Gil kissed his way up her wriggling torso and then settled on her lips for a few moments. She sighed and let her head fall back as she tried to catch her breath. “I love you.”
She grinned playfully. “I love when you do that!” The minute he started to tickle her, in punishment, she squirmed and shrieked before giving up: “Okay! Okay!” He stopped his torment and propped himself up on one elbow, looking at her playfully. “I love you.”
He kissed her again.
Catherine curled up around him, letting his head rest on his shoulder while her arms circled his body. “I like your apartment.”
“You like my *townhouse* because we stop here during the day, or when Lindsey is away, and spend the entire time in bed.”
She nodded. “Yeah, that sums it up.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, though,” he said between gentle kisses to her forehead. “You know, I was thinking that maybe instead of this townhouse, I buy a cottage somewhere, and we could just—”
“But I love this place.”
“You wouldn’t want a retreat?”
She shook her head. “This is a good retreat. Less travel time.”
“Plus,” he reasoned out loud, “Then my change of address would be for the lake, and then everyone would begin to wonder where I lived.”
Catherine frowned. This was the second time in a couple of days that the secrecy surrounding their relationship came up into question. She looked up at him. “Would it be such a bad thing, for everyone to know?”
“Cath...”
“Maybe we should come out of the closet.”
“We’re not in the closet,” he insisted. Catherine had to look away; she didn’t want him to read his thoughts so easily. “Why do you suddenly want to tell everyone?”
She shrugged, trying to sort her thoughts out first. “It’s not so sudden. I’ve been thinking... I don’t know. Last week was so hard, hiding from all of the people we trust and respect just tires me out.”
He pointed out: “Warrick knows.”
“What about the two other CSI’s on our team, excluding Al, Greg, and Jim, who have been good friends and colleagues to both of us. It’s exhausting to have to lie, and I’d feel better knowing that I didn’t have to do that all the time.”
Gil examined her for a while, bringing her chin up so that her eyes were focused in his. She knew that after a couple of minutes, he’d be able to see what was going on in her mind; she couldn’t hide how she felt when they were so intimate with each other.
However, his home phone line started to ring. He reached behind him and answered it. “Hello?”
Catherine heard a higher pitched voice on the line, and rolled over. She didn’t want to be any more curious than she already was. She felt Gil’s hand on her lower back, stroking up and down softly along her spine. She shivered and gripped the covers up to her chin, struggling to keep her cool.
“Sara, I’m going to be a little late, I’m just—” he sighed. “—feeding my bugs.”
Catherine got up, glaring at him. That excuse wasn’t exactly what she had been expecting. Things, she believed, would be much easier if he could just say ‘I’m with my girlfriend.’
He looked up at her, and said to Sara: “I’ll meet you at the park as soon as I can. Wait for me before you go in.”
She was already reaching for her oversized t-shirt when his hand clasped her wrist. “You’re jealous of Sara, still.”
“Let go of me, Gil.”
“Why are you jealous of Sara?” He fingered the ring on her hand. “You know I’m only crazy about you... I don’t love her... I don’t give her expensive, rare pieces of jewelry—”
“That I can’t wear in public because we’ll get found out,” she interjected, breaking away from him to put her shirt on. “I don’t like her calling you at home, so late.”
He looked at her, eyebrows knitted in thought. “Cath, we work the night shift.”
“You know what I mean.”
They looked at each other. Catherine broke down first, chuckling softly. “Okay, so maybe I’m being a little irrational.”
“A little?”
“I trust you,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him. “In fact, I trust you with my life. However, it’s her I don’t trust.”
He kissed her back, leaving her lips reluctantly. “Well, let’s let your trust for me be strong enough to trust both her and I.” He kissed her again, and then reached for his clothes that were draped over a nearby chair. “I’m going to go help out with the case, Cath.”
“But,” she frowned, staring at him. “What about our night off? Retreat? Champagne? This ringing any bells?”
He reached for her after he finished putting his pants on. “Cath, this is work... you know how important it is to both of us. Besides, you have court later.”
“I know,” she huffed. “But we never get time alone.”
Gil slid into his shirt, and the nuzzled her gently before kissing her bare shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“And, if Miss Sidle calls again, will you tell her you’re just feeding your bugs?”
