--

Sara was absolutely riddled with nerves. She was back in her schoolgirl outfit and Catherine was in her teacher's suit, glasses and all, hidden behind the closed door of her office. Sara sat outside the door in a straight-backed wooden kitchen chair, messing with the hem of her skirt and scuffing her shoes on the carpet. She actually felt like she was outside the principal's office or something, even though she knew they were just playing. She had agreed to a caning, and they had set up a little scene they were going to indulge in. But she was still nervous. She had no idea what a caning felt like. Catherine had said it would sting like hell, but wouldn't give away any more than that.

So here she was, waiting to be called into Ms. Willows' office.

Catherine opened the door and cleared her throat, looking down at her student over the top of her wire-rimmed glasses. "Come in," she called, stepping back to allow Sara to shuffle into the office. She shut the door behind them and turned, giving Sara a stern look. "I hear you hit another student?"

Sara tried not to stare at her teacher, at how pretty and amazing she looked. She was in trouble, and she tried to remember that. But it was hard. Catherine was just so intoxicating, whether she was a student or a lover. Her nerves eventually won out, though, and she shifted her gaze to the floor. "Yes Ms. Willows."

"And are you sorry?"

"No Ms. Willows."

Catherine raised an eyebrow at that answer, not having expected it. "No?" she repeated, shaking her head at the delinquent girl. "You will be."

"I doubt that, Ms. Willows. I--"

"Be quiet young lady," Catherine snapped. "I can't believe you would do something like this. You know that violence is not allowed, we've discussed it before and you assured me you understood. This is a big deal, Miss Sidle, it's not like forgetting a homework assignment or even failing a test. You hit another student, and unfortunately the punishment for that is six strokes with a cane."

Sara's eyes widened, though she'd known that was coming, but even her student self was too proud to admit she was scared. "Fine," she said flatly. It hurt that her teacher didn't even ask why she'd hit that asshole, but she wasn't going to offer the information freely if Ms. Willows didn't even care.

"Bend over my desk and lower your panties to your knees."

Sara frowned at her, bending over the desk but making no move to do anything else. "You do it. You're the one that's going to hit me, just like you're telling me not to do. Don't you think that's a little bit hypocritical, Ms. Willows?"

Catherine ignored the petulance, flipping up Sara's skirt and dragging her panties down to her knees, enjoying the gasp of surprise from her little delinquent. "I should add another stroke for that but I doubt you'll be able to take the six you're already getting." She opened the top drawer of her desk and removed a sturdy rattan cane, inspecting it to make sure it was perfectly smooth before she would apply it to Sara's backside. Any imperfections could result in broken skin, and that was unacceptable, to Sara for sure, but to Catherine as well.

Satisfied with the implement's safety, Cat shut the desk drawer and walked around behind Sara once more, resting the thin rod against her cheeks. "This school does not allow bullying, young lady. And I personally find it disgraceful that you would engage in such behavior. I won't have my best student throwing away her future to get rough with some kids at school. You could be arrested for what you did... You're lucky your punishment won't be long-term." Of course, as soon as she started the punishment, she knew Sara would feel anything but lucky. Lady Heather had caned her during their first session together, just after she had finally allowed Catherine an orgasm. It was not something to take lightly, and she was honored that Sara trusted her enough to allow her to do it. "For the record, corporal punishment is quite different than schoolyard violence," she informed the sulking girl. And with that, she drew back the cane and let it swish forward, striping Sara's rear with an immediate and lovely welt.

For a split second, Sara didn't feel anything, and then she shot to her feet, giving a scream as her hands flew to protect herself from any further strokes. "FUCK! Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" she shouted, stomping her feet in an effort to relieve the lancing pain. Just when she thought it was about to start a downward arch, the sensation intensified, and she turned around to face Catherine, her eyes wide, her hands never leaving her backside. Finally the pain receded into a dull ache and she just kept staring at Catherine.

Catherine stared back, one eyebrow arched at the language. "Turn back around and bend over young lady, and get your hands out of the way," she said sternly.

Sara was shocked at the amount of pain that little rod could cause. "But Ms. Willows," she actually whined, her hands staying where they were. "I'm a good student. I just made a mistake... that hurts so bad, please don't treat me like I'm one of the bad kids!"

"You broke a boy's nose," Catherine said firmly. "Remove your hands from your backside and turn around, Miss Sidle. Do not make me ask you again."

Sara's lower lip trembled but she turned around, leaning over the desk and grabbing the other side. It wasn't fair. Ms. Willows still didn't ask her why she'd done it. "It's not fair," she found herself saying.

"Hush," Catherine scolded her, moving into place again and flicking the cane a few inches below the first mark. She landed a third blow in quick succession, not giving Sara time to react in between, then paused.

Sara hissed sharply at the second blow, and as the pain from that began a rising crescendo, her teacher hit her again, and the overlap of the strokes made her jump in surprise. She had expected a rhythm to this, just like when Catherine spanked her. Again she swore. "Fuck!!! God damnit Ms. Willows that HURTS!" Her voice was twisted with bittersweet emotions and she pounded her fists on the desk, tears pooling in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. It was so cathartic... an unexpected release. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but there was something freeing about it that she liked.

"Language!" Catherine reprimanded her, laying down the last three strokes one after another across the middle of Sara's behind and the tops of her thighs. She stood back and watched her student squirm and kick and pound the desk. Listened to her wail out her protests, then start sobbing over the desk.

Sara cried hard, loving the fact that Catherine continuously provided these outlets for her in different ways. She felt so... *good*, including her stinging, throbbing, well-punished backside and thighs. She was flying through headspace, feeling like she was invincible because Catherine would never let anyone hurt her. Catherine cared for her, and she showed it on a regular basis. She'd never had that growing up, and she didn't know how good it felt until she'd started on this journey of sorts with Cat.

Slipping back into role in her head, Sara choked out a confession through her tears. "I was defending you!"

Catherine's body went stiff, the cane deposited back into the desk drawer, and she looked down at her crying student. "What?"

"He was saying horrible things about you and I was defending you!" Sara explained. "He raised his fist to hit me so I hit him first!"

Damnit. Damnit! Catherine walked around the desk and pulled Sara's panties carefully back into place. "Why didn't you tell me that, Sara?" she asked, halfway between exasperation and regret.

"You didn't ask!" Sara cried, wincing as her panties were fitted over her tender skin. "You didn't care! You, you didn't even ask why I did it, or or or even IF I did it! You, you just pun-punished me like a bad kid!"

"Sara, honey, you're usually so forward about things, I was sure that if you had something to say to defend your actions, you'd say it. That's why I didn't ask. I always care, young lady. Always." She hesitated for a moment, then lowered Sara's skirt and said, "come here."

Sara sniffled and shook her head, remaining bent over the desk, not wanting to have to look her teacher in the eye.

"Honey come here," Catherine urged, resting a hand lightly on Sara's back.

Sara liked being called honey, but only by Ms. Willows. The hand on her back felt so nice; the type of touch she wanted from her teacher. She wanted to stand out, to be thought of as an adult, not just another stupid kid failing through the ranks. She wanted Ms. Willows to be proud of her, to respect her, to treat her like a peer. Being bent over that big wooden desk and punished like a child was not the way she wanted to be seen, not by the most amazing teacher in the world. And now she *felt* like a child, when she so badly wanted to be all grown up. Ms. Willows would never want to get to know her on that level now. She didn't move to comply with the request, but she didn't shrink away from the touch, either.

Catherine realized she was going to have to make more of an effort. "Sara, I don't think you're one of the bad kids. I'm sorry I didn't ask for your side of things before I punished you. I should have done that, you're absolutely right. Now please, come here? I want to give you a hug."

A hug? Sara had to contain herself to avoid moving *too* fast. She slowly pushed up off the desk and turned around, gasping softly as she was enveloped in her teacher's arms. It felt so *good*.

"I really wish you would have told me that he was going to hit you first," Catherine said as she held Sara close. "I wouldn't have caned you."

Sara blushed, wishing Ms. Willows wouldn't bring it up again. "It's okay, it's not that bad," she said bravely, even though it stung like hell.

"Don't be a tough girl," Catherine scolded, pulling back to tap Sara on the nose. "Go lay on the sofa, I'll get some aloe gel."

Sara squeaked, her eyes going wide. "Ms. Willows, noooo," she whined, pleading with her teacher not to do that. She didn't want any more attention brought to the punishment. And she did not want her underwear coming down again, so that Ms. Willows could put some kind of ointment on her ass like she was a baby that couldn't handle a little bit (a lot) of pain. She was-- crap, what age had she said last time? Oh yeah, twenty-one. She was twenty-one, not five. "Please don't, it's fine, I promise," she added imporingly.

Catherine regarded her for a long moment and then sighed. "All right," she acquiesced, shaking her head to indicate she disagreed but was willing to compromise.

They were both quiet for a minute before Catherine spoke up again.

"The next time you hear someone bad-mouthing me, stay away from them, or come tell me, okay? Don't try to resolve the situation by yourself."

"Okay," Sara nodded, staring at the floor.

"Out of curiosity, what was he saying about me?"

Brown eyes snapped up to look at her teacher. "He said you used to be a stripper."

A blonde eyebrow raised. "You didn't know that?"

"No, I did," Sara shook her head. "That's not all. He said that you... well, he said you're a whore that uh... that fucks everything on two legs, including Principal Grissom."

Catherine blinked. "What?"

Sara blushed, biting her lip as she looked at her teacher. "I couldn't let him say those things about you Ms. Willows."

Catherine gave Sara a soft smile and placed a hand under her chin, stroking back and forth with her thumb. "Why not?"

Sara bit her lip harder. "I just couldn't." She hoped her teacher stopped pushing, because she didn't want to have to confess the deeper reason. It was bad enough to have a crush on your teacher without having to make it known to said teacher.

Catherine let it go. "Okay. Maybe someday you can tell me, but for now I'll just say thank you for defending what little honor I have left," she said with a grin. "It means a lot to me."

"Really?" Sara asked, gaping up at Catherine in surprise. "It does?"

"Mhmm," Catherine nodded, stroking Sara's cheek and leaning down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. She hid a grin at the shiver that ran through her student's body. "Are you cold?"

"No Ms. Willows," Sara replied, another blush staining her cheeks.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sara shook her head firmly. Nothing was wrong, exactly. She just wanted something she couldn't have.

"Are you lying to me, little girl?" Catherine asked, lifting an eyebrow in warning.

"No Ms. Willows!" Sara said earnestly, her brown eyes wide. "I wouldn't lie to you. Nothing's wrong, I just..."

"You just what?"

Oh, great. Open your big mouth, Sidle. "I just want something I can't have. Can I-- can I go home now?"

Catherine thought about saying no, pushing the girl to open up, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Sara would come to her if and when she was ready to talk about it. "Yes, you can go home. I really wish you'd let me put some ointment on your welts, since it turned out you didn't deserve the punishment."

Sara shook her head back and forth several times with a gentle vehemence. "No, thank you Ms. Willows. If I need it I can do that myself."

"All right, you may go," Catherine said with a resigned nod.

Sara walked slowly to the door and left the office, waited a few seconds, then walked back in and up to her lover, putting her arms around the blonde's neck and resting her head on her shoulder. "Thank you, Cat," she whispered.

"You're welcome, baby," Catherine answered. "And thank you."

Sara brought her lips to Catherine's and kissed her softly. "It fucking hurts," she informed her now grinning lover. "I can't even believe how much it stings."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, I'm just communicating."

"Okay, well, *now* do you want some analgesic ointment?"

"I can do it myself," Sara said cheekily, sticking her tongue out at Catherine.

Catherine pulled back and pointed to the couch. "Go lay on the couch, Sidle. Underwear down, skirt up."

"Nuh uh."

"Now," Catherine said, threatening a smack with the position of her hand.

Sara mock glared at her, but finally acquiesced, marching over to the couch and pulling her panties down before laying on her stomach and flipping up her skirt.

Cat stared at the parallel lines crossing Sara's backside. The welts were reddish-purple and slightly raised, and she shivered at seeing them. The fact that Sara had allowed her to do that to her, well, it made Catherine's nerve endings come alive. "Be right back," she whispered, and left the room, heading for the bathroom. She rooted around in the medicine cabinet until she came up with some bacitracin with a pain relieving additive. She returned to Sara's side and squeezed some of the greasy ointment into one hand, then set down the tube and rubbed her hands together to warm it up before applying it to Sara's backside and thighs.

"Ow, ow!" Sara whined, squirming all over the place. "That's making it worse."

"I'm sorry," Catherine said, biting her lip to hold back her amusement at the squirming and whining. "It might hurt worse now but it'll help in a few minutes, I promise." Sara really was adorable. How had she not seen it all these years?

"Has it been a few minutes yet?" Sara grumped, though she did stop squirming.

Catherine couldn't help laughing at that as she put away the ointment and wiped her hands on a discarded pair of jeans in the corner of the office.

"Hey, Cat?"

"Yeah?" Catherine asked, walking back to Sara and sitting on the edge of the couch, sharing a cushion with Sara's hips and stomach.

