Disclaimers et all in first chapter.

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Her confident strides spawned the harsh heeled clicking that followed her down the linolium path to his office, where she stood and stared at the door, teeth clenched and ready for the attack.

He closed his eyes, denied sight offering sound passage, as he ventured into a seldom visited meditation. Sight, sound and smell dissipated as he focussed his energy to guide him into a place of comfort and serenity, perhaps one that would shed light on how to mend their delicate relationship.

She swung open the door, and shut it silently behind her - in a last minute self-controlled action to present herself in a professional manner. "We have to talk, I...what I mean to say is that we - " She paced the area near the door, chiding herself for not having gathered her thoughts before the offense. She glanced at his inattentive stare, a stance mimicking a battling gaze between man and ceiling, through lidded eyes, and vainly attempted discover what could hold his curiosity when the reconstruction of their friendship was at a dire high.

His brow furrowed, despite his eyes' sheltered state, and he silently pondered his current audible status. It had melted into a stage where his hearing would come and go, denying convenience and usually opting for more inopportune times to surface. He slapped his hand on the table; a frustrated test to display whether his sense was still with him.

Silence.

Her mouth fell open, shocked at his attitude towards her attempts to doctor their fractured relationship. "I know that this talk is anything but pleasant, but you don't have to be aggressive about it, Gil. I'm here, trying to save our excuse for a relationship..." She paused, leaning against the wall.

Moments passed where blue sought blue; the willing pleading with the inattentive. Moments passed where each set of ears yearned for the other's voice, though discerned by an active desire on one side in adjacent confrontation with a passive wish on the other. Moments passed where hearts lunged for the other, the opened battling with the closed.

"What, do you think ignoring me will make me go away, that'll I'll just put this out of heart and mind, and hope for the best?" Her voice jumped the shrill barrier before she dropped her head to her chest, exhaling a defeated sigh. "I'm not like you, Gil..." She sighed, knowing that this route was not the path to the rehabilitation of their friendship. "Look, I'm sorry that I invaded your privacy, it's just that," she pressed her lips together, trying to control the fury of emotions that were ping-ponging against her heart, "I hate being shut out, you know?" Her voice dropped to a shy whisper, and she dared not glance at his form. "Especially by you." She dared to pour her heart out, hoping to achieve some reaction from the man that held her respect and love captive. "Gil...you mean a lot to me, and I want you to know that I only did what I did because I worry about you. I - I care about you deeply, and I wouldn't be able to stand having anything happen to you." Words longing to be released teetered on the tip of her tongue, and she placed a hand on her forehead awaiting a reaction from her best-friend. "It's funny...but I've felt things, Gil, and I don't know if it's just me, but I have a suspicion that you've felt them too. Things are changing...have been changing between us, and I think we really need to discuss them."

He sighed aloud, massaging his temples to alleviate the migraine he felt bubbling courtesy of stress' generosity. He disliked being kept in the dark, being void of control of his own senses - not being able to know when his hearing would return and for how long that privilege would grace his presence. Drumming his fingers on the table, he kept his focus on his fingers, each jumping on the wooden surface, hoping to be able to catch a snippet of its soundwave.

She rolled her eyes, narrowing them at the man who had ignored her presence since she stepped foot in her office. "I'm sorry, are my words of love interrupting something important in your busy life? Was it too much to ask to be spared a few minutes to resolve an obvious problem that's been brewing between us?" She bit her lip, curbing cusses that were stewing in the pit of her stomach and that had made a pit stop in the depths of her heart. She swung open the door, realizing her futile efforts to converse with the difficult man, stepped outside his office and slammed it shut with an angered force that caused many lab techs in the vicinity to eye her with caution.

His hearing chose moment's fury to materialize, and his gaze snapped to the door, having heard it slam, though it bordered on echoing the rage of a gunshot. Brow furrowed, he got up and walked to the door, opening it and glancing outside. To the left, he noticed a group of discussing techs who gabbled in their shaken rumours. To the right offered him a miraged glimpse of desired strawberry-blonde strands, hugging the corners and venturing out of sight. He blinked, pondering whether such an image had presented itself to his stare, or perhaps fatigue, stress and guilt were concocting a rotten trick on his mind. Shrugging, he hit the lights and locked his door behind him, realizing that his shift was finally over.

A small smile did manage to spread, upon smelling her lingering perfume in the hall, on his way to the locker room, an offered breakfast his intent on clearing up their current troubles.

Warrick sat on the bench, staring at the irate strawberry-blonde who seemed to be taking out her anger on her locker and his ear-drums. He cringed for the seventh time, listening to her voice climb the scales sharply. "Did you try talking to Gris?"

"I poured my bloody heart out," Her voice dropped to a monotonous level, "didn't even bat an eye." She sighed, her heart racing from her raging rant, and sat down heavily beside the younger CSI. "I just don't know what to do..."

"Catherine...have you calmed down?"

She turned abruptly, staring down the man who chose the most awkward time to attempt humour's challenge. "What?"

"Well, you seemed pretty steamy today, and I could hear you all the way down the hall - I was just wondering if you had cooled down enough so we could have a little ... uh, a little talk or something." He paused, noting the aghast look on Catherine's face, and the incomprehensive mask that Warrick had dawned. He shifted nervously, suddenly feeling nervous in the spotlight. "Breakfast...my treat?"

"You son of a -"

"Catherine." He shook his head as a silent warning, not too fond of playing the mediator, but still insistent in his ways.

She glanced at the younger CSI who had just manually curbed her vocal line of thought. She pursed her lips together, anger boiling rapidly. "How dare you..." It was a whisper, and the threat in her voice caused the supervisor to take a step back, allowing her ample space to stalk out of the break room, leaving a heavily confused man in her wake.

Gil watched her storm out of the lab, his eyes glued in her direction even when she was out of sight. He finally brought his gaze to rest on Warrick, who had been observing him since Catherine's outburst. The younger man raised his eyebrow, silently conversing with his supervisor and friend. Gil shrugged, shaking his head in an attempt to shake off the veiled muddle that clouded his mind and heart.

Warrick watched his supervisor follow the path of the incensed strawberry-blonde and let out a deep sigh. Knowing that if feelings weren't resolved quickly between the two stubborn CSIs, the proverbial fan would soon be hit.

–TBC–