Rating: PG-13 - R
Disclamer: I do not own any thing of CSI
Spoilers: Mea Culpa
Summary: Catherine and Gil meet up at his place and discuss the future.
It was a unusually cold night in Vegas and Catherine was on her way to Gils house to let off three days worth of steam. She pulls up in his driveway next to his Denali and gets out. For a moment she stares at the house that was her and her daughters haven just a few long years ago. She walks up to the door and knocks a few times. Gil opens the door," Catherine"
"Hey"
"Are you okay"
"Physically pretty close mentally nothing a few screwdrivers couldn't cure"
"Come in please," he turns to let her in as she walks past him dropping her purse and kicking off her shoes at his door. She walks towards the kitchen when he grabs her arm," Catherine what are you doing here really"
"I don't want to do it any more it's too much"
"What"
"Swing and supervising it's just too much Gil if I can't do it with people who are practically family or people who know me as the ex stripper from nights than I don't want to do it"
"But Catherine you have both supervising there you have Nick and Warrick and people who see you as the dancer from nights"
"I don't want both I want one or the other," he lets go of her arm and follows her into the kitchen," Nick and Warrick don't talk to me like they used to they're starting to act like they used to around you and the other ones whatever the hell their names are they are deathly afraid I'm going to kill them with a lapdance from hell"
"But you can handle it Catherine I know you can"
"But I don't want to it was never about the money, never about the power, well a little, but mostly the only reason I didn't go and pull my resume out of there is because it gave me a chance to prove so many things"
"Catherine name one thing you are not proving by supervising swing Cath you did my job better than I did, you could have done Eckleys 100 times better hell you can even do his job as Assistant Director 100 times better than he could ever dream, god knows you're making something out of swing shift making them become something more than the shift between day and night seriously name one thing you are not proving by working swing"
"I'm not proving that I'm capable of a personal life Gil by the time I get out of there at night I'm wiped out I'm seeing Lindsey but she still resents me for god knows what when I worked nights I could end shift go home get some sleep, get Lindsey to school, get some me time, pick her up, and maybe have an early date but now once I tell men that I have a job that could call me in in the middle of an orgasam I'm sure they'll want to date me"
"I would"
"What"
"I would date you Catherine I don't care if you have a time consuming job I have one to but on a different watch, early dates, no date, home date, and just treat you the way you need to be. Cath I can give you a world you only see in dreams"
"Literally"
"Cath if you don't want swing, I'll talk to Smith or Eckley what ever it takes to get you to where you wanna be"
"I wanna be back with you, Sara, Nick, Warrick, Greg, all of them I don't care if I get a pay cu, I don't care if I don't have control I just want everything to be back the way it was I want the hammy down orders I want me and Sara fighting over you I want a cup of Blue Hawaiian to keep me up on doubles and triples I want to listen to the small haikus you say or the Shakespeare quotes I don't want to be Supervisor Willows I'd rather be CSI3 Willows under the command of Gil Grissom I don't care if I have to quit swing and reapply as a lab tech just to get back on nights I just need us all to be together again I don't want are friendship to be nods in the hallway maybe a cup of coffee going over files"
"Cath you're babbling"
"Sorry"
"Look I talked to Smith and he agreed to over ride Eckleys desision and agreed to put us all back on nights give Soffia days and bring back the swing supervisor"
"How did you..."
"Actually that's not the full truth Eckley has been demoted back to days under Sofias command and they want me to run the lab...as AD I said as long as you'd be willing to supervise nights I would do it"
"I...I don't know what to say"
"Say yes"
"Yeah, yes I'd love to do it but Gil what about..."
"Us"
"Yeah"
"Well I wasn't lying when I said I would date you Catherine I really do want to"
"Are you...me...date"
"Yeah Cath I love you too much to watch you be hurt again. I don't just love you like a friend well I do but I think I'm in love with you," he steps closer to her looking into her eyes," Those windows made me fall in love with you"
''Gil I..."
"You don't love me do you"
"No as a matter of fact I do love you too much I think"
"You can never love any one too much"
"I think you can"
"Just give me a chance"
"Don't hurt me"
"I can't," he leans down and begins to kiss her with so much tenderness you can't explain. They pull apart," I love you Gil"
"I love you too Catherine," He runs his hand down her cheek.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TBC