"Tell me something embarrassing that you've never told anyone."

"Oh God, let me think," Cat rolled her eyes, trying to think of something she'd never shared before. There were plenty of embarrassing things, but most of them were public knowledge. "Oh, I know. I wet the bed until I was ten."

Sara blinked, turning her head to look back at Catherine. "You did?"

"Yep. My mother's therapist thought it was a ploy for attention, and in those days my mother couldn't really think for herself, so she didn't do anything about it, she just made me wash the sheets."

"That sucks," Sara offered, furrowing her brows in annoyance at Catherine's mother. Not that her own was a shining example of motherhood, but for some reason she had expected Catherine's to be better than that.

"Luckily I didn't really care at the time, as long as no one found out about it."

"Well that's good, I guess. Don't get any ideas, though. If you wet the bed with me sleeping in it, you'll be doing more than laundry."

"Ooh," Catherine wiggled her eyebrows. "Are you and your striped ass getting dominant with me?"

"Low blow, Willows," Sara said, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "Low blow."

Catherine snickered and slid a hand up under Sara's blouse, rubbing her back. "Out of curiosity, what would you do if I did? I won't, I swear. I just want to know what you'd do."

"Why do you want to know if you're not going to do it?" Sara asked suspiciously.

Catherine leaned down to kiss Sara's nose. "You never disappoint," she said with a smile. "I just want to know how you'd deal with something like that. I'm curious as to what your style of dominance would be."

"Well for starters you'd be sleeping on the floor," Sara said, crinkling her brows in distaste. "After you'd done the laundry and re-made the bed for me, of course."

"Of course. And?"

Sara thought for a minute. "And, you'd have to earn the privilege of sleeping in the bed with me again."

"How would I earn that privilege?"

"I don't know... cooking, cleaning, maybe writing an essay on how naughty you were and why you won't do it again."

"And if I ever did it again?"

"I'd probably spank you harder than I did that one time, and then I'd go home. You wouldn't get a third chance because you'd be doing something you know I wasn't okay with." She watched Catherine nod and process the information, and then her curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "what would *you* do?"

Cat grinned and shook her head. "I'd have you take the sheets off with your teeth, then I'd make you wear a diaper to bed," she laughed.

Sara turned bright red at that. It's not like she'd planned to get into the situation, but even hearing Catherine say that hypothetically made her flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I asked," she mumbled, squirming around on the couch. "Next subject."

"Okay, now you tell me something embarrassing that you've never told anyone."

Sara groaned. There was one thing that stood out in her mind, and she buried her face in the couch cushions for a minute to ready herself for the story. "All right. When I was at Harvard, I was the girl that never went to parties, was always studying, you know..."

"I'm shocked."

"Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Yes," Cat laughed.

"Okay. So, one night, my roommate finally convinced me to go to a party with her. I wasn't used to drinking, so a couple shots of whiskey and I was three sheets to the wind. I ended up sleeping with one of my professors."

Catherine raised an eyebrow, giving a little snort of disbelief. "How exactly is that embarrassing?"

Sara looked sheepishly up at her, then looked down at the floor. "He was in his late sixties. And he was married."

Catherine started laughing... she tried to stop when Sara smacked her on the arm, but it was hard.

"I'm not done yet," Sara grumped, resisting the urge to shove Catherine off the couch. "His wife caught us as I was frantically trying to find my clothes and get the hell out of there, and she filed a complaint with the Dean... he got fired and I got put on academic probation."

At that Catherine howled even harder with laughter, and Sara did push her off the couch. She landed on the floor with a grunt of pain, but was still too amused to stop laughing.

"Stop it!" Sara shrieked, on the verge of whining. "I didn't laugh at you!"

"Mine wasn't funny at all, it was just embarrassing!" Catherine defended herself. "Yours was funny!"

Sara had to admit that it was pretty funny, and she wasn't in a position to do anything about Catherine's laughter, anyway, with her ass on fire like it was. "Okay, okay, stop already," she grumbled, her lower lip sliding out in what she hoped was a cute little pout.

It was indeed cute, and Catherine leaned forward to capture Sara's mouth in a kiss. She had intended it to be short and sweet, but once she got a taste of Sara, she wanted more, as usual, and her tongue slipped between her lover's lips.

When Catherine pulled back, Sara leaned forward, unwilling to let the kiss end just yet. She couldn't believe they were here, like this, doing this, being like this with each other. Just a few months ago they were nothing but colleagues... now they were lovers. And not just in the purely physical sense. They didn't just have sex and go home... they spent time together. They kissed, like they were doing now. They spent time with Lindsey together. They shared secrets with each other. They... they cared about each other. Sara never would have expected something like this with Catherine, but now that she had it, she couldn't imagine going back to the way things used to be. And the thing that Catherine said next just solidified what Sara was thinking.

"Oh, can you pick Lindsey up from school tomorrow?"

"If I can sit to drive."

"Baby," Catherine teased.

Sara opened her mouth to protest, to ask if Cat would like to take a turn, but before she could say anything, she felt soft, warm lips on her welted skin, followed by Catherine's tongue. Suddenly words didn't seem so important right at the moment, and she moaned, dropping her forehead onto the arm of the sofa.

--

Lindsey got in the car and looked suspiciously at Sara, her arms crossed over her chest after she dropped her backpack on the floor of the back seat. "I forgot to be mad at you," she announced.

"What?" Sara asked, turning around to look at her. "For what?"

The little girl had an expression on her face that could rival one of Catherine's glares. "You went to Chuck E. Cheese with someone else and you made Mommy so sad."

Sara was incredibly confused for a few seconds until she figured out what Lindsey was talking about. And then her jaw dropped. It had been a few weeks since she'd gone on that blind date. She'd mostly forgotten about it. But this new piece of information just made her feel worse about accepting the stupid invitation in the first place. "I didn't mean to make her sad, Linds," she promised. "I won't do it again."

Lindsey stared her down for a good five seconds before asking, "you swear?"

"I swear," Sara nodded. "I don't ever want to make your Mommy sad. I care about her a lot."

Lindsey looked like she was almost going to let Sara off the hook. "She cares about you lots too. Don't make her cry okay?"

Catherine had cried? Holy shit. Holy. Shit. "I'll try not to, I promise," the brunette said in awe.

"Good," Lindsey said, and uncrossed her arms, her petulant expression fading, and she slipped easily back into being her bubbly self. "I gotta question. You're a grown-up, right?"

Sara grinned, and almost laughed at that, but managed to hold back and just nod. "Yeah... why?"

"How come Mommy gets to get you in trouble if you're a grown-up?"

Ohhhh, that was a bad question. How was she supposed to answer that? "Well, I think that even grown-ups need help to be good sometimes, don't you think?"

Lindsey chewed on that for a minute and then nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes even Mommy. Who gets her in trouble?"

No way Sara was going to tackle that one. "You'll have to ask her that, kiddo."

"Kay. Can we stop for ice cream?"

"We don't have time, we've got to get you home and dressed for your soccer game," Sara said as she turned a corner. "Maybe after the game though, if your mom says it's okay."

Lindsey pouted but nodded her assent, knowing that if Sara was saying no then it was for a really good reason. Because Sara didn't say no a lot. And Lindsey liked that. In fact, she just liked Sara. She loved it when Sara stayed over, and when her mom took them all out together. She wished Sara could live with them all the time. Maybe she would ask her mom.

--

It was pretty cold out, and Catherine was snuggled up to Sara as they sat in the bleachers watching Lindsey's soccer game. Lucky for her, Sara had worn her warm, fluffy black coat, and it hadn't taken much convincing to get her lover to share. She turned her head just in time to see Lindsey score a goal, and her hands shot to cover her ears. She had learned this afternoon that Sara was very loud when it came to sporting events, especially those involving Lindsey.

"YEAH! WHOO!" Sara screamed, jumping to her feet and whistling, clapping her hands and cheering for Lindsey. "That's my GIRL! YEAH!"

Lindsey loved it... it was her third goal tonight, and she thought Sara was so silly for screaming every time. She looked toward the stands and giggled at her mom... her mom looked embarrassed. Then she looked at Sara and waved happily. Maybe getting three goals would make her mom want to let them get ice cream after!

Sara waved back at Lindsey, whistling and yelling for another few seconds before she felt Catherine tugging on her jacket and she sat back down, wincing at the sharp pain it caused to yesterday's welts. "What?" she asked, looking innocently at Catherine.

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'what'? You're yelling like a crazy woman. You're embarrassing Lindsey."

"I'm not embarrassing Lindsey, I'm embarrassing you," Sara grinned. "Lindsey loves it. Didn't you see her laughing and waving? Oh, by the way, she wants to go for ice cream after the game. I told her she has to ask you."

Catherine resisted the urge to smother Sara with kisses, since they were in public after all, and settled for snuggling up again. "She really likes you."

Sara gave a lopsided smile, discretely kissing the top of Catherine's head. "I really like her too. And her mom. Have you seen that woman? Damn."

Catherine started laughing just as the buzzer sounded, ending the game. Her hands flew to her ears again, just in case Sara felt the urge to scream some more.

"Wooooo!" Sara shouted, clapping and getting to her feet again. "They won, Cat!" She saw Lindsey heading toward them and she rushed down the bleachers, wrapping the little girl up in her arms and swinging her around excitedly. "You were awesome!" she said proudly.

"Thanks!" Lindsey squealed, clinging to Sara tightly as she was spun around.

Catherine hurried down after Sara. She was proud of Lindsey too, she just didn't want to be the screaming mom that ended up banned from the games. "Wow baby, you did great!" she praised her daughter as she reached the spinning pair.

"Thanks Mommy! Can we go for ice cream, pleeeeeeeeease?"

Catherine was about to answer when one of the other mothers came bustling up to them, her lips drawn into a tight line. "Two women!" she said tartly, looking at them disapprovingly. "You're going straight to hell!"

Normally Catherine would just ignore stupid comments like that, but the hurt looks on both Lindsey's and Sara's faces compelled her to react. "And we might be able to get in, too, if your fat, ignorant ass wasn't blocking the way!" she hissed. And when the woman opened her mouth to respond, Catherine cut her off. "You had better think hard about what you're going to say next, because if you ever insult my family again, no one will find your body."

Lindsey didn't know exactly what that meant, but she was happy that her mom had stuck up for them. "Yeah!" she echoed. "Right Sara?"

Sara could barely breathe; she was amazed she was still standing, let alone able to continue to hold Lindsey. But she had to say something, or Lindsey might think she didn't agree. She cleared her throat and forced her voice to sound normal, cool even, as she narrowed her eyes at the woman and spoke quietly. "That's right... We're crime scene investigators, we know all the tricks." Oh, she definitely sounded serious. And scary. Even Catherine looked surprised. And just in case the lady wasn't quite scared enough, Sara put Lindsey down and put her hands on her hips, in just a way that pushed her jacket aside to reveal her service weapon.

The woman didn't bother to apologize before backing off, which suited Catherine just fine - she wouldn't have meant it anyway. She turned to Sara, knowing exactly what she'd just done, with a goofy grin on her face. "I was wondering if you were ever gonna flash your gun for me," she said softly.

Sara let her jacket fall back in front of her piece, and leaned in to kiss the tip of Catherine's nose. "I was just waiting for the right moment," she whispered back. "Now let's get this kid some ice cream."

--

They were laying in bed that night - they both had the night off - and just as Catherine was starting to doze, she felt Sara shift behind her. She was in tune enough with her lover's body language that she could tell it wasn't a 'getting comfortable' shift. She rolled onto her back, then to her other side so they faced each other. "What is it?" she asked sleepily, reaching out to attempt to stroke Sara's cheek. She wasn't fully alert, though, so she ended up stroking the pillow between them.

Sara's lips twitched into a grin, even as her eyes widened slightly. "How do you always know what I need?" she whispered, leaning forward to capture Catherine's lips in a long, soft kiss.

"Mmm, I just know you," Catherine sighed, nuzzling happily into the kiss. "Now what is it?"

"Nothing bad," Sara assured her. "You called me your family today."

Catherine wiggled closer and threw an arm across her lover, then tangled one of her legs between Sara's. "You are," she murmured, and before either of them could say anything else, she was asleep.

Sara almost laughed at how easy it was for Cat to fall asleep. If only it were that easy for her, too. She wasn't complaining, though, because at least for the past month or so she'd been able to actually sleep at Catherine's house, and that was a huge improvement for her. Right at the moment, however, sleep wasn't coming. Her mind was too busy racing with the fact that Catherine thought of her as family.

--

"Do you want to come with me? I can call my mother to take Lindsey to school..."

"No, I can't. I'm not ready. I-- don't know if I'll ever be ready for that," Sara said a bit sadly.

"It's okay baby," Catherine assured her quickly, pulling her into a hug. "Even if you're never ready, that's okay with me. I love you just the way you are."

Sara held her breath, feeling the walls closing in on her as they stood in Catherine's foyer. There was that word again, the word that made her feel like she was drowning. It was the second time Catherine had let it slip casually like that, but Sara couldn't say it back, or even acknowledge that Cat had said it at all. "Go, you don't want to be late," she choked out, forcing a smile.

