Yin and Yang

After hanging up, Grissom wondered if he should be worried about Sara confronting Catherine. But even before their relationship, Sara had gotten control of her drinking and anger problems. But he knew it would help if he treaded lightly around her at the lab, and maybe call her later to let her know he hoped it wouldn't affect their friendship.

Grissom, you ass, he scolded himself. The last thing she'll want to do is be your friend. Then again, the gesture itself might make her feel a little better…

Finally, Grissom decided on what to do. He grabbed his car keys and headed to Catherine's. She'd know what to do. Explaining to her the situation might be a little awkward, but it was better than traveling down this road blind. Even so, he was nervous. His heart pounded loudly in his ears the entire way there.

Catherine sat out on her front porch sipping a beer. Lindsey was inside on the phone, and Catherine decided that on a day as nice as this, she wouldn't waste it battling with her daughter on spending some quality time together. She usually lost, anyway.

As she sat there, she thought of Grissom, although her mind hadn't wandered from him the entire day. She knew she loved him, but he was with Sara, and far from her reach.

I suppose that's what I get for not doing something about it soonershe thought regretfully.

After her beer had been finished, she returned inside. Lindsey had finally gotten off the phone and was watching TV.

"Linds, it's nice outside. Go ride your bike or something." Catherine said.

Lindsey glanced at her mother. "Are you kidding me? I'm not ten anymore, Mom. Half my friends already have driving permits. I'm not signing myself up for humiliation, thanks."

Catherine sighed and went into the kitchen. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Lindsey squeaked, leaping off the couch. "It's probably Madison. She said she might come by."

Catherine shrugged and opened the dishwasher. She was sure she had told Lindsey to empty it earlier, but there it was, full. She heard Lindsey answer the door and began putting away dishes.

"Hello?" She heard Lindsey say. She sounded disappointed. Obviously, it wasn't Madison at the door.

"Lindsey, I need to speak with your mother." It was Sara, her tone sounding flat.

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen. Mom, I'm going over to Madison's. I have my phone." Lindsey shouted. The door slammed shut.

Catherine turned to see Sara standing in the doorway. "Hey, Sara," she said. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Slowly, Sara walked over to her. "You know damn well what I'm doing here, you whore!" She yelled. Catherine flinched. "How dare you ruin the one good thing in my life? Where do you get off sleeping with other people's boyfriends?"

Catherine saw out the front window that Lindsey had stopped halfway down the driveway, and was looking at her, concerned.

"Sara, what are you talking about? I haven't touched Gil."

"Like hell! I know he was at your house last night! At least he didn't bother lying! I got passed the whole ex-stripper thing with you, and I see I let my guard down too early! So now he's called it quits on me. For you. Happy now? Or is the rush gone because you don't have anything to take away from anyone anymore?"

"Sara, it's not like that-"

A hot white pain spread across Catherine's face as Sara's fist connected with her cheek. She fell to the floor. Outside, Lindsey witnessed the whole thing and quickly dialed the first number that popped into her mind.

Grissom had already been driving over the speed limit on his way to Catherine's, but when he received an unexpected call from Lindsey Willows, he was sure he was probably breaking some highway speed limits, too.

"Uncle Gil, you have to hurry," Lindsey's voice rang in his ears. "Sara Sidle came over and she got really mad at my Mom. She hit her. Uncle Gil, I think she's unconscious…"

As he drove, his grip on the steering wheel tightened. His knuckles were white. Guilt and worry flooded through his body. One question continuously circulated through his head: What have I done?

As soon as she had hit Catherine, Sara had fled from the house. She drove around mindlessly on the highway. She knew that she had gotten out of control, and if she could have turned back time, she never would have even gone to Catherine's house.

But there were people with more things than regret on their minds.

Lindsey Willows hid behind the bushes when Sara rushed out of the house. Once she was sure the car had driven down the block and was far away, she crawled out and ran back into the house. No sooner had she entered the house when she heard Grissom's car roll up the driveway.

She knelt beside her mother on the kitchen floor and waited for him to get there.

"Lindsey?" he called at the doorway.

"Uncle Gil, in here," Lindsey called back.

Grissom bolted into the room. His mouth practically hit the floor when he saw Catherine. He, too, crouched next to Catherine and lightly shook her. "Catherine, Catherine, wake up. Come on, Catherine."

