DISCLAIMER: Don't Own It, No Money Made... Just for fun & enjoyment.
RATING: M for Mature. For language and mature situations in later chapters.
A/N: Might not have another update until Monday morning. I'll be spending all day tomorrow (or today if you don't work nights :p ) working on a costume project, so there won't be much time for writing.
REVIEWS: Thanks to all who have reviewed. I was glad to hear that some people enjoyed the humor of the last chapter. I've been working really hard to cature Catherine's sense of humor. She is quickly becoming a new favorite character to write and it has given me a few plot bunnies to chew on while I finish this one.
EDIT: Had to make a few minor cosmetic changes that my other beta picked up after a weekend out of town
Chapter 18
Catherine appeared in the doorway, leaning hard on the frame, but Gil, completely caught up in whatever he was doing, did not notice. She cleared her throat loudly, but still nothing. "GIL!"
His head shot up from over the laptop screen, "Catherine?"
"Finally… Look, we have a full caseload tonight, and I'm gonna have to tear you away from the lab to help out… Do you mind?" She worked very hard to keep the amusement from her voice, but Catherine knew she was going to be enjoying this.
Grissom looked around his desk, as though he was hoping there was something there that would help him get out of going out in the field tonight. When his search proved fruitless, he grabbed his clipboard and stood up, "I suppose not…" He replied and gestured for her to lead the way, "Lead on, MacDuff."
Catherine just shook her head and let loose a quiet laugh at Grissom's constant need to remind people just how much he has read. She turned and strode through the hall of the lab with her usual aire of confidence, secure in the knowledge that she had earned her stripes and delighted in the notion that she was finally going to have an opportunity to pay Grissom back for all their years of friendship.
She and Stephanie had come up with a plan of attack for the coming week, and she had to admit, the girl was more cunning than she had given her credit for in the beginning. These two fiery women were going to unleash their devices in an attempt to help Gil Grissom open his eyes and his heart for the first time in far too many years.
Before their shift, the young woman had revealed to Catherine that her dear uncle had once been a very different man from the closed off shell he had become, and Catherine revealed that there was something unspoken and unrequited between Gil and Sara which had been simmering below the surface for years. Catherine suspected that Stephanie had not given her the full details, but then again, neither had she. Gil was still her friend, and some things just should not be shared. She did not talk about Sara's jealousy regarding the potential Sofia fiasco and she did not dare let her know about the whole Lady Heather situation.
Over the last two weeks, Catherine heard a great many stories about Gil that just did not fit with the image she had of the man. In fact, she had a hard time imagining him doing most of the things Stephanie described to her. The only way she was able to reconcile the young woman's image of Gil to her own, was that she surmised in Stephanie, he had found a safety net; a person who held no expectations of him and simply cared for him unconditionally. And within that safety, he risked nothing in opening himself up to this young woman.
Catherine knew that Gil Grissom was all about weighing risks, and his convictions were nothing more than a shield to hide his cowardice for life, but it was in that thought Catherine realized Stephanie was the undamaged version of Gil; free of whatever secrets that held him in the grips of fear from loss. She was brilliant, possessed a keen wit, was well read, of strong moral fiber, with a well-rounded sense of humor, and was humble and dedicated: just like Gil. But she was also confident, demonstrative, open, outwardly caring, adventurous, self-aware and filled with an incredible zest for life; which was everything Gil was lacking.
When they entered the break room to dispense assignments, Catherine was even more certain that this little plot was going to be deliciously fun and unbelievably satisfying in the end. As she looked across the faces of the waiting CSI's she felt some of that wonderful feeling welling up inside. Time to set the wheels in motion, Cath.
"Okay, looks like we have a hot night for us…" She started by handing Nick an assignment sheet, "Nicky, I need you to take Greg out on this one." Nick took the sheet and examined it as she continued, "At first glance, it was a simple B&E, but the owner showed up and wanted to know where his safe was."
Nick looked up, "They took the whole safe?" He was shaking his head of the thought of what that had to look like, and nudged Greg in the side, "Hey, at least we can rule out the guy on the bike, huh?" Everyone laughed at his reference to Sara's smash and grab suspect from last week.
"Very funny, Cowboy." Sara was the only one not actually laughing, though she wore her signature smirk.
"Warrick," Catherine handed over two assignment slips to him, "You get to be the running man tonight." She flashed a smile his way when he winced at her comment, "Trick roll at the Palms and a print lift at a burglary." She flipped through her notes before continuing, "Desert Valley Vending and Supply.'
Warrick lifted an eyebrow at the last case, "Vending machine burglary? You gotta be kidding… How is that our business?"
Catherine gave him a non-committal shrug, "When it was the tenth hit in a week, and they got away with two grand tonight. That makes it our business, and you'll be going back to the company warehouse to print the other machines hit as well." She went back to her notes again, "PD thinks it's a group that just moved into the area, and Detective Vega thinks it might be one of the L.A. gangs that've been trickling into town lately." Warrick nodded his understanding and she moved on.
She put her notes down and looked up to find everyone with their eyes squarely on her, "And as I am sure you all have heard… We have a high profile triple at the Bellagio, and I've convinced Grissom to come out of his cave to assist me on that one, with Sara as backup." She looked around the room and found a few sly looks forming on the faces of her coworkers, but no one was about to say anything. When it came to Sara and Grissom working a case together, everyone hated the tension, but no one could deny the results. They also knew that Catherine could probably have handled it just fine with only Sara, but the two women tended to clash at times, and Grissom would act as the buffer between them, while Catherine kept him and Sara at bay as well. Catherine, on the other hand, knew that she was putting them together for a very specific reason, which had little to do with the work itself. "So, if no one has any questions… Let's get a move on people."
It would be a whole new ballgame tonight, and Catherine was the only one with the rulebook. Under her breath, she added her own little quote for the situation, "Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night."