Catherine didn't mean to say it, but she *did* feel it, so it came out on occasion. She knew Sara didn't want to hear it, and she cringed when she heard herself say it, but luckily Sara didn't seem to notice. "Okay," she nodded. "I'll see you tonight."

"Will you be back here before shift, or should I just drive myself in?"

"I'll be back before shift. Way before then. I should only be an hour or two, actually."

"Oh, okay. I think I'll try to take a nap. I didn't sleep too well last night."

"Aww, baby, I'm sorry," Catherine pouted, moving in for a kiss. "You should've woken me up."

Sara kissed her back, delighting in the taste of her lover's lips, and allowed the kiss to linger for a long while before she pulled away and reminded Catherine that she needed to get going.

Catherine reluctantly let go and headed to the car, missing Sara already.

--

Heather answered the door in a black vinyl catsuit, and Catherine's jaw dropped.

"Hello, Kitty Cat," the dominatrix purred, stepping aside to allow Catherine in. "You're late."

Catherine continued staring as she moved into the dominion, closing the door behind her. "I'm sorry... it was a little hard to leave," she blushed.

"Someone at home distracting you, I presume?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow as she led the way upstairs, a tiny smirk pulling at one corner of her mouth.

"Oh yeah," Catherine agreed with a grin. As they reached Heather's bedroom, she took off her coat and draped it over an armchair in the corner, then stood with her hands clasped behind her back, waiting for Heather to instruct her. She wasn't going to make the mistake of being cavalier with the Lady, not a second time. Once was more than enough of a reminder to stay well-behaved in Heather's presence.

"Very good," Heather praised her, gliding across the room to stand behind the blonde. "Remove your shirt and bra."

"Yes, Lady Heather." Catherine complied, her fingers shaking only slightly as she folded her clothing and set it on the chair, then resumed her previous position.

"I am going to flog you first, and when I am finished, we will be joined by Mistress Jazmyne, who will instruct you in the art."

Catherine's eyes flew open wide and she couldn't help snapping her head around to look at Heather. "Who am I learning on, then?"

Heather gently took Catherine's face in her hands and guided her head back around. "Me," she said simply. "Now, go take your place on the wall."

Catherine knew better than to argue, even though a thousand questions were flying around in her head now. Why did Heather want to offer herself up? Why not a submissive? Why bring in another Mistress to show her how to do it? But, she obeyed the command without hesitation, stepping up to the wall and placing her palms flat against it. "Yes, Lady Heather."

"Good girl, Kitty Cat," Heather whispered, close to Catherine's ear. "I see you still know how to listen."

Catherine took the flogging very well, enjoying how the leather falls felt against her back and shoulders. Heather didn't hit her hard - in fact, it felt almost like a massage. When it was finished, she was allowed to put her bra and blouse back on, and instructed to sit on the bed and wait for Mistress Jazmyne while Heather went to change.

She had only been sitting for about thirty seconds when the door opened and a woman she assumed to be Mistress Jazmyne entered the room. And she really *entered* the room. What a presence. Flame-red hair and dark green eyes, tall, lithe body, clad in a shimmery, skin-tight black dress and thigh-high leather boots. Wow. "You must b--"

"Quiet," the redhead snapped, her eyes boring into Catherine. "Speak when you're told to."

Well that was certainly different than Heather's style of dominance, but Catherine was here to learn, so she merely nodded in response.

"On your knees," Jazmyne ordered then, pointing to the floor in front of her.

Catherine didn't like that one bit, but she started to move anyway when the door cracked open and Heather poked her head in. "Jazmyne," she said quietly, her voice clearly tinged with amusement. "I know she's hard to resist, but you're teaching her how to use a flogger, not how to be submissive."

Jazmyne sighed, her lips pulled into a tight line, and she stared at Heather for a moment before giving an almost imperceptible nod of her head.

"Thank you," Heather said in a sing-song voice, and the door closed again.

Catherine wasn't sure what to expect now, but she had to admit she was curious. She eyed the redhead carefully, not wanting to be caught staring.

"All right," Jazmyne said, her voice not having changed very much at all. "Go get a flogger from the closet."

Cat nodded and went into the closet, but when she went to grab a flogger, there were quite a few to choose from, and they all looked different. "Which one?"

"If you don't know which one, I'm not going to tell you," came the snippy response.

Catherine was getting tired of it now... this wasn't dominance, this was attitude. She snatched one of the floggers from its hook and marched back out into the bedroom, pointing the handle end at the other woman. "Isn't that what you're here for? To tell me?" she snapped back. "If you don't actually want to teach me, then turn around and get the fuck out. I'm not your slave, nor will I ever be, and if the attitude continues I'm going to drop this flogger and just straight up kick your ass, you got that? You're being rude to me for no reason, and that doesn't make you ultra-dominant, it just makes you a bitch."

Jazmyne raised her hand to slap Catherine across the face, but Cat saw it coming and caught her wrist, squeezing hard. She held on for as long as it would take, as they just stared at each other. Finally Jazmyne twisted free, took the flogger from Catherine, and went into the closet. She came back out a few minutes later with two different ones, and held one out.

Catherine took it without a word, though she did lift an eyebrow in question.

Jazmyne twirled her flogger in the air, then showed Catherine how to hold it. "The grip is important, so you don't lose hold of it or put too much strain on your wrist."

Catherine nodded, copying the redhead's hold, twirling the implement in the air a few times to get comfortable with it. "Like this?"

Jazmyne looked over, then put a hand over Catherine's, presumably to see how tightly she was holding it, and nodded. "Now, aiming. You always want to get going in the air before you even hit your target, and move in slowly, so you can see where your tails are falling before you actually connect."

"Start back, move in slow," Catherine repeated, thinking that made sense.

"Try it, with that pillow as your target," the redhead then decided, pointing to the throw pillow at the head of Heather's bed. "And when you're swinging, just use your wrist. Keep your elbow close to your body, don't swing your whole arm, and just flick it like this." She gave an example, connecting with the middle of the pillow, then moved out of the way and watched as Catherine tried it.

About fifteen minutes later, Jazmyne was satisfied enough for Catherine to get started on the Lady of the house. She went to the door and opened it, and a few seconds later Heather walked in.

Catherine's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw what Heather was wearing. Or rather, not wearing. She looked like... she looked... well, she looked submissive. It was throwing Cat for a loop. She had never seen Heather even remotely dressed or postured like this. She wore nothing above the waist, save for a hair tie that held her hair in a ponytail. Her bottom half was covered by a sheer blue skirt that matched her eyes, and Catherine could see a gold thong underneath. The Lady's head was bowed slightly and her hands were behind her back.

Was Cat supposed to order her around? Was she supposed to actually top Lady Heather? Apparently she was, because Jazmyne wasn't saying or doing anything, and Heather was just standing there. Maybe this was a test of how well she could dominate. Well, she'd give it her all, even though she was unprepared. She stepped up to Heather and ran her fingertips down the Lady's arm, grinning a bit at the shiver that ran through her, and the goosebumps that raised on her skin. She leaned in to whisper in Heather's ear. "Go stand at the wall and put your hands on it to steady yourself."

"Yes Mistress Catherine," Heather whispered smoothly, moving instantly to comply.

Catherine stood staring after her, her knees a little weak, wondering where in the hell 'Mistress Catherine' came from. She shot a questioning look to Jazmyne, and to her surprise the fiery redhead stepped closer and explained in a hushed voice. "Clients will most likely want to call you that. Treat her as you would treat a client."

That made a little more sense, but Catherine still needed a minute to collect herself. Mistress wasn't a title to be used lightly, at least not in her mind. It was a title that should be hard-earned, not just given indiscriminately. "What if I don't want clients to call me that?" she whispered.

"Tell them what to call you, then," Jazmyne replied with a shrug.

Well that was easy. She nodded to Jazmyne and stepped up to Heather, who was waiting patiently in the position Catherine requested. "You may call me Ma'am," she informed the half naked woman. "Not Mistress."

"Yes Ma'am," Heather rumbled quietly. Catherine's breath on the back of her neck was torture, but she didn't move a muscle. So far, the CSI was doing good. If Catherine did well enough that she didn't have to break role, then she'd allow the blonde to start taking on some of the milder clients.

Yeah, Ma'am sounded much better.

--

"Guess what?" Catherine announced as she closed the door behind her and found Sara in the living room reading a book.

Sara looked up and quickly hid the book between the couch cushions, her face flushing lightly. "What?" she asked curiously. "How'd it go?"

Catherine grinned and flopped down on the sofa next to her lover. She paused for effect, and then spilled excitedly, "Lady Heather said I can start seeing clients whenever I'm ready."

"Wow," Sara said, clearly impressed, a slow grin forming to show the gap in her teeth. "You must've been a quick learner."

Cat leaned in and stoke a quick kiss, then beamed as she nodded. "She said I handled her better than any of her previous trainees."

Sara's heart skipped a beat, and her throat was suddenly dry. She hoped she'd heard that wrong. Catherine had played with Lady Heather? "W-what?" she squeaked, getting that 'walls closing in' feeling for the second time that day, anger starting to bubble up in her chest.

Cat blinked, her eyes widening as she stared at Sara. "What do you mean, what? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I thought you were going to learn on one of her submissives..." She was trying not to overreact. Really.

"That's what I thought, too, but she had other plans." Now she was nervous. Sara seemed agitated... maybe even jealous. Was that possible? Sara being jealous of Lady Heather? "What's going on, baby?"

"You know how I feel about her," Sara snapped, getting to her feet and folding her arms across her chest. "You asked if it was okay with me to learn on one of her submissives. I said yes. You never asked how I felt about you learning on *her*!"

That was definitely jealousy flaring up, but Catherine had no idea what to do about it. Sara wouldn't admit to loving her, so how could she even approach the subject without scaring her off? "Sara, it's not like I fucked her, I just whipped her," she tried.

"Oh come on, Catherine. Why wouldn't you fuck her? She's perfect!" Sara shouted, her anger finally breaking loose with a vengeance.

"I didn't!" Catherine shouted back, feeling the inexplicable sting of tears behind her wide blue eyes. "Sara, I didn't!" She was desperate for Sara to believe her. It's not like they were even officially together, but it was important to her that Sara believed her. She hadn't slept with Heather, not since the first time she'd slept with Sara.

"Oh who fucking cares, it doesn't even matter," Sara waved a hand dismissively. "Just tell me my feelings really matter and then go whore yourself to that bitch anyway."

Well that was it. The tears spilled over, and Catherine pointed toward the door. "Get out."

Sara didn't waste any time arguing, she just walked calmly to the door and left. Basically on auto-pilot she got into her car and drove back to her apartment, not even aware of her own tears until she felt the dampness trailing down her cheeks. She had just royally fucked up something good.

--

Catherine waited for the phone to ring. It didn't. She stopped waiting after a day or so, and when the realization finally set in that she'd kicked Sara out and Sara wasn't going to try to come back, she felt sick. Breakfast threatened to come back up and she grabbed the phone, calling out of work. Gil was worried, but she didn't want to explain what had happened, and he respected her decision, always the good friend and compassionate boss.

To top things off, Lindsey came in and asked where Sara was. "She left," Catherine answered bitterly, as much as she tried to keep her voice neutral for Lindsey's sake.

"When's she gonna be back? She was s'posed to take me to school today."

"Well she's not going to, I'm sorry Linds... I'll take you to school if you want."

Lindsey squished up her face. "No, I want Sara to take me."

"Lindsey please. Sara's gone, she can't take you to school. Do you want me to drive you, or do you want to take the bus?" Catherine hated the disappointed look on her daughter's face, but she wasn't in a position to fix it right now. She was hurting just as much. Waking up without Sara in her bed was awful.

Lindsey got the picture. Sara had made her mommy sad again, after she promised not to. The little girl crawled up onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her mom, kissing her cheek. "It's okay, I'll take the bus," she whispered. "I'm sorry Mommy."

"It's not your fault, baby," Catherine choked out, stroking her daughter's hair, and not for the first time, she was amazed at Lindsey's insight. "I love you."

"Love you too Mommy. I gotta go if I'm taking the bus, cause it's gonna be here soon." She scrambled down from the bed and picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she blew her mom a kiss and headed out front to wait for the school bus.

--

Sara had the hangover from hell. She'd drunk herself stupid after leaving Catherine's place, and pretty much stayed that way all afternoon and night, and all the next day. Now it was time to get ready for shift, and she glared at herself in the bathroom mirror, rummaging in the cabinet until she found a bottle of ibuprofen.

Popping four of the pills with a ridiculously large glass of water, she then jumped into the shower and let the hot water wash away the chill in her bones. Even drunk, it still hurt to be without Catherine. And waking up without her was harder than Sara ever would have expected. How had this happened to them? She certainly hadn't seen it coming. Had Catherine seen it? They had started out with spankings and sex, which developed into more and more time spent together for spankings and sex, which developed into more and more time spent together for other things too, which developed into... addiction. Fuck. She couldn't even say 'love' inside her head.

