Gil woke from an uneasy slumber to find that sometime during the night he and Catherine had changed positions and were now wrapped up together, face to face with her head resting under his chin. He could feel her breath, shallow and steady, against his shoulder. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to believe just for a moment that this was real. He then pulled away, putting his pillow between them.

He watched as a sleeping Catherine gripped the pillow in place of him, pulling it tightly to her body. Her hands ran along the contours of the pillow as if tracing an image. Apparently the image didn't please her as she pushed the pillow away. She started to turn back on her side when Gil took his pillow back. His movement must have registered in her dreams because she reached out for him. She pulled herself up to his body as her hands repeated the ritual he had watched her perform on the pillow. She traced the length of his arm before running her hand through his hair. Seeming satisfied she pulled closer before continuing. He felt her hands running along his back and around to his stomach, settling against his growing spare tire. Gil felt a bit indignant as she recoiled from him. Her hands found him once more as they traced the contours of his face, her brow creased in confusion as she felt his beard. Sadness replaced the confusion as she started to pull away. Her hand fell from his face, resting momentarily on his chest. He saw her scrunch her nose up as she smelled something familiar. Before he could decide whether to be insulted or not she had wound herself tightly against him, snuggling so close to him that he doubted she could breathe. She signed contentedly, her hands resting on his chest as she settled into an even deeper sleep.

Lindsey stumbled from her bedroom at a bright and early 1:00PM, tripping over herself as she made her way to the kitchen for something to eat. It was a new day, hopefully one that would be less strange than last night. Gil and her mother had weirded her out with their silence and blank stares and snuggling. It reminded her of when her parents would fight and make up. A small sigh of thanks escaped her because she knew that Gil would have left last night. There would be no weird behavior as her mom wouldn't have to pretend to be happy. She dug a pop tart out of the pantry and grabbed a glass of juice before heading for the sofa.

The throw was laying half on the sofa and half in the floor. She sat down and pulled it over her body as she flipped the remote. Her happy bubble lasted another 30 seconds. It took that long for her brain to register that Gil's shoes had tumbled out of the throw when she picked it up.

Gil was still watching a sleeping Catherine. He had made a trip to the bathroom only to come back to bed and find his pillow unceremoniously tossed onto the floor and Catherine curled up in a ball on the other side of the bed. He grabbed the pillow and crawled back into the bed. Within minutes Catherine was performing the same ritual she had earlier. Gil once again put the pillow between them hoping to keep his distance. He watched her expression as her hands searched the pillow, once again tossing it away when she wasn't satisfied with what she found. He retrieved his pillow and crawled into bed again. Once more he watched as her hands found him. Once more she pulled herself to him. Once more she eased into a more restful slumber, only this time as she rested he pushed the hair from her face.

"Mom? Are you awake?" Gil jerked out of Catherine's arms when Lindsey knocked causing Catherine to wake with a start.

"Mom, are you okay?" Lindsey knocked again with more force than before. Catherine pushed her hair back and noticed Gil was still there. His expression was that of a deer caught in the headlights.

"Mom, the door's locked. Is Gil with you?" Lindsey's voice was filled with an urgency that bordered on fear.

"What do you want Lindsey?" Catherine's voice was drowsy and low.

"Nothing. I just thought you'd be up by now." Her voice quivered and gave away her little white lie.

"We'll be out in a while. Go watch television." Catherine's tone left no room for argument. She listened as her daughter made her way back to the family room. Satisfied she was gone Catherine sat up and turned to Gil.

"I'll shower first. She doesn't need to see you alone right now." Gil watched as Catherine's naked form walked into the bathroom. He winched as he heard her lock the door. Alone and bored he decided to look for something to read. A free mind meant thinking about last night and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He slid open the nightstand and ruffled through it's contents. Vogue, Cosmo, People, a couple of Jackie Collins novels, a vibrator and at the very bottom a very tattered photo album, one that had obviously been looked through often. He opened the album to find a very young Catherine in Eddie's arms. The picture was taken in a nightclub. The next few pages had pictures from the same club. On the fifth page he found a picture of the two of them on the beach. It was their honeymoon. The pages that followed had pictures of them from various holidays and outings that covered the span of three years. He turned another page and found no pictures. He thought maybe the pages had been skipped accidentally and turned to the next page where the photographs once again picked up. The pictures there started almost a year after the last picture in the album. Gil turned back to the blank page and looked at the empty space. The inside corners of the page were indented with a strange pattern. He looked at the album and saw a small fishing lure that had fallen between the prongs. He picked it up and found it to be attached to the album with fishing line that had been run through a small hole in one of the blank pages. He saw another hole. The another. There were several small holes in the page, each hole worn and frayed. For whatever reason the lure was obviously important to Catherine and was something that she looked at often.

The sound of the shower door sliding open alerted Gil and he quickly put the album back where he found it. Catherine walked out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and crossed to her dresser.

"You're up. I'll make us some coffee." She pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top. Gil walked to the bathroom without a word. She turned to look at the door after he closed it. Her eyes fell to the ground as she sighed before heading for the kitchen.

Catherine poured the coffee into the filter and hit the power switch and the machine started to drip. She took two cups from the cabinet and set them by the machine. She heard Lindsey walk into the kitchen while she was searching the fridge for something to eat.

"Just say it Lindsey" she said as she dug through the meat drawer. When her daughter didn't respond she turned to look at her.

"He was too tired to drive, okay. I told him he could sleep here." Mentally she kicked herself for repeating the line her mother had always feed her to explain Sam's presence. Lindsey still didn't speak.

