Title: Another Person's Star

Author: Jeanine (jeanine@iol.ie)

Rating: PG

Pairing: Sara/Warrick, Grissom/Catherine

Spoilers: Blink and you'll miss the Burden of Proof one

Feedback: Is nicer than a Valentine…

Disclaimer: If it was in the show, it's not mine.

Archive: At my site Checkmate () , Fanfiction.net; anywhere else, please ask.

Summary: Warrick asks Catherine for some Valentine's Day advice

***

"You ok Warrick?"

Her friend turned around from the fridge, flashing her a quick grin before he turned back, grabbing a soda from inside before he turned back to her again and sat down across the table from her. He didn't speak all the time that he was doing that though, giving Catherine the chance to observe him closely. The whole week, she'd known that something was bothering him; nothing serious she felt, but she just got an inkling that there was some small thing nagging at him. He would be distant, appear lost in thought every now and again, though he was always pleasant with her when she called him back to reality, bestowing on her that faintly apologetic half-grin that got him out of any and all trouble with the female population of the CSI lab.

Still, the fact that there was something eating at him for that long meant that even though she didn't think it was serious, she was still worried about it, so she'd waited until today, when they were alone in the break room, to ask him about it, knowing that he was less likely to shine her on when they were on their own.

"I'm fine Catherine," came the expected reply, and she didn't buy it for a second, lifting her eyebrow and staring at him sceptically.

"Why don't I believe you?" she asked, keeping her voice light, leaning back in her chair, making herself as non-threatening as possible.

His eyes met hers, the classic battle of wills, and it was he who gave up first. "It's nothing Catherine. Honest."

"If it's nothing, why's it been bringing you down so much?" she countered, sitting up properly on her chair, resting her arms on the table. "Maybe I can help?" she suggested with a shrug, her body language indicating to him that it was his choice entirely.

She could see him struggle with the decision, could see in his eyes when he made it. "It's nearly the end of January," was the first thing that he said, and she didn't have a clue what he was getting at.

"So?" she asked, eyes narrowing as her brain whirred.

"Which means that it's almost February," he continued, and she still didn't understand. "More specifically, February 14th."

That meant something to her, and her eyes widened. "Valentine's Day," she murmured, more to herself than to him, and he nodded.

"Valentine's Day," he confirmed, taking a swig of his soda.

"So your problem," Catherine theorised, "Is trying to find the perfect present."

"Right."

"You been holding out on me Warrick?" Her eyes danced as she teased him, enjoying the veiled look of panic in his eyes. "You never said you were seeing someone."

He had the good grace to look abashed. "It's new," was all he said on the matter, before adding, "So you see my problem."

She nodded slowly. "What do you get someone when you're not exactly sure what the lie of the land is."

"Something like that."

Catherine chewed her thumbnail for a moment, casting her mind back. "The first Valentine's Day that Ed and I were together," she told him, "He got me the trashiest lingerie you can imagine. Red and lacy and barely there…I didn't have the heart to tell him that I wouldn't even have worn it for a performance."

She'd been lost in thought when she spoke, and it was only when she saw that Warrick's expression was somewhere between interest and alarm that she stopped, giving him a weak smile. "That's a great story," he acknowledged, his face not matching the words as he took another drink. "But it doesn't help me."

"No." Catherine's face was all innocence. "Sara's not a red lace kind of girl."

She threw it out there to get a reaction, and she got one. Warrick sighed, shaking his head. "Got that right," he said, and Catherine didn't even bother to keep the triumphant grin off her face. Warrick saw it, and too late realised what he'd said, shaking his head and saying, "Sara? What's she got to do with this?"

Catherine threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, I think she's got quite a lot to do with this Warrick, and you're not doing anything to convince me otherwise."

He was shaking his head back and forth. "You've got this all wrong Cath. There's nothing going on between-"

"Warrick, Warrick, Warrick…." Catherine interrupted, with a few head shakes of her own, leaning across the table. "You might be able to pull the wool over Nick's eyes…and Greg's and Grissom's and everyone else around here. But you can't fool me." She held his gaze a long moment, and he looked down at the table top with a sigh. "How long?"

