Sorry this took so long. I honestly thought I'd uploaded it in the last update. blush

Part 9

Catherine awoke the next morning feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time. She glanced over at Gil, who was sleeping peacefully, his arms still tight around her.

She liked that he never let go of her.

It made her feel safe and…and loved.

She leant over, slightly nervous and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Good morning," Gil murmured, as she settled beside him.

"Hi," she whispered.

His hand gently caressed her face. "That's a great way to wake up."

She smiled slightly. "Glad you enjoyed it."

"How are you feeling today?"

"Safe," she replied.

He smiled broadly. "Good. I intend on making you feel that way for the rest of your life."

Catherine took his hand and kissed it. "Thank you, again, for last night."

"You don't have to thank me," he replied, smiling at her. "Watching you…seeing how you felt, it made me feel pretty amazing too."

Catherine surprised them both by leaning over and hugging him tight. "I love you, Gil. You have no idea how much."

Gil hugged her back, his arms going around her waist. "I do, Cath. Because I love you just as much."

They pulled apart, before snuggling together again, just content being around each other. Gil was happy that a little of his Catherine was coming back.

"I thought I might make some breakfast. You hungry?"

Catherine nodded. "Absolutely."

Gil watched as Catherine flipped through the paper. He smiled at how domestic the scene seemed. Him, cooking breakfast for the two of them, with Catherine sitting and reading reviews of movies out loud to him.

"This "Team America" sounds like a rude, crude and very bad version of the Thunderbirds," Catherine murmured. "Or at least the puppets look like it."

"See, this is why I like old movies," Gil replied, dishing the breakfast out. "Because they're simple, nice and happy."

Catherine glanced up at him. "I hardly think some of them are simple, Gil."

"I don't mean simple as in simple stories. Some of them are very complex. I just mean that they don't have all these peculiar undertones with words I don't understand."

"Teen speak?" Catherine suggested.

Gil nodded. "Yeah. Take Katharine Hepburn for instance. She was a beautiful actress, and her parts were always perfectly acted. And she could talk. And talk well."

Catherine smiled. "I love Katharine Hepburn too."

"I particularly liked the chemistry she had with Spencer Tracy. The way they played married couples, or warring couples…it was electric." He smiled at her. "You remind me of Katharine Hepburn."

"This is a new side of you, Gil," Catherine murmured. "I like it." She smirked. "You remind me of Spencer Tracy."

He smiled, sitting down opposite her. "We've never really had time to talk about movies before."

"Or see movies together." Catherine put the paper down. "What about Phantom of the Opera?"

"Gaston Leroux. Tells the story of a disfigured man who…"

"The movie, Gil."

"Ah. There have been two. The original version…"

"Gil." Catherine glanced at him. "I want to see the movie."

"Okay. When you're ready, we can…"

"I want to see it today."

Gil put his fork down. "Are you sure?"

Catherine nodded slightly. "As long as you're with me…no matter how corny this sounds…I feel like I can do anything."

Gil nodded and smiled. "Then I guess we're going to see the Phantom of the Opera."

Catherine held tightly to Gil's free hand as they stood in the movie foyer. They had just got some things for the movie: popcorn, drinks and m&m's. She took a deep breath.

"Gil?"

He turned to look at her, sitting the food down as he fished the tickets out of his pocket. "Yeah?"

"I'm uh…going to go into the bathroom, okay?"

Gil nodded. "Okay."

Catherine took a step towards it, before turning back. "If I'm not out in fifteen minutes…come and get me?"

He squeezed her hand. "I promise." Before she could leave though, he whispered in her ear. "Nothing is going to happen to you in there. I promise you."

Catherine nodded and headed into the bathroom.

Gil sat down on the chair, right opposite the women's bathroom, and simply watched the time. "Please let her be okay," he whispered to himself.

A few minutes later she returned, a triumphant smile on her face. He looked up at her and grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I'm ready to go in now," Catherine pronounced.

When they got inside, the cinema was still light. They found a seat towards the back, and to their delight, the arm rest in between lifted, so they could snuggle together during the movie.

They got settled and Gil chuckled as Catherine attempted to toss M&M's in her mouth.

"I'm really glad we got a big bag," he decided.

The lights began to dim, and Catherine froze. She buried her body into Gil's.

"No…" she whispered.

"It's alright, Cath," he whispered back. His arm was tight around her and he kissed the top of her head. "He's not here. No one's going to hurt you. I've got you and you're safe. The movie is going to come on and we'll snuggle and eat all of this great junk food."

"Promise…" Catherine said, her hands fisting into his shirt.

"I swear to you, Catherine. No one is going to hurt you." Gil's arms tightened around her, his hand stroking her back. "I swear to you."

Catherine's head slowly rose, when she could hear the noise from the movie screen. She looked up at Gil who smiled reassuringly at her, and the tenseness started to leave her body. Finally, she rested her head on his shoulder, her hands still tightly gripping him, and turned towards the screen.

"Have you told Grissom and Catherine about this?" Nick asked Brass, who stood with him, Warrick and Sara outside two of the interrogation rooms.

"I tried them at home, and their cells," Brass explained. "No one was at home, and their cells were off."

"They don't need to be here anyway, do they?" Sara asked.

Brass shook his head. "It's going to be bad enough for both of them at the trial, particularly Catherine. There's no need to make it any worse by bringing them down here for this. It's just a formality."

"Let's do it," Warrick said.

Brass walked into the first room, with Warrick behind him. Sara and Nick stood in the observation area.

"Officer Stan Graves?"

The sullen officer looked up at Brass. "You know who I am."

"Stand up."

Stan stood up, and Brass gestured to the two officers in the room. "Stan Graves, you are under arrest for conspiracy in a rape and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent…"

When Stan Graves had been read his rights and escorted to the holding cells, the team and Brass moved onto the next interrogation room.

Once again, Warrick went in with Brass, while Nick and Sara observed.

"Dale Graves?"

"What do you want?"

"Stand up."

Dale leant back. "What the hell for?"

Warrick went around behind him and pulled the chair out, tipping Dale out. "Stand the hell up, you piece of punk ass shit."

Dale Graves got to his feet. He was about to lash out at Warrick, when the two officers grabbed hold of him and cuffed him.

Brass grinned. "You have no idea how much pleasure this gives me. Dale Graves – you piece of punk ass, lying, scum-faced shit, you are under arrest for the rape and attempted murder of CSI Willows. You have the right to remain silent…so shut the hell up. You have the right to an attorney…god knows why."

Catherine curled up next to Gil on the bed, her head resting in his lap as his fingers ran through her hair.

"The movie was good," she whispered.

"It was," Gil agreed, still stroking. "What time do I need to pick Lindsey up from school?"

"3.15." Catherine closed her eyes for a moment. "Can I come with you?"

"Of course you can."

"Today has been a good day."

"It has," Gil agreed, leaning down.

Catherine smiled and leant up, their lips meeting in a soft kiss.

The phone rang and they broke apart regretfully. Catherine lay back down in his lap as Gil grabbed the phone. "Grissom."

Catherine's eyes were closed, content with Gil stroking her, so she didn't see the look of anger and concern come over his face as Warrick explained about the arrests.

Gil put the phone down.

"Who was it?" Catherine asked, a small smile playing on her lips as Gil continued his ministrations.

"Just Warrick. Checking on everything. Filling me in. Boring stuff really." He didn't want her to know. Today was a good day, and he wasn't going to ruin it for her.

TBC