XX - APOLOGIES
Nick noticed him first. He was first into the break room; having bolted from the car the minute Warrick had pulled into the parking lot, laughingly telling the others he was going to grab the last cup of coffee. Grissom had been sitting there so silently, Nick had not even noticed him until he had turned from the coffee maker.
"Grissom? What's the problem? Are you getting a migraine?" Grissom looked up at Nick with bleary eyes, shaking his head.
"No. No, I'm fine. Is there any more coffee in there?"
"Yeah - I can pour you the last cup. The others will love that." Quickly matching his actions to his words, he walked over to where Grissom was sitting, handing him a cup of the strong brew. "I have to tell you, Grissom. You look like hell. We've only been gone for 3 ½ hours, and when we left you looked fine." Nick's voice was concerned. "Did you and Catherine fight again?"
Grissom look at Nick, surprised at the astuteness and concern in the younger man's voice. He could hear the laughing voices of Sara, Warrick and Greg echoing up the hall, and shot a concerned glance at the doorway before looking back to Nick. "Listen, Nick. I blew it - I said something really stupid, and she's angry with me. But I don't want to talk about it." He glanced quickly at the doorway again. "Please, just drop it for now."
Nick smiled at Grissom in commiseration. "I'll back you up. But I'm coming to find you when we have a free minute." Grissom nodded mutely, before plastering a fake look of concentration on his face and picking up his crossword.
"Nick! I swear, if you took the last cup of coffee -" Sara's voice was teasing as she entered the lounge, followed by Greg and Warrick.
Nick quickly turned towards her, masking his concern for Grissom under a big grin. "Wasn't me, Sara. It was Grissom." He indicated the coffee cup in Grissom's hand, "He's the culprit - and you can't yell at him, he's the boss."
Sara sighed. "Well, the least you could do is start a fresh pot. You know I can't make this stuff!"
"I'll do it." Greg offered. "I've got my special blend in the fridge in my lab. I figure today is a special occasion, so I'll share. Hey Grissom!"
Grissom looked around, smiling weakly. Sara noticed immediately that something was wrong, but didn't say anything when Nick cocked an eyebrow at her and laid a hand on her wrist. "I'll go get the coffee, Greggo. Why don't you do the honors - tell Grissom what we found." He headed out of the lounge quickly, dragging Sara with him. Once they were in Greg's lab, he turned to her.
"Don't ask Grissom what's wrong. He doesn't want to go into it. I already tried. He feels really bad about something. Why don't you go and find Catherine? See if she wants some coffee - find out what's going on with K- ROX? See if she knows what's wrong with Grissom."
Sara nodded. "I'll head down to her office right now, assuming that's where she is. I wonder what happened."
* * * * *
"So, the hand-writing analysis came back negative, eh?" Greg looked a little disheartened at Grissom's news. "So, basically, we're back to square one."
"Not necessarily, Greg. We still have his fingerprints all over the letter and envelope. I thought maybe you might be able to shed some light on what this guy is like, what he does. You said he was in a band with a friend of yours, so you might know more about him than you realize." Grissom's voice was sill tense, but concentrating on the K-ROX case was helping take his mind off Catherine a little bit.
"I'll help in whatever way I can," Greg agreed "but I really don't know him that well. In the meantime, I suppose I should run the rest of the fingerprints." He sighed. "I was sort of hoping I had opened the case up with that."
Warrick smiled at him. "Those prints could still be the case-breaker, Greg. C'mon, I'll help you run them."
* * * * *
Catherine was sitting at her desk staring at her computer screen when Sara knocked on the door and walked in. Catherine's eyes were red rimmed, and she looked like she had been crying. Sara sighed. Something had definitely happened.
"Hey Catherine. We're back. Thought you might like to come down to the break room and join us for some of Greg's coffee and an update. We're all curious as to what you and Gris learned from Oscar."
Catherine didn't even look at her. "I don't think so, Sara. Grissom can fill you in. I'm - busy."
Sara walked towards Catherine's desk, sitting on the edge of it, and leaning forward to look at the screen. "Solitaire, Catherine?" her voice was gently teasing, even as her eyes flashed their concern.
Catherine sighed, in irritation and defeat. "Sara, I don't really want to talk right now."
"Grissom told me the exact same thing yesterday." Sara interrupted.
"I especially don't want to talk about Grissom."
Sara leaned closer to her friend. "Why not? You both seemed pretty happy when shift started. All the tension from the last few days was gone. And now we're back, and Grissom is sitting in the lounge looking like his best friend died and you're in your office playing Solitaire and refusing to talk. What happened?"
