i think the last time greg appeared was around ch 3 or so. it was while lindsey was still drunk at the lab.
why'd he leave though? Sorry, kinda tired and don't feel like digging through all the chapters again. Thanks.
Gil woke from an uneasy slumber to find that sometime during the night he and Catherine had changed positions and were now wrapped up together, face to face with her head resting under his chin. He could feel her breath, shallow and steady, against his shoulder. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to believe just for a moment that this was real. He then pulled away, putting his pillow between them. He watched as a sleeping Catherine gripped the pillow in place of him, pulling it tightly to her body. Her hands ran along the contours of the pillow as if tracing an image. Apparently the image didn’t please her as she pushed the pillow away. She started to turn back on her side when Gil took his pillow back. His movement must have registered in her dreams because she reached out for him. She pulled herself up to his body as her hands repeated the ritual he had watched her perform on the pillow. She traced the length of his arm before running her hand through his hair. Seeming satisfied she pulled closer before continuing. He felt her hands running along his back and around to his stomach, settling against his growing spare tire. Gil felt a bit indignant as she recoiled from him. Her hands found him once more as they traced the contours of his face, her brow creased in confusion as she felt his beard. Sadness replaced the confusion as she started to pull away. Her hand fell from his face, resting momentarily on his chest. He saw her scrunch her nose up as she smelled something familiar. Before he could decide whether to be insulted or not she had wound herself tightly against him, snuggling so close to him that he doubted she could breathe. She signed contentedly, her hands resting on his chest as she settled into an even deeper sleep. Lindsey stumbled from her bedroom at a bright and early 1:00PM, tripping over herself as she made her way to the kitchen for something to eat. It was a new day, hopefully one that would be less strange than last night. Gil and her mother had weirded her out with their silence and blank stares and snuggling. It reminded her of when her parents would fight and make up. A small sigh of thanks escaped her because she knew that Gil would have left last night. There would be no weird behavior as her mom wouldn’t have to pretend to be happy. She dug a pop tart out of the pantry and grabbed a glass of juice before heading for the sofa. The throw was laying half on the sofa and half in the floor. She sat down and pulled it over her body as she flipped the remote. Her happy bubble lasted another 30 seconds. It took that long for her brain to register that Gil’s shoes had tumbled out of the throw when she picked it up. Gil was still watching a sleeping Catherine. He had made a trip to the bathroom only to come back to bed and find his pillow unceremoniously tossed onto the floor and Catherine curled up in a ball on the other side of the bed. He grabbed the pillow and crawled back into the bed. Within minutes Catherine was performing the same ritual she had earlier. Gil once again put the pillow between them hoping to keep his distance. He watched her expression as her hands searched the pillow, once again tossing it away when she wasn’t satisfied with what she found. He retrieved his pillow and crawled into bed again. Once more he watched as her hands found him. Once more she pulled herself to him. Once more she eased into a more restful slumber, only this time as she rested he pushed the hair from her face. “Mom? Are you awake?” Gil jerked out of Catherine’s arms when Lindsey knocked causing Catherine to wake with a start. “Mom, are you okay?” Lindsey knocked again with more force than before. Catherine pushed her hair back and noticed Gil was still there. His expression was that of a deer caught in the headlights. “Mom, the door’s locked. Is Gil with you?” Lindsey’s voice was filled with an urgency that bordered on fear. “What do you want Lindsey?” Catherine’s voice was drowsy and low. “Nothing. I just thought you’d be up by now.” Her voice quivered and gave away her little white lie. “We’ll be out in a while. Go watch television.” Catherine’s tone left no room for argument. She listened as her daughter made her way back to the family room. Satisfied she was gone Catherine sat up and turned to Gil. “I’ll shower first. She doesn’t need to see you alone right now.” Gil watched as Catherine’s naked form walked into the bathroom. He winched as he heard her lock the door. Alone and bored he decided to look for something to read. A free mind meant thinking about last night and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He slid open the nightstand and ruffled through it’s contents. Vogue, Cosmo, People, a couple of Jackie Collins novels, a vibrator and at the very bottom a very tattered photo album, one that had obviously been looked through often. He opened the album to find a very young Catherine in Eddie’s arms. The picture was taken in a nightclub. The next few pages had pictures from the same club. On the fifth page he found