Platypus 32: Stalker




Catherine was digging through the drawer of Gil’s desk, looking for a pen that wasn’t actually dried up. She lifted up a stack of papers and found nothing. The old roll-top desk was covered in papers of various colours and sizes. She sighed and persevered, continuing to rifle through the papers on the oak surface until she resigned herself to tidying the mess.

She had decided to stop by and let herself in, on a whim as she came home from the grocery store. However, after realizing he wasn’t home, and there was ice cream in her trunk melting, she decided to leave him a sexy note.

Office papers went on the bottom, then she started to pick up sales receipts to put them in an envelope for him to sort through later. By the time she did this, the desk was looking like it should. Absent-mindedly, she flipped through the tops of the tiny yellow and white papers; however, as the price for one item he purchased recently caught her eye, she gasped and pulled it out for closer inspection.

She double checked the department store receipt to check with section of the store Gil had been shopping in. Then, she scanned the contents of the purchase: garter, teddy, robe, sandals. She checked the total and then reread the purchase again to make sure she had read that right.

Out of burning curiosity, she started to look through the other ones. The next one was from a sex shop. She didn’t know what to expect to be included in the purchase; as she read it under her breath: “Mtn Ltn, 1, raspberry. FZ Cuffs, 1, red.” She frowned, unsure of what she was reading. When the realization hit her, her eyes widdened; when the idea settled in her mind, she smiled.

When her cell phone started to ring, she almost didn’t hear the sounds as she was so lost in her thoughts.

“Willows.” She answered it on the fourth ring, still looking down at the receipts.

“It’s me. Where are you?”

She smiled at the sound of his voice. “In your room, on your bed, naked. Where are you?”

“At work. Where you’re supposed to be. Didn’t you get my page?”

“No,” she frowned, realizing that she left her pager in her car. “What’s up?”

“Murder. A girl. Definitely criminal.”

She sighed. “Okay. I’ll be there soon. I just have to get up off your bed and put my clothes back on...”

“Cath,” he sounded a little frustrated with her. She smirked as she tucked the envelope away, wondering when he would give her her presents. “Can you stop that?”

She smiled, knowing that he must’ve been a couple shades of red by that point, with the rest of the team in the room. “Alright. I’m sorry. I’ll be there as soon as I can. What’s the address?”

After opening a drawer, she saw a pen and sighed. He told her where to go, and she wrote it down. “I love you and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

~*~

When he saw her car pull up along the curb of the house, he smiled and waited for her. He loved watching her walk, and that night was no exception. He appreciated the lines of her lean body, the way her hair bounced with each stride....

He sighed and smiled when she was close. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she smiled back. “Miss me that much that you decided to put me on your case?”

He chuckled. “Reading my mind.” Her smile stretched as she glanced around the yard. No one was paying them any attention; she leaned up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You must’ve missed me, too,”

“Yep.” She set herself down on her heels and crossed her arms. “Your bed was awfully lonely and—” she saw Nick approaching them from the side of the lawn. Gil followed her vision and silently hoped he didn’t see anything that had happened. “Hi, Nicky.”

The younger male smiled at both of them, and said: “Should I start with outside?”

Gil nodded. “You probably won’t find much, but you might as well.” He reached for Catherine, and made contact with her elbow. “Come, my dear,” she chuckled and waved to Nick, who laughed as he pulled her into the house. “We have work to do.”

Once they were on their way to the bedroom, he glanced at her and asked: “Were you really on my bed?”

She looked up. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would, actually.”

Catherine wiggled her eyebrows. When he sighed and raised his, she gave in and admitted: “No, I wasn’t. I was thinking about it, though. Only planned to leave you a quick note, but couldn’t find a pen.”

“On my desk.”

“Which was a mess,” she responded. “So I tidied. Man, you’re less organized then I thought.”

He stiffened, knowing what he had tossed onto his desk as he cleaned his pockets out the day before. In his attempts to surprise Catherine, and keep their sex life fresh, he thought he would buy her both romantic and playful gifts and send them to both her home and office under a secret pen name. He thought it would be fun and exciting. But, if she found out what the gifts were, his surprise and planning would be wasted.

An officer stuck his head out of the bathroom door and called out to them. “DB’s in here, Dr. Grissom.”

Gil continued to lead her into the bathroom; and that’s where they found their victim. Catherine sighed and leaned against him, after the younger man left to stand outside in the hall. He kissed the top of her head to try to make her feel better. “Let’s get to work.”

Catherine stepped away and she immediately reached for her camera. He watched her work while trying to do his own work. Briefly, he scolded himself for losing himself in watching her work. It wasn’t the first time he had done that though; when they worked in close quarters together, he always found himself struggling to keep up.

