Chapter 13:

An hour later, Cat stepped out of the elevator and walked to the murder room. Her heart was pounding in her chest with every step she took. She had no idea how her mother would react to her showing up there unexpectedly. When she entered the murder room, she looked around at the squad members who were sitting at their desks, each of them clearly busy with something.

"Excuse me?" she said hesitantly and they all looked up at once. Provenza arched his eyebrows in surprise for a moment and then got up.

"Why, hello there," he said, smiling. Flynn, who insisted on coming back for work, shook his head.

Sanchez got to his feet too and walked around the desk towards her. "How can I help you?" he asked nicely. Tao and Sykes were watching with interest from their seats.

"Actually, I'm looking for Captain Sharon Raydor," Cat said without giving them any details. Their reaction was amusing, and she played along.

"Well, she's not in her office and I'm in charge when she's not around," Provenza said proudly. "Just tell me what you need."

"Actually, Sir, you've got a lot of work to do. I just finished what I was doing, so I can help her," Sanchez insisted and Cat tried not to laugh.

"Detective Sanchez, if you're done with your work, you can continue with mine while I'm helping that lovely young lady," Provenza tried to sound pleasant, but his voice became a bit firm. Cat watched as Sanchez looked at him grudgingly, but Provenza wouldn't budge. For a moment, she was afraid they'd get into a fight. She was just about to tell them who she really was, when a voice called behind her.

"Catherine?" Sharon looked at her in shock. Cat turned to see her and smiled.

"Mother!" she said and walked to her, wrapping her arms around her. Provenza and Sanchez exchanged amazed looks. Tao arched his eyebrows and Sykes smiled. Flynn squinted as he watched the two women, trying to find similarity between them.

"What are you doing here?" Sharon asked, still in shock and hugging her back hesitantly.

Cat pulled away. "I'm fine, how are you?" she asked sarcastically and smiled.

"What's wrong?" Sharon asked. She knew her daughter too well.

"Oh, my god. Can't I visit my mother just because I feel like it?" Cat asked, trying to sound offended.

"No," Sharon said honestly, stretching the word. She looked at her daughter for a moment, and then started walking to her office without saying a word.

"Mom!" Cat said in reproach and followed her. They both entered the office and Sharon closed the door behind them. She walked around her desk and sat. Cat looked around for a moment and then sat too, across the desk. "Wow, nice place. I feel like I'm in the principal's office," she said, trying to get her mother to smile. Sharon squinted a little and examined her. "Can you stop worrying?" Cat said and sighed.

"No, I'm a mother. That's what we do. What happened?"

"Fine!" Cat crossed her arms on her chest, taking her time to answer. She couldn't find a soft way to tell her mother what her problem was.

"Well?" Sharon asked in her low voice.

"I was fired," Cat said at once. Sharon closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.

"Why?"

"I… kind of… got involved with one of the fathers in the kindergarten," she said the last part really fast.

"You… what?" Sharon stuttered. Her voice still sounded calm, but she felt her heart racing. "You got involved with a married man?" She was stunned. That wasn't the way she raised her daughter.

"Well… he stayed behind one day and told me they were getting a divorce. One thing led to another…" Cat was embarrassed. It seemed like she was shrinking in her chair. Sharon took a deep, slow breath and asked to hear the rest of the story.

"When we started seeing each other, he said we needed to keep it a secret until the divorce was final… so we did. Next thing I know, his wife finds out about us and HE calls my boss, saying that I seduce him. So she fired me."

Sharon stared at her for a while, trying to determine if she was being honest. Knowing her child, she tended to believe her. "Catherine…" she said quietly, her voice soft.

"I had no idea what to do," Cat said, her eyes teary. "The first thing I thought was to pack my things and come here."

"It's going to be okay," Sharon grabbed her hand from across the desk and smiled at her.

"Oh… there's one more thing you need to know…" Cat said, somewhat afraid.

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."