"I'm going to Paris for three months," Heather announced at breakfast. Gil stared at her.

"But what if...."

"It's time to let go, Gil," she said, softly rubbing his shoulders as he sat at the dining table. "You're too dependent on me. You need to find your own way."

Gil set his fork down and looked up at her.

"I'm not sure I'm ready," he said.

She knelt down next to his chair and softly stroked his hair.

"Think of your safe place," she told him. "When you get stressed out. When you don't know where to go or what to do. Go back to that safe place."

Chintz vases. Floral wallpaper. The scent of Catherine on satin. All gone.

"Will I be able to call you?" he asked, unsuccessfully trying to mask his disappointment.

"No, Gil. When you need to call someone, call Catherine."

*******

Sara stuck her head in Catherine's office just as the dayshift was getting under way.

"Hey," she said, "got a minute?"

Catherine motioned her to come in, not looking up.

"I need a favor," Sara said.

"Shoot."

Sara reached into her purse, took out the gun, and laid it on top of the paper Catherine was looking at.

"Is this from a case?" Catherine asked, intrigued by the weapon.

"No. It's Grissom's."

Catherine felt a shock go through her system.

Sara continued.

"He gave it to me for safe keeping. We.... Greg and Nick and I stopped by his place Sunday night. I found it in the kitchen, wrapped in a towel. I took it, and when I tried to give it back, he asked me to keep it."

"Why would he do that?" Catherine asked, confused.

"Catherine," Sara said, leaning forward and making eye contact, "when we got there, he wouldn't open the door. He'd been looking at pictures of his mother. He'd been crying. He'd been drinking. He had a blank pad of paper on the table next to a pen. I've worked crime scenes. I know what that means. I think he's suicidal. That's why he wanted me to keep the gun. He was afraid of what he'd do."

"Sunday night?" Catherine's face flashed recognition. "Oh, god. Sunday night."

"What happened?" Sara asked.

"It's a long story," Catherine said. "Gil got the idea that I had left for good. It was a misunderstanding. I should have realized...."

"Yes, well, you guys seem to be having a lot of misunderstandings these days," said Sara.

Catherine picked up the gun, feeling its weight in her hands and imagining Gil holding it in his.

"What's the favor?" she asked.

"I think you should keep it."

Catherine thought about it a minute, then she gave it back.

"No. Gil entrusted you with it."

Sara put the gun back into her purse.

"I just thought you should know," she said, as she got up and headed out the door.

Catherine leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

"Of course you did," she said to herself, somewhat bitterly. But she couldn't shoot the messenger. Whatever Sara's motives were, she had been right to tell Catherine.

*******

Looking back, Catherine came to call it the week from hell.

First there was the argument about dressing for dinner and how to wear her hair. That was Tuesday. On Wednesday, Catherine discovered that Sam had put her car in the garage "for repairs," compelling her to take the limo, again, which she hated.

On Thursday, when she couldn't get her car back and decided to call a cab, instead, Sam sent the cab away and told her she could use his Jag. She was so mad, she walked out of the house and half-way down the street before calling Nick and having him pick her up.

On Friday, she was told, her car was ready and Sam had paid for it. However, if she wanted the keys, she had to dress for dinner.

Catherine was ready to scream.

And everyday, when she passed Gil in the halls of the crime lab, he barely made eye contact with her. He never came to her office. He never answered her pages. She knew he was hurting, but she didn't know what to do.

"You are radiant," Sam told her, as she came to the supper Saturday in a pale green cocktail dress with matching heels, her hair pulled up on her head. "Where's Lindsey?"

"Studying," she lied. She had promised to bring something to eat up to her daughter. She didn't want her going through another stressful night at the Braun supper table.

Braun stood up and pulled a chair out for Catherine, next to him.

When she sat down, he poured her some wine.

"Now, isn't this nice," he said, raising a glass to toast her.

Catherine sipped on the wine and tried to be polite, but every fiber of her being wanted to grab him by the hair and kick him in the balls. She was doing this for Gil, she reminded herself. She had to find the video. That was her ticket out of this nightmare.

Lindsey wasn't doing much better. Despite the nice clothes, the big screen television, and the heated outdoor pool, she was lonely. She didn't feel comfortable enough to have her friends over. She wasn't allowed to use the telephone. And she had overheard Sam talking to someone about putting her in a private school. Lindsey hid in her room and did the only thing a self-respecting almost-14-year-old would do, she emailed her Uncle Gil.

~~ Uncle Gil. R U There? Can U email me, pls? Mom and grandpa fight all the time. I miss you. Love, Linds. : ( PS: Can I have a pet bug? Grandpa said no, but I think I can. Don't you think I can? ~~

The curser blinked back at her. No one replied.

