Disclaimer - see chapter one
Chapter 4
Forty-five minutes passed and Catherine was still standing in front of the door. Grissom was working on a crossword, occasionally allowing his eyes to wander to Catherine, not particularly bothered about breaking free anymore, but just wanting to look at her. He knew she would think he was planning his escape, and it amused him to see her suddenly become more alert each time he looked at her.
The others had just about managed to recover from the shock of earlier events and were starting to speak again. Catherine hadn't noticed their silence, until she was suddenly aware of its subsidence. She smiled to herself as she recalled what had probably stunned them into this hush, then she looked at them, suspiciously.
"You lot are being very quiet. What are you up to?" she asked, teasingly, in a very mother-like tone.
The three faces adopted guilt and quickly turned to the other two for a viable excuse. Via nods and looks, Sara was nominated to respond, which she did, shakily, after glaring at the cowards of her male co-workers.
"Er. we. well, I was just trying to think of some way to embarrass Warrick," she smiled, innocently.
Warrick and Nick gave her a sarcastic look of thanks then attempted to make their own excuses, much to Catherine's amusement.
"I was just reading," Nick stuttered.
"And I was planning how to make Sara blush," Warrick offered.
"Hey, guys, chill!" Catherine smiled, "I was joking. I know you were watching."
Nick and Sara turned to each other and smirked, whilst Warrick maintained eye contact with Catherine, raising his eyebrows to ask what had happened earlier. Catherine replied with a shrug and a wide grin, and shaking his head, Warrick turned back to Sara and Nick.
"I have an idea, actually," Catherine said, after a few seconds of silence. "A way that Sara could make Warrick blush."
Everyone looked at Catherine.
"Really? Do tell," Sara smiled, excitedly.
"Hey!" Nick protested. "You don't win the bet if you tell her how to do it!"
"That was never stipulated before the bet was made," Sara smirked.
"I didn't realise you girls would cheat," Nick moaned.
"Although," Warrick sighed, "After she kept looking at my cards earlier, we should have known Cath wouldn't play fair."
Catherine grinned superiorly. "Well, now you deserve to be embarrassed. But Sara, you'll have to come over here, else our little runaway here'll be out the door." As she spoke her last words she turned to Grissom who, she had noticed, had been staring at her since she had started speaking with the others.
"Cath, I've come to my senses, I'm not gonna run," he said, angelically.
"Right," she snorted sarcastically.
"You can't tell her what to do!" Nick continued his objection to what was about to happen.
"You were helping Warrick, Nicky," Catherine argued, silencing her opponent with her accurate statement.
"Honestly, I don't want to leave," Grissom said, pulling Catherine's attention back to him.
"You would say that. I'm not stupid!" she replied, with a small laugh.
"But, our plan didn't work," Nick tried, after having the moment to think of a response, "Yours probably will."
"So you admit - " Catherine started to reply to Nick, but was cut off by Grissom speaking to her at the same time.
"Just move away from the door, I - "
Tired of having two conversations simultaneously, Catherine raised her voice slightly, and spoke authoritatively. "Right! Nick, if I want to help Sara, I will. And if you don't pay up, I will be on your back every minute of every day!. And Gil, I'll stand where I like!"
Both men opened their mouths to speak but were not permitted to.
"Our conversations are over! I am now going to speak to Sara, and you won't interrupt!" She turned to Sara and was about to start speaking when she heard Grissom mutter as he returned to his crossword.
"Now who's being irrational?"
She didn't dignify his remark with a verbal response, just a glare to the back of his head, then she turned back to Sara and indicated for her to step closer so she could whisper to her.
Warrick and Nick watched, hoping to figure out what she was saying, but her lips were shielded by Sara and, at first, Sara's facial expression was revealing nothing. Then, after a few seconds, Sara nodded. That still didn't help. A few more seconds later, Sara stepped away from Catherine, her cheeks flushed, and shocked she exclaimed, "I can't do that!"
