Author: Isabel Juno

Story: The Assassin's Decision

Disclaimers: I don't own CSI or the songs i've used... if i did i'd be rich... and i'd buy a duck

Authors Notes and such: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

Risks

Catherine sighed as she found the badly written note on her counter.

It read:

Look Cath,

You say you don't know me. You say I don't give a damn. Well I have this much to say. If you're willing to try and resolve all this and to repair our relationship then meet me at the address on the back of this paper. I have something to ask you there. I have one question for you and after you answer that question you can ask any and every question you want to of me. Or if you don't want to talk to me ever again after that then so be it. But I want to ask you that question and I want to ask you there.

-Gil

Catherine found herself smiling at the little smiley Gil had written next to his name. She read the instructions on the back of the note which were followed by a request that she wear that dark blue dress she'd worn to the Twizzlers with him. She had slipped it on without a second thought as well as a black silks scarf around her shoulders. She did her hair up so that she had thin slightly curled bit hanging down in front of her ears and the rest of her hair done up in and elaborate way on top of her head. She knew if Gil suggested this dress that it was someplace very nice, Gil tended to be underdressed on most occasions. Lindsey raised an eyebrow at her mother and her choice of clothing.

"Going on a hot date?" Lindsey inquired with a smug look. Miles smirked.

"She is if Gil is considered a hot date!" both Willows looked at Miles who immediately looked abashed.

"How'd you know I'm going out with Gil?" asked Catherine, stunned. The two kids rolled their eyes.

"Better question," said Miles, "What is forbidden to eat while your gone?" Catherine laughed, the boy's look conveyed that this was a serious question but the look of incredulity on Lindsey's face told her both had known and were simply playing a game with Catherine.

"I'm going to go meet Gil now. Miles, no sugar for you ok? Lindsey… stay out of the frozen yogurt." With that Catherine stepped out the door and off to her Denali. She caught Miles asking why Lindsey couldn't have frozen yogurt and Lindsey muttering in an embarrassed way that last time she had it she ate too much and puked. Catherine made a face to herself at the memory. She followed the shakily written instructions and found herself rereading them several times as she arrived at her destination.

"Couldn't be." She muttered to herself, her eyebrows furrowing, "How could Gil get reservations at Elezar Ceasers?"

"He pulled some strings with the manager who is a friend of his." Catherine jumped and looked at the owner of the voice. The texan grinned at her cheekily.

"C'mon. You and Grissom have a table in the back." Catherine found herself jibbering slightly as she got out of the Denali and handed her keys to the valet. She tried to get her questions in order but Nick cut her off.

"Grissom got Kathleen and I a table as a sort of "yay your out of the hospital and you have a girlfriend so I'll get you a private booth at the cities up and coming premiere restaurant to celebrate!" and he got you two one as well. I don't think I've ever seen him this nervous." Nick mused on the last part.

"Why do you say he's nervous?" Catherine asked sharply. Nick grinned.

"Cause I've never seen anybody who wasn't nervous break a water glass by grippin it too hard." Catherine could picture the surprised look Gil would have had on his face when the glass broke. She found herself wondering if he was ok.

"Is he ok?"

"Well if he isn't he doesn't seem to be about to admit it."

"Very helpful Nick." Catherine told him dryly. He grinned sheepishly and they stepped into the exclusive restaurant. Catherine felt her jaw drop in awe of the décor.

The woodwork adorning the walls was exquisite and most definitely hand done. The paintings and frescoes on the ceilings were far overhead and were copies of great paintings, mostly Picasso's and abstract works by artists Catherine didn't recognize. The light fixtures sat on the floor and were made of a spun glass that looked delicate and the refracted the light within onto the walls giving the entire restaurant lobby the feel of a dancing hall. The hardwood floors were an intricate design of a dark redwood and a rich hazel. The small light stands along the wall were made of a dark wood that Catherine didn't recognize but that looked perfectly carved for this lobby. She felt a gentle hand close her mouth and she looked down from the ceiling where she'd been examining a particularly intricate fresco. Gil smiled gently at her.

"Well at least for once I'm not the one getting my mouth shut." He said with a glint of mischief in his eyes. She rolled her eyes at him and turned to ask Nick if he could believe Gil. Nick was already halfway to his table where she could see Kathleen wearing a gorgeous dark rich purple Chinese Tang jacket and tight boot cut black dress pants along with apt. 9 dress sandals. She looked incredible and Catherine made up her mind to ask the woman where she got her shirts. Gil lead her up an ornate wooden staircase and out onto a sort of tier with a soft mat floor that was stable enough for heels but soft enough for bare feet. The walls were no existent, the roof was held up with carved wooden poles that complemented the floor rather well. There were only four tables in the room, one in each corner and they were separated by a frosted glass wall with delicate designs engraved in it. Gil guided her over to on of the tables that had a view of the desert. The restaurant was on the edge of Vegas near a park and they had a great view of the fountain in the center of the park. The cherry trees in the park were blossoming giving the park a cheerier atmosphere than normal and giving the couple watching it a sense of serenity. The table, itself, was a simple two-person table made of ornately welded black steel. The chairs were comfortable mahogany armchairs with soft black cushions. There was a light blue freesia scented candle in the center of the small table, which was bordered by salt, pepper, and parmesan shakers. There was a small metal balcony that ran along the outside of the tier and it was scattered with comfortable Adirondack chairs and small plants. There were plants hanging off of the overhang above the balcony and their light floral scent wafted around the couple. Catherine examined Gil calmly. He wore a soft black dress shirt and black dress pants. His beard was neatly trimmed and his hair looked like his brush had fought a loosing battle with it. Overall he looked incredibly handsome and when he noticed her examining him crucially he smiled in that way that made her stomach do an excited little flip. Gil felt his stomach give a little nervous twitch as she returned his smile. They talked about meaningless things for a while during the meal, Gil was afraid to get to the reason he'd asked her to come here. There was a light tune drifting out of concealed speakers. A tune both of them knew. Catherine looked at Gil's surprised face and caught the mischievous glint in his eye as it formed. He began to move a little bit to the music. She laughed and shook her head as she caught his intent. She had found out about six and a half weeks ago that Gil not only could dance but also liked to dance. Gil proffered his hand and still shaking her head she took it. They stood up and moved out onto the balcony. Gil slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Catherine hooked her own arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest, which moved up and down rhythmically as Frank Sinatra continued to sing. Gil began humming to it and she smiled into his chest almost completely content in the moment. Gil didn't notice he was humming but the words to the song ran through his mind he didn't even notice as he began to sing.

