A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for reviewing! This story is for yet another Guest who asked for some Nick, Sara, Greg and Catherine friendship. This is kind of my tribute to Catherine, as I still miss her sometimes :/ A cookie for guessing what inspired the title of this story ;) I hope you enjoy!
Summary – As Catherine gets ready to leave, Nick, Sara and Greg recall just how they all met their second mother.
How I Met Our Mother
"I still can't believe it" Sara said gloomily.
"It's like the end of an era" Nick stated.
"We're not going to know what to do without you" Greg said with a sad frown.
Catherine couldn't help but laugh "You guys! I'm leaving the state, not dying" she lightly jibed. "We'll still talk all the time, I promise"
"But still, we're gunna miss you" Sara said.
"I know, and I'll miss you guys too" Catherine said "What can I say? You're my kids, and I've watched you all grow so much over the past years that it's going to be strange not having you around , but it's time for me to move on and do something new."
"We know that, Cath, and we don't begrudge you for it. We just want you to be happy" Nick said; Greg and Sara nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, and you've been like a second mom to us all" Greg added. "We could always depend on you to give advice and be there when we needed you"
Catherine smiled "Thank you, but that's just what mothers are for" she said "and I am so proud of all of you, and I know that you'll continue to do what you do with one hundred percent. Because I meant it, you guys are the most badass team of criminalists I've ever met." The younger CSIs laughed.
"You're the one who made us badass" Nick smirked.
"Yeah, because you told us all the same thing when we first met you" Sara claimed.
Catherine frowned in confusion "Oh, what was that?"
"Solving a case…" Greg started.
"Makes you feel like King Kong on Cocaine" the three younger CSIs finished together.
Catherine laughed "Really? I wasn't aware I said that so much" she mused.
"Sure" Nick shrugged "I remember when we first met and I was heading down to autopsy for the first time…"
A younger Nick Stokes in his early twenties was walking down the darkened corridor nervously clenching and unclenching his hands mumbling 'you can do this' under his breath. Nick reached the silver door and placed a hand out to open it, but pulled back and turned away cursing himself.
"Hey" Catherine called as she approached the nervous young man "You must be our new rookie" she smiled.
"Yes ma'am" Nick said looking at her with a blush of embarrassment.
"Please, it's Catherine" the female CSI insisted "Catherine Willows, I work the night shift too"
"Nice to meet you ma…I mean, Catherine. I'm Nick Stokes" the Texan said and they shook hands.
"You're shaking" Catherine noted a little concernedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry" Nick said feeling embarrassed "It's just I-I've never done this before" he said indicating towards the autopsy room.
"Well don't worry, I'll be there to help you" Catherine said with a smile "I know that it can be scary, but you have to do this part if you're going to solve the rest of the case. And if it helps, tell yourself the body isn't real, and it's just a dummy or something. Take steady breaths and concentrate on what the coroner is saying instead of looking at the body"
Nick gave a somewhat wobbly smile and nodded "Okay, thank you….you'll definitely be there?" he asked sheepishly.
"I'll always be there" Catherine smiled warmly "and just think, once this part is over you get to the nitty-gritty of hunting for evidence. And let me tell you, when you put all that evidence together for the first time and you solve that case, it makes you feel like King Kong on cocaine"
Nick laughed at the thought. "Thank you" he said.
"No problem" Cather smiled back "Now c'mon, we can do this together" she said, and they headed into the room.
"…from that moment, I knew that you would always be there for me." Nick said smiling at Catherine "and you always have, and I like to think that you always will"
"Of course I will" Catherine said.
"So, exactly how long after that did it take him to throw up?" Greg asked.
Nick shoved his shoulder with a look of offence "I did not throw up!" he insisted.
"I can't imagine you ever being so nervous" Sara commented "Kinda cute" she said, and Nick blushed with embarrassment once more.
"Alright, alright stop teasing him" Catherine said like a scolding mother; she was going to miss moments like this.
"Okay, I'll go next" Greg said. "The first time I met Catherine was actually before I started working at the crime lab. I was eighteen and Catherine had visited my university to do a lecture…"
Greg sat at the back of the lecture hall alone. All his friends had abandoned him, accusing him of being a nerd for going to the extra talk, but Greg didn't care, he wanted to be a scientist, and nobody was going to change that.
The woman entered the hall and introduced herself as Catherine Willows. Greg concluded that she was very nice, smart and witty – she knew a hell of a lot about science. Greg avidly took notes, believing everything Catherine said would be of great importance to him someday.
After the talk, Greg headed out into the corridor when a bunch of Jocks ran by; purposefully shoving Greg's shoulder and making him drop his books and notes. The three boys turned to laugh at him before heading off down the hall.
Greg knelt down and started scrambling to pick things up, when another set of hands appeared and started to help him. It was Catherine, and she had quite a pissed off look on her face.
"What a bunch of jerks, someone should tell your professor" she said a little protectively.
