Disclaimer - see chapter one
Chapter 3
"Catherine, move out of my way!" Grissom ordered, standing just over a foot in front of her, determined to get through the door against which she was leaning.
"You're not going anywhere," she responded, shaking her head defiantly. "Our instructions are to stay in this room. I'm not letting you out."
"This is ridiculous!" He now shouted, angrily. "We've been in here for over twelve hours!"
Catherine nodded, nonchalantly. "I'm aware of that. What's your point?"
"What's my point?!" he snapped, stepping closer to her. "They're keeping us in here for no reason!"
"They're awaiting test results. These things take time, you know that," Catherine said, remaining calm, and thus infuriating Grissom even more. "As soon as they know whether what Greg has is contagious, they'll either let us go or treat us - if they can."
"Surely we'd be showing some sign of it by now?"
"Maybe you are. Perhaps sudden irrational anger is a symptom? First Nick, now you," she suggested.
"This is not irrational. There is no need for us to be locked in here. They've got the lab itself blocked off."
"You are being irrational. You know the arrangement. We're in groups of people who saw Greg together. You should just feel lucky that Ecklie wasn't eating lunch with us. You think this is bad, imagine how the dayshift feels, stuck in the locker room with him. And," she continued before he had chance to respond, "do you really want to go out there and potentially infect other people? Could you live with that?"
"I just want to go to my office," Grissom said, apparently ignoring everything she had just said.
"You can't," Catherine began, immediately wishing she hadn't because she knew how he was going to react to the rest of the sentence.
"Why?" he asked impatiently.
"There are people in there. Lab technicians," she replied, whilst mentally preparing herself to face his response confidently.
"What? In my office?!" he yelled, his hand flying past her to reach for the door handle.
"So you definitely can't go in there," she exclaimed, stepping across to place herself between his hand and the handle. "So where would you go?"
When his hand hit her shoulder instead of its desired destination, he gave her an intense glare, designed to tell her that she was just making his anger worse and if she had any sense she should move away from the door.
The look on her face told him that his glare was unsuccessful, the stubborn glint in her eyes indicating that she wasn't going to back down, and the raised eyebrows daring him to take her on, warning him that he would lose.
Any other time, he might have given in, but now, for some reason, he felt like fighting. Whether it was his anger at their situation, adrenaline from their earlier flirtations or desire rising from their proximity, he didn't know, and he didn't care. He was filled with the passion to stand his ground, and fight.
"If you don't move, I'll have to move you," he said sternly.
She raised her eyebrows higher, as if asking how he planned to do that.
***
The younger three CSIs looked to each other, finding that they had all been enthralled in the battle. Sara looked concerned, and her nod towards Grissom and Catherine asked if they should do something.
Warrick shook his head, understanding that nothing serious would happen so there was no harm in letting them continue. After all, there wasn't much else to do. He did, however, divert his eyes back to the magazine he had been reading, telling the others that they shouldn't be watching.
Nick and Sara followed his lead, and busied themselves reading. All six ears, though, remained tuned to the scene by the door.
***
There was not much to be heard at the moment. Grissom and Catherine were silently staring each other out, each determined that they were not going to back down.
Whilst he was normally a fan of silence, finding it soothing and secure, Grissom was the first to crack. Catherine could have stood like that forever, and this was being flaunted on her face. It was that expression that broke Grissom, who was suddenly unable to contain his irritation.
"Goddamn it, Catherine! Move!" he yelled, inching closer to her in a move she knew was intended to intimidate her. Like that would work.
"No," she said simply, trying not to look too amused. The look on Grissom's face was certainly one of anger, and might have frightened someone else, but she knew him too well. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, and she knew that whatever he tried to move her away, she could probably counteract.
He stepped even closer, eyes strongly fixed on hers and attempting to bore into her. The only affect it did have was to make her heart flutter at feeling his warm body so close to hers.
"Move," he stated, his tone serious, but voice no longer raised.
She shook her head vehemently, aware that if she tried to speak the feeling of nervous excitement, spreading from her stomach throughout her body, would prevent the words from coming out, and that would weaken her position.
He stepped forward again, his body now as close to hers as it could be without being pressed against her. Her heart was racing, and her breathing fought to be allowed to deepen, but she repressed it.
Each time he inhaled, his senses were filled with her scent. The scent that was Catherine, that for years he had longed to lose himself in. He was finding it increasingly difficult to remain focussed on what he was supposed to be doing. The softness of her eyes, and beauty of her face - her smooth, clear skin, deep blue eyes and those sweet red lips, oh, those lips. He shook his head to break free from those thoughts - an action she didn't miss, and the corner of her mouth curled into an intrigued smile.
"Do you think this is funny?" Grissom asked.
Catherine shrugged, and whilst she had rather good control over her lips, her smile still showed in her eyes.
Grissom smirked, raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on Catherine's waist. The touch sent shivers round her body, but she instructed herself to ignore them, knowing she couldn't get lost in the moment. She summoned some will power and attempted speech.
"Just try it!" she said, in a threatening tone.
