The Antics of Lindsey Willows
Chapter 5
Warrick pulled the key out of the ignition and sat back in his seat. The kitchen light was on and that meant his house was not empty. Tina was there and awake, most likely waiting to ask about his day. It had been a risk going with Catherine, but it was one he was willing to take. He exited the vehicle and strolled up the walk. Turning the key in the knob, he could hear shuffling inside. She was ready for him. He opened the door and put on a smile. Tina sat on the arm of the couch and she was not happy.
Her arms were folded across her chest and her lips were tight. "Where have you been?" she asked in an accusatory manner.
"Out," he answered.
"I called your work. They said you had tonight off."
"I did."
"You told me earlier that you had something to do for a colleague."
"I did."
She stood up. "Would this colleague be female?"
"Yes. Look, Catherine had a business dinner to attend to and she needed some company, so I went along."
"Drop everything and run for Catherine, right?"
"She's my supervisor, Tina. When your boss asks you for a favor, you generally give in."
"Was. Was your supervisor, Warrick. You told me the team got back together."
"We did, but she's still my superior. And what about all of the things you've had to do for David?"
She turned around to face to wall. "That's different."
He placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her back around. "Yeah, he's your ex-husband."
"At least we know that his intentions are completely innocent. Who knows anything about this girl? She could be trying to rope you in as we speak!"
"David has innocent intentions? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You know he wants you back. I've seen the looks he gives you at the hospital."
"Warrick, I don't want to talk about this right now." She went to the bedroom and shut the door.
"You started it!" he yelled. He rubbed his left hand over his eye and sighed. "Guess I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."
Catherine was immediately bombarded with questions when she entered her home that evening. Both Lindsey and Lexi wanted the story of the night and weren't going to settle for anything less than the absolute truth. She knew this and felt it would only be right to acquiesce.
She sat in the middle, with a hand on a knee of each girl, and spilled the story. The only thing she didn't include was the actual conversation that got Bertha looking for Sean Connery. Catherine didn't want to upset Lindsey by talking bad about her father. It was always a touchy subject.
When they were satisfied that the evening had turned out quite well (Lindsey felt it would've had a better ending if there had been a kiss), Catherine drove Lexi home.
The next night before work, Catherine was in the locker room and was soon joined by Sara. The ladies smiled at each other and continued preparing for shift. Sara was grinning wildly the entire time and constantly glanced Catherine's direction. The older woman picked up on this.
"Is there something you want to ask me, Sara?"
"Oh, no." Cath thought she dropped the subject. "Well, actually, there is. Lexi got home last night, you know, and she told me that you had a good time at your party. Then she went to bed."
"Uh huh. What's the question?"
"Okay, so she didn't tell me all of the details because she's sixteen and feels that it's your business. I got to thinking. If you had fun and didn't take Nick or Grissom or Greg, then you must've taken Warrick. Did you?"
"Yes."
"I knew you would. Are you going to ask him out again?"
"Sara Sidle, what has gotten into you this evening? You're giddy as a school-girl and I've never seen you like this before."
"I have no idea. I had coffee this morning, which is no different than every other morning, and it seems to have some effect on me. You can ignore that last question. I don't think you of all people would cheat on someone."
"Thanks," Catherine said with a slightly confused look on her face. "Who made the coffee, you or Nick?"
"Nick."
"There's your problem. You and Nick are different people; you like different things. His coffee is obviously not good for you. Go find Greg before you ask Ecklie what made him choose to shine his head."
Sara laughed. "Oh that's a good one."
Nick entered the bathroom and saw Warrick leaning over a sink, staring into the mirror. "You look beat, man," he said to his friend.
"Yeah. I didn't sleep good last night."
"You had your big party with Catherine, didn't you?"
Warrick turned towards him. "You knew about that?"
"Dude, Lexi lives with me. She said Cath went to the party and I knew Grissom and Greg didn't go with her. That left you."
"Yeah, it was me."
"You have fun?" he asked as he used the facility.
"It was nice. We got asked a lot of questions though. Good news, only one person thought I was Eddie."
"Someone thought you were Eddie?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, so you had a good time. Why are you so tired?"
"The wife wasn't too happy about me going out."
Nick whistled. "Ouch. Slept on the couch?"
"Yep. You ever have that problem with Sara?"
Nick went over to wash his hands. "For one, Sara and I aren't married, and two, I haven't been to any parties lately. How are you going to handle the situation?"
"What situation? I shouldn't have to explain what I did. Catherine needed some help, so I helped her. Is that a crime?"
Nick chose to bite the bullet. "Was that your only intention? You only went to the party because Cath couldn't get anyone else to go with her?"
Warrick remained quiet for a moment. "Yeah. That's why I went." He finished washing up and left the room.
Nick stared at the door. "Sure. I wonder if he'd place a bet on that."
A/N: You know what to do!