"Everything okay?" Gil asked quietly as Catherine joined him on his patio that overlooked the small backyard behind his townhouse.
She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder as she walked behind him, towards the other reclining chaise. He put his hand over hers and slid it up to her elbow and tugged gently; she followed his gentle guidance until she was stretching out alongside his body, on his chaise.
"Am I squishing you?" she asked.
He shook his head and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Nope," he whispered.
"This is cozy," she murmured. "Sunrise and screwdrivers."
"Kind of like... tradition or something," he mused quietly. After another kiss to her forehead, he asked, "What's going on?"
"Oh... n-nothing."
He snorted.
She blushed and hugged him as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She wondered how sometimes he couldn't even tell if she was in a good mood or a bad mood, yet at other times, he could tell she was keeping a secret from him and that it was eating her up inside. She wondered if it was because she was hiding two secrets, if the secrecy was sometimes written someplace on her skin; he could be entirely too perceptive when she assumed he would be ignorant.
"Last week... you were all over the place," he said quietly, "up and down and left and right, and I couldn't figure out what was going on."
"Yeah," she agreed. She looked up at him and shrugged. "Granted, some things provoked me. But... yeah."
"What's going on?" he repeated.
"I..."
When she trailed off, she thought about everything that had happened after her night out with Jim and Gil. There hadn't been much cramping that night, but she woke up in the morning, doubled over and groaning. Lily took her to the hospital, where she learned that she had been in the process of miscarrying---again. She had heard the news and burst out laughing; the laughter lasted for a few minutes, after the doctor had left the room with a bewildered look on her face, until Lily put her hands on her daughter's knee and asked if Gil had been the father.
The laughter had stopped there. She had blinked and looked at her mother. "What?" she had asked. "Gil? Are you... serious?"
"Oh, Catherine, honestly," Lily had said in reply, "do you think I am blind? I saw the looks you two gave each other over the table. If you two aren't in love, then I don't know what---"
"There's more to a relationship than love, Mother," Catherine had ground out. "We are not together."
"Semantics," Lily had protested. "I know what I saw."
"Two friends. One friend very pissed at the other."
"But, you slept with him," Lily had pointed out.
Catherine had yelped wordlessly upon hearing that. "Mom!" she had exclaimed. "We shared a bed! Had a nap! That's it!"
Lily hadn't believed it but they didn't talk about Gil until the next day. Catherine had been using the computer in the study to scan the photographs and files, to burn them onto a disk she could hide; when Lily came into the room, she turned the monitor off and closed the lid of the scanner and looked up. Lily had asked if Catherine was going to tell Gil about the miscarriage; Catherine had insisted that it was none of Gil's business.
At the time, she believed that. But, looking up into Gil's eyes with the truth sitting on the tip of her tongue changed her mind.
"I had a miscarriage last week," she whispered, before looking away.
Gil cupped her face and pulled her gaze back to his. "Did you know... about the baby?"
She swallowed hard and shook her head. "No," she whispered.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," she replied shakily.
"I should have known... the hormones... the mood changes..."
She tried to tuck her face into his shoulder so she wouldn't have to look into his sad, worried eyes; however, Gil continued to hold onto her chin with one firm hand.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. When he quirked one eyebrow up, she heard herself start to babble. "I mean, having a baby isn't the best plan for us... but we would have made it work. And I wanted to give you a child so badly before... when I miscarried the first time, it killed me. I wish I was a better woman---"
"Don't say that," he scolded in a gentle voice. "You're an amazing woman. Children just aren't in the cards for us." He kissed her lips briefly and then looked at her. "I'd rather have you... alive and healthy, than anything else." He paused before asking, "You are okay, health-wise, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
Gil hugged her close and kissed her neck. "I'm glad you're okay," he breathed.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," he assured her. He lifted his head and smiled at her. "Was that so hard to tell me?"
Catherine felt her cheeks flush. "I... I didn't know how you'd take it."
"We promised to be honest, didn't we?" he reminded her. "I don't want you to be afraid to tell me things... I want us to keep our friendship intact, on top of anything else we share together."
She smiled a bit and nodded. "Sorry about that," she murmured. She reached over to the short table between the two reclining chaises and picked up her tumbler of vodka and orange juice. After a quick sip, she put the rim of the glass against Gil's lower lip and smiled more when he allowed her to feed him some of her drink. "I'll do better," she promised after she put the glass on the table.
"Me, too," he promised before gently patting her thigh.
She sighed and looked up as the sun rose in the early morning sky. "It really is beautiful out here," she mused
"It really is," he agreed quietly.
"So... now what?"
He picked up his glass of orange juice and vodka and after a mouthful, he offered it to her. "Now," he murmured, "we enjoy the morning before you have to go home."
