Title: Funeral
By: nancy
Pairing: Catherine/Sara
Rating: R
Series: Nothing Else To Do
Summary: The day of Edie's funeral confuses Catherine in more ways than one.

The day of Edie's funeral was brilliantly clear and blistering with heat. Sara groaned and wiped at a drizzle of sweat itching its way down the back of her neck. In deference to the solemnity of the occasion, even though she'd had no use for the man personally, she'd dressed in black slacks and a muted, burgundy blouse, the dark colors not helping with the heat whatsoever.

Stepping into the church provided some relief and she glanced around, quickly locating Catherine and Lindsey at the front. It was then that Sara noticed Gil and the guys sitting together in one of the pews towards the front. Gil caught her eye and nodded a greeting, which she returned before heading over to Catherine. For a long moment, she didn't think that Catherine was going to acknowledge her, and waited on pins and needles.

Then a welcoming smile graced the older woman's lips as she seemed to suddenly realize that Sara was standing there. Relief flooded through Sara as she saw that Catherine was just involved in her own little world and honestly pleased to see her, now that she'd come out for a breather. "Hey. You doing okay?"

Catherine nodded. "Yeah. Look, I want to thank you for staying over last night and listening to me talk for so long."

Smiling, Sara answered, "It was my pleasure, Cat, honest."

Lindsey tugged on Sara's shirt and stage-whispered, "Hi, Sara."

"Hey, Linds, how's my favorite girl?" Sara asked, putting a hand on the small shoulder and drawing the girl in for a hug.

Lindsey wrapped her arms around Sara's waist and didn't answer. Surprised, Sara looked to Catherine, who shrugged. Returning the hug, Sara bent over and whispered in the girl's ear, "What's wrong, Linds?"

"Daddy's gone."

The whisper was heartbreaking and Sara swallowed against the tightness in her throat. Walking backwards, she gently pried Lindsey's arms from around her and sat on a pew. Then she tugged the girl onto her lap and rested her chin on Lindsey's shoulder. "I know honey. And I know it hurts, but things're going to be fine, I promise."

Lindsey sniffled and turned into her, burying her face against Sara's throat and started crying. Helpless, Sara met Catherine's gaze and found the other woman with teary eyes. Then Gil approached and pulled the red-head into his arms, for which Sara was simultaneously grateful and jealous. She rocked Lindsey gently through the tears, murmuring soft, soothing words in the girl's ear.

Finally, Lindsey calmed down, but didn't move. As it was just in time for the funeral to start, Sara breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't great with emotions at all, never mind the grief of a little girl whose father had been murdered. Again feeling the guilt painfully sharp that she hadn't been able to make an arrest on the killer, Sara tightened her arms around Lindsey protectively.

* * * *

The wake was way more attended than Sara would have guessed. Though from the skinniness of most of the musicians and studio people present, she suspected, cynically, that they were there more for the free meal, than out of respect for Edie.

"You look like you're at a funeral or something."

Sara looked over at Warrick's soft comment and grinned. "No respect, man."

"Not for him, no," Warrick agreed easily. "He didn't deserve Cat or Lindsey."

Raising her glass, Sara said, "Truer words, my friend."

Warrick clinked his glass against hers and took a sip before asking, "So I understand, from a little birdie, that you and Cat had a pretty long 'shared moment' last night."

Sara's glare instantly located Gil from across the room as she muttered, "Someone needs to shoot that little birdie."

Laughing softly, Warrick soothed, "Easy now. He's just concerned is all and needed to talk. His team's pairing off and he doesn't want the boat to get rocked.

"Yeah, about that," Sara said, pinning the black man with a pointed look. "How long for you and Nick? Have I been seriously blind for a long time, or do you actually know the meaning of discrete?"

"Nice."

She snorted at his eye roll and prompted, "Well?"

"It's been…a while."

"Vague much?"

"I don't kiss and tell."

"Since when?"

"Hi guys."

They turned towards Catherine and she looked so tired and at wits' end that Sara gripped her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, really. It's just, all these people and I don't know any of them," Catherine answered with a sigh.

"You want me to get rid of them?" Warrick offered.

She shook her head and replied, "No, thanks Warrick. They'll leave soon enough on their own."

He nodded with, "I'm going to go hunt Nick down."

Smiling, Catherine said, "Thanks for everything, Warrick."

He pulled her into a tight, brief hug. "No problem. I'll see you two later."

Catherine watched him go then asked softly, "Am I imagining things, or are he and Nick...?"

Snorting, Sara answered, "Nope. You're not imagining things. I was trying to get details from him when you came over."

"Damn. We'll have to work out some kind of signal so I don't interrupt something so important again," Catherine teased.

Sara laughed, then covered her mouth in embarrassment. It wasn't really proper to be laughing at a wake. And how odd was it for her to be thinking that, the way that she'd been raised? Shaking her head mentally, she looked into Sara's mostly-relaxed gaze and felt something inside soften at the look. "Catherine, I..."

"Mom!"

They both jumped in surprise at the demand from Lindsey, and Sara bit back a curse at the interruption.

"What is it, Lindsey?" Catherine asked, running her hand over her daughter's head.

