Title: Tender is the Night
Author: Melanie-Anne (melsie04hotmail.com)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: "Stay with me?" [G/C]
Disclaimer: Not my characters.
A/N: Written for the June challenge at graveshiftcsi. Marianne, I hope I did the title justice.
He found her in his dreams. In that secret, sacred place, they let go with wild abandon. He was hungry for her touch, thirsty for her kisses, but she held back with a teasing smile. Her eyes danced with something familiar and welcoming. She reached for him and he was home.
Her skin was soft, warm and smooth beneath his fingertips. Touching her was still a new experience for him; after hours of hard, cold science, he was surprised at how alive she felt. How alive she made him feel.
There were times when he thought he'd been born to love her.
She pressed herself against him, as if she couldn't get close enough. He brushed her hair away from her face; sometimes the simplest, most innocent forms of contact were the most intimate. She threaded her fingers through his and placed a light kiss on his lips.
"I love you, Gil Grissom."
He felt himself wake up and fought to stay under, to stay here, to stay with Catherine. Waking up would only bring loneliness and pain.
He lost the battle but, incredibly, she was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. He didn't understand; was he still dreaming?
"Gil . . ."
Her eyes were red, her cheeks stained with tears. But she was smiling, and nothing else mattered.
"Cath . . . What--?"
"Shh." She pressed her fingers to his lips. Her other hand, he realized, was entwined with his.
"There was an accident," she said. "You're in the hospital. But you're okay. You'll be okay."
She replaced her fingers with her lips; they were as soft as he'd dreamed.
"Stay with me?"
She smiled again. "Always."
And he knew he wouldn't need to dream anymore.