Disclaimer and other valuable information is way back in the first part of this story. Needless to say, I don't own them, won't make any money off of this story,a nd it's pointless to try to come after me. A/N: This piece is just a bit of drabble (though it's a long bit) meant to fill in the time during the day before our ladies return to work. Hope you enjoy. If not, too bad, I wrote it anyway. ********************************************************************** Part 11 Catherine knew that Sara was right and if she was going to get any sleep, she would have to do it now. Reluctantly, she went upstairs and put on some p.j.'s and set the alarm. She laid in bed and was immersed in the smells and memories of her morning with Sara. She could still smell the scent of Sara on the bedcovers and the scent of their sex was still in the air. Yeah, sleep, this is going to be harder than I thought. Catherine thought to herself. Sara drove straight home to her apartment. She knew she would only get little, if any sleep. There was just too much to be done around her place. She had lived alone since she moved ere to Vegas, and never really had people over, so she had never felt the need to pick up her place all that much. Sara quickly changed her clothes and started to clean up her place. It was clean, but there were forensic magazines, and a couple issues of Guns & Ammo, strewn across the living room forgotten after Sara had read them once. She also knew her kitchen needed some help. There was hardly any food in it, Sara eating out, or delivered, mot nights. The refrigerator was practically empty and the cupboards didn't have all that much in them either. It wasn't that she didn't know how to cook, she was actually a pretty good cook, it's just that she didn't always feel the need to cook for herself. Now, maybe, she had someone to cook for. The only rooms in Sara's apartment that didn't need cleaned up at all were the bathroom and the bedroom. Sara was a bit of a neat freak and these were practically the only rooms in the house she spent any amount of time in, so she had always felt the need to keep them pretty clean. Sara picked up her place, and started a load of laundry, thankful that she had found an apartment with it's own hookups and she wouldn't have to go to a laundromat. Then she was out the door and on her way to the nearest grocery store to stock up on food. She didn't want Catherine to think that she always ate out, though that was pretty much the norm. Sara hurried through the grocery store, grabbing the essentials and a few extra items, and headed back home. After all, she still wanted to have time to sleep before going back to Catherine's. Once at home she put the groceries away, put her clothes in the dryer and headed to bed. Sleep didn't come easy for Sara. She couldn't relax enough to sleep. She was wired from everything that had happened that day. She was still amazed at how her life changed. She had a girlfriend now. Not just any girlfriend, but Catherine Willows. The most beautiful woman she had met since moving to Vegas. Sara's mind was reeling with memories from yesterday and this morning. The were kisses and nakedness. And these thoughts were keeping Sara wide awake. Sara eventually fell asleep. But it seemed like minutes before the alarm was telling her it was time to get up again. Sara didn't know what time Lindsey got out of school, so she was knocking on Catherine's door at 2:30 p.m. Catherine answered the door, and Sara immediately wrapped her up in a big hug. Sara whispered to her, "I missed you." "Yeah, I know. I missed you too. You ready for this? We can go get Lindsey now. By the time we get there, she'll be almost done." "Not ready just yet." Sara said as she leaned in and slowly kissed Catherine, exploring every part of her mouth again. "Okay let's go." "Let's go, she says. You kiss me like that only to tell me we need to go. That's not fair." Catherine moped. "Hey, remember that `goodnight kiss'? You expected me to sleep after that one. All I'm doing is saying let's go pick up your daughter. So let's go then." Sara said, already heading out the door. Catherine drove them to Lindsey's school where they waited fro Lindsey at the park across the street. Catherine and Sara sat on the swing set at the park, quietly enjoying their time alone. Lindsey came running up the pair shouting excitedly, "Mama, Sara!" "Hey baby." Catherine said picking up Lindsey and twirling her around in a big hug. "How was school?" Catherine and Sara listened to Lindsey tales of school while driving her down to her favorite ice cream shop. Sara and Lindsey sat at a booth while