“Posed?”

“Reading my mind,” she replied. When their eyes met briefly, they half-smiled at each other for a split second and kept working.

~*~

Catherine looked up at Gil when she felt his eyes on her. She glanced up and smiled. “Something wrong, Gil?”

He shook his head. “No, of course not. You’re doing just fine.”

“You should go check on Nick,” she told him, knowing that if he continued to stare at her, she wouldn’t make it through the shift.

Gil seemed to know what she was thinking. He chuckled and kissed her neck, making her squirm and shiver. “Alright. I’ll go check on Nick. Will you start the bedroom?”

She knew it wasn’t time for play; he knew it, too, because she could see the seriousness in his eyes. Softly, she caressed his face with her hand, and nodded. “See you in a bit.”

She went to work, using ALS to check for body fluids on the victim’s bed. While she started that task, she willed her nervous system to stop humming. All Gil had to do was look at her, and she was completely affected by him. It was dangerous to do so on the job; she wished she had better control.

Behind her, she heard footsteps. Since they weren’t Gil’s surefooted steps, she assumed they were Nick’s.

“Hey, Catherine,” Nick’s voice confirmed her assumption. “I’ll get that.”

“No,” she told him. “I got it.” She kept her eyes trained on the comforter, and soon she was rewarded. After spotting a hair, she held her hand out. “Tweeze me.” When the hair was clipped in the tweezers he gave her, she held it up for them to examine. “What do you think?”

“A little thick for a human hair,” he commented.

“No,” she countered. “I’ve seen them this thick.”

“Really?”

She answered: “Yeah.”

He pulled a bindle out for her to put the hair inside. Once it was safely sealed, he told her: “I’ll get it to the lab.”

Before he could leave, she called out: “Oh, and don’t forget what’s under the bed.”

“Why,” he asked back. “What’s under the bed?”

“Something that you would have caught eventually,” she fought to keep herself from laughing. “Crime Stopper.”

He chuckled. She smiled, thinking that the night wasn’t going to be half bad after all.

~*~

Catherine crossed her arms and walked with Gil to his office. “What do you mean I’m not a natural blonde?”

He glanced at her sideways. “Catherine, let’s not play coy. We both know you’re not.”

She threw her hands up and growled softly as he held the door open for her. He shut it behind her and immediately wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. This was what she had wanted all night; closeness with Gil was the best feeling she could ever expect to feel on the job—even solving a case didn’t leave her as juiced up as it used to.

Catherine sighed and rested her head against his shoulder; his hands made quick work of her waistband, and soon his hands were slipping past her underwear.

“Gil!”

He nipped at her ear, which did nothing to quell the fire inside her. Before she knew it, she was leaning against the wall next to the door, and he was in front of her, sliding her pants down to her ankles.

“See?” He looked up at her. “You’re not that blonde, and we both know it.”

“Shut up.” She managed to mutter as he pressed a kiss to her navel before treading lower. He chuckled, before using his tongue to lick and swirl, making her legs tremble and hands clench.

When he sucked on her clit, her knees buckled. Gil was quick, and managed to put his hands up and to catch her, pinning her back against the wall. She felt his hair under her fingers and knew that her hands had found his head.

After she felt more stable, she felt his fingers slip inside of her, rendering her unstable. Sliding to the floor, Gil adjusted them both, continuing to pleasure her.

Her mouth opened but no sound came out; his fingers had curled upwards, pushing her closer to an orgasm. She reached for him and pulled his face upwards. “Please... inside...”

Gil shook his head, but did move upwards so he could kiss her. While she pressed her mouth feverishly against his, he moved his hand faster, until the inevitable point at which her muscles clenched around his digits and her cries landed in his mouth.

Catherine pulled her mouth away and tucked her face into his neck, breathing his scent in deeply as her body twitched. “Gil... I, uh, why did...”

“I love that I render you speechless,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I love it, too,” she grinned back, as she caught her breath. “Is it my turn?”

Before he answered, his pager started beeping. Both of them cursed softly as Gil reached to his belt for his pager. He glanced down at it. “Sara and Brass have something for me.”

Catherine frowned. She didn’t exactly want to let him go, but this wasn’t a new problem.

“You going to be able to go meet with them,” she asked, pasting a grin on her face. “Without raising any suspicions?”

He chuckled. “You’re a riot.” When she fixed her clothes, and rolled over him to start unfastening his. “Cath! We can’t! I don’t have time!”

“Well, you certainly can’t go out into the hall with—” she reached into his pants and squeezed his erection in her palm “—that, can you?”

