Summary: Catherine couldn't wait for Christmas. And this Christmas Eve would be more special than she could've ever imagined.
Note: Just a little one-shot for Christmas. Merry Christmas! X.
Catherine was standing in the kitchen, fixing a cup of hot chocolate for her daughter and herself. She saw Lindsey grabbing one of the chocolates that was hanging in the Christmas tree, and quickly putting it into her mouth. It made Catherine smile. How she loved her daughter…. Catherine knew Lindsey would be leaving in less than an hour; her daughter would be celebrating Christmas Eve at her boyfriend's house. Catherine couldn't believe how fast the time had been going; one moment, there was a six year-old Lindsey that was playing with dolls, the next moment, Lindsey had turned sixteen and had a boyfriend. Catherine knew it had been hard for Lindsey to decide what to do on Christmas Eve, knowing her mother would be on her own. But Catherine wanted Lindsey to enjoy Christmas as much as possible; even if that meant celebrating Christmas Eve without her daughter. Catherine enjoyed watching her daughter for a while, before she walked over to the couch with the damping mugs filled wit hot chocolate, and watched the last half hour of the Oprah Winfrey Show with her daughter.
When Lindsey had left, Catherine sat on the couch. She had assured her daughter that she didn't mind being alone on Christmas Eve, but –if she was honest,- she actually did. Catherine secretly wished Lindsey was eleven again. Not only because it would mean having Lindsey at home during Christmas. It would also mean having the man she loved at her house during those days. Catherine missed him. She missed Gil so much. Christmas Eve had always been something the three of them had shared; even before Catherine and Gil had become a couple. Catherine couldn't help it; every single day she was wondering if he missed her as much as she missed him. They had brief contact through the phone once in a while, and they would sent each other emails almost every week. Catherine would tell him about the rest of the team, about certain cases, about problems with Lindsey.. Almost everything. Gil on the other hand, was being just the same as he was in person. He tried to help her, advice her, told her superficial about his experiences. He wouldn't tell that much about himself though. She hadn't heard anything from Gil for almost two weeks now, something that was very disappointing to her. Catherine really needed to hear something from him, and was having a serious dilemma. She wanted to sent him a text message, just to tell him she was thinking about him. But she was afraid Gil wasn't even thinking about the fact that it was Christmas Eve. That is was an evening they usually shared. Catherine could almost kill him for leaving her alone during Christmas; but then again, she knew doing research was something he desperately wanted to do. And who was she to keep him from doing it?
It was almost an hour before midnight –what meant Christmas Eve was almost over,- when Catherine decided she should sent Gil a message. The chance that he actually had his cell phone on was pretty small, but she didn't care. While Catherine filled her glass with the last bit of wine that was in the bottle, she grabbed her cell phone. Catherine texted him a short message, that said: Hey you, how are you? Just wanted to say that I've missed you tonight. Hope to hear from you soon. She didn't even bother to put her name at the end of the message. She figured Gil knew who the message would be from. While watching a rerun of the Dr. Phil show, she waited for an answer from Gil. Five minutes before midnight though, she hadn't received an answer. She was disappointed, and if she was honest to herself, Catherine had to admit she was hurt as well. How could he forget her on such a special night? She decided to go to bed, and forget about this evening as soon as she could.
Upstairs, Catherine slipped out of the skirt, panties and top she was wearing into her comfortable jogging pants and a black tank top. She put her hair into a messy ponytail and slowly removed her make-up. When she was ready to step into her bed, she heard her cell phone beep. Her heart skipped a beat; would it be Gil? When she grabbed her cell to look though, there was a message from an unknown number. Curious to see who it was from, she opened it and read: Open your front door. I've got a surprise. It had to be Gil. It couldn't possibly be anyone else's text message. Catherine wasn't scared at all when she walked down the stairs and unlocked her front door.
When she opened it, she couldn't believe what she saw. In front of her were at least forty candles, shaped in the form of a heart. Inside of the heart, was a beautiful red rose, and a small package. A red rose had never seemed so beautiful before to Catherine. A huge grin spread across her face when she heard a voice saying: "Merry Christmas, Cath." She turned around and softly said: "Merry Christmas, Gil." Catherine was silent for a while, admiring the heart-shaped candles, until she finally said: "I can't believe you're really here." Gil walked to the woman he loved and caressed her cheek with his thumb when he said: "I would never leave you alone during Christmas." Catherine smiled and whispered: "I love you." "I love you too, Catherine." Gil bent over a little to reach Catherine's lips and softly kissed her. Catherine wrapped her arms around him, opening her mouth to let his tongue in. She was so happy to have Gil home. His hands explored her body while their kisses became more passionate and intense. When the two broke the kiss for a split second, Catherine whispered: "We should go upstairs." Gil nodded, and then said: "You have to unwrap you present first though." Catherine let herself out of their embrace and smiled when she said: "You shouldn't have bought me a present." Gil simply shrugged and said: "I know. But I wanted to. Besides, it is a little out of self-interest as well." He gave her a wink, what made Catherine even more curious. Catherine went into the heart-shaped form to get her present. She walked back to Gil, and opened it in front of him. She saw a little black box. Her heart started pounding faster. Catherine looked at Gil, who gave her a nod in encouragement. A grin spread across her face when Catherine found a gorgeous diamante ring inside the box. She looked into Gil's eyes again, who simply said: "Marry me." Catherine didn't answer his question immediately. Instead, she just kissed him. That kiss was a good enough answer for Gil. With the box still in her hand, Gil lifted her up from the ground, and carried her inside the house, heading for the bedroom.