Catherine ordered tem all ice cream. "So are you my mom's new girlfriend?" Lindsey asked so straightforward tat Sara just sat in stunned silence. Seconds later Catherine returned with their ice cream. A simple vanilla cone for her, and hot fudge sundaes for both Lindsey and Sara. "Sara, you okay?" Catherine asked as she handed her a hot fudge sundae. "Uh, yeah, I think so. Lindsey here just asked me if I was your girlfriend. It kind of shocked me," Sara said, still avoiding Lindsey's question and digging into her ice cream instead. "Lindsey, did you ask Sara that?" Catherine said with a big grin. Lindsey nodded her head and Catherine busted out laughing. "Actually Lindsey, yes Sara is your mother's new girlfriend. She'll probably be coming over a lot and sometimes I'll go over to her place. And sometimes we'll all go out and do stuff together. Is that okay?" "Yeah mom. I like Sara." Lindsey said this with the kind of acceptance you can only get from a child. "I like you too, Lindsey. And I really like your mom." Sara said flashing a brilliant smile at Catherine. "Okay. So, mom, what happened to your face?" Lindsey asking, looking at her mom with concern. "Well," Catherine started, having already forgotten about the injury, "one of the bad guys wanted to get away, and so he hit me." "Okay." Sara was amazed that Lindsey seemed so understanding of everything. She was okay with her and Catherine's relationship and she seemed to understand the dangers of Catherine's job. She really was like a little Catherine. So knowledgeable and very mature for her age. And she really did have Catherine's smile. Sara was really enjoying herself and she marveled at how well Lindsey and Catherine got along. When Sara was Lindsey's age, her family life was more than screwed up. Sara grew up a little ways outside San Francisco and secretly she always wanted to live in the city. She always thought it would be more exciting. She was a disciplined child, of her own making. Her parents were constantly telling her to relax and take it easy, but she was constantly studying and striving to achieve more. She always felt like she was more grown up than her parents. Sara knew a little about Catherine's life. How she had once been a dancer and worked her way through classes at the University. How much she despised Eddie, but had it not been for Eddie, Catherine wouldn't have Lindsey. Somehow that made it balanced. Catherine put up with a lot of crap to get where she is today, but now she is one of the top CSI's and she has a wonderful, open relationship with her daughter. Sara could see the happiness in Catherine's eyes as she laughed and kidded with her daughter. "Sara? You ready to get going? Lindsey here nets to get home and do her homework." Catherine said. Lindsey groaned, "Mom, do I have to do my homework?" Sara smiled, there was the kid in Lindsey coming out. All play and no work. "Tell you what," Catherine was trying to make a deal with Lindsey, "Maybe if you ask nice enough, Sara can help you with your homework. Remember, we already came out for ice cream, so now you've got earn it." Sara was caught by surprise. Helping Lindsey with her homework? Where did Catherine get that idea? Not that she wouldn't do it, it just surprised her that Catherine was trying to use her to get Lindsey to do her homework. But it worked. Lindsey smiled real big and her eyes flashed with excitement. "Sara, will you help me with my homework?" And Sara was a goner. That damn smile. She looks so much like her mother. And she knows it will work too. One smile at me and I'd help her try to conquer the world, especially if she smiled again. "Uh, yeah sure." And sure enough, she was rewarded with yet another smile. With that the trio headed out of the ice cream parlor and off towards Catherine's house. When they got to Catherine's place, Lindsey practically pulled Sara to the dining room, where she began to open her schoolbooks to do her homework. "Honey, don't you want to do your homework upstairs at your desk?" Catherine asks as she heads into the kitchen. "No, mom. I want to do my homework down here today. Please?" Lindsey practically begs. "Alright. I'm going to start on dinner if you guys need any help." Catherine called out from the kitchen. Catherine started to make dinner for the trio and Sara and Lindsey hunkered down and got to work on the child's homework. Soon the homework was done and Catherine was still in the kitchen. Sara helped Lindsey pack up her books and then put her in front of the television to watch the Cartoon Network. Lindsey settled on the couch to watch the cartoon movie, The Iron Giant, while Sara