"That's it?"
"That's it," he replied.
She chuckled softly and sipped from his glass.
&&&&
After a short nap, Catherine had been called into work early to process a crime scene. It hadn't been a pretty sight, but the case had been easy---which worked out well, because as she wrapped up the case, she received a call to go to Rainbow Canyon. She saw David and Jim, and expected to see them there, but when she saw Gil processing the body, she felt as if there hadn't been a point to her showing up to the fresh scene.
"What's the deal?" she asked him. "You're coming to my crime scenes before I get to them now?"
"Weren't you on a four-nineteen in north town?" he asked, before standing up.
"Guess you missed me," she said wryly.
"I'm just documenting," he assured her, "then I'm leaving."
He took a photo of the body as she put her kit down and inspected the sights in front of her. As she grimaced, Gil said, "Lots of animal activity."
"Well... out here, I guess there's, uh, rodents," she listed the likely suspects off, "coyote, buzzards... occasional mountain lion." She paused and picked up the victim's hand. When she noticed his ring, she spoke again. "What do we have here? A little ice?"
Brass kneeled down next to her and inspected the same piece of jewelry. "The end of Rainbow Canyon," he said in a grimly amused voice, "and this must be the pot of gold."
"Las Vegas... Greenbacks?" she asked, unsure of the team's name. She didn't know much about sports, but she thought she knew all of the local teams and the Greenbacks didn't sound very familiar.
"American Football Franchise Association," Jim told her. "That league folded about twenty years ago."
Catherine turned her attention from the ring to the shotgun hole in the victim's chest. She and Gil hypothesised for a few minutes and then Brass got called away, outside of the yellow tape. Catherine rose to her feet and stretched her body out slightly, working the kinks out of it. Gil stood up when she moaned quietly; when she looked at him, she saw a worried expression on his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She put her hands on her hips. "You're out here to mother hen me, aren't you?" she accused.
Gil's mouth fell open and he hesitated. He shook his head slightly. "C-catherine, no... I was called out for the bugs---"
"Yeah, but you stayed until I got here," she interrupted. She smiled when Gil's cheeks flushed. "Gil... I'm fine."
"I---" he stopped short and raised his hands. "Catherine, honestly, I don't know why you'd think---" he stopped short when she arched an eyebrow. "Okay, fine. Maybe I am a little concerned about you."
She grinned. "Thought so," she commented.
"I just... you know."
Catherine nodded. "I do... but I'm fine," she assured him.
"I called Nick out," he told her. "I couldn't stay... but I didn't want you to be alone."
Her smile softened. "Mother hen," she teased quietly.
He shrugged. "Yeah... so?"
"It's sweet," she murmured. "I'd kiss you if we weren't surrounded by cops."
He smiled a small, boyish grin. "Well, save that for later, my dear," he advised as he put his camera away. "I will have something to look forward to."
"Yeah... okay," she agreed, waving as he walked away.
&&&&
Catherine smiled when she saw Warrick in the break room. She walked into the room and sat down next to him; he smiled back at her, and she grinned in silent reply.
"You good?"
She nodded. "I am."
"Good," he said quietly.
"You?" she asked.
He smiled. "Yeah," he replied, nodding. He motioned towards the wide screen television, upon which a basketball game was playing. "Who do you like?" he asked.
"Uh..." Catherine quickly scanned the screen to see who was playing. "Charlotte," she replied. "My mom grew up in North Carolina."
"All right," he said, "I'll give you Charlotte plus two."
She smiled. "What do I get if I win?"
"How about... a fabulous dinner?"
She grinned. "I'll take your action," she murmured. After he agreed to accept the wager, she started talking about the case. "So... unless we find our murder weapon, the case against Urbana is circumstantial at best."
"But, he's involved," he replied, "I feel it. Those sports betting types---they'll lie to their own kids about a game that hasn't been played yet."
"You were a sports betting guy," she pointed out.
"Yeah, and I lied when I was," he admitted.
She nodded and turned her attention to the last few seconds of the game. When Charlotte lost, she groaned. Warrick smiled when she looked at him. "My team loses," she said, "but I still win that bet."
His phone interrupted their moment together. After he shared the information with her, about Cesar Dabo, she smiled and pushed herself up off of her seat. "Let's go check him out," she suggested. "And, while we do, I think you should be thinking about what you're going to be cooking in my kitchen."
He laughed as he followed her out into the hallway.
"You think I'm going to cook?"
"Oh, I know you're going to cook," she murmured as they walked side by side.
"Yeah?"
She looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah," she purred.
"What if Lindsey doesn't like what I make?"
"Then, I can have her share," Catherine decided with a quirky grin. "I'll buy wine, you can bring the food."
"Sounds like a deal," he agreed. "Tell me where and when."