"Are you gonna move yourself?" he said simply.
"Not likely. So, go on. Pick me up. See how far you get," she challenged.
Grissom eyed her dubiously for a moment, wondering how she could be so confident. She wasn't particularly heavy, he could easily lift her. But she obviously had a defence prepared, he needed something else. He needed to do something she wouldn't expect.
Internally, Catherine grinned victoriously, she could see the confusion in Grissom's face as he realised he wasn't going to be able to move her very easily. She watched as his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed - signs that he was deep in thought. She let out a sigh of mock-impatience, as she broke their eye contact and rolled her eyes, playfully.
Spurred by her contentedness, Grissom stepped closer once more, brushing his body against hers. He felt her tremble as he moved his hands round to her back and pulled her close to him. Her eyes returned to his, open wide in surprise. Her conceited smile was replaced by a look of panic and confusion. His body pressed her harder against the door as he slowly lowered his head towards hers.
This time she couldn't repress any of the feelings stirring within her. She breathed slowly and deeply, her breaths shaking as she released them. Her heart pounded in her chest as if it was trying to break free, and she felt sure it echoed around the silent room.
***
The sudden quietness of their boss and Catherine had once again attracted the visual attention of the others who now sat open-mouthed as they saw Grissom moving in to kiss the woman he had pinned against the door.
***
They both kept their eyes firmly fixed on the other's as the space between them decreased. When his lips were millimetres from hers, she could barely concentrate on controlling her desire to close her eyes and tilt her head towards him invitingly. His warm breath softly tickled her lips, and, subconsciously, her tongue moistened them, in preparation. But she had to remain in control. She knew what he was doing, and she wasn't going to fall for it, so she wondered how far he was going to go.
She could almost feel the softness of his lips when he stopped, hovering his face in the position it had reached.
"You didn't move," he said quietly, unable to speak any louder without the low, huskiness of his voice revealing how aroused he was.
"Then you would get out," she responded, hoping she didn't sound as breathless as she felt. "Did you really think this would work?"
Grissom lingered close to her for a few more seconds, as if deciding whether or not to pull away, then his facial expression dropped, as if he had just been hit by the realisation of what he was doing. He lingered a moment longer, lost in the beauty of her eyes, before clearing his throat, awkwardly, and stepping backwards.
"You can't stay there forever!" he declared, dropping himself onto a chair by the table.
"You wanna bet?" she replied, determination evident in all her features.
He glared at her. When she responded with just a breathtaking smile, she saw his eyes smile, even though he tried to intensify the glare.
TBC
Chapter 3
"Catherine, move out of my way!" Grissom ordered, standing just over a foot in front of her, determined to get through the door against which she was leaning.
"You're not going anywhere," she responded, shaking her head defiantly. "Our instructions are to stay in this room. I'm not letting you out."
"This is ridiculous!" He now shouted, angrily. "We've been in here for over twelve hours!"
Catherine nodded, nonchalantly. "I'm aware of that. What's your point?"
"What's my point?!" he snapped, stepping closer to her. "They're keeping us in here for no reason!"
"They're awaiting test results. These things take time, you know that," Catherine said, remaining calm, and thus infuriating Grissom even more. "As soon as they know whether what Greg has is contagious, they'll either let us go or treat us - if they can."
"Surely we'd be showing some sign of it by now?"
"Maybe you are. Perhaps sudden irrational anger is a symptom? First Nick, now you," she suggested.
"This is not irrational. There is no need for us to be locked in here. They've got the lab itself blocked off."
"You are being irrational. You know the arrangement. We're in groups of people who saw Greg together. You should just feel lucky that Ecklie wasn't eating lunch with us. You think this is bad, imagine how the dayshift feels, stuck in the locker room with him. And," she continued before he had chance to respond, "do you really want to go out there and potentially infect other people? Could you live with that?"
"I just want to go to my office," Grissom said, apparently ignoring everything she had just said.
"You can't," Catherine began, immediately wishing she hadn't because she knew how he was going to react to the rest of the sentence.
"Why?" he asked impatiently.
"There are people in there. Lab technicians," she replied, whilst mentally preparing herself to face his response confidently.
"What? In my office?!" he yelled, his hand flying past her to reach for the door handle.
"So you definitely can't go in there," she exclaimed, stepping across to place herself between his hand and the handle. "So where would you go?"
When his hand hit her shoulder instead of its desired destination, he gave her an intense glare, designed to tell her that she was just making his anger worse and if she had any sense she should move away from the door.
The look on her face told him that his glare was unsuccessful, the stubborn glint in her eyes indicating that she wasn't going to back down, and the raised eyebrows daring him to take her on, warning him that he would lose.
Any other time, he might have given in, but now, for some reason, he felt like fighting. Whether it was his anger at their situation, adrenaline from their earlier flirtations or desire rising from their proximity, he didn't know, and he didn't care. He was filled with the passion to stand his ground, and fight.
"If you don't move, I'll have to move you," he said sternly.
She raised her eyebrows higher, as if asking how he planned to do that.