Gil hissed and shook his head. “N-no-no.”

Catherine laughed. These office moments were fun.

~*~

Gil looked at Sara and sighed. “She was being stalked.”

“Yep. All the evidence points to that.”

He sighed, knowing it was time to meet with Brass and the psychic again. Offering her a small, gracious smile, he reached out and touched her shoulder. “Thanks, Sara.”

As he walked, he knew he was going to have to cancel his plans for Catherine’s presents. It would just be in bad taste.

~*~

Catherine watched as the secretary at the front of the Crime Lab signed for something for Gil. When she neared, she offered a smile to Patty. “Hey, Patty. Do you want me to take that down to his office? He’s with someone at the moment.”

The tiny woman nodded. “That’d be great. Saves me a trip. Thank you, Catherine.”

She held the box in her hands, and turned to go back to his office. It was from a clothing store; but, it was different than the department store. She frowned, but deposited it onto his desk.

Then, she turned and walked down the hall. As she rounded the corner, she saw Gil on his cell phone, eyebrows furrowed, talking. She backed up until she was hidden and waited there, eavesdropping.

She didn’t exactly know what she was doing, but there was some tiny fear rooting itself inside of her; part of her actually considered that the gifts weren’t for her.

“Marc, I think I love you,” she heard Gil’s voice from the other side of the wall. “Can I stop by on my way to a scene? I guess I should start putting payments on that debt I owe you ... I’ll see you in about twenty minutes, okay?”

After he hung up the phone, Catherine raised an eyebrow and considered her options. Then, she headed out after him.

~*~

Gil exited the office building and looked around. Out of the corner of his eye, he could’ve sworn he saw Catherine, huddled by a pillar on the other side of the small plaza. He chuckled and shook his head, wondering why she was following him.

He patted his coat pocket to make sure the expensive bauble was still there. Feeling the box under his hand, he smiled and continued walking. He couldn’t wait until later.

~*~

On her way to Jane Galloway’s home, Catherine pulled out her cell phone and dialed Warrick’s number.

“Brown.”

“Hey, War’, it’s me.”

“What’s up, Cath?”

She asked: “Do you know anyone by the name Marc?”

“No, should I?”

After a groan, she replied. “No. I’m probably just overreacting. Gil—”

“You’re probably overreacting. I’ll call you later.”

Laughing, she said she’d see him in a bit, and she hung up the phone.

~*~

Outside on the roof, Gil watched as Catherine walked towards him, down the incline. He reached out with his hand. She accepted it and stopped moving when she reached his side.

“Thank you,” she said while her scent wrapped around him.

After they conversed, she took her hand and put it on his lower back. He looked down at her, and wondered what she was thinking. Before he could even gauge his own thoughts, his hand was reaching up to caress her face, while he leaned down to kiss her.

Their lips met quickly, before she pulled back and said: “We’re on the job. Someone might see us.”

He sighed and kissed the top of her head. “I hate when you’re logical.”

She chuckled. “Let’s get to work. I’ll give Sara a call and tell her to come over and give us a hand.”

~*~

As she and Gil left the hospital, he knew she needed comforting—instead of an inquiry into her activities earlier, which was what he had planned. They stopped outside her Tahoe, where he followed her to the driver’s side. “Gil,” she said, as she watched him extend his hand, palm up. “I can drive.”

“So, that’s why you’re shaking?”

She sighed and stubbed her toe against the asphalt. “No, I’m shaking because Nick could’ve been killed and because Warrick’s guilt is infectious. I... I want to...” she sighed and fished the keys out of her purse and handed them over. “You’re right. You should drive.”

“C’m’ere,” he opened his arms up for her. She fell into his offered embrace, sighing and shuddering when he tightened his hold on her. “We’re going to get him.”

“I know.” She looked up and kissed him. “Thanks. Let’s go.”

“You sure?”

Catherine nodded, blonde hair bouncing. “Yep. I’m as sure as I’ll ever be.”

He kissed her once more and then they got into the vehicle and drove off.

~*~

“What the hell?”

Catherine’s heart was pounding. For a split-second, she thought she was going to end up kicked out of the window. When she saw Gil, she felt a crashing wave of relief that tried to battle the panic her body was still reeling from.

“He lives up there,” Gil started talking without any apology or acknowledgment that he frightened her. “Not down here. Works, sleeps, changes his clothes, everything in the attic. He looks down on the world separating himself form others. Fascinating, really.”

She knew he wouldn’t understand why she wanted to club him. He looked like a child at Christmas that was given the key to a candy store for a present. There would be no explaining this to him. She gave in and continued on with the case: “Well, you’re going to love this,” she pointed to the side of the trash bin. “There’s a long streak of red on its inside.”