&&&&
"Hey, stranger," Catherine murmured as Gil walked into his office. She had been sitting on the edge of his desk, but when he closed the door and neared her, she rose to his full height. "Haven't seen you much lately," she commented.
"I know," he agreed, "we've been busy."
"Still want your kiss?" she asked, smiling.
"Yes, please," he said. He set his papers down on his desk and put his hands on her hips, guiding her closer to him. "But," he added, "before this goes any further, may I suggest that we continue these activities later, at my place?"
She leaned in and brushed her lips over his briefly. Then, she slid her hands over his arms, to his shoulders. "How was your case?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Interesting. Odd... kind of sad. The usual."
Catherine nodded and kissed him again. "Yeah," she breathed.
"Someone thought I was gay," he told her.
Her eyes widened. "You? Gay?"
"Do I come across that way?" he asked. "I mean... I'm open to all sorts of lifestyles, and maybe once or twice I've wondered what same sex relationships would be like, but... but... you turn me on!"
She smiled. "I know I do," she murmured. "Whoever it was either wanted you... or just didn't know you well enough."
"It was a woman," he confessed. "I just wanted to know where she got her silk garment."
Catherine laughed softly. "Oh... well, that kind of makes sense."
"Does it?"
"Fashion is sort of the gay man's domain," she said, trying to explain. She leaned in and kissed his jaw. "Does the idea of being with a man interest you?"
"Does it interest you?" he challenged.
She blushed as the thought about Gil with another man passed through her mind. When Gil's eyebrow twitched up, she laughed quietly. "Well, it's definitely an interesting image to think about," she admitted. "I guess... it's kind of like the typical male fantasy of watching two women together," she added quickly, trying to explain herself yet again. "You're not opposed to being in the middle of me and Lady Heather," she pointed out. She smiled when he blushed, too. "So, I guess it's kind of the same thing, you know?"
"You'd like to be between me and another man?" he asked, smirking. "Catherine, I had no idea..."
"Oh, c'mon," she muttered, nudging him. "It's just... fantasy, you know?"
He nodded. "I do know," he murmured, before kissing her gently. After the kiss, he looked at her, "So, we're okay?"
She smiled. "Of course we are," she whispered. "Gil... you're curious. Trying to rein your curiosity in would be like trying to stop an avalanche," she assured him, "and I would never want to rein you in. It just wouldn't be fair."
"Thank you for not freaking out," he said softly. Catherine smiled more and hugged him. He returned the embrace. "I'm lucky to have you in my life," he added. "I'm lucky that you don't judge me."
"So, we're both pretty lucky," she murmured.
"Want to go out for dinner?" he asked.
Her smile faltered. "I have dinner plans tonight," she admitted.
"Dinner plans?"
"I won a bet with Warrick," she explained, "and he promised to cook me a meal."
"You have a date with Warrick?" he asked, stepping back from her as if she had splashed water on his face. "Catherine... you can't... I mean, you're dating Warrick?"
"No!" she exclaimed. "I'm not dating Warrick! We're having a meal together!"
"You're not dating him."
She shook her head. "No... god, no. We flirt... we're friends. But we're not dating," she told him, even though she couldn't completely dismiss the notion that she had wondered what it would be like to be with Warrick, in a more sexual capacity. "Gil... seriously? You think we're dating?"
He sighed. "I don't know... I just... it sounds like a date---"
"Firstly," she interrupted, "I wouldn't risk my reputation and career for anyone but my best friend---you, you idiot. You're worth it. And while I adore Warrick, there are limits to my friendship with him... he's not my best friend. He's a good friend... but you're the best. Secondly, we're not exclusive. And you know that."
"Catherine..."
"If you're going to get jealous every time I make plans with someone else---"
"I'm not," he promised, "I just... I see how easy it is for you two to spend time with each other... how at ease you are with each other, and---"
"If you don't believe me, come by and see for yourself!" she exclaimed as she slipped away from him.
"Cath---"
She huffed. "And bring wine," she added as she marched to the door.
"Catherine, can't I just explain---"
"I would have told you if I was seeing someone else," she said, her hand on the door handle. "And I wouldn't date one of your close friends. Come over tonight, and see for yourself."
"I'm sorry," he said softly.
She nodded. "I know."
&&&&
"Attraction is subjective," Gil told Greg as he poured himself a cup of coffee after a few hours of paperwork, "it can't be analysed."
"Yeah," Greg said in reply, "I consider myself to be pretty open-minded. Find other people's predilections very intriguing." He paused and then asked, "What do you like? What gets your juices flowing?"
