This Time chapter 6
A Sara/Catherine story
This time she wants to get it right but nothing have ever worked out just because she wanted them to. So why should this time be any different but that doesn't mean she isn't willing to give it her all.
They are still not mine, but I own Cam.
Thanks to cathandsaraforever55 for doing the beta thing. The remaining mistakes are all mine.
Chapter 6
By the time that Catherine came home Lindsey was sad and moody. Not at all what the CSI had expected after the girl had spent a day with Sara. It was like the joy that had been bubbling over the day before had been sucked out of Lindsey. The blonde couldn’t get her daughter to tell her what was wrong. Lily, Catherine’s mother on the other hand had no such problem.
“Mom, do you know what happened?” Catherine asked.
“Nothing that I know of. She went straight to her room and has been in there, ignoring me ever since.”
Lily gazed at her daughter. She had never assumed that anything she said would affect the young woman. Just as she never assumed that anything she said would have and impact on her granddaughter.
“Didn’t Sara bring her home last night?”
What happened last night? And why didn’t Sara call me if there was something wrong? She should know better even though she never seems to like to spend time with kids. She wouldn’t be careless enough to just leave Lindsey without knowing that she was okay, would she? What the hell made Lindsey withdraw again when she had started improving? I have to get hold of Sara and make her explain.
The blonde needed to find the brunette to get things cleared up. But right now she needed to talk to her mom and then hopefully get her daughter to come out of her room.
“Honey, like I said, she went straight to her room. That Sara walked up to the door with Lindsey. Not even introducing herself. Very rude. And out of the blue Lindsey starts crying and storms off to her room.”
The CSI was used to her mother’s judgment of everybody Lily encountered in her life. But Catherine hadn’t expected that comments about the other CSI. Especially not when Sara had been in the company of Lindsey. The blonde may be used to the judgment of her mother but the older woman had never, as far as Catherine knew, lied to her face when it concerned her daughter. That meant that she didn’t feel the need to questions her mother’s account of the event of last night. This left Catherine upset with the brunette’s behavior and handling of last night’s events.
“She was crying? You didn’t tell me that.”
Catherine was looking angrier as she heard that Sara had caused her daughter’s tears. She was gearing up to give the brunette a piece of her mind. There was no one that could get away with hurting Lindsey if the blonde found out about it. The fact that the younger CSI had promised she wouldn’t hurt the younger Willows only made matters worse.
“Oh, I was sure I mentioned it.”
Catherine looked disbelieving at her mother, but didn’t know what to say. Before she could make up her mind the older woman had continued as if crying was nothing out of the ordinary.
“No good will come from cuddling the girl. Crying never did anybody harm. You leave her up there and she will be just fine when she has cooled off.”
Catching herself with a stupid expression, Catherine schooled her face back to its blank slate. If her mother had seen the emotions running through her eyes she would have to endure another lecture on how lousy a mother she was. Not what the blonde needed at this moment. She would one day have to do something about the negativity that her mother brought into their lives.
“Lindsey was probably upset because she didn’t get her way, and that Sara girl didn’t know how to deal with that sort of behavior.”
The blonde couldn’t believe what she had just heard, but she didn’t have the energy or time to deal with her mother now. Catherine was tired after having worked two nights with no real time off in between, and she was expected back tonight. And now she had to find out why Lindsey was upset and make sure the girl would be okay. After saying goodbye to her mother the blonde headed up to her daughter’s room to comfort and talk to the distraught girl.
Later that night at the Crime Lab Catherine literally ran into Sara, causing the younger woman to tumble to the floor. Scattering the brunette’s folders and papers all over the hallway floor. Apparently the older woman’s talk with Grissom, about calling Sara in on her days off, had not worked, because here the brunette was stalking the lab once again.
“Sorry,” mumbled the brunette as she started sorting her papers into the correct folders.
Having spent the major part of the day trying to draw Lindsey out of her room had left Catherine exhausted. When the girl had finally come out, she had been in a terrible mood. The Willows’ had only succeeded in spending the rest of their time together yelling at each other. Culminating when Catherine had dropped Lindsey off at Nancy’s. The younger Willows had yelled at her mother to leave her the f… alone and ran into her aunt’s house. Leaving a hurt Catherine to bring in her overnight bag.
The day and her daughter’s goodbye had Catherine on edge. Before the blonde had even entered the lab building she knew that it was just a matter of time before she exploded at some unsuspecting colleague. Some part of her was glad that Sara had this night off. Catherine knew that if she saw the brunette she would let all her anger out on the younger woman. Sara always fought back and that was exactly what the older CSI needed.
Not knowing what had happened to cause Lindsey’s crying and the comments her mother had made about the brunette thrown into the mix with being bumped into. Catherine knew that she was way beyond the point where any thing she would say or do would be rational.
Meeting the distracted and clueless brunette in the way that occurred was all that was needed to set the older woman off.
