With Lindsey finally off to school, Catherine flopped down onto the couch exhausted after a particularly long shift. There was so much she needed to do; clean the lounge, empty the dishwasher, clean the bathroom, eat, sleep. The list was endless, and she did not really want to do anything that involved moving from where she was.

The last few months had been so tough, finding out about Sam, the explosion, all the trouble with Lindsey, and it had taken her so long to get to a place where she could deal with it all. It had taken so much effort, that now she just needed a break. Just a few minutes she told herself, a while just to relax and pull herself together.

She had no idea how long she had been asleep, or that she had even nodded off, when the doorbell rang. She pulled herself out of the chair and walked to the door to find Grissom on the doorstep smiling at her, a large bag in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, a little more irritated than she had planned. He seemed to ignore it.

"I figures you would be too tired to eat, so I brought you some breakfast," he told her, indicating the bag. Catherine smiled in spite of herself.

"That sounds good."

She stood there watching him for a while, glad that they had begun to talk more again since his operation. He had closed himself of from everyone, her included, and now things were beginning to get much better.

"Er, Cath?"

"What?"

"Can I come in, or are we going to eat on the doorstep?"

She glanced around, embarrassed before moving aside to let him in.

He removed his jacket and headed straight for the kitchen, quickly pulling out all the utensils he needed. "Do you want eggs?" he called in as she sat back down on the couch, wondering how many other employees had supervisors who regularly cooked them breakfast.

"Yeah, sure."

The smell that began to waft in from the kitchen woke her up again, moments before Grissom brought her a hot plate of food.

"Wow, that's smells good!"

"Taste's good too." He leant back and watched her eat. "How have you really been lately, Catherine?"

"You don't waste time."

"No."

"I'm just tired Gil. For the first time in a long time I feel really happy. It's been tough getting here, but right now, I feel good." She smiled at him, and he could tell it was sincere.

"Just tired."

"Very tired."

They finished their breakfasts whilst chatting about anything, work, home, kids. It was comfortable and relaxing, until the doorbell rang again.

"Are you expecting company?" he asked.

"No. I wasn't expecting you either." He smiled and got up to answer the door.

He returned a few moments later, Nick and Warrick trailing behind him.

"Hey guys," Catherine smiled at them. "What brings you here?"

"You seemed a little down lately, Cath. We thought we'd come see how you were, cheer you up." Nick looked around the room.

"Although it seems we weren't the only ones with that idea," Warrick added, gesturing to Grissom.

"Well thank you. Come and sit."

They moved into the room and took the two chairs by the window. Nick pulled up a box from behind his back.

"We bought you a present." He carried the box over to Catherine.

"Chocolates. Thanks you guys. I'll have to hide them from Linds, or I'll never see them." She laughed, and put then down on the floor beside her. Grissom finished taking the plates into the kitchen, and had just sat down beside Catherine when the doorbell rang again.

"You're popular," he smiled at her.

"I know." She tried to smile back, but the possibility of more guests seemed to slightly annoy her. She only wanted to sleep. Was that too much to ask.

Nick had gone to get the door this time, and returned to the lounge with a big grin on his face, followed by Sara, who seemed a little perturbed by the size of the gathering.

"Wow, is this a party," she asked, standing by the doorway.

"For God's sake Sara, sit down and join us," Catherine ordered. She looked around. They had come because they were concerned for her. After everything, most of them knew what she had been through. Grissom was the only one that knew everything, and she liked it that way. It was very sweet of them. She hid a yawn, and tried to think good thoughts, as the conversations really started to flow.

By lunch time, the young CSI's were in full swing, leaving Catherine and Grissom to watch their unbound energy. She found it quite amusing as she reached across to whisper in Grissom's ear.

"They're like energiser bunnies."

He chuckled, keeping his gaze on them so they did not suspect the two were talking about them. "I wish they were like this at work all the time," he replied.

By one o'clock, Catherine had had enough, but the people in her living room were having way too much fun for her to kick them out, so she figured on a plan. During a very animated discussion on fungus growth patterns, she whispered to Grissom that she was going to the bathroom, before she stood up and left the room.

"Are you sure you read that article?" Sara asked Nick, who had flatly refuted her theory.

"Of course. You think I'm making this up?"

"I think you get confused," Warrick added, taking the opportunity to tease his friend.

"Oh, like you would know."

Grissom watched them, amused at their easy banter, until he realised that Catherine had been gone for over half an hour. He stood, unnoticed by the others, and made his way through the house towards the bathroom. When he found it empty, he moved over to Catherine's bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. He pushed his head in and grinned.

Catherine was lying on her bed, curled up into a ball fast asleep. That must have been her plan all along, he thought. He went in as quietly as possible and lifted the covers over the top of her and shutting the curtains too, hoping she would be able to get a good amount of sleep now if he left and took the others with him. He finished tucking her in, and made his way out of the room, stopping by the door to look at her quiet, peaceful form.

"Goodnight, Catherine," he whispered. "Sleep well."

She smiled once he had left the room, having heard his words, touched by his concern. Just by getting some sleep, life seemed good once more.

The End.