Disclaimer - see chapter one
Chapter Ten
"Catherine!" he shouted as he followed her into the restaurant. "Wait! I love you!"
Ignoring the gasps and chattering amongst the other people in the restaurant, most of who were his relatives, he continued. "Marry me!"
Catherine stopped. Everyone watching stopped whatever they were doing. A waiter dropped a pot of coffee to the floor, but ignored the burning liquid that splashed on his trousers. Lindsey quickly tried to sign to Mrs Grissom to tell her what he had said. The woman's eyes widened in surprise, and she turned her attention to join the eyes of the rest of the room, on Catherine.
She was standing still. Frozen in the position she had occupied when he had said it.
"That's - " she tried, then cleared the lump from her throat, and tried again, "That's an interesting way to get me to stop." She spoke with out turning round.
"I can't let you go," he responded earnestly.
She turned slowly, noticing how many faces were fixed on her. She would have blushed if she wasn't so angry.
"Do you really want to do this here?" she said, sadly. "In front of all these people."
Grissom nodded. "I love you. I don't care how many people know it."
"I suppose you're gonna say I'm over-reacting again," she hissed.
Grissom smiled. "You tend to do that when it comes to me."
The corners of Catherine's mouth curled slightly, but she quickly retracted them.
"I saw that," Grissom smirked, lovingly.
"There was nothing to see," Catherine insisted, her smile trying to come through again.
Grissom started walking towards her. While she knew the angry thing to do would be to back away, she was unable to move. She had to admit to herself that she wasn't angry anymore. She allowed herself to become nervously excited about the fact that she would soon be close to him, and enjoyed the fluttering of her heart and the gentle trembling that ran over her body.
"Catherine, I brought you here this weekend because I needed to get you away from work, to tell you how I feel, how I have felt since the day I met you. I couldn't wait any longer, and I thought this would be a good excuse. I love you, and I cannot spend another moment apart from you. I'll withdraw the proposal if you think it's too soon, but I'm not letting you go. You leave here as my girlfriend or my fiancée, the choice is yours, but you are most definitely not leaving with out me."
As their audience applauded, Catherine felt the tears building up again. Grissom raised his hand to her cheek, and gently stroked it. His touch released the floods and water ran down her face. He smiled and softly wiped the tears away.
The onlookers saw Catherine open her mouth to speak, and once more fell into silence.
"The proposal."
The only sound made in the room sounded like over a hundred people simultaneously taking a sharp intake of air.
Catherine paused and looked around, to see a sea of eyes and smiling faces all focussed on her. She laughed, and this time her cheeks flushed a little, and she turned back to Gil, who was impatiently awaiting her next words.
". Isn't soon enough," she grinned with the widest version of her radiant smile that Gil had ever seen.
After taking a second to register what she had said, the happiness in his face matched hers, and he swept her into his arms and kissed her passionately, converting all his earlier fear and anxiety into love and passing it all on to her.
Over a hundred people all releasing a breath at the same time, the Discovery Channel might say, would probably cause a hurricane elsewhere in the world, but that didn't stop them.
After breathing their sighs of relief, Lindsey and Mrs Grissom weaved their way through the tables of once more chattering diners to the couple still holding each other tightly in the centre of the room.
Lindsey tugged on Grissom's shirt to get his attention. Reluctantly he broke his mouth from its contact with Catherine's, but couldn't allow space between their bodies. They both looked down.
"That was so embarrassing!" Lindsey exclaimed teasingly.
Catherine laughed. "I'm sorry, honey." She looked into Grissom's eyes once more. "No, I'm not." She pressed her lips into his with such force that he was taken by surprise, and almost lost his balance. But he managed to recover, and returned her enthusiasm.
"Eew! Cut it out! It's humiliating!" Lindsey cringed, starting to actually mean it.
The adults' lips were once again the only part of them that separated. "Sorry, Linds," Grissom said, still looking at Catherine. "I just can't seem to let her go."
Catherine smiled back, her eyes sparkling with desire and pleasure, "Oh, I know that feeling."