"I'm entitled to a life you know." It was a justification and she knew it.

They both looked up as a freshly washed, still damp Gil walked into the room. Catherine poured him some coffee and set it on the bar.

"Good morning." He smiled at Lindsey who looked back at him with disgust.

"She's not speaking to us right now." Catherine had decided on cantaloupe for breakfast but she pulled out bacon and eggs from the fridge for Gil. As she cooked she tried to break the silence her daughter had forced on all of them.

"Maybe we can go to the park later. Gil can gather bugs while we walk." She forced a smile to her face but was met with a stony expression from her daughter.

"Okay. Maybe not. How about we convince Gil to clean the pool and go for a swim?" She winked at Gil.

"Well I don't have a suit." His response was as uncomfortable as everything else that was being said.

"You'll just have to run to your place and pick it up. You should probably bring a few changes of clothing over here anyway." The false happiness in her voice was missed by no one. The only reason Gil didn't object was his fear of upsetting Lindsey more than she already was.

"I hate you. I hate you both." Lindsey's outburst took both of them by surprise. "Why do you have to act all happy?" She looked at Catherine as tears welled in her eyes. "Where did he hit you?"

"Lindsey, Gil didn't…" Catherine was mortified.

"Shut up!" She turned on Gil. "I thought you were different but you aren't. You're just like the rest of them only you're worse because you made me believe you were nice." She was screaming at him with all her might.

"Lindsey, what do you think…?" Gil was in shock at what she was implying.

"Why did you let him hit you? Why are you so nice to him?"

"Lindsey calm down."

"At least when Daddy hit you he did it where I could see it." She was now tugging at Catherine's shirt looking for bruises. "I hate him!" She looked at Gil. Catherine was baffled by Lindsey's behavior. She took her in her arms.

"Calm down baby" she soothed as she rubbed her daughter's back.

"Daddy was high. He didn't know what he was doing. But you weren't. You meant it and I hate you." She was sobbing uncontrollably and Catherine tightened her grasp. She then pushed her daughter from her, hands on her shoulders.

"Lindsey that is enough. I don't know what you think happened but whatever it is you are wrong. Gil didn't hurt me." Lindsey shook her head in disbelief. "Fine. Look for yourself." Catherine slid her tank top off and turned around so Lindsey could see she was alright.

"You need to apologize to Gil right now and then go to your room and calm down." Lindsey grudgingly apologized to Gil before storming off to her room. The two of them looked after her for a moment. Gil opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Catherine.

"Not here." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the garage. She climbed into her SUV. When Gil just stood there she frowned, rolled her eyes and said, "Lesson one. The walls have ears. Anything you say will be used against you in a future fight. Now get in and shut the door before you start talking."

"What the hell happened in there?" His voice was angry as he spit the words out.

"I guess she was upset you spent the night." He couldn't believe how nonchalantly she said it.

"She was more than upset. She thought I'd hit you." The pain of Lindsey's accusation burned deeper than anything he'd ever felt.

"She knows you wouldn't hit me. I think maybe last night reminded her of the fights I used to have with Eddie. And then having you here…it's the first time a man has stayed overnight since Eddie."

"I don't like it."

"I've already said I'm sorry Gil. I was wrong." How could the man be judging her right now? It was infuriating.

"Why would you think I'd…What is going on in your head?" Did she really think an apology would be enough? Was her thinking so off that she considered this normal?

"It was what you wanted wasn't it?"

"Damn it Catherine." He looked at her, exasperated. "Yes I wanted you but not like that."

"It's sex Gil. I initiated it. There is no 'like that.' It was what it was."

"That's not what I meant."

"Do you remember why Eddie and I split up the first time?"

"Because of your job."

"Yeah. When I went into the field and started pulling overtime it cut into our time alone. Eddie didn't take it so well. When I agreed to give us another chance I made a promise to myself that he would never have to go without. It was easy at first, we both wanted each other. He was so understanding during the latter part of my pregnancy, willing to try new things because of my swelling body. But after Lindsey was born things changed. Between work and Lindsey I was exhausted. We'd still make love but I just couldn't…I was too tired. Eddie made a comment one night and I realized I had broken my promise. From then on if I was too tired I would just fake it. But everything drained me so much. I came home one day, crawled into bed and was almost asleep when he came in. I was so tired I just couldn't but I didn't want to disappoint Eddie so I did a line. It gave me what I needed. The sex was great for both of us."

"Oh Catherine." She had always kept up the appearance of being strong. He would never have imagined her reaching this point for something she didn't believe in.

"It was the first time I'd done a line since I found out I was pregnant. But it made the marriage work." She rubbed the back of her head. "At least for a while."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say next. Gil was the first to speak.

"I think we need to tell her what is going on."

"Yup." Catherine paused. "But I think we need to find out for sure before we do. I'll make an appointment for us on Monday."

"You should set up an appointment for Lindsey to see a counselor also. She needs to learn how to deal with her memories."

"You're right" sighed Catherine, "but she isn't very cooperative. We tried counseling after Eddie died."

"I should go. I've got some things I need to take care of at home." He opened the door. "I'll see you at work on Monday. Plan on having breakfast with me after you drop Lindsey off at school." With that he walked out the side door of the garage.

Catherine sat alone for a few minutes collecting her thoughts. At least Gil was being civil about everything. Eddie would have brought in lawyers immediately. She made a mistake last night but they would work through it somehow. They had to for Lindsey. Another sigh escaped her lips as she headed back in to deal with her daughter.