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: Thanks, as always, go to Marianne for just being a wonderful beta, and always offering her advice and words of wisdom. 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 8

XOXOXO

Jim made his way through the crime lab, his thoughts only on one thing. Finding Gil Grissom. He turned the corner, narrowly avoiding a group of officers. He didn't glance back as he dodged around them, just muttered his apologies and continued his journey. Glancing in the lab to the right, he slid to a stop. The object of his search was in the room.

"Gil!"

He jumped, slightly startled at the tone in his boss' voice. "Something wrong?"

"That should be my question. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Umm… is there something I'm missing? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jim walked into the lab and shut the door behind him, not wanting others to hear their conversation. "I ran into Catherine tonight."

A slight smile came to Gil's face at the sound of her name before he diverted his attention to the tiled floor.

"I thought you liked her. Why the hell haven't you contacted her?"

"This isn't any of your business. My personal life…"

"Is a mess. I know it isn't any of my business, but you need someone, Gil. Just talk to me, cause I know you aren't talking to Catherine."

Gil sighed and sat down on the stool behind him. "She's married, Jim. What am I supposed to do?"

"Talk to her. Listen to her. Tell her how you feel. Let her know something. You can't just leave her in the dark thinking you hate her."

"I don't hate her." He quickly said. "I just…how can I trust her again? How could she not tell me she was married?"

"And how was she supposed to do that? That isn't exactly the kind of thing you tell someone on a first date."

"She should have told me before…"

"What? Told you while Johnson and I were there? Or maybe she should have told you while you were standing over the victim." Jim stopped, looking at Gil carefully. "Talk to her. At least let her tell you why she didn't tell you. Let her explain why she's married. Just talk to her, Gil." Jim turned and left him alone.

"I don't know if I can do that." He murmured into a silence that echoed through the room.

XOXOXO

Catherine looked at her clock as she paced the room. It was her night off and she couldn't sleep. Sleep had been fitful since that fateful night thirty-five days earlier. She picked up the phone before quickly putting it back down. She took three steps towards the kitchen before turning around and grabbing the phone again.

"Just one more time. I'll give him one more shot." She dialed a few numbers before putting the phone back down again. "I can't do this. He doesn't want to talk to me." She put the phone back in the cradle and took two steps before jumping at the sound of the ring.

"Hello?" Catherine's question was answered with silence, but the caller was still on the line. "Gil? Is that you?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called. I'll just…"

"Don't hang up, please. I'm glad you called."

Gil paused, trying to think things out before saying anything. "How have you been?"

"Ummm… alright I guess. As good as can be expected. How have you been?"

"I've been working. There's been quite a few cases lately and I… well I've been working." Gil stopped, not wanting to fully answer the question. "I …I don't know what to say."

"That's all right. I'm just glad you called." Catherine said as she walked to the couch, sighing as she sank into the cushions.

"I shouldn't have called this late, you were probably sleeping. I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"I was up. You don't have to apologize, Gil."

Gil sat back in his bed, leaning against the headboard; closing his eyes slightly. "I talked to Jim the other day. He told me he ran into you at work. I went by there to see you tonight… they told me you quit two weeks ago…"

Catherine listened to the silence, her mind still processing the fact that he finally called. "I did quit the diner a couple weeks ago."

"Where are you working now?"

"A little club near the strip. The Dollhouse." Catherine dropped her voice down a few decibels on the last word.

"What was that?"

"The Dollhouse. I'm a waitress. Serving drinks in a bar pays better then serving greasy meals in an all night diner."

"So you work in a strip club now? There wasn't…"

"Don't question me, Gil. It's the only place that would work around my classes and give me time to study. And they promised me I could have a week off at midterms and finals. I'll be making enough money, I'll actually be able to save some. Maybe move to a safer neighborhood."

"I wasn't questioning your judgment. It's apparent you've thought this out. I'd like to see you move, I still worry about you living in that place. I just…well… what's the clientele like. Is it safe? And I guess I can answer that last question if Brass ran into you there."