THE END
Chapter Ten
"Catherine!" he shouted as he followed her into the restaurant. "Wait! I love you!"
Ignoring the gasps and chattering amongst the other people in the restaurant, most of who were his relatives, he continued. "Marry me!"
Catherine stopped. Everyone watching stopped whatever they were doing. A waiter dropped a pot of coffee to the floor, but ignored the burning liquid that splashed on his trousers. Lindsey quickly tried to sign to Mrs Grissom to tell her what he had said. The woman's eyes widened in surprise, and she turned her attention to join the eyes of the rest of the room, on Catherine.
She was standing still. Frozen in the position she had occupied when he had said it.
"That's - " she tried, then cleared the lump from her throat, and tried again, "That's an interesting way to get me to stop." She spoke with out turning round.
"I can't let you go," he responded earnestly.
She turned slowly, noticing how many faces were fixed on her. She would have blushed if she wasn't so angry.
"Do you really want to do this here?" she said, sadly. "In front of all these people."
Grissom nodded. "I love you. I don't care how many people know it."
"I suppose you're gonna say I'm over-reacting again," she hissed.
Grissom smiled. "You tend to do that when it comes to me."
The corners of Catherine's mouth curled slightly, but she quickly retracted them.
"I saw that," Grissom smirked, lovingly.
"There was nothing to see," Catherine insisted, her smile trying to come through again.
Grissom started walking towards her. While she knew the angry thing to do would be to back away, she was unable to move. She had to admit to herself that she wasn't angry anymore. She allowed herself to become nervously excited about the fact that she would soon be close to him, and enjoyed the fluttering of her heart and the gentle trembling that ran over her body.
"Catherine, I brought you here this weekend because I needed to get you away from work, to tell you how I feel, how I have felt since the day I met you. I couldn't wait any longer, and I thought this would be a good excuse. I love you, and I cannot spend another moment apart from you. I'll withdraw the proposal if you think it's too soon, but I'm not letting you go. You leave here as my girlfriend or my fiancée, the choice is yours, but you are most definitely not leaving with out me."
As their audience applauded, Catherine felt the tears building up again. Grissom raised his hand to her cheek, and gently stroked it. His touch released the floods and water ran down her face. He smiled and softly wiped the tears away.
The onlookers saw Catherine open her mouth to speak, and once more fell into silence.
"The proposal."
The only sound made in the room sounded like over a hundred people simultaneously taking a sharp intake of air.
Catherine paused and looked around, to see a sea of eyes and smiling faces all focussed on her. She laughed, and this time her cheeks flushed a little, and she turned back to Gil, who was impatiently awaiting her next words.
". Isn't soon enough," she grinned with the widest version of her radiant smile that Gil had ever seen.
After taking a second to register what she had said, the happiness in his face matched hers, and he swept her into his arms and kissed her passionately, converting all his earlier fear and anxiety into love and passing it all on to her.
Over a hundred people all releasing a breath at the same time, the Discovery Channel might say, would probably cause a hurricane elsewhere in the world, but that didn't stop them.
After breathing their sighs of relief, Lindsey and Mrs Grissom weaved their way through the tables of once more chattering diners to the couple still holding each other tightly in the centre of the room.
Lindsey tugged on Grissom's shirt to get his attention. Reluctantly he broke his mouth from its contact with Catherine's, but couldn't allow space between their bodies. They both looked down.
"That was so embarrassing!" Lindsey exclaimed teasingly.
Catherine laughed. "I'm sorry, honey." She looked into Grissom's eyes once more. "No, I'm not." She pressed her lips into his with such force that he was taken by surprise, and almost lost his balance. But he managed to recover, and returned her enthusiasm.
"Eew! Cut it out! It's humiliating!" Lindsey cringed, starting to actually mean it.
The adults' lips were once again the only part of them that separated. "Sorry, Linds," Grissom said, still looking at Catherine. "I just can't seem to let her go."
Catherine smiled back, her eyes sparkling with desire and pleasure, "Oh, I know that feeling."
THE END