My beta was unavailable to help me with this chapter so all mistakes are mine.
Less than an hour into their shift, Warrick and Nick were walking down the hall at the lab when they noticed the light on in Catherine's office. "I'm going to see why she's here. I'll meet you in the layout room," Warrick said, motioning towards her office.
The two parted ways and Warrick entered Catherine's office. She stood with her back to him, going through some papers on her desk. "I thought you were taking some time off. What are you doing her?" he questioned, standing inside the doorway.
"Oh, hey," she replied, turning around. "I was just getting some paperwork to work on while I'm out."
"How are things going at home?" he asked. They have only talked briefly on the phone in the past few days since everything happened.
"Great, I couldn't ask for it to be any better. Lindsey and Alex are almost inseparable. They only have been apart when Lindsey went to school. I was going to let Lindsey stay home Monday, but she wanted to go so she could tell all her friends about Alex."
"I'm happy to hear things are going so well," he said, walking closer to her.
"Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean I would love to, but I don't want to make Lindsey and Alex uncomfortable."
"It will be fine. They both know we're dating. Alex had asked me if we were living together before I had a chance to tell her, and Lindsey said you're cool," Catherine explained.
"I guess I should feel special if a fourteen year old thinks I'm cool."
"You're definitely special in my book," she said, closing the distance between them, and placing her hands on his chest. Looking up into his eyes, she slid her arms around his neck. "And I feel lucky to have such a sexy, amazing man in my life."
"I think I'm the lucky one," Warrick whispered, wrapping his arms around Catherine. He leaned down to give her a brief kiss, but it quickly deepened.
Catherine hesitantly pushed herself back away from Warrick. As much as she didn't want to stop kissing him, she knew this wasn't the time or the place. "So I'll see you tomorrow at five for dinner?"
"I'll be there," he replied, giving her one last quick kiss before leaving her office.
Lindsey was walking down the hall, on the way to get herself a drink, when she thought she heard muffled cries through Alex's door. She knocked lightly on the door before opening it. "Alex, are you okay?" Lindsey asked, whispering so she wouldn't wake Alex if she was asleep.
"Um, yeah. I'm fine," Alex replied, sitting up while reaching over to turn on a light. She grabbed a tissue, wiping under her eyes in an attempt to appear as she said.
"Oh, because I thought I heard you crying," Lindsey said quietly, looking down at the carpet. "I'll just go back to my room then."
"It's okay. You can stay and we can talk if you want," Alex said. She had woken up from another nightmare, and knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again anytime soon.
"Okay," Lindsey said, climbing onto the other side of Alex's bed. "Did you have a nightmare? I had them a lot after my dad died."
"I did, but let's talk about something else. Would you want to come to the mall with me tomorrow after you're done school?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, that would be cool," Lindsey replied, turning and smiling at Alex.
"Good, because I was thinking you could help me pick out something to get mom for Mother's Day. It's only a couple of days away, and you know her better," Alex explained.
Lindsey was quiet for the next few moments. She pulled a pillow into her lap, and nervously began playing with the edge of it before she said, "You can tell me about your nightmares and what happened to you. You don't have to always change the subject. I'm not a kid. I can handle talking about it."
"I know, Lindsey, and I'm sorry if I made you think I think that. It's just that it's really hard for me to talk about to anyone, even mom. A week ago I never would have thought I would be sitting in bed, talking to my little sister during the middle of the night. I will tell you about everything soon, just not tonight, okay?"
"Okay," Lindsey said, pausing before she continued. "Would you mind if I stayed in here with you for the rest of the night?"
"Of course not, but I think you should try to go back to sleep. I don't think mom would be happy if I kept you up all night talking, when you have to get up for school."
"Thanks," Lindsey said, moving to get under the covers.
Alex didn't say much else. She was too embarrassed to admit that she would prefer to not be alone. "Goodnight, Lindsey."
"Goodnight Alex," Lindsey replied, closing her eyes. They both quickly fell asleep.
A couple of days later, Catherine was sitting at her kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee, and reading the newspaper. She placed the mug down when Alex and Lindsey came into the room. She was surprised when Lindsey handed her a thin gift wrapped box with two cards on it. "What's this?" she asked, not remembering what day it was.
"Happy Mother's Day, Mom," Lindsey and Alex both said, leaning to give her a hug.