"He said something really stupid, and I lost my temper with him and yelled. I shouldn't have. I over-reacted, and now I don't know what to do." Catherine looked Sara full in the face, feeling the tears swim up in her eyes again.
"What did he say, Catherine?"
Catherine sighed. "Well, he came to my place to talk after shift yesterday. You knew that, though. He said it was your idea. Well, anyway - he. I. We." She paused, at a loss for words, glancing at Sara from under her eyelids. Sara was grinning from ear to ear.
"No need to elaborate! I get the picture. So, was it good?" Her gentle teasing and forth right acceptance made Catherine smile back weakly.
"It was wonderful! He's wonderful. I was so happy! But you know Grissom."
Sara nodded. "He starts analyzing things, wondering what it all meant - doubting himself. Typical Grissom." She patted Catherine's hand sympathetically. "What did he say?"
Catherine sighed again. "It was innocuous, really. I just jumped off the deep end, and totally lost it." She looked at Sara, who was just sitting there, patiently waiting for her to spill. "Okay. He asked me if I slept with him because I felt sorry for him."
"Oh Grissom." Sara's voice was exasperated and soft. "You are such an idiot sometimes."
Catherine sighed wetly, not sure whether to giggle or cry. "Exactly. But Sara - I was rotten to him."
"Mercy sex." Sara said matter of factly. "I completely understand why you would be upset. But this is Grissom. Don't you think you should let the guy off the hook - let him apologize to you? You know that's not what he meant."
"I know. I have to talk to him. I don't want him to be miserable." She looked at Sara again. "How did you do it? How did you transition with Nick from friends to lovers?"
"It wasn't hard. Because there was no transition, really. We're still friends." Sara looked at Catherine intently, before continuing. "But I wouldn't have gone there if Nick hadn't pushed me. And he was so subtle about it, I never even knew what was coming. I just realized that I was attracted to him, and then I realized that I wanted to be with him."
Sara smiled. "But Catherine, you have to remember, Nick and I have only known each other two years. You're trying to augment a friendship you've had for what? Ten years or so? You're taking a much larger risk. So, you're probably nervous as well. You know Grissom is going to go into any type of relationship with you questioning himself - he can't help it. So, you have to be the one that's absolutely sure. You can't be questioning yourself or him, or it will never work. Is it worth it?"
Catherine sighed. "I think I've been in love with him for years. He's so - I don't know. There's just an innocence about him that is so at odds with a man of his age. And Sara, I'm not innocent. I was a stripper, for God's sake. I was an addict. I'm divorced, I have a daughter. And I wonder, maybe Gil deserves better. No man has ever treated me the way he does. What if it doesn't work out, and I loose that?"
"What if it does work out, and you don't?" Sara smiled. "You need to talk to him, Catherine. For your sake as well as for his. I personally believe Grissom has been half in love with you for years, and he's just been burying it behind friendship. But I want him to be happy, Catherine. And I want you to be happy. When shift started, you were happy. And now you're not. So, what does that tell you?"
Catherine didn't respond immediately, turning back to her solitaire game and making a few plays. Sara just sat there, patiently waiting. Suddenly Catherine turned back to her and smiled. "My whole life has been taking risks - so, why should that change now?"
The two women grinned at each other, and Sara started giggling. "Wow. Now that we've cleared that up, I just have to ask - did Grissom sweep you off your feet while discussing the mating rituals of the butterfly moth?"
* * * * *
Catherine and Sara walked into the break room to find Grissom and Nick just sitting there. Nick had been trying to get Grissom to tell him what was wrong, but thus far Grissom had disclosed nothing. Seeing Catherine, Nick jumped up. "Hey Catherine. Can I get you a coffee?"
"No thanks, Nick." She looked at him briefly, before her gaze drifted over to Grissom. "I came to see if Grissom wanted to take a short break and go grab dinner with me." Behind Catherine, Sara was grinning.
Grissom looked at Catherine for a brief moment, wincing as he saw her puffy eyes. He dropped his crossword puzzle on the table, and stood quickly walking over to her side. "Will you let me buy?"
Catherine nodded and flashed Grissom a tentative watery smile. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"I'm sorry I'm an asshole." His response was wry, but it made Catherine laugh. They had forgotten Sara and Nick were even standing there. Grissom leaned forward and gently caressed her cheek. "I love you, Catherine."
__________
Author's Note: Okay, okay. I know I messed with you all a little in the last chapter - but I had too. In a situation like this, Grissom would definitely say something a little stupid, and Catherine would jump off the deep-end. But you knew they would make up. Admit it! Next chapter - on with the case. And Greg and Nick go shopping.
