Break down

~~~~~

Catherine walked to the DNA lab completely miffed at Grissom. She nearly cried, but refused to succumb to being emotional. Catherine’s mom had taken Lindsey out alone to go shopping hoping to get more information from her. For some reason, she felt Catherine was too hard on her daughter, and the girl would not release any information under pressure.

She threw the file, and it hit the wall and crashed to the floor spilling all the contents everywhere. Sara was looking in a microscope, and immediately walked over to help Catherine pick up the papers.

“Wait a minute, this is my case!” Sara said as she recognized the crime scene photos.
“Oh yeah, looks like we are doing it together,” Catherine said as she gave a sarcastic smile. She was now in a bad mood. She took in a deep breath realizing that Grissom’s behavior was not Sara’s fault.

“What? Why? Aren’t you supposed to be taking a leave of absence?” Sara asked Catherine with a concerned look.

“NO, Griss put me on this case,” she said between clenched teeth.
“He, WHAT?” Sarah said more in shock. She knew what the case involved and she could not believe he would put Catherine on a case like this.

“Have you interviewed the victim?” Catherine cut right to the point.
“What, no I haven’t. But, you’re not going with me.” Sara said bluntly.

Catherine raised her eyebrow ready for a fight. “Well, that is news to me Sara. Let’s go interview her.” Catherine suggested as she walked out of the room.

“Catherine wait…I don’t think that is a good idea for you. Seriously!”

Catherine turned around and was close to losing her cool with Sara. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. “I’m going to lose it if one more person thinks I can’t do my job. Sara…I need to be here. It might be hard for you to understand, but I need this. So please, just give me a break okay? Let me do my job.” Catherine said as she looked into Sara’s eyes. She prayed and hoped that she got through to her.

“Okay,” Sara said at last. She saw the desperation in her eyes. “Let’s go talk to our vic Amy Jenkins.”

They were on there way out when Grissom hollered at Catherine from his office.

“SAVE IT, GIL.” Catherine said not even bothering to turn and look at him.

~~~~~

“Can you walk me through last night?” Catherine asked Amy as she took out her note pad to jot down some notes.

“There’s so much that…I can’t remember,” Amy said as she looked at her finger nail. The tears rolled from her eyes.

“That’s okay. Lets just try and focus on what you do remember,” Catherine said as she smiled at her. The concern was obviously in her eyes. Sara sat back and decided to let Catherine do the questioning. She knew she really wanted to anyhow.

“Ummm…I arrived at the bar around 11pm. Kind of late I know, but I had just gotten off work,” Amy said as she rang her hands around her blanket.

“Understandable, what do you do for a living?” Catherine asked trying to calm her down.
“I’m actually a nurse at this hospital. I work nights, but got off early last night,” she said as her chin began to quiver.

“Okay, so you arrived around 11pm, and were you meeting anyone in particular?”
“Yeah….two of my close friends, but they were gone when I got there. I decided to have a drink anyhow.”

“Did anyone approach you or ask to buy you drink?” Catherine asked as she gave her a small smile.

“No, but the bartender told me that some guy wanted to buy my next drink.”
“What?” Catherine said as she stared at the girl in puzzlement.

“Yeah…he pointed at some man a few seats down from me, and told me that he wanted to buy my next drink.”

Sara kept an eye on Catherine as she noticed the change in her. Something Amy said unsettled her. It took her a moment to continue questioning.

“Did you accept?” Catherine said at once.
“What, oh no! I already had a full drink, and I only planned on having one. So I declined the guy.”

“Do you think he had something to do with this?” Amy asked almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I…don’t know, what happened next.” Catherine felt hot, and she felt the perspiration build on her forehead.

“I took a few sips of my drink, and then I don’t remember anything else. The next thing I remember was that I woke up in some sleazy motel.” Amy said as she broke down in tears again.

Catherine looked up at Sara, with evident shock written all over her face. She had this look on her face like she knew. They told Amy they would keep in touch, and left the room.