"Since just before Christmas," he admitted softly. "We didn't want to say anything…"

"In case the working relationship turned into a nightmare." She spoke as if she had some experience on the matter, and if Warrick thought that was odd, he appeared to be too caught up in his own romantic dramas to question her about hers.

"Yeah. We've been taking it slow, one day at a time, you know? Trying to see where we stand with one another."

Catherine had years of experience as a CSI; years of listening for the things that people didn't say when they were talking. That experience stood her in good stead now, as she heard loud and clear what Warrick wasn't telling her. "But you're already pretty sure where you stand."

Warrick didn't try to deny it; just nodded. "I'm sure," he told her. "I just want some way to tell her that."

Catherine took a deep breath, let it out slowly as she ran through a mental list. "Well, we've agreed that lingerie is out." She considered a moment more. "Candy and flowers?"

"No plants." The response was instant and firm, and she was taken aback at his vehemence. Still, whatever the backstory was there, she wasn't going to call him on it, so she just held up her hands in surrender.

"Ok, ok, no flowers…" This was proving to be harder than she'd thought. "Perfume?"

"She's got one bottle that she always wears. And her mom gave her some for Christmas."

"A romantic dinner?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "You think we'd get the same night off?"

"You could cook for her." He just gave her a look, reminding her of his culinary expertise, or the lack thereof. "Right, scratch that."

There was a long moment of silence. "So," Warrick said with a sigh. "Now you know where I am. Nowhere."

Catherine leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. "You know what the most romantic present I ever got for Valentine's Day was?" His eyes showed interest, so she continued with the story. "He called me up, asked me to meet him at his place. I didn't think anything of it; thought that he was just going to surprise me with dinner or something. When I got there, the whole living room was full of candles. Hundreds of them." She could see them now, in her memory, casting the room in a golden glow as classical music floated softly from the stereo, just loud enough to block out any ambient noise from outside the room. She remembered thinking that it was as if there was no-one else in the world except for the two of them, that it was as if the rest of the world had simply disappeared.

"He had a picnic set up on the living room floor, nothing fancy…actually, it was takeout pizza. And a bottle of champagne, with two glasses." She'd laughed when she'd seen the pizza box, teased him about his cooking for the hundredth time, but he'd just handed her a glass of champagne, raising his glass in toast.

"What are we drinking to?" she'd asked him, following suit, and his blue eyes had gleamed in the dim light.

"To us," he'd said simply, lightly tapping his glass against hers, either the chink of crystal or the look in his eyes sending shivers down her spine.

"There was a telescope at one of the windows," she continued now. "It'd been there for months, and I'd never paid much attention to it. Until he brought me over to it and made me look through it. All I could see was a star."

She'd drawn away from the glass in confusion, turning her face to his, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. "What am I supposed to be seeing?" she'd whispered, and his lips had quirked up in a tiny grin.

"You."

"I didn't know it at the time," she told Warrick. "But apparently, there are millions of stars, new ones being found every day. And they're nameless. But what you can do, is you can buy a star, give it a name. He'd bought that star for me." She smiled softly, remembering how tears had come to her eyes, how she'd kissed him full on the lips, how they'd tumbled to the ground, clothes seemingly melting away of their own accord. They'd forgotten about the star and the champagne and the food until hours later, when they feasted on cold pizza and warm champagne, wrapped in a blanket in one another's arms.

It was the best dinner she'd ever tasted.

"A star huh?" Warrick said now, bringing her back to reality.

"I'm not saying that you should buy her a star," she told him. "All I'm saying is…" She shrugged. "Be different. Give her something that no-one else could. Think outside the box."

"Hmmm…." He frowned, and she thought she saw a spark of something in his eyes. "I can do that."

"You've got something?"

"Maybe." He stood up, draining the last of his drink, throwing it into the trashcan. "I'll let you know if it pans out." She nodded, her eyes following him as he made for the door, and she stood up too, knowing that they should get back to work. "I'll tell you though; I never knew Eddie was such a romantic."

She chuckled, and there was no humour in the sound. "Who said it was Eddie?" she muttered, not meaning for Warrick to hear her.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at her curiously, and she waved her hand dismissively.