“Are you that stupid? Do you not know how to walk without crashing into people?”
Sara looked up from collecting her papers with a hurt expression. Why did Catherine bite my head off? I know that I walked into her, but she has always been able to laugh it off when it happened with one of the guys. Apparently I was the only one that wanted this friendship to work out. It hasn’t been easy but I thought that we were getting there.
Quickly schooling her expression Sara was not going to let the older woman see how the blonde’s words had affected her. Standing up straight and mentally preparing herself before responding to the other CSI, Sara was gearing up for the fight she was now expecting. It was harder for the younger woman to put her walls up high enough to withstand a fight like they used to have, but Sara was not going to let another person walk all over her.
Though ready for a fight that the brunette knew was coming, she was still hoping that it could be avoided. Maybe this is all a dream and I’ll wake up. Pinching herself to make sure that she wasn’t sleeping before focusing on Catherine again.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to bump into you like that. I was reading up on my notes, and I guess I got lost in thought.”
“Not only don’t you know how to walk. You apparently don’t know how to stay away from here.”
Catherine had raised her voice as she worked herself into a fury.
“What’s it with this place that you can’t stay away?”
The blonde was past the point of no return. No matter what the younger woman did or said, Catherine was venting all her anger and frustrations on Sara, her chosen target, like the many times before. The fact that the brunette didn’t seem to be raising to the fight, like usual, made the older CSI, if possible, even more furious.
Before Catherine could continue with her line of insults the brunette cut her off.
“Grissom called me. Not that I wanted to spend my day here, but apparently I was the only one answering my phone.”
The blonde was yelling while the younger woman was keeping her voice low desperately hoping that this wouldn’t go like it always had. Sara knew that the chance of the older CSI backing away was close to zero. The brunette just had to hope that this fight wouldn’t result in too much yelling that it would attach the focus of the rest of the lab.
“YEAH right, always with the easy excuses.”
Sara looked at the blonde like she had grown a second head but didn’t know how to respond and before she could get her thoughts together the older woman had continued like the brunette wasn’t even there.
“Grissom only ever calls you. He just tells you you’re his last resort. And you’re stupid enough to buy into that every time.”
The younger woman noted that while the blonde was yelling she was also glowing and her eyes sparkled like she enjoyed the fighting. That was never something the Sara had ever noticed before and it was throwing her for a loop.
Spacing out over Catherine’s enjoyment of their fight, the brunette had to mentally shake herself to hear what the other CSI was shouting at her.
“… Why should I let Lindsey spend time with you, when you’re that irresponsible?”
Sara caught up with the blondes rant as she heard Lindsey’s name was mentioned. Getting the gist of the meaning of Catherine’s words Sara was shocked. The blonde wouldn’t allow her to see the youngest Willows because Catherine thought Sara was irresponsible for some reason the brunette hadn’t heard. As the younger woman was about to fight back and not take everything that was dished her way, they were interrupted by a steaming Grissom coming down the hallway to where they were standing.
“Sidle, Willows. My office now!”
With that he turned around and headed for his office not giving the two women any choice but to follow.
“Gil, I’m not coming with you. You’re as much a part of the problem as Sara.”
If possible Catherine was looking more furious than before their boss had yelled at them like some school kids. There was no way the older woman was volunteering to be scolded like a child.
“Catherine, it wasn’t a suggestion. It’s either my office now or Ecklie’s in the morning.”
Huffing as he said that he again turned to his office fully expecting the stubborn blonde to follow him this time. If not he would be forced to actually take action against his best friend. He couldn’t let it slide like all the times he done before.
The brunette looked from Catherine to Grissom and slowly turned to follow her boss. Fully expecting that she would once again be blamed for the whole fight, and that the older woman would get away without a scratch, like she always had. Sara didn’t understand why the people in the lab thought that Gil had a thing for her, because he never did believe or support the brunette’s side in these fights with the blonde. What the younger CSI didn’t know was that, that was the exact reasoning for Grissom being harder on Sara than the rest of the CSIs. He wouldn’t risk his reputation as a scientist on his feelings and therefore he shut out the brunette. Unknowingly hurting Sara in the process.
The blonde on the other hand hesitated a while before following her boss. As Catherine walked toward Gil’s office she had a shocked expression on her face. By the time the older CSI entered the room she had schooled her expression and if you didn’t know the blonde you would believe that Grissom yelling didn’t affect her.
Entering the supervisor’s office Catherine noticed that Sara was sitting in a chair and looking like she expected the blame to be put on her shoulder yet again. To tell the truth the blonde was actually expecting the same thing, based on past fights they had.
Grissom was still standing and he wasn’t looking pleased.
“Sit.”
Catherine jumped slightly and for some reason she didn’t know hurriedly sat down.
What the hell? Why are you reacting like child being scolded by her parents? You never give up without a fight. Get yourself the f… together, Catherine.
The blonde was getting ready to fight back when Gil continued without taking his eyes off the two women sitting across his desk.
