Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot idea for this fic. All Other Characters names, information and whatnot are products of my imagination. There's no truth behind any of these fictionalized people.

Summary: What is really brewing between Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows? Is is love? Is it friendship? Could there be more to Catherine and Grissom's relationship than what was seen on the surface? pre-Mea Culpa

Author's Notes: This is my first CSI fic and so please be nice. I just recently got hooked on the series and...well, I can't help but feel some underlying tension between the Night Shift's supervisor and his right-hand person and closet confidant. Please read & review. I'd like to hear some feedbacks from you. I so very much love to explore the possibilities of a GC pairing. smiles

II. A Brand New Day

Catherine entered the break room in high spirits. She was smiling from ear to ear and was actually humming some current song under her breath. Nick Stokes, Sara Sidle, Warrick Brown and Greg Sanders all fixed a confused look at the smiling blond. It wasn't everyday Catherine Willows entered the break room in a good mood. Well, not in a good enough mood to make her hum some top 40 tune under her breath.

"Either somebody got a big, fat pay raise or somebody got laid," Greg said loud enough for Catherine to hear and earned him a chuckle from the other night shift team members.

Catherine turned around, a paper cup in one hand while in the other she was holding the coffee pot. Her eyes zeroed in on Greg, the newest CSI member and glared. That worked. Greg quickly clamed up and zipped his lips. The others followed and each cleared their throats, avoiding to meet Catherine's deadly glare.

"Now, that's more like it," she grinned and proceeded to pour herself a cup of hot coffee.

That was the scene Grissom walked in to when he met with his team. He was surprised at the lack of conversation floating about amongst his team members. Usually the break room would be abuzz with the current happenings in each team member's lives, but this evening it was different. And the room seemed to be divided into two as well. Catherine on one side happily sipping her coffee whilst humming some tune Grissom couldn't put his finger to just yet, and on the other Nick, Sara, Warrick and Greg were all sitting silently, doing their damnedest to avoid looking at the happy blond's direction.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Grissom asked, his eyes surveying each person in the room slowly.

"Nothing," the four on one side mumbled.

Grissom's eyebrow rose as he slowly looked at the blond standing by the coffee pot.

"Don't look at me, I just got here and grabbed a cup of java," Catherine raised her paper cup filled with the hot dark brown liquid. With a cheeky grin she held Grissom's gaze as she took a sip.

Grissom looked annoyed, but he knew his team very well. They were all stubborn as a mule.

"Fine," he expelled an exasperated sigh then told everyone to gather around. He preceded to hand out assignments to everyone. Warrick got to take newbie Greg with him on a hit and run incident. "Vic's in ICU, his life's hanging by a thread," Grissom informed them.

"We're on it," Warrick nodded and clapped Greg by the shoulder.

Sara got to work solo this time. An unknown corpse surfaced in a manmade lake inside a prestigious community housing some of Las Vegas' elite celebrities. "Watch out for some bureaucratic cover-ups for this one. You know how testy people from such communities are like," warned Grissom before handing the sheet of paper to him.

"Oh great," mumbled Sara, obviously not pleased with Grissom's underlying message. "I am not a good people person, Gris. Why don't you send Catherine instead of me?" she whined.

"Because you need to work on your people skills, Sara," Grissom replied matter-of-factly.

"Great, just great," she mumbled as she walked out of the break room glaring a hole at the poor piece of paper Grissom handed her.

"Hmm, well whatever assignment you're gonna give me, Gris, it better be better than Sara's," Nick said teasingly as he stood beside Catherine. "So, deal me in, Gris."

Catherine cocked an eyebrow and looked at the young Texan beside her. "Been playing poker lately, Nick?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Warrick's teaching me, and I think he's not liking the odds."

"Oh?"

"Yep," Nick nodded. "Seems like the teacher's butt's being kicked by his apprentice," he winked with that mischievous grin still plastered on his handsome face.

Catherine choked out a laugh and shook her head. "Well, I think Warrick better watch out. The last time I played poker with him, I always won."

"Are you sure he didn't let you win on purpose?" he replied teasingly.

Catherine looked affronted at Nick's assumption. "Oh, I'd surely kick his butt if he pulled that one on me!" she chuckled.

Grissom watched the friendly banter between his two CSI's. He allowed himself to watch Catherine freely, without anyone watching him. He noticed a great big deal of change in her. She was perkier today compared to previous days; perkier and chattier if he said so himself. Wherever she went the other night sure changed her for...Grissom couldn't quite put his finger to it, but he liked this Catherine he was seeing right now.

"If you two are done comparing notes about poker, I'm sure you two would be interested in hearing out our assignment," Grissom said over the chatter Nick and Catherine were enjoying.

Two pairs of dark eyes turned to look at their supervisor.

"Three of us on a case? Wow, why do I get a feeling this is the toughest cookie out of the assignments you just handed out, Gris?" Catherine teased and plucked the white sheet of paper in his hand before he could reply. Quickly scanning the piece of paper, she lifted her gaze from it and meet Grissom's. "You have got to be kidding me! A homicide in broad daylight at one of the busiest casinos in town?"

"Uh-hm," Grissom nodded, his lips pursed. "And the killer stayed on the scene and surrendered to authorities."

"What?" Nick frowned and snatched the paper from the blond's hands. He too quickly scanned the page and cocked an eyebrow when he read the name. "Slick Rick Sabato's the vic? He's one of the powerful Italian kingpins."

"Who's the killer?" asked Catherine.

"His wife."

