Chapter 2 - Mistletoe
December 28th - The Next Day
Costume Shop
"Where are Nick and Sara?" Grissom said loudly to Warrick over the dressing room wall.
"They're getting coffee together. They'll be with us soon. There's something weird going on with those two."
"How so?"
Before Warrick could answer he heard Catherine's voice call to the both of them.
"Come on you two. I want to see what you look like."
"There's no way I'm wearing this in public, Catherine." Grissom called back to her.
"Yeh." Warrick agreed. "Let alone in front of a load of work colleagues!"
"Don't be silly. It's just a bit of fun. Think about what I'm wearing. That should make you feel better about your own costumes."
There was a slight pause as Grissom and Warrick stepped out of the changing rooms, each dressed in what Catherine could only describe as outfits that were simply character fitting. She knew Grissom would not want to be too eccentric with his choice of outfit so she chose an all black costume. Black trousers with a rippled, solid, black top resembling a beetle's body, and black antennas. Grissom saw her smile as if she looked pleased with the choice she had made.
"Yes, Catherine. It's all very fitting and very amusing and I'm not going like this!"
"Of course you are. Be thankful I didn't choose skin tight trousers for you to wear."
He was. Then Catherine looked to Warrick and was amazed at how incredibly attractive she found him. He was wearing an army officer's uniform with the top three buttons of his shirt undone and the way he held himself, his posture, had always been very appealing to Catherine anyway. She had to check herself as she felt her mouth become slightly open at the sight of him. She stuttered as she said,
"Well, don't... don't you look lovely."
She cleared her throat. Trying to keep her eyes from constantly dashing to Warrick's stunning form.
December 31st - 9pm
Brass' House - The Night Of The Party
Catherine was late. An hour late. Every guest there had gone all out on their costumes, which Grissom was extremely thankful for. He had kept to his Bugman costume and, though he felt embarrassed about the whole situation, at least he was feeling exactly the same thing everyone else at the party was feeling.
"Where's Catherine?" Sara asked Grissom, as she came floating towards him in a medieval dress she had hired from the same shop Grissom had been to.
"And who art thou milady?" Grissom replied, blatantly ignoring Sara's question.
A smirk appeared on Sara's face.
"Why, I am Queen Guinevere, sir," she answered, giving a slight curtsey and bowing her head in sync. "So where is Catherine?"
As if on cue Catherine entered the foyer in which Grissom and Sara were standing. Not far away were Nick, Warrick and Greg, deep in conversation but stopping as they heard a sudden quiet fill the room. Catherine was clearly confident in her appearance, and every pair of eyes were on her. It felt like a secondary nature to Catherine, not because she was conceited, but because the feeling was familiar to her. The quiet started to build up into conversation again almost as quickly as it had begun. The four CSIs and the lab technician however, remained in silent awe of the woman before them.
"Hi guys."
Catherine decided it was time to interrupt the silence considering she had waited long enough for someone to greet to her. It was actually Brass who was the first to speak. He wandered over to the group in a Restoration Period costume with lots of lace, knee breeches and a white wig perched on top of his head; his stride in time with the music blaring out of the impressive hired sound system.
"Hey, Cath."
He said looking down to sort out his stockings as he was walking in. When he looked up to smile his greeting, he instead welcomed her with a, "Wow!" She smiled at his appearance and accepted the drink of Martine he offered her. Sara was the first of the group to say anything to Catherine. She inquired after Lindsey and this seemed to bring the men in the group back to their normal selves when around Catherine. Although admittedly it was difficult when she looked the way she did.
"So... you decided to go with the superwoman thing then."
Grissom took in her appearance, "no cloak," he pointed out.
He was overwhelmed by her presentation this evening. He knew she was beautiful, he had seen that side of her everyday; but tonight was different. Tonight he felt such lewd desire for her. There were no other words for it. He saw her in her skin tight, all in one, Lycra, blue cat suit, along with red stilettos and an red and yellow 'S' in a diamond sewn on her cat suit covering her chest, and he was almost disconcerted about how much he felt he wanted her - almost.