“Red dye.”

“Yep. Now what?”

She watched him hold up a digital tape. “Dinner and a movie?”

After a moan, she raised an eyebrow. “So first you scare a girl and then you try and win her over with a date?”

“I scared you?”

She nodded. “The second time today. I’m not enjoying it too much. You know how jumpy I am in dark rooms, where scary men live in attics, waiting to jump out and kick investigators out of second story windows.”

Before he could respond, because she sensed he wouldn’t, she turned and started tidying her kit up to leave. “Cath,” he set a hand on her back. “I’m sorry about scaring you. I didn’t mean to. I just... got excited over the case.”

She smiled up at him. The apology meant a lot. “It’s okay. I know how you get.”

“Forgiven?”

“After all of this, you owe me a movie, and breakfast.”

He reached for her hand and helped her up. “Omelets and screwdrivers?”

“And a chick flick,” she added. “A good, girly, make-a-guy-squirm chick flick.”

Gil sighed. “Fine.”

~*~

In the A/V lab, while Archie was putting in the next tape, Catherine looked over at Gil. He felt her eyes on him before he looked up and met her gaze. She pressed her lips together and shrugged her shoulders.

“I know,” he said. “Not what you had in mind.”

She chuckled. “You so owe me.”

Archie chuckled. “Not exactly what you two had planned for this evening?”

Catherine smiled at the young technician. “I had a cheesy drugstore novel planned.”

Gil added: “Reorganizing my butterflies.”

Archie smirked. “Not exactly ‘crazy guy in the attic.’”

“No, not exactly,” both of them replied at the same time.

Minutes after that exchange, Sara and Warrick entered the room, looking as worn as Gil felt.

~*~

“Warrick,” Gil approached the younger man after they left the station. He knew the last thing any of them wanted was to go back to the lab, but he wanted to get Catherine out of there and help her relax. She always liked to look out for the younger investigators, as if she was a mother-figure to them, and having Nick in the middle of it had her frazzled. “Catherine and I are going to head out. Can you finish the—”

He cut him off. “Go tell her she’s doing a fine job, and Nick will be fine, and we’ll look out for him.” He smiled. “Take care of her.”

“Thanks.”

“You owe me.”

“I know.”

He returned to Catherine and helped her into the Tahoe. “Let’s go pick up some food and a movie.”

~*~

Once settled on the sofa, after a light meal that Catherine raved about, Gil looked over at her. “So, are you going to tell me why you were stalking me earlier?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw you on my way out of—”

“Who’s Marc? And why are you buying him lingerie and hand cuffs and lotions?” She watched him fish something out of his pocket. A tiny box. Her eyes narrowed, knowing what would be inside of it. “And jewelry?”

He kissed her temple. “Marc is a jeweler. When I need to find rare pieces, he’s my guy.”

“So you bought him—”

“No, those were for you,” he admitted. “I was going to...” he blushed. “I was going to send you gifts. But, when we found out about the girl being stalked, and then Nicky... I didn’t think it was appropriate.”

She kissed him. “That was a sweet idea.”

“You still want your presents?”

She nodded. “But, right now, I want to watch this movie.” He smiled, seeming to understand her decision. She sighed and snuggled against him, feeling better than she had in a couple of days, although she was still embarrassed with how she jumped to conclusions. After a few minutes, her curiosity got the better of her. “Can I have the small box you’re holding onto?”

He kissed her again, this time on the top of her head. “I suppose so.”

Catherine was given the box. After opening it, she saw a beautiful ring with her birthstone, a diamond, and his birthstone. The gems sparkled. She looked up. “Gil? What’s this?”

“A promise ring. Took me a while to find a nice one with the right cut stones... I wanted it to be perfect.”

“Promise?”

“Promise to always love you,” he answered. “Promise to be there for you. I didn’t think we were ready for an engagement, telling everyone about us, and facing the music, but I wanted to give you something so you knew that—” She cut him off by sitting up and kissing him solidly on the lips. “Is it too much?”

“Definitely not,” she grinned, thrilled that he was taking the next step in their relationship. “You’re amazing. I love you.”

Gil smiled back. “I love you, too.”

She watched him take the ring from the box and slide it onto her finger. “It’s beautiful.”

“You don’t need to wear it all the time... I just...”

She kissed him, and pulled the necklace he had given her out of her shirt. “Like the pendant, I’ll wear it every chance I get.”

When Gil kissed her this time, she felt her toes curl. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. He left her lips to blaze a trail to her throat. He whispered: “I want to see what those stones look like against your skin.”

She forgot about the movie.




The End!

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