"So... he had two strains of DNA in his body," Catherine said quietly.
"Yeah," Gil replied, "and the DNA in his semen was evidently from his dead twin brother."
Catherine suppressed a sigh and watched Jim interview Todd Coombs. She was exhausted, both emotionally and physically; she felt awful about the blonde woman she had failed to protect, failed to give the woman peace of mind and the justice she deserved. Catherine hated feeling as though she failed someone---a friend, relative, or victim.
"...but when I see a woman who arouses me... the whole world disappears... except for her," Coombs told Brass. "She can't say no."
She shivered. Gil reached over and put his arm around her shoulders in the privacy of the observation room. She sighed and leaned against him.
"Thanks," she breathed.
"I'm sorry we didn't get him in time," he whispered into her hair before kissing her temple.
Catherine frowned. "It's alright. The evidence... it was misleading... it lied."
Gil kissed the same spot again. Then, he tilted her towards him for a more proper kiss; their lips lingered for a moment before they pulled away, mutually. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know this case, this woman was important to you."
"Thank you," she breathed before putting her arm around his lower back.
"Let's get out of here," he suggested.
Catherine shook her head. "Can't... not yet. Still have to process everything and write the reports up---"
"C'mon," he insisted, taking her arm and walking her away from the two-sided mirror.
"Gil---"
"I don't like the way you're looking at him," he told her quietly as he guided her out of the room and down the hall to the exit. When she spluttered and protested, he said, "Don't deny it. He's getting under your skin. And you're right---we still have a lot of work to do. So, let's take a break from all that mess and recharge."
Catherine's eyebrow arched. It was still lifted when he tucked them away inside of his office at the forensics lab.
"What?" he asked.
She snorted. "Recharge is a euphemism, isn't it?"
"It's whatever you want it to be, my dear," he told her quietly as he pulled the blinds and locked the door. "If you'd just like to sit and relax, we can do that. But, whatever it is, we're doing it until Brass is finished with Coombs."
"We... we can't just hang out here---"
"We can and we're going to," he told her. "Everyone else is finishing up their reports and we're the primaries on the case, so---"
"Okay, okay," she murmured, as she wrapped her arms around his waist and tucked her hands in his back pockets.
"Hrm... Catherine that could be construed as inappropriate," Gil commented, an amused tone in his voice when she squeezed his flesh.
"So? Your point is... what, exactly?"
He put his hands on her hips and pushed against her body. She felt the beginning of an erection and she stiffled a giggle.
"So, that's your point," she whispered, still laughing a bit.
"I have a feeling it'll get bigger in a few minutes," Gil whispered near her ear.
"Dirty, dirty man," she purred, lifting her head and peeking up at him. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked. She motioned towards the shelf where the listening device was recording everything they were saying. "This is hardly a good time to---"
"I got rid of it."
Catherine blinked. "You what?"
"I confronted Ecklie," Gil said. "I printed it, found his prints on it, and then confronted him when I returned it to him. I told him he had no right to spy on me, since I wasn't doing anything unethical, and I would appreciate it if he'd leave me alone." He shrugged. "I had Archie sweep the place for bugs a couple of days ago."
She smiled. "You did?"
"It's my office. I have confidential conversations with employees and... well, it's my office," he said, shrugging. "So, you can tell me exactly how dirty I am without worrying about someone replaying our little session in here."
"Little?" Catherine asked with a smile. "I have a feeling we could be in here for quite a while."
"Excellent," he said with a boyish grin.
Catherine laughed quietly and tucked her face into his shoulder. The air had been cleared between them recently, and she could admit to herself that she felt better after they talked and decided to not follow conventional relationship patterns. She did find it a little weird, but their situation was a little weird; by not defining what they were, they had given each other protection and freedom and some sort of security. The only permanent condition was that they had to be completely honest with each other. She had no qualms about that---it wasn't in her nature to keep secrets from Gil (unless they pertained to her father)---but she was concerned about how long Gil's honesty would last.
"How long do you think we have before Sara or Nicky shows up with their reports?" she asked, looking at him again.
He smiled and shrugged. "Enough time... you think?"
"Let's find out," she whispered before leaning in and pressing her lips to his.
Gil wrapped his arms around her body and picked her up a few inches off the ground as the kiss continued. Catherine wrapped one of her legs around his waist; she whimpered and rocked against him, showing him with her body how he was making her feel.
She lifted her head as a particular thought dawned upon her. "Hey," she whispered.
"Yes?"
"What did Archie say when you asked him to check your office out?"
"He asked me if I was feeling particularly paranoid lately," Gil said, his ears turning pink. "I didn't get into any details... only to say I had a few unexpected visitors and I wanted to be careful."