Downstairs, Catherine felt herself getting woozy. Too little food and too much wine, she thought. She quickly excused herself from the table and headed up the stairs, but she was having trouble walking straight. Sam came up behind her, grabbed her by the waist and propped her up.

"Let me help you," he said, his voice smooth.

She leaned against him as he helped her up the stairs and into her room. As he opened the door, she started to fall down, and he lifted her onto the bed. Catherine felt her body surrendering to whatever Sam had put in her drink. It couldn't just have been the alcohol, she knew. She never got drunk that fast. As she laid on the bed and fought to gain control, Sam leaned over and began kissing her mouth. Softly, at first, then harder. She tried to struggle away from him, but he was a solid mass against her fluid intoxication.

"Grandpa? What are you doing?" Lindsey asked, from the doorway.

Sam abruptly stood up.

"You're mom isn't feeling well," he said, turning to her. "Now, go to your room and finish studying. I'll take care of her."

"No," Catherine whispered. Lindsey heard her.

"I take care of mom when she's sick, not you," Lindsey said, jumping onto the bed and hugging her mom.

Catherine wrapped her weak arms around her child and passed out.

*******

Gil, while thoroughly versed in computers, seldom checked his email, so he didn't get back to Lindsey until Sunday evening.

~~ Hi Linds. It's Uncle Gil. How are you? How is your mom? Do you have my number? You can call me, if you want. I think you can have a pet bug, too. ~~

Lindsey smiled for the first time that week.

~~ Uncle Gil!!! That really U? I can't call. Grandpa won't let me. Mom was sick last night. I think grandpa was giving her mouth 2 mouth. She's better today. But she's really mad at him. Can you come see me? I miss you. Mom misses you too, a lot! I know cause when I ask if I can see you, she cries. Come see me? Love, Linds. ~~

Gil had waited anxiously for the child to get back to him. His heart nearly stopped when he got Lindsey's message. He tried calling Catherine's cell phone, but didn't get a response. He wanted to go to the mansion and make sure she was alright, but he didn't want to upset her more if she was. He decided to call the mansion and ask to speak to her. The worst they could do was say no.

They said no.

*******

Lindsey quickly turned off the computer when the maid appeared at the door.

"Why aren't you ready, yet?" Annie said, pulling a blue chiffon dress from the closet.

"I don't wear dresses!" Lindsey yelled.

"Well, you're going to wear one tonight, young lady."

"I'm not a young lady! I'm a young woman!"

Lindsey ran into her bathroom and slammed and locked the door, leaving the maid holding the dress.

"What's going on in here?" Catherine asked. "Where's Lindsey."

Catherine had a splitting headache. She had taken several pain killers, but they had barely made a dent. She couldn't remember much of the evening before, but she had the feeling she had done something very embarrassing. All she remembered was waking up in her bed, still in her dress, and Lindsey sound asleep in her arms.

"She's locked herself in the bathroom, Ma'me. She won't dress for dinner."

"Leave us," Catherine instructed.

"But, Miss Braun...."

Catherine spun around, raging.

"I am NOT Miss Braun. I have never BEEN Miss Braun. You can call me Catherine, or you can call me Miss Willows. Got that?"

Stunned, Annie backed up to the door.

"Now, go!" Catherine ordered, slamming the door in the woman's face.

Lindsey immediately came running out of the bathroom and into her mother's arms.

"Can we go home, now?" she asked. "I miss my old room. I miss Uncle Gil."

Catherine hugged her child.

"I'm afraid not, honey. But I tell you what. Why don't we go out for pizza. Just you and me. Okay?"

Lindsey smiled and wiped away her tears.

"Okay. Can we go to Biggalo's?"

"Yes," Catherine smiled. "We can go to Biggalo's."

"Okay, but I gotta do something first. I'll be right down," Lindsey said.

The minute Catherine left, the girl was back on the computer, emailing her Uncle Gil.

Catherine knew Sam would send someone looking for her if they just disappeared, so she took her argument directly to him.

"Lindsey and I are going out this evening," she announced.

He looked up from his desk in his study.

"I have dinner guests, tonight, Catherine," he said. "I expect you to be here."

"My daughter is a hell of a lot more important to me than your goddam dinner guests," she snapped. "She's been cooped up in this house like a prisoner all week. I'm taking her out."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"For god's sake, Sam," Catherine said. "You have all my possessions. You have my clothing. I have no place to go. What the hell are you afraid of?"

"Catherine, I told you...."

"You told me you wanted to build a relationship. Well, relationships are two-way streets. It's time you started seeing a few things my way."

She spun on her heel and marched out the door, met Lindsey in the hall and left.

On the other side of town, Gil Grissom was desperately searching through the phone book, trying to find the address of a place called Biggalo's.

--- TBC ---