It had been approximately an hour since the driver had dropped Lindsey at her friend's house and he was still driving. For the first time since that morning Catherine felt nervous. She tapped the window separating her from the driver.
"Hey. How much farther?"
"Ms. Willows I'm not allowed to say. It is supposed to be a surprise." He looked into the rear view mirror at her.
"I don't like surprises." She leaned forward over the driver's seat giving him her best interrogative look.
"There's a phone in the side compartment if you feel the need to let someone know where you are." He shuffled in his seat in reaction to her look.
"I wasn't…"
"Ms. Willows, I'd be nervous too if I were in the middle of nowhere on my way to meet a man I'd never met before."
"Thanks." Catherine pulled the phone out and dialed Gil's cell then leaned back against her seat.
"Grissom." He sounded as if he were in the middle of sweeping a crime scene.
"Hey." There was an unexpected nervousness in her voice.
"Catherine? I thought you were on a date." Annoyance? Why was there annoyance in his voice?
"Hasn't started yet. I'm still in the limo. We just passed Pahrump."
"Pahrump?" Whatever he had been doing he stopped because there was suddenly silence in the background on his end.
"Yeah."
"Why?" Gil could see her rolling her eyes in frustration at his answer.
"You're the one who set this up, you tell me."
"I just found the man, the arrangements are his." The background noises started again. Catherine figured he had gone back to processing the scene. She knew he was busy but she was bored and needed entertaining.
"What's he like?" She glanced out the moonroof watching the stars fly by.
"Who?" Gil intentionally played dumb knowing full well whom she was talking about but wanting to annoy her just a little.
"My date."
"Catherine."
"Fine, don't tell me. Just don't expect me to tell you what happens."
"Listen, Catherine, I have to go. Greg needs me for something."
"What?"
"Catherine, I've got to go."
"Please."
"Enjoy your evening Catherine."
"Thanks Gil."
She put the phone back in its compartment then leaned back into the seat and closed her eyes. The nap during her massage had been wonderful but she was still tired. It wasn't too long before she was asleep again.
"Ms. Willows."
Nothing.
"Ms. Willows, wake up. We've arrived."
"Huh? Where? Oh, I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep." Slowly she leaned up from the seat.
"We're here, Ms. Willows."
"How do I look?"
"Beautiful." He hesitated before continuing, not wanting to get "the look" from her again. "But I'd check the hair and lipstick before we proceed."
"Thank you." She rummaged through her purse to find her brush, lipstick and mirror.
"I'll give you a few minutes."
Catherine quickly touched up her hair and lipstick. The driver had opened the door for her and she went to exit the vehicle.
"Ma'am, the gentleman has requested you put this on before we go any further." He held up a silk blindfold. She nodded in agreement, allowing the driver to tie the smooth fabric around her eyes. He led her through a door and helped her into a chair. "Someone will be with you in a few minutes."
She sat quietly listening to the sounds around her and trying to figure out her surroundings. Wherever she was smelled of flowers and food. The room was too cool and too quiet to be a restaurant. There was light jazz playing over what sounded like an antiquated sound system. The reverberations made her think that she was inside a concrete or metal building.
After a few minutes alone fidgeting in her chair she heard footsteps coming towards her. Whoever it was stopped right behind her and untied the blindfold. She tried to turn and see who it was but a slight pressure on her shoulder indicated she wasn't to see him just yet. What she did see was a room full of candlelight. There must have been at least 300 candles spread out over the room, casting a beautiful romantic glow over everything. The next thing to catch her attention was the table in front of her. She had been expected an elaborate five-course dinner. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of hot dogs, bugles, yogurt, peanut butter sandwiches, a container of orange juice and carafe of clear liquid that smelled like vodka.
From there she began to examine the room she was in, careful not to turn too far in the direction of the man behind her. Her earlier instincts had been correct. The room was composed of concrete walls lined with various metal shelves. The shelves themselves contained various pieces of equipment and many books. Above her was a skylight that revealed all the majesty of the Milky Way.
She felt his hands leave her shoulders and heard him step back. He pulled her chair gently from the table and placed his hand on her arm indicating she should stand. His hand came around the side of her head, resting over her eyes. Once he felt her eyelids close he gently turned her to face him.
"I knew this dress would look incredible on you."
Her body tensed. She knew that voice almost as well as she knew her own but there was no way it could be him. She must be dreaming.
He took her hand in his and his other hand cupped the side of her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. "What are you waiting for? Open your eyes."
She opened her eyes to find Gil standing in front of her. He was wearing blue jeans, a midnight blue polo shirt and a leather jacket. He looked amazing. She looked at him, eyebrow raised in confusion.
"I'm sorry. I screwed up."
She looked deep into his eyes searching for something that she couldn't name. "What are you talking about?"
"You gave me the opportunity to back out. I asked for one more chance and I didn't come through for you." His hands fell away from her, the physical expression of his inability to find a man suitable for Catherine.
"But the limo, the spa, this…"
"I thought that a day away from everything and everyone might make up for some of the disappointment from tonight. I know how stressful things are at home." He led her back to the chair so that they could eat.
"Yeah."
He mixed two very generous screwdrivers, handing one to her and placing the other on his side of the table.
"And having your mother around just adds to the stress between you and Lindsey."