--

"Work or home?" the bus driver asked Lindsey as she got on after school.

Lindsey knew her mom wasn't at work, but she had some stuff to say to Sara. "Work," she said happily, skipping down the aisle and sitting next to her best friend.

"You said your mom didn't go to work today," Emma whispered, her eyes wide.

"I wanna talk to Sara," Lindsey explained. She had told Emma all about how Sara was supposed to take her to school and she didn't, and how she had promised not to make her mom sad and she did.

"Is your mom gay?" Emma asked as the bus started moving.

Lindsey giggled. She sort of knew what that meant. "Like kissing girls?" she asked. "I dunno."

"Does she kiss Sara?"

Another giggle. "I hope so."

Emma giggled too now, and nodded her head. "You want her to be your other mom?"

"Oh yeah she's so fun she barely ever says no and she plays with me and she's really smart and soooo funny," Lindsey rushed all in one breath.

Emma burst into laughter, kicking her feet against the seat in front of them. "Well good luck and stuff!" she squealed.

"Thanks," Lindsey said, finding the laughter to be contagious, and soon they were both doubled over, while not even remembering what was so funny to begin with.

--

Sara was just going through the motions, waiting for shift to be over so she could drink herself back to sleep, when she saw Lindsey trudging through the lab toward her, a distinctly displeased look on her face. She thought about hiding in the broom closet, but it was too late, Linds was already standing in front of her by the time she got the idea.

"You promised," the little girl said angrily, folding her arms across her chest, her eyes slightly narrowed. "You *promised* not to make Mommy sad again, but you did!"

"Uh!" Sara protested, her jaw dropping at the accusation. The fact that Lindsey was six and a half didn't occur to her as she argued back. "She made me sad first! It's her fault this time," she insisted.

Lindsey stared at the supposed grown-up for a minute before asking sharply, "do ya *hear* yourself?"

Sara sighed, dropping to Lindsey's height, taking a slow breath before continuing. "Linds, she--" How was the best way to explain things to Lindsey? "She went to Chuck E. Cheese with someone else," she finally said.

Lindsey's mouth fell into a perfect 'o', and she stood there processing the information for a good thirty seconds. "She did?"

"Yeah. And it wouldn't be a big deal, but I..." But what? Tell the truth, Sidle. "But I'm really jealous of the person she went with. I said it was okay for her to go with someone else, but I didn't say it was okay to go with Lady Heather."

"Who's that?" Lindsey scrunched up her face. "That's a silly name."

Sara blinked, realizing she'd just given information to Lindsey that was not age-appropriate. "Well, sometimes grown-ups are silly," she tried to cover somewhat. "Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so upset with your mom, but she should have asked me before she went with L-- with Heather."

Lindsey nodded, just as Warrick came into the room, and she looked at him with a huge smile. "Warrick!"

"Heeeeey," Warrick said, wondering why Lindsey was at the lab. Catherine had called out sick. Maybe she had stopped by to get something? "How are you doin, baby girl? Where's your mommy?"

"She's at home," Lindsey said. "Cuh-RYING..." She shot a look at Sara, which Sara returned full force.

"Not my fault," Sara muttered under her breath, turning away to look in one of the microscopes.

"Shouldn't you be at home then?" Warrick asked, scooping Lindsey up and sitting her easily on his shoulders.

Lindsey squealed and laughed, getting settled and trying to keep her balance. The backpack she was wearing kind of threw off her center of gravity. "I want Sara to give me a ride home."

Warrick saw Sara tense up at that, and he quickly intervened, shaking his head. "Nuh uh baby girl, you're mine," he announced. "I'll take you home now. I hope your mom's not worrying about you."

Sara gave him a grateful look, and when Lindsey wasn't watching she mouthed 'I owe you'.

Warrick mouthed back 'damn straight', but his grin gave him away as he swung Lindsey down from his shoulders and set her on her feet, ushering her out the door.

"Bye Sara," the little girl called, waving as she walked out with Warrick.

--

"I gotta have a talk with my mom," Lindsey told Warrick when he offered to come inside. "She's in big trouble."

Warrick hid his smirk, and nodded gravely. "Of course. You show her who's boss," he said seriously.

"I will," Lindsey assured him, leaning up to kiss his cheek and then hopping out of the car. She got out her key and let herself in, then dropped her backpack and marched off in search of her mother. "MOM!" she called through the house, leaving no doubt as to the fact she was not in any way pleased.

"In my room baby, what's wrong?" Catherine called back. Warrick had texted her that he was bringing Lindsey home, and she hadn't thought much of it. Sometimes the bus driver dropped her off at the lab on Cat's days off, so she was used to it once in awhile.

Lindsey marched into her mom's room with her hands on her hips, her best scolding expression set on her face. "Who gets to spank you when you're in trouble?" she asked without preamble.

Catherine had just taken a sip of water, and choked on it at hearing that. "What?!"

The little girl stared at her mother. "You need a spanking, Mommy," she declared. "Sara said you went to Chuck E. Cheese with Lady Heather, and you made her upset!"

Catherine choked again, this time on a breath of air, and when she'd stopped wheezing long enough, she stared at Lindsey. Sara had mentioned Lady Heather to a six and a half year old child?! "What do you know about Lady Heather?" she asked.

"Just that she has a silly name and Sara is jealous of her. But mom that's not the point! You're in big trouble and I need to use the phone."

Okay. Apparently Heather had been mentioned by name only, not by activity. Catherine could live with that. "Who are you calling?"

Lindsey picked up the cordless phone from her mom's night table and sat on the edge of the bed. "Whoever gets you in trouble when you forget how to be good," she said, as if it should have been obvious.

"Lindsey, that's enough," Catherine said firmly, taking the phone from her daughter and placing it back in the cradle. "You don't decide when I'm in trouble. I'm the mom and you're the kid, and I really don't like that."

Tears filled Lindsey's eyes and her voice was shaky when she spoke. "But Mommy, you made Sara go away," she whispered. "She's my friend and I want--her to--be my mom too." A few crocodile tears slipped out the corners of her eyes and trailed down her cheeks as she stared at her hands, which were now fumbling with the hem of her shirt.

Catherine's jaw dropped, and she sat looking at Lindsey in awe for a good few minutes before finally finding her voice. "You want her to what?" she breathed.

"If you and Sara kiss each other, she can be my mom too," Lindsey said quietly, still not looking up from her hands. "Cause if you're gay with Sara I can have two mommies, instead of a mommy and a daddy."

When had she fallen asleep and woken up in the twilight zone? Her daughter, in first grade for God's sake, was explaining the ins and outs of being gay! "Honey I know what being gay is," she said carefully, not wanting to get Lindsey's hopes up about having Sara as a mom. "But I don't think--"

Lindsey burst into tears and ran from the room, and Catherine heard her door shut a few seconds later. Oh boy. She hadn't thought about what would happen if Lindsey figured out that she and Sara were sort of dating. Hell, she hadn't expected her daughter to even know about things like this! And now she was in a fucking mess, one at least halfway caused by Sara, and she had to get out of it on her own. What could she possibly say to Lindsey to make her feel better?

--

Days and nights just dragged on without Catherine. Sara tried to fill the void with booze and sex, but Catherine had ruined her for anyone else. She couldn't get off, hell she wouldn't really even let any of the men or women touch her other than to go directly inside her, and she certainly didn't get naked for any of them. Matter of fact, Catherine was the only person she'd ever willingly gotten naked for in her adult life. She missed being able to feel that free, that safe, that... that loved. Her nights were spent having meaningless sex and then sneaking out to go home and touch herself, all the while remembering how it felt when Catherine touched her.

The raven-haired waitress she'd gone home with that night stirred as she slipped out of bed, and she cringed, waiting for the dreaded 'where are you going?' question. But to her surprise, that was not what the woman said.

"That was the best fucking I've had in a long time... I can only imagine what it's like when you make love. Whoever she is, she's luckier than she knows."

Sara pulled on her boots and shot an angry look at the waitress. "What is it about me that screams 'please, analyze me until there's nothing left'?" she snapped, wishing she smoked so she could light up and diffuse some of the tension in the room. Or maybe the tension wasn't in the room, it was just in her.

"I don't know," the waitress smirked, but not in a malicious way. "Could be the name 'Catherine' tattooed down your back."

Sara hadn't taken her clothes off, but when they were moving around, things did get jostled and shoved aside. It would have been hard to miss.

"Yeah, well, that's over," she said bitterly. "I fucked that up." Then she said the same thing to the waitress that she'd said to Greg. "And the tattoo isn't what you think."

"What is it, then?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because you picked me up at the place I work, came home with me, fucked the hell out of me, barely let me return the favor, and now you're leaving."

Well now that was her MO thrown in her face, for sure. Accepting defeat, she ran a hand over her face and sighed. "It's covering something I don't want."

"And I'm sure that the name 'Catherine' was all that was available, so that explains that," the waitress snarked, grinning at her.

"That's exactly what happened," Sara shot back sarcastically, in mortal danger of enjoying the woman's company. She *really* needed to leave. "I have to go."

"I know."

None of the women over the past few weeks had ever woken up when she was trying to leave, and now she felt bad. "Look, you're really beautiful, actually you're just, you're really, really hot, and clearly smart enough to have me pegged, but yeah. You're right. I'm in love with Catherine." Holy hell fuck, she'd finally admitted it. And out loud, even! *Way to go, Sidle. Too bad you couldn't have figured that out before you put a firecracker between the two of you and lit it.*

--

Catherine had thrown herself into learning her new trade. None of the girls she played with got her pulse racing like Sara did, though. They were well-behaved and very responsive, but they just weren't Sara. Spanking them didn't make her dripping wet and aching to be touched. Even fucking them didn't get her going, and she never allowed them to touch her at all. It quickly became known around the dominion that if you wanted to play with Ms. Catherine, you kept your hands and mouth to yourself.

As for clients, Catherine hadn't felt comfortable enough to see any yet. She actually wasn't sure if she wanted to at all, but she wasn't going to make any rushed decisions on the matter. She'd keep playing in her personal life, and could always go professional if she wanted.

The lab Valentine's Day party was coming up on Friday, and when she'd mentioned it to Lady Heather yesterday she'd said she wasn't going. Or at least that she really didn't want to go. And apparently Jazmyne had heard that conversation, because she had just offered to go to the party as Catherine's date.

"What?" Cat was shocked. Especially considering how Jazmyne had behaved when they met.

"I, want, to be, your date, for the Valentine's Day party," Jazmyne repeated, pausing between every few words as if she were speaking to a child that hadn't been listening.

Catherine was still shocked. "Why?" she blurted out, unable to grasp the fact that Mistress Jazmyne was asking her out on a date. To her own lab's party, no less.

"Because you don't have a date. How are you going to make her jealous if you don't have a date?"

--

Even though there was really no reason to, Sara put on a little red dress that she knew Catherine would love. It had been a month or so since they'd stopped seeing each other, stopped speaking to each other, but Sara still thought of her every day.

Greg was going to be her designated driver, so she could get sloshingly drunk and make an ass out of herself in front of her colleagues, so when she heard the knock, she picked up her purse for the evening, made sure she had everything she needed in it, and joined him.

When they arrived at the lab and Greg had parked, Sara just sat there, remembering when she didn't want to get out of the car at the halloween party. She had worn Catherine's collar that night. Tears stung her eyes and she looked at Greg, in a rare moment of vulnerability. "Do you think she misses me at all?" she whispered. "Or do you think it was just a game to her?"

Greg looked at his friend, trying not to appear as utterly shocked as he was. Sara never asked him things like that. She never talked about feelings or personal stuff. It was weird. But not bad weird. "The way I hear it, she said I love you, and you never said it back. That doesn't sound like a game to me."

Sara was about to ask how the hell he knew that, but she remembered having mentioned it during one of her more intoxicated moments a couple weeks back, so she just sighed.

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Love her."

She never would have admitted it if she hadn't been feeling so low without Catherine, but she gave a slow nod of her head. "Yeah."

"You gotta tell her, Sara."

"It's too late now."

"The Sara I know wouldn't say that."

"Well the Sara you know is a fucking idiot, she went and fucked up the best thing she'd ever had!"

"It takes two to fuck something up. But it only takes one to fix it," Greg said wisely.

Sara frowned at him, as if wondering when he'd become so worldly. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Tell her you love her."

"I can't just walk up to her and say that."

"So... find a better way to do it, then."

"Why are you being so reasonable?" she half snapped, half whined.

"Because somebody's gotta do it," Greg grinned, ducking out of the car before she'd have a chance to hit him. "Although it's hard to be reasonable with you in that dress."

Sara grinned, shaking her head slowly as she got out of the car, making sure the door was locked before she shut it behind her.

When she walked through the doors, she stopped in her tracks. Catherine was there already, and she was with a tall, gorgeous redhead. Her first instinct was to turn around and leave, but she couldn't. If she didn't tell Catherine how she felt right now, she'd never do it, and she'd always wonder what could have been. She didn't know how they'd ended up loving each other, but there was no denying that it had happened. And there was no denying that she missed Catherine more than she could even understand. She was going to swallow her damned pride and fight for what she wanted. For who she wanted.