He hesitated before answering Greg's question. All he could think about was Catherine: Catherine, laughing; Catherine studying a piece of puzzling evidence; Catherine, curled up in his arms at the end of a grueling day; and so on. She turned him on---and not just because of her appearance. She provoked him and made him think about things he wouldn't normally consider; at the same time, she encouraged him to explore the thoughts he did consider. They had survived many things---abuse, drugs, career changes, infidelity, children, confusion, family, to name a few---and were still available for each other in the capacities they needed when they needed the most.
"Someone who doesn't judge me," he replied, finally.
As the words left his mouth, he realised that he had judged Catherine unfairly; he realised that he had turned their relationship into a one-way relationship, and he immediately felt badly about that.
He left the break room and headed back to his office, coffee in hand as a plan formed in his mind.
An hour later, he had left the lab, run a few errands, and parked his car in Catherine's driveway. He was pleased to see Lily's car wasn't there; however, he wasn't sure how he felt about seeing Warrick's car along the curb.
At first, he was going to get out of his car and walk into the house, as if he belonged there, but after a moment of thought, he decided to call ahead and make sure Catherine and Warrick wouldn't mind if he intruded on their evening together.
"Willows Residence," Warrick said into the phone.
Gil sputtered for a moment. When he recovered, he said, "Warrick?"
"Hey, Gris. Catherine just went to take Lindsey to a sleepover... she mentioned you might drop by... are you on your way over?"
"Actually... I'm in the driveway," Gil admitted.
A second later, Warrick pulled the curtains back in one of the windows. He chuckled and then waved. "I'm just making dessert. C'mon in. There's plenty here... and plenty of wine left."
"Alright. I'll be right in," Gil replied.
He took the gift bags off of the other front seat and then he left his car, heading towards the house. He walked inside and was greeted by Warrick's friendly call from the kitchen.
"Didn't know if you'd show up or not," Warrick said as Gil took his shoes and jacket off. Once Gil was in the kitchen, he saw the remnants of a meal for three and the beginnings of a cake. "Do you want anything to eat?" the younger man asked. "There are leftovers in the fridge... won't take long to heat them up."
"No, thank you," he said quietly. "I ate before I came over."
"Hopefully not too much," Warrick said in reply, "because this cake is going to be delicious."
Gil smiled. "I think I still have some room in my stomach."
Warrick chuckled and returned his focus to the dessert he was making. They talked while he worked; Gil learned that his grandmother taught him how to cook, often as a punishment for acting up, and while he rarely got the chance to cook while he was working, he still enjoyed it. After that conversation, they talked about a few of their latest cases---until Catherine came into the house.
"You're here," she said, looking at Gil with a slight pout forming on her lips.
"You invited me," he replied, "and Warrick's baking a cake."
Her pout faded into a smile. "Yeah," she agreed. She saw the gift bags on the table. "What's that? More wine?"
"No wine," he told her, handing her the bags. "Presents, for you, for later."
Warrick snorted. Catherine pulled some of the tissue paper aside and peeked into the first bag. Gil smirked when she blushed and immediately put the paper back into its proper place, hiding the present from her eyes.
"Gil!" she yelped.
He chuckled but didn't say anything.
"I don't want to know, do I?" Warrick asked, motioning with one hand towards the bags.
Catherine blushed more and shook her head.
The younger man laughed quietly. "Okay then... should I pour some wine?"
"Yes, please," Catherine said quickly.
&&&&
Catherine laughed at something Warrick said and then she reached over and took the wine bottle to refill her glass. As she sipped the wine, she watched the two men interact; she smiled and then blushed when she realised what she was thinking about.
The idea of Gil and Warrick together in bed wasn't that awful an image, she mused silently, as they talked about a poker game that had been on television recently. Warrick was using his hands to explain something and Gil was watching him with attentive eyes; Catherine wondered what Gil's eyes would look like if Warrick used those hands on Gil's body and then she felt a shiver travel over her spine.
"Are you alright?" Gil asked.
Catherine lifted her gaze to his. "Hrm?"
"Want me to get you a sweater?"
She blushed. "Oh... no. I'm fine."
"You sure?"
She swallowed some more of her wine and then nodded. "Very sure," she murmured.
Gil studied her for a moment and then she watched as his ears turned pink. She wondered if he knew what she was thinking.
"More cake, Catherine?"
She turned and looked at Warrick. "Sure," she murmured. "It's really great, Warrick. Whoever snags you is going to be very lucky."
He laughed as he pushed himself up, away from the table, and walked to the kitchen counter with her plate; as he cut another piece of the cake, Gil leaned over and told her he was pretty sure what she was thinking.
She smiled. "Are you?" she asked.
When he nodded, she felt her abdomen tighten and warm. His eyes darkened and she licked her lower lip.
"You two are hopeless," Warrick commented as he returned to the table. "For two people who aren't together, you sure don't look like you're not together."
