Hunters and Collectors

Disclaimer: CBS owns CSI

A/N Hope you had a great festive season and have a safe new year. I worked out that I have impeccable timing, we were moving furniture and a caught a falling wardrobe (yeah I know sounds bizarre), and have to have surgery to repair torn tendons in my shoulder. (Am I stupid? Yes indeed.)

Looks like the long road back just got bumpier for Catherine.

Chapter 14

"Ms Willows, I'm Dr Prescott, be patient for a bit, you have a breathing tube down your throat, bear with me and I'll remove it, just don't try to talk yet."

Catherine frowned her displeasure, frustrated at the no communication response but true to form, Doctor Prescott removed the offending tube and slid a small amount of water into her parched, sore throat. "Glad to have you back with us Ms Willows, we were very worried about you for a while, almost lost you again."

Catherine stared at the doctor dumbfounded unsure what to say, where to begin asking questions, it was like a large chunk of her life was missing when it wasn't that long at all. "How long have I been in hospital?" 'Great question Catherine, easy one first off, since you really don't know.'

"Ms Willows, Catherine, you've been in a coma for a week, I know that sounds hard to hear but it has actually done you good, your systems have been repairing themselves quite quickly due to the coma, a lot of the bruising has minimized now but you'll still need bed rest in hospital for at least another 3 weeks.

"To be honest doctor, everything hurts, and my memory is decidedly fuzzy."

"I'll bring Mr Grissom in to refresh your memory, and don't worry, temporary fuzziness as you put it is perfectly natural after a traumatic event like yours."

She was puzzled slightly by his words, but relieved when Grissom walked in with a file.

"This is the entire case file Cath, I won't show it to you unless you think you are really ready to see it, but the good doctor seems to think you can handle just about anything now."

"Gil, I've been in coma for a week, not dead, well yeah ok dead a bit too, but I'm not that fragile, I can tell by all this 'gift wrapping' I'm wearing that something bad happened to me, and I remember everything up until the car accident. Oh my god, Gil what about Nick?"

"Nick is fine, thanks to a few good Samaritans and EMTs."

"These photographs Gil, I recognize some of them, the rest I haven't seen until now."

Catherine looked at them, some of Sara's injuries, Sofia's injuries, Nick's injuries and then her own, her face blanched as her eyes took it all in, they weren't injuries, they were torture marks.

"Gil, you mean this was how you found me? And I survived this carnage? I don't even look like me in this picture, I remember the trio, did they all do this?"

"Two women did all that damage, both are deceased, taken out by the SWAT team, the other suspect is a man, he's currently in custody awaiting trial, don't worry Cath you'll be fine soon."

She turned another page and saw the suspect's face, accompanied by the two death masks of the females. She suddenly recalled the time in question in vivid clarity, the pain, the blood, and with a shudder she recalled her own violent rape.

She lay in bed shivering, deciding the fuzziness had been better than total recall. Gil eased himself out of the room and sent the doctor back in and administered a light sedative to ease her shivering and help her relax.

"Ok Catherine, Lindsey wants to come in and see her mother if that's alright by you."

"Yes please doctor she would be a huge comfort right about now."

Lindsey came in and saw a smile on her mother's face, but always the alert teenager, she saw the sadness in her mother's eyes.

"Lindsey honey, what can I say, I am so glad to see you, and yes I've missed you so much."

"Mom you have nothing to worry about, stop looking sad, there is nothing to be sad about, look at this as a new beginning. I do. This is all about putting the past behind us and reconnecting with friends and family, especially having my mother to myself for a few weeks, over summer too."

Lindsey and Catherine just hugged each other for a while, both shedding tears of joy at the eventual reunion, the hugs had to stop however due to Catherine's injuries but she didn't seem to mind a little pain.

"Everything's going to be just fine mom, grandma says she'll stay with us when you get home and we'll help with everything, Sara and Uncle Grissom said they'd help too with shopping and cooking and other stuff so we can rest. We have the schedule all worked out for your home care and therapy."

"Do I have any say in anything in my own house young lady?"

"Nope sorry mom, you are the patient, and your house is temporarily your hospital, but look at it this way, at least you'll get room service and better food."

TWO WEEKS LATER

It seemed that to Catherine life was going to be serene for a while, the boys had brought her bed downstairs into the back living area so that she wouldn't have to worry about stairs, the spare bathroom was filled with all of her upstairs accoutrements and when she arrived at her house after leaving the hospital she was amazed at the transformation, everything had been made wheel chair friendly, even a ramp up into her house. Grissom stopped by the next day to get onto a serious topic.

"Jim wants you to come into the station and give a statement, if you are ready for it and I'm afraid it's very important, but not urgent."

"Sure Gil, just to put all of this behind me, I guess I knew this would all happen sooner or later, I'm assuming there will be a trial and I'll be needed to testify."

"Only for the rape part, everything else is taken care of, but he denies he raped you." Grissom bit his tongue as soon as the words slipped out

"Sorry Cath, he's currently being charged with several counts of murder and assorted other things, but for some odd reason he denies the rape, and with him pleading guilty to all those charges, the jury will find it hard to not believe him in this."

"Gil I know how to make a jury believe me instead, I'll do it, and I'll win, I do have one question to ask first though, and no I don't want to see anything, but did anyone take scene pictures before the medics came in?"

"Yes SWAT team took some, I'll get them sent over for the evidence file, also the team member Johnson, she was there and stayed with you, she'll be important, I'll have her come over as well."

"I'd like that, and to meet my savior."

A/N Guess this will have to go to trial, and no way to work out who will win the rape case.

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