Disclaimer - see chapter one

Chapter Five - Waiting

"The guy doesn't speak. You speak to him, you ask him how he is. How he feels. Nothing. Fair enough, if he wants to keep himself to himself, that's fine. I'll always be there if he ever did want to talk. And I understand that he knows that. That's it with us. That's how it goes. We understand each other. Communication between us is telepathic. I know he doesn't want to talk, so I read the silence. But it won't work this time. I'm not gonna mind read his apology, or his explanation. And I'm not gonna tell him how to fix this!"

She was pacing up and down her living room. It had been three hours and he hadn't called. She was trying to tell herself that she had over-reacted, that her interpretation wasn't what he meant, but this silence wasn't helping. Their friendship was on the line and he wasn't trying to fix it. Perhaps that's what he had meant. Perhaps he does think she's that stupid.

"Cath, you have to calm down. You said he's not good with feelings, or people. He probably needs time." Her sister couldn't watch her like this. She didn't know exactly what had passed between Cath and Grissom, and she didn't need to. Catherine didn't get this upset unless it was serious. She just couldn't grasp the idea that Grissom had upset her this much.

"Time is the one thing he shouldn't have needed. This is me. He is good with me. At least I thought he was. I thought we were friends. I thought - Maybe I mis-read him. I thought he actually cared about me, but apparently I'm not important enough for him to overcome his fear of words. Obviously he was just protecting me 'cause he thought I lacked the intelligence to take care of myself!.. Why hasn't he called?!!"

She was visibly more distressed.

"That's the thing with silence. How do you know if he's silent because he's sorry and he's scared, or if he's silent because he has nothing to say?"

"Because you understand each other. Because you understand him. Because you know he didn't mean it."

"Do I?"

"Yes you do. You just want to hear him say he's sorry."

Her sister was right. Catherine knew Gil wanted to apologise.

"I just . I just don't think I will."

She stopped as she said this, for the first time looking directly at her sister. Her face showed her emotional exhaustion, her eyes tired and tear stained.

"Hey, he will apologise," her sister said softly, increasingly concerned by the extent of Catherine's distress.

"Yeah, but not for the right thing. I know, I've been waiting."

TBC...