She handed Greg her purse and headed toward the makeshift stage and the band that Ecklie had hired for the party, and after a few minutes of discussion with the guitarist, she was given the mic and allowed on stage. Without stopping for introductions of any sort, she launched right into song, because if she didn't start singing now, she'd lose her nerve. When the first words left her lips, the guitarist started playing along, and the soft sounds of Eric Clapton filtered through the room.

"It's late in the evening...

She's wondering what clothes to wear...

She puts on her make up...

And brushes her long blonde hair...

And then she asks me...

Do I look all right?

And I say yes, you look wonderful tonight."

Catherine snapped her head up as soon as she heard Sara's voice, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly open when she saw her. God, she looked incredible. She looked fucking amazing. And she was singing? Catherine had never heard her sing, other than mumbling a tune while she worked, but Sara's voice was beautiful. And when she saw brown eyes staring at her, she realized Sara wasn't just singing... she was singing to *her*. And it took her breath away.

"We go to a party...

And everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady...

That's walking around with me.

And then she asks me...

Do you feel alright?

And I say yes, I feel wonderful tonight."

Sara watched Catherine, though she knew everyone's eyes were on her. The only set she cared about right now was the pair of wide blue ones glistening with tears. Catherine had moved away from her date, closer to the stage, and even from several feet away, Sara could see her trembling.

"I feel wonderful, because I see

The love light in your eyes...

And the wonder... of it all.. is that you just don't realize...

How much I love you."

She let the song end there, setting the microphone back in its cradle before descending the stairs to stand in front of Catherine, who now had tears streaming down her cheeks. She took Cat's hands in hers, and finding no resistance, she whispered, "I love you, Catherine. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

Catherine squeezed Sara's hands, trying to find words that would do this moment justice. There were none, so she slipped her hands out of Sara's, grabbed her face, and kissed her.

Everyone who had been staring in shock now found something else to do, except Greg. He'd helped get that going, he deserved to be able to watch the fruits of his labor! Plus, he was holding Sara's purse. He needed to know when she wanted it back. It only made sense to be looking at her.

When she finally pulled back, Catherine kept her hands on Sara's face, stroking her cheeks as she spoke in a whisper. "You already know this, but I'll say it anyway, I love you too..." She slowly let her hands fall back to her sides, unable to stop the trembling in her entire body. "I'm sorry about Lady Heather. I should have asked you... I just didn't think to do it because the thought of sleeping with her, or anyone else, never even crossed my mind."

"I know," Sara nodded. "I mean I didn't know. But I should have known," she stumbled a bit over her words. "I'm sorry for what I said to you. I didn't mean it, I was just... caught off guard, and I know that's no excuse, but--"

Catherine silenced her with another kiss, this one less desperate and more loving. Her hands went to rest on Sara's waist, and as the band got going again, she started moving her hips with the music. "Dance with me," she requested, and a huge grin broke out on her face when she felt Sara's hips start to move beneath her hands. "I expected you to say you don't dance."

Sara leaned close and nibbled Catherine's ear, whispering into it. "There are a few things I don't do for anyone but you."

Catherine melted a little, and decided that dancing could wait. "Take me home."

--

"Is Lindsey here?" Sara asked as she stepped into the foyer after Catherine and closed the door behind her, clicking the lock into place.

"Sure Sara," Catherine smirked. "Six and a half is old enough to be left home alone."

Sara growled. "Now who's the smart-ass?" she asked. "I meant with a babysitter or something."

Catherine started backing slowly up toward the living room. "Do you see a babysitter anywhere? Did you see an extra car in the--"

Sara interrupted her. "Is she here, Cat?"

The look on Sara's face made Catherine's eyelids flutter. "No, she's at my sister's."

Sara advanced on Catherine, taking slow, deliberate steps, pulling off her dress on the way. She pushed her lover onto the couch and straddled her, wearing nothing but a pair of heeled sandals and a lacy black thong. "I touched myself every night and imagined it was you," she breathed, a little surprised at herself for being so candid, but she continued anyway. "My fingers just don't feel the same... neither did the women I tried to get over you with... I wanted you to be there, on top of me, taking me, reminding me why my heart and body belong to you... I need you, Cat. I was lost without you."

Catherine almost started crying again, but the needy tone of Sara's voice and the feel of her lover almost naked on top of her overwhelmed her senses, pushing the urge to cry far back in her mind. Confessions of her own spilled past her lips, her hands sliding up and down Sara's back, pulling her closer. "I didn't let anyone touch me... but the girls I played with never felt like you do... they never excited me the way you do... I missed you so much, Sara. You're the only one I want to be with." She wanted to tell Sara how much Lindsey missed her too, but not while they were doing *this*.

Sara rested her forehead on Catherine's shoulder, her breathing already irregular just from being so close to the blonde. "Take--take me, Cat... Please?"

Catherine had no desire to deny that request. She stood up, effectively pushing Sara off her lap, and steered her lover to the bedroom, guiding her onto her back in the middle of the bed. Her voice was low and husky now, Sara's request had turned her on. A lot. "Take off your panties and spread your legs."

Sara groaned quietly, her hands shaking as she moved them to her underwear and pushed the garment over her hips, down, and off. She wasn't worried about where they'd land - her thoughts were on Catherine as she slowly spread her legs, that feeling of exposed vulnerability creeping back over her to endear Catherine to her all over again. Not that her lover had ever stopped being endeared to her... the feeling was just renewed. And no one had ever made her feel like this before, except the gorgeous blonde staring hungrily between her thighs, those bright blue eyes seemingly on fire. That gaze could turn Sara inside-out.

Catherine was hungry. It had been far too long since she had touched, tasted, felt Sara. No one could satisfy the ache the way Sara did. "Grab the headboard and don't let go," she commanded hoarsely.

"Cat," Sara groaned again, putting her hands above her head and wrapping her fingers around two of the posts. "I don't know if I can hold on tight enough." She glanced toward the door. "My purse..." She swallowed heavily, past the lump in her throat. "My handcuffs are in my purse."

Catherine froze, a hitch in her breathing as she picked up her head, her gaze going from between Sara's legs, up over her stomach and chest to fix on her face. "Sara..." she whispered. "Are you sure?"

Sara bit her lower lip, nodding slowly. "I trust you."

That was all Catherine needed to hear, and she melted, crawling up Sara's body to kiss her, long and slow and sweet, with just a hint of the possession she felt for her lover. With a grin, she nipped at Sara's lower lip and pulled back, remembering one of their earliest bedroom conversations. "Don't touch anything. I'll be right back."

Sara's eyes lit up and she watched Catherine leave the room. She remembered that conversation too. "What am I gonna touch, Catherine?" she called after the blonde.

"Nothing," Catherine answered as she returned with the handcuffs, climbing onto the bed to straddle Sara's stomach. She leaned down to whisper in Sara's ear as she snapped one cuff closed around a slender wrist. "Because you won't be able to move your hands..."

Sara shivered at the breath on her ear, and at the words themselves. She felt Catherine thread the chain through the slats of the headboard, and as the cool metal closed around her other wrist, securing her to the bed, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply. With anyone else, she'd never be in this situation, but if she found herself in it, she'd be screaming and trying to get free in a panic. With Catherine, though? It was just... incredible. Sexy. Grounding. She tugged lightly on the restraints and let out a soft moan, her eyes drifting open to stare up at her lover. "It's been too long, Cat," she whispered.

The sight of Sara naked, cuffed to the bed beneath her was almost too much for Catherine to handle. She ran her fingertips down her lover's arms, lightly scratching the skin as she went, lowering her lips to Sara's once again and pouring herself into the kiss. "Spread your legs wider, baby," she husked into Sara's mouth, her words muffled because she hadn't stopped kissing.

Sara instantly parted her thighs even wider, feeling the strain on her muscles and loving it.

"Are you wet?"

"Touch me and find out."

A ghost of a smile flitted across Catherine's lips before she gave Sara a stern look. "If we're going for teasing, I'm going to win," she promised, her voice dangerously low.

"Fuck," Sara gasped, bucking her hips up toward Catherine, who was still straddling her stomach. "I'm wet!" she said quickly. "I'm wet... so wet. I'm fucking drenched Catherine, please touch me..."

"I want to touch you but I don't think you want it bad enough," Catherine teased, snaking down Sara's body to duck her head between her lover's thighs, blowing a cool breath across her glistening heat.

The contrasting temperatures made Sara suck in a surprised breath, and she just barely stopped herself from rocking into Catherine's mouth. "Yes I do, I do, I've never wanted anyone so much in my life," she choked out, her desire rising to a fever pitch. She dug the heels of her sandals into the mattress in an attempt to control herself. She would never cease to be amazed at how quickly Catherine could turn her into such a desperate mess. She rattled the handcuff chain in an effort to free herself, but it was only half-assed and she settled back under Catherine's warning gaze.

The blonde blew another cool breath between Sara's legs, and that was all she could stand. The scent was overwhelming her, twisting her stomach in knots, and the view she had, up close like this, was fucking mouth-watering. Sara Sidle, spread and open for her, soaking wet and swollen. Just for her. She had to taste.

Sara was about to go crazy, or start crying in frustration, when she felt Catherine's tongue slide into her. Before she had a chance to appreciate it for more than a second, though, her lover pulled out and flicked rapidly through her folds, then lips closed around her clit and sucked, hard. "Oh God, Cat," she breathed, arching her back off the bed, tugging again on her restraints. "Fuck me, please, I need you inside me..."

Catherine groaned and kissed her way up Sara's body, attaching her lips to her lover's neck and marking her with her teeth as her hand finally found its way between Sara's legs, briefly caressing her before sinking three fingers deep inside.

Sara cried out loudly, her hips jerking at the intrusion. The chain was rattling constantly now, she couldn't keep her arms still. But she wasn't trying to get away, she was just squirming because it felt so good.

"I love it when you scream," Catherine hissed. "The whole neighborhood will know what I'm doing to you." She bit down on the front of Sara's throat, making her lover cry out again, and she purred, bathing the mark with gentle licks as she pushed her fingers further into Sara.

Sara's eyelids fluttered and she arched her back, tugging so hard on her handcuffs that she could feel the metal chafing her skin, but she didn't care. She liked being tied down by Cat, with Cat on top of her, fucking her. It wasn't long before she felt the rising tide in her belly, and she tried to slow it down, draw out the pleasure, but Catherine was pounding her so hard that it was impossible to hold back. She came with yet another cry, this one bearing Catherine's name and echoing through the room, or at least through her ears.

Catherine would never get tired of it. Never get tired of hearing Sara cry her name, of feeling Sara tighten around her fingers, of seeing the look on her lover's face when she came. "Yes... yes, baby," she murmured, dropping slow kisses all over Sara's cheeks as she stroked her back down from her high.

It took a while before Sara was able to calm her breathing and the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Catherine's lips burned her skin wherever they touched her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around her lover, but the restraints kept them above her head instead. As she was about to open her mouth to ask to be released, she heard the key slide into the lock and one cuff popped free. How did Catherine do that? She always knew what Sara needed, was always one step ahead and doing the right thing to make Sara feel safe and comforted and... and loved. As soon as the second cuff was released she reached up to wrap her arms around Catherine, squeezing the blonde tightly to her. She suddenly found her voice choked up as she whispered into Catherine's hair, "I missed you so much..."

"I missed you too baby, but we're here now, and neither of us are going anywhere. Ever." Catherine was quick to reassure Sara, she knew how hard it was for her lover to talk about certain feelings. She pulled back to look into watery brown eyes and got a goofy smile on her face. "I adore you, Sara Sidle," she announced happily, pressing her lips to Sara's trembling ones.

Sara blew out a breath when the kiss ended, having gotten her emotions back under control for the moment. Now there was something she wanted to ask, but she'd never actually asked Catherine for it before - it had always just happened. Mostly when she was in trouble, either play trouble or real trouble. But right now she just wanted Catherine to spank her, for no reason other than that it had been a long time and she missed the feelings a good spanking provoked.

Catherine could feel the shift in Sara's body language, and she snuggled up closer, kissing her lover's chin. "You okay?"

"I'm okay, yeah," Sara said quietly. "I'm overwhelmed, but I'm okay. More than okay really. I'm happy." Wow. Now there was a revelation. "There's something I'm missing, though." Ooh, good segue.

"And what's that?" Catherine asked, lifting her head to raise an eyebrow at Sara. "A sore ass?"

Sara's deep blush probably gave her away at that, but she bit her lip and nodded anyway.

"Really?" Catherine asked, delighted to learn that. "I was just kidding, but mmm, that's sexy," she purred. "What kind of spanking do you want?"

The heat in Sara's face slowly started to subside - how did Catherine manage to make her feel comfortable talking about this? It happened all the time... she'd be embarrassed as hell and Cat had a way of making it seem like they were talking about the fucking weather. It was just one of many, many reasons she had fallen for the blonde. "I don't know," she still said, not sure what exactly she wanted.

"Nice and hard?" Catherine asked softly, a seductive edge to her voice.

Sara nodded. She hoped Catherine kept asking yes or no questions.