a picture of the two of them on the beach. It was their honeymoon. The pages that followed had pictures of them from various holidays and outings that covered the span of three years. He turned another page and found no pictures. He thought maybe the pages had been skipped accidentally and turned to the next page where the photographs once again picked up. The pictures there started almost a year after the last picture in the album. Gil turned back to the blank page and looked at the empty space. The inside corners of the page were indented with a strange pattern. He looked at the album and saw a small fishing lure that had fallen between the prongs. He picked it up and found it to be attached to the album with fishing line that had been run through a small hole in one of the blank pages. He saw another hole. The another. There were several small holes in the page, each hole worn and frayed. For whatever reason the lure was obviously important to Catherine and was something that she looked at often. The sound of the shower door sliding open alerted Gil and he quickly put the album back where he found it. Catherine walked out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and crossed to her dresser. “You’re up. I’ll make us some coffee.” She pulled out a pair of shorts and a tank top. Gil walked to the bathroom without a word. She turned to look at the door after he closed it. Her eyes fell to the ground as she sighed before heading for the kitchen. Catherine poured the coffee into the filter and hit the power switch and the machine started to drip. She took two cups from the cabinet and set them by the machine. She heard Lindsey walk into the kitchen while she was searching the fridge for something to eat. “Just say it Lindsey” she said as she dug through the meat drawer. When her daughter didn’t respond she turned to look at her. “He was too tired to drive, okay. I told him he could sleep here.” Mentally she kicked herself for repeating the line her mother had always feed her to explain Sam’s presence. Lindsey still didn’t speak. “I’m entitled to a life you know.” It was a justification and she knew it. They both looked up as a freshly washed, still damp Gil walked into the room. Catherine poured him some coffee and set it on the bar. “Good morning.” He smiled at Lindsey who looked back at him with disgust. “She’s not speaking to us right now.” Catherine had decided on cantaloupe for breakfast but she pulled out bacon and eggs from the fridge for Gil. As she cooked she tried to break the silence her daughter had forced on all of them. “Maybe we can go to the park later. Gil can gather bugs while we walk.” She forced a smile to her face but was met with a stony expression from her daughter. “Okay. Maybe not. How about we convince Gil to clean the pool and go for a swim?” She winked at Gil. “Well I don’t have a suit.” His response was as uncomfortable as everything else that was being said. “You’ll just have to run to your place and pick it up. You should probably bring a few changes of clothing over here anyway.” The false happiness in her voice was missed by no one. The only reason Gil didn’t object was his fear of upsetting Lindsey more than she already was. “I hate you. I hate you both.” Lindsey’s outburst took both of them by surprise. “Why do you have to act all happy?” She looked at Catherine as tears welled in her eyes. “Where did he hit you?” “Lindsey, Gil didn’t…” Catherine was mortified. “Shut up!” She turned on Gil. “I thought you were different but you aren’t. You’re just like the rest of them only you’re worse because you made me believe you were nice.” She was screaming at him with all her might. “Lindsey, what do you think…?” Gil was in shock at what she was implying. “Why did you let him hit you? Why are you so nice to him?” “Lindsey calm down.” “At least when Daddy hit you he did it where I could see it.” She was now tugging at Catherine’s shirt looking for bruises. “I hate him!” She looked at Gil. Catherine was baffled by Lindsey’s behavior. She took her in her arms. “Calm down baby” she soothed as she rubbed her daughter’s back. “Daddy was high. He didn’t know what he was doing. But you weren’t. You meant it and I hate you.” She was sobbing uncontrollably and Catherine tightened her grasp. She then pushed her daughter from her, hands on her shoulders. “Lindsey that is enough. I don’t know what you think happened but whatever it is you are wrong. Gil didn’t hurt me.” Lindsey shook her head in disbelief. “Fine. Look for yourself.” Catherine slid her tank top off and turned around so Lindsey could see she was alright. “You need to apologize to Gil right now and then go to your room and calm down.” Lindsey grudgingly apologized to Gil before storming off to her room. The two of them looked after her for a moment. Gil opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Catherine. “Not here.