“Hey!”
“Well, I feel a little unimportant,” she pouted, stroking his chest through his shirt. “I know how you feel... but, bugs?”
His arm pulled her tighter to him even though she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be so close. “You’re the only person I’m in love with... more than my bugs.”
She let out a strangled, frustrated laugh. “Only I could fall in love with a passionate entomologist.”
“And, I’ll show you how passionate I am, when we celebrate after your court appearance.”
“Not now?”
He shook his head. “Work now.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she was still upset, but she let it slide. Working a case was a part of who Gil was. he loved it. She didn’t want him to ever resent her, or cause him to think that she wasn’t proud of him and nothing would ever change that.
So, she pasted a smile on her face. “Go catch the bad guy. We’ll party afterwards.”
“With champagne,” he added, kissing her lips chastely before getting up to leave. She chuckled and watched him leave, while her jealousy and disappointment hid until he was out of the house. When the door shut behind him, the dark feelings washed back up over her.
~*~
“What’d the ranger say?”
Gil replied, “Nobody saw anything suspicious. Park closes up at 10 p.m. No security, minimal lighting. Basically,” he added, “A pretty good place to dump a body.”
Sara nodded and then asked: “Are you coming with me to the autopsy?”
Gil turned to face Sara. “Yes, but I just have to make a call. Do you mind going ahead of me?”
Sara shook her head. “No, not at all. I’ll meet you there.”
Satisfied with that, Gil pulled his phone out and punched in Catherine’s number, turning away from the younger woman. When she answered, he smiled. “Hello, beautiful.”
She chuckled. “What do you want?”
“You,” he replied on a sigh. “I miss you already.”
“Me, too,” she said, while he heard a car starting in her vicinity. “What are you up to?”
He could hear her smile. Her entire voice warmed. “Just you wait until you get back to your office.”
Gil groaned, in anticipation of his surprise. “What are you up to, my dear?”
She laughed. “You’ll love it.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he responded. “There’s nothing you do that I don’t love, however...” there was a movement out of the corner of his eye. Sara stepped out from behind his Tahoe. “One second,” he pulled the phone back from his mouth. “Sara? Aren’t you supposed to be on your way to the lab?”
“I thought I’d wait...”
He pointed to her vehicle. “You can go, I’ll be along shortly.” He turned his back again, without another though, and returned to Catherine. “Sorry about that.”
“She’s dying to know who you’re talking to.”
“Well, it’s not—” he bit off his sentence. “I’m a little too private for—”
“Look, it might help her get over you if she knows you’re taken.”
He sighed, knowing that they would never see eye to eye on this issue. “Maybe. Who knows.”
She sighed, too. “Okay, I’m sorry. Let’s not fight. I didn’t want to fight anymore tonight.”
“I don’t want to either,” he replied.
“Good.”
“I’ll see you later then?”
He answered: “Of course.”
“I love you.”
“Me, too.”
She was pouting. Gil could all but see her. “Gil... please say it back.”
He furrowed his eyebrows, and turned to glance at Sara, who was busy spying on him. He was definitely uncomfortable, but he did fill her request: “I love you, too.”
“See,” she said, smiling. She was definitely smiling again. Her voice was so easily able to betray her feelings when she wanted it to. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“No,” he replied, getting into the driver’s side of his vehicle. “It wasn’t. It’s easier in person though. I’ll see you later, alright?”
“Yep.”
When they drove back to the lab, Gil wondered what Catherine was cooking up. He saw her vehicle in the parking lot, but that didn’t give him any clues. Once Sara was walking with him, their evidence in hand, she asked: “Who was on the phone?”
He sighed, and decided that lying wouldn’t be easier this time. He wished Catherine could be around to hear him, so she’d believe that he faced the truth so easily. “My girlfriend.”
Her eyes widened, surprise written all over her face. “Really? Who— I mean, how long has—”
Gil cut her off. “Now really isn’t the time for twenty questions. Don’t we have an autopsy to attend to?”
Her face fell. “You’re right.”
~*~
After the autopsy, Gil unlocked his office door and stepped inside, not bothering to turn the light on as he relocked his door. He could smell Catherine. She was in the room and had been for some time.
