Chapter 6
"Gris?" Her voice was shaky. She was gripping his shirt as she willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
He could sense her question and blindly shook his head. "I don't know what happened."
"God...do you think that he had something to do with it? I mean, what if he realized what he let slip? He'll know that I suspect something. God Grissom, what are we going to do?" Catherine was speaking quickly, the words rushing from her mouth.
Grissom would have laughed and told her how she reminded him of Lindsey at this moment...that is, if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation. She was frightened--that was obvious. And he, himself, had even admitted outloud to being a bit afraid. He needed to calm her, alleviate her fears, be logical. Yes...logic. He pulled her hands from his shirt and stepped away from her. He had to supress the urge to run back and hold her when he heard her whimper at their loss of contact. Feeling his way across the room, he reached the window. Pulling the curtain aside, he squinted his eyes, trying to find something..anything...to put their minds at ease. And he found it. The moon shining brightly above was now the main source of light this evening--it wasn't just their room...or their hotel..the whole damn town was out of power. From the few headlights on the road beneath him, he could see the significant amount of snow and ice that had buried the small town. The scientist in him began to wonder how this was going to hinder their investigation. ~I wonder if they even have an electric company..~
He turned around, as if he could see what she was doing. The noises were distinctive enough that he didn't even need to question them. She was locking the door. He heard the deadbold slide into place and then the rattling of the chain lock being hooked quickly followed.
"Catherine?"
"Hmmm?"
"Come here."
"I can't even see my own hand in front of my face. How am I supossed to figure out where the hell you are?"
"Follow my voice." He said it simply, as if it was an obvious answer.
"OUCH. Shit!"
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I ran into the damn bath tub. Why the hell is the bath tub in the middle of the room anyway?" She was pissy and irrational. She had actually thought that it was one of the most beautiful features of the room..but, she wasn't about to admit that now...
Grissom smiled into the darkness. "You're headed the wrong way, Catherine."
She turned around and began to follow his voice again. "Well, you weren't talking. How am I supossed to follow your voice if you're not talking." Catherine stood motionless until she heard him speaking again..
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
"What was that?" Grissom was startled by Catherine's voice so close and her hands touching him, settling on his waist.
"Um..Shakespeare." He was thankful that she couldn't see him blushing.
"I know that. I meant...well...why were you reciting it?"
"You needed to hear me talking. So, I talked. It was the first thing that popped into my head. It must have worked---you found me."
"That, I did." She ran one of her hands up to his chest, wondering if he knew exactly how safe she was capable of feeling when he was next to her. "So, I'm over here. For what, exactly, did I make this trek in the dark?"
He reached for her hand and touched it to the window. "Look outside."
"Gris, I don't see anything." She was confused and briefly wondered if, perhaps, he had knocked his head on something while stumbling around in the dark.
"I know you don't. That's the point. The whole town seems to be out of power--not just us. Storm must have frozen the power lines." Though he couldn't see it, he could almost feel her smiling. "Feel better?"
"A bit."
"Good." He squeezed her hand tightly in his and felt that familiar electricity running throughout his body.
"Do you have any matches...or a lighter? We could light these candles back up--then we'd at least have some light in here."
"No. I don't. I shouldn't have blew them out before I went looking for you. I just didn't know how long I would be gone..."
"Sorry."
Grissom attempted to reach for her face, just hoping that he didn't poke her in the eye. ~Yeah, Gil--that would be romantic.~ He breathed a small sigh when he felt her lips against his thumb. The rest of his fingers housed themselves on her cheek, rubbing gently. "Sorry for what, Catherine?"
"For everything. For coming here...for leaving by myself...for meeting that sheriff..for letting my guard down and talking to him...for not realizing what he was up to sooner..for---"
"Stop it, Cath. You may have broken this case open for us. Don't be sorry for that. And, I'm glad you didn't figure him out while you were with him. Who knows what could have happened then? He could have hurt you...killed you. God, Catherine.." He whispered more to himself than to her. "..what would I have done then?"
"You would have had to solve the case all by yourself." She reached up and ruffled his hair a bit. "Imagine all of that paperwork."
"Don't even joke about that." Grissom's tone was serious.
"I know. I'm sorry. Joking about it somehow makes it a little less real, though. I don't have to think about the fact that a murderer is still out there. And that right now there's nothing we can do to stop him."
"We will."
A surprisingly comfortable silence washed over them. They stood there, in the dark, listening to each other's breathing. They touched cautiously--- hands caressing faces, shoulders, and backs---neither one wanting to break the contact, but each wondering if the other felt that a line was being crossed.
