Chapter 22

"Are you two going to be ok?"

Sara gave Manny a grateful smile. "Thanks Manny I think things will be ok now." She stopped smiling as she turned back to Catherine. She carefully walked over to Catherine's bed and gently caressed her cheek where Eddie had slapped her.

Catherine leaned into the caress and after awhile she spoke. "What the hell were you thinking Sara? He hurt you didn't he? What did he say to you?""

"Nothing for you to worry about. Why did you put him on the list?" She asked hoping to divert Catherine's attention from her stomach. Sara took her in her arms and was careful not to move too fast. She rested her head on top of Catherine's.

"I didn't want to give him anything to use against me during the divorce plus I figured if he made a scene it would be best if he did it in here and not in the hallway. Now tell me what he said to you and don't say 'nothing'?"

"He told me I was welcome to you because he had a younger thing on the side. You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep from cheering and pumping my fist in the air."

"You were going to take him on weren't you? Even as much as you're hurting you would have done it wouldn't you?" Sara was afraid Catherine was mad so she just nodded against the top of her head. "Are you ok?" Once again Sara just nodded. "Do you want me to call James and get you a pill?" Sara nodded and Catherine reached for the call button and then lay back and waited for James to come. "James, Sara is too proud to ask for something for her pain, can you get her a pill?"

He sensed a change in the atmosphere of the room and felt it was not the time for joking. "Ok I'll be right back." He left the room as fast as he had entered.

Sara waited for Catherine to say something and when she didn't she started to talk only to be stopped by Catherine placing a finger against her lips. "Shhh just wait." James came in with the pill in a little cup and handed it to Sara then poured her a glass of water to wash it down and left the room without saying a word. Catherine moved on the bed so they were lying side by side so she could look Sara in the eye. "Sara what the hell do you think you were doing going up against my husband? He would not hesitate to do to you what he did to me, maybe worse if you stand up to him. That very easily could rip out the stitches in your side again or your neck. Not only would it hurt you but it would hurt me. It would hurt me because it would be my fault. What happened to waiting until you had the right to defend me?"

"I guess in the heat of the moment I forgot. When I saw him hit you I wanted to…I don't know what I wanted to do but it was hard to watch. And when he said those things about you I wanted to tell him what a wonderful woman he was throwing away"

"Good!"

"What do you mean good?" Sara couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Because I kind of liked it. It's been a long time since anyone has stood up for me. I love you."

"I love you too. Does trouble always follow you around like this? Is there anything else I need to know about?"

"Nope, I think we've just about covered everything. I don't think we should have any more surprises on my side of things. How about you? Well other than this stalker that is?"

"I think we'll be ok." As they lay back Manny knocked on the door and poked his head in.

"Hey Sara looks like someone sent you some flowers, they're at the nurses' station. I know Brass said there was no family you want me to bring them in?"

"Don't bring me the flowers, just bring me the card." Catherine felt her tense up while she waited for Manny.

"Just remember you're not alone."

"Thanks Cat I needed to hear that." Sara's hand was shaking as she took the envelop from Manny's hand. She pulled the card out and read it.

My Sara,

You have proven to be a worthy adversary

which only makes the pursuit all the more

interesting and Catherine will be an added

bonus.

Never forget, you will be mine.

Hope you like the flowers.

All my love, T

Sara held the card in shaky hands and just lay on the bed and said nothing. She now knew that he was definitely after Catherine and it was all her fault. Catherine reached over and took the card from her hands and read it. "Well I guess that makes it official, we stay together from now until we catch this guy. Any idea what the 'T' stands for?" She had a smile on her face that Sara couldn't understand.

"What do you find funny about this?"

"You look like you were about to jump off that bed and start running away right now."

"That's exactly what was going through my mind. I was thinking about where I could go that would ensure that both you and Lindsey would be safe. I thought I could head back to Boston, which would give you time because he would come after me."

Catherine sat up so she could put a little distance between her and Sara. "Just when were you planning on telling me about these plans and what makes you think he wouldn't take care of me before he came after you?" She could feel her anger rising again.

"I felt you would be safer if I didn't tell you where I was going and I figured he would be more interested in following me than coming after you." Sara lowered her head so she wouldn't have to see Catherine's anger.

"Did you give any thought to how that would make both Lindsey and me feel? Did you think I would just sit back and let you take off? We are in this together whether you like it or not. You are not running anywhere. We are going to get this guy so that we can start our life together and grow old together."

"You want to grow old with me?" Sara looked up with tears in her eyes.

Catherine lay back down next to her and took her in her arms and held her tightly as her anger subsided. "Yeah baby I'm in this for the long run. I'm going to need a youngster like you to push me around in my wheelchair when I'm old and senile. Why do you think I picked someone as young as you?"

Sara lifted her head to look in to the eyes of the woman she loved and saw that they were dancing with merriment. "I thought it was because you thought I had a hot body."

"There's that too. But it's those muscular arms that came to my mind first. Have to think long range at my advanced age you know."

