CHAPTER 2
"Hmm... we'll see..." She tried to swim away, but he came up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Where are you going?" he whispered in her ear.
A smile broke out across her face as raindrops began to fall overhead and drizzle down on their cheeks.
"We should get out of here!" she shrieked as a bolt of lightening crackled above, its spidery fingers illuminating their faces for a brief second.
Gil reached for her hand, running as fast as the murky water would allow them too. The sky became increasingly darker as they ran up the slop of the grass hill to the Tahoe. When they at last reached the car, they were out of breath and the rain was nearly beating down on their faces. He held open the door for her, blue meeting blue as she slid into her seat. He stared over at her while he started the engine and put the car in reverse, as she shivered in her seat.
"Wwhy don't wwe go bback to my house and ddry off..." she stuttered, turning the air conditioning off and the heat on full blast.
"Shh..." Catherine whispered, turning her gold key in the lock to open it. Slowly, she opened the door as quietly as she could without waking her sleeping daughter, Lindsay, upstairs.
She walked into the kitchen as silently as her black two-inch heels would allow, dropping her purse on the green tile island in the center of the kitchen. "Um... do you, uh, want anything to drink?" she asked, opening the refrigerator and bending over to get a Diet Coke.
Across the room, Gil Grissom stood in the doorway, watching her like a zombie. "Gil?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Oh... I'll have whatever you're having..."
Fifteen minutes and two Diet Cokes later, Catherine and Grissom lay on the couch watching the news anchor talk about the case they had closed that day and revealed that the suspect in question had been proven guilty.
A smile crept across Catherine's thin lips as she rested with her head on Grissom's chest. She sighed happily, realizing that she had helped get a murderer off the streets.
"What's wrong?" he asked, staring down at the beautiful woman in his arms.
"Nothing... I'm happy... we did it Gil..."
"I know..." he said, wrapping his arms tighter around her.
They lay in silence, listening to the noisy clock ticking in the kitchen and the steady rhythm of each other's breathing.
"I'll be right back ok?" she said after what felt like an eternity, wriggling out of his grasp.
"Where are you going?" he questioned following her eagerly.
"Well... remember why we came back here in the first place?"
"Right..."
"You can get the shower first ok? I'll try to find something for you to wear..." While he ventured off down the hall, she turned the opposite direction into the guest bedroom where Grissom sometimes stayed when he needed her support, or rather when she needed him.
She opened the top drawer and pulled out a navy and white T-shirt from one of his entomology conventions and a pair of flannel pajama pants. She closed the door behind her and peered into the neighboring room. In the middle of a blue twin bed, Lindsay slept, her face turned towards the window.
"Goodnight Lindsay... I love you..." she whispered, watching her daughter's chest rise and fall. As she started to leave, she heard her whisper.
"Mom... who's that man?"
"Grissom's staying the night..." her young daughter nodded understandingly.
"Ok... well goodnight... tell Gris I said goodnight too..."
"Ok..."
"I love you mom..."
Catherine smiled, "sweet dreams."
"Hey," he murmured after she had closed the door.
"Hi..." she said, smiling at the towel wrapped around his waist and his lack of a shirt. "Here's you clothes..." she handed the pajamas to him still surprised that he wasn't wearing a shirt. 'Never seen him without one of those before..." she stared at the floor, shaking her head.
"Thanks..." he said, pulling the shirt on over his head.
'Damn,' she thought, 'he just HAD to do that!'
"Cath..."
"Yeah?"
"This shirt smells... feminine..."
"Sorry..." she said blushing, remembering that one night a few days ago when she couldn't sleep and woke up the next morning wearing his shirt.
He raised an eyebrow, "Do I wanna know why it smells like that?"
She smiled, kissing him lightly on the lips, "Oh will you just change already?"
"Go ahead and shower... I'll meet you downstairs..." he replied, kissing her forehead sweetly before disappearing into the guest bedroom.
Catherine crawled down the stairs smelling like a freshly baked vanilla cookie and looking absolutely gorgeous in a pair of red silk pajamas she had bought from Victoria's Secret a week ago. Quickly checking that she looked okay in the mirror, she walked into the living room, only to find Gil asleep on the couch. She giggled silently to herself and sat down across from him on the edge of the coffee table.
Too many thoughts filled her head about the man sleeping soundly before her. Where was this going? Was she really with Gil Grissom? What would happen in the future? Or even what would happen the next morning? What would Lindsay think about this? Did he really love her the way she loved him? She sighed, smoothing her hands over her flawless facial features.
His eyes flickered open, "What's up?"
"Nothing... I'm going to bed..."
She rose to her feet, but his hand around her waist wouldn't let her leave him. Their eyes locked for a moment, though anyone could tell you that their gaze was enough to send a thousand words to each other unspoken. He sat up, patting the seat cushion beside him.
Exhausted, she sunk into the couch, her head immediately resting against his shoulder. He laid back down, pulling her head down on top of his chest. She reached up and grabbed the beige blanket, spreading it down on top of them.
At that moment, Catherine Willows and Gil Grissom lay unaware of what the future could possibly hold for them. However, they knew one thing and that was all the reassurance they needed... They. Were. In. Love.