"Oh my god, I completely forgot," Catherine said.
"I know it's not much, but we thought you would like it," Alex said.
After opening both cards, Catherine eyes were brimming with tears. She unwrapped the box, letting a gasp escape when she saw what was inside. A few tears fell as she picked up the picture. "It's perfect," she said, looking from the picture up to Alex and Lindsey. The picture was of Alex and Lindsey sitting on a wooden bench, leaning into each other with smiles on their faces.
"So you like it?" Lindsey asked.
"I love it," Catherine replied, standing up and embracing the two. After a few moments, she let them go. "When did you get this done?"
"When we went to the mall Friday," Alex answered. "I was telling Lindsey about when you were showing me the pictures, and then we saw the photo shop. We thought you would like a picture of us together."
"Thank you so much," Catherine said, giving them another hug.
Over the next few weeks, everything continued to go rather smoothly. The biggest bump in the road was when Catherine told her parents about Alex. They had an argument and didn't speak to each other for a few days. Lily was upset that Catherine never told her about Alex, and she didn't understand why. Catherine tried to explain but it only led to more tension between the pair. Lily finally gave in and called her daughter, having decided she already missed out on enough of her granddaughter's life, and thought getting to know Alex was more important than being mad at Catherine. Lily, Sam, Catherine, Lindsey, and Alex all went out to dinner one evening. Conversation was minimal at first, but as the evening went on, they warmed up to each other.
Greg and Alex spent almost all of the time they weren't working, together. They weren't romantically involved, but both wanted to catch up on all they had missed during the years they hadn't seen each other.
One night they were at Greg's apartment, getting ready to watch a movie. Alex was in the bathroom, while Greg was getting them a couple of drinks. Greg was having a beer, and Alex was having a wine cooler. Greg had just set the drinks and bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, when the doorbell rang. He went to answer the door, and was surprised to see his parents and sister standing on the other side. "Mom, Dad, Emily, what are you guys doing here?" he asked. The surprised look on his face turned to panic when he remembered Alex was there.
"Now what kind of greeting is that?" his mother, Diane said, pulling him into a hug.
"I'm sorry. You just caught me off guard," Greg said, moving back so they could enter the apartment. "I thought you were going to call when you booked your flight?"
"We were, but your mother thought it would be fun to surprise you," Greg's father, Steve explained.
"Is this a bad time?" Emily asked, noticing the drinks on the table. "Is someone else here?"
"Sort of, and yes," Greg replied, answering both questions at once.
"We can leave and see you tomorrow if you had plans for tonight," Diane told Greg.
"It's okay, you can stay. I'm going to give her a heads up that you're here," Greg said, moving to go down the hall. He was hoping that Alex would be okay with them being there. He wasn't sure of how she would react to them showing up without any warning.
"Alex?" Greg asked quietly, knocking on the bathroom door.
Alex opened the door to him and asked, "Who was at the door?"
"My parents and Emily. They decided to stop by for a surprise visit," he told her.
"They're here now?" she asked.
He couldn't read the look on her face. "Yeah, they're in the living room right now."
"Oh, um…" she started, looking down between them.
"I can ask them to come back another time," he said, noticing her hesitation.
"No, it's okay. Just give me a minute and I'll be ready."
"Okay."
Greg walked back into the living room. "She'll be right out," he announced, sitting on the arm of his couch.
"So, who is she?" Diane asked.
"She's a friend," Greg said.
"Just a friend?" Emily questioned.
"Yes, just a friend. A very good friend," Greg confirmed.
"Is she one of your colleagues?" Steve asked.
"No," Greg said. He knew they were going to keep questioning him, but there was something he wanted to get out of the way before they asked anything else. "I need to tell you something."
"What is it Greg?" his mother asked, noticing by the tone of his voice that something was wrong. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," Greg said, pausing for a moment. He wasn't sure how to tell them who was there. "I want you to know that she's been through a lot this past month, so I don't want any of you to give either of us a hard time for not calling you as soon as I ran into her. It's been a hard time for her."
"Why do you think we would give her a hard time?" Emily asked. Do we know her?"
"Yes, you actually know her very well, or at least you used to," Greg said.
"How? From where?" Diane asked, a puzzled look on her face.
