A/N: After an excellent tip from a fellow writer you know who you are :) I've decided to accept anonymous reviews, so there ya go. Enjoy chapter six!

The Antics of Lindsey Willows

Chapter 6

Lindsey was disappointed. She knew that her mother's "date" with Warrick had been a success, but it had had little affect on the big picture. Warrick was still married to Tina (the thought of anyone married to Warrick other than Catherine made her skin crawl) and her mother was still single. Both of these Lindsey hoped to change.

Nick, Sara, and Lexi had just flown to Texas, so they would be unavailable for the next week. This both helped and hindered Lindsey's operation. She had people out of the way for when she got her plan, but also lacked a couple of key players.

Ever since the party, Catherine had been spending more time at work. She often worked double shifts or was home exclusively when Lindsey was at school. As much as this bugged her, the teenager figured she could use it to her advantage.

One evening, about a third of the way through the Stokes/Sidle vacation, Lindsey placed a call to Lexi.

"Stokes. Oh, sorry, habit. Hello?"

Lindsey giggled into the phone. "Hi Nick. Can I speak to Lexi please?"

"Sure. Hold on a second."

"Hello?"

"Hi Lexi. It's Lindsey."

"Hey! How are you?"

"Good. Listen, I just wanted to tell you that I'm doing it tonight."

"What? When we're out of town? I wanted to see it."

"Yeah, but with you guys in Texas, that limits who can come to my rescue."

"Good point," Lexi agreed. "Be careful okay? And call me tomorrow."

"You got it." Lindsey hung up. She quickly dialed Greg's number.

"Sanders."

"Hey, Greg, is my mom busy?"

Greg pulled back the phone and stared at it. Who would ask him about their mother? "Who is this?"

"Lindsey Willows."

"Of course it is. Yeah she's kind of busy. You want me to get her?"

"Greg, is she busy enough that she'll be mad if I bug her?"

"Probably."

"Okay, thanks. You've been a big help." She replaced the receiver.

"No problem," he said to himself.

Lindsey paced around the living room floor. She didn't have much time. Sooner or later Greg would meet up with Catherine and tell her that Lindsey had called. She started subconsciously rubbing her fingers. She knew the next part of the operation would hurt, but she had to make it as real as possible. She walked over to her bedroom door and placed her hand on the molding.

"You can do this. You can do this. I can do this," she repeated between deep breaths.

Using her free hand, she grasped the metal handle. It was cool on her palm. She hesitated.

"It's just like pulling a band-aid off your skin…except it hurts a lot worse."

She gritted her teeth and pulled hard. A scream escaped her lips. She released the door knob and started jumping up and down. Lindsey could feel the tears welling in her eyes. She was seriously reconsidering her choice to do this at all. She ran as fast as she could to the kitchen and grabbed the phone. She dialed speedily, hoping someone would answer.

"Brown."

She let the tears flow. "Warrick? Is that you?"

"Lindsey? Are you alright?"

He sounded concerned. She would've smiled, but after slamming her hand in the door she wasn't up to much more than crying. "No. My hand hurts really bad and I tried to call my mom but Greg said she was really busy and I didn't want to make her mad at me, but I need someone." She knew that her run-on sentence had probably sent him into a frenzy. Adults tried to pretend that they understood kids, but when it came down to it, they had no idea. She also knew that he was probably wrestling with himself. He had a job to do at the crime lab, but a girl had just called him and she was hurt. It was an added bonus that she was Catherine's child.

"Lindsey, stay right there." He mentally slapped himself. Where was she going to go? He didn't think she was really in a partying mood. "I'll be over as soon as I can."

She left the phone on the table and continued jumping around. She hadn't been lying when she told him her hand hurt. She looked down and thought she could see a bruise forming on one of her fingers. "This better work!" she said through clenched teeth.

She went to the freezer and pulled out a few cubes of ice. After wrapping them in a paper towel she placed it to her hand. Ten minutes later she heard Warrick's car in the driveway. She raced to the bathroom mirror and flipped the light on. "Good. It still looks like I was crying."

She opened the door when he got there and flung herself at him. He picked her up and carried her inside to the couch. "Let's see what we've got here." He took hold of her hand and she winced. "Ouch. What did you do?"

"I slammed my hand in my bedroom door."

"On purpose?"

She gasped. "No! I was going to get something and closed the door. Or tried to, anyway."

"Alright, alright." He pulled her close. She held the ice on her hand and leaned against his chest. He put his head on the side of the couch and closed his eyes. He had just dozed off to sleep when he heard the faint sound of crying. He looked down. Tears were running down her cheeks. He wiped them away with his hand.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. She had just been sitting, icing her hand, and started bawling. It hadn't been the plan. She felt like a three-year-old.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He brushed her hair from her face.

"I miss my mom. I haven't seen her all week. Lexi's in Texas and none of my friends can ever hang out after school. I'm lonely. My mom's not even the one who comes to see me when I get hurt, you are." She kept crying. The story wasn't entirely true, but it was going to serve its purpose.

Catherine Willows strolled into the break room and met up with all of her colleagues. Well, almost all of them. She immediately noticed Warrick's absence. She grabbed a Pepsi from the fridge and faced the group. "Where's Warrick?"

"Your house," Grissom stated as if she had asked the time.

She chuckled. "What's he doing there?"

"Apparently Lindsey called and said she hurt herself. He went to see her."

Catherine threw the unopened pop in the trash. "My kid is injured and you're just telling me this now?"

"She called earlier. You were busy," said Greg.

"I'm not too busy when she's hurt, Greg. I'll see you all tonight." She left without another word.

Lindsey was fast asleep on Warrick's lap. His arm had joined her hours ago, but he didn't dare move it. He heard a key turn in the lock.

Catherine walked into her house looking flustered. She was greeted by the sight of her daughter and Warrick on the couch. She smiled. "Hey, how long have you been here?"

"Since nine-thirty," he whispered.

She pointed a finger toward Lindsey. "What was the injury?"

"Her hand. She slammed it in a door."

"That's my girl for you. Here, I'll wake her up."

He held up a hand. "No, that's okay. She's been out for awhile. She'll get up soon. How was work?"

"The usual. People died, we investigated. Actually, it was the first time all week I haven't worked a double."

"So I've heard. She misses you, Cath."

She frowned. "If you're going to be here awhile, you might as well be warm." She walked over to the linen closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket. He was grinning when she came back. "Oh don't flatter yourself, Brown. I'd do it for anyone."

"Right. See you later."

She tossed the blanket over his face and went to her room. As she gently shut the door she realized she was less stressed than she had been in awhile.

A/N2: Opinions, please.