Title: Love Don't Lie
Author: Angie
Summary: What happened in their past?
Disclaimers: CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them.
Author's Notes: I said time and time again I would never post another WIP... I lied. I'm posting one. This story is, well it's a bit Alternate Universe. Gil and Cath are still Gil and Cath, but this takes place in the past. A sort of... what if?
Many thanks to Marianne, as always, for the wonderful beta... you work wonders with my often incorrect grammar. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed my little stories in the past, I know I don't say it much but I really appreciate it. The song is "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" by Frankie Valli
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Anything in the series is fair game...as of now it's just general ideas
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage
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It was just another crime scene. Gil had been to many of them in the few years he had been a CSI, but this was his first case as a CSI level three. One hundred cases solved, and in record time, at least that is what he had been told. This wasn't his first murder case, not by far. But it was his first solo murder case.
Upon reaching the crime scene, Gil looked for the officer who had called for the CSI's presence to get an update before entering the building.
"Johnson." Grissom greeted. "What have we got here?"
"Grissom. I hear you got level three tonight. Congratulations. And this must be your lucky night."
"Lucky night? Someone was killed here Paul, I'd hardly call it anyone's lucky night."
"Yeah, but how many of us get to investigate a murder that takes place in a strip club and get to spend the evening getting paid talking to beautiful half naked women?" Paul replied with a smile.
"So… what do we have in there?" Grissom asked again, hoping to get back to the case at hand.
"Man found stabbed to death in his chair. We've still got some witnesses in there that we have to talk to, customers first and then the um, employees."
"Okay. I'm going to take a look at the crime scene. See what I've got to work with." Grissom let Paul know of his intentions. He returned to his Tahoe to gather his kit and went into the crime scene.
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You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off of you.
You'd be like Heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
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Grissom entered the club and stood by the door taking in the scene before him. The club was surprisingly well lit, which he was sure was a rare occurrence for the establishment. Looking to his left, he saw the yellow tape that blocked the crime scene off from the witnesses. Noticing how close the tape was to the actual scene of the crime, Grissom made a note to touch base with the answering officers. They needed to block the scene farther out to avoid compromise. Turning his head forward, he saw the stage. It wasn't too high and appeared to have a good view of the entire club. He'd have to find out if any of the dancers saw anything. He then turned to his right. That's when he noticed her, his eyes just drifted directly to her. She didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the people in the club. Well her attire fit in, somewhat. She wasn't dressed as skimpily as the dancers or waitresses, but she didn't seem to be with any of the patrons either. She was standing off to the side of the club leaning against the back corner, apart from the rest of the crowd.
It wasn't the first time he had seen her, but the effect she had on him was still the same.
Dr. Robert Evans, or Bob as Gil had known him in college, had gone through doctorate studies with Gil and they had quickly become friends. It hadn't been planned, but they both ended up finding jobs in Vegas and were happy that they were able to continue their friendship. Bob had been asking Gil to give lectures on Forensic Entomology in his class since he started teaching.
They made eye contact from across the club and she glanced away, almost as if she was embarrassed to be caught in the establishment. Catherine Willows… he had made a point of asking Bob who she was after his lecture. He was drawn to her, but he knew he would never ask her out. And now here she was, crossing paths with him again. It was as if they were fated to meet.
He took two steps towards her and then stopped. He was here on a case. He needed to concentrate on the case, even if everything within him was telling him to go across the room. With a heavy heart, he turned and made his way to the crime scene. Maybe, if he hurried with the evidence collection, he could talk to her before the police had finished their questioning.
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At long last love has arrived.
And I thank God I'm alive.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off you.
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Reaching the police tape, Gil set his case down and looked at the scene before him. Still not believing the proximity of the tape to the body, Gil called to the officer guarding the scene.
"Wilkins!"
"What do you need Grissom?" The young officer replied from where he was standing.