"Over my lap?"

Sara nodded again. She loved the feel of being across Catherine's lap, it was so... intimate.

"With my hand?"

Another nod. Now she knew what she wanted. "Yes please..."

"Take your sandals off," Catherine instructed, slowly climbing off of Sara and sliding to sit on the edge of the bed. "And come here."

"You still have a lot of clothes on, Cat," Sara noted as she sat up and unbuckled her sandals, slipping them off one at a time and dropping them onto the floor as she stood in front of Catherine.

Catherine gave her a sly smirk and worked her dress up around her hips, then patted her bare thighs. "Over my lap, little miss..."

Sara only caught a glimpse of Catherine's dark red underwear because she was already moving to lay across her lover's lap. She stretched out and laid her head on her folded arms, wiggling to get comfortable.

Catherine wasted no time in putting her hands on Sara's body, rubbing up and down her back, over her ass and thighs, before she started to slowly build up a rhythm, the slaps gentle at first. There was really nothing like the sound of skin on skin like this - the sound of a spanking had come to be one of Cat's favorite things to hear. Especially when it was her and Sara as the source.

Sara's eyes drifted closed, Catherine's touch burning trails across her body. She loved the way her lover always warmed her up first, and she had stopped comparing it to boiling water. She had learned how to leave the science out of some things these days.

The next round of smacks got harder and Sara let out little noises of not-really-protest. Her backside was starting to heat up, which was in turn starting a slow burn between her legs that only Catherine could put there. And only Catherine could satisfy that burn. "Ow!" She jumped at a particularly forceful swat, feeling the sting as she squirmed over her lover's lap. She kept quiet for the next few, until the heat in that whole general area of her body made her groan and press down against Catherine's thighs.

Catherine enjoyed the slickness that suddenly coated the tops of her thighs, and took that as encouragement of the best kind. Her voice was low and husky when she spoke. "You like this, baby?"

Sara groaned again, Catherine's palm connecting solidly with her cheeks as she gasped out an answer. "Yes... God yes, Catherine..."

"How much?"

"Ungh... so much..."

"How much?"

"More than I ever thought possib-- ohhhhh Cat, you're gonna make me come!" she choked out as Catherine started targeting her sweet spot.

"Oh, that would be a tragedy," Catherine replied sarcastically, continuing the assault on Sara's very favorite spot.

Sara didn't have time to give any sort of coherent reply before the pressure built up to breaking and coursed through her body, making her cry out and bite down on her arm as she came.

When her lover's body stopped shaking, Catherine stroked her reddened skin for a few moments and then guided Sara off of her lap to lay on the bed instead, and she kicked off her own shoes, climbing under the sheets and putting them over Sara as well, snuggling up close.

"I want to touch you," Sara half-whined, turning on her side to face Catherine, bringing a hand up to stroke blonde hair out of her lover's face.

Catherine leaned forward and kissed her softly. "We have forever for that... right now I just want to hold you, and sleep. What I want most is to wake up with you in the morning... every morning." When Sara nodded, she put her arms around her lover and squeezed, grateful that this time it wasn't just a dream.

--

"Eeeeeeeee!"

Sara was jolted from sleep by a loud, excited squeal, and she bolted upright in the bed, grateful for the presence of mind to hold the sheets over herself as she did so, because the next thing she knew, Lindsey had bounced right onto the bed and tackled her. Oh God. Oh God. Catherine needed to wake up right *now*, because there was no way she could explain this to Lindsey.

"You're here!" Lindsey shrieked, wrapping her arms around Sara so tightly that she couldn't ever get away again. When she calmed down a little she looked at her mom, then back at Sara, a huge grin plastered on her face. "You were being gay with my mom, weren't you?" she asked excitedly.

Sara's eyes went wide and she somehow managed to free one arm enough to jab Catherine with a finger.

Catherine stirred and groaned in her sleep, rolling away from Sara and settling back down.

Lindsey, oblivious to Sara's turmoil, sat up and crossed her arms over her chest, now looking suspicious. "You were, right?"

Sara desperately poked Catherine again, harder this time, and to her complete surprise, Catherine rolled back over and snagged Lindsey around the waist, pulling her close, on top of the covers of course, and mumbled, "yes baby, we were being gay, now go to sleep, please?"

Lindsey couldn't sleep after that confession! She wriggled out of her mother's grasp and turned to Sara, who was clearly more awake out of the two of them. "So you're gonna be my other mom?"

Sara was about to shove Catherine all the way out of bed to wake her up, but apparently at hearing that question, she came to rather quickly.

Cat snapped around to face Lindsey, her eyes wide as she tried to gauge Sara's reaction to the question. Her lover looked as if she'd just been told to put on a duck suit and jog across the Arizona desert in the middle of summer. "Nancy!" she yelled. She was going to kill her sister for just letting Lindsey burst in on them like this.

Nancy came hurrying into the bedroom, blushing as she apologized and ushered Lindsey from the room, scolding the little girl for not knocking first.

When the door was closed behind them, Cat inched closer to Sara, who still hadn't said a word. "I'm so sorry," she smiled, hoping they'd be able to just brush the whole thing off. The last thing she wanted was to spook Sara into running.

Sara's voice was a squeak when she finally gathered her wits and asked, "how does she know about things like this? She's only six and a half..."

"I don't know... I never know where she learns half the stuff she learns. Older kids at school, I suppose. So you're okay? We're okay? You're not freaked out?"

Sara was finally able to relax a little. "Of course I'm freaked out, I'm totally fucking freaked out, your daughter just caught us in bed together! And apparently she knows what that means. I don't like her knowing about sex, gay or straight," she frowned. "Maybe w-you should put her in a private school."

She almost said *we*. Catherine's heart started to pound in her chest as she argued back, "private schools aren't any better these days. Worse, even, because most of the kids don't just have ideas, they have money to go along with their ideas, which means even more access to trouble." She paused for a second, and then added, "and I don't think she was insinuating sex. I think she defines being gay as two women kissing." Another pause, and then, "she really missed you, Sara."

Sara cleared her throat and looked away, a blush tinting her cheeks as she mumbled, "I missed her too."

Catherine beamed, squirming until she was laying on top of Sara beneath the covers, and kissed her softly. "What? I couldn't quite hear you, Sidle..."

"Don't fuck with me," Sara pouted, and her eyes widened when she felt a sharp tug on both nipples, making her cry out. "I said I missed her too!"

"That's better," Cat purred, dropping another kiss to Sara's lips and soothing her nipples with a gentle touch. "Just because there's other people in the house doesn't mean you can misbehave..."

Sara smothered a smirk and nodded instead, biting her lip. "Yes Ma'am," she said cheekily.

"Yes Ma'am my ass," Catherine replied, giving Sara a look. "Watch yourself."

Sara snickered and leaned up to sneak a quick kiss, then flopped back to the bed with a sigh and a stretch. "What's the plan for today?"

"Well, it's Saturday, so no school for Lindsey..."

Sara grinned and dragged Catherine down on top of her again. "How about going to Chuck E. Cheese? It can be a Saturday tradition, and I'll eat my salad, I promise."

Catherine laughed and wrapped her arms around her lover, snuggling up close with a nod. "Sounds good to me. I don't know if Lindsey will want to go, though," she teased.

"I'm sure she'd hate it," Sara agreed. "Let's get dressed and ask her."

Ten minutes later, both ladies were dressed and washed up, and they found Lindsey and Nancy in the living room watching tv. "Hey, baby," Catherine said, sliding onto the couch next to her daughter. "How would you feel about a trip to Chuck E. Cheese?"

"Yeah!" Lindsey exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in excitement. She scrambled off the couch and started to run to her room to change, but stopped in front of Sara and looked up at her. "You better eat your salad like a grown-up," she said wisely, and then continued on to her room.

Sara blushed, staring at her shoes, hoping Nancy didn't catch any of that, or at least wouldn't know what they were talking about if she did hear it. "Thanks for watching her," she finally said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

Both Catherine and Nancy spun around to face her, and Nancy gave her a curious look. "You're part of her life enough to thank me for that?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Sara asked, and the warning in her voice was unmistakable.

Cat wondered if she was going to have to break it up, but she sighed in relief when Nancy smiled.

"No... Just checking. Catherine doesn't tell me too much, so I have to figure out other ways to find out."

Sara relaxed and stopped balling her fists inside her pockets, offering Nancy a smile in return. "Okay then."

"But I have to say, I'm glad you seem willing to fight for my sister," Nancy said, standing up and moving to the door. "Anyone who wouldn't even stand up to *me* doesn't deserve to be with Catherine."

"Oh you should have seen her at Lindsey's soccer game, Nance. She flashed her piece to back somebody off me."

A raised eyebrow and an impressed expression graced Nancy's face as she opened the front door, and she smirked as she left, throwing a good-bye over her shoulder.

Catherine walked to Sara and ran her fingers through her lover's hair, gathering a handful at the base of her neck and squeezing softly. "That was so sexy," she purred. "Do you have a problem with that?" she repeated Sara's words, as she squeezed her hair a bit more firmly. "You would fight for me, wouldn't you?" she then realized.

"I sang in front of a hundred people for you. That's scarier than fighting for you, Cath. I'll fight for you any time."

"And I'd fight for you any time," Catherine returned. "And I won't go to Chuck E. Cheese with anyone but you, Sara."

Sara felt herself choking up, and wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible, but she found herself answering anyway. "Can we say it for what it is, Catherine? I don't want to be with anyone but you."

Catherine dropped her forehead onto Sara's shoulder and inhaled deeply, appreciating the scent that she'd come to know so intimately. "I don't want to be with anyone but you," she whispered.

Lindsey had been eavesdropping, and could no longer contain herself, letting out a squeal of delight and skipping into the foyer. She partially understood what they were talking about, but no matter what, she knew it was a good thing, what they were saying to each other. A good thing that meant Sara was staying around.

As they headed out to the car, Sara glanced around and then asked quietly, "do I *have* to have a salad?"

Lindsey groaned as she climbed into the back seat and buckled her seatbelt, and Catherine just turned to Sara with a smirk. "Yes, you do. Now get in the car, smart-ass."

And Sara did. She also ate her salad without complaint, and then went to play in the tubes with Lindsey, and they got ice cream afterwards. The whole trip did indeed become a Saturday tradition, and it lasted until Lindsey was twelve and deemed herself 'too old' for Chuck E. Cheese.

"You're never too old for Chuck E. Cheese," Sara said, clearly scandalized at Lindsey's announcement. "And what is that on your face?"

"It's called makeup," Lindsey said, rolling her eyes. "And I'd rather go to the mall with my friends. None of them go to Chuck E. Cheese anymore."

Sara frowned. "Is that the reason you don't want to go? Because your friends don't?"

Lindsey shrugged and played with her cereal, which she'd barely touched. It was hard to pretend she didn't want to do something, especially when Sara was such a good investigator. But she couldn't go, she'd die if any of her friends found out!

Sara knew something was up, and she stopped eating her own breakfast to give Linds her full attention. "Look at me, Lindsey."

"Nuh uh." That was how they always got her... they made her look at them, then they knew when she was lying. It was totally unfair to live with two CSIs.

Sara continued anyway, talking to the top of Lindsey's head. "If you really don't want to go, we'll understand. But if you're just pretending you don't want to go because your friends aren't doing it? I'll be a little disappointed, but I'll be really disappointed if you lie to me Lindsey, and I know your mom will too."

Oh, man... she *hated* the disappointed speech. That was the worst. Worse than the mad one for sure. "That's not fair," she stated, still staring at her hands. "Just give me a ride to the mall. I don't want to go to stupid Chuck E. Cheese."

"You'll have to ask your mother if you can go to the mall," Sara said, doing her best to hide the fact that she was actually a little bit hurt. She knew she shouldn't be, that this was normal behavior for Lindsey's age, but it still stung.

"Why do you always do that?" Lindsey yelled, looking up at Sara now, her hands balled into fists. "Like you're not my mom too?! You always put all the hard decisions on her, like you don't want to take any responsibility for me!"

Now Sara was stunned, and she stared at Lindsey for a minute before she could even find her voice. "All right," she finally said, trying to keep her voice steady, trying to sound confident even though she was terrified. She really never *had* made a decision like this about Lindsey without consulting Catherine. "No, you may not go to the mall, Lindsey. If you don't want to go to Chuck E. Cheese, that's fine, but no mall."

"Oh well that's just great," Lindsey shouted, standing up and slamming her fist on the table, making her spoon clatter against her bowl. "You're just saying no because you're mad that I don't want to go to Chuck E. Cheese!"

"I'm not mad," Sara explained, and she wasn't mad, but before she could say anything else, Lindsey overturned her chair, flipped her off, and stormed out of the kitchen. A few seconds later she heard her bedroom door slam.

Lindsey had never behaved that way to her before, and she was at a complete loss. She wished Catherine hadn't gone jogging on this particular Saturday. Glancing at the counter, she saw that Cath hadn't brought her cell phone with her, so she was stuck dealing with this on her own unless she wanted to wait for her lover to get home. It shouldn't be too long, right? Maybe she should wait.

