Chapter Three
Catherine woke up clinging to her pillow. She took a few minutes to lay and hold on before getting up and heading into the shower. She let the water wash over her, standing still in the spray until the water turned cold. She shivered and stepped out of the shower, toweling off before heading back into her room. She dressed and headed out to the living room.
She smiled sadly as she noticed Nick asleep on the could. Lindsay was leaning up against him, quietly offering him her silent support. Catherine sat down next to her daughter. She spoke softly. "He's asleep?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to wake him by moving. I've been sitting here reading."
"Lindsay, you've been really great all day." She whisked away a strand of her daughter's hair.
"He looked really lost when you guys came home."
Catherine smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "You hungry?"
Lindsay nodded. "Grandma's in the kitchen making sandwiches." Catherine felt her daughter shift so that Lindsay was leaning against her instead of Nick. She placed her arm around Lindsay and drew her closer. Nick stirred.
"Hey."
Nick rubbed his eyes. "Hey."
"Sleep well?" She watched him nod.
"Apparently my mom's in the kitchen making sandwiches if you're hungry."
"Great."
Catherine looked over at her daughter and at Nick. "After we eat, I'm heading into lab. Nick, you can stay here with Lindsay and my mom and get some more rest."
"I can come in."
She looked down at his arm and shook her head. "No, you can't. Stay here."
"I need to do something." Nick looked at her, pleading with his eyes.
"Nick," she reached behind her daughter and placed her hand gently on his arm, "we won't be able to do anything on Warrick's case and Grissom will just send you home anyways."
Nick sighed. "You're right." He stood up and pulled Lindsay and Catherine up with him. "Come on, let's eat."
After eating, Catherine slowly made her way to the Crime Lab. She walked through the halls, stopping outside of Grissom's closed door. She paused before knocking. She heard his come in and slowly opened the door, taking a seat across from him. He looked up at her. "Catherine, what are you doing here?"
"I came to help cover shift."
"You can go home. Greg called. He's coming in. He and I will cover shift."
"You got a hold of Greg before he flew to LA?"
"Brass caught him at the airport."
Catherine studied him. He looked tired and worn and…defeated. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly. When he raised his eyebrows at her she found her nerve. "Does Sara know?"
She watched him swallow. He looked up at her and sighed. "Yeah, I called her this morning."
"Is she coming here?"
"She's here. She caught a flight in this afternoon."
Catherine reached across the desk and placed her hand on his arm. "Gil, go home. I'll cover shift with Greg."
"I've got it Catherine."
"Go home to Sara."
He looked up and sighed. "She's not there."
"What do you mean? Where is she?"
"She's staying in a hotel."
"What? Why?" Catherine's voice rose. "Why are you letting her stay in a hotel?"
She noticed him glance down at his desk before looking back up at her. "I don't want to talk about it Catherine."
"Grissom…"
"Go home Catherine."
She stood up, looked at him and gave him a pointed stare. She turned to the door but spun around to face him. "You are some piece of work." She stormed out of the office.
When she arrived back home, she was shaking. Lily, Nick and Lindsay looked at her curiously from their seats in the kitchen. Nick stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What are you doing home Catherine?"
"Grissom sent me home. He and Greg are covering shift."
Nick dropped his hands and looked at her. "How is Grissom doing?"
"Grissom's an idiot." She brushed by him and made her way into her bedroom.
No sooner had Catherine shut her door when she heard a soft knock. She watched the door open slowly. Nick peered in. "Cath?" She looked up at him with fresh tears in her eyes. "You okay?" She nodded.
Nick stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Cath, I was thinking…we should call everybody and have them come here after shift so we can all be together."
"Yeah sure, call Brass and Greg. They can come for breakfast."
"And Grissom?"
She looked up at him from her seat on the bed. "Don't call Grissom. He deserves to be alone."
Nick sat down next to her on the bed. "What happened at the lab Cath?"
"Sara's back."
Nick stood up quickly. "She is? Did you see her? How is she?"
"Nick, stop. I didn't see her. Grissom told me."
"So he'll want to go home to her rather than come here. I can understand that. You can't be mad at him for that."