"Next time you mark off a scene, I need at least twenty-five feet from the body. Half the evidence has probably been trampled and dragged out of here by now." Grissom told him and then turned, not waiting for an answer. He needed to start on this scene before Catherine left. Grabbing the camera from his bag, he started with the pictures. It looked like a simple stabbing, but Gil didn't want to assume anything. Circling the body, he made sure to get pictures from every angle and then focused in on the stab wounds and defense marks on the victims hands. Once he was finished taking pictures of the body, he started taking shots of the limited amount of space and possible evidence that was around the body. He turned back to his bag and took the opportunity to see if Catherine was still there.
Again the two made eye contact, only this time he was the first to turn away. He needed to concentrate on the case first, but he was having a hell of a time getting his mind to focus. Grabbing the fingerprint powder, he turned to start working on the evidence again. There was a knife in the chair next to the victim and it was assumed to be the murder weapon. Not wanting to risk transferring powder onto the victim Gil decided to wait until the coroner removed the body before dusting the knife.
"Wilkins! Get me an ETA on the coroner, I need this body out of here before I start the prints." Gil said as he stood and turned around. He looked back to where Catherine was again. She wasn't there. He started looking around, hoping she hadn't left yet. Noticing that the crowd size hadn't gotten any smaller, he began looking harder; she had to still be here.
"Dr. Grissom!"
Gil turned at the sound of his name; he didn't know the voice of the unidentified female but he knew who he wanted the voice to belong to. There she was, being held back by Wilkins. Gil walked over to Wilkins and the woman he had been fantasizing about for seventeen days.
"It's all right Wilkins. Can you find out about the coroner for me?" Gil again asked the officer and waited for him to leave before looking more closely at Catherine. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, from her flawless skin to her soft red hair.
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Pardon the way that I stare.
There's nothing else to compare.
The sight of you leaves me weak.
There are no words left to speak.
But if you feel like I feel.
Please let me know that it's real.
You're just too good to be true.
Can't take my eyes off you.
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"Hello, Dr. Grissom. I'm sure you don't remember me but I was at the guest lecture you gave in Dr. Evan's class a few weeks ago." Catherine said as she started to introduce herself.
"I remember you, Catherine. Please call me Gil. I rarely go by Dr. Grissom." He replied with a smile, extending his hand in greeting.
The two shook hands and both could feel the electricity that erupted at the initial contact.
Catherine was a bit shocked by this. "Gil? How did you know my name?"
Realizing his mistake, Gil blushed a little. "Um, well…" he stammered a little. "I asked Bob about you after the lecture." He said softly. "I…I'm sorry. I'm really not good with people, I should be getting back to my crime scene…"
"Gil. It's all right." Catherine interrupted him. She was used to men asking about her, but generally the men weren't nearly as educated as Gil. The men that she knew were, well, they were the types that would be at places like this. "So, um, I really enjoyed your speech the other day. Your work sounds interesting."
"Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it. That was the first speech I've given in a long time; I can't tell you how nervous I was about it." Gil replied shyly. He still couldn't believe that this beautiful woman was talking to him.
"Are you here by yourself tonight? I mean, well, I would think that there would be another CSI here with you. Didn't you say that CSI two's rarely got to go on cases my themselves, especially a murder?"
"I can't believe you remembered that. I thought the class was sleeping during my speech." The shock was hard for Gil to keep off of his face.
"Didn't I just tell you that I enjoyed your speech? I wasn't just being polite, I did enjoy it and paid attention."
He wasn't sure exactly who he should thank for his good fortunes but he was glad that fate had just smiled down on him. "Actually I was promoted to CSI three yesterday. This is my first solo case, at least for the time being. I'm sure another investigator will join me once they close their case."
"I should probably go and let you get back to work. I'm sure that you have a lot to do." Catherine informed him and then reluctantly turned to head back to the line of potential witnesses.
She had only taken two steps when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned back and felt mesmerized by the look in his eyes.
"I really enjoyed talking to you. If you're going to be around later I'd love to talk to you some more. Maybe we can go out for coffee or something? I shouldn't be here too much longer. Once the coroner comes I've just got a few more things to collect."
"I can't leave yet anyway. Still waiting to be questioned, so take you're time. There's a little diner around the corner, it looks like a dive, but the food is pretty good."
Gil smiled. This was definitely his lucky day.
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to be continued