Catherine laughed a little as she shook her head, before she ran a hand through her coppery tresses. "I'm allowed to flirt with my friends," she told him.
"Looks like a whole lot more than flirting going on," he said before he drank from his water glass.
"We have a history," Gil told the younger man. "From time to time, it... catches up with us."
"That's cool... always nice to know there's someone you can turn to," Warrick said, teasing them a little.
Gil smiled and shrugged; Catherine chuckled and started to eat her cake.
When Warrick left, a couple of hours later, Catherine took a call from her sister and Gil did the dishes, so neither of them had a chance to talk about Warrick's assumptions about their relationship or about the presents Gil had purchased for Catherine.
Twenty minutes later, though, Catherine put the phone in its charger and she marched into the kitchen, hands on her hips.
"You... you bought me a strap-on!" she exclaimed.
Gil dried his hands on her dishtowel and turned to look at her. She felt her body tighten in anticipation; the look in his eyes made her stomach ache, hungry for something other than food.
"I bought us one," he told her. "I thought... perhaps I would satisfy one of your fantasies."
"Screwing you up the ass?" she asked, her face scrunching in confusion.
He coughed once, looking a little uncomfortable, and then he shook his head. "No," he said quietly, "I thought perhaps... I could wear it."
Catherine paused, thinking about the implications of his words. She didn't understand why he would need to wear a strap-on dildo; he had no problem maintaining arousal.
"Gil... you can get it up, no problem," she said, her brow still furrowed.
"Yes, but I only have one appendage," he explained.
She tilted her head as she contemplated his response. When it dawned on her, what he was saying, her eyes widened. "Ohhh."
"Yes."
"Wow."
"Well said, my dear."
Catherine blinked rapidly. "You... you can do that with one of those?"
"In theory, yes," he told her. "Would you be interested in trying it out?" he asked. "Maybe it would be like a threesome, without the third person."
She smiled. "As long as I can use it on you, afterwards."
Gil blushed and didn't react immediately. After a few seconds, though, he nodded. "Good thing I bought condoms and lubricant," he mused quietly.
Catherine laughed and walked across the kitchen to kiss him. "You're a very surprising man, Gil," she murmured against his lips. "You gonna think about Warrick---"
Gil hoisted her over his shoulder and playfully slapped his hand against her upper thigh. Catherine squealed and slapped her hands against his thighs as he jostled her.
"He may be on your team, but I still have to work with him, too," he reminded her. "And it's hard enough to work with you without pushing you across the evidence table."
She laughed again and tried to kick her legs out a bit, but he was holding them firmly against his torso. He left the dishes in the sink and walked over to the counter, fetching the bags he had purchased at an adult novelty shop in which he felt comfortable shopping, and then he carried Catherine into her bedroom.
&&&&
"Is this on right?" Gil asked as he finished tugging on the strap that settled on his hips.
Catherine smiled and when she was finished undressed, she sat down in front of him on the bed, so she could examine the way he had attached the contraption to his waist. "I haven't exactly used one of these before," she said quietly as she ran her fingers over and between the leather straps that wrapped around his thighs. "Does it pinch?"
"No... but it feels weird having the front piece pressing against me... down there," he admitted.
She bit back a little laugh. "It looks a little weird, in case you were wondering," she told him, smiling up at him for a moment before she checked the strap on his hips. Once she was sure Gil was wearing the harness and dildo properly, she leaned in and kissed his stomach. "Let's get you back up to speed," she murmured.
"Oh boy," he breathed.
Catherine chuckled and continued to kiss his abdomen as she used her hands to massage his thighs and lower back. After a while, she used her hands and mouth on his penis, arousing him into a solid erection.
He was swaying and moaning quietly when she finished teasing him.
"All set?" he asked.
"You seem to be," she murmured. As he chuckled, she reached over to the bedside table and took one of the condoms out of the box. She tore the square packet open and rolled the latex tube down over the dildo and then she scooted back onto the bed. She took the lubricant and set it down on the mattress near her waist, before reaching out for Gil to join her on the bed.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked.
She smiled. "Yeah... I'm kind of curious," she admitted. "Plus, I really want to try it on you," she added with a smirk and a wink.
Gil laughed softly as he crawled across the bed and settled down between her legs. "It's not that wide," he said, gesturing to the fake appendage, "but I'll still need to prepare you a little bit."
Catherine spread her legs wider and flexed her hips up a bit. "Go ahead," she murmured. "I'm all yours."
His eyes darkened and he lowered his lips to her knee. As he kissed her skin, he reached out and grabbed the bottle of lubricant.
A few minutes later, he had coated two of his fingers and used them to slowly stretch the muscles of her second opening; the fingers of his other hand were busy teasing her clitoris. Catherine closed her eyes and enjoyed the tender touches he was warming her with.