Catherine sighed as she interrupted him. "You're rambling, Gil. It's safe. Well, as safe as that type of place can be."

"I… well. I don't know. So, what are you doing?"

She laughed. "You mean besides laying here talking to you?"

"Yeah, besides that." Gil smiled slightly, his mood lifting a little just at the sound of her laughter.

"Nothing really. Before you called I was just pacing back and forth in front of the phone."

"I should let you go… you were waiting for a phone call and I…"

"I was waiting for you." She whispered.

Gil sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't know what to say. I don't know what to do."

XOXOXO

Catherine waited, listening to the silence. She knew whatever she said now had to be right; it might be the only chance she had. "Talk to me, Gil. Tell me what you are feeling. Tell me anything."

"Confusion." He began slowly. "I'm confused by everything. Betrayal. Anger. Hurt… loneliness, sadness. I just can't seem to get over you." Gil paused, taking in a deep breath. "I don't know if I want to get over you. It's just… you're married. How could you be married? How could you be married and not tell me?"

"I don't know what to say. I don't know how to make this better."

"Tell me it's all just an awful nightmare. Tell me I'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be the way it was thirty six days ago."

Catherine wiped the stray tear from her cheek, the desperation in his tone taking its effect on her. "I wish I could, Gil. I wish I could."

"What happened?"

"You want the long story or the condensed version?"

"Start with the condensed version and we can continue from there."

Catherine shifted on the couch, trying to get more comfortable before starting the tale. "Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl drunk. Girl wakes up married. That's the short version. We had only been dating for a couple of months, nothing serious or anything. Then one morning I woke up with a wedding band on my finger and a hangover. I couldn't remember a thing. I looked behind me and there was Eddie. It didn't take long for me to figure out what happened. Though, to this day, I don't really remember it. I thought about getting an annulment, but I didn't want to think I was that big of a failure."

"You are not a failure, Cath."

"Things look a little different from this side of the story. I stayed with him longer then I should. We fought constantly. Then, one night he came home drunk, which wasn't out of the ordinary. We were fighting, which was the only thing we were good at, and he hit me. I packed a bag and left. That was almost six months ago."

Gil remained silent, thinking about the story Catherine had just told him. "He hit you?"

"He said he didn't mean too. But…"

"That's what they always say."

"I know. I knew it wasn't going to work. I thought he had finally come to that conclusion as well… until that night."

"That night." Gil repeated wistfully.

"What do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure. I just…"

"I know. Can we be friends? Talk once in a while. Maybe see a movie or dinner. Or…"

"I don't know if I can just be friends with you. I want more than that. I want it all."

Catherine's eyes filled with tears, not wanting him out of her life. At least not yet. She was just about to say something when there was a knock at her door. Ignoring the knock, she focused back on her conversation. "I want it all, too. I want it all with you. But it's going to take some time. I…" Catherine's attention was forced to go back to the incessant knocking at the door, which had escalated to pounding. "Gil will you hold on for just a minute. Someone is pounding at my door."

"'Pounding at your door'? At three in the morning? Are you expecting anyone?"

"No."

"Don't answer it. They'll go away."

Catherine slid into a seated position and reluctantly rose. "I can't let them pound on the door. Just hold on a second." She set the receiver down on the coffee table and walked to the doorway. Peeking through the peephole, she saw the subject of all her troubles. She quickly removed the chain and unlocked the bolt.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked as she threw open the door.

"You're my wife. I can see you whenever I want."

"Why wont you just leave me alone Eddie?"

He pushed past Catherine into the apartment and shut the door behind him. "Because you don't want me to. Why else would you keep inviting me over?"

XOXOXO

"Why else would you keep inviting me over?"

Those words echoed through Gil's mind as he hung up the phone. "I knew she was waiting for someone…"

XOXOXO