retreated into the kitchen to help Catherine. Sara walked up behind Catherine and slid her arms around her waist, much as she had done this morning. "Need any help?" Sara asked quietly while bending her head to gently suck on Catherine's earlobe. "No, actually I was just about done in here. Mmm, that feels nice." "You know, Lindsey's a pretty smart kid. She didn't need any help on her homework." Sara said as she gently turned Catherine around so that they were now facing each other. Sara began placing small kisses on Catherine's neck. "I know. But she likes you and I figured if you would help her, she might get it all done before Nancy comes back over to pick her up." Catherine replied. Catherine began to kiss Sara's cheek, gently nudging Sara's face. Sara stopped her kisses and looked directly at Catherine. Catherine, having got what she wanted, pulled Sara's face towards her and kissed Sara. Catherine wanted to deepen the kiss and gently sucked on Sara's lower lip, allowing her tongue to lick Sara's lip at the same time. Sara quickly understood and opened her mouth extending her tongue to meet Catherine's. They remained in the kitchen kissing and nearly groping each other until they heard a small voice. "Mom!" Lindsey was standing impatiently in the doorway to the kitchen. Sara immediately blushed a bright red and buried her face in Catherine's neck. Catherine, on the other hand, calmly as ever, simply asked Lindsey, "Yeah baby?" "You didn't hear me the first time I called out. Is dinner about ready? I'm kind of hungry?" Lindsey asked innocently. Sara was still hiding in Catherine's neck. "Actually, yeah. Go ahead and grab some juice I'll get dinner all set on the dining table in just a minute." Catherine said. Catherine wrapped her fingers in Sara's hair and gently tugged her out of her hiding spot. "You can come out now, she's gone." Catherine whispered into Sara's ear. Catherine placed a light kiss on Sara's cheek and gently extricated herself from Sara's arms. Catherine had prepared a light Italian dinner for the girls and they ate in near silence. Sara was still embarrassed at being caught and was still blushing, though it was fading slowly. Catherine cleared the table when they were done and started on the dishes, telling Sara, "Why don't you sit down with Lindsey and finish watching that movie with her?" Sara merely nodded in response and went with Lindsey to the living room. Sara sat on the couch next to Lindsey. Now or never, she thought to herself. "So you're really okay with me dating your mom?" Sara asked quietly. "Yeah. I mean I like you and I can tell mom does too." Lindsey said, still watching tv. "And what about earlier? In the kitchen? I'm sorry about that." Sara confessed to Lindsey. She had gotten carried away with Catherine in the kitchen and was embarrassed that Lindsey had seen that. "That? Don't worry about that. Mom and Dad used to kiss like that too. And since Dad has been gone, I've seen Mom kiss a few people like that." Lindsey said, not really paying that much attention to Sara, or to Sara's embarrassment. She had seen her mom "making out" with other people before. She just usually tried to ignore it. Lindsey didn't really understand why people kissed like that, but she was smart enough o know that some day she'd find out. Just, hopefully, not anytime soon. Sara was visibly relieved at Lindsey's words. "You know Lindsey, you're probably the coolest kid your age. I would've freaked if I had caught my mom kissing someone like that when I was your age." Sara told her leaning over and giving the small child a hug. Catherine joined the two on the couch after she finished cleaning up and soon after the movie was over, Nancy was there to pick up Lindsey for the night. Lindsey went up stairs to get her stuff together for the night and the three adults made small talk in the living room. As Nancy headed out the door with Lindsey she turned to Catherine and asked her, "So you want me to take her directly to school tomorrow?" "Yeah could you? I think I might have company tomorrow morning." Was all that Catherine said, even though she could tell her sister wanted to know more. Like if Sara was going to be her company. "Thanks again, Nancy." Catherine said as she closed the door. ********************************************************************** Tell me you like it. Tell me you hate it. Whatever. Just tell me. In the next part, our ladies return to work to solve that long forgotten murder that we started our story out with. There will possibly be a gratuitous NC-17 psection while at work, but I haven't yet figured that part out. Anyway, the end is near.