“After the last fight you two were so kind to put on in front of the night shift...”Grissom was sounding more sarcastic and angry then either woman had ever heard before. “I told you that that was the last time I would tolerate your fighting at work. You were getting closer for the last couple of months and I though that you had settled things, but now I’m not so sure.”
Looking at the two women he expected them to give him a reason for this fight. The blonde cringed at the look Gil was giving them. Sara sat there not even blinking, waiting for him to blame the fight on her.
“We were getting along until Sara here up and left my daughter crying without even telling me there was something wrong.”
Catherine hadn’t cooled off and was still yelling, causing Gil to yet again raise his voice.
“That’s no reason to shout in the corridor. You could have asked Sara what happened and I’m sure she would have given you an answer.”
The blonde glanced at Gil like he was incompetent, and then turned toward the brunette. If Grissom wanted her to prove that the other woman was as much a part of the fight Catherine would. The older woman was sure that all he would see was his precious Sara for what she really was.
“Well, you heard the man. Why did you leave Lindsey? She adores you and you broke her heart. And didn’t even have the guts to tell me.”
Catherine was looking smug, believing that she had turned a bad situation to her advantage. That changed when Grissom butted in again.
“That was not what I said.”
“It’s fine Grissom. I’m used to Catherine talking to me like that.”
Sara interrupted the both of them. Finally having found her voice the brunette was ready to fight back.
“Here we go again. Playing the victim like always.”
“You know what Catherine? The world doesn’t revolve around you. If you wanted to know what happened last night, all you had to do was ask.”
The younger woman wasn’t volunteering any information. Both women had gotten up from their seats leaving a stunned Grissom as the only one sitting.
“But instead you attacked me.”
“What? Like you would have told me the truth. Not only would you have lied to save your skin but you also knocked into me and weren’t even sorry.”
“Ladies. That’s enough. I don’t want to hear another word out of the two of you if you can’t be polite.”
Grissom had reached a point where he considered sending them both to talk to Ecklie.
“To get this over with, so I can get back to work, I’ll ask Sara what happened.”
Both Grissom and Catherine turned their attention to the brunette, looking at her expectantly.
“Sara.”
“What Grissom? You said you would ask, so ask.”
“You know what I meant. Tell us what happened, I have work to do.”
The supervisor was getting more annoyed with the brunette and was considered suspending them both, which seemed would be easier at the moment, but it wouldn’t solve this problem between his best CSIs.
“Yeah right. Like Catherine wants to know the truth. She already decided that I’m irresponsible. Let’s leave it at that and you can get on with punishing me.”
Sara was again seated, but wasn’t more relaxed than when she entered the room. The brunette wasn’t about to let the older woman walk all over her, with or without Grissom in the room.
Shoulders squared and jaws tensed the younger CSI was ready for whatever it was that Gil or Catherine would throw at her.
“I want the truth now and no snotty remarks from either of you.”
“Yeah sure, whatever.”
The brunette thought that he might as well suspend her and get it over with, because there was no way that it would end even slightly positive for her.
“Sara.” Grissom scolded as he raised his eye brows.
“Fine. We had a great day, but when we got home Catherine’s mother met us at the door. We were saying our goodbyes when something happened and Lindsey ran into the house.”
Looking at Catherine as she continued.
“Your mother wouldn’t let me follow Lindsey so I didn’t have any choice, but to leave.”
At this point the blonde couldn’t contain herself.
“Why didn’t you call me to say that Lindsey was crying?”
“I didn’t know that she was crying, and I did call you. I even left a message, but you must not have seen that.”
Gil was looking at the blonde expecting her to continue the conversation.
“Okay I’ll give you that, but that doesn’t change that you made Lindsey cry. You won’t even say what caused it.”
“That’s not my place. If you want to know talk to your mother.”
This got the older woman pissed again. “That’s the worst cop out story I’ve ever heard from you…”
Before the blonde could get any further Gil interrupted them.
“That’s enough. I don’t need to hear anymore. I don’t want to see the two of you in the lab tonight as it a slow night I want you both to leave the lab now. If the two of you don’t find a solution to your problem within this month, I will be forced to solve it for you.”
Sara didn’t look surprised. In fact she didn’t show any emotion at all. The blonde’s eyes were wide and she couldn’t believe that that Gil was yelling at her. He always let the older woman off the hook with a slightly disappointed look. Apparently now was not like the other times, though. The older woman wasn’t certain that she would come out on top of this. Catherine also didn’t particularly like the notion that their boss would decide their fate.
“What do you mean that you’ll solve it?”
There was no way that the blonde would wait for the first of the month to find out what he meant.
As the younger CSI was getting ready to leave the room, Grissom spoke up.
“That means that I’ll find an acceptable solution for the lab, and you will most likely not like it. Find your own solution ladies, and I won’t be forced to split up the night shift.”
With that he waved them off and went back to his paperwork, fully expecting them to leave.