Chapter 7
Grissom was on the brink of sleep when Catherine's voice echoed through the room.
"You want me to leave the water running for you?"
He guided himself upwards on the bed to answer her, when he quickly slammed his eyes shut again. The way that she had positioned the flashlight on the table left him able to see a partial shadow of her nude form through the shower curtain. The emotions running throughout his mind and body frightened him. ~I know that I love her--she's my best friend--of course I love her... But, it's not about that anymore...and I'm not even sure when it changed. It's about the way that I feel when she's in the same room as me. When she touches me, I want more. It's pure selfishness. I don't think about the fact that she trusts me as a friend...to protect her...to prevent her from being hurt. And, then, here I am---my feelings threatening to break that trust and hurt her unconditionally. This has to stop...I have to stop...~
"Grissom? Did you hear me?"
"Um...yeah...that's fine."
"Alright." She carefully stepped down from the tub, grabbed her towel, and felt for the bathroom through the darkness.
When Grissom heard the door gently shut, he made his way from the bed, quickly shed his clothing, and stepped underneath the strong spray of water. He wasn't sure how long he stayed there. The liquid had lost it's heat a while ago, which was normal, considering there was still no electricity to fuel it's warmth. When his body began to shiver involuntarily, he turned the water off...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking from the bathroom, he could see Catherine's face aglow. She was propped up on the left side of the bed, curled up in blankets, holding the flashlight's handle between her teeth and flipping through a few pages of what he could only assume was more of the casefile. He smiled weakly to himself, before ruffling a small towel through his hair. Moving a step over, he reached the closet. When he managed to find the door knob, he opened it and clumsily pulled the extra blankets off of the top shelf.
Catherine could hear him coming towards the bed and flashed the light in his direction so that he wouldn't stumble over anything.
"Good, we've got more blankets...it's freezing in here. I was, actually, just thinking that the shower was a bad idea." Her smile transformed into a frown when she saw his distant expression. "You feeling alright, Gil?"
"Yeah." He flipped one of the blankets into the air and watched it float slowly back down, landing neatly on the floor. "I'm fine."
Catherine's eyebrows knitted tightly together as she watched him repeat the process with a second blanket. "What are you doing?"
"Making a pallet." Grissom turned around and laid another blanket at her feet. "Here's another one for you."
She ignored his offering and continued to watch him as he shifted to grab a pillow from the other side of the bed. When he dropped it onto the floor and moved to position himself there also, she decided to question him. "So, you're sleeping on the floor? Why's that?"
He was taken aback by her question. He didn't expect her to ask, and he sure as hell didn't know how to answer her. ~Well, Catherine, I'm afraid that if I sleep in the same bed as you, that I won't be able to control myself. Yep, that about sums it up. I bet she'd just love to hear that, Gil.~ "I, uh, don't know. I just want to sleep on the floor."
"You want to sleep on the floor?" She questioned his statement, still not sure that she understood.
"You heard me." It came out much harsher than he intended and he winced at the sound of his own voice.
"Okay." Catherine rolled over so that she wasn't facing him and pulled the covers up to her chin. She was now wondering who the man standing behind her was...and what had happened to the man from earlier today...the man who alleviated her fears with a whisper and comforted her with a single touch. She would be the first to admit that it was a newer side of Grissom, but also the first to admit that she missed him already..
TBC..Sorry this was so short. And still no plot! ; ) But, you guys were really nice about the lack of plot in the last chapter! Maybe, eventually, I'll get back to the case. I'm just having a little fun exploring G/C right now. I'm off this weekend, so I'll probably have another chapter up by Sunday evening...Thanks a lot for your awesome reviews--they really do mean a lot to me!
Grissom was on the brink of sleep when Catherine's voice echoed through the room.
"You want me to leave the water running for you?"
He guided himself upwards on the bed to answer her, when he quickly slammed his eyes shut again. The way that she had positioned the flashlight on the table left him able to see a partial shadow of her nude form through the shower curtain. The emotions running throughout his mind and body frightened him. ~I know that I love her--she's my best friend--of course I love her... But, it's not about that anymore...and I'm not even sure when it changed. It's about the way that I feel when she's in the same room as me. When she touches me, I want more. It's pure selfishness. I don't think about the fact that she trusts me as a friend...to protect her...to prevent her from being hurt. And, then, here I am---my feelings threatening to break that trust and hurt her unconditionally. This has to stop...I have to stop...~
"Grissom? Did you hear me?"
"Um...yeah...that's fine."
"Alright." She carefully stepped down from the tub, grabbed her towel, and felt for the bathroom through the darkness.
When Grissom heard the door gently shut, he made his way from the bed, quickly shed his clothing, and stepped underneath the strong spray of water. He wasn't sure how long he stayed there. The liquid had lost it's heat a while ago, which was normal, considering there was still no electricity to fuel it's warmth. When his body began to shiver involuntarily, he turned the water off...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking from the bathroom, he could see Catherine's face aglow. She was propped up on the left side of the bed, curled up in blankets, holding the flashlight's handle between her teeth and flipping through a few pages of what he could only assume was more of the casefile. He smiled weakly to himself, before ruffling a small towel through his hair. Moving a step over, he reached the closet. When he managed to find the door knob, he opened it and clumsily pulled the extra blankets off of the top shelf.
Catherine could hear him coming towards the bed and flashed the light in his direction so that he wouldn't stumble over anything.
"Good, we've got more blankets...it's freezing in here. I was, actually, just thinking that the shower was a bad idea." Her smile transformed into a frown when she saw his distant expression. "You feeling alright, Gil?"
"Yeah." He flipped one of the blankets into the air and watched it float slowly back down, landing neatly on the floor. "I'm fine."
Catherine's eyebrows knitted tightly together as she watched him repeat the process with a second blanket. "What are you doing?"
"Making a pallet." Grissom turned around and laid another blanket at her feet. "Here's another one for you."
She ignored his offering and continued to watch him as he shifted to grab a pillow from the other side of the bed. When he dropped it onto the floor and moved to position himself there also, she decided to question him. "So, you're sleeping on the floor? Why's that?"
He was taken aback by her question. He didn't expect her to ask, and he sure as hell didn't know how to answer her. ~Well, Catherine, I'm afraid that if I sleep in the same bed as you, that I won't be able to control myself. Yep, that about sums it up. I bet she'd just love to hear that, Gil.~ "I, uh, don't know. I just want to sleep on the floor."
"You want to sleep on the floor?" She questioned his statement, still not sure that she understood.
"You heard me." It came out much harsher than he intended and he winced at the sound of his own voice.
"Okay." Catherine rolled over so that she wasn't facing him and pulled the covers up to her chin. She was now wondering who the man standing behind her was...and what had happened to the man from earlier today...the man who alleviated her fears with a whisper and comforted her with a single touch. She would be the first to admit that it was a newer side of Grissom, but also the first to admit that she missed him already..
TBC..Sorry this was so short. And still no plot! ; ) But, you guys were really nice about the lack of plot in the last chapter! Maybe, eventually, I'll get back to the case. I'm just having a little fun exploring G/C right now. I'm off this weekend, so I'll probably have another chapter up by Sunday evening...Thanks a lot for your awesome reviews--they really do mean a lot to me!