"How does that feel?" he asked as he slowly pumped both of her openings with fingers from both of his hands.
She whimpered and arched her back a little, changing the way his fingers thrust inside of her. "Good," she murmured, still whimpering a little.
"Do you think you're ready?" he asked.
Catherine opened her eyes and looked at him. She could see how aroused he was just by looking into his eyes; they were dark and stormy and they made her shiver with a simple glance. She swallowed hard and nodded, before smiling at him.
After lubricating the dildo, he cleaned his fingers off on some paper towel they brought in with them, and then he positioned himself between her legs. He took his time; Catherine appreciated the care in which he positioned the real and fake appendages against her openings. When he started pushing himself inside of her, Catherine moaned and bucked against him, not sure which way she wanted to twist.
"Take a deep breath," he advised as he hovered over her. "Bear down a little with your muscles when the burning stops."
She nodded and slid her hands down his body. As she got used to feeling so completely invaded, she scratched her nails over his back and adjusted her legs' positions on either side of his body, so they were spread as wide as she thought they could go.
"You okay?" he asked.
Catherine whimpered and nodded.
"Cath?"
"I feel like I'm being split apart," she whispered, before panting a little. "But... god, it feels so good at the same time."
Gil pushed more with his hips and Catherine sucked in a sharp breath as she felt herself taking more inside of her body through both orifices between her legs. There was a brief moment of pain and she moaned and arched her back in reaction, tipping her head back as her eyes closed. Everything after that was pure pleasure.
"Cath?"
"Don't stop," she breathed, "please, don't stop."
With one more thrust of his hips, Gil buried himself and the dildo inside of Catherine's body and pressed his body against hers. She moaned again and turned her head; she found his lips with hers and stole a deep kiss before he could catch his breath.
She felt a fire building in her abdomen, slowly until it reached the point where it seemed as though her organs had melted; she was too warm, everything felt too good, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out before she succumbed to the pleasure of it all.
Gil gave her a moment to breathe before kissing her again. Her tongue tangled with his as she felt her muscles tighten around the staffs invading her body. She pulled away and cried out as he brought her over the edge; as her orgasm washed over her, her vision greyed before everything went dark.
&&&&
"Mmmm," Catherine moaned as Gil washed her body off in her bathtub. She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. "Feels good," she whispered.
"You sure you're okay?"
Gil had been concerned about her every since she blacked out underneath him. Once she finally came to, he gathered her up and took her to the bathroom, where he slowly lavished her with gentle attention.
She laughed quietly. "Yeah," she murmured. "Man... that was intense," she purred, rubbing her foot against his. "You can really bring it, Dr. Grissom."
He chuckled and kissed her temple. "I was worried when you passed out," he told her, "I wasn't sure what had happened---"
"I'm okay," she assured him. "Not okay enough for a second round, but Lindsey's out until morning... so we have all night. Give me a few hours rest, a little wine, a little food, and I'll be good to go."
He kissed her temple again and then focused on cleaning her thighs and hips with the bath sponge. Catherine moaned softly and pressed against him; he smiled, feeling proud of himself despite his near-panic a little while ago.
They stayed in the water until its temperature started to drop, and then he wrapped Catherine up in a fluffy towel and carried her into the bedroom. She protested, saying she could walk, but he didn't want her to try; he wasn't sure her stability had returned and he didn't want to risk letting her fall and hurt herself.
He let her snooze while he went into the kitchen and found themselves some food to eat---wine and the rest of the cake Warrick had made. When he returned, she opened her eyes and smiled lazily, looking more sated and refreshed than he had seen her look in a long time. He smiled back at her and sat down on the bed.
"Sweets for my sweet," he told her quietly.
"Aww," she murmured, "you're so cute."
He smiled and kissed the top of her head before she turned over and sat up. They fed each other pieces of the cake, using their fingers and the fork, and they shared the glass of wine he brought into the bedroom. Neither of them talked much, but it didn't make Gil feel uncomfortable. Normally, when he shared a room with someone, he found it odd if neither inhabitant talked; with Catherine, though, it was easy to be quiet because there were other ways to convey thoughts and feelings with her. Plus, he never felt compelled to share what he was thinking. If she wanted to know, she'd ask; she generally respected his privacy if he didn't want to share his thoughts, but a lot of the time, she already knew what was on his mind. When they were on good terms, silence was comfortable.
After she had had enough to eat, she rested her head on Gil's shoulder and hugged him from his side.
Gil kissed the top of her head and finished the cake, before setting the small plate on her bedside table.
"Are you going into work tomorrow?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yep. At four."
"Will you be able to walk?"
Catherine laughed softly, giggling a little. "You shouldn't have bought the strap-on if you were so concerned about my gait."