Grissom pulled back slightly, wishing he could see her eyes through the darkness of the room. He was, actually, starting to wish that he could just see something..anything. The complete darkness was getting to him. He mused that this was one of those moments where doing without made you actually appreciate what was normally taken for granted. For a brief moment, he wondered if his mind was thinking about the darkness or Catherine. He broke that thought and began to move towards the other side of the room. "I'll be right back."
She grabbed onto his sleeve tightly. "Where are you going?"
"Just right over there." He pointed, as if she could see.
"Oh no you're not. I'm coming with you. You're not pulling that "follow my voice" thing again, Grissom."
He laughed at her and felt her smack him lightly on the back in response. He started to move slowly across the room, very aware of her hands holding onto the back of his shirt. When he reached his destination and stopped, Catherine's momentum pushed the front of her body against his back. Her hands instinctively tightened around his waist, keeping both of them grounded. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly. She lost her grip on Grissom when she felt him squat down to, apparently, rummage through something.
When she could no longer hear his movements and was about to question him, she was startled by the sudden illumination of his face. His beautiful smile could be seen, courtesy of the flashlight he was holding in his hands. "Boo." He joked, and shifted the light's beam in her direction, effectively causing a smile to light up her own features.
"I totally forgot about the flashlight. Thank goodness one of us remembered." Catherine pried the light from his hand and moved it about the room a few times, finally pausing back on Grissom's face, relishing in the sight of him. "Have I told you lately you're a genius?"
"Not lately. But, you can thank me later." His skin began to flush when he realized how that statement could be construed. He didn't mean it that way. As he stared into the light she was holding, he cursed himself for changing the batteries recently--at least he could have hidden in the darkness. He was just praying that she couldn't see the embarassment that he felt.
"I just might." Catherine smiled at the redness covering his cheeks and ears. She knew what he meant by his statement, but she couldn't help but think of what she wished he had meant. She shook her thoughts off and momentarily aimed the beam at her suitcase, placed by the door. Shaking the flashlight in front of him gently, she directed a question to Grissom. "Can I borrow this for a few minutes?"
"Um...yeah. You going somewhere?"
"Shower..."
TBC. Still a total lack of plot, I know. I'm just not ready to get back to the case just yet. Sorry! :::::hangs head in shame:::::
"Gris?" Her voice was shaky. She was gripping his shirt as she willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
He could sense her question and blindly shook his head. "I don't know what happened."
"God...do you think that he had something to do with it? I mean, what if he realized what he let slip? He'll know that I suspect something. God Grissom, what are we going to do?" Catherine was speaking quickly, the words rushing from her mouth.
Grissom would have laughed and told her how she reminded him of Lindsey at this moment...that is, if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation. She was frightened--that was obvious. And he, himself, had even admitted outloud to being a bit afraid. He needed to calm her, alleviate her fears, be logical. Yes...logic. He pulled her hands from his shirt and stepped away from her. He had to supress the urge to run back and hold her when he heard her whimper at their loss of contact. Feeling his way across the room, he reached the window. Pulling the curtain aside, he squinted his eyes, trying to find something..anything...to put their minds at ease. And he found it. The moon shining brightly above was now the main source of light this evening--it wasn't just their room...or their hotel..the whole damn town was out of power. From the few headlights on the road beneath him, he could see the significant amount of snow and ice that had buried the small town. The scientist in him began to wonder how this was going to hinder their investigation. ~I wonder if they even have an electric company..~
He turned around, as if he could see what she was doing. The noises were distinctive enough that he didn't even need to question them. She was locking the door. He heard the deadbold slide into place and then the rattling of the chain lock being hooked quickly followed.
"Catherine?"
"Hmmm?"
"Come here."
"I can't even see my own hand in front of my face. How am I supossed to figure out where the hell you are?"
"Follow my voice." He said it simply, as if it was an obvious answer.
"OUCH. Shit!"
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I ran into the damn bath tub. Why the hell is the bath tub in the middle of the room anyway?" She was pissy and irrational. She had actually thought that it was one of the most beautiful features of the room..but, she wasn't about to admit that now...
Grissom smiled into the darkness. "You're headed the wrong way, Catherine."
She turned around and began to follow his voice again. "Well, you weren't talking. How am I supossed to follow your voice if you're not talking." Catherine stood motionless until she heard him speaking again..
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come: Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
"What was that?" Grissom was startled by Catherine's voice so close and her hands touching him, settling on his waist.
"Um..Shakespeare." He was thankful that she couldn't see him blushing.
"I know that. I meant...well...why were you reciting it?"