Shaking, Sara walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, running her hands over her face and taking a deep breath. She heard Lindsey's door open, but she wasn't ready to face her yet, so she called as authoritatively as she could manage, "stay in your room until I ask you to come out."

The door slamming again indicated that Linds had listened, and another door opening, the front door, was the most welcome sound Sara had ever heard in her life, or at least that's what it felt like at the moment.

Catherine could instantly tell something was wrong, and she kicked off her shoes, going to Sara, who was sitting on the couch wringing her hands. "What's the matter, baby?" she asked.

Sara fought back tears as she related the story to Catherine, and was grateful to find herself in a comforting embrace by the time she finished. "I'm sorry I sent her to her room without asking you first," she said, after telling that last bit.

"No," Catherine said, shaking her head and rubbing Sara's back. "You are her mother too, she was right about that part, baby. I trust you to make decisions for her and about her, whether I'm home or not. What are you going to do?"

"I-- I don't know. What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should--" Catherine started to suggest a course of action but stopped mid-sentence and changed her mind. "I think it should be up to you. What do you think you should do?"

"I don't know." Sara said, glancing toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. "I don't know, Cat. What should I do?"

"Think of it this way... would you ever behave that way to me, or to Lindsey?"

"You know I wouldn't. But I can't punish her, she'll hate me..."

"She'll respect you, not hate you," Catherine corrected her. "And if you don't do it, I will, but it'll mean much more coming from you. I think she's testing you, to see how much you care about her. Pushing your limits to see how far your limits can be pushed. Do you hate me when I punish you?"

"Of course not, but that's different," Sara shook her head.

"It's different in some ways, not so different in others. Go on... go deal with your daughter. I'll back any decision you make."

Sara really didn't want to, but she slowly got up and made her way to Lindsey's room. She knocked quietly before entering, and closed the door behind her. The twelve-year-old was reclining on her bed listening to her iPod. "Can you put that away, please? I'd like to talk to you," Sara said, just loud enough to be heard over the music. However, Lindsey ignored her to the point that after asking three times, she simply walked over and removed the earphones, taking the gadget out of reach.

"Hey, I was listening to that!" Lindsey snarled, grabbing for it back.

"And I asked you three times to put it away," Sara pointed out, tucking it into her pocket.

"Didn't hear you," Lindsey lied, grumbling under her breath as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from Sara to stare at the wall.

Sara chose not to pick that particular battle at the present time, and instead launched straight into what she'd come in to say. "Lindsey... you really hurt my feelings earlier."

Okay, that was worse than the disappointment speech, and Lindsey suddenly had to try hard not to cry. She never wanted to hurt either of her moms. She had been ready for Sara to come in and ground her, or yell at her, or maybe even spank her, but she wasn't prepared for what Sara said, and it was more effective than any or all of the things she'd been expecting. She knew she deserved to be in trouble, and maybe she was still going to be, but hurting Sara's feelings was worse. She wished for trouble instead. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking as the tears started to fall. "Please... ground me or yell at me or something, but don't be hurt, please..."

Sara's own tears threatened, but she kept them at bay. "I am hurt, Linds. That's what happens when you treat people that way... they get hurt."

"No, please, I'm sorry!" Lindsey cried, turning away from the wall and launching herself at Sara, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I was just mad, *please* don't be hurt! Just--can't you just spank me instead? I'll never treat you that way again, I promise!"

Sara hugged her back, still amazed at how tall she'd gotten lately, and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "I don't want to spank you, Linds."

"But I deserve it," Lindsey said, which was a *rare* thing for the almost-teenager to admit. "And how else will you forgive me?" The thought of a sore bottom was nothing compared to the thought of Sara not forgiving her. She couldn't even believe it herself, the way she'd acted. She loved Sara so much... and Sara was always, always, always so good to her. Whether she was punished or not, she knew she'd never talk to Sara that way again. "Mom says if you make a bad choice, you get punished and then you get to start over."

Sara knew that philosophy of Catherine's *very* well. Grateful that Lindsey's head was buried in her chest and therefore could not see her blush, she gave her daughter a squeeze. She wasn't mad at Linds... but Linds was obviously mad at herself. She had never punished the little girl before, but maybe it was time she did. It was a good way to bring closure to hurt feelings and mistakes. "Okay," she finally said, hoping she could actually go through with this. She let go of Lindsey and sat on the edge of her bed, taking a slow breath and clearing her throat. Wow. How did Catherine do this with so much confidence? She cleared her throat again and looked at Lindsey. "Over my lap, Linds."

Lindsey chewed her lip as she inched closer to Sara. Well, she had asked for it, right? Everything could go back to normal after this. Right? It was weird, it felt weird, but it also kinda felt good, because she had been waiting for six years for Sara to *really* act like her parent, and she finally was. In a strange way it made her feel safe.

Sara wondered if she was going to have to say it again, or help Lindsey comply, but she watched in amazement as the little-- no, she wasn't little anymore-- girl walked over and laid across her lap. Sometimes, like earlier, Linds could be stubborn and childish, but sometimes, like right now, she was so grown-up it was scary.

Lindsey held her breath and waited, already on the verge of tears again, so when the first spank landed on her bottom, she started to cry. It hurt, and she was only twelve, so that didn't make her a baby, right? When she was thirteen she probably wouldn't need spankings anymore.

Sara almost stopped, but she forced herself to continue, making sure she wasn't spanking too hard. Lindsey had said and done some very rude things, and she did deserve to be punished, but it was so hard for Sara to do it. She steeled herself though, and gave her daughter about twenty good smacks. Lindsey's tears broke her heart, and she wanted to hug her, but she also wanted to wait until Lindsey was ready, so she just let her lay still and cry for as long as she needed.

Lindsey knew she had kicked a few times and tried to get off of Sara's lap once or twice before it was over, and now she felt like a total baby. She had wanted to be so good, to show Sara that she really was sorry, but once the spanking started she just couldn't help trying to make it stop. It sucked that Sara had to hold her in place, she'd thought she was so big and brave and grown up, but she wasn't. She was just twelve, and she was still a kid, and she really wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese with Mom and Sara. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and tried to sniffle enough to keep her nose from running. "I do wanna go to Chuck E. Cheese," she finally said, her voice quiet and scratchy with her tears. "But if I ruined it and you don't wanna go anymore I understand, and no matter what happens I'm really sorry and I love you so so much," she said in a rush.

"I love you too Linds," Sara said, her eyes welling up again as she lifted Lindsey to her feet and wrapped her up in a hug. "I still want to go... and I promise to start acting more like an equal parent to you. I just... never wanted to overstep any boundaries... it wasn't about not wanting responsibility for you, okay?"

Lindsey nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

"And if you're ever feeling hurt or upset about something, you can always come talk to me, even if I'm the one that's upsetting you. If you don't tell me, I won't know how you feel, and I never want to hurt you. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Now why don't you have some alone time and get ready to go, while I talk to your mom, and we'll get going whenever you're ready."

"Kay."

Sara gave her one last tight squeeze and then left the room to give her some space. She found Catherine in the living room watching tv, but her lover flipped it off when she walked in and looked at her instead.

"Is everything okay?"

Sara nodded and went to sit next to Catherine, letting out a long, slow breath and ducking her head to bury her face in her lover's neck. "That was hard."

"What did you decide to do?"

"I uh, I spanked her," Sara mumbled into Cat's neck.

Catherine's eyes widened as she looked down at the back of Sara's head. "You did? Wow. I'm impressed."

"Well, I wasn't going to, but she said she deserved it, and I th--"

"She what?" Cat nearly shrieked upon hearing that her daughter had admitted to deserving a spanking. Not once, not ever, had Lindsey been so accepting of a punishment from her. "How in the hell did you manage that, Sidle? Now I'm *really* impressed."

"I hope I never have to do it again," Sara whispered. When Catherine's question registered, she sighed and picked her head up. "All I did was tell her she hurt my feelings, and she started crying and asked me for a spanking instead."

Catherine stopped making light of the situation when she realized that Sara didn't think it was humorous. She took her lover's face in her hands and looked into her eyes with a genuine smile. "Baby, I'm really, really proud of you," she said softly, planting a soft kiss on Sara's lips. "I know how hard it is for you to even scold her. But she deserved a punishment, and you were able to follow through and give her one, and I'm proud of you for that. Okay?" And she would have to remember to tell Lindsey the next time her daughter hurt *her* feelings. She wondered if it would have the same effect, or if it was only Sara's feelings she was so worried about hurting.

That made Sara smile and she nodded, reaching up to run her fingers through Catherine's hair. "Okay," she agreed. A lingering thought popped up again at that moment and she furrowed her brows, pursing her lips before she asked, "do you think she knows that you 'punish' me in the bedroom? Because I don't want her to think it's the same thing... oh God, that would be awful." She couldn't even imagine that.

"She's a smart girl. If she does know what goes on in our bedroom, she'll also know that it's completely different when it's between her and I or between the two of you. Don't worry about that, baby."

"Okay," Sara said, calming down somewhat and getting to her feet. "She asked if we could still go to Chuck E. Cheese. You want to get changed or are you okay going in that?"

Cat glanced down at her running pants and tank top, then looked back up at Sara and shrugged. "If you're okay going out with me in this...?"

"I'm okay going out with you in anything or nothing," Sara said, her eyes dancing over the curves nicely displayed by the outfit.

Lindsey came out, ready to go, and they headed for Chuck E. Cheese. For a few years, Lindsey wasn't interested in playing in the tubes with Sara anymore, and they had basketball and skeeball contests instead. Chuck E. Cheese slowly became 'cool' again with the teenage population, and by the time Lindsey was seventeen she was bringing a friend with her most weeks.

They were getting ready to go, and Lindsey was taking longer than usual, so Catherine peeked into her room to see what was taking so long, and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Linds was getting dressed, and Catherine could see bruises on her thighs below her underwear. "Lindsey! What happened?" she asked, moving fully into the room in panic mode.

"Mom!" Lindsey screamed, spinning around and sitting down, yanking a blanket over her lap. "What are you doing?! House rules say knock first!"

"Lindsey what happened to you?" Catherine asked again, reaching for the blanket, her movements slightly frantic.

Lindsey held tightly to the blanket, a deep flush spreading over her face. "Nothing," she said quickly, refusing to look at her mother. How embarrassing.

The fact that Lindsey was blushing bright red was the only thing that kept Catherine from completely flipping out. Her daughter was embarrassed. Which meant that whatever had happened was consensual. She wanted to order Lindsey to talk to her, tell her what was going on, but she knew that it wouldn't work, and it was unfair of her to try it anyway. She opened her mouth and closed it, then tried again and finally was able to choke out, "would you rather talk to Sara?"

Lindsey was confused for a second until she realized what her mom thought, and then she shook her head. "Nooo, Mom, it's not that I don't want to talk to you," she assured her.

Catherine's expression was clearly pained, she couldn't help it. "Then please, tell me what's going on? Your thighs are covered in bruises, Linds..."

"You should see my--" Oops, shit. She stopped talking when she realized what she was about to say, to her *mother*. "Uh, nothing."

"Lindsey?" Catherine's eyes filled with tears as she stared at her daughter. "I'm freaking out. What in the hell hap--"

"I just-- I was just--" Lindsey interrupted her mom, then paused to gather her thoughts. "I was just messing around with a girl in my science class." The blush was back, full force, but she had to say something or her mom was gonna cry, and that would *suck*. "We were both curious about it."

"Sex?"

"No Mom. The thing you do to Sara that gives her bruises on her thighs. And... another place."

Catherine choked on her breath, eyes wide again at both the fact that Lindsey knew Sara sometimes had bruises, and that her daughter was experimenting with spanking. Oh, fuck. She had no idea what to say to that. What could she say? Without being a hypocrite, of course. There was nothing. Catherine Willows was at a complete loss for words. And thank God Sara chose that moment to come in.

"Hey, I would've knocked but the door's op..." Sara stopped mid-sentence and let her words trail off as she looked between Catherine and Lindsey. Catherine looked stunned, and Lindsey was bright red. "What's up?"

"Lindslindsey was just telling, uh, telling me that she-she-she..." she waved her hand in the air as she stuttered, unable to finish.

"Mom's overreacting," Lindsey said quietly, staring at the floor. "I was just curious and..." she shrugged.

"Okay what's going on?" Sara asked, more confused now than when she walked in the room. "You didn't have sex, did you? Because we said eighteen..."

"Nooo, I was just playing around with one of the girls in my science class and we spanked each other, okay? Can I crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment now, please?"

"She has bruises!" Catherine blurted out, wanting Sara to have the whole story.

Sara was torn between laughing and being worried, so she opted for neither just yet. She leaned down and kissed Catherine's cheek, and whispered into her ear. "Can I have a few minutes with her? I know where she's coming from, remember?"

Catherine swallowed hard, her jaw working in silence for a few seconds before she gave up trying to answer and just nodded, slipping from the room and closing the door behind her.

Sara sat down next to Lindsey on the bed, forming a lecture outline in her head before getting started. "Is this the first time you've tried it?"