Catherine looked up at him and shook her head. "No Nick. He's going to go home alone. Sara's not there. She's staying in a hotel."
Nick sat back down. "Why?"
She stood up quickly. "It's Grissom, who the hell knows? He sure wouldn't tell me. He didn't even tell me what hotel. I can't believe he's letting her stay in a hotel."
Nick stood up and faced her. "It's Sara, you know, maybe that's what she wanted."
"I don't care. I don't care whose idea it was, whose fault it is. He should drag her home. I'm getting tired of his attitude."
Nick grasped her hand. "So, is she back, back, or did she just come back because of Warrick?"
Catherine sighed. "I don't know Nicky."
Grissom sat in his office, thinking about everything that had happened earlier in the afternoon. He had never meant to say any of those things to Sara. He knew he was wrong, but he was angry and he had gotten himself all worked up and the words came out before he could stop them. He had wanted to go after her, tell her he was sorry, try and take back all of his awful words, hold onto her and finally grieve Warrick's death, but she looked so hurt and so livid when she ran into the hotel. He knew she wouldn't listen to him then. He also knew he was too consumed by guilt and anger at the moment to give her a decent apology. So, instead of going after her, he drove back to the crime lab where he found himself sitting behind his desk, replaying the scene over and over in his head.
When Greg arrived at the lab, he sent Greg out to a B&E. He stayed in his office and tried to focus on his paperwork. Miraculously, half way through shift, he discovered that despite his wandering mind, he had made some progress. Another hour had passed when he noticed Brass enter the office. "Thank God for a slow night."
He looked up. "Hi Jim. Thanks for hunting down Greg."
"No problem. Did you call Sara?" Grissom nodded.
"Is she coming home?"
"She's here."
Brass sat down across from him. "Look, it's a slow night. Why don't you go home, make love to the woman you love, hold onto her, show her you need her…get her out of that hotel she's staying in."
Grissom's head shot up. "How did you know?"
He watched Brass shrug. "Catherine called. She may have vented a little."
Grissom grew angry at Brass's words. His voice was level. "If you knew, why did you ask about Sara?"
Brass shrugged again. "I wanted to see what you'd give up. Catherine said…"
"It's none of Catherine's business," he shot back.
"She's just looking out for you."
Grissom turned away, trying to tune out Brass, but the detective kept going. "Look, I don't know what happened between you and Sara, but I do know she shouldn't be alone in a hotel right now. She needs you and you need her too. Stop being a stubborn ass and go get her."
He sighed and turned back towards Brass. "I don't think she'll talk to me. I was out of line with her and I said some terrible things."
"My, my, surprise, surprise. You better try to smooth things out before you lose her for good."
He knew Brass was right. He sighed again and began to gather up the files on his desk. "You'll call if something comes up?"
"Somebody else will cover it. Go home."
Grissom stood up. "Thanks Jim."
He rushed through the halls and out the lab. Getting in his truck, he drove the short distance to the hotel. He flashed his ID at front desk to get her room number. After riding the elevator up and finding her room, he stopped outside her door and knocked. Moments later, the door crept partially open. Her head peeked out. He watched her sigh and open the door the rest of the way. He felt her cool stare emanating from her red eyes. He knew she had been crying. What he didn't know was whether the tears came from Warrick's death or from him.
Grissom stepped past her and picked up her still packed bag. "Come on, you can't stay here."
Sara ripped the bag from his hands and threw it on the floor. "I can. What does it matter to you anyways?"
"Sara, please, just listen."
He winced at her gaze. "This better be good Grissom."
He stepped towards her and touched his fingertips together in front of him. "Sara, I'm sorry. I was angry and hurt and I felt guilty for Warrick's death. I lashed out at you. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean anything I said. Please come home."
He watched her shake her head, tears falling from her eyes. "No, maybe you were right. Maybe everything you said was true."
"No Sara." He couldn't believe how defeated she sounded. He closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her. "You can't blame yourself for everything that has happened. This was not your fault. I'm sorry for telling you that it was. That was very insensitive of me. I know how hard you are on yourself; I shouldn't have given you a reason to become even more critical."
"Maybe if I was here I could have helped him…you would have helped him. I should have been here."