She wasn't bleeding externally, and the only mark she had on her was a red cheek. Things weren't bad as he expected. But they weren't great, either.

Slowly, Catherine opened her eyes. She put her hands on his arms. "Gil… Gil… Gil, stop shaking me!"

Sheepishly, Grissom stopped. "Sorry," he said. He brushed the hair off her face. "Are you okay?"

Both he and Lindsey were looking at her nervously.

"Should I call 911 or something?" Lindsey asked, clutching her cell phone.

Grissom turned to Catherine. "Should we? You could have a concussion."

Lightly, she ran her fingers through her hair. "No, no I'm okay."

"I don't know what the hell Sara was thinking…"

"Don't worry about it. She just got out of control. She didn't understand. Gil, I'll be fine. Relax."

Catherine looked at Grissom's hands, which were grasping her shoulders tightly. She grinned. "Really worried about me, huh?"

"Of course," Grissom replied sincerely. "So was Linds. She was the one who called me."

Lindsey blushed, and Catherine kissed her on the cheek.

"Well, let's get off this floor, huh? I'll make some coffee or something. Linds, you can go to Madison's still if you'd like."

"No, I'll stay with you guys. I'll be in my room." Lindsey excused herself, dashing upstairs.

Grissom helped Catherine to her feet. "You should put some ice on that cheek. It'll make the swelling go down."

Catherine swatted his hand away. "So, uh, Gil. Since I got smacked around, I'd appreciate since I got smacked around if you'd tell me why your girlfriend thinks I slept with you."

"That night I was at your house, Sara called me. She got upset because I never called her back, and because I was with you. She thinks I was cheating on her with you."

"That's ridiculous."

"I know."

They stood silently in the kitchen for a moment. The refrigerator behind Catherine hummed.

"Hey, Cath?"

"Yeah?"

Grissom stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Catherine. He pressed her head gently on his chest and rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry about what happened today," he said. "I shouldn't have put you in that position."

"What position?" Catherine asked, looking up at him cheeky grin.

Very carefully, Grissom stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. The skin was hot, and she flinched. It made his heart sank, and this time, he knew it was for her. "Is there anything I can do to make up for this?"

Catherine thought for a moment. She let her hand slide up his chest and trace around his mouth. Their eyes locked. As she cupped his cheek, their faces closed in on each other gently.

Lindsey watched quietly from the staircase, unable to control a large grin from spreading across her face.

Grissom insisted on staying with Catherine and Lindsey for the rest of the day. Catherine thought it was because he felt guilty, but that was only partially why.

Later on that afternoon, Lindsey decided to take a nap upstairs and Grissom and Catherine sat on the backyard porch with screwdrivers. They sat next to each other on green plastic lawn chairs and talked.

"So, is that rumor really true?" Catherine laughed.

"About Ecklie? God, I hope so. That guy definitely needs to get out more." Grissom chuckled.

"Wow. What I wouldn't give to see Ecklie in a gay bar hammered. He does need to get out more."

Catherine's hand rested on the arm of her chair. She was surprised when she felt Grissom put his over hers. "I've missed this," he whispered quietly.

She grinned. "Me too." Catherine gave his hand a light squeeze.

At that moment she wanted nothing more than to leap off his chair and into his lap to kiss him as long and hard as she could. But she restrained herself.

"So, uh, Gil," Catherine said. "Don't you think we should go out and look for Sara eventually?"

"I don't know," Grissom replied. "I don't think I can be in a relationship with her anymore. But I do know we need to get thing straightened out."

"Well, for one thing, I don't want Lindsey to be constantly afraid that her mother is going to be attacked." Catherine pointed out. "You've seen her, she refuses to even leave the house. She's usually not like that."

"She's concerned for you. I am, too." Grissom admitted. "We just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." Catherine insisted.

Grissom's thumb caressed the top of her hand. "I want to be here for you. And Lindsey. What happened today isn't just going to go away. You can't pretend like it's just a bad dream."

Catherine turned and looked him directly in the eye. "Then stay here with us."

Grissom grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

A/N: I won't be able to update for about a week because I'm a band geek and we're going to DISNEY WORLD for a week. squee Anyway, hang in there, because I promise you that things are about to get much more interesting for Gil and Cath. Since things are just warming up, the next chapter will involve turning up the heat a little bit (rating will stay the same), and a pretty unexpected twist for our CSIs. Woot! Excited yet? Reviews appreciated!