Nick noticed him first. He was first into the break room; having bolted from the car the minute Warrick had pulled into the parking lot, laughingly telling the others he was going to grab the last cup of coffee. Grissom had been sitting there so silently, Nick had not even noticed him until he had turned from the coffee maker.
"Grissom? What's the problem? Are you getting a migraine?" Grissom looked up at Nick with bleary eyes, shaking his head.
"No. No, I'm fine. Is there any more coffee in there?"
"Yeah - I can pour you the last cup. The others will love that." Quickly matching his actions to his words, he walked over to where Grissom was sitting, handing him a cup of the strong brew. "I have to tell you, Grissom. You look like hell. We've only been gone for 3 ½ hours, and when we left you looked fine." Nick's voice was concerned. "Did you and Catherine fight again?"
Grissom look at Nick, surprised at the astuteness and concern in the younger man's voice. He could hear the laughing voices of Sara, Warrick and Greg echoing up the hall, and shot a concerned glance at the doorway before looking back to Nick. "Listen, Nick. I blew it - I said something really stupid, and she's angry with me. But I don't want to talk about it." He glanced quickly at the doorway again. "Please, just drop it for now."
Nick smiled at Grissom in commiseration. "I'll back you up. But I'm coming to find you when we have a free minute." Grissom nodded mutely, before plastering a fake look of concentration on his face and picking up his crossword.
"Nick! I swear, if you took the last cup of coffee -" Sara's voice was teasing as she entered the lounge, followed by Greg and Warrick.
Nick quickly turned towards her, masking his concern for Grissom under a big grin. "Wasn't me, Sara. It was Grissom." He indicated the coffee cup in Grissom's hand, "He's the culprit - and you can't yell at him, he's the boss."
Sara sighed. "Well, the least you could do is start a fresh pot. You know I can't make this stuff!"
"I'll do it." Greg offered. "I've got my special blend in the fridge in my lab. I figure today is a special occasion, so I'll share. Hey Grissom!"
Grissom looked around, smiling weakly. Sara noticed immediately that something was wrong, but didn't say anything when Nick cocked an eyebrow at her and laid a hand on her wrist. "I'll go get the coffee, Greggo. Why don't you do the honors - tell Grissom what we found." He headed out of the lounge quickly, dragging Sara with him. Once they were in Greg's lab, he turned to her.
"Don't ask Grissom what's wrong. He doesn't want to go into it. I already tried. He feels really bad about something. Why don't you go and find Catherine? See if she wants some coffee - find out what's going on with K- ROX? See if she knows what's wrong with Grissom."
Sara nodded. "I'll head down to her office right now, assuming that's where she is. I wonder what happened."
* * * * *
"So, the hand-writing analysis came back negative, eh?" Greg looked a little disheartened at Grissom's news. "So, basically, we're back to square one."
"Not necessarily, Greg. We still have his fingerprints all over the letter and envelope. I thought maybe you might be able to shed some light on what this guy is like, what he does. You said he was in a band with a friend of yours, so you might know more about him than you realize." Grissom's voice was sill tense, but concentrating on the K-ROX case was helping take his mind off Catherine a little bit.
"I'll help in whatever way I can," Greg agreed "but I really don't know him that well. In the meantime, I suppose I should run the rest of the fingerprints." He sighed. "I was sort of hoping I had opened the case up with that."
Warrick smiled at him. "Those prints could still be the case-breaker, Greg. C'mon, I'll help you run them."
* * * * *
Catherine was sitting at her desk staring at her computer screen when Sara knocked on the door and walked in. Catherine's eyes were red rimmed, and she looked like she had been crying. Sara sighed. Something had definitely happened.
"Hey Catherine. We're back. Thought you might like to come down to the break room and join us for some of Greg's coffee and an update. We're all curious as to what you and Gris learned from Oscar."
Catherine didn't even look at her. "I don't think so, Sara. Grissom can fill you in. I'm - busy."
Sara walked towards Catherine's desk, sitting on the edge of it, and leaning forward to look at the screen. "Solitaire, Catherine?" her voice was gently teasing, even as her eyes flashed their concern.
Catherine sighed, in irritation and defeat. "Sara, I don't really want to talk right now."
"Grissom told me the exact same thing yesterday." Sara interrupted.
"I especially don't want to talk about Grissom."
Sara leaned closer to her friend. "Why not? You both seemed pretty happy when shift started. All the tension from the last few days was gone. And now we're back, and Grissom is sitting in the lounge looking like his best friend died and you're in your office playing Solitaire and refusing to talk. What happened?"
