The Antics of Lindsey Willows

Chapter 2

"The one downside of this job," Catherine stated to herself, "is the relentless paperwork. Everything else is fine, but this, this I could live without." She pulled her glasses off her nose and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. She had been at it so long that the words were running together and looked like a sea of ink. She rose from her chair and reached for a dollar bill in her purse. It was definitely time for a soda break. She was halfway out the door when the jingling of her cell phone caused her to stop. She considered ignoring it and going ahead with her refreshment, but reasoned that people did call for important reasons and she'd be happier not making people angry. She stepped hastily to her desk and lifted the phone from the pocket of her purse. "Willows."

"Hello, Mugs."

"Sam, what can I do for you?"

"How've you been? How's Lindsey? Has she been staying out of trouble?"

"I'm fine, Sam. We're fine. Can I help you with something or did you call just to make small talk?"

"I actually had a favor to ask you."

"Oh you did? How much hot water are you in this time?" She rolled her eyes and shut the door to her office. She did not want any of her lab friends overhearing this conversation.

"It's nothing like that, Mugs. I'm throwing a bit of a party for the anniversary of the opening of my casino. I'd like you to come."

"Sam, I," he cut in.

"I can understand if you don't want to, but I'm taking your mother as my date and I know she'd like you to come as well."

She frowned. He was dragging her mother into the middle of his life. She knew that Lily Flynn loved Sam very much, but she couldn't forget the pain he had caused. She needed to make sure that her mother was treated properly so she sighed into the phone. "Alright, I'll go."

"That's wonderful. The party is Saturday at the Tangiers. Oh, and Mugs, bring a date."

"What? Sam, I," she closed her eyes at the sound of him hanging up the phone.

Lindsey paced in front of the phone. She twirled her hair between her fingers. At last it rang and she picked it up quick. "Did you do it?" she said lightning fast.

"Hello to you too, Lindsey."

"Hi, Sam. Come on, did you do it?"

He chuckled. His granddaughter sure had spice, just like her mother. "She said she'll come to the party, but you've got to do the rest."

"You got it. Thanks again." She chose a chair at the table and picked up the pen. Her mother would have three days to come up with a suitable date to take to the party. Lindsey knew her mother well enough to know just how she'd come up with one. All she had to do was set the board right and Catherine would move just like Lindsey wanted her to. She picked up the phone again and began to dial.

"Grissom's office."

"Hi, Uncle Gil, this is Lindsey."

"Hello there, Lindsey. Do you need me to page your mother?"

"No!" she yelled, "I mean, I called to talk to you."

"Okay, what do you need?"

"See, the thing is, I think my mom is going to want to go out on Saturday. Some party or something. My grandma is going too, so I'm going to be left home by myself. I was wondering if you could stay by a phone or something so I can call you if I need you. I'm just a little nervous about staying home alone."

"Sure, Lindsey. I'd be happy to check on you every once in a while."

"Thanks so much. Oh, and one more thing: please don't tell my mom about this. I don't want her to think I'm too much of a baby."

"I understand. I'll talk to you Saturday." He smiled as he placed the receiver down. Lindsey reminded him so much of her mother. She was definitely going to be something when she grew up.

Lindsey punched the off button smirking as she thumbed through the pages of her mother's address book. "One down, two to go," she said as she dialed the next number.

"Stokes."

"Hi Nick, this is Lindsey Willows."

"Hey, Lindsey. How are you?"

"I'm pretty good. How about you?"

"I'm fine. Your mom is on paper duty today, so you can call her office and find her there."

"Thanks, but I need to ask you a favor."

"Sure; what can I do for you?"

"My mom has this thing on Saturday and it's going to leave me home alone and I'm not really comfortable with that. I just wanted to know if you would be available for me to call you if I needed something."

"I think I can do that. I'm sure Lexi wouldn't mind going over there."

"That would be great too, but I'd still like it if I could know you're available."

"That's not a problem at all."

"Thanks. Hey, Nick, could we keep this between us and not tell my mom?"

"I don't see why not. Talk to you later."

Lindsey wasted no time in calling Greg as well and dropping the loneliness story on his lap. She was not at all surprised when he immediately agreed to devote his Saturday night to waiting for her call. She had so many people wrapped around her finger. Now that she had taken all necessary precautions to make sure her plan went as good as possible, all she could do was sit and wait.

Catherine threw the last piece of paper onto the towering stack of forms. Her neck was stiff and she was positive a tension headache was coming on. She was ready to head out the door and go home for a good sleep when she remembered what she had yet to accomplish. She grimaced at the thought of finding a date in less than a week. It was true that she could probably go to any bar and pick up a guy, but considering how well that had worked for her in the past she discarded that idea. She was just going to have to take one of the lab guys. The base of her skull began to throb and she massaged the back of her neck. That idea was a headache in itself. She stared down the hall to Gil's door and took a deep breath.

A/N: Let me know what you thought.