Anger
A/N: Again, apologies. My life is chaos at the moment, so updating has become difficult. I finished my first two weeks of school and can proudly say that I got a 91 on my first AP Physics test (it's college level) and a 99 on my Trig test. So, I was happy and decided that you, my lovely readers, deserve another chapters. Hopefully life will become more routine and updates will become a regular occurrence. Until then, sorry for my sporadic updates.
Disclaimer: Not owned by me.
Little Girls and Ribbons Chapter Five
He watched her argue with the man. By now, he decided that the man was her father. The girl—for she was not yet old enough to be considered a woman—had a terrible relationship with her. He snapped her photo quickly as she walked past a window.
Click.
Another soul was his. He wanted more then anything to speak with her, but knew he had to be patient. After all, he had acted too quickly with Hannah, and look where that got him. No. This time he would be careful. He would take out the man when the girl wasn't around, freeing her from that horrible dictator.
Then she would be his forever. He would be her savior. Her prince charming. Her knight in shining armor. Yes. Everything would be perfect. He was sure of it this time.
As he watched the house grow dark, he couldn't help but think of the last two women he had fallen for. More importantly, though, he kept thinking about Lily. All he had wanted was to take her with him, to assure her that everything would be fine. He would never hurt her. She was an innocent child who happened to witness something horrible.
He looked at the seat next to him, examining the doll he had taken from the girl's room. The doll had red hair, very similar to her owner's, and incredibly blue eyes. The dusting of freckles on her nose made her look like a miniature version of Lily and it gave him comfort to see something so innocent sitting in his car.
He would find Lily and take her with him and they could be a family with this new girl he had fallen for. Everything would be just right. He just had to be patient.
CSICSICSICSI
Catherine walked to her car, Warrick trailing behind. Both of them were tired after a long day of work. Warrick had spent the night finger printing an entire casino. He could barely think through all the noise of winning. It was difficult for him to lift the many, many prints off the slot machine their suspect had used, making it a very dull night.
Catherine, on the other hand, had spent the majority of the night with Nick and Greg processing the West house. Nick and Greg pointed out parallels with their current case, forming an idea that there was a serial killer out there. To make matters worse, Ecklie had caught on somehow and demanded perfection from his CSIs.
To say the least, neither of them were up for conversation.
Catherine drove home and the silence was deafening. It was unbearable to be in the car in complete silence, but neither of them had the energy to turn on the radio or make simple conversation. They arrived home fifteen minutes later, still not speaking. Warrick unlocked the door, exhausted.
Lindsey was at a friend's house, having a sleep over in celebration of the weekend. The house was quiet, the steady hum of the air conditioner keeping true silence at bay. Warrick opened the fridge, wordlessly handing Catherine a beer and keeping one for himself. He opened his and took a long drink before speaking.
"Spill," he said, simply. He could tell when a case really got to Catherine, and this was one of those times.
She took a drink of her beer, unsure what to say. She could lie and say that everything was fine and hope he was too tired to see through her lie. She could also tell him everything, possibly causing conflict but maybe making herself feel better. She went for the safe bet. "Nothing… It's just been a long day, is all."
He surveyed her with his piercing green eyes and she knew he could see right through her. She was amazed at his skill, sometimes. Today, though, she was just annoyed by it. "Liar," he told her calmly before taking another drink of beer.
She sighed. He always knew. "Really. I'm fine."
"No you're not." His voice was still as calm and reasonable as it would be if they were discussing the weather.
By now, Catherine was at her wit's end. She loved Warrick, she really, truly did, but sometimes she couldn't stand him. "It's just a case."
"Tell me about it." Still calm, still reasonable.
She took another sip of her beer, debating whether or not to argue. She chose the latter, too tired to even think about arguing. "There was this case that Nick and Greg had a few days ago. A woman and her boyfriend were murdered in her apartment. The woman was raped."
Warrick nodded, encouraging her silently. "Earlier tonight, the cops were called in on a double murder and a child abduction. A woman and her ex husband were killed, the woman raped. The worst part was that their little girl was upstairs, hiding in her closet. Gil found her after we got there. He thinks she saw the murder happen."