"Thank you. We, uh, we had a great day. She really opened up to me in a way she hasn't since she was a toddler."
He took her plate and quickly put together two hotdogs just the way she liked them and added a generous helping of bugles on the side.
"I'm glad." He then prepared his own plate exactly the same as hers, with the addition of a peanut butter sandwich and third hot dog. He did love junk food.
"We're going to spend tomorrow together discussing Eddie."
"So, do you think she's ready to hear the whole truth?" He knew she had told Lindsey about Eddie's drug use but had hidden the fact that he had abusive towards her. This was an issue the both of them had always disagreed on. Catherine had wanted to hide the darker side of Eddie from her daughter so that her memories of him before his death were as pleasant as possible. Gil's view was that Lindsey needed to know the truth so that she wouldn't end up in the same situation when she was grown. He felt that even with the knowledge of Eddie's treatment of her mother that Lindsey would still love her father for the way he treated her. The reality of the situation was somewhere in the middle. As much as Catherine wanted to protect her daughter she sometimes let things slip in moments of anger.
"She actually brought it up. I hated putting her off but we were having such a great time that I didn't want to risk an argument."
They sat quietly eating for a few minutes, neither feeling the need to say anything at the moment. The meal was simple and uncomplicated, full of their favorite foods.
"You should have seen her hair. Every color you can imagine with beads, braids and curls everywhere. I took a picture of it with my cell phone." She instinctively reached for her handbag, quickly realizing she had left it in the limo. "Oh! I guess I can show you after we finish eating." They both laughed.
"I'll look forward to it. It amazes me how fast she's growing up. It seems like only yesterday when she was learning to walk."
"I miss those days. Now it's make up and music and boys."
"What boys?" Lindsey wasn't technically his daughter but he cared for her as if she were his own. And like any father whose daughter was on the verge of puberty he did not like the idea of teenage boys being around his little girl.
"Just some boys from her school."
"What grade are they in? How old are they?" He was once a teenage boy himself and he knew exactly what these deviants were thinking about his little girl. The thought alone made him want to rip their heads off.
"Calm down."
"What are their names?" Gil couldn't understand why Catherine was so calm about all of this. Lindsey was her daughter.
"Are you going to run background checks on them also?"
"How did you…? Warrick told you." She just looked at him, unsure whether to laugh at him or tear into him for checking out the men in her life. After quickly analyzing his body language she decided on her approach.
"You've always had my back. I guess I never realized how often and to what degree." Now it was his turn to be uncertain how to react. Sarcasm, anger, rage, laughter---that would have been her normal response. Appreciation was not a reaction he would have ever considered.
"Always."
There was an uncomfortable silence between them as they finished the meal. Neither of them sure of what was going on between them or how to proceed from here. Finally he rose from the table and walked over to pull her chair out.
"C'mon, I want you to see where we are." They walked through a narrow corridor, halting at a large steel door. "Do you mind?"
He held up the blindfold. She cocked her head to the side questioning his motives. All of a sudden he wished he hadn't left the vodka in the other room. After the blindfold had been secured he turned her to face him. He made a series of ridiculous faces in order to be sure that the blindfold was properly in place. Her expression never changed. He made one last attempt just to be sure, blowing kisses at her. It was childish. It was adolescent and had Catherine seen any of it she would have been annoyed to no end. Secretly, he wished that she could see his behavior. He turned her back towards the door.
"Are we playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey or what?"
"Patience, my dear." He walked them through the doorway, pausing only long enough to close the door behind them. They walked together for a short distance before he stopped her. He put both hands on her waist, gently lifting her onto the platform before them. He then helped her into a chair and removed the blindfold. She opened her eyes again, this time seeing a large telescope in front of them.
"An observatory? This is…different." To be honest she had been expecting some elaborate location after her day at the spa.
"I wanted tonight to be different from any other date you've had."
"So this is a date? You and me?" Her voice was surprisingly small and shaky.
Gil stuttered slightly. He honestly had not planned on this being a date for the two of them, he just wanted to make sure her evening wasn't ruined because of his inability to find someone suitable for her. But yet, he did consider himself an example of the type of man she should be with. Images from the past few days flashed through his mind at warp speed. Sara telling him he couldn't find someone for Catherine because he was in love with her. Terry's telling him that he wouldn't risk going out with Catherine. Warrick's calling him out for his behavior towards Catherine. Stan's urging him to find the real reason he wasn't able find someone who would meet his standards for his friend. A realization was beginning to make its way from his subconscious to his conscious, a realization he wasn't sure he was ready for.
"Yes, I guess it is."
Catherine studied his face for a moment before responding.
"OK." A smile crept onto her face. It had been years since she had allowed herself to consider Gil date material. Back before Lindsey had been born. Before she had married Eddie. Before their job had caused them both to become so cynical against the outside world, him more than her.
He pulled out a keyboard typing in some coordinates and the telescope moved in response. He checked the viewfinder before motioning Catherine towards him.
"What is it?"
"The nebula in Orion's belt."
"It's gorgeous." She leaned into the viewfinder to look again. Gil was typing new coordinates into the keyboard.
"Are you ready for something else?" He hit the enter button and the telescope moved to its new location. Catherine looked into the viewfinder once more.
"I've never seen anything like this in my life."