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the garage. She climbed into her SUV. When Gil just stood there she frowned, rolled her eyes and said, “Lesson one. The walls have ears. Anything you say will be used against you in a future fight. Now get in and shut the door before you start talking.” “What the hell happened in there?” His voice was angry as he spit the words out. “I guess she was upset you spent the night.” He couldn’t believe how nonchalantly she said it. “She was more than upset. She thought I’d hit you.” The pain of Lindsey’s accusation burned deeper than anything he’d ever felt. “She knows you wouldn’t hit me. I think maybe last night reminded her of the fights I used to have with Eddie. And then having you here…it’s the first time a man has stayed overnight since Eddie.” “I don’t like it.” “I’ve already said I’m sorry Gil. I was wrong.” How could the man be judging her right now? It was infuriating. “Why would you think I’d…What is going on in your head?” Did she really think an apology would be enough? Was her thinking so off that she considered this normal? “It was what you wanted wasn’t it?” “Damn it Catherine.” He looked at her, exasperated. “Yes I wanted you but not like that.” “It’s sex Gil. I initiated it. There is no ‘like that.’ It was what it was.” “That’s not what I meant.” “Do you remember why Eddie and I split up the first time?” “Because of your job.” “Yeah. When I went into the field and started pulling overtime it cut into our time alone. Eddie didn’t take it so well. When I agreed to give us another chance I made a promise to myself that he would never have to go without. It was easy at first, we both wanted each other. He was so understanding during the latter part of my pregnancy, willing to try new things because of my swelling body. But after Lindsey was born things changed. Between work and Lindsey I was exhausted. We’d still make love but I just couldn’t…I was too tired. Eddie made a comment one night and I realized I had broken my promise. From then on if I was too tired I would just fake it. But everything drained me so much. I came home one day, crawled into bed and was almost asleep when he came in. I was so tired I just couldn’t but I didn’t want to disappoint Eddie so I did a line. It gave me what I needed. The sex was great for both of us.” “Oh Catherine.” She had always kept up the appearance of being strong. He would never have imagined her reaching this point for something she didn’t believe in. “It was the first time I’d done a line since I found out I was pregnant. But it made the marriage work.” She rubbed the back of her head. “At least for a while.” They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say next. Gil was the first to speak. “I think we need to tell her what is going on.” “Yup.” Catherine paused. “But I think we need to find out for sure before we do. I’ll make an appointment for us on Monday.” “You should set up an appointment for Lindsey to see a counselor also. She needs to learn how to deal with her memories.” “You’re right” sighed Catherine, “but she isn’t very cooperative. We tried counseling after Eddie died.” “I should go. I’ve got some things I need to take care of at home.” He opened the door. “I’ll see you at work on Monday. Plan on having breakfast with me after you drop Lindsey off at school.” With that he walked out the side door of the garage. Catherine sat alone for a few minutes collecting her thoughts. At least Gil was being civil about everything. Eddie would have brought in lawyers immediately. She made a mistake last night but they would work through it somehow. They had to for Lindsey. Another sigh escaped her lips as she headed back in to deal with her daughter.
update anyone? The days passed quickly. Catherine set up an appointment to confirm which man was Lindsey’s father. Gil cancelled their breakfast because he was working over, never bothering to set a new date. He just confirmed their appointment with the doctor. They weren’t consciously avoiding each other but they didn’t seek each other out. The nature of their new cases kept them from working together. Thursday morning they both left work early for their appointment, each in their own vehicle. They waited in an unnatural silence in the lobby of the clinic. When they were called back they were greeted by a man who looked younger than Greg Sanders. “Hi. I’m Dr. Everett. Please sit down.” Catherine and Gil obliged. Dr. Everett observed their defensive body language before continuing. I see we are here for a paternity test for…” he looked at Catherine, “…your daughter. Is she not here with you?” “No. We don’t want her to know about this yet.” “Well, it is hard to do this without a proper…” Catherine pulled a swab and a vial of blood from her purse and handed it to him, “…sample.” He took the items from her. “While I appreciate your enthusiasm, we need to make sure this is done properly.” “I work for the Las Vegas Crime Lab and I am a trained medical technician. The sample was done properly.” “Ah, I see. Do you have samples for yourselves?” “No.” Gil spoke for the first time. “OK. We’ll get that taken care of shortly. I’m going to need a little background information.” He looked at the file. “I see your daughter is thirteen. Usually we run these tests for parents of young children. What prompted you to do this?” Catherine explained the situation, including the study that Wendy was doing. “Mr. Grissom, it says here you also work for the same employer.” The doctor shuffled through his patient history forms. “Yes.” “So I’m assuming you both are in the system?” “Yes.” Dr. Everett wondered if this