Lindsey chewed on her fingernails as she gave a little nod.

"Okay," Sara said, nodding as well. "And did you like it?"

Lindsey kept chewing, and nodded again.

"Do you think it's bec--"

"No," Lindsey finally spoke up, and she couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face now. "It has nothing to do with you guys spanking me growing up. It's totally different."

Thank God. "Okay, that's good." VERY good.

"I mean it's the same, but it's different. You know what I mean, right? Mom spanks you all the time, and it's the same as when you guys spanked me, but it's different because it doesn't mean the same thing. Right?"

Sara processed that for a minute and nodded in agreement. "Right." And then she realized what Lindsey had just confessed to knowing about her, and it was her turn to blush bright red. "How do you know that?"

"Are you serious? You think I can't hear her smacking you? You think I can't hear you begging her to do it har--"

"Lindsey!" Sara squeaked, her cheeks on fire.

"Oh sorry, how does it feel to have your experiences put under the microscope?" Lindsey drawled sarcastically. "Harder Catherine, spank me, yes, harder!"

"Stop it!" Sara shrieked, amazed that her voice could reach such a high pitch. "I'm not making fun of you, Lindsey!"

Lindsey sighed and flopped backwards on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Then what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm just trying to talk to you about this, as someone who knows how it feels. And I know it can be exhilarating to experiment, but you really need to be safe, Linds. Spanking hard enough to leave bruises on your first time doesn't sound all that safe. Has this other girl done it before?"

"I think so, not sure," Lindsey shrugged. "What did you do your first time? Was it with my mom?"

Sara found it extremely awkward to talk about this with Lindsey, but her need for Linds to be safe outweighed the discomfort. "Yeah... she was very careful with me. And she had learned how to do it properly from someone who has been doing it for a long time."

"Lady Heather I bet, now the name makes sense," Lindsey said with a grin. She couldn't believe Sara was actually talking about this with her, but it was *so* cool. "You're the coolest parent ever, you know that?"

"I am?" Sara asked in surprise. "What?"

"Mom totally flipped out, I don't even want to imagine what my dad would have done if he was still around, but you... you're totally listening to me and taking me seriously. I don't know any other parents that do that. Especially not about stuff like this. I promise I'll be safe if I do it again, okay?"

Sara was beaming at the praise, she couldn't help it. That was one of the nicest things to hear, especially since she was often uncertain how good of a parent she was being. "Thank you Lindsey," she said sincerely, very touched by her daughter's declaration. "Being safe means no bruises, do we have a deal?"

"I didn't know there were gonna be bruises..."

"Let me rephrase. Being safe means no paddles or anything like that for now. Deal?"

Lindsey didn't really want to make that deal, but Sara was being so awesome, she just had to. "Yeah, okay, deal. Not thrilled about it, but you got a deal."

"I love you Linds."

"Love you too. Now can you get out so I can get dressed?" she asked with mock exasperation.

Sara chuckled and got up from the bed, leaving Lindsey alone in her room to get dressed. She went to find Catherine, and had to look in several places before she finally found her in their bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with her face buried in her hands. Heart melting, she sat next to her lover and wrapped her arms around her, kissing the top of her blonde head. "Once upon a time, you taught me that consensual spanking was different than what happened to me as a child. That it could be a healing experience for me. That it's a healthy expression of sexuality."

Catherine leaned into the embrace with a sigh. "Lindsey wasn't abused as a child."

"No, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't experiment with control... it's natural, Catherine, and I know she'll always be your baby no matter how old she gets, but she's almost eighteen, and she's not having sex. We can't ask her to bottle *everything* up. She's promised to be safe if she decides to do this again."

"I don't like it, I don't want her doing it," Catherine insisted, pulling out of the embrace to look at Sara with a pained expression.

"I understand that. Do you think your mother wants you doing it?"

"That's different, I'm an adult. Well past eighteen if you hadn't noticed."

"Cat you can't keep her from exploring her sexuality, and if you don't want her to just shut you out, you need to be supportive."

"But what if she gives up control to someone who takes advantage of that?"

"Then you talk to her about ways to be safe and what to look for in a partner, but you don't judge her and you certainly don't be a hypocrite, which frankly is exactly what you're being."

"Don't you tell me I'm being a hypocrite," Cat said with a bit of a snarl, her eyes narrowing at Sara. "I'm a top."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You'd be fine if she only wanted to be on top?"

"I'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable with it, yes," Catherine replied, raising her voice. "I don't want her out bending over for any asshole that comes along!"

"And what makes you think she'd be so indiscriminate? Do you think that's what I do? I go out and bend over for any asshole that comes along? Just because I let you top me, it means I'd let anyone do it?"

"Well it certainly didn't take much convincing to get you in my bed!"

The argument had gone from bad to worse, and from Lindsey's welfare to Catherine questioning Sara's fidelity, and that just pissed her off. There was no reason for it; Catherine was being completely outrageous and nasty. "Stop it, Catherine."

"You didn't want me to stop back then, you asked for more if I recall," Cat snarled, and before she could even begin to comprehend the possible consequences of her behavior, she found herself face down across Sara's lap on the bed, an arm around her waist to keep her still, as she was quite soundly spanked.

Not caring that she was acting like a child, Catherine kicked and yelled and tried to get off Sara's lap for all she was worth, but her lover held her there, raining down firm, crisp smacks over and over again that had her in tears within seconds. She hated having Sara upset with her, hated having upset Sara so much that *this* was happening, and she hated the fact that over the last ten years, including right now, Sara had spanked her twice, and she'd burst into tears both times. She felt like a baby but it really, really stung, and on top of the burning in her backside, she had realized how awful her words had been to the woman she loved, and hurting Sara hurt her much worse than the spanking. Ironically enough, she knew Lindsey had felt the same way five years ago, the first time Sara had spanked their daughter. And just like Lindsey had felt back then, Catherine's guilt also didn't keep her from wanting the spanking to end.

She cried and cried and cried, knowing she wouldn't sit comfortably for the next few hours, and wishing she had just taken a minute to *think* before she spouted out things she didn't mean. She did not think of Sara that way at *all*. She couldn't think of anyone she respected and appreciated more than the amazing woman blistering her backside, and she really did not take her lover's submission for granted. It was a gift she treasured, a gift she knew Sara had never given and would never give to anyone else, and she felt horrible for insinuating otherwise. The sudden thought that she may have just completely shattered Sara's trust in her nearly sent her undone. "I'm sorry!" she cried, and she really, really was. "I'm so sorry, Sara, I didn't mean any of that," she stammered through her tears. "I was ma-ma-mad and I--"

"Quiet," Sara scolded her. "I don't want to hear it yet." She was really hurt, and she didn't want apologies right now.

Catherine stopped trying to talk and just sobbed across Sara's lap, comforted only by the fact that Sara said 'yet', which meant that she did eventually want to hear it. She started to wonder if her lover was ever going to stop spanking her - her ass was blazing hot and felt like a thousand bees had stung her.

Sara did finally stop, but she still wasn't ready to hear from Catherine yet. She needed a little time to sort through her feelings first. She eased her lover off her lap and made sure she was steady on her feet before she let go, and pointed to one corner of their bedroom. "Pull your pants and underwear down and go stand in the corner with your hands on your head until I'm ready to hear what you have to say."

Catherine had made Sara do this a handful of times, and the brunette protested and pouted every time, and now she knew why. Now she knew exactly how it felt to be given that instruction and not think you'd be able to comply. "Please, Sara!" she sobbed.

"Move it!" Sara yelled, more harshly than she'd intended, and a wave of guilt coursed through her at the way Cat jumped and the way her fingers trembled as she tried to work the button of her pants.

Catherine hadn't been this miserable since she and Sara had been apart almost eleven years ago, and she couldn't stop the tears as she pushed her jeans and underwear down to her knees and stood in the corner. She stared at the floor, putting her hands on the back of her head, wishing more than anything to be in Sara's arms. She would never make Sara stand in the corner after a punishment again, not ever.

Sara stared at Catherine's back for the longest time, not really getting any thinking done. It was like when you went out to dinner and looked at the menu, but you weren't really deciding what to eat because you couldn't concentrate. Finally the crying did her in and she crossed her arms over her chest, a frown on her face as she said, "pull your pants up and come here."

Catherine pulled her pants back into place and swiped her sleeve across her nose, then hurried over to Sara and sat in her lap, throwing her arms around her lover's neck and squeezing as tight as she possibly could.

Sara's breath was squished out of her in a rush and she put her arms around Catherine, hoping to calm her down a little, or at least reassure her lover that she wasn't going anywhere. She had a feeling that's what Cat was afraid of. "We've fought before, I'm still here," she whispered. "But you had no right to say those things to me Catherine, no right at all, unless that's how you really feel. Is it?"

"No," Catherine said immediately, her voice hoarse and raspy with tears. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what the hell I was thinking other than panic about Lindsey... I have more respect for you than for anyone I've ever met. And I know I'm the only one you give up your will to, I know that, I promise I know it. I don't know what I was thinking, Sara. I must've gone crazy for a minute." She buried her face in Sara's neck. "And you were right, I was being a hypocrite, it's just so hard to let Lindsey grow up..."

"It's hard for me too, but I don't deal with it by hurting you," Sara said quietly, which sent Catherine into a fresh round of tears.

"I'm sorry!" Cat cried, clinging tightly to Sara. "Your love and submission are the greatest gifts I've ever been given and I treasure them with all my heart," she choked out. "The only person I've ever loved as much as I love you is Lindsey." She was quiet for a minute, afraid to ask what she wanted to ask, and then finally forced herself to whisper, "if you don't think I deserve your submission again after the things I said, I'll underst--"

"Shhhhh," Sara interrupted her, kissing the top of her head. "I know you're sorry. How many times have we been in this situation before, with me in trouble?"

That made Catherine smile just a little. "Quite a few..."

"Have you ever thought about taking that part of our relationship away because I messed up?"

"No," Catherine shook her head, seeing Sara's point. "I've thought of torturing you in plenty of ways, but never that."

"I don't want to take it away either." She tilted Cat's face up to look her in the eyes, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "What's your rule about punishments?"

Catherine melted into the kiss, running her fingers through Sara's hair. "If you make a mistake, and are punished for it, you get to start over."

"That's right. That goes for you too, Cat."

Catherine nodded and gave a long, quiet sigh. "I should go apologize to Linds."

"Do you think you can be supportive of her choice?"

"I'm gonna try. I just... still see her as a little girl, you know?"

"Believe me, I know. But I don't want to lose her trust. If we don't support the decisions she makes, she'll just stop telling us about them."

That thought terrified Catherine, and she exhaled slowly through puffed cheeks. "You're right. As usual."

"Cheeky..."

"You love me."

"I do." Sara couldn't help grinning.

"I love you too," Cat smiled back, and got up with a groan, rubbing her ass as she headed to Lindsey's room and knocked lightly.

Lindsey had been dressed for some time now, but hadn't wanted to leave her room because she could hear most of what was going on outside of it. "Come in..."

Catherine opened the door and stepped inside, blushing when she saw the knowing smirk on her daughter's face. "Stop that..."

"You just got in major freaking trouble, didn't you Mom?"

"Lindsey!"

"Ha ha, you did, didn't you? I knew it wasn't Sara crying. Wow. You don't see this every day. You must have *really* pissed her off."

"Okay! That's enough! Now stop it... I came in here to apologize to you."

"Is Sara making you? Cause if she is then just don't worry about it." The last thing she wanted was a fake apology just because her mom got her ass whooped.

"No, she's not. Neither of us would do that to you, Linds. I really mean it. I'm sorry I reacted badly, I just have such a hard time letting you grow up, you know? You're my baby."

Lindsey smiled at that and stood up, walking over to hug her mom. "I'll always be your baby, Mom. But I can't help growing up."

"I know," Catherine said, hugging her daughter back. "And you can always come to me, I promise to be supportive, even if it takes me a few hours to process everything. Or you can go to Sara, who knows how to control herself better than I do and can be supportive right when you need it."

"It's okay Mom, really. I would freak out a little if I had a kid and she was messing around with SM. But Sara talked to me about being safe and I promised, so you don't have to worry, okay?"

"I'll always worry, but I trust you Linds. You really are almost all grown up, and you're certainly old enough to make these kinds of decisions about your sexuality. As long as you don't have sex until eighteen, because we made a--"

"Deal. I know, I've heard it like five times today and even before that I hadn't forgotten. When I promise something I don't go back on it unless it's some kind of emergency. And I don't see emergency sex happening any time before I'm eighteen. One question though. Does sex with a girl count as sex?"

Catherine's eyes widened and she missed the teasing smirk on Lindsey's face because she had turned to the door, and yelled, "SARA!"

Sara came running, and when Catherine told her the question, she took one look at Lindsey's smug expression and started to laugh. Catherine caught on and groaned, nudging Lindsey in the ribs, which knocked her to the bed, and soon they were all snickering at each other for one reason or another.

"Come onnnnnn," Lindsey whined, standing up again. "Let's go to Chuck E. Cheese already!"

And they did.

Fin