
"Yeah, and don't sweat it if you'd rath-…"
"Don't be silly… Come on, she's been dying to show me this place, so I might as well have some backup… Just in case it sucks." Her smile was a bit more guarded that time, but along with Lindsey's shining face, it still warmed his heart just a bit.
He got so caught up in the smiles he was being assaulted with, he unconsciously found himself nodding his head, "Okay, I give. I never could resist you two."
Lindsey was the first to respond, "Sweet! I'll ride in the back." The young girl practically skipped to her side of the car when Warrick held up his hands.
"Whoa now… I still have to get to work… Why don't I just follow you ladies over there?" Warrick was trying to keep the invitation as loose as possible, just in case things got ugly with Catherine later on.
"Cool! I'll use Mom's phone in case you get lost." Lindsey did not give either adult a chance to argue, as she raced around the car and jumped inside.
Warrick shook his head and laughed at the girl's enthusiasm, but he got into his car and prepared to follow the two fair-haired dynamos. When Catherine pulled out of the driveway, Warrick was right behind her, and managed to stay close to her all the way over to the restaurant.
He knew instantly why Lindsey had wanted to take Stephanie here the moment he saw the name of the restaurant. It was called the Healthy Habitrail Restaurant. Warrick was laughing as he exited his car, and walked to the front of the restaurant to meet Catherine and Lindsey. "Gerbil food, huh?" He asked the two women.
Catherine laughed out loud at his question. "I said the same thing when we pulled in!"
They walked up to the door together, and Warrick moved forward to hold the door open for the ladies. "After you." Both of them blushed slightly at his gesture and the smile he flashed them.
The trio walked up to the register to pay for their meals. Catherine had insisted on paying for Warrick as well, and after a mild disagreement, he finally acquiesced, but only on the condition that he got to pick up the check the next time.
They made their way through the various areas of the buffet lines, until each was satisfied they had what they wanted on their trays, before taking their seats at a booth in the back. After all the plates and such were transferred to the table, Warrick took the trays away, and placed them on the wait station beside them to make room.
When he sat back down, he was shaking his head and chuckling at the volume of food Lindsey had sitting in front of her. "Are you sure you can handle all that, girl?"
"I might even get up for some more!" Lindsey was completely serious, and Warrick continued to shake his head at the idea that such a skinny kid could put away so much food.
Catherine was matching his gesture, but she had something to add to it as well. "Between volleyball and hitting another growth spurt, the kid is gonna eat me out of house and home."
"Mo-om!" Lindsey looked practically horrified at her mother's admission.
"Hey, Linds… If you can do it and look that good, you got it made." Warrick's compliment stopped Lindsey in her tracks, and she had to look away when the blush began to rise in her cheeks.
After Warrick's remark, the three sat in silence as they ate for a little while. Lindsey was the first to recover her ability to speak, and she did not hesitate to dig right into the tough questions. "Hey, Warrick... How come you have keys to Steph and Thomas' place?"
Warrick and Catherine nearly choked on their food, as Lindsey continued to devour her own feast. Warrick wiped his mouth off with his napkin and took a drink from his glass. "Uh, well… I've been stayin' over there lately, so they got me a key."
His answer made Catherine's radar instantly perk up, and she wondered why he had been staying with them. She suspected that he had been having trouble at home, but she never expected it to be serious enough for him to need a safe haven in his friends' home, let alone having to stay there on a regular basis. She was saved from having to say anything by her daughter, again. "Those guys are so cool, huh? Did you know Thomas has been helping me with my algebra homework? And Steph is proofreading my essays for me?"
Warrick was glad for the reprieve from having to disclose anymore about his situation to the girl. He was also glad that the subject was changed, because he had been dreading the moment when Catherine finally gave him her "told ya so" lecture about his hasty marriage. "Yeah, Thomas said you've been raidin' his library a lot. And Steph says you're becomin' quite the writer."
"Well, I'm nowhere near as good as her though. And she's like ten times smarter than I could ever be, so sometimes I have to get her to explain things a couple times." Lindsey screwed up her mouth to the side of her face to show her frustration.
He had to chuckle at her comment, but he had something to add to that as well, "I don't know how to tell you this, Linds… But Steph is like ten times smarter than pretty much everybody. Just ask Grissom."
Lindsey shook her head to show her disbelief of Warrick's statement. "No way! NOBODY is smarter than Gil!"
That was too much for Catherine and Warrick, and they both burst out laughing, however Catherine was the one to answer that one, "Honey, trust me… Gil is just older than Steph, not smarter."
Lindsey kept shaking her head, as she finished the last bite of pasta from her last plate, and stood up from her seat. "Sorry, Mom… I'm not buying that one." She stacked up her plates, and put them on the wait station beside them, before turning back to the grown ups in her booth, "I'm gonna get some fruit and yogurt… You guys want anything?"