Catherine shrugged again. "It'd work."
"Damn! We should have bet that Cath would make Sara blush!" Warrick called.
"What did she say?" Nick asked Sara as she walked towards her seat.
"I can't tell you, else it won't work," she replied, sitting down, slightly closer to Warrick than she had been before - Warrick noted curiously.
"But you said you couldn't do it," Nick said.
Sara blushed a little again. "If I can't think of anything else, I might have to."
At this Catherine giggled, prompting Warrick to turn to her with a look of concern creasing his handsome dark face. "What have you told her?"
Catherine smiled innocently, "My lips are sealed."
"Pity they weren't sealed earlier," Warrick quipped, pretending to be unamused.
"Catherine, you are cruel," Grissom contributed, demonstrating that he hadn't been in a world of his own as they might have expected.
"Why, thank you, Gil," she smiled. "Do you want any help with that crossword?"
She walked over to the table and headed for a chair on the far side of him. As she walked behind him, she saw him quietly put down his pen. She pulled out the chair and stepped round to sit down, watching him constantly out of the corner of her eye. As she slowly lowered herself onto the seat, Grissom leapt from his chair and ran for the door.
Catherine sat down and picked up the crossword, ignoring his actions, and withholding a smile.
"Cath! Gris's - " Nick trailed off seeing that Grissom had stopped at the door. The boss turned and looked at Catherine who was filling in one of the answers on the crossword. He smiled his famous half-smile, shook his head and walked back to the table.
"Three down is Buckingham. How could you not know that?" Catherine commented, the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as Grissom sat down beside her.
"I start with the across clues," Grissom replied, his smiling expression focussed on the side of Catherine's face.
She looked up to meet his gaze, a smug, wide radiant smile across her face. "You're still here?" She feigned surprise.
He narrowed his eyes at her then matched the width of her smile, enjoying the playfulness that sparkled in her eyes as they looked deep into his. "Where would I go?" he grinned.
TBC
Chapter 4
Forty-five minutes passed and Catherine was still standing in front of the door. Grissom was working on a crossword, occasionally allowing his eyes to wander to Catherine, not particularly bothered about breaking free anymore, but just wanting to look at her. He knew she would think he was planning his escape, and it amused him to see her suddenly become more alert each time he looked at her.
The others had just about managed to recover from the shock of earlier events and were starting to speak again. Catherine hadn't noticed their silence, until she was suddenly aware of its subsidence. She smiled to herself as she recalled what had probably stunned them into this hush, then she looked at them, suspiciously.
"You lot are being very quiet. What are you up to?" she asked, teasingly, in a very mother-like tone.
The three faces adopted guilt and quickly turned to the other two for a viable excuse. Via nods and looks, Sara was nominated to respond, which she did, shakily, after glaring at the cowards of her male co-workers.
"Er. we. well, I was just trying to think of some way to embarrass Warrick," she smiled, innocently.
Warrick and Nick gave her a sarcastic look of thanks then attempted to make their own excuses, much to Catherine's amusement.
"I was just reading," Nick stuttered.
"And I was planning how to make Sara blush," Warrick offered.
"Hey, guys, chill!" Catherine smiled, "I was joking. I know you were watching."
Nick and Sara turned to each other and smirked, whilst Warrick maintained eye contact with Catherine, raising his eyebrows to ask what had happened earlier. Catherine replied with a shrug and a wide grin, and shaking his head, Warrick turned back to Sara and Nick.
"I have an idea, actually," Catherine said, after a few seconds of silence. "A way that Sara could make Warrick blush."
Everyone looked at Catherine.
"Really? Do tell," Sara smiled, excitedly.
"Hey!" Nick protested. "You don't win the bet if you tell her how to do it!"
"That was never stipulated before the bet was made," Sara smirked.
"I didn't realise you girls would cheat," Nick moaned.