man ever said more than one word. “You could have your results much faster if you just used your lab.” He took his glasses off as he spoke. “This is personal.” Catherine knew better than to suggest using the office lab after Gil’s reaction to her having Greg run her DNA against Sam Braun’s. “Did you not suspect Mr. Grissom could be your daughter’s father?” “There was no reason to think he was her father…” Dr. Everett cut her off. “I disagree. If there was no reason you wouldn’t be here now.” He looked at both of them. Gil flashed a look of anger at Catherine, which was not missed by her or the doctor. “Gil, I’ve already told you that Eddie and I didn’t have sex till after I had cycled.” She then looked at the doctor. “It’s that simple. I had a period, the universal sign for not pregnant. We’re doing this here because our lab has messed up samples somewhere.” “Miss Willows, did you spot any during your pregnancy?” “A little, yes.” “Was it limited to the first trimester or did it continue throughout your pregnancy?” He checked off a box on his paperwork. Catherine thought for a moment before answering. “Throughout my pregnancy.” She wondered where he was going with his questions. “Have you had any other pregnancies?” “No.” Gil spoke. “Um, yes. One.” Her voice was low and reserved. Gil looked at her in disbelief. “I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks.” “During that time did you spot at all?” The doctor looked up from his paperwork. “Actually, I didn’t know I was pregnant until I had the miscarriage.” “So you were bleeding during the pregnancy?” “Yes. I don’t see what this has to do with a DNA test.” “Most women who are pregnant find out because they were late. This applies to both wanted and unwanted pregnancies. However, there is a percentage of women who actually continue to bleed for part or even all of their pregnancy. I believe you are one of these women. As for the paternity of your daughter, we’ll have to wait on the results to come in, approximately two weeks. “I didn’t know you’d had a miscarriage.” The two of them left Dr. Everett’s office together. Gil walked Catherine to her car. “It was a long time ago.” She opened the door. “I need to go if I’m going to get any sleep before I need to pick up Lindsey.” She started the engine and pulled away leaving Gil standing alone in the parking lot. gcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgcgc “How was school?” A very sleepy Catherine picked Lindsey up from school. She’d managed to get almost two hours sleep. “Great. I busted my knee when I fell down the stairs, tripped and spilled spaghetti on my clothes at lunch and I failed PE.” Her delivery was dry. “Failed PE?” Lindsey cut her mother off before she could finish. “Oh and I have detention for a week and you have a parent-teacher conference on Monday.” “Lindsey!” Catherine was too tired to deal with another discipline issue right now. “It was just a little PDA.” “What?” “Public Display of Affection.” “I know what it means. What were you caught doing?” “It was just kissing Sean.” “Between classes?” “Well it started between lunch and music.” “Started?” “We only frenched a little.” “You are so grounded again.” “And he did feel me up.” “What?” “Oh please. That’s when Mr. Carradine busted us in the bathroom.” “What were you doing in the bathroom?” “We were in a stall.” “Oh my God.” “Don’t worry. I had my clothes on.” Catherine relaxed just a bit. “Sean was missing his pants though.” Lindsey rubbed at a stain on her shirt. “Mom does this stuff come out?” Catherine slammed on the brakes and turned to confront her daughter only to see her laughing like a madwoman. “I’m kidding. I wouldn’t do that. Besides Sean’s face is covered with acne and he has braces.” “Then?” Catherine’s face was red and puffy with anger. “I’m failing PE. I just wanted to put things in their proper perspective.” “Well, you are still grounded.” She pulled back into traffic. “How can you fail PE?” “I suck at volleyball.” “Lindsey.” “Well, I do.” It was the truth, no point in lying about it. They made their way home. Catherine prepared a snack for her daughter and headed back to bed. Three hours later Lindsey went to her mother’s room to wake her. She snickered when she saw the pillow on the floor. Her mom had some sort of grudge against pillows. More often than not when Lindsey came to wake her mother up she would find a pillow lying somewhere in the floor. She picked up the pillow, put it back in the bed and then crawled in. She giggled as she watched her mother. It didn’t matter where Lindsey crawled into the bed because within minutes Catherine would be moving towards her in her sleep. Lindsey remembered how when she was little she and her dad would play a game. Lindsey would get in bed and they’d let Catherine snuggle up to her. Then Lindsey would squirm out of her grasp and go the other side of the bed and wait on her mom to follow. Eddie used to tell Lindsey that she was her mother’s snugglebug. He would talk about how before she was born Catherine slept like a log. And how after she found out she was pregnant she started abusing pillows in her sleep. He told Lindsey that Catherine had even pushed him out of the bed on several occasions. Then after she was born her mother would