"Nothing," she said. "Come on, let's see what Greg has for us."

***

No much changed changed, Catherine reflected two weeks later, but the dates on the calendar. Two weeks ago, she'd been working a case with Warrick, and he'd been preoccupied and distant. Now, once again, she was working a case with Warrick, but this time, he was back to his normal self, having worked out his problem, and shared his solution with her. She'd given it her full approval, and was quite looking forward to seeing how Sara would react to it.

Another difference from two weeks ago was that this time, they weren't just working on their own. Sara was working with them, and Catherine had spent most of the last few days in a state of wonder at how well they worked together without giving away the changed nature of their relationship. She was pretty sure that Sara knew that she knew about the two of them, because she couldn't see Warrick keeping something like that from her. But the other woman never said anything about it, just went about her work as normal.

Except for today. Because when midnight came and went on the shift, it changed from an ordinary day into Valentine's Day, and Sara had been acting like a bear with a sore paw for the entire shift.

Warrick had already gone back to the lab, samples in hand, telling them that he'd drop them off to the DNA lab with Greg, adding to Catherine that he'd also check out "that other thing we talked about." Knowing what he was referring to, Catherine had just nodded, giving him a knowing wink out of Sara's line of vision, and he'd just nodded as he'd left.

That gave Catherine a chance to observe Sara, and the difference in her mood to what it had been recently was stunning. Sara had never been the chattiest of people, but lately, since Christmas, there'd been something different about her, something that Catherine couldn't quite put her finger on. That had been what first alerted her that something might be going on with Sara, and it had been one night she'd been walking through the halls of the CSI lab and she'd seen Warrick and Sara together in the break room that the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. They weren't kissing, or anything like it; in fact, they weren't even touching. Warrick was leaning back against the fridge, his arms crossed over his chest, listening to Sara as she spoke animatedly, gesturing wildly with her hands, her whole face lit up. Something in the scene, something in the way that Sara was so relaxed, so happy, something in the way that Warrick was smiling as he looked at her told Catherine that there was more to this little scene that met the eye. She'd seen them since then, and while there had been nothing obvious to confirm her suspicions, she'd seen nothing to disprove them either.

Then she'd had that conversation with Warrick two weeks ago, and he'd confirmed that she wasn't losing her touch, that she wasn't imagining things.

That being said, it looked very much as if, as far as Sara was concerned, things weren't going quite so well. As if her surly attitude wasn't proof enough of that, the slam of the car door when they were finished at the crime scene certainly was.

Catherine winced as the force of the slam reverberated through the SUV. "Jeez Sara, you want to leave the door on there?" she asked, inserting the key in the ignition and thanking her lucky stars that she was driving.

"Sorry," muttered Sara, sounding anything but, and Catherine sneaked a peek at her out of the corner of her eye. The younger woman's arms were crossed over her chest, forehead creased in a frown, and she was staring straight ahead. Catherine would have bet good money though, that she wasn't seeing a thing.

"You want to talk about it?" Catherine asked, wondering if such an invitation was prudent in an enclosed space, moreover, a moving enclosed space.

"About what?" came the response.

"About whatever's put that bug up your ass," Catherine replied dryly. Then, knowing that this was definitely a bad idea but not really caring, she added, "Or who."

Her eyes slid over, saw Sara staring directly at her, her face not showing any emotion. "I know he told you," she said flatly.

"To be fair, I did guess," Catherine replied, attempting to get Warrick out of trouble. "Kinda wormed it out of him."

"He told me." Sara's tone was wry. "I thought you'd be the one to guess."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Catherine forced herself to sound breezy, and she didn't think it came across too badly. She let the silence linger for a moment, then she tried again. "So, what's he done?"

Sara's voice was flat again. "Nothing."

Catherine frowned, slowing down as she reached a junction, flipping on the indicator and turning smoothly to the right. "And…" she theorised. "That's the problem?"

Sara didn't speak at first, but when she did, the effect was roughly akin to a bomb going off in the car. "It's stupid," she began. "It's absolutely ridiculous. I mean, it's not like I'm one of those women who insists on presents and gifts and romance at every turn. It's not like I want that kind of attention. I've never needed it. And I don't need it now. It's just…" Her voice trailed off, along with a huff of frustrated air.