She sighed, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. Sometimes cases wore her down emotionally and physically, causing a meltdown. Unfortunately, this seemed like one of them. "The girl is staying with Gil and Sara. I almost took her home myself. She doesn't deserve to be in the foster care system… It's just not right."
Catherine tried her best not to cry, but the tears came anyways. She rested her drink on the counter, angrily wiping away her tears. "Hey," Warrick's voice was soft and low, comforting her. He placed his drink on the counter as well before pulling her close to him. She buried her head into his shoulder, shaking with silent sobs. He stroked her hair gently, whispering calming words to her.
They stood there for several minutes before Catherine pulled back slightly to kiss him. Their kiss turned from gentle to passionate quickly. She drew him to the bedroom, seeking comfort in him. He gladly obliged.
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Sara and Gil took Lily home after shift ended. The little girl was awake again and very talkative. She talked about anything and everything except her parents as they drove to Gil's town house. She mentioned going to the zoo once, but stopped after she said the word "Daddy".
Lily explored every room in the house with a fascination only a child could manage. Sara watched her with affection as she pulled out all the books on the shelf, settling on one of Sara's favorites: The Princess Bride.
The little girl looked at the cover in awe and demanded to be read to. The woman consented quickly, trying to distract Lily as Gil fixed the spare room for her. First, he cleared off the shelf containing his bug collection, stashing it safely in the closet. He childproofed the room, removing anything "scary" or breakable.
Earlier, he had been specifically told by his better half to "get rid of the bugs." He didn't understand why. As a child, young Gil was all about bugs. He wanted to grow up and have a giant bug farm. And, as all young boys thought, there would be no girls aloud because girls were icky—well… except for Mommy.
He walked out of the room, satisfied with his adjustments and saw Sara and Lily sitting together again. Lily was listening with rapt attention to Sara, who described the love between Westley and Buttercup. Suddenly, the story was interrupted. "Sara," the girl asked, "do you love Mr. Gil?"
The woman sent her a loving smile. "Of course I do."
"Like Buttercup and Westley?"
Her smile grew as she answered, "Exactly like Buttercup and Westley."
They continued reading until Lily fell asleep again. Together, Gil and Sara moved the girl into the bedroom, leaving the door cracked so enough light could get in. They whispered about work for a while before the inevitable conversation came up.
"Do we want kids?" Sara asked after they lapsed into silence.
Gil seriously considered the question before answering. "Yes. Kids would be a pain, but they would be worth it. Do you?"
She smiled. "I used to think I didn't, but now I'm not so sure. I mean, I feel like taking care of Lily is almost second nature."
He grinned. "You looked natural with her." She blushed lightly at his compliment. "I think we should have at least one. You never know, it might be a super baby."
Sara laughed quietly. "Why do you say that?"
"Combine our intelligence and you have one smart child." They both laughed at the notion of their children. Gil grew serious again before adding, "We'll make a real family. No fighting, no abuse, nothing. I promise." He looked into her eyes and she knew it was true.
She would finally have the family she had always wanted.
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In the late morning, Lily woke up. She chattered constantly as Sara made breakfast. She wanted to read more of the book to find out what happened to Buttercup after Prince Humperdink came. Sara couldn't help but share her enthusiasm.
Lily explored more after breakfast and discovered the closet that had wrapping paper and gift bags stored in it. She also found a bag of multi-coloured ribbon. Sara, who had let her attention waver for an instant, didn't notice until it was too late. Lily had "decorated" the living room, tying a green ribbon on the coffee table and a purple ribbon placed gently on the couch. Red, blue, orange, and pink ribbon littered bookshelves and the fireplace.
Lily wore a purple one in her hair and handed a pink one to Sara, motioning for her to wear it on her head. Sara laughed at how colourful everything had become and indulged Lily by tying the ribbon in her hair.
Gil would be very upset to learn that his entomology books were now decorated with orange ribbon.
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A/N: LOOK! I wrote it all in one sitting. Aren't you guys proud of me? Also, I do not own the Princess Bride, either. Although, I really wish I did. It is a great book and a fabulous movie. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It's really true to the book, too. Soooo, I hope you liked it. If you did, leave a review. If you didn't, well, leave a review anyways. Please? I'm begging you…