“Catherine what are you not telling me?” Sara eyed her with concern.
“Nothing, it’s just hard hearing a story like that when something similar has happened to you.” She said as she failed to look at Sara.
 
~~~~~

Catherine tried to remain quiet on the ride back to the office, but the girl’s statement had bothered her deeply.

“Sara, pull over.” Catherine said at once. She could feel her throat constricting.
“What?” Sara asked as she turned and gave Catherine a funny look.
“Please…PULL OVER.” Catherine said in a rush. She felt like she was about to lose it.

Sara slowed the Denali down, and Catherine opened her door, and jumped out before the vehicle slowed down completely.

“Cath, what the heck is going on?” Sara asked with concern.
“You need my statement, and now.” Catherine said as she paced on the side of the road.

“Okay, but slow down first.”
“No, I can’t Sara. I can’t do that. That girl’s story matches mine perfectly. It was like she was speaking through me, and that just doesn’t make sense.” Catherine said all in a rush. She was now ringing her hands around each other. She kept mumbling to herself about it not making any sense. Her eyes filled with tears. Sara was about to say something, but Catherine beat her to it.

“No, I’m not going to get upset over this all over again. This isn’t possible. No, the attack was because of my Dad’s business.” Catherine was talking out loud, but it was obvious she was more or less talking to herself, almost fighting with herself.

“Catherine, take it easy. Let’s go sit back in the vehicle.” Sara said as she tried to grab Catherine’s arm.

“No, no…does any of this make sense to you?” Catherine asked.

“Cath…look at me.” Sara demanded, but got no reaction. “CATHERINE…LOOK AT ME,” she said much louder.

Catherine finally looked at her, and realized she must have been in a panic attack of some sort. Sara took a sigh of relief when she noticed that Catherine finally looked into her eyes. She walked Catherine back to the vehicle, and helped her into her seat. She then rounded the vehicle and hopped in on her side.

“Okay, start from the top. Tell me everything you remember.”

Catherine closed her eyes and recalled every detail she could remember. The hairs on the base of Sara’s neck rose as she heard Catherine’s story. It was the same one that girl had just told them. Sara realized that Catherine could no longer be apart of this investigation. Not only that Sara knew that she would have to go back and re-interview the victim. She would talk to Grissom about giving Catherine some other case.

Once Catherine finished she looked at Sara and put her shaky hand over her face to try and suppress the near tears. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. Sara touched her arm to comfort her, but also knew if she did anything else Catherine would break down, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Catherine was quiet for the remainder of the ride, and as Sara was parking the Denali she finally talked.

“Sara…what’s your theory?”
“For starters Catherine…the bartender is involved somehow or another. But, other than that I just don’t know. Amy was raped by a different guy. I need time to think, and more importantly you are off the case. I’m getting Grissom.”

“What, no…why can’t you get Warrick, Nick or even Greg?” Catherine threw her head back on the seat and she shut her eyes. She could not handle Grissom.

“Cath…I’m sorry, but he’s the best.” She said as she touched her arm.
“But, he thinks…he thinks it’s my fault. He blames me.” Catherine said as she got out of the Denali and shut the door. She then walked into work, and left Sara pondering over what she had just said.



Okay...so is this good? Am I making Catherine overreact? Or do you guys think grissom is being to mean? Just want to know what you think!
 
Hope you all like! :D

Chapter 9

Catherine was looking at some notes from the new case she was assigned. She was a bit ticked off that it was a robbery, but she was grateful for the distraction.

“Catherine, I need to go over your statement with you,” Grissom said as he took a seat in front of her.

She looked up at him obviously not thrilled that he was in her office. Did he honestly think she was going to talk to him about her attack? Thinking about telling him made her cheeks deepened to a ruby red.

“Gil, I’ve told Sara everything. So…ask her.” She said as she looked back down at her case.

Grissom knew that she was obviously still upset with him, but it also bothered him how she reacted towards him. Granted she had a right to be upset with him, but he was dealing with a lot of different emotions regarding her attack. Part of him was angry with her for allowing herself to be at a disadvantage that night. The logical thing for him was to blame her because it was easier for him. That was how he got through re-visioning her attack in his head. He thought about her attack often more than what he wanted. He knew his actions or thoughts on the matter were not fair, but its how he dealt with it.

“I’m not asking Sara…I’m asking you,” he said bluntly. His eyes met her eyes as she stood up to get closer to his face.

“I frankly could care less. I don’t want you on this case anyhow,” Catherine said at once as she sat back down. Her eyes were dancing with anger.

“Is that so?”
“Yep,” Catherine said not bothering to look at him.

“So tell me this…did you go willingly into the van?”

Her head snapped up looking at him. Her stomach dropped at his accusation. Her blue eyes turned into a more vibrant blue as they filled with tears. “What…what did you just say to me?”

“You heard me! You’re a CSI…your trained on safety for pete’s sake. You willingly walked outside with him. What were you thinking was going to happen?” He said as he pointed a finger at her with each statement. After the heat of the moment, he wished he could take back the words immediately.

Her face twisted with anguish as he blamed her. “This…isn’t my fault. I didn’t know.” Catherine said as the tears rolled down her face. “I didn’t ask to be raped. I didn’t ask for any of this, and your implications or accusations are the reason I don’t want you on this case.”

“Cath…wait!” Grissom said as she grabbed her purse.
“No, I think you have said enough to me today.”

“Just listen to me!” Grissom pleated.

Catherine looked at her door than back at him. She was about to just leave her office when he spoke up.

“Your right, I know it’s not your fault. I KNOW THAT. I don’t know why I’m blaming you. I guess because I rationalize that if it’s your fault then the attack didn’t happen. I have that video playing over and over in my head, and it’s the way I dealt with it.” He said as he looked at her.

“Damn it Gil. Damn you.” She said as she started to cry again.

He walked over to her, and hugged her. “I’m so sorry! I swear I didn’t mean it.”

