"So, can I?"

"I don't know, Linds…"

"Mom, come on, please! It's a small party… only about ten or so kids."

"Will there be drugs?"

"No."

"Alcohol?"

"No."

"Boys?"

There was a dramatic sigh and an eye roll. Lindsey Willows put her hands on her hips. "I don't know, maybe a few?"

"Okay, and how about adult supervision?" Catherine asked.

"Well, Meredith's mom is going to be home until like, 8 o'clock, but then she's got a meeting or whatever to go to."

Catherine looked at her daughter, who was dressed in a tight mini skirt and a tank top. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and her face was freshly made up. Catherine didn't see how Lindsey expected her to agree to let her go to a party after getting a half an hour notice.

"Be home by eleven." Catherine finally said.

Lindsey looked at her Mom in disbelief. "Fine," she snapped, leaving the kitchen.

"You wanna make that nine-thirty?" Catherine called to her.

The front door opened then quickly slammed shut.

Not looking forward to a night home by herself, Catherine picked up the phone. She impatiently waited for the other line to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Gil. It's Catherine."

Half an hour later, Grissom's car was parked in Catherine's driveway. The two were seated on her living room couch watching Just Friends.

"So, have you seen this yet?" Grissom asked Catherine after they had popped in the DVD.

"No, Lindsey rented it from the movie store the other day." Catherine said, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl positioned in between them. In her other hand she had a beer. Grissom had declined when offered one of his own.

He nodded.

"So, what's Sara up to?"

She received a shrug in response. They said nothing more.

A couple hours later, the movie came to the ending credits. Grissom noted that Catherine had fallen asleep, and her head was resting on his shoulder. He quietly reached over her to grab the remote and switched off the TV and DVD player. His eyes traveled to Catherine's face. She looked blissfully relaxed.

Grissom got up slowly and set Catherine's head down on a pillow. He grabbed a blanket hanging off the back of the couch and covered her. Eyeing the empty popcorn bowl and beer bottle, he picked them up and whisked them into the kitchen.

While rinsing out the beer bottle and putting it in the pile of recycling and putting the popcorn bowl in the dish washer, Grissom began to think about Sara.

He was having a hard time remembering why and how they had begun dating. He knew she wanted more from the relationship than he currently had to offer to her. His mind then strayed to his relationship with Catherine. Grissom had never felt so comfortable with someone like her before. She was his best friend, and she was always there for him.

Before he knew it, Grissom had put every dirty dish lying around the kitchen in the dish washer and got it running. When he turned around, Catherine was standing in the doorway with a sleepy smile on her face and the blanket wrapped around her waist.

"Hey," she said, looking around. "It's awful clean in here."

"Yeah, sorry… I kind of got carried away."

"Oh, no, by all means, don't apologize. I'll have to have you over more often. Lindsey was supposed to do the dishes but… You know how teenagers can be."

Right on cue, Lindsey walked through the front door. She started walking upstairs when Catherine stopped her.

"Lindsey, how was your party?"

"Fine," Lindsey replied flatly.

"Well, come back down here and say hi to Uncle Gil." Catherine told her.

They heard the stomps as Lindsey entered the kitchen. Grissom smiled when he saw her. She looked so much like her mom. "Hi, Lindsey."

"Hey."

"How are you? I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Yeah, I know. I'm good. Look, Mom, I'm totally exhausted. I'm going to bed."

Grissom and Catherine said their goodnights to her, and they were returned a muttered, "Yeah, you too." Catherine considered it an improvement from the usual silent replies.

They stood in the kitchen for a moment, neither speaking. Catherine shivered under the thin blanket.

"Cold?" Grissom asked, walking towards her. "Here, you've got to wrap it around you like this." Grissom took the blanket that hung loosely from her waist and gently draped it over her shoulders. "There."

Catherine smiled. "Thanks."

Grissom smiled back. He had missed this, spending time with his best friend and enjoying himself without having to try and please anyone.

Catherine did too, because the next thing she did was lean slowly towards him, resting her head on his chest. She inhaled deeply.

Grissom was momentarily stunned by her actions, but then wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "You are freezing," he commented. "I should be getting home anyway. And you need to get to bed."

Catherine looked up at him. "What are you, my mother?"

He gently rubbed her back. "Somebody ought to be."

She laid her head back on his chest and sighed. "I don't need a mother figure, Gil," she said. "I just need someone to be there for me."

Quietly, Grissom's heart ached for her. He just didn't know yet that the dull pain was for her at the moment. "I'll be there for you," he whispered.

Grissom sat at home, alone, and already regretting having a day off. He gave a tired sigh when the phone rang. He already knew who it was.

"Hello, Sara."

"Hi, Grissom. I called you last night but you were gone, and you never called me back."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Grissom apologized, his eyes wandering around the living room of his townhouse. All he wanted to do at the moment was rest. And maybe later read. He hadn't had time for much of that, lately. "I was meaning to get back to you. I just haven't had the time."

"Well, you should relax," Sara told him. "I mean, two days off, you should definitely be kicking it back. Especially with the way you've been so busy. We've hardly had any time together these past couple of weeks."

"Sorry," Grissom said again.

"So, where were you last night, anyway? I tried calling you four times."

"I know, I got your messages." Grissom replied. "I was at Catherine's and I forgot to bring my cell phone."

There was a pause and Grissom could almost see Sara's eyebrow rise. "Catherine's?"

"Yes Sara, Catherine's. We watched a movie at her house. That's all."

"Oh, well, you don't need to explain. I trust you," Sara said in a most unconvincing tone.

"Obviously you don't," Grissom muttered bitterly. "Honestly, Sara, ever since we started dating you've been so clingy. I get at least three calls from you everyday, you want to spend time together, and I'm all for that, but you need to understand that I need my space."

"And Catherine gives you that space?"

"Sara."

"Grissom. You can't expect me not to get at least a little worried. She wears low-cut tops and tight pants around the lab, and she used to be a freaking stripper! No girl in her right mind would be comfortable with her boyfriend hanging out with a whore like that!"

Grissom's line went quiet, and Sara for a moment thought he hung up. But then, he spoke up. "I can't do this, Sara. I can't be in a relationship with you if you're going to talk like that about the person who's the most supportive person in my life, not to mention my best friend. I'm sorry. Good-bye."

Quickly, he hung up after saying good-bye. He didn't want to draw this out more than it had to be. Strangely, Grissom felt relieved. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he finally decided he could lie down and take a much needed nap.

The first thing that Sara felt after she heard the dial tone buzz in her ear was the breaking of her heart. She lay on her bed with the phone in her hand staring up at the ceiling, waiting for tears to come.

But they never came. Instead, waves of anger overcame her. Not towards Grissom, but towards Catherine. Her grip on the phone tightened. Suddenly, she sat up and glanced at the clock. It was 12:18pm.

With her mind consumed with frustration and rage, Sara bounced off her bed, grabbed her car keys, and left her apartment within thirty seconds.

A/N: Currently working on the next chapters. They're not even close to being done yet, but reviews might encourage and speed things up a bit. Hehe.