"Just that it's nice," Catherine supplied gently.

"Yeah," Sara sighed. She seemed to be deciding what to say next, then found it. "It's Valentine's Day, and do you know what he's said to me about it? Nothing. Not a thing. No plans, no suggestions about doing something, nothing. Like it's any other day."

Catherine shook her head, knowing that Warrick was keeping his plans secret, but not having realised that he was doing quite such a good job of it. "Weren't you the same person who last week in the break room went off on a rant about the evils of Valentine's Day when Nick asked who you'd be sending a card to?"

Sara's cheeks coloured at the memory. "Yeah," she admitted sheepishly. "And I was right too, by the way." She sighed. "I just didn't realise he'd take it so much to heart." She leaned her head back against the seat, a forced smile coming to her lips. "Guess that'll teach me to open my big mouth, huh?"

Catherine chuckled. "Finally." She'd meant it as a joke, but one look at Sara told her that she wasn't taking it as such. "Sara, I didn't -"

"It's fine Catherine," she said.

"It's still early," Catherine told her. "The day doesn't end till midnight. That's plenty of time to come up with something."

"Yeah," Sara sighed. "We'll see."

***

Catherine didn't speak any more after that, and Sara breathed a silent sigh of relief when the CSI building came into view. She hadn't meant to unburden herself like that to Catherine, was hardly able to believe that she'd had that conversation with the other woman. Then again, she was doing a lot of things lately that she was hardly able to believe.

Sleeping with Warrick for one.

Not that what they had together was just two friends who'd fallen into bed together. Not even their first night together had been like that. They'd talked about it first, had had several innocent nights together, nights where they talked and laughed and nothing had happened. By the time they'd realised that they were falling into more than friendship, it had been too late to back out, not that either one of them had wanted to. The first time he'd kissed her had been in her apartment, when he'd helped her put up her Christmas tree. She'd stood on a chair to put the angel on top of the tree, and he'd been standing beside her, allowed her to steady herself as she stepped down by putting her hands on his shoulders. His hands had automatically gone to her waist, and he'd lifted her as much as she'd stepped down, and when her feet were touching the ground again, his lips were touching hers and she'd felt as if she was floating.

They'd been together ever since, and the last few weeks had been some of the happiest of her life.

She'd told the truth to Catherine before. She wasn't the kind of woman who got all emotional over Valentine's Day, and she had railed against the commercialism associated with the day in the break room. In fact, Warrick had teased her about it to no end when they'd gone home that day. She shouldn't be surprised that he was ignoring the day, based on what she'd said then, but still, she'd let herself hope. Never having had a boyfriend on Valentine's Day before, she'd rather been looking forward to the day. She just hadn't realised how much until Warrick hadn't mentioned anything about it.

Mindful of Catherine's earlier complaint, and in deference to the other woman's understanding during their conversation, she was more careful about closing the door, earning her a smile from Catherine. "Tell you what," Catherine said to her as they walked towards the building. "Shift's almost over. How about we go to Greg, see if he's got anything for us, and then we'll clock off and go for breakfast. My treat."

Sara wrinkled her nose, considering the offer. It was tempting, no doubt about it, but part of her was still holding out hope that Warrick had something up his sleeve. Then she remembered her earlier discontent, and forced a smile to her face. "Sounds good to me," she said, and Catherine gave her a huge grin.

She should have felt happy. Instead, she felt even worse.

Not as bad however, as she felt when she got to the DNA lab. Greg was there, in a characteristically upbeat mood - was there any other kind for him, she wondered idly. However, in deference to the day, his shirt was a bright shade of red, with garish pink hearts all over it. It made Sara's eyes ache just to look at it, while Catherine seemed to be finding it hard to keep a straight face as she looked at him.

How she managed to concentrate while he outlined the results of the tests, she didn't know, and when he finished, she was all ready to get out of there. She should have known though, that it wouldn't be that easy with Greg.

"So," he asked, a smile on his face as he glanced from one to the other. "I take it you two lovely ladies will be keeping the US Postal Service busy today?"

