Title: Love Don't Lie
Author: Angie
Summary: What happened in their past?
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 welcome to chapter six. Thanks to those that are reading and reviewing, I appreciate it. And many thanks to everyone that voted for me in the G/C awards. Thanks as always go to Marianne for being the most excellent beta that she is. The song used in this chapter is "It'll Be Alright" by Slaughter. This story is, well it's a bit Alternate Universe. Gil and Cath are still Gil and Cath, but this takes place in the past. A sort of... what if?
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Anything in the series is fair game...as of now it's just general ideas.
Distribution: The GraveshiftCSI Homepage
Chapter 6
XOXOXO
"You wanted to see me?"
"Shut the door and sit down." Jim said. He watched Gil follow his commands, staring at him across the desk.
"Jim…"
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Gil shook his head. "What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me."
"'Nothing wrong with you?'" Jim questioned. "You've been snapping at everyone for the last week, you've worked non stop. You aren't eating, I can tell from looking at you that you haven't been sleeping. What the hell…" He instantly stopped. His mind went back to their conversation a week earlier. He softened his voice, hoping to draw his friend out. "What happened?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Gil remained defiant, not wanting to have this conversation.
"Catherine."
He recoiled at the sound of her name, his mind instantly bringing forward images of her. "I don't want to talk about it."
"You'd feel better if you just…"
"No I wouldn't! I just want to forget everything."
"But you can't… and deep down you don't want to forget her. What happened?" Jim asked again, hoping for better results this time.
"She's married."
"Married? As in…"
"As in married. He showed up on our date at the restaurant."
"How did he know you were there?"
"I didn't stick around to ask. I think you missed the important point. She's married Jim." Gil slammed his hand on the desk, wincing as the pain hit him.
"So the slut is married."
"Don't call her that! You don't even know her. I…" Gil stopped, the look on Jim's face smug. "You set me up."
"Just tell me what happened."
Gil sighed, knowing he was going to have to talk. "We were at dinner. I went out to the car to get the r… something. I came back and there was this man there. Talking to her. Well not talking so much as arguing. He said he was her husband."
"And then…" Jim prompted.
"And then I left."
"You left? What if he was lying? Did you even let her explain?"
"I waited for her. Outside the restaurant. Drove her home."
"So, what did she say?" Jim asked, exasperated at the slow pace of their conversation.
"She's been separated for a while. Hadn't seen or talked to him in months."
"So what's the problem?"
"She's married Jim! And she didn't tell me, she lied to me and… I…"
"You love her."
"I don't…" Gil stopped, unable to say what he knew would be a lie. "I can't, Jim. She lied to me."
XOXOXO
Look into my eyes and tell me
Is there anyone there?
You point your finger and
blame the world on me
do you really care?
Alone
Alone
XOXOXO
Jim walked up to the familiar door and knocked lightly. The door opened and he smiled lightly at the shocked look on her face. "Hi, Catherine. I'm sure you don't remember me. I met you…"
"I remember you." Catherine interrupted. "From that club."
Jim nodded and shifted his stance.
"Oh! I'm sorry, do you want to come in? The place is a little messy right now, but…"
"I'm sure it's fine." Jim followed her into the apartment and sat in the offered chair. "I'm sorry to just stop by like this but… well I wanted to talk to you."
"That's all right. What is it you wanted to talk about?"
"Gil." Jim said bluntly.
Catherine nodded, knowing that would be the reason he was here.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"What did he tell you?" Catherine asked, not wanting to reveal too much.
"Just the basics, I think. You two were out, ran into your husband."
Catherine winced at the tone in his voice as he said the word 'husband'. "Did he tell you anything else?"
"Not really. It was hard enough to get that much out of him. I really just wanted to hear your side of the story. I had never seen Gil happy, truly happy… until he met you. And now, well now he's just a pain in the ass. And I'm not the one on the receiving end."
"You're a good friend."
"I try to be that to all my men. So…?"
"There isn't much more to tell. I am married and I didn't tell him. I don't deserve him." Catherine blinked rapidly and turned away.
Reaching across the table, he grabbed her hand, squeezing gently. "You definitely deserve him. How long had you been separated? Not that that matters much. If you were separated, then there wasn't much of a marriage beforehand."
Catherine turned back around, the tears glistening in her eyes. "We were drunk. Well, at least I was. I should have just gotten the annulment at the beginning. But I guess I didn't want to think I had made that big of a mistake. We had been dating for a while. He treated me good. So I thought maybe this was just how things should work out."
"Didn't go so well?"
Catherine scoffed. "Hardly. That would be putting it mildly. We fought constantly. Eddie always made big promises, but never fulfilled one of them. I stuck it out with him for a year, but it just wasn't getting any better. One night he came home drunk. We fought as usual… I don't even remember what it was about now. But he hit me. And that was it. I walked out that night."
"He hit you? Did you report it?"
"No. I probably should have, but I didn't. I just left. Eddie tried to get me to come back a few times, but I wouldn't. I knew we weren't going to work out. I thought he had given up, until that night."
Jim shook his head, trying to come to terms with the story he had just heard. "Can I ask a question?" At Catherine's nod, he continued. "Why didn't you just divorce him?"
"Look around you. Lawyers cost money, and right now I don't have any. There's no way Eddie would pay for one, and even if he could, he wouldn't. He enjoys scenes like the one he created last week. I should have realized that…."
"Did you tell all of this to Gil?"
"I got out the part about us being separated. I tried to explain more, but he wasn't ready to hear it. He said he'd call… that was a week ago…"
"Don't give up on him. Not yet. He's a good man, Catherine. I know I don't have to tell you that, but I'm going to anyway. He'll come around. Just give him time."
Catherine nodded her willingness to Jim. "Can I ask you something? How do you know? I mean… what makes you think that…"
"That he'll come around?"
"We were only together a month."
"It may have only been a month, but he was happy. Truly happy. And now, he is more withdrawn than I have ever seen him. He'll come around. Just wait for him."
XOXOXO
Take us back to where we belong
Where the simple songs and the
days last forever
Where all you have to do is dream,
life's not as bad as it seems
And we all stand together
As long as you don't let it all pass you by
It'll be Alright
It'll be Alright
XOXOXO
To be continued…