"He said something really stupid, and I lost my temper with him and yelled. I shouldn't have. I over-reacted, and now I don't know what to do." Catherine looked Sara full in the face, feeling the tears swim up in her eyes again.
"What did he say, Catherine?"
Catherine sighed. "Well, he came to my place to talk after shift yesterday. You knew that, though. He said it was your idea. Well, anyway - he. I. We." She paused, at a loss for words, glancing at Sara from under her eyelids. Sara was grinning from ear to ear.
"No need to elaborate! I get the picture. So, was it good?" Her gentle teasing and forth right acceptance made Catherine smile back weakly.
"It was wonderful! He's wonderful. I was so happy! But you know Grissom."
Sara nodded. "He starts analyzing things, wondering what it all meant - doubting himself. Typical Grissom." She patted Catherine's hand sympathetically. "What did he say?"
Catherine sighed again. "It was innocuous, really. I just jumped off the deep end, and totally lost it." She looked at Sara, who was just sitting there, patiently waiting for her to spill. "Okay. He asked me if I slept with him because I felt sorry for him."
"Oh Grissom." Sara's voice was exasperated and soft. "You are such an idiot sometimes."
Catherine sighed wetly, not sure whether to giggle or cry. "Exactly. But Sara - I was rotten to him."
"Mercy sex." Sara said matter of factly. "I completely understand why you would be upset. But this is Grissom. Don't you think you should let the guy off the hook - let him apologize to you? You know that's not what he meant."
"I know. I have to talk to him. I don't want him to be miserable." She looked at Sara again. "How did you do it? How did you transition with Nick from friends to lovers?"
"It wasn't hard. Because there was no transition, really. We're still friends." Sara looked at Catherine intently, before continuing. "But I wouldn't have gone there if Nick hadn't pushed me. And he was so subtle about it, I never even knew what was coming. I just realized that I was attracted to him, and then I realized that I wanted to be with him."
Sara smiled. "But Catherine, you have to remember, Nick and I have only known each other two years. You're trying to augment a friendship you've had for what? Ten years or so? You're taking a much larger risk. So, you're probably nervous as well. You know Grissom is going to go into any type of relationship with you questioning himself - he can't help it. So, you have to be the one that's absolutely sure. You can't be questioning yourself or him, or it will never work. Is it worth it?"
Catherine sighed. "I think I've been in love with him for years. He's so - I don't know. There's just an innocence about him that is so at odds with a man of his age. And Sara, I'm not innocent. I was a stripper, for God's sake. I was an addict. I'm divorced, I have a daughter. And I wonder, maybe Gil deserves better. No man has ever treated me the way he does. What if it doesn't work out, and I loose that?"
"What if it does work out, and you don't?" Sara smiled. "You need to talk to him, Catherine. For your sake as well as for his. I personally believe Grissom has been half in love with you for years, and he's just been burying it behind friendship. But I want him to be happy, Catherine. And I want you to be happy. When shift started, you were happy. And now you're not. So, what does that tell you?"
Catherine didn't respond immediately, turning back to her solitaire game and making a few plays. Sara just sat there, patiently waiting. Suddenly Catherine turned back to her and smiled. "My whole life has been taking risks - so, why should that change now?"
The two women grinned at each other, and Sara started giggling. "Wow. Now that we've cleared that up, I just have to ask - did Grissom sweep you off your feet while discussing the mating rituals of the butterfly moth?"
* * * * *
Catherine and Sara walked into the break room to find Grissom and Nick just sitting there. Nick had been trying to get Grissom to tell him what was wrong, but thus far Grissom had disclosed nothing. Seeing Catherine, Nick jumped up. "Hey Catherine. Can I get you a coffee?"
"No thanks, Nick." She looked at him briefly, before her gaze drifted over to Grissom. "I came to see if Grissom wanted to take a short break and go grab dinner with me." Behind Catherine, Sara was grinning.
Grissom looked at Catherine for a brief moment, wincing as he saw her puffy eyes. He dropped his crossword puzzle on the table, and stood quickly walking over to her side. "Will you let me buy?"
Catherine nodded and flashed Grissom a tentative watery smile. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"I'm sorry I'm an asshole." His response was wry, but it made Catherine laugh. They had forgotten Sara and Nick were even standing there. Grissom leaned forward and gently caressed her cheek. "I love you, Catherine."
__________
Author's Note: Okay, okay. I know I messed with you all a little in the last chapter - but I had too. In a situation like this, Grissom would definitely say something a little stupid, and Catherine would jump off the deep-end. But you knew they would make up. Admit it! Next chapter - on with the case. And Greg and Nick go shopping.