The six friends at the party spent most of the night together knocking back shots and telling stories about their past that had been kept in secret from the others. The more the drink the more intimate the stories - the more intimate the stories, the more the need for drink. Nick had just finished a story about a young woman, a spoon, grapes and mistletoe, which caused Sara to make the remark that she had never kissed anyone under mistletoe.
"I really want to. It's sweet and doesn't have to mean anything unless you want it too. Also it gives people an excuse."
"What do you mean?" Nick inquired.
"Well," Sara continued, keeping her eyes firmly on Nick, "if there's a should we-shouldn't we thing going on, mistletoe is the perfect excuse to find out."
She looked to Catherine opposite her,
"What about you, Cath?"
Catherine flashed a quick glance at Grissom and, as a result of too much Champagne and Martine, found herself broadly smiling.
"We'll take that as a 'yes'. Is there a story? Who was he?"
This was Nick, interested to find out one of Catherine's intimate stories since she had offered none. Once again Catherine looked at Grissom, also slightly tipsy, who shrugged; she proceeded.
"It was the first Christmas I had had without Ed and I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be there or not. Anyway, Lindsey had helped me decorate the house and, like every year since I had been with Ed, the mistletoe went up in the hall near the front door. I didn't even give it a second thought. This was the year you guys all came over for Christmas dinner a couple of days before Christmas, remember?"
There were a few nods from her audience.
"When you were all getting drinks after we ate I went to put Lindsey to bed. I was coming down the stairs as the man in question was coming into the hall to see if he could help with anything. It just so happened that we met where the mistletoe was hanging. Neither of us noticed but we heard a certain little giggle coming from upstairs and we both looked up to see Lindsey staring above us. We followed her gaze and saw the mistletoe. It was sort of embarrassing actually; when we kissed it felt as though we had both been deprived of someone for a hundred years."
"How do you mean?" Greg asked her eagerly.
"Well, it was incredibly..." She paused, trying to think of the right word.
"Passionate... lustful." Warrick helped her out.
"Warrick?" Was the response Catherine found herself receiving from most of her listeners.
"Hey! We were in the moment, man."
Catherine gratefully heard him respond.
"Speaking of in the moment," Warrick continued as he heard one of the very few decent songs he had heard all night come on, and also wanting to get away from the future prying questions he knew were going to be asked, he suggested, "Want to dance, Cath?" ...he might as well play it up though. She leaned against the back of her chair and looked up at him as he stood before her holding out his hand.
"Sure," was her cool and fairly flirtatious answer as he pulled her to her feet.
They walked between the crowd to the middle of the floor to dance to the almost seductive song being played. The three people, who were left bewildered by the events that presented themselves, stared after the couple as they walked away. The fourth however, understood everything. Grissom knew why Warrick had said what he'd said to the group about the mistletoe; he smiled to himself. After bringing himself out of his thoughts he looked to the group he was with for a conversation only to find them staring past him looking utterly speechless. He followed their eyes and then unconsciously copied the pattern of their facial expression.
People had actually stopped to watch the couple dancing, both of whom were completely unaware of the eyes that bore into them; both immersed in the movements and rhythm of the dance. Catherine and Warrick had people transfixed as their bodies sensually moved almost hypnotically to the crowd. Their feeling of lust was apparent and being displayed without subtlety, keeping their proximity to a minimum and their hunger at its peak. She was able to pull movements most of the people there wouldn't have even seen, let alone thought of or even attempted to accomplish. Warrick was not without rhythm either; he could move her around him as though she weighed as little as a feather, and some of the ladies' eyes in the room never left his body. By the end of the song Catherine was facing Warrick and there was not an air pocket between their bodies. They were both breathing heavily and smiling slightly at each other. Catherine interrupted their still very stimulating moment.
"I'm so drunk."
"I know the feeling." Warrick answered, swaying slightly as he did so.
"Hey Warrick, thanks for helping me out back there, I appreciate it. It'd be weird if everyone knew it was Grissom under the mistletoe instead of you."
"Tell me about it. It's still creeping me out - if they saw what I saw..."