"From a long time ago," Alex said quietly, taking a step into the room.
They all turned to look at Alex. Steve's, Diane's, and Emily's faces all displayed their state of shock. None of them said anything or moved for a few moments. They couldn't believe who was standing in front of them. 'It couldn't be her, could it?' they thought to themselves.
Emily was the first to move. Slowly she stood up. "Oh my god, Alex?" she questioned, with a shaky voice. "Is that really you?"
Alex replied with a nod, she was fighting a loosing battle with the tears in her eyes.
That was all Emily needed before she ran up to Alex and gave her a hug. "I can't believe you're here," she said through her own tears. The two stood there for a minute before they were joined by Diane.
"It's so good to see you, Alex," Diane said.
"I'm happy to see all of you too," Alex replied, taking a step back. "I'm sorry I didn't call you or anything. It's just…"
"Greg told us you've been through a lot. What happened?" Emily asked, concern evident by the look on her face. "Are you okay?"
"I…I…My…" was all Alex managed to say before she collapsed into the comforting embrace of Greg's arms. It was all too much for her right then.
"It's alright, Alex. You don't have to talk about it," Greg said, using one hand to rub her back, while using his other arm to hold her close. Her body was trembling against him.
It took a few minutes for Alex to calm down. Once she did, Greg took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her back. "Let's get you a drink of water," Greg suggested, leading Alex into the kitchen.
"Thanks," Alex said, accepting the glass of water Greg held out to her. After taking a few sips, she set it down on the counter, running her hand through her hair. "I'm so embarrassed for crying again. I thought I was done with doing that."
"Alex, it's only been a few weeks. No one expects you to be happy all the time."
"I'm sure your family wasn't expecting that from me. You all were like a second family to me, and now I can't even talk to them."
"Hey, I'm sure they will understand when you explain to them what happened."
"That's just it. I don't think I can go through saying it all again," Alex said, glancing down at the kitchen tile.
Greg reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I can tell them if you want me to."
She looked up at him. "You will?"
"Of course, that's what friends are for," he told her. "Let's go back in there and I'll do the talking."
Steve, Diane, and Emily looked at the pair as they came back into the room. "I'm sorry about that," Alex said, taking a seat next to Greg.
"Don't worry about it, Alex. We don't want you to feel like you have to tell us anything. We're just happy to see you again," Diane said. "And we're sorry for dropping in on you."
The ringing of a phone interrupted the conversation. "Oh, that's mine," Alex said, picking up her cell phone off the coffee table and glancing at the caller id. "It's my mom. I have to take this."
"You can go in my room if you want," Greg offered.
"Thanks, and Greg, you can tell them while I'm gone," Alex said, getting up and going into his room.
Once the door closed behind her, Emily turned to Greg. "Her mom?" she asked, a puzzled look on her face.
"It's a long story," Greg explained.
"We've got the time, son. We're going to be here for a week, and maybe longer now that we know Alex is here," Steve said.
"Okay then," Greg said, placing his hands on his knees. "Where should I start?"
"How about telling us how you found her?" Emily suggested.
"Alright, well…" Greg said as he began to tell them everything. He told them about how he ran into her at the lab, the attack at the Miller's, how she found out Catherine was her mother, and finally about her years in foster care.
After Greg was finished talking, no one said anything for a couple of minutes as they tried to absorb all that he told them.
"No wonder she couldn't talk about it," Diane said. "At least she has her family and you Greg. It seems like you two are really close."
"Alex," Emily said when she noticed Alex coming out of Greg's room. She jumped up, ran over to her, and gave her a quick hug. "I'm sorry to hear about all you went through."
"Thanks," Alex replied, moving to sit back down next to Greg. "I told my mom you were here, and she wants you to all come over for dinner tomorrow night."
"That sounds wonderful," Diane said.
They spent the rest of the night talking about school, Alex's modeling, her family, and anything else they thought wouldn't upset Alex. After a few hours had gone by, Diane, Steve, and Emily left to go to their hotel.
A/N: Thanks so much to those that are still reading and an extra thanks to those who review. Reviews make me so happy! I appreciate everyone for being so patient with me. I have been stressed out big time and haven't had much time as I would have liked to write. Please review so I know you are reading and what you think of this fic! Also, let me know if you have any suggestions that can help me improve, or anything you want to see.