Sara gritted her teeth, flashing a grateful look at Catherine when she jumped in with, "Oh I doubt it Greg. The only card I got last year was from my daughter."

She'd probably hoped that that would deflect Greg's attention, getting him to flirt with her. Under normal circumstances, it would have worked, but not today, because he turned the full measure of his smile on Sara. "And what about you Miss Sidle? Has the love bug been good to you?"

She should have joked with him. She should have parried with a quick response and a grin to melt ice, or Greg's heart, or both.

Instead what came out was, "Shut up."

Even Catherine looked shocked at her withering tone, and Greg leaned back in his chair, both eyebrows rising to his hairline. "Guess not," was all he said, and Sara looked down at the ground, ashamed.

"I'm sorry Greggo," she said quietly, forcing herself to look up at him. "One of those days."

"Don't worry about it," he told her, and to her surprise, he sounded sincere. "I'm just wondering if I should double my order of red roses for you…." His eyes were teasing, a cheeky grin on his face as he spoke, and she found herself laughing.

"Not sure your paycheque would run to that," she told him, patting his shoulder gently. "But it's a nice thought."

"We aim to please," Greg told her. "You ladies done for the day?"

"Oh yes," Catherine said, arching her back. "We're calling it a shift and going for breakfast." She paused for a second. "Want to join us, or do you have plans?"

"Now there's an offer I can't refuse." Greg was standing up, tidying around the counter when he suddenly stopped, looking up at them guiltily.

"What's the matter Greg?" Catherine asked slowly, and Sara felt her heart sinking. That look on Greg's face meant only one thing - trouble, either for him or for them, and neither one was particularly welcome right then.

"Warrick told me to tell you guys that he had a breakthrough on the case, he's on the roof, and you've to meet him there."

"The roof?" Sara couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice. "What the hell's he doing up there?"

Catherine shrugged, Greg doing likewise. "I'm just the messenger," he said, holding up his hands. "Don't shoot."

Sara closed her eyes, rubbing her hands over her face. "I'm going to kill him," she muttered to herself. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to Catherine. "Can I kill him?" she asked, and Catherine just shook her head.

"How about," she suggested. "I put this into the evidence locker. You go up to the roof, see what he has." Sara nodded, taking a deep breath before heading for the door. When she got there, she was stopped by Catherine calling her name. She turned, and Catherine gave her a quick smile. "Just don't throw him off, ok?"

Against all odds, Sara chuckled. "I'm making no promises."

She walked slowly through the halls of the building, finding the door for the stairs, and walking just as slowly up them. With each step, the fuse on her temper got shorter and shorter, and by the time she got to the exit door, she was boiling mad. "He couldn't have had his revelation on the ground floor?" she muttered, pushing the door open and stepping out into the open air. She closed the door behind her, closing her eyes when she hit the open air, taking a deep breath, letting the fresh air calm her down. When she was ready, she looked around, not seeing him anywhere.

"Warrick?" she called, taking a couple of steps, looking all around her. Something at the corner of her eye caught her attention and she looked at it curiously, frowning as she came closer to it, sure her eyes were playing tricks on her.

There was a tiny table there, and set up on it was a boom box. Firmly taped to it, there was a note in familiar handwriting that said, "Sara - press play."

She shook her head, laughing softly, looking around for him. "You've got to be kidding me," she said, doing a slow turn, not seeing him anywhere. Pretty sure that he wouldn't come out until she'd done as she was told, she reached out, pressing play.

The first thing she heard was a piano, and she tilted her head, trying to place the music, but it wasn't anything she recognised. The next sound however made her head snap up, because she'd know that voice anywhere. It was a voice that she'd become familiar with in the last couple of months; hearing it coming from the shower, or when he was busy with chores - she wasn't the only one who sang without being aware of it. She could listen to him sing for hours, loved to hear his voice, and she listened carefully to the words of the song.

Whenever the world gets me blue,

All I have to do is think of you,

And all the things you do.

Whenever the dark clouds come around,

You chase away my blues,

And turn my frown upside down.

Do you know?

How I feel in my heart,

Does it show?

When I hold you, don't want to let go

Till the flowers stop growing,

The rivers stop flowing

I'll do all that I can

Till you know.