"Oh it doesn't matter" Greg said sadly "I'm used to it"
"Well, you shouldn't have to be" Catherine said firmly "Nobody should be ridiculed about having a passion. They're probably just jealous because you actually have brains"
Greg smiled at her "Thank you, I've always wanted to be a scientist. I love doing experiments and reading about new discoveries." he said.
"Yeah, I like blowing stuff up too" Catherine said with a wink, and Greg laughed. "You ever think about working at a crime lab?" she asked after studying a page of the young man's notes "These are very impressive" she commented.
"Thanks, and yes I have. It's top of my list actually" Greg told her.
"Well I would be glad to work by your side one day; you're a very smart kid." Catherine told him "And you'll love it. Solving your first case makes you feel like King Kong on cocaine, and you never want to go back after that."
"Wow…" Greg breathed at the thought "That sounds awesome. Thanks for helping me" he added.
"Anytime" Catherine smiled.
"You taught me that I shouldn't be ashamed of who I was. Just because I loved science, it didn't mean I had to feel alone." Greg said. "Plus, you still save from bullies sometimes" he said shooting a look at Nick.
"Oh, man up" Nick said folding his arms "All I've ever tried to do is toughen you up"
"You left a fake head in my locker after I'd only been working there two weeks" Greg hissed.
"Yeah, when I first started you switched my print powder with pepper" Sara recalled with an unimpressed look at Nick "I was sneezing for days"
"Look, It was just a little light hazing" Nick tried to defend himself "Besides, that one was Warrick's idea..." there was a slight pause at the mention of their lost friend.
"That doesn't surprise me" Catherine said eventually to lighten the mood "the number of times I had to tell you guys off…"
"Like I said, you set us straight" Nick shrugged.
"You certainly sorted me out" Sara said with a smirk "It's safe to say that we've had our differences over the years, and the first time we met wasn't so great, so I'll skip to the day after we worked our first case and we properly met…"
Sara looked up as there was a knock on the door; she was sat in the break room surrounded by a tone of paperwork.
"Hey" it was Catherine "haven't you been home yet?" she asked; Sara wondered if that was worry she sensed in the older woman's tone.
"Nope" Sara said as she sighed and sat back in her chair "I have to get these done"
"But all of them by the end of the night?" Catherine asked as she sat opposite Sara.
"I guess not" Sara mumbled.
"Then you should take a break" Catherine said with a small smile. Sara looked at her a little dubiously – the woman had seemed very hostile yesterday after all. "Listen, I know we didn't have the best of starts…" Catherine said as if she'd read Sara's mind "And I'm sorry I didn't give you a real chance, that was wrong of me. It's just…"
"It's okay, I get it" Sara told her "I'm the new girl, and you guys are pretty tight. You'd just lost a member of your team and another was under investigation, I understand why you were upset"
"But still, that was no excuse for me to be so blunt with you" Catherine insisted "I know it must be daunting just starting some place new, and I'm sorry"
"You really don't need to apologise" Sara said with a small smile "But I accept it, and I'm sorry too, I know I said some stuff I didn't mean as well. I would like for us to be friends"
Catherine smiled "I'd like that too. Us girls got to stick together, right? The men couldn't keep it together without us" she added in a whisper and Sara laughed.
"No, they're not as feisty as we are" Sara said.
"Feels good to solve a case, doesn't it? Like King Kong on cocaine" Catherine said and Sara nodded in agreement. "But, soon that rush wears off and you get tired" Catherine warned "So maybe you should go home and rest"
Sara yawned "Yeah, I think I will. Thanks Catherine" she smiled.
"You're welcome" Catherine smiled back.
"I guess I knew that we'd clash sometimes because we were so opinionated and passionate" Sara said truthfully "But on the other hand, I knew that we'd always come through for each other in the end and we could be open and tell it how it is"
"Yep" Catherine nodded.
"Can I just say, I resent the fact that we wouldn't be able to handle things if you two weren't around" Nick said and Greg nodded in agreement.
"Oh, really?" Catherine said raising an eyebrow "Greg, where do we keep the supplies of swabs?"
Greg scoffed at such a stupid question "They're in the…" he started but frowned. "They're with the…" he scratched his head "Oh, shut up" he mumbled when the girls just laughed.
"Aww don't sulk" Sara teased.
"I'm not" Greg mumbled with a pout.
"And here I was thinking you had all matured so much over the years" Catherine said "I guess not"
"Hey, we're a family, we're supposed to rag on each other" Nick justified.
"Yeah and we're always going to be a family…aren't we?" Greg asked a little worriedly.
"Of course we are" Catherine assured him "No matter where we are"
"I suggest a toast" Sara said taking her cup of coffee and raising it with the others.
"To Catherine" Nick said "We wish her all the luck in the world for a happy future…"
"And we just hope she never forgets us" Greg added with jest.
Catherine smiled "How could I ever forget you guys?"
And so they sat and chatted until the early hours of the morning. Catherine was going to miss this, but she knew she'd taught all three of them well, and she was safe in the knowledge they'd do just fine without her.
I mentioned that version of how Greg met Catherine in my other story 'I've Been There' if anyone finds it familiar. Also, I just loved that line which Catherine said from the pilot, which is why I made it a running theme :)
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