"I couldn't resist," he murmured.
She kissed his shoulder and rubbed his stomach. "I'm kind of curious to see how it feels," she admitted.
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you?"
He blushed. Same-sex intercourse had crossed his mind a few times; he was a warm-blooded male, open to exploring his curiosities, after all. But, he never had a trusting relationship with another man, the way he did with Catherine and he didn't feel comfortable picking someone up in a bar to satisfy his quest for knowledge in that particular arena. So, he had put the idea on the shelf where he stored the rest of the ideas upon which he didn't fixate, and he tried to forget about it---until he had had that conversation with Catherine earlier in the day.
"Thought so," she murmured.
He smiled. "It will be an interesting experiment," he said quietly.
"Do you think of everything as experiments?"
"Only the things I've never tried before," he replied honestly.
She kissed his shoulder again and then lifted her head to kiss his lips. "I'm feeling a little better," she murmured. "How about you?"
"I might need a bit more rest," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her body as he reclined back against the pillows. "Maybe we should cuddle a little first..."
She chuckled. "Okay," she murmured, hugging him back. "Sounds like a good plan."
&&&&
Gil watched Catherine look down again and he smiled when she giggled.
"Yes, my dear?"
"I'm sorry," she murmured, still laughing, "I just can't get used to seeing this thing hanging between my legs." She looked down at him. "Are you sure you want to do this on your back?" she asked, as the laugh faded away. "I mean, it's a little curved, but it might be harder for me to---"
"I want to look at you when we do this," he told her, interrupting her words.
"You're sure?"
He nodded. "Yes."
She looked down at her body again, and, again, she laughed.
"Will this ever stop being funny for you?" he asked, although he could understand why she was amused.
"How do you... I mean... how do you function with everything on the outside like this?!" she asked, still laughing. "I couldn't imagine being a horny teenager, getting a rise after... well, anything... how did you do it? I mean... it's... it's on the outside!"
Gil snorted. "I managed," he said in a dry voice.
She wiped her eyes as they started to water. "I can't get used to seeing this thing in front of me," she admitted. "I have a penis!" she exclaimed, before dissolving into giggles.
Even Gil had to chuckle after her latest outburst. "Would you like to walk around and get used to it for a while, first?" he asked, smiling up at her. "I can go get a drink or watch a movie if you'd like some time alone with it."
His words only fueled more laughter. She controlled herself quickly, though, and reached for a condom and the lubricant she had used when she had warmed him up manually.
"You sure?" she asked.
"Yes," he assured her as he bent his knees and tried his best to hold his legs back on his own. He saw the way Catherine's eyes darkened as she prepared herself and he was glad she was more aroused than uncomfortable with their latest experiment; he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to expose himself like that to another person, and be comfortable with the gesture.
She put her hand on his thigh while she inched closer on her knees. Then, she used her other hand to guide the dildo to his entrance. He watched her, enjoying the look of concentration on her face as she tried to figure out how to move.
"How do you do this?" she muttered.
Gil chuckled softly. "Move with your hips... drive from behind... and you can lean on me, you know," he told her. "I won't break."
She bit her lip and nodded. Slowly, she pushed the lubricated dildo against the tight ring of muscles. Gil gasped and sucked in a sharp breath; the toy was thicker than her fingers, while not as thick as an average phallus, and its blunt end felt entirely too large to be passing through his body.
"Remember?" she whispered. "Relax. Breathe out."
He swallowed hard and nodded and tried to follow her advice---the same advice he had given her. He had read some online literature on the subject of anal sex, but reading about it and participating in it seemed to be two different things. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing and on trying to relax his muscles around the dildo she was pushing into his body at a snail's pace.
He gasped and twisted his body slightly as he felt a popping sensation deep inside of him. Catherine looked at him when he opened his eyes in the middle of the painful moment, concern radiating off of her face in waves. He shook his head and swallowed hard, again, and then put one of his hands over hers; the moment passed and he felt much more at ease with the situation. He sucked in a slow breath and relaxed his muscles around the toy. Catherine pushed with her hips and slipped more of it inside of him.
Gil laughed softly and squeezed her hand. "God, Cath... this just... I... wow," he mumbled.
She chuckled softly. "I've never had to move like this before," she murmured. "It's pretty weird."
"You okay?"
She nodded and squeezed his thigh as she pulled her body away from his an inch or so, before pushing it closer, thrusting gently in and out of his body. He closed his eyes and arched his back as much as he could, enjoying the way she was making him feel; he had never experienced that degree of intensity before and had never imagined it were possible. He groaned and moaned and yelped and reached a point where he wasn't even sure what he was saying or doing
At some point, Catherine's body pressed against his, meaning the dildo was fully buried inside of his body. He felt her lips on his neck and he tucked his face into her shoulder when he wasn't too busy making noise; they kissed a few times, but Gil kept needing to suck in long breaths so it was difficult to keep kissing.
