This idea came to me when I was packing to go back to university. It's a slightly cheesy idea... maybe a very cheesy idea, but I was pretty bored so decided to write it anyway. Enjoy.

It had been nearly three hours since Nick had last seen Catherine. He wouldn't think this unusual normally but he knew for a fact that she was in the lab, not out in the field, and they were working together on a murder case. He thought that as his supervisor if not the lead for the case, she would have come to check up on his progress before now. She had seemed a little quiet earlier in the shift and he was beginning to worry if there may be something wrong. With that in mind, he knocked on her office door then on hearing no reply pushed it open but hovered in the hall, waiting to be invited in.

"Catherine?"

"Uh come in." She said after a moment. The blinds were drawn so the room wasn't as light as usual, but it was obvious from Catherine's posture that something was wrong.

"I just came to let you know I've finished processing the girls clothing. I found a dark hair on her jacket so I've sent it to Wendy."

"Ok. Good." She nodded but didn't look up.

"I still have her bags to look through. Do you want me to make a start on those?"

"Um yeah Nick thanks." He frowned. There was defiantly something wrong. He slowly walked over to her desk and sat down opposite her. She still didn't look up.

"Is everything alright Catherine? You seem a little distracted." She bit her lower lip and tentatively shook her head. He waited for a moment for her to elaborate but when she didn't speak he carried on. "Do you want to talk about it?" She looked up at him now and he could see for the first time how upset she really was. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were the faint streaks of tear tracks on her cheeks.

"It's ok Nick. It doesn't matter." She said quietly flashing him a quick smile, which extended no further than her lips.

"Have you been crying?" She looked back down at her desk.

"It's fine." She mumbled.

"No Cath it's not. Come on talk to me." He reached out to rest a hand on her arm. She looked back up at him, at his worried eyes and swallowed her pride. Nick was a good friend and she knew he wouldn't judge her.

"Lindsey called from college earlier."

"Is she ok?" He asked, suddenly even more concerned than he had been before.

"Yeah she's fine. She's having a great time." She took a sharp breath, fighting back the tears. "It's just… God I miss her Nick." Despite her best efforts another tear escaped, tracing a line slowly down her cheek. "It's just so quiet without her. For the longest time it was just me and her and now… it's just me and Grissom's stupid dog." She gave a bitter laugh and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "Stupid huh?"

"No Catherine I don't think it's stupid at all." Nick assured her with a sympathetic smile.

"You don't?" She sniffed.

"No I don't. She's your daughter and she's been you whole life for what, 18 years. It's only natural that you'll miss her when she's not around."

"I know, you're right, of course you're right." She said, her raised tone portraying how frustrated she was with herself for acting the way she was. She was supposed to be the shifts supervisor and her she was, sobbing in her office because her daughter had gone away to college. "It's just that I was sitting here, thinking that I have tomorrow off and thinking that maybe I could go for dinner with Lindsey and then," She choked back another sob. "I realised she isn't here anymore." She dropped her head in her hands in a vein attempt to stop Nick seeing her tears. Not that it helped. Her shaking shoulders gave her away for one thing.

"Hey now, come here." He walked over to her and crouched by her side, pulling her sideways towards him and wrapping her in his strong arms.

"You must think I'm pathetic." She managed to get out between the tears. "Sorry."

"Now there's no need to apologise." He said pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "We all know how it is to miss someone and it's a horrible feeling. That's why we have friends, to make those feelings a little more bearable." She pulled away and gave him a watery smile.

"Thanks Nicky." She wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks as he stood up and perched himself on the edge of her desk.

"You should be proud of her you know." He said, nodding his head towards a picture of Lindsey on the desk. She was dressed for her prom, her hair neatly swept back from her face, the blue of her dress bringing out the colour of her eyes perfectly.

"I am."

"She's a beautiful girl. Just like her mother." He grinned.

"Flattery Nick? Things must be bad if that's what you're having to resort to." She said playfully.

"Yeah well, I just wanted get that smile back on you're face and look, there it is." She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Nick I…" She sighed and shook her head, closing her eyes as she did so. "Thanks." He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He stood up and was about to leave when she spoke again and stopped him.

"You're right." He frowned, not sure what she meant by this. "If anyone should have mother who is proud of her its Lindsey. She didn't exactly have the greatest of upbringings." He sat back down again and watched her as she spoke deciding it was best to let her talk. "What with Eddie being the way he was, not to say that he wasn't a good father because he was, he just wasn't the greatest of husbands," She paused for a moment and ran her hand through her hair, pulling it back from her face. "Then with everything that happened to her the night he died… that was hard for her. It's a good job kids are pretty resilient huh?" He smiled at this but silently waited for her to continue. "But that just left me and my mum. And then Sam came along. He was good for her. I think I was just afraid to admit it at the time. I mean he wasn't exactly a model citizen. But he was her grandfather, and my father…" She felt her voice wavering and took a deep breath to try and control her emotions. "And then there was just me and my mum again and a lot of the time I wasn't even there. I had a big argument with Grissom once about not having enough time to spend with Lindsey, about not wanting to even work the night shift anymore. I'm not sure he really understood what all the fuss was about." She paused again and sighed. "But she turned out ok in the end, despite all of that." She shrugged. "I mean she has actually gone to college which I more than I can say I did."

"And look how you turned out." He said, sensing that she was only going to upset herself again if she continued that way she was. "You've got a great job, a house, a family and friends who really care about you."

"It just took me a job as an exotic dancer and an abusive husband who I loved far too much for my own good to get there." She said bitterly. "I just hope Lindsey learns from her mothers stupid mistakes."

"They weren't mistakes Catherine they were just…"

"Misguided decisions." She offered.

"Without which wouldn't have Lindsey in the first place." She looked up at with glistening tear filled eyes. "You did good Cath. Trust me." Her face softened into a shy smile. "Now, I know that I'm no real replacement for Lindsey, and Greg and Ray are not even close," She chuckled at this. "But how about we all go for breakfast after the shift?"

"I'd like that." She said.

"Good." He stood up again and smiled. "And anytime you want someone to walk Hank with, you know where I am right?"

"Right." She agreed.

"Good."

"Thank you Nick." He smiled and turned to leave again. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't ell the others about this." He turned back with a grin on his face.

"About what?" She smiled gratefully and nodded. "Now I believe we have a crime to solve."

"Want a hand?" He nodded and she followed him out. And even though they were retuning to their work, Nick already felt like he had done his job. Catherine was happy, and that was what really mattered.

So there you go. I would love to hear what you think, it will only take a few seconds and reviews make me smile :)