She smiled. "I wish I could have seen the expression on your face," she said quietly.
"If wishes were horses..."
Catherine's smile faltered and all of a sudden, all she could think about was Linley Parker. Gil sighed and tightened his hold on her; as she closed her eyes, he kissed her cheek and temple several times.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
She nodded and hugged him back. A few minutes later, Gil's kisses traveled to her lips and Catherine allowed herself to get swept up into the feelings he was stirring inside of her, escaping the pain and guilt she was doomed to feel.
Soon, she was tugging his shirt out of his pants and stripping away only the most necessary layers of his clothing so they could get to the more intense part of their private time together. In turn, Gil did the same to her. When she buried her face in his neck and sucked on his skin; he tipped his head to one side and granted her all the access she wanted to his flesh.
Catherine feasted, tasting and nibbling his skin and trying to lose herself in everything that was in front of her. She was glad that Gil wasn't putting up much of a fight, that he was letting her take the lead. She needed to bury her thoughts and emotions and she knew from experience that she could do that with Gil.
The instant she thought that, though, Gil's hands pinned hers to the wall. Catherine gasped and whined as her head was forced back against the wall in that new position.
"What're you... what're you doing?"
"Taking over," he replied quietly as she struggled against his arms. "You want to be in control a little too much, Catherine," he whispered before kissing a line alone one of her upper arms. "And you're upset... and I think I can still read you as well as I used to be able to."
She shivered and opened her eyes, looking at him. "What... what do you think I need?"
"Turn around," he whispered, his voice rougher and huskier than before.
"Gil... I want to---"
"Let me take care of you," he insisted before nipping at the underside of her jaw, "instead of you taking what you think you need."
Catherine whimpered in protest, but she eventually slid her legs down Gil's body and turned around. Gil kissed her shoulder and slowly pulled her pants and underwear down her legs; she stepped out of the puddle of fabric and craned her neck to look at him.
"Hands on the wall at all times," he instructed quietly as his own hands settled on her stomach.
"Gil..."
"I'm not kidding," he said before nipping at her shoulder.
She shivered and nodded as his beard scratched over her skin.
Once her hands were pressed, palms flat, against the wall, Gil's mouth and hands began to travel over her body. Catherine's breathing became increasingly ragged with every stroke and squeeze.
He nudged her legs apart when he was ready. Catherine held her breath and waited. First, he guided her hips into a better position and then he slowly pushed himself inside of her.
She whimpered as quietly as she could when his erection entered her body; the angle of penetration was a little different in that position, standing with her back to his chest, but it still felt good in all the ways that mattered.
Gil's movements were slow. No matter how hard Catherine tried to entice him into a faster paced coupling, Gil would not follow her suggestion. He simply held her hips in place and moved at his leisure.
"I control this," he reminded her, breathing heavily near her ear.
Catherine grunted in reply. She flexed her fingers in irritation, pushing them against the wall.
"Keep 'em up," he whispered.
"Bite me," Catherine growled.
Gil obliged her---even though Catherine knew that he knew she didn't mean her retort to sound like a request---and sunk his teeth into the flesh of her upper arm. She moaned and sunk back against him.
"Harder," she croaked.
"I control this," he repeated after releasing her flesh. That time, though, his voice sounded more strained. Catherine took some small amount of comfort in that fact. She squeezed her hidden muscles around him and almost smiled when he hesitated with his body touching the full length of hers. "Cath..."
She snorted and repeated her actions.
He released one of her hips and brought his hand down hard onto her upper thigh. When his hand smacked her skin, she bit back a gasp and a yelp of shock and pleasure before pushing back against him with a bit more force than before. He slapped her thigh again; Catherine stilled and waited for him to resume his agonising pace.
It took longer than Catherine had expected for the telltale tingles of her impending orgasm to surface, warming her insides the way Gil was warming her outsides.
She whimpered in frustration. He was holding her in some sort of hellish limbo.
Gil nipped at the back of her neck and then whispered, "Let go."
She moaned and pushed back against him. "Finally," she muttered, using her hips to entice Gil to move with a bit more certainty.
He nipped the same spot again in reply and then put his hands on her stomach and hip to as he, too, picked up the speed and force of his body's movements.
When Catherine's orgasm finally washed over her, she tipped her head back and rested it against Gil's shoulder as she moaned his name over and over. Gil kissed her face, almost reaching her lips, and then he dropped his face into her shoulder as his body tightened.
"God..." Catherine breathed as they both sagged forward. Gil leaned on her and she leaned on the wall.
"Well said, my dear," he replied, his voice hoarse.