“You certainly take your sweet time.”
He felt Catherine’s hand on him; when his connected with her body, he found it totally bare. “You certainly feel sweet,” he purred as he pulled her tim him, and lowered his head to her shoulder to lick her soft skin. “You certainly taste sweet, too.”
She giggled, and then whispered in his ear: “Surprise.”
He grinned, even though she couldn’t see his smile. “I like this.”
“Good,” she replied. “Me, too.”
~*~
Catherine frowned. “Gil?”
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
He nodded; she could feel his miniscule stubble against her soft skin. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“We’ve been lying here, doing nothing, for twenty minutes. I mean, cuddling is great, but that wasn’t part of my big surprise.”
She rolled over carefully on the sofa as he defended his choice of activity: “We don’t get enough time to cuddle.”
Her lips traveled to his lips, and then along his jaw. “True.”
“Plus, we really don’t have time—”
“Look... there’s plenty of time. Hey,” she asked: “What did you tell Sara?”
“About?”
She sighed as she began working at his shirt. “The phone call. She asked after, like any jealous schoolgirl, didn’t she?”
“Cath!”
“I knew she would!”
“How—”
She interrupted his question, curiosity eating at her. “Well?”
“I told her that I was talking to my girlfriend.”
Catherine let out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding onto. His saying that meant to much. She showered him with kisses. He laughed and struggled to keep her affections at bay. “Cath, please, I just want to hold yuo.”
“Gil,” she didn’t understand why he was avoiding physical contact. “What’s wrong?”
“Why does something have to be wrong?”
“It just feels different,” she replied honestly. When she slid her hands up his chest, he sucked in his breath. That made her grin. Gil tried to distract her, but she was determined, moving until she was straddling his hips. She wriggled, but didn’t feel what she wanted to feel. Even though it wasn’t the end of the world, she still felt her heart thud in her chest. “It really does feel different.”
The minute the words left her lips, she regretted saying them. Gil’s face showed her how crushed he was, how embarrassed he was.
“Gil? Baby?”
He rolled them, carrying Catherine into his arms. “Sorry, Cath. My body doesn’t want to participate.”
“But... is it me?”
He kissed her bare shoulder. “No, definitely not.”
She had never experienced this before, and it confused her. “It’s probably just stress, right?” He nodded, silently agreeing with her. “Why don’t you take some time off?”
He chuckled. “And when management asks why, I’ll just tell them it’s because I can’t achieve an erection.”
“No, I just—”
“After this case—”
She won out in the end. “It won’t be just this case. Besides, Sara’s a big girl, and she can handle it by herself.”
He narrowed his eyes. For the second time in that room, she regretted her choice of words.
“Is this about Sara?” When she didn’t respond, he pushed. “Jesus, Cath! I already told her I had a girlfriend! What more do you want?”
She got up and reached for her clothes. Gil sat up. She tried to respond, while she dressed, but found it difficult. “I just meant... goodness, I don’t know, Gil. We’ve always been able to work through our problems, and... I don’t know what I can do to help you now. Tell me?”
He reached for her, tugging her into his lap. “Love me. That’s all. I’m just stressed.”
“You sure that’s it? I mean, I do that already.”
Gil nodded. “I know. Paperwork’s been mounting, and there’s some political stuff going on, and I have a feeling that this is all just related.”
“So, you’re not—”
“Not falling out of love, not sleeping with anyone else, not doing anything I shouldn’t be doing—”
“—but working too hard,” she finished for him, ruffling his hair. Before he could even groan in protest, she kissed his forehead. “Back later for cuddles?”
Gil smiled. “Sounds good. After court, I’ll take some time off.”
They parted ways, but not before one last kiss. She sighed and felt her body heat up again, but she didn’t act on it. She watched him leave, confused, and desperately trying to find a way to meet him halfway over this new development in his life.
~*~
Gil shut and locked his door. Once outside, he ran his hands through his greying hair and exhaled loudly. As he sagged against the wall, he thought back to what happened earlier, wondering what Catherine was thinking about him and his diminished arousal.
He couldn’t explain it. Somewhere between wondering if his hearing was fading, wondering if Catherine was going to lose interest in him, and while trying to maintain a professional attitude, his thoughts and worries had taken their toll on him.