She was so caught up in the melody, hands over her lips, that she didn't notice when the display of the machine started flashing "repeat", and when it did catch her attention, it took her a second to work out what it meant. Turning then, she saw Warrick standing behind her, remote control in his hand, a smile on his face, and she just stood there, staring at him.

"I wanted to surprise you," he told her with a shrug, as his voice continued to drift from the speakers, throwing the remote down on the table.

"You wrote this?" How she managed to whisper past the lump in her throat, she'd never know, and she couldn't take her eyes off his as he stepped closer to her, taking her hand in his.

"You did," he told her, and she frowned, not understanding. "I just put it all together."

She still wasn't quite sure what he meant, and she frowned, opening her mouth to ask a question, but he shook his head, laying a finger against her lips. "Dance with me," he said simply, pulling her into his arms. "And listen."

Her head against his shoulder, joined hands over his heart, that's just what she did.

Whenever the wind begins to blow

You are the sunshine that melts the snow

Oh, everywhere you go.

Whenever the sky begins to storm

You are the shelter

That keeps me safe and warm.

Do you know?

How I feel in my heart,

Does it show?

When I hold you, don't want to let go

Till the flowers stop growing,

The rivers stop flowing

I'll do all that I can

Till you know.

Do you know?

How I feel in my heart,

Does it show?

When I hold you, don't want to let go

Till the flowers stop growing,

The rivers stop flowing

I'll do all that I can

Till the flowers stop growing,

Till the rivers stop flowing,

Till the wind stops blowing,

I'll do all that I can

Till you know.

She lifted her head as the music began to fade, Warrick's features looking distinctly blurry to her. "You made me cry," she whispered self-consciously, her cheeks flushed with emotion.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he leaned forward to kiss the top of her head. "Know how I feel yet?" he murmured, and she gave him a fully-fledged smile in response.

"I think I've got a pretty good idea," she allowed, and he laughed, teeth flashing white, her heart skipping a beat as he pressed her closer to him.

"This is just the start you know," he told her, and she raised an eyebrow at him in wordless question. "We're going out for the finest steak breakfast you've ever had," he began, but that reminded her of something, and she gasped.

"I told Catherine I'd go for breakfast with her…" He grinned, and something occurred to her. "She was supposed to come up here too…" His grin got wider, and the penny dropped. "She was in on this! You two set me up!" She smacked his back gently with the hand that rested there, because after all, she wasn't really mad at him, and he laughed again.

"Cath knew the score," was all he said, and she had to ask him.

"And Greg?"

He made a noise of disgust. "You think I'd tell him anything I wanted kept secret? Nah, Sanders thinks this is something to do with the case."

"I can't believe you did this," she whispered, looking up at the blue sky overhead. "I really thought you'd forgotten."

"Forget our first Valentine's Day? What do you think I am?" It looked like he was trying for offence, but he couldn't quite pull it off, not with a smile like that.

She narrowed her eyes when his words registered. "Our first?" She placed questioning emphasis on the second word, and he nodded, face suddenly serious.

"That sound ok to you?" he asked, and she knew that he was asking her a lot more than that.

She smiled. "More than ok," she murmured, hand sliding up his back to the back of his neck, bringing his head down so that their lips met.

She didn't know how long they were kissing, how many repetitions of the song they went through, but it wasn't nearly enough; she knew that as he pulled away from her, resting his forehead against hers. "Ready to get started on the rest of your day?" he asked, a look of surprise landing on his face when she replied.

"No." Her head returned to its former place on his shoulder, and she pressed herself as close to him as humanly possible. "Can we just dance for a little while?"

"Yeah," he said softly, his breath moving strands of her hair. "We can do that."

***

Catherine let Sara reach the door before she called out the younger woman's name. "Sara?" When Sara turned, Catherine attempted to give her a smile. "Just don't throw him off, ok?"

Sara chuckled. "I'm making no promises."

She then vanished out the door, and Catherine counted to five in her head before taking out her cell phone and dialling a number. "It's me," she said when the other person picked up. "She's on her way."

With that, she hung up the phone, only to find Greg frowning at her. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?"