Warrick shook his head and patted his belly, "None for me… I'm gonna have to be rolled out of here as it is." As Lindsey walked away from the booth Warrick was still chuckling a little. "Man, she's still got it bad for the bug man, huh?"
Catherine shook her head as she wiped her mouth, and finished chewing that last bite of food. "Oh yeah… Gil will always be her first. I think you and Thomas are tied for second now, though."
"Me?" Warrick could not believe what Catherine had said, because it just seemed ludicrous.
"Are you kidding? You always compliment her, show her attention and smile at her with those pearly whites… What girl wouldn't get caught up in that much charm?" Catherine had not meant to say that last part, but she had to admit it certainly was the truth. Warrick Brown was good for a girl's ego.
It was Warrick's turn to blush then, and he was left speechless by Catherine's remark. He was saved from having to respond by Lindsey's return to the table with a bowl filled with different fruits and a healthy portion of yogurt. When both adults stared at her and her large bowl of food, she looked to both of them and asked, "What?"
Catherine threw her hands up and simply said, "Nothing! Enjoy, Linds."
While Lindsey finished her dessert she watched the tennis-match shop-talk conversation her mother and Warrick shared. After a while, she realized they were not going to talk about anything meaningful with her sitting there. So, she quickly finished her dessert and then turned to her mother to ask a question, "Hey, Mom… Can I put a take out box together for Warrick to take to Steph for dinner?"
Catherine demurred to her suggestion and nodded her head as she dug into her purse for her credit card, "That's a great idea, honey… Here take this up to the register and get moving. I don't want us to make Warrick late for work."
Lindsey jumped up from the table and took the card from her mother before rushing off to accomplish her task. When Catherine turned back to look at Warrick, he was shaking his head in disbelief, "Man, that girl has grown up… You gotta be proud, Cath."
Catherine tilted her head to the side and said, "Yeah, but we still have a long way to go before I can breathe easier. Though, it's days like this that give me a whole lotta hope that I might be doing an okay job with her."
"You're doing a great job, Cath. Lindsey is an amazing kid, and she's got her Mom to thank for all of it." Warrick's words held a great deal of emotion, and Catherine felt a few tears welling up in her eyes. She had to turn away, as she smiled at his compliment, to prevent from actually breaking down.
They both watched Lindsey for a while, as she flitted from one station to the next, carefully assembling a fitting dinner for Stephanie. Warrick was unable to stop himself from making his comment, "Hey, Cath?"
"Yeah?"
"I, ah, just wanted to thank you… Ya know, for not giving me that whole 'told ya so' thing about me and Tina." As he spoke, Catherine felt like the air had evaporated from the entire restaurant. Is he saying what I think he's saying? He exhaled sharply and she thought it looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I mean, I know you thought I was makin' a huge mistake… You were probably the only one who told me that straight out. And I wasn't exactly gracious about your honesty, so I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was about that." He stopped, almost like he was waiting for her to speak, but she was simply not capable of speech in that moment. "Anyway, thanks for not rubbin' the divorce in my face."
When he said the word divorce, Catherine's jaw literally hit the table with shock, but she somehow found the ability to speak, and she spoke with volume. "YOU'RE GETTING A DIVORCE?"
He turned to her in surprise, his face practically ashen when he spoke to her in a loud whisper. "You didn't know?"
She lowered her voice for her next exclamation, "Obviously fucking not!"
He sunk back against the booth and sighed, "Man! I thought for sure someone else had told you the way you been acting." He shook his head in disbelief and embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Cath… I guess I just figured Grissom or Steph would have told you."
Catherine adamantly denied that notion with the shaking of her head, "No… Neither of them." She thought about that fact and came to a conclusion about it, "They probably figured the other one of you had told me. Which makes my conversation with Sara earlier this week make so much more sense now." She just kept trying to shake the confusion away, but she had a question that was begging for an answer, "When?"
He winced as he answered her, "Just over two weeks… We had what I thought was a fight, only to find out she'd already filed earlier that day. And then Stephanie's lawyer friend found out all kinds of other shit she'd been pulling. It's a huge mess, Catherine, and if it weren't for Steph and Thomas, I'm not sure I'd be gettin' through this thing." As he shook his head, Catherine could tell that the ordeal had been taking its toll on his resolve and his confidence. And as she processed all the information, she finally understood where his frustration and short temper had been coming from, as of late, why he had been looking tired, and why he had been spending so much time with Stephanie.
Without realizing it, Catherine had reached over the table and laid her hand on his forearm when she spoke, "You'll get through this, Warrick. You've got a pretty amazing support system behind you, so I can't imagine it happening any other way."
He sighed again, and she could see that his eyes had gotten glassy, "Thanks… That means more than you can imagine."