He started moving with her, using her motions as a guide for his own. She nibbled on his earlobe and moaned when he whimpered. She whispered, "That's hot," in his ear and he felt his entire body vibrate.
"Cath... oh god... Cath---"
He felt her hand wrap around his erection, which had been trapped and throbbing between their bodies, and then he shouted wordlessly before he ejaculated over her hand. He thought he saw sparks behind his eyes, but before he could realise what had happened, they were gone and he was blinking up at Catherine who was grinning down at him.
"Hi," he whispered hoarsely.
"Wow, am I glad Lindsey's not in the house," she teased quietly.
"Fuck," he groaned.
She chuckled. "You cursed," she commented, very amused with him.
"You can't do that to me more than once a year," he told her in a weak voice.
"Okay," she agreed, nodding as her eyes twinkled.
"I don't think I can move," he mumbled.
"Well, I'm gonna get this out of you... and then draw you a bath," she murmured. "So, you'll have to move a little bit."
"You gonna bathe with me?"
"Maybe," she purred, "after you get cleaned up."
"Mmmm... gonna sponge me off?"
"If you're lucky," she whispered, nuzzling her nose against his before she slowly pulled herself away from his body. She patted his thigh after she pulled the condom off of the toy and put it in the nearby garbage can. "You wanna go in the bathroom?" she asked quietly.
He nodded, knowing about the repercussions of stretching that ring of muscles. "Yeah... just... lemme breathe a second," he muttered.
She kissed his knee and helped him slowly stretch his legs out. He groaned tiredly and then pushed himself up into a sitting position before getting off of the bed.
&&&&
When their pagers started going off, both Catherine and Gil groaned loudly and refused to move from the bed. Catherine's phone started to ring after her pager stopped; she glared at the device and then growled.
"If you don't answer it," Gil warned, "I will throw it across the room."
"I can't get up," she mumbled. "I think I threw my back out last night."
"I don't think I can get up either," he muttered, commiserating with her. "And if I sit down, it's really gonna hurt."
The phone stopped ringing. Catherine sighed and pulled the comforter up to her chin as she hugged Gil's body to hers. "Maybe," she murmured, "they realised that calling us was a mistake, since it's like five in the morning."
"I'm off... but it's still grave shift..."
"Well, why would they call me?!" she whined, tucking her face into his shoulder. "I'm swing!"
The phone rang again. Gil picked the cordless phone up out of its charger on the third ring and passed it to Catherine by the fourth ring. "Answer it."
She groaned and put the phone to her ear as she accepted the call. "Hello?" she said quietly.
When she heard dispatch paging her to a crime scene, she almost hung up on the officer who had made the call. Once he was finished giving her the details, which she committed to memory, she said, "Yeah... okay. I'm... I'm on my way."
Gil's cellular phone started ringing when she tossed the cordless extension onto the floor. Catherine reached behind her, to the other bedside table, with some reluctant turning and wiggling, and brought it over to the man in her bed.
"Grissom," he said quietly into the phone.
Catherine heard Jim Brass ask if he was having a rough night and then she tuned their conversation out as she tried to force herself to stand up and get out of bed. She didn't think her back and abdominal muscles had ever been so strained. She didn't understand how men wanted sex so much; if she had to go through that every time she wanted to get laid, she didn't think she'd seek sexual relationships out as much as she did---which wasn't much at all, if she didn't count her encounters with Gil.
"Multiple," Gil muttered after he ended the call. "Brass said Warrick's on his way to get you. I'll follow you out."
"Good thing we cleaned up before we passed out," she pointed out.
"Yeah, but we still have to get dressed."
Catherine pushed herself up into a standing position and whimpered as she stretched her sore muscles. "Maybe," she suggested, her voice squeaking a little, "you shouldn't drive."
"If I go with you, Brass'll know we're together."
"So what? You can't sit comfortably and drive."
"True."
She chuckled as she hobbled over to her closet to find clothes.
"That's some waddle you've got, Ms. Willows," Gil teased from the bed.
Catherine laughed and threw an old ratty sweatshirt in his direction.
By the time they had both dressed and grabbed something to eat in the car on the way to the crime scene, Warrick had been waiting for fifteen minutes. He opened his mouth to say something when Catherine climbed into the front seat and then again when Gil awkwardly positioned himself in the back, but he was cut off by the strawberry blonde.
"If you know what's good for you, you won't say a word," she warned.
"Ibuprofen's in the glove compartment," he told her.
She smiled at him. He smiled back, before chuckling and shaking his head.
