5?

9th March 1987

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

He found her curled up in a corner, sobbing her heart out.

"Catherine," he whispered.

She looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen from the crying. "Gil…she's…"

He walked over to her. Kneeling down, he took her in his arms. "Shh. I know, and I'm so sorry."

"I was at a gig…with Eddie…she was supposed to call…Ted told me…" Cath managed to get out in between crying.

"It's not your fault."

"She wanted me to go out with her."

"Then you could have both been hurt." Gil hugged her closer. "Where's Eddie now?"

Catherine shrugged. "Still at the gig, I think." She rested her head against him. "Jimmy's here."

"He has the case?"

She nodded.

"Catherine, honey, I want to take you home. You don't need to be here. They won't need to question you tonight."

"Don't want to go home." Fresh tears appeared.

Gil cursed himself, remembering that Stephanie and Catherine still shared an apartment. "Shh, okay. I'm sorry. Why don't you come home with me? It's not a good idea to be here now."

"Is she…did they…?"

"They've taken her body to the morgue," Gil confirmed. "But we won't know anything for a while. If you like, I'll ask Jimmy to call if he knows something?"

Catherine nodded. "I'll get my coat."


Gil put the kettle on. Catherine was upstairs in the shower. He'd suggested she get changed into something more comfortable than the skintight skirt and top she had been wearing.

As far as he knew, she'd raided his shirt drawer again.

When he had encouraged her to come over to study, Catherine had often ended up spending the night. He slept on the couch, of course.

Gil wondered why Eddie hadn't gone with Catherine back to the French Palace. He didn't think it had been a good idea to let her go alone and he wondered why Eddie hadn't organized himself a bit more so that he could go with her.

Gil hadn't been entirely pleased with Eddie as Catherine's boyfriend. He knew there were quite a few things that Eddie had introduced Catherine to that weren't good for her. He still suspected that Catherine was on drugs at times, but she'd never admitted it to him.

"Gil?"

He looked up and smiled. She looked so fragile and delicate in his long-sleeved shirt. She'd taken her hair down, so the strawberry blonde curls fell to her shoulders.

"Nice shower?"

She nodded.

"Come sit down. I just put the kettle on."

"Don't feel like anything."

"You have to have something. When was the last time you ate?"

"Before my shift."

"I rest my case."

"I'm not on trial."

Gil walked over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Catherine."

She burst into tears again at the simple mention of her name. He took her in his arms and held her close to his body. One hand gently rubbed her back in soothing strokes while the other eased her head onto his shoulder.

Her body was shaking with the sobs, and Gil knew she must be uncomfortable perched on the kitchen stool. Taking the initiative, he lifted her small body into his arms and carried her upstairs to his bedroom.

She clung to his body as he sat them both on the soft sheets. His legs resting in front of him, he moved her to his lap, and rocked her as he would a small child.

"She's dead, Gil. She's gone…"

His heart broke for the pain that she was going through. "I know, sweetheart, and I'm so sorry. I wish I could have done something…"

"I should have…"

"Catherine, there was nothing you could have done. But you know that Jimmy's a good cop. And there are good CSIs on the case. They'll find the person that did this."

"It's not going to bring her back."

"No, it's not. Nothing can do that. I wish I could, but I can't." He kissed the top of her head. "You know that I'd bring her back if I could."

Catherine held tighter to him. "I know."


Gil stood with Catherine at the funeral of Stephanie Watson. He noted with displeasure that Eddie had not deigned them with his presence.

Catherine wore a simple black dress and black high heels. She had commandeered Gil's handkerchief, and had been steadily wiping away errant tears.

The tight grip she had on his hand was bordering on painful, but he'd rather pass out from the pain than take it away.

When it was over, and both Gil and Catherine had paid their condolences to Stephanie's parents, he had taken her back to his townhouse.

It may not have been good timing, but the talk had been a long time coming.

"It has to stop now, Catherine."

She turned around, watching as he closed the front door. "What are you talking about?"

"It all has to stop now. The drugs – and don't deny it, I'm not an idiot. The stripping."

"What gives you…?"

"I will not be attending your funeral next, Catherine. I won't be working your case, and I won't be investigating a suspicious death. You're going to stop stripping and go into rehab."

"You can't tell me what to do, Gil. And how dare you bring up something like this when I just lost my best friend!"

"That's why I'm doing this! I've been sitting back, watching you strip and enjoying yourself with Eddie. I've watched an occasional line turn into a full-blown habit. It's going to stop now, Catherine. And if you don't want to take my friendly concern, then think about this. No lab in the world is going to hire a drug addict."

"I'm not an addict!"

"Don't lie to me."

"Damn you, Gil, this has nothing to do with you!"

"It has everything to do with me. I'm the one who'll be left, and I won't do it, Catherine. I won't watch this any longer. You're going into rehab and you're going to stop stripping."

She paused. "I don't know any…"

"I can get you into a really good rehab program. And as for the stripping…."

"I'm not stopping that yet. I need the money."

"Cath…"

"Hear me out. I'll do the rehab. You know I want to be a CSI, and the university won't let me work as a tech in their labs if I don't get off the coke. But I'm not going to quit stripping until I start as a CSI. I have other things I have to pay off, things to do before I can do that." She folded her arms. "Please just trust me on this, okay?"

Gil relented. At least he had the battle halfway won. "Alright. I'll make a call."

Catherine took the phone from his hand. "Let me." She fished inside her wallet. "I have Eddie's credit card."


TBC

Song used: "My Immortal" - Evanescence