~~~~~

A few weeks had passed since Lindsey was kidnapped, and trying to find a link between Amy Jenkins and Catherine had not proved anything as of yet. Catherine was back at work full time now even though Grissom did not care for it to much.

Warrick and Catherine were working on a case that turned out to be a suicide. Catherine looked over at Warrick who seemed upset. He had a look of disappointment on his face.

“Warrick hey did this suicide hit close to home for you or something?” Catherine asked as she touched his arm.
“Huh…no, just thinking.”
“You want to talk about it,” Catherine asked him.

He sighed contemplating if he should tell her. “Where do I start? Tina and I separated a few weeks ago, and I filed for divorce yesterday.”

Catherine opened her mouth in surprise. Did she just hear him right? She knew he was struggling with his marriage, but had not realized it had come to this. “Warr…I’m sorry. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She asked as she rubbed his arm with her hand.

“Let’s face it Cath…life for you has been…rather rough. I didn’t want to bother you with my problems.” Warrick said as he grabbed her hand with his hand, and held it.
 
I loved the GC part...it was so sweet, and I must say i'd have expected something like that from grissom, instead of what they showed us...

Keep posting!
 
~~~~~~
Sara ran into Grissom’s office and nearly collided into his desk. “Griss, griss…so glad I found you.”

“You are surely out of breath,” Grissom replied as he eyed her strangely.
“Look, about Cath’s case…I was thinking, and I think I came up with something. I don’t know how to say this but…I think it’s a bunch of guys that are in it together. For example, the bar tender and the manager of the motel are what ties Catherine’s and Amy’s cases together. That is more than a coincidence.” Sara said all in a rush as she finally took a breath.

“Go on.” Grissom said as his eyes narrowed.

“Obviously the bartender slips the drug in the drink. The motel manager turns his head as his business is used to rape women. I mean both of these guys know what is going to happen yet they do nothing about it. Why?”

“Because maybe they are earning a profit from it, they are getting paid for their services. That also means they are just the middle men, and are not the one’s running the group.” Grissom said as he scratched at his beard. He did not like where this was going.

“Exactly,” Sara said as her anger began to rise. “So my question is how the men that raped Catherine and Amy are connected? The guy that raped Catherine is not the same man that raped Amy. How are they apart of this?” Sara asked as she tried to figure it out.

“Sounds like a dangerous conspiracy to me. Have you told Catherine this yet?”
“No, I ran it by you first,” Sara said as she eyed Grissom wearily.
“Good, don’t. This concerns me because the guys that attacked Catherine didn’t just plan on raping her. They planned an elaborate scheme to get money from her father which also entailed kidnapping her daughter, and they were also dumb enough to video tape it,” Grissom said as he let out a breath.

Sara could read his mind, and knew if their theory was on track this could be really bad for Catherine. “She’s not out of the woods then. There whole scheme fell apart when the police found Lindsey. You don’t think they would go after her to shut her up afraid that she remembers what they look like or that she can ID them. I mean they now know they screwed up with Catherine because she is a crime scene investigator,” Sara said as she jumped as Grissom’s door to his office opened.

Catherine walked in and smiled at them skeptically. “What?” She said as she looked from Grissom then at Sara. “I just came in here to tell you that I’m leaving early today. Lindsey has an…appointment with a…therapist today,” Catherine said as she turned to leave his office.

“Catherine, what about you? Have you talked to someone about what you went through,” Grissom asked bluntly.

Catherine continued to walk forward as she said “Gil, I’m fine. Seriously!”
“Seriously, then I’m demanding that you see someone weekly in order to officially come back to work.”

Sara cringed as she knew Catherine was not going to like that at all. Sara cleared her throat as she noticed Catherine turning around.