***
The younger three CSIs looked to each other, finding that they had all been enthralled in the battle. Sara looked concerned, and her nod towards Grissom and Catherine asked if they should do something.
Warrick shook his head, understanding that nothing serious would happen so there was no harm in letting them continue. After all, there wasn't much else to do. He did, however, divert his eyes back to the magazine he had been reading, telling the others that they shouldn't be watching.
Nick and Sara followed his lead, and busied themselves reading. All six ears, though, remained tuned to the scene by the door.
***
There was not much to be heard at the moment. Grissom and Catherine were silently staring each other out, each determined that they were not going to back down.
Whilst he was normally a fan of silence, finding it soothing and secure, Grissom was the first to crack. Catherine could have stood like that forever, and this was being flaunted on her face. It was that expression that broke Grissom, who was suddenly unable to contain his irritation.
"Goddamn it, Catherine! Move!" he yelled, inching closer to her in a move she knew was intended to intimidate her. Like that would work.
"No," she said simply, trying not to look too amused. The look on Grissom's face was certainly one of anger, and might have frightened someone else, but she knew him too well. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, and she knew that whatever he tried to move her away, she could probably counteract.
He stepped even closer, eyes strongly fixed on hers and attempting to bore into her. The only affect it did have was to make her heart flutter at feeling his warm body so close to hers.
"Move," he stated, his tone serious, but voice no longer raised.
She shook her head vehemently, aware that if she tried to speak the feeling of nervous excitement, spreading from her stomach throughout her body, would prevent the words from coming out, and that would weaken her position.
He stepped forward again, his body now as close to hers as it could be without being pressed against her. Her heart was racing, and her breathing fought to be allowed to deepen, but she repressed it.
Each time he inhaled, his senses were filled with her scent. The scent that was Catherine, that for years he had longed to lose himself in. He was finding it increasingly difficult to remain focussed on what he was supposed to be doing. The softness of her eyes, and beauty of her face - her smooth, clear skin, deep blue eyes and those sweet red lips, oh, those lips. He shook his head to break free from those thoughts - an action she didn't miss, and the corner of her mouth curled into an intrigued smile.
"Do you think this is funny?" Grissom asked.
Catherine shrugged, and whilst she had rather good control over her lips, her smile still showed in her eyes.
Grissom smirked, raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on Catherine's waist. The touch sent shivers round her body, but she instructed herself to ignore them, knowing she couldn't get lost in the moment. She summoned some will power and attempted speech.
"Just try it!" she said, in a threatening tone.
"Are you gonna move yourself?" he said simply.
"Not likely. So, go on. Pick me up. See how far you get," she challenged.
Grissom eyed her dubiously for a moment, wondering how she could be so confident. She wasn't particularly heavy, he could easily lift her. But she obviously had a defence prepared, he needed something else. He needed to do something she wouldn't expect.
Internally, Catherine grinned victoriously, she could see the confusion in Grissom's face as he realised he wasn't going to be able to move her very easily. She watched as his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed - signs that he was deep in thought. She let out a sigh of mock-impatience, as she broke their eye contact and rolled her eyes, playfully.
Spurred by her contentedness, Grissom stepped closer once more, brushing his body against hers. He felt her tremble as he moved his hands round to her back and pulled her close to him. Her eyes returned to his, open wide in surprise. Her conceited smile was replaced by a look of panic and confusion. His body pressed her harder against the door as he slowly lowered his head towards hers.
This time she couldn't repress any of the feelings stirring within her. She breathed slowly and deeply, her breaths shaking as she released them. Her heart pounded in her chest as if it was trying to break free, and she felt sure it echoed around the silent room.
***
The sudden quietness of their boss and Catherine had once again attracted the visual attention of the others who now sat open-mouthed as they saw Grissom moving in to kiss the woman he had pinned against the door.
***
They both kept their eyes firmly fixed on the other's as the space between them decreased. When his lips were millimetres from hers, she could barely concentrate on controlling her desire to close her eyes and tilt her head towards him invitingly. His warm breath softly tickled her lips, and, subconsciously, her tongue moistened them, in preparation. But she had to remain in control. She knew what he was doing, and she wasn't going to fall for it, so she wondered how far he was going to go.
She could almost feel the softness of his lips when he stopped, hovering his face in the position it had reached.
"You didn't move," he said quietly, unable to speak any louder without the low, huskiness of his voice revealing how aroused he was.
"Then you would get out," she responded, hoping she didn't sound as breathless as she felt. "Did you really think this would work?"
Grissom lingered close to her for a few more seconds, as if deciding whether or not to pull away, then his facial expression dropped, as if he had just been hit by the realisation of what he was doing. He lingered a moment longer, lost in the beauty of her eyes, before clearing his throat, awkwardly, and stepping backwards.
"You can't stay there forever!" he declared, dropping himself onto a chair by the table.
"You wanna bet?" she replied, determination evident in all her features.
He glared at her. When she responded with just a breathtaking smile, she saw his eyes smile, even though he tried to intensify the glare.
TBC