* * * * *
Third and final part coming up very soon. Thanks for your feedback guys - keep it coming. Glad you're liking it. C
December 28th - The Next Day
Costume Shop
"Where are Nick and Sara?" Grissom said loudly to Warrick over the dressing room wall.
"They're getting coffee together. They'll be with us soon. There's something weird going on with those two."
"How so?"
Before Warrick could answer he heard Catherine's voice call to the both of them.
"Come on you two. I want to see what you look like."
"There's no way I'm wearing this in public, Catherine." Grissom called back to her.
"Yeh." Warrick agreed. "Let alone in front of a load of work colleagues!"
"Don't be silly. It's just a bit of fun. Think about what I'm wearing. That should make you feel better about your own costumes."
There was a slight pause as Grissom and Warrick stepped out of the changing rooms, each dressed in what Catherine could only describe as outfits that were simply character fitting. She knew Grissom would not want to be too eccentric with his choice of outfit so she chose an all black costume. Black trousers with a rippled, solid, black top resembling a beetle's body, and black antennas. Grissom saw her smile as if she looked pleased with the choice she had made.
"Yes, Catherine. It's all very fitting and very amusing and I'm not going like this!"
"Of course you are. Be thankful I didn't choose skin tight trousers for you to wear."
He was. Then Catherine looked to Warrick and was amazed at how incredibly attractive she found him. He was wearing an army officer's uniform with the top three buttons of his shirt undone and the way he held himself, his posture, had always been very appealing to Catherine anyway. She had to check herself as she felt her mouth become slightly open at the sight of him. She stuttered as she said,
"Well, don't... don't you look lovely."
She cleared her throat. Trying to keep her eyes from constantly dashing to Warrick's stunning form.
December 31st - 9pm
Brass' House - The Night Of The Party
Catherine was late. An hour late. Every guest there had gone all out on their costumes, which Grissom was extremely thankful for. He had kept to his Bugman costume and, though he felt embarrassed about the whole situation, at least he was feeling exactly the same thing everyone else at the party was feeling.
"Where's Catherine?" Sara asked Grissom, as she came floating towards him in a medieval dress she had hired from the same shop Grissom had been to.
"And who art thou milady?" Grissom replied, blatantly ignoring Sara's question.
A smirk appeared on Sara's face.
"Why, I am Queen Guinevere, sir," she answered, giving a slight curtsey and bowing her head in sync. "So where is Catherine?"
As if on cue Catherine entered the foyer in which Grissom and Sara were standing. Not far away were Nick, Warrick and Greg, deep in conversation but stopping as they heard a sudden quiet fill the room. Catherine was clearly confident in her appearance, and every pair of eyes were on her. It felt like a secondary nature to Catherine, not because she was conceited, but because the feeling was familiar to her. The quiet started to build up into conversation again almost as quickly as it had begun. The four CSIs and the lab technician however, remained in silent awe of the woman before them.
"Hi guys."
Catherine decided it was time to interrupt the silence considering she had waited long enough for someone to greet to her. It was actually Brass who was the first to speak. He wandered over to the group in a Restoration Period costume with lots of lace, knee breeches and a white wig perched on top of his head; his stride in time with the music blaring out of the impressive hired sound system.
"Hey, Cath."
He said looking down to sort out his stockings as he was walking in. When he looked up to smile his greeting, he instead welcomed her with a, "Wow!" She smiled at his appearance and accepted the drink of Martine he offered her. Sara was the first of the group to say anything to Catherine. She inquired after Lindsey and this seemed to bring the men in the group back to their normal selves when around Catherine. Although admittedly it was difficult when she looked the way she did.
"So... you decided to go with the superwoman thing then."
Grissom took in her appearance, "no cloak," he pointed out.
He was overwhelmed by her presentation this evening. He knew she was beautiful, he had seen that side of her everyday; but tonight was different. Tonight he felt such lewd desire for her. There were no other words for it. He saw her in her skin tight, all in one, Lycra, blue cat suit, along with red stilettos and an red and yellow 'S' in a diamond sewn on her cat suit covering her chest, and he was almost disconcerted about how much he felt he wanted her - almost.