When his pager beeped again, he grunted and pushed himself off the wall, heading in the direction of Greg’s lab.
Upon entering, he asked the younger man: “So do want to tell me about the silver flecks I found? Paint chips?”
Greg replied: “Aluminum and melamine in the color coat indicate that it's car paint. Factory job. Uh, body shop paint contains styrene, not melamine.”
With one more great mental push, he forced the images of Catherine in his office out of his head and focused on what Greg had told him. “Mm, what type of car?”
“Trick question,” he answered with that playful look he always wore when they exchanged information. “Paint won't tell me that. But, I do have an answer.
It's not technically part of my job description—but as you know—I'm always
eager to expand my responsibilities. Take a look down the scope.”
He looked down, and saw what appeared to be a symbol of sorts. After a little studying, he still couldn’t think of anything that it reminded him of. “Looks like some sort of insignia.”
Gil let Greg talk about the car, without commenting, until he said: “Sara's tracking down the owners.”
“You've, uh, already shared this information with Sara?”
“Yeah, an hour ago,” he offered up an answer. “And she was way more fascinated than you are.”
He countered in a serious tone: “Well, I'm somewhat fascinated by the fact that I'm your boss, but you talked to her first.”
The fascination couldn’t be helped. He was still struggling to banish the thoughts of Catherine from his head. He was much more fascinated, truth be told, with what she was thinking and doing.
“Well, you were at dinner,” Greg’s protest broke through his haze.
He truthfully admitted: “I've been in the lab all day, Greg.”
He turned and left the lab, still holding onto the file, running into Sara.
She spoke first. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Well,” he responded. “It’s hard to see me if you and Greg are out ahead of me.”
Sara immediately apologized. “Oh, uh, sorry about that, but Brass got me a list of those Mercedes owners. One moved to Los Angeles, there are over 50,” Gil sighed, none of those seemingly like suspects. “My guess,” Sara added, agreeing with his theory, “They would have stopped and rendered aid. Brass is checking them out, which leaves a Ben Weston, 25.” She finished with one more piece of information: “Leased the vehicle last week.”
He accepted the file she handed him, even though he trusted the information she was telling him. As he walked with her, he felt that this car search had begun to pan out.
~*~
Warrick held the door open for Catherine to walk through in front of him. “Hey, when the judge finally wraps this up, do you and Gil want to go out for something to eat?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Gil might not be able to make it though.”
“Why not?”
“He’s been *really* busy lately.”
“Cath?”
She shrugged again. “It’s no big deal. I’m sure it’ll work out. I’ll see you later.”
Since she didn’t seem like talking about it, Warrick wasn’t going to push the issue, although he certainly was wondering about the latest problem in their relationship. He didn’t understand how two people who were so right for each other could fight about so many complex things. He had always figured that they were smart enough to figure things out for themselves, but he was beginning to wonder about that.
He shrugged it off, and headed to find Nick, to see what his case was like. It certainly sounded interesting. When he entered the break room, Sara was the only one there.
“Hey, Sara,” he said as he took a seat on the sofa next to her. “You smell nice.”
She frowned. “Thanks. Did you know Grissom has a girlfriend?”
His eyes popped open. He had missed more than he thought, he realized. “Who is she?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, “But—”
“Just let it go, Sara.”
“But—”
“And don’t tell anyone else. He trusted you for a reason, so don’t go and blow it.”
She looked hurt. “But—”
He sighed, exasperation in his breath. “I can’t believe you still have a thing for him. Let it go!” He felt bad for being so harsh, because he did have a soft spot for Sara, but Grissom and Catherine didn’t need anymore trouble, from the way Catherine had acted earlier. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen, Sara.”
“I guess,” she said, as Gil walked from the general area of Greg’s lab. “Well, he must’ve had the car set up. I’ll see you later.”
Warrick frowned and watched her leave. That night would be interesting, he knew, but he wasn’t sure if it was in a good way.
~*~
“Cath?” At the sound of Warrick’s voice, Catherine turned Gil’s chair around and faced him slowly. She wiped at her face, and tried to smile, but found it difficult. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing much.”
