A/N I had this idea in my head for a while. It was fueled by several twitter conversations. So this is what I came up with. This originally was the second version but it's the first published.
Thanks to my beta rockcliffchic81 :)
It's set in the beginning of season 9 after Warrick's death.
Chasing Cars (Cath/Gil)
Song By Snow Patrol
"Gil? Gil are you here?" Catherine called stepping into his cold drafty condo.
He couldn't move, even if it was to see his favorite red headed woman.
Gil Grissom was stuck, paralyzed if you will. Stuck to his bed with his faithful companion Hank by his side.
He couldn't find the energy to even answer the door anymore. How was he supposed to continue to be the supervisor of the Grave Shift?
We'll do it all
Everything
On our own
We don't need
Anything
Or anyone
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
"I'm in here." His voice was weak and pathetic, sort of how he was feeling.
And that's where Catherine Willows found him. On his bed, mindlessly stroking Hank. Who briefly looked up at the other person in his masters' house and then proceeded to put his large head back on Gil's chest.
"Hi boy." Catherine reached to pet the large, listless dog. The canine let her scratch behind his ears and under his chin, one of his favorite spots if he says so himself.
After his brief encounter with Catherine, Hank slowly got up off the bed where Gil still lay, and padded his way out the door.
Gil turned at the sight of his companion leaving him. Grissom smiled at the notion the Department Psychologist was right. Companion animals do mimic their owners' moods. Hank was no exception.
I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel
"How are you?" Her question didn't seem to faze him.
Gil just watched her. She seemed to make herself comfortable in his domain. Not something he was used to by any means, but this was Catherine.
She's his world, or at least his working world. His friend, his right hand woman, his confidant and perhaps even more…
"I'm okay." He wasn't sure if that were true but it's what he came up with.
"Are you getting any sleep?" Her question surprised him some.
"It's hard," he replied.
By this time, she was sitting on the edge of his bed. She smiled at him. He smiled back.
Her hand found its way to his face and gently stroked his cheek. He let her. Her touch felt nice, soft and warm, something that was missing in his life.
Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Gil sighed. "I'm glad you are here."
"Me too," she replied.
He continued to watch her. The smile left her face. Gil wasn't sure he was ready to talk, talk about anything.
Both of them knew what stresses the department has been under since Warrick's death. Both knew they needed each other, but he wasn't ready to say the words, if he would ever be ready at all.
Catherine knew Gil Grissom. She knew his mannerisms, his personality and his habits. Things he told her he both loved and hated about her.
Sometimes he thought he was too lazy to confront her, other times he relished the fact that she was always there for him. Just like he was there for her, or he tried his best to give her what she needed.
This time, she was giving him what he needed but couldn't ask for. She was giving him herself.
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life
Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads
Without words or any fuss, Catherine lifted his arm and crawled up next to him. She practically took Hanks place next to Gil.
He didn't mind, in fact, he wondered what took her so long.
I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
No words, just two friends, two people who need each other, lay silently in the light of day.
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life
All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see
"Catherine." Gil broke their silence first.
"Hmm," she answered.
"I… I…, " he couldn't finish his sentence. The words wouldn't come. The words he could say, the words he should say, they weren't coming.
The funny thing about them, about Catherine and Gil, was that even when the words aren't spoken, they somehow are there.
She patted his chest. "It's okay Gil."
He felt her stir some, her body shifting like she was going to leave their perfect connection.
I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all
"Please, don't leave." The words he finally got out after a long silence.
"I'm not going anywhere," Catherine whispered to his chest.
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?