The six friends at the party spent most of the night together knocking back shots and telling stories about their past that had been kept in secret from the others. The more the drink the more intimate the stories - the more intimate the stories, the more the need for drink. Nick had just finished a story about a young woman, a spoon, grapes and mistletoe, which caused Sara to make the remark that she had never kissed anyone under mistletoe.
"I really want to. It's sweet and doesn't have to mean anything unless you want it too. Also it gives people an excuse."
"What do you mean?" Nick inquired.
"Well," Sara continued, keeping her eyes firmly on Nick, "if there's a should we-shouldn't we thing going on, mistletoe is the perfect excuse to find out."
She looked to Catherine opposite her,
"What about you, Cath?"
Catherine flashed a quick glance at Grissom and, as a result of too much Champagne and Martine, found herself broadly smiling.
"We'll take that as a 'yes'. Is there a story? Who was he?"
This was Nick, interested to find out one of Catherine's intimate stories since she had offered none. Once again Catherine looked at Grissom, also slightly tipsy, who shrugged; she proceeded.
"It was the first Christmas I had had without Ed and I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be there or not. Anyway, Lindsey had helped me decorate the house and, like every year since I had been with Ed, the mistletoe went up in the hall near the front door. I didn't even give it a second thought. This was the year you guys all came over for Christmas dinner a couple of days before Christmas, remember?"
There were a few nods from her audience.
"When you were all getting drinks after we ate I went to put Lindsey to bed. I was coming down the stairs as the man in question was coming into the hall to see if he could help with anything. It just so happened that we met where the mistletoe was hanging. Neither of us noticed but we heard a certain little giggle coming from upstairs and we both looked up to see Lindsey staring above us. We followed her gaze and saw the mistletoe. It was sort of embarrassing actually; when we kissed it felt as though we had both been deprived of someone for a hundred years."
"How do you mean?" Greg asked her eagerly.
"Well, it was incredibly..." She paused, trying to think of the right word.
"Passionate... lustful." Warrick helped her out.
"Warrick?" Was the response Catherine found herself receiving from most of her listeners.
"Hey! We were in the moment, man."
Catherine gratefully heard him respond.
"Speaking of in the moment," Warrick continued as he heard one of the very few decent songs he had heard all night come on, and also wanting to get away from the future prying questions he knew were going to be asked, he suggested, "Want to dance, Cath?" ...he might as well play it up though. She leaned against the back of her chair and looked up at him as he stood before her holding out his hand.
"Sure," was her cool and fairly flirtatious answer as he pulled her to her feet.
They walked between the crowd to the middle of the floor to dance to the almost seductive song being played. The three people, who were left bewildered by the events that presented themselves, stared after the couple as they walked away. The fourth however, understood everything. Grissom knew why Warrick had said what he'd said to the group about the mistletoe; he smiled to himself. After bringing himself out of his thoughts he looked to the group he was with for a conversation only to find them staring past him looking utterly speechless. He followed their eyes and then unconsciously copied the pattern of their facial expression.
People had actually stopped to watch the couple dancing, both of whom were completely unaware of the eyes that bore into them; both immersed in the movements and rhythm of the dance. Catherine and Warrick had people transfixed as their bodies sensually moved almost hypnotically to the crowd. Their feeling of lust was apparent and being displayed without subtlety, keeping their proximity to a minimum and their hunger at its peak. She was able to pull movements most of the people there wouldn't have even seen, let alone thought of or even attempted to accomplish. Warrick was not without rhythm either; he could move her around him as though she weighed as little as a feather, and some of the ladies' eyes in the room never left his body. By the end of the song Catherine was facing Warrick and there was not an air pocket between their bodies. They were both breathing heavily and smiling slightly at each other. Catherine interrupted their still very stimulating moment.
"I'm so drunk."
"I know the feeling." Warrick answered, swaying slightly as he did so.
"Hey Warrick, thanks for helping me out back there, I appreciate it. It'd be weird if everyone knew it was Grissom under the mistletoe instead of you."
"Tell me about it. It's still creeping me out - if they saw what I saw..."
* * * * *
Third and final part coming up very soon. Thanks for your feedback guys - keep it coming. Glad you're liking it. C