"Sara, no. Warrick made his own choices. He chose to hang onto something he should have let go of, and he was murdered for it. You couldn't have done anything. Come home, please."
Sara sighed. She stepped back from his grasp. "Are you really sure you want me to come home?"
"No, I need you to come home."
He watched as she studied him. "Okay, but this doesn't fix everything." Suddenly she was back in his arms, holding on tight. Her face was buried in his shoulder, moistening it with her tears.
He tilted her head up and gazed into her eyes. "I know."
When they arrived home, Sara took her bag and placed it in the guest room. She paused and looked at him apologetically. "I'm…I'm not sure that after everything that happened today, after the way you reacted, if I'm ready to share a bed with you yet. I'm sorry."
He smiled softly. "I understand."
She turned to the room but turned back quickly. "I just need to know we're okay first."
"We will be." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Can I get you something to eat?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine. I think I'll just try to get some sleep."
"Have you slept at all yet?"
"No, I couldn't earlier." She bit her bottom lip.
"Okay." He leaned forward and softly kissed her cheek. When the door closed, he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He didn't know how long he stared at it's contents before shutting the door. He moved to his sofa where he laid down and began to flip through a magazine. He felt restless on the sofa. He moved to his bed to try to get some sleep. He tossed and turned and ended up staring at empty space next to him. Finally, he found his way to the guest room. He opened the door and quietly watched Sara sleep. He tip-toed over to the edge of the bed and carefully lowered himself down beside her. When he placed his hand on her arm and felt her trembling, he knew she wasn't asleep. He laid down beside her and gathered her into his arms. She curled into him. He held her tightly as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep beside her.
Greg felt dead on his feet by the time shift ended. He made his way to his car and fell into the seat. He wiped his eyes in an effort to stay awake. Slowly, he turned the key and drove straight to Catherine's. Arriving at her house, he parked, walked up the step and knocked, wearily, on the door. He waited for the door to open, and when it did, Lily gave him a sympathetic smile. She ushered him inside.
Hearing voices in the kitchen, Greg followed the sounds and noticed Lindsay, Catherine and Nick laying out breakfast. They grabbed some plates and began dishing up. Catherine handed him a plate. "Good morning Greg."
He rubbed his palm over his forehead. "Good morning guys. Thanks for the invite."
"No problem." Nick smiled at him. "You look tired. Have you gotten any sleep yet?"
Greg shook his head. He began to fill his plate. "Not yet. I spent yesterday trying to reschedule my meeting with my editors. When I was finally able to do that, I had to reschedule my flights and rebook my days off. Then, I covered shift. I had a B&E and I doubt we will ever catch the guy. Then, to top it off, Grissom left and I had to cover the remaining few hours of shift alone. Thankfully nothing big came up."
"Wait, Grissom left?" Nick looked over at him incredulously.
"Yeah. I got back from my crime scene and Judy told me that Grissom went home. I ran into Brass and asked him about it. He told me not to disturb Grissom."
Greg watched as Catherine and Nick exchanged glances.
"I wonder…"
"Do you think?"
"God, I hope so…"
He looked at them. "Can someone tell me what is going on?"
He watched Nick and Catherine exchange another glance. He waited until Nick spoke. "Sara's back."
"Oh," Greg popped a piece of his bagel into his mouth. After swallowing, he continued, "so he went home to her then."
"We hope so."
Greg put down his plate. "Well, let's go see them or call them over. I want to see Sara."
He felt Nick's hand on his shoulder. "We don't know if Sara's with him. Besides Greg, if he did leave work to see her then we should give them some time alone. Sara will call when she's ready to see us."
Greg reluctantly agreed. He finished eating the food on his plate. "Oh, Brass said he'd be by in a bit." He placed the empty plate in the sink and yawned. "Mind if I take a nap? Can you wake me when Brass gets here?" Catherine nodded and led him to Lindsay's room.
"Here, you can nap here. Lindsay won't mind."
"Thanks."
"Greg, did anyone at the lab say anything about the funeral?"
He shook his head. "Grissom probably knows something. You can ask him."
Catherine nodded and closed the door as she exited. Greg laid down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. After an extremely long day and night, he finally allowed himself the time to process everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours.