"And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ... never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it?
'Cause I love you ... just the way you look tonight."

Catherine smiled into his chest loving how she could feel the vibrations caused by his singing reverberating through his chest. She loved how his voice was soft and strong. It hit her like a ton of bricks how natural and wonderful it felt to be held close to him and to dancing with him. This wasn't a moment either of them wanted to end and as the song ended and another started up the kept dancing slowly to Delicate by Damien Rice. Gil hummed to this one too but didn't know the words well enough to sing. Catherine did though and she did sing. Softly but it was singing nonetheless.

"So why do you fill my sorrow
with the words you've borrowed
from the only place you've know
And why do you sing Hallelujah
If it means nothing to you
why do you sing with me at all?"

Gil sighed and pulled her even closer to him. His beard brushed against her neck as the dancing turned more into them hugging and sort of swaying with the music. Neither wanted to let go because both were afraid of the moment being lost. As the Delicate ended and Day-O by Harry Belafonte started they simply stood still for a moment holding each other, both knowing the moment was over and both struggling to hold on to it. Finally they let their arms fall and Catherine went over to the railing and stared out at the park. It was completely deserted now and the fountain stayed on for nobody in particular but she felt almost as if it symbolized her. She felt Gil's hand gently wipe away the tears before they could roll down her face. She looked up at him and saw his brows knitted in concern and the worry in his eyes. She wondered if he knew that he was the reason she was crying, she had a feeling he did.

Gil wanted to kick himself for this. He had known that a dinner in a nice restaurant wouldn't fix everything and he knew if he wanted to make his plan work he had to ask now… now or never. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. Wiping the tears away she tried to pull herself together as she pushed her hair back.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" Her voice was thick with pain and sorrow. Gil knew she was trying to hide from the pain just like he had for years and he knew he had to save her from herself. He cupped her cheek with his hand noticing how her smaller hand went to press his hand deeper into her cheek and how her eyes closed as she leaned into the palm of his hand.

"You say you don't know me." He started nervously, "You say I don't give a damn. You think that I just want to hide for the rest of my life with my genius crosswords and bugs."

"Advanced crosswords." She muttered out of habit of hearing herself corrected. The two of them gave each other shy smiles and Gil felt his palms grow sweatier. He had jammed both of his hands into his pockets and was watching her trying to screw up the courage for what he had to say next. She turned to face the railing again looking out on the fountain. Gil took a deep breath and felt slightly lightheaded and weak-kneed as he moved behind her and slipped his arm around her trim waist as he rested his forehead in the nape of her neck. She relaxed into him and felt his other arm slip around her waist. Gil slipped the round navy blue box into her hand before entwining his hands around her. She stiffened as she felt the round box slip into her grasp.

"Open it." Gil whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her neck. She opened it and felt almost as if her heart stopped. It was a beautiful silver ring with a diamond in the center and two sapphires on either side. The perfect marquise cut smoky rose-colored diamond had a simple swirling emerald design laid in to it. She stared at it her mouth open and she noticed the little handwritten card accompanying it in the box that read simply "I love you" it was Gil's handwriting and she felt her anger at him get lost in a wave of other emotions: shock, joy, fear, disbelief, and love. Gil held his breathe in unconsciously as she opened the box and he waited for her to turn in his arms to face him. He stared into her wide beautiful blue eyes seeing her disbelief and her challenge. Her challenge to say the words he was dying to say, and had been dying to say for years. He smiled at her in a nervous but still smooth way as he kissed her forehead.

"I guess you think you figured out my question." He paused and Catherine opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. Gil took advantage of this to continue.

"You told me you don't know who I really am. Well… in order to ask my question I have to ask two." He took a deep shaky breath that she could feel just as she could feel him shaking slightly.

"I love you." He said firmly staring her directly in the eyes his look intense and dead serious.

"I love you more than anything in the world. I know you better than I know anybody else in the world and I want to know if you want to know me. You already know me better than anybody else but still." At this point he fell to one knee in front of her taking her free hand in both of his. He took another breathe and feeling as if he was about to faint he spoke again.

"Catherine… would you be willing to spend the rest of you life with me, getting to know me better and letting me get to know you even better and letting me love you and loving me back? I'm rambling so I'll just say it. Catherine Willows, will you marry me?"

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