Pouting a little, Lindsey answered, "Can I get changed?"

With a smile, Catherine nodded and agreed, "Sure."

"Thanks, Mom!"

Sara watched her run out of the room, nimbly avoiding the adults, even the ones who tried to stop her to talk. "She's going to be hell on wheels in a few more years."

Snorting, Catherine commented, "She already is."

"Well, like mother, like daughter."

Given that Sara had just been going to say that, she couldn't help glaring at the newest interruption of someone she didn't even know. He was older and polished, handsome, looked like some kind of slick studio person and she took an instant dislike to him. To her surprise, Catherine smiled at the man and held out a hand.

"Ben, thanks for coming," Catherine greeted.

Ben smiled a bit sadly and took the hand, bringing it up to his lips. "I'm sorry we had to meet up again like this, Catherine."

"Me, too."

Sara blinked at the genuine regret in Catherine's voice and suddenly felt very much the outsider as her friend and the newcomer stared at each other a moment.

Then Catherine's gaze shifted back to Sara and she frowned slightly, as though just remembering her manners. "I'm sorry, Sara. Sara Sidle, this is Ben Marren. He was a good friend of ours for a long time."

Ours. Hers and Edie's. Just like the man hadn't been a complete and total bastard. No, of course not, he'd been Catherine's husband, and loyalty came first to Catherine. Forcing a smile, Sara took the outstretched hand and shook it briefly. "Good to meet you."

He nodded in return and said, "Same here. It's good to know Cathy has support in this awful time."

Cathy? Sara waited for the explosion, but Catherine only smiled at Ben. Stomach sinking, recognizing the look in her friend's eyes, Sara was now glad that Lindsey had stopped her from saying something too revealing a few minutes ago. Clearing her throat, Sara said, "Well, I'll um, I'll leave you two to catch up. Call me if you need anything, Catherine."

Catherine gripped her shoulder and smiled with, "Thanks, Sara, I appreciate everything you've done for me."

"No problem. That's what friends do, right?" Sara offered, choking back the scream that was threatening to get out.

"Right," Catherine agreed, her hand lingering a moment longer.

Sara nodded and walked away.

Gil intercepted her before she reached the door and asked softly, "You all right?"

"Fine," Sara assured him.

He eyed her for a long moment. "Heading home?"

"Yep. You?"

Gil shrugged and answered, "Probably. I just need to say goodbye to Catherine and Lindsey first."

"Good luck," Sara said, then cursed herself for the sharpness.

Looking across the room, Gil's gaze landed on Catherine still talking with Ben and he frowned. "Who's that?"

"Some studio guy. Old friend of Cat's and Edie's," Sara explained.

A thoughtful expression crossed Gil's face and he murmured, "Really."

"Really. Look, I'll see you tomorrow?"

He half smiled and nodded. "Bright and early. Drive safely."

Sara echoed the smile with, "Thanks. You, too."

She was out the door and halfway down the block before the blouse came off to reveal a tank-top. At the car, she kicked off the shoes and grabbed her sneakers from the back seat, tossing the shoes there in return. Getting in the car, Sara took a second to get calm, then pulled out into traffic, not looking at Cat's house as she drove by.

* * * *

Catherine wasn't so involved with catching up with Ben that she didn't notice the abruptness to Sara's departure. There was something going on with the younger woman, but damned if she could figure out what it was. She wasn't surprised when Gil came over shortly after his conference with Sara, and hoped that he could shed some light on the subject.

After introducing the two men, Catherine asked, "Ben, do you mind if I speak to Gil for a few minutes?"

"No, of course not. Actually, I should be going anyhow. Give me a call tomorrow and we can have a proper visit," Ben offered, pulling out a business card.

Smiling, Catherine agreed, "That sounds great, thanks."

Once he'd left, Gil asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm a little tired of people asking me that, but otherwise, I'm fine," Catherine answered, wry.

His eyebrows quirked in understanding as Gil agreed, "Probably heard that a hundred times today."

"Hundred and one."

He smiled briefly and observed neutrally, "Sara seemed upset when she left."

Catherine shrugged in agreement. "I know. Not sure why, though."

"Really," Gil observed, a faint twitch to his lips.

Frowning a bit, Catherine repeated, "Really. Why? Do you?"

Of course Gil knew. Gil knew everything, not that he was going to share with her, Catherine mused silently as the man scanned the gathering. Generally he liked to dole out knowledge like it was going out of style, but in this case, he was being deliberately cagey in his response.

"You should probably ask her."

Though irritated, Catherine smiled and confirmed, "I will."

Gil nodded. "Good. See you at work tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

He touched her shoulder and said softly, "I really am sorry, Cat. I know this is a hard thing to go through, even though Edie wasn't the husband or father he should've been. He was part of your life for a long time, and that means something in and of itself."

Touched by the words, Catherine smiled for real and covered his hand with her own, answering sincerely, "Thank you."

Awkward now, Gil said, "Take care. And call if you need anything."

"I will, thanks."

He gave her shoulder another squeeze, then left. She watched him go, her thoughts turning back to Sara. What did Gil know about the other woman that she didn't? As another sympathizer came up to her, Catherine silently made a note to figure out exactly what was going on.