"Oh so you pick up the first babe that comes along to take care of you."

"No not the first one, just the first one with muscles. Oh and the looks helped a lot too, they brought my attention to those muscles once I got past the pretty face."

"Are you saying I'm just a pretty face?" By this time Sara's foul mood was gone.

"Why do you keep forgetting about the muscles? Are you sure you're the genius they say you are? You can't even remember something I said not even a minute ago, and I've said it twice Miss Sidle?"

"That's Dr. Sidle remember? Do you have any idea how much I love you? I've never felt this way before Cat, sometimes it scares me. I guess that's why I thought about taking off because I'd rather live without you and know you are safe than be with you and know that you are in danger because of me."

"Well Dr. Sidle I guess we are just going to have to find a way to catch this guy then aren't we? We'll discuss it with Brass once we get out of here and see what his plans are. But in the meantime let's not worry about it and enjoy our time together ok?" At Sara's nod she went on. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"

"No actually I feel pretty good? Want to make out?" She looked up at Catherine with a hopeful smile.

"You read my mind." Sara scooted down the bed so that she was lying down and pulled Catherine down with her then reached up and cupped Catherine's cheek so that she could lightly caress the bruise that Eddie's slap had left.

"If he ever touches you again I can't guarantee that I will stand by and do nothing. Does it hurt?" Catherine shook her head because once again she couldn't speak because Sara's caress was at odds with the anger in her voice. Sara rolled over so she was almost on top of Catherine and she kissed the spot where the bruise had formed and then kissed the other cheek before settling her mouth on Catherine's in one of the softest kisses Catherine had ever experienced. She was so used to the demanding kisses from men who only wanted one thing but she was quickly beginning to really like kissing this woman. She decided to let Sara control the kiss just to see where she would take it.

"What do you like in a lover Cat? I like to take my time, caress every part of your body until you can't take it anymore." As she was speaking her hand was busy showing Catherine just what she was talking about. "I would kiss you here." She kissed one eye then the other. "And if I didn't hear any complaints I would kiss you here." She moved down to just below her ear and Catherine could not hold back a moan. "Is that a complaint?" Catherine vigorously shook her head. "Good I thought maybe you wanted me to quit, so shall I continue?" Catherine nodded just as vigorously. "Then I would love to do this." Catherine shuddered when she felt Sara's tongue slowly make its way to her ear and then slide down her throat to her pulse point. Catherine reached up to touch Sara's face but Sara took her hand and laid it back on the bed and looked Catherine in the eye before she spoke. "This is for you, I want to show you how I feel and I don't think I could if you touched me. I seem to forget where I am or what I'm saying when you touch me, so please will you let me show you?" Sara's voice came out even lower than it had been just seconds before.

Catherine had to clear her throat before she could talk and even then her voice was deep. "I would love for you to show me how you feel but I just want you to know that so far you're doing pretty good. I love you Sara Sidle."

"I love you too Catherine Willows. Now where was I? Ah yes right here." She returned her lips to Catherine's very delectable neck. "Once I had my fill of this spot, which is a very lovely spot by the way, I would kiss my way to the other side and do the same thing." As her mouth made its way to the other side of her neck her hand slowly made its way to Catherine's stomach. "Have I ever told you how much I love your stomach? I've always loved it when you wore those tight tank tops. They show off so much. But your stomach has always captured my attention, it's both soft and hard at the same time. It's soft where a woman is supposed to be soft but the muscles there are so sexy." Slowly her hand made its way down her stomach to her thigh and Sara couldn't help but groan when she felt the muscles ripple where she touched. "God I can't wait to feel those legs wrapped around me. If this is what dancing does to a woman's legs then I am certainly glad you were a dancer." Sara very slowly made her way back up the leg and Catherine groaned when the hand slowed near the apex of her legs. "I want to touch you just as much as you want me to but as I said, our first time is not going to be in a hospital bed. Do you want me to stop?"

"No Sara I don't want you to stop but I do want you to know that you are driving me crazy. And I can't wait until we are alone and can take this where we both obviously want it to go."

"Do you know your eyes darken to a lovely shade of green when you are turned on like you are now? That is sooo sexy. Almost as sexy as your voice, it drops and it sure does a number on my libido." As she was speaking her hand was continuing its exploration of Catherine's body and it stopped on her stomach again. "I'm glad your Mom brought us some shirts and shorts to wear because if we were in those hospital gowns and I knew you were naked underneath I would have a very hard time keeping my promise of not taking you in this hospital room." She laughed at Catherine's shocked expression. "I'm already having a very hard time keeping my hands off of you." As she said this her hand covered Catherine's right breast and both women groaned. Sara's mouth covered Catherine's in a kiss that was far from the gentle kiss earlier. Sara kneaded the breast and the already taut nipple and smiled as Catherine's hips lifted off the bed of their own volition. "Someone's just as turned on as I am. I think I had better quit before this goes too far."