Nick and Catherine's jaw dropped on the floor. Grissom understood their shock. He too was surprised. Amelia Sabato was a wealthy socialite with a very sweet disposition with the public. No prior record of mental breakdowns. No aggressive behavior nor DUI incidents. The woman had a very clean slate. Even as a teenager growing up in upstate New York she didn't have any criminal record. It was very mind-boggling that a woman like her would commit such hideous crime.

"There's no report of domestic disturbance at the Sabato house, whether it was publicized or not," Nick pointed out.

"Exactly," Grissom agreed. "Sabato operates smoothly, hence the pet name given to him. They've been happily married for close to thirty-five years and had two sons. One a law student at Harvard while the other a fireman for the local fire department. No report of extra marital affair, and the one time he dallied with someone outside his marriage happened when his eldest son was still an infant and his second son was still in the womb. Amelia Sabato apparently forgave her husband for that and since then, Slick Rick smartened up," Grissom gave his two CSIs the 411 on their vic, a brief information to help them understand what could've triggered the deceased vic's wife to pull the trigger on him.

"Wow, I'm impressed with Amelia for forgiving her husband for his folly," Catherine couldn't help sounding sarcastic at the remark.

"Hey, not all guys are that bad, Catherine," chided Nick. "And look, according to reports Slick Rick straightened up his act after that incident."

"Well, she just got lucky I guess," she shrugged.

"Hey, not all guys are like Eddie, okay? Your ex was a jerk and a schemer. You deserved better than that bozo," Nick tried to lift up his co-worker's mood. He knew how much Catherine hated her ex-husband with a vengeance. But now she was divorced and enjoying an Eddie-free life with her daughter.

"Are we done bringing up old excess baggage into this case?" Grissom asked, eyeing Catherine and Nick carefully. When his two cohorts nodded he proceeded to give each of them specific tasks to help figure out the mind-boggling case.

"I heard you, Nick and Grissom are working on the Sabato murder. Man, that was whacked," Warrick groaned after shutting his locker door.

"Tell me about it," sighed Catherine as she pulled out her sweater from her locker. "So far we've hit dead-end. Amelia Sabato's fingerprints are all over the case, but no concrete motive for her crime."

"But why do you think she killed her husband?" mused Warrick.

"That, my friend, is the million dollar question." Catherine slipped on her sweater and zipped up the front. "Well, I'm calling it a night. I'm beat and Lindsey is in dire need of her mother's company."

Warrick raised an eyebrow at the last statement. Catherine blushed slightly at the small white lie she provided. They knew Lindsey was on a school camping trip for three days.

"Sounds like you got a breakfast date waiting, Cath," Warrick teased an pushed himself from his locker.

Catherine chuckled nervously and rolled her eyes at her co-worker and friend. "Nah, I just want some alone time, you know?"

"Alone time? Jeez Cath, when and where have I heard that reason before?" he chuckled.

"Oh come on, Warrick. Gimme a break here!" She looped her arm around Warrick's and the two of them walked down the corridor together.

Warrick wouldn't stop teasing her about her breakfast date with a yet to be named man, and Catherine was doing her damnedest to assure him that she doesn't have a breakfast date lined-up...yet. They stopped by Grissom's open office and she spotted him studying the evidence of their case intently. Unwrapping her arm from Warrick's, she told him she'd see him later and waved him off before entering Grissom's office.

"Knock, knock," she said out loud without actually bothering to knock on his door.

Grissom lifted his head from the report he was reading and peered over the rim of his reading glasses at his second-in-command. "Hello, Catherine."

"Hey Gil. What are you doing here still? It's time to call it a night, you know?" she reminded him teasingly.

"Yeah, I know. But you know me, I need to figure out what provoked Mrs. Sabato to kill her husband in broad daylight," he sighed and took off his reading glasses. Sitting back in his chair he looked up at the blond woman and frowned, "What are you doing here still?"

"I was just on my way out," she informed him.

"Oh. Well, don't let me stop you from going home. I'm sure the others already left for home."

"Yeah, they have," she nodded and crossed the space from the doorway to the two chairs in front of Grissom's desk. Plunking her behind on one, she crossed her legs and met her supervisor's gaze. "You should go home too and rest, Gil."

"I will go home, Catherine. Eventually."

Catherine cocked an eyebrow at his reply. "I don't like that 'eventually' part you just added."

Grissom cocked an eyebrow too. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because every time I hear the word 'eventually' used in a sentence, it almost always means never."

"The lab is not my home, Cath."

"Somehow I doubt that. Next to your real home, you're always here."

"So? It's my outlet. It gets me out of the house," he shrugged.

"True, but not a good enough reason to use as an 'outlet' of yours. I know!" She quickly sprung up to her feet and planted her hands on Grissom's desk, "Let me treat you breakfast. We can even discuss business while we're eating, I wouldn't care. This case is much of a mind-boggler to me too as it is to you," she pointed out.

"But--"

"No buts, Gilbert. Up and at 'em, boy," Catherine commanded, straightening up and waiting for her supervisor to get up and off his romp and march out of his office. "C'mon Gil, we haven't got all morning for breakfast and I am dying for some food here."

Grissom wanted to argue with Catherine about him not wanting any breakfast. He was far too intrigued to solve the case ASAP than to put some food into his system. Of course he needed some sustenance, but he could always swing by his favourite diner en route to his place once he was done here; he didn't need someone's company to have breakfast with him. And yet Catherine was here, determined to get him out of this hole he felt most comfortable in. He should argue with her, he knew that he could do, and yet something inside him made him think otherwise thus making him get up and off his butt and followed the slender blond outside his office and outside the building...

TBC

A/N: I know, I know, it's a bit long and...well, not much happening really except we got an idea on what the guys's assignments are. As usual I'd like to hear your thoughts and comments (and complaints too if you have any) about this fic/chapter. Thanks!