rest contentedly whenever Lindsey was in her arms. Every time he told her the story, every time they played their game Lindsey felt as if she were the most important and most loved person in the world. She felt her mother’s arms wrap around her and she sighed. They were having so many problems and sometimes Lindsey just hated her mother. And sometimes, in spite of what she said and did, she just wanted to be held in her mother’s arms and know how much she was loved. So on those days she would go to Catherine’s room early so that she could snuggle without her mom knowing she needed it. Today was definitely one of those days. Truth be told it was one of those weeks. She knew her mom dated but she’d never had anyone stay overnight before. The fact that it was Gil made it even worse. Lindsey loved Gil. He was like an uncle to her but her dad had always told Lindsey that her mom and Gil had a thing and that was the reason why Catherine had left him. So even though Lindsey loved Gil she didn’t want him with her mother. Lindsey snuggled in a little closer to her mother and whispered, “I love you Mom.” Catherine heard her and opened her eyes. “Hey baby” she said groggily. “This is my favorite way to wake up.” She kissed her daughter softly on her forehead before closing her eyes again. “Mine too.” “I miss this. When you were little you woke me up like this all the time.” Her eyes were still closed as she pulled Lindsey to her. “I’m not a baby anymore.” Lindsey moved slightly as if to get away from her mother’s grasp, but not enough for Catherine to let go. “I know but I still miss it.” They lay there for several minutes just enjoying each other’s company. “Mom.” “Yeah baby.” “Did Daddy hit you all the time?” “What?” Catherine’s eyes opened wide at her daughter’s question. “It’s just…I remember things but they are really vague.” “No baby. We fought a lot. We’d shove each other sometimes but he only hit me a few times.” “Why do I remember your screaming and the bruises on your body?” “I think you are remembering two different things, honey. Your dad and I had this huge fight and things got out of control. He threw punches. I threw punches back at him. We didn’t realize you were watching until after it was over. How on earth can you remember that? You couldn’t have been more than three when it happened.” “I remember it. I was standing over there and I saw it.” She pointed to the doorway of Catherine’s bedroom. “Oh, Lindsey. I’m so sorry.” She lowered her head, ashamed that she and Eddie had exposed her daughter to their fighting. “What about the screaming I used to hear when I was in bed?” Catherine blushed a bright crimson. “We weren’t fighting I promise.” A small laugh escape despite her attempts to keep it inside. “Oh that’s gross.” Lindsey pulled away from her mom. “I’m glad to hear you say that but trust me when I tell you that you’ll change your mind in the next few years.” “Not THAT! I was talking about you and Daddy.” Catherine let the laughter flow at her daughter’s reaction. “Well, Lindsey you weren’t dropped off by the stork.” “Stop. Stop. Stop.” Lindsey covered her ears. The idea that her parents ever…EW! “Lalalalalalalalalalala! I’m not listening.” Lindsey eventually uncovered her ears and the laughter died down. “Baby, is that memory the reason you though Gil hit me?” “You and Daddy would lay on the couch like that when you were fighting.” “I guess we thought you were too little to notice.” “But I did.” Her voice was full of hurt and confusion. She still didn’t understand her parents’ relationship. She never would. She loved them both and they loved her. Why they couldn’t love each other was beyond her comprehension. “Look at me. Not everyone relationship is like the one your father and I shared. Life isn’t perfect. People aren’t perfect. Sometimes we hurt the ones we love without meaning to. Sometimes we strike out with our hands. Sometimes it is with our words. It doesn’t make it right but it happens.” “Is that why you and Daddy got a divorce?” “Part of it. It’s complicated.” She brushed her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “Love isn’t easy sweetie. Television and movies make it seem like once you declare your love for someone that life will be perfect. It isn’t. Your father could make me feel beautiful. He could make me feel needed and loved, but he could also make me feel like a complete failure. And I probably made him feel the same way.” A wistful smile made its way to Catherine’s face. She had never said this aloud to anyone. “You know you are my world.” Lindsey rolled her eyes in disgust at her mother. However, inside she was beaming. No matter what, she loved her mother more than she would ever let her know. And moments like this would remain as precious memories for the rest of her life.
OMG, I read about half..... this is fantastic!.. any story that starts out with Det. Vartann pulls me in I can't wait to read the rest!! ETA-- I LOVE IT! great Lindsey/Catherine interaction and Cath and Gil ... WOW!!! Great interaction between those two as well... WOW! WOW! WOW!
Hey life has kept me on my toes, but I was glad to see you are still keeping up your writing. Nothing like stretching the imagination and you have a great time in your writing. Keep it up!