Catherine reached up and stopped her from removing her hand, she opened Sara's hand and laid it flat against her breast. "Just leave it there for a minute, don't move it or I can't be held responsible for my actions. I can't remember ever being more turned on in my life. I can tell you've been with a woman before but this is a first for me so give me a minute to recover."

"Are you trying to tell me that you've never been with a woman? Even during your dancing days?" It was Sara's turn to be surprised.

"No I have never been with a woman, I've kissed a few but that was as far as it went. I never had the urge to take it any further until I met you. I was so surprised at the immediate attraction I felt for you. You stood there in that doorway with that cocky smile on your face and all I could think about was how beautiful you were and how adorable that gap in your teeth was." As Catherine was speaking she slowly brought Sara's hand to her lips and kissed it. "Now my dear Dr. Sidle, you asked earlier what I liked in a lover. Well so far you are what I like in a lover and I'm sure when we finally do make love I will not be disappointed. But let me show you how I like to be made love to." She rolled over so that now she was the one in charge. There was nothing tentative about the kiss and when she felt Sara's lips part the tiniest bit she took advantage of it and pushed her tongue through the small gap. Could it get any better than this she thought? And it did when Sara's tongue met hers in a duel as old as time. Catherine threw her leg over Sara's leg and couldn't help but groan at the contact. "Sara Sidle you are one sexy woman and you are driving me crazy."

"Well I'm not exactly unaffected by all of this myself you know? And you my dear have closed the book on sexy."

"And let me tell you about those legs of yours." Catherine's hand was taking much the same path Sara's had earlier. "Your legs have been the bane of my existence. They go on forever and you have no idea how many times I've thought about having them wrapped around me and to hear you moan as I take you." At that thought Sara couldn't help the moan that escaped. "Just like that but hopefully louder and longer. God, we have to get out of this hospital, it's killing me to not be able to make love to you. I think I will have my Mom take Lindsey on that vacation just so I can have you all to myself for at least 3 days and we will never leave the bedroom."

"Only three days? What about food?"

"How can you think about food at a time like this?" Catherine looked down at her and couldn't help but laugh at the look on Sara's face. She had such a childlike quality about her that Catherine had never noticed before.

"Well we would need to eat to keep up our strength. I'm all for staying in the bedroom for three days but if we don't eat or drink we wouldn't last long."

"Well when you put it that way it makes sense. And it effectively broke the sexual tension in this room. I guess maybe you are as smart as they say you are." She leaned over and gave Sara a quick peck on the lips and moved away before she was tempted to continue what they started earlier. "You are very potent did you know that?"

"Like a fine wine?"

"More like a shot of whiskey. Goes down smooth but has one hell of a kick."

"Are you two kissing again?" came the young voice behind her. Catherine rolled over and moved back to her own bed and watched as Lindsey climbed up and took her place next to Sara. "You must really like my Mommy a lot to kiss her that much."

Catherine watched as Sara blushed and she thought it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. "Hey sweetie can I get a hug?"

"Just a minute Mommy I want to see if Sara is ok." Lindsey turned back to Sara. "How does your neck feel? Does it still hurt? Will it help if I kiss it better?"

"Yeah kiddo it might just help if you kiss it better." Sara looked over to Catherine as Lindsey carefully leaned down and gave Sara's bandage a kiss. "Aw that feels better already. Thank you very much."

Lindsey jumped down off of Sara's bed and climbed up to give her mother a hug. "Did you hear that Mommy I made her neck feel better? When she comes to live with us I will have to kiss her lots and lots to make her better faster."

"Not too many because then she will leave sooner." Lindsey's face scrunched up while she thought about that.

"Catherine stop that. I like her kisses and she can kiss me as much as she likes." Sara looked to Lindsey and smiled. "You can kiss me as much as you want and your Mom is not allowed to stop you ok?"

Lindsey turned to look at her Mom to make sure it was ok, then they both turned to Sara with identical smiles and she fell in love all over again. Sara turned towards the door and saw Lily standing there with an indulgent smile on her face. "Hey Lily come on in, sit down and tell me how to learn to resist these two."

"Maybe you, being the trained CSI can figure them out and you can let me know."

"Hey no fair, you can't gang up on us like that." Catherine pouted.

"Oh and it's fair for you two to gang up on us?" Lily walked over and gave Catherine a kiss on the forehead and gently moved her hair away to check her head then giving Catherine a knowing look when she saw the new bruise on her cheek. "Has Eddie been here?" All Catherine could do was nod and she lowered her head in shame. "How are you two feeling today? Judging from the level of activity when we walked in I would say you have both improved." She walked over and surprised Sara by kissing her on the forehead and then checking the bruises on her neck. "When are they going to spring you?"

"Not soon enough!" Both women answered in unison.

"Are we in a hurry?"

"Mom I have a favor to ask you, can we take a little walk?" Catherine bent down and kissed Lindsey's cheek and picked her up and placed her on Sara's bed. "Sweetie can you keep Sara company until Grandma and I get back?"

"Sure Mommy I can tell her a story ok?"

"Ok sweetie." Catherine winked at Sara as she left the room.