"You needed to hear me talking. So, I talked. It was the first thing that popped into my head. It must have worked---you found me."
"That, I did." She ran one of her hands up to his chest, wondering if he knew exactly how safe she was capable of feeling when he was next to her. "So, I'm over here. For what, exactly, did I make this trek in the dark?"
He reached for her hand and touched it to the window. "Look outside."
"Gris, I don't see anything." She was confused and briefly wondered if, perhaps, he had knocked his head on something while stumbling around in the dark.
"I know you don't. That's the point. The whole town seems to be out of power--not just us. Storm must have frozen the power lines." Though he couldn't see it, he could almost feel her smiling. "Feel better?"
"A bit."
"Good." He squeezed her hand tightly in his and felt that familiar electricity running throughout his body.
"Do you have any matches...or a lighter? We could light these candles back up--then we'd at least have some light in here."
"No. I don't. I shouldn't have blew them out before I went looking for you. I just didn't know how long I would be gone..."
"Sorry."
Grissom attempted to reach for her face, just hoping that he didn't poke her in the eye. ~Yeah, Gil--that would be romantic.~ He breathed a small sigh when he felt her lips against his thumb. The rest of his fingers housed themselves on her cheek, rubbing gently. "Sorry for what, Catherine?"
"For everything. For coming here...for leaving by myself...for meeting that sheriff..for letting my guard down and talking to him...for not realizing what he was up to sooner..for---"
"Stop it, Cath. You may have broken this case open for us. Don't be sorry for that. And, I'm glad you didn't figure him out while you were with him. Who knows what could have happened then? He could have hurt you...killed you. God, Catherine.." He whispered more to himself than to her. "..what would I have done then?"
"You would have had to solve the case all by yourself." She reached up and ruffled his hair a bit. "Imagine all of that paperwork."
"Don't even joke about that." Grissom's tone was serious.
"I know. I'm sorry. Joking about it somehow makes it a little less real, though. I don't have to think about the fact that a murderer is still out there. And that right now there's nothing we can do to stop him."
"We will."
A surprisingly comfortable silence washed over them. They stood there, in the dark, listening to each other's breathing. They touched cautiously--- hands caressing faces, shoulders, and backs---neither one wanting to break the contact, but each wondering if the other felt that a line was being crossed.
Grissom pulled back slightly, wishing he could see her eyes through the darkness of the room. He was, actually, starting to wish that he could just see something..anything. The complete darkness was getting to him. He mused that this was one of those moments where doing without made you actually appreciate what was normally taken for granted. For a brief moment, he wondered if his mind was thinking about the darkness or Catherine. He broke that thought and began to move towards the other side of the room. "I'll be right back."
She grabbed onto his sleeve tightly. "Where are you going?"
"Just right over there." He pointed, as if she could see.
"Oh no you're not. I'm coming with you. You're not pulling that "follow my voice" thing again, Grissom."
He laughed at her and felt her smack him lightly on the back in response. He started to move slowly across the room, very aware of her hands holding onto the back of his shirt. When he reached his destination and stopped, Catherine's momentum pushed the front of her body against his back. Her hands instinctively tightened around his waist, keeping both of them grounded. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly. She lost her grip on Grissom when she felt him squat down to, apparently, rummage through something.
When she could no longer hear his movements and was about to question him, she was startled by the sudden illumination of his face. His beautiful smile could be seen, courtesy of the flashlight he was holding in his hands. "Boo." He joked, and shifted the light's beam in her direction, effectively causing a smile to light up her own features.
"I totally forgot about the flashlight. Thank goodness one of us remembered." Catherine pried the light from his hand and moved it about the room a few times, finally pausing back on Grissom's face, relishing in the sight of him. "Have I told you lately you're a genius?"
"Not lately. But, you can thank me later." His skin began to flush when he realized how that statement could be construed. He didn't mean it that way. As he stared into the light she was holding, he cursed himself for changing the batteries recently--at least he could have hidden in the darkness. He was just praying that she couldn't see the embarassment that he felt.
"I just might." Catherine smiled at the redness covering his cheeks and ears. She knew what he meant by his statement, but she couldn't help but think of what she wished he had meant. She shook her thoughts off and momentarily aimed the beam at her suitcase, placed by the door. Shaking the flashlight in front of him gently, she directed a question to Grissom. "Can I borrow this for a few minutes?"
"Um...yeah. You going somewhere?"
"Shower..."
TBC. Still a total lack of plot, I know. I'm just not ready to get back to the case just yet. Sorry! :::::hangs head in shame:::::