Catherine let out a scowl as her cheeks turned crimson. “GRISSOM, no way! You’re not going to order me to see a shrink,” she screamed as she slapped her hand on his desk.

“Sorry, Cath it’s my orders,” Grissom solemnly said as his eyes matched her intensity. He wanted her to know he was not going to relent on this issue. He was deeply concerned about her because he knew she did not talk about it. She kept everything locked inside.

“DAMN IT GIL, I said I was fine!” She was about to come unglued. She could not believe he was acting this way.

“You think your fine? If so then tell me what happened to you that night! Tell me what he did to you first.”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she began until she realized what else he said. “I…I…don’t remember.” Her hands started to feel clammy as the tears started to form in her eyes.

“Grissom,” Sara said in bewilderment. She mouthed for him to stop.

“Counseling once a week! I’m not going back on my word.” Grissom said softly as he continued to watch Catherine.

“Fine!” Catherine managed as she turned to leave. She figured she’d go but just not talk or talk about something else. How would he know anyhow?

“Oh, and Cath…don’t think you can get by with not talking or talking about work, or how much you hate me or whatever else you have planned.” He watched as she stopped for a moment, but then continued to walk out. “This will start next week,” he hollered after her as he stood up from his desk.
 
Chapter 10

Catherine and Lindsey snuggled on the couch as they watched Lifetime Television. “How did your appointment go?” Catherine asked her daughter as she played with a strand of her daughter’s hair. She was so worried about her because she had not opened up about her kidnapping.

Lindsey shrugged her shoulders, and turned the volume on the television up a notch or two. Catherine grabbed the remote from her daughter, and turned the TV off. The candle that was lit cast a shadow along side of her face. “Look, I know what happened to you was horrible and scary, and that is why I want to talk to you about it Lindsey.” Her daughter looked down as the tears fell down her cheeks. Her shoulders stared to shake as her sobbing heightened.

“Oh…baby talk to me,” Catherine said as she cried with her. “Just talk to me; I want to help you.”

“I can’t mom; I don’t know how to tell you.” She immediately covered her face with her hands. “I can’t mom. I can’t…I think I’m going to be sick,” Lindsey whispered as she jumped up, and ran to the bathroom.

Catherine was extremely worried as she followed her to the bathroom. She saw her daughter lean over the toilet, and throw up the empty contents of her stomach. That was another thing; she could not get Lindsey to eat. She pulled her daughter’s long blonde hair back in a pony tail, and rubbed her back. She then grabbed a wash cloth, and wet it with warm water. She applied moisture to her face, and hugged her tight. “It’s alright honey. It’s alright,” Catherine said as she cried out loud as she held her daughter.

“Mom, why are you crying,” Lindsey said as she cried with her.
“Because he obviously did something to you, and I can’t take it away and make it better,” Catherine barely managed to say as her crying deepened.

“No, mama…he didn’t do anything to me. He showed me the video of you. I saw everything he did to you, and then he threatened me I would be next if Sam did not give him the money,” Lindsey finally admitted as a loud cry escaped her mouth.

“He what…,” Catherine said as her mouth remained opened. She shook her head in an attempt to clear her head. “Oh, baby I’m okay. I’m sorry you witnessed that. You should have never seen something like that,” Catherine said as she comforted her daughter. They were interrupted as the door bell rang.

Catherine took a deep breath as she walked over to the front door. She looked through the peep hole, and noticed that it was Warrick. “Warrick, is something up?” Catherine asked as she opened her front door. She hoped that it was not obvious that she had been crying.

“Hey, Cath can I…huh stay here tonight?” Warrick asked as he took in a deep breath. Catherine’s eyes grew in shock. “Uhhh…well…sure, what’s up War?”

“We’re finished. Tina and I that is. I came home tonight, and I caught…I caught…her with another man.”
 
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