Catherine shrugged, eyes widening innocently. "No reason," she told him, and in return, he gave her a look that would have done Grissom proud.

"Right." His tone plainly said that he didn't believe her, but he probably knew better than to push her. "Something tells me that I'm going to be breakfasting alone though - am I right?"

"Don't worry Greg," Catherine told him as she walked by, reaching out to tug at the collar of his shirt. "I'm sure you'll find some lucky lady to keep you company."

His quiet chuckle, and his not-so-quiet, "From your lips," had her chuckling as she walked through the halls again, putting the test results in the evidence locker, just like she'd said she would, but knowing far better than to go near the roof. Instead, she kept on walking, heading out to the parking lot, still smiling about the success of their little plan. Her smile faded to a look of puzzlement however, at what she saw there: Grissom, standing beside his car, looking around him quizzically.

Frowning, she made her way over to him, and so intent was he on whatever it was he was looking for, he didn't even notice her approach. "You ok Grissom?" she asked. He didn't reply, so she repeated herself. "Grissom?"

"Catherine?" His voice was as puzzled as his expression. "Do you hear… music?" He had the same tone in his voice that he got when he was examining some piece of evidence that just didn't fit into the picture, and at any other time, Catherine would have been hard pressed to keep back a smile. Now though, she just looked up, realising just how close they were to the wall of the CSI building, knowing just what Grissom was hearing.

It was that knowledge, not Grissom's face, that made her smile. "It's Warrick and Sara," she told him, and that made him frown even harder.

"Why are they playing music?"

"It's Valentine's Day Grissom," she reminded him, shifting her bag on her shoulder. Grissom still was giving her that curious look, and she leaned back against the car, her gaze going to the roof of the building, as if she expected to see them up there. "They've been seeing each other for a while now. That's his present to her," she explained, figuring that after today, everyone was going to know anyway. Grissom still didn't look as if he quite understood, so she added, "He wrote her a song."

"Ah." Grissom's one syllable of comment had her turning her head to look at him, because she would have expected him to have a little more to say about it than that. For all his lack of words though, she could see the tiniest of smiles jumping at the corner of his lips, even as he was staring at the roof as well. "And tell me Catherine," he continued after a moment's pause. "How does that compare to having your own star?"

He was stealing a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, arms crossed over his chest, and Catherine turned to him, one hip resting against the car, giving him her flirtiest smile. "One person's song is another person's star Gil," she told him. "You should know that."

His face never changed, but she could see his eyes dancing, something she remembered all too well, and her stomach swirled pleasantly. "That's very profound," was all he said, and she shrugged.

"It's Valentine's Day," she reminded him, and he glanced down at her for the first time.

"You just told me that."

She knew he was going to make her do the asking, and she resisted the sudden urge to kick him in the shins. "Lindsey's with my sister all day… how'd you like to go look at some stars?"

He didn't blink. "It's daylight Catherine," he said seriously. "The stars won't be visible for hours."

She didn't blink either, but her smile widened. "I'm sure we can find something to do while we wait," she suggested, one hand reaching out to run along the buttons of his shirt.

"That sounds almost like a challenge," he noted, a smirk finally penetrating his solemn countenance.

It was too easy, Catherine felt, and she flicked her eyes up and down his body, lifting an eyebrow suggestively. "You up for it?"

A Grissom chuckle was a rare thing, and Catherine considered the sound her own personal Valentine. "I think I can rise to the occasion," he told her smugly, and she grinned. "Your place or mine?"

"Yours," she said promptly. "You've got the telescope."

They stood like that for a long moment. "Well?" Grissom asked, opening the car door, indicating that she should step inside. "What are we waiting for?"

She held his gaze for a second longer before she got in, her eyes following him as he walked around the car and climbed into the driver's seat. "I really have no idea," she murmured when he was sitting beside her. "Happy Valentine's Day Gil."

He smiled, leaning towards her and cupping her cheek in his hand, whispering "Happy Valentine's Day Catherine," before meeting his lips with hers.

***

Author's Notes

Especially for Jayne, because she begged…hope you like it! The song is "Till You Know" by Brian McKnight, from the Fame L.A. soundtrack.