“Liar.”
She stuck her tongue out at him after he shut the door. “I don’t like how you know me so well.”
He sat down on the chair in front of the desk. “Yeah, well, you’d think that you’d be used to it by now. What happened?”
She hiccuped. “I even did his paperwork.” She frowned and then said: “I thought you said yuo were never getting involved again?”
He smirked. “That’s what I thought, too, but between you and Sara, I’m beginning to think that it’s the only way to keep this lab together.”
“Is something going on between him and Sara?”
Warrick shook his head. “She knows he has a girlfriend, but I don’t think she knows it’s you.”
“Good.”
He nodded in agreement. “I tried to tell her to back off, but she’ll only listen to Grissom.”
“And he doesn’t think she’s after him,” she responded, misery weighing her voice down. “And he’s so stressed, apparently, that he doesn’t wanna talk, and he didn’t even pay attention to all the work I did for him!”
Warrick frowned. “What’s got him stressed?”
“I have no clue.”
“Well, how do you know it’s stress?”
She blushed. “We had some, ah... I really don’t think I can tell you this. He might get cranky, if he finds out I told you. Fragile male ego,” she said on a sigh.
“Hmm. I think I get it. It could’ve just been a bad case.”
“Or Sara Sidle,” she grumbled, crossing her arms.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Been bitten by the green eyed monster lately?”
“Oh, shut up.”
Their pagers went off almost simultaneously. “No more recess,” he announced after checking his since Catherine didn’t bother to move. “In 30 minutes.”
“Yippee.”
He bit back a laugh, knowing she was in no mood for fun and games. “C’mon. Let’s get yourself cleaned up, so you can say goodbye to Gil, and after, I’ll take you out.”
“Anywhere I want?”
“Anywhere you want.”
She managed a small smile. “Okay, I’ll go freshen up.”
~*~
“Maybe there is no thief,” he said, still in shock from Catherine’s calm and composed appearance. The look in her eyes said that he was playing with fire, and he was a little nervous about approaching her.
However, he didn’t want to leave the divide between them for too long.
He knew what was wrong; he had seen the paperwork, but had been so excited about the car parts arriving, that he forgot to really show her how much she appreciated him.
After glancing at the door she exited through, he turned to Sara: “I’ll be right back.”
Before she could respond, he was already out of the door. He caught up to Catherine and Warrick, and grabbed her by the arm.
“Hey!” She cried out, caught off guard. Gil waved at Warrick, who stepped back as the couple all but fell into an empty evidence room. She glared crossly at him. “What do you think you’re—”
He cut her off and kissed her, although he briefly considered the notion that she might bite his lips off in spite. Instead, she kissed back, moaning into his mouth as they yielded for each other. His hands pushed her against his body which was pressing her against the wall. He broke his mouth from hers and trailed down her neck. He sucked and licked, causing her knees to buckle. When he lifted his head, he pressed his lips against hers for a quick kiss, and then he said: “Thank you.”
Her eyes were covered by a lusty haze. “For what?”
“Doing my paperwork, being supportive despite the fact that I’m an ass... you name it.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiled back. “You’re good at this apology thing, Dr. Grissom.” She adjusted her position, wrapping an arm around his neck, and when the extra closeness pushed her against him suggestively, she felt something surprising. Her voice dropped to a low, lusty whisper: “You’re huge!”
He prayed Warrick didn’t hear what was just said.
Gil blushed as she rubbed herself against him. “Yes... I, um, well, I guess so. Now, really isn’t the time, though.”
Warrick popped his head in. “Sara’s leaving the car... if you wanna go hide...”
Gil shook his head. It wasn’t appropriate, and he felt that even Catherine knew it. “After court, I promise.”
“You so owe me.”
He kissed her quickly, but thoroughly, and let her leave, all the while wondering how he could keep hiding this from Sara who would notice the flush in his face and the swelling in his pants.
~*~
“Cath?”
“War?”
“He branded you.”
Her smile faltered, her jaw dropped, and her hands flew to her neck. “I’ll kill him.”
Warrick chuckled. “Just brand him later. We’ve got testimony to give.”
As they walked into the courthouse, she silently vowed to get him back and started to plot her revenge.
The End!
