Chapter 4
Catherine hurriedly unlocked the door to the house she shared with her daughter and her husband of nearly two years. Lindsey came and went, she was off at college now but being at LVU, she could share her time between home and the dorms. Most of the time it was just Catherine and Gil though; nothing made her happier. Warrick stayed standing by the door as Catherine almost ran through the house, calling out his name as she searched. She'd never been so scared in her life. She started by throwing open the door to the bedroom that she shared with the love of her life. She felt the stabbing pain of a knife in her chest as she saw that it was exactly how she had left it. No luggage on the floor, no wet towel at the foot of the bed. She couldn't remember how many times she'd gotten on to him for that, but right now she'd give anything to see it lying there, that goofy, little boy in trouble, grin on his face when she confronted him. She ran into the bathroom and was suddenly hit with the strong scent of his aftershave and deodorant. That was when the first wave of tears began to fall slowly from her eyes. She slowly walked back downstairs, almost in a daze. She's always heard of people having 'out of body experiences' but she'd never actually witnessed one herself…until now. She felt like she was watching her body from afar. She wasn't crying, she couldn't cry, she could barely make it down the stairs, but when she saw Warrick still standing in the living room, solemn and unmoving, she finally felt herself accept the inevitable. Warrick stood looking at her, not knowing what to do or what to say.
"Umm…he's not here…" and that was it, she lost it. Warrick was barely able to catch her before she hit the floor. He'd seen death, witnessed a person's reaction when they found out someone they loved was gone forever, but this, this was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Maybe because he loved these people too, they'd been like his parents for so long and it killed him to see Grissom gone and Catherine hurting so much. As she screamed and cried and fell apart in his arms, he tried to think of something to say. He couldn't tell her he knew how she felt because he'd never lost anybody he loved as much as Catherine loved Gil. He couldn't tell her everything would be okay because he knew that it wouldn't, not for a very long time and he couldn't say it would get easier because he didn't know if it ever would…