"Although," Warrick sighed, "After she kept looking at my cards earlier, we should have known Cath wouldn't play fair."
Catherine grinned superiorly. "Well, now you deserve to be embarrassed. But Sara, you'll have to come over here, else our little runaway here'll be out the door." As she spoke her last words she turned to Grissom who, she had noticed, had been staring at her since she had started speaking with the others.
"Cath, I've come to my senses, I'm not gonna run," he said, angelically.
"Right," she snorted sarcastically.
"You can't tell her what to do!" Nick continued his objection to what was about to happen.
"You were helping Warrick, Nicky," Catherine argued, silencing her opponent with her accurate statement.
"Honestly, I don't want to leave," Grissom said, pulling Catherine's attention back to him.
"You would say that. I'm not stupid!" she replied, with a small laugh.
"But, our plan didn't work," Nick tried, after having the moment to think of a response, "Yours probably will."
"So you admit - " Catherine started to reply to Nick, but was cut off by Grissom speaking to her at the same time.
"Just move away from the door, I - "
Tired of having two conversations simultaneously, Catherine raised her voice slightly, and spoke authoritatively. "Right! Nick, if I want to help Sara, I will. And if you don't pay up, I will be on your back every minute of every day!. And Gil, I'll stand where I like!"
Both men opened their mouths to speak but were not permitted to.
"Our conversations are over! I am now going to speak to Sara, and you won't interrupt!" She turned to Sara and was about to start speaking when she heard Grissom mutter as he returned to his crossword.
"Now who's being irrational?"
She didn't dignify his remark with a verbal response, just a glare to the back of his head, then she turned back to Sara and indicated for her to step closer so she could whisper to her.
Warrick and Nick watched, hoping to figure out what she was saying, but her lips were shielded by Sara and, at first, Sara's facial expression was revealing nothing. Then, after a few seconds, Sara nodded. That still didn't help. A few more seconds later, Sara stepped away from Catherine, her cheeks flushed, and shocked she exclaimed, "I can't do that!"
Catherine shrugged again. "It'd work."
"Damn! We should have bet that Cath would make Sara blush!" Warrick called.
"What did she say?" Nick asked Sara as she walked towards her seat.
"I can't tell you, else it won't work," she replied, sitting down, slightly closer to Warrick than she had been before - Warrick noted curiously.
"But you said you couldn't do it," Nick said.
Sara blushed a little again. "If I can't think of anything else, I might have to."
At this Catherine giggled, prompting Warrick to turn to her with a look of concern creasing his handsome dark face. "What have you told her?"
Catherine smiled innocently, "My lips are sealed."
"Pity they weren't sealed earlier," Warrick quipped, pretending to be unamused.
"Catherine, you are cruel," Grissom contributed, demonstrating that he hadn't been in a world of his own as they might have expected.
"Why, thank you, Gil," she smiled. "Do you want any help with that crossword?"
She walked over to the table and headed for a chair on the far side of him. As she walked behind him, she saw him quietly put down his pen. She pulled out the chair and stepped round to sit down, watching him constantly out of the corner of her eye. As she slowly lowered herself onto the seat, Grissom leapt from his chair and ran for the door.
Catherine sat down and picked up the crossword, ignoring his actions, and withholding a smile.
"Cath! Gris's - " Nick trailed off seeing that Grissom had stopped at the door. The boss turned and looked at Catherine who was filling in one of the answers on the crossword. He smiled his famous half-smile, shook his head and walked back to the table.
"Three down is Buckingham. How could you not know that?" Catherine commented, the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as Grissom sat down beside her.
"I start with the across clues," Grissom replied, his smiling expression focussed on the side of Catherine's face.
She looked up to meet his gaze, a smug, wide radiant smile across her face. "You're still here?" She feigned surprise.
He narrowed his eyes at her then matched the width of her smile, enjoying the playfulness that sparkled in her eyes as they looked deep into his. "Where would I go?" he grinned.
TBC