They were still holding one another when Gil's mother walked in holding Lindsey. Seeing him with Catherine convinced her again that whatever the complications might be, this was the woman he belonged with. When his father died, Gil had closed a part of himself away from the rest of the world. He built walls around his feelings, barely letting himself feel at all and no one had been able to get past the barriers. He had dated, even bringing a few girls home to meet her. But she had never approved of any of them because while those girls had appealed to him in some way, they not touched him, his inner self. But this one…she was different. With this one Gil would open himself to love. He had said it in their little talk; he simply couldn't help it. With this one, Gil could find happiness.

Besides, there was the little one. The usually reserved, often stoic Mrs. Grissom absolutely adored her granddaughter. It felt good to hold a baby again, especially Gil's baby. She had wanted a house full of children but nature had thought differently and she had been forced to accept the fact that Gil would be an only child. She had recognized that he was a loner and probably would never marry; never have children… never give her grandchildren. As she looked at Catherine, she realized what a gift this woman was to her as well as Gil. Catherine had made the dream of grandchildren a reality.

She approached the pair and handed Lindsey to Gil. Catherine looked surprised, expecting to hold her baby. Instead, she found herself holding Gil's mother as the older woman gathered her into a warm hug. She broke the hug and turned to her son, patting him on the cheek, and then patted Lindsey's back. She turned back to Catherine and planted a gentle kiss on her cheek. Her hands spoke briefly as she signed "thank you" to Catherine and then disappeared from the room, leaving the little family together in the nursery.

Gil watched his mother, amazed. After she left he looked at a stunned Catherine. "She never hugs or kisses anybody," he said dazed.

"I …uh…what was she thanking me for?"

"I'm not sure exactly; Lindsey…loving me, maybe?"

"Gil…" Catherine backed away from him, looking confused and unsure.

"Catherine?" His voice was quiet, gentle. He stepped in her direction but stopped when he saw that she was suddenly nervous.

"This…" she looked around the room, towards the door, and then back at him with wide eyes. "This kind of scares me," she finally managed.

"Scares you?" He was flustered. Why was she scared?

"Your mother…and this room…you are so convinced that Lindsey is your baby. What if…" she chewed her lower lip. "What if…I mean, I want… but…if she is …Eddie's…"

"I'll love her anyway because she is your baby. I'll love her just the same. And I'll never let Eddie hurt her."

"I know…but you and your mother…if she isn't yours….the hurt it will cause."

Now that he understood what was bothering her, he knew how to respond. He put his free hand on the side of her face and lifted it so that he could look into her eyes. "Cath, I love you. I love Lindsey. And evidently so does my mother. And when Eddie is out of the picture, I intend to ask you to marry me. And then we'll make more babies." He felt something primal, instinctive when he talked about making more babies. It stirred deep within him. Yes, that was what he wanted, to make babies with this woman, to deposit his seed in her and watch it grow, to have the opportunity over and over again to nurture the love that he had for her and would have for their children. This epiphany stirred within him as an innate need in the depths of his core. He recognized the lust that he felt along with it, but there was a deeper emotion attached. "You'll be the mother of my children, the giver of life for us all. How can that possibly hurt me?"

Warmth spread through her as he spoke. He wanted her…wanted to make babies with her. "Babies? As in more than one or two?" Somehow she had never thought of him as wanting a child, let alone several.

He smiled at her. "As in a house full." There was no mistaking the sincerity in his expression.

"I had no idea that you wanted so many children?" she admitted.

"Neither did I…until now. But if they are your children…."

"So how many is a houseful?"

"Well," he seemed to be thinking. "Do you like baseball?" He was teasing her now.

"Baseball? What's that got to do with anything?"

"I want a team….and we'll need a couple to pinch hit off the bench too," he smiled.

"A whole team? How many is that?"

"Well, nine in the field and two or three on the bench."

"Hmmm…well, I'll take care of the infield but you are on your own for the outfield and the bench."

A subtle grin grew on his face as she spoke. "A whole team, Cath….we have Lindsey already. Only eight more to go. Then we'll negotiate about the bench." His eyes sparkled as he taunted her. "But, thinking about it…we probably need some for the bullpen."

"Bullpen? The only bull here is your inflated ego. What makes you think you have what it takes to produce a whole team?"

The amusement in his eyes changed to lust. No longer laughing, he answered. "You. With you," he paused and kissed her to add emphasis to his words, "I feel like a pervert…god, just looking at you makes me want to jump you and hump like a damned camel. I can't remember the last time I had a hot shower."

She exploded in a fit of laughter. "Like a what?"

"A camel… you know…camels…humps?"

Catherine looked at Lindsey still lying quietly against his shoulder. "Well Mr. Mom, we really shouldn't be having this discussion in front of the children."

"Okay, as long as after the children are put to bed, we continue this discussion and take action. I'm going to insist on a whole team and we are going practice until I get my team."

"Oh, that's a promise," she said with twinkling eyes.

She watched as he put Lindsey in the crib. He was careful with her, gentle and loving, as he covered her with a blanket. She smiled as she noticed the little pink and yellow butterflies stitched into the blanket. He stood, his blue eyes watching the sleeping baby with wonder. She has to be his…she just has to be. Somewhere deep inside, Catherine knew that no matter what the paternity test said, Gil would love her and look at her as his child. Catherine's own heart swelled as she realized his tremendous capacity for love; something that few understood about him and even fewer got to witness. Warmth spread through her as those eyes turned to her and she realized that even fewer were the objects of his love. And I'm one of the select few…

PUREJOYPUREJOYPUREJOYPUREJOY

Ahhh, the fluff of it all. I hope you enjoyed this one. Let me know and then you get to find out what happens next...