She chuckled quietly. Their phones started ringing from their positions on the floor. She started to laugh.
"Let them ring," Gil whispered. "We'll call back."
She nodded and put her hands over his. "Kay... can't let anyone in here, either," she added quietly. "It'd be pretty obvious... what we were doing."
"Who I was doing," Gil mumbled into Catherine's hair.
"Mmmyeah," she agreed.
"Wanna go somewhere this weekend?" Gil asked quietly. "Where we don't have to worry about co-workers?"
"My place or yours?" she asked.
"Come over to mine," he invited. "For a night. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind watching Lindsey, right?"
"Lindsey'd probably prefer it," Catherine muttered as they separated. She tugged her shirt on and then looked at him. "We'll see, okay?" she asked.
He nodded and smiled at her as he started to clean himself up and get dressed.
She watched him. She knew that she didn't want to be alone that night---bad cases always brought that neediness out in her---and Gil's offer would solve that problem. Before they left the safety of his office, she reached out and touched his arm.
"Gil?"
"Yes, Catherine?" he asked, turning to look at her.
"Can I let myself in... in a few hours?" she asked quietly.
He smiled at her before nodding. "Sure. I'll be here for a little bit, catching up on paperwork... and I'll meet you at my place after," he agreed before leaning in and kissing her lips.
"Thanks," she murmured.
"No problem," he whispered, threading his fingers through her hair. He smiled and kissed her again. "I know how bad cases get to you," he reminded her. He kissed her once more. "They get to me, too," he admitted.
Catherine smiled back at him. "Yeah," she whispered.
They left the safety of his office shortly after that exchange. Catherine saw Nick and Sara heading towards the building's exit, but she didn't follow them. Instead, she walked into the locker room and nearly crashed into Warrick.
"Whoa... slow down," he said quietly.
She smiled and moved out of his way. "Sorry about that," she murmured. "Wasn't paying attention."
"I can see... that."
Catherine tilted her head and looked up at him. "What?"
He smirked and shook his head. "Nothin'."
"Warrick..."
"I know what you were doing to pass the time," he teased, his voice deep and rough.
She swatted at his arm. "Warrick!"
He laughed quietly and dodged her hand. "Back together?"
Catherine smiled and shook her head. "Nah... not really. We were just... you know how it is."
"Like two horny teenagers at a drive-in," he commented, sounding very amused.
Upon hearing his comment, Catherine felt her cheeks heat up. Her eyes widened and she felt her jaw drop. Warrick chuckled again.
"No, seriously," he said quietly. "Everything's okay?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I think... we're not getting back together. Things just... you know," she said vaguely, so she wouldn't have to lie to her friend.
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding.
"But, we're not pissed at each other... so that's something," she said with a smile and a shrug.
Warrick looked at her with serious eyes. "You're okay with that?"
"Right now, yeah," she answered honestly.
He smiled and nodded. "A'right. Hey... whatever happens, I'm here for you," he told her.
"I know," she murmured.
"Sara, Nick, and I are heading out. Might have a drink or two on the way home. You want to come with?"
Catherine shook her head. "Nah... I've got Lindsey waiting for me at home," she told her friend. "Thanks, though. Raincheck?"
"It's a date," he promised.
She smiled and watched him leave, before she packed her things up and left the building.
After going home, Catherine discovered that her mother was already planning to spend the night. Lindsey was curled up in the living room, watching a movie on the television while she talked on the phone with one or two of her friends from school; Lily was cooking chili and cleaning the rest of the kitchen up while the dish stewed on the stove.
Catherine walked into the room and bent over the sofa to kiss the top of her daughter's head.
"Hey, baby," she murmured.
"Mom," Lindsey hissed, "not now! I'm on the phone!"
"I'm going to go visit Uncle Gil for a little while," she said quietly, ruffling her daughter's long blonde hair despite the preteen's protests. "You listen to Grandma, okay?"
"Yeah," Lindsey said, sounding distracted. "Night, Mom."
"Night."
Catherine went to her bedroom and packed an overnight bag before saying good-bye to her mother. She didn't give the woman much of an explanation; Lily knew Gil was a good friend, that he had been for years and years, so she didn't ask too many questions.
She arrived at Gil's townhouse before he did. She hadn't been surprised by that because he told her that he would be working at the lab, finishing some paperwork before they left.
So, she wandered around his home, cataloguing the differences since she had been there last before she made her way to his bathroom. She showered, using his toiletries, and then she put his robe on and went down to the living room to read a book while she waited for him.
Four chapters later, Gil hadn't returned to his home, and Catherine had fallen asleep on his sofa.
