A/N: Again, thank you for all the reviews. If I may say so, please be patient if you want to know whether Catherine feels the same way as Grissom. All will be revealed.. in the next chapter .. or two! ;) By the way, I tried to get this up sooner, but ff.net didn't allow me to. Internal server error! Grr!

As soon as Catherine's statement had been recorded, Grissom marched Catherine off to his Tahoe. He didn't allow her to speak, just grabbed her arm and led her to his car, strapping her in. She had not argued, a fact that Grissom was very glad of, as he knew he could never win an argument with her. He knew however, that she had gone with him without argument as she was exhausted, not that she would ever admit it.

As he drove her back to her house, Catherine carelessly brushed aside the concern heaped on her by Grissom. She sounded carelessly sophisticated, to try to maintain the image that she created at work - untouched, remote, in control. But Grissom, knowing her as well as he did, knew that she was pretty shaken up by the close encounter in the interrogation room.

As she took her shower, Grissom prepared a simple stir-fry and set up the meal in the living room. He rejected the idea of a proper sit-down meal at the table in favor of something more intimate. He wanted her close enough to touch. Wanted to be able to thread his fingers through her hair. Wanted to be able to hold her and tell her that when he'd said that her loved her, he'd meant it.

As he waited for her, Grissom paced the floor nervously. Something about her had changed ever since Eddie died. She'd slowly but surely withdrawn from everything around her, especially him. He knew that he had deserved her withdrawal, as he had been so caught up with his own hearing problems and had pushed her away when she tried to get close.

After she found out about his condition, she had tried to help him, showed concern that he was grateful for, but yet he held her at arm's length. Since then, there had been a subtle change in their relationship. They were no longer as close as they once were. No more leisurely-shared breakfasts, no more heart to heart talks.

When Eddie had died, Grissom had refrained himself from giving in to the urge to take Catherine into his arms and comforting her. Instead, he had watched from afar as she looked to others for comfort. He knew that she took Eddie's death hard and had problems coping, yet he still held back. He wasn't there for her when she needed him most. Now, it seemed that she had taught herself not to need him anymore. Somehow, that knowledge hurt Grissom.

The sound of her footsteps had him spinning around to find her standing illuminated by the light from the foyer, and if he'd thought her beautiful before, he found her breathtaking now.

Her hair hung loose in a smooth pale curve, with a few strands falling over her forehead to hide the beginning of a spectacular bruise. The outfit she had put on, a simple cotton dress the color of her eyes, clung to her with enviable familiarity.

She walked towards him, preceded by the faintest smell of her shampoo, and allowed him to take her hands. He wanted to kiss her in the worst way, to crush her in his arms and never let go.

But it was as if she'd surrounded herself with an invisible shield, one which dared him to get past, and he had to settle for giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead, then letting her go.

'You know Gil, I'm starting to wonder why you're here in my house and doing all this when you should be at work,' Catherine said as she took in the simple meal he had prepared.

'Well, as your friend, I thought you might like some company.'

'Are you my friend? I don't think so. Where have you been the past few months when I could really have used a friend? You ran away, avoided me like the plague. You Gil Grissom, have no right to deserve the title of being my friend.'

He drew in a long breath and took a turn about the room before answering. ' I know I haven't been the best of friends lately, but today's incident has awakened me to the fact that you are more important to me than my work. Or maybe it's that I've finally got my priorities in the right order.'

'I don't believe priorities change that quickly. I think you are overreacting to an unfortunate incident and that you'll wake up tomorrow morning wishing you hadn't behaved quite so impulsively.'

'Catherine, I may have chosen the wrong time to tell you about my feelings, but that doesn't mean that I don't mean it! What do I have to do to get you to believe me? I love you Catherine Willows! ' Grissom said passionately.