Title: Xerox
Author: Angie
Summary: "We're in trouble."
Disclaimers: CSI Crime Scene Investigation does not belong to me, they are the property of CBS, Alliance Atlantis, Jerry Bruckheimer and the wonderful actors who portray them.
Author's Notes: And here is my "X" fic, only four letters left, though I'm pretty sure I'm going to be beaten by Gomey and Jaclyn. But if they read this it might slow them down just a little. I've fallen into a fluff rut, and this isn't getting me out of it. Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Marianne.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: none
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage
XOXOXO
Catherine walked down the hall, gathering the pieces of paper hung haphazardly along the way. She stepped into Gil's office and shut the door behind her.
"We're in trouble."
"What?"
"Look!" She set the pieces of paper on his desk, watching the color rise to his cheeks as he flipped through the stack.
"It's not that bad."
"Not for you. It's my…body that's immortalized on those pages."
Gil raised his eyebrow, holding up one of the papers. "That's my hand there."
"And it's pretty obvious what you were doing there, too. Gil, these are all over the lab."
His head turned slightly, looking at the next page.
"Gil! This is serious. What if someone figures out that it's us in these copies?"
"You can't tell anything, it's just a mix of body parts."
"My body parts."
Gil set the papers down and led her around the desk into his lap. "At least you were still dressed. It could be worse."
"How can you joke at a time like this?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Be upset."
He smiled and pulled her tighter into his arms. "Wouldn't you rather have me calm you down? Help you relax a little? Maybe take your mind off of everything?"
"No." Catherine said, taking a deep breath, pulling out of his grasp and standing in front of him. "I want you to think of a plan. Tell me that no one is going to recognize this picture of your hands on my breasts. I thought you took all the copies."
"I did."
"Then how did these get out? Why am I seeing these posted all over the lab?"
Gil reached for her hand, trying to tug her back into his lap. When she stood her ground, he released her hand, running his own hand through his hair before answering. "I threw them in the bin out back next to the dumpster."
Catherine rolled her eyes, looking at him incredulously. "You threw them out here? And you put them in the recycling bin. Why didn't you take them home with you?"
"I was called out on a case. I didn't want to leave them in my office; someone could have seen them. I couldn't put them in the Denali with me… Nick and Warrick would have definitely noticed. Sara was in the locker room, so I couldn't hide them in my locker the way I had planned. Next time when I see you bending over the copier trying to clear out a paper jam I'll leave my hands to myself, I promise."
"You should have left them to yourself to begin with."
He grabbed her hand, trying once again to tug her back into his lap, his lower lip protruding as he was once again unsuccessful. "I can't help myself. I mean look at you. I take one look at you and rational thought leaves my mind."
Catherine couldn't help the smirk that came to her lips. "You do not lose rational thought at the site of me. We've been working together for almost twenty years…."
"That was before I was allowed to touch you. Well… touch you intimately. I can't help myself."
Catherine took a step back to him and slid into his lap once again. "You do realize this is how we got into trouble the last time?"
"I'm willing to take the risk."
"Then it's your body this time."
"What?" Gil asked, pulling back slightly and looking at her.
"Well, it's my body parts they are all seeing now. If you're willing to take the risk so you can get some at work, then it's going to be you they see, not me." Catherine once again stood from Gil's lap, walking towards the door. "You coming?"
"Where?"
"To the copier room. This time we'll get you on top of the machine, see how you like your ass plastered all over the building."
Gil turned pale as he watched Catherine reach for the doorknob. "Cath… wait."
She turned back around, hand still on the handle. "Yes?"
"Why don't we talk this out first?"
"So now you're ready to come up with a plan. Now that it's literally your ass on the line."
"I'm sorry." He said, standing and walking across the room to her. "What do you want me to do? If we go out there questioning where the pictures came from it's going to be obvious it's us in the pictures. I think we need to ignore it. When I pass out assignments I'll comment about the pictures."
"What are you going to say?" She asked, taking her hand off the door and leaning back against it.
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Something about how this type of behavior shouldn't be engaged in at work. And even worse, you shouldn't try to embarrass or humiliate your co-workers by posting inappropriate pictures of them in the workplace."
"You aren't seriously going to say that… are you?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Catherine rolled her eyes. "You know that is just going to prolong the rumor mill. Maybe you were right in the first place. Just don't say anything. It will all die down."
"Glad to see you agreeing with my line of thinking." Gil smiled, leaning in for a quick kiss. "I'll grab the case files and meet you in the break room."
XOXOXO
Catherine walked into the break room, taking a seat at the table across from Greg. "So what's going on?" She asked, ignoring the fact that the conversation stopped when she walked into the room. She looked around the room, watching as everyone averted their eyes from her.
"We were just talking about the pictures." Greg broke down under her gaze.
"Aah…" Catherine watched the others shift in their chairs. "You can keep discussing if you want. I don't know anything more about it then the rest of you."
"Do you know who…?"
Gil walked in the room before Sara could finish her question. "'Who' what, Sara?"
"Nothing."
Gil shook his head and shut the door behind him before sitting at the head of the table. "Sara, you're with Nick and Warrick. 419 at the Tangiers." He passed the file off to Nick.
"What happened to your hand, boss?" Warrick asked.
He looked down, noticing the scabbed over cut on his left hand. "Just a cut. Had a little cooking mishap the other day."
"You cook?"
"Yes, Sara. Believe it or not, sometimes I actually use my kitchen."
"What are you staring at?" Catherine asked Greg, interrupting the conversation on the other side of the table.
"Nothing." He instinctively replied, raising his eye line up from her chest to look her in the eye.
Catherine watched him, before quickly glancing over at Gil.
"Greg, you're with Cath and I. A 419 in Summerlin." He stood, leaning over the table to hand Catherine the case file.
Greg watched the others file out of the office, leaving him in the room with Gil and Catherine. "So… any details on the case?" He asked, trying to alleviate the awkward silence. Not getting an answer, he resumed looking back and forth between the two of them. His eyes took in the cut on Gil's hand, studying it intently. His eyes opening wide, he turned his gaze back to Catherine, his eyes drifting down to her chest. "Oh my God!"
"What?" The two senior CSI's replied at once.
He pointed at Gil's hand, then moved his arm towards Catherine. "It was you!"
finis