Disclaimer: I own very little
A/N: Oki doki, here's chapter four. You do need to have read Wedding Bells, and you also need to have read chapters one to three of this fic – all of which can be foundhere, or on my newly redesigned and restructured website (plug, plug ;-) )
A/N2: I am not a fan of karaoke stories, and really cannot believe that I'm writing one! But, I've started so I'll finish… eventually ;-) Song info will be at the end of the chapter so as not to give anything away :-)
Dedication: To Angie and Macy – thanks for all your 'encouragement', and help with song suggestions. I hope this doesn't disappoint.
Chapter Four
Apparently there was some sort of 'delay' with Grissom's performance -- at least, that's what Catherine had been told, and she had been refused any further information. The only other thing she knew was that Grissom had disappeared again.
The group had tried to get her to sing while they were waiting, but she was insistent that she wasn't singing anything until she knew what Gil had been planning. Realising that if they attempted to argue with her they would probably end up telling her what Grissom had planned, the others let it drop, and Nick volunteered to sing next to pass the time.
He was on the stage, ready with the microphone, and he took a deep breath as the music began.
"Would you dance if I asked you to dance?" he sang softly.
Catherine smirked to herself as she immediately recognised the song.
"Would you run and never look back?" he continued.
"Would you cry if you saw me crying?
"Would you save my soul tonight?"
"Hey, Nicky boy's not bad," Warrick commented.
"What's he singing?" Greg frowned.
Sara shrugged. "It sounds familiar, but I can't place it..."
Catherine shook her head slightly, and giggled a little before she said: "You'll find out in a minute." She settled herself in a position where she could watch Sara's reaction from the corner of her eye.
"I can be your hero, baby," Nick entered the chorus, his eyes fixed on Sara.
"That's what it is!" Sara exclaimed. "By Enrique Iglesias!" The brunette sat back in her seat, as if relaxed to finally know what the song was. The association of this song with the one she had sung didn't appear to occur to her.
Catherine frowned, wondering if she really hadn't noticed. Another eye roll from Greg, and a muttered 'please!', indicated that he had.
As she was turning back to the stage, Catherine's eyes caught Warrick and Brass's, and they shared her smirk. They knew what was going on, even if the woman it was directed at seemed to be oblivious.
Nick's song continued, and Greg continued to mutter inaudible comments every now and again, and Catherine's mind wandered once again to Grissom, and she scanned the room to see if she could see him.
She was distracted from this when a passing lady stumbled and bumped into Catherine's arm.
"I'm sorry," the woman apologised, then she hurried away.
Catherine frowned as she watched her walk away.
"You okay?" Warrick asked her.
"Yeah…" she replied distantly.
"She did apologise," Greg offered, worried that Catherine was getting angry.
Catherine looked towards him, momentarily confused, then realised what he meant. "Oh, no, I'm not bothered about that… She looked… familiar…" she trailed off, returning her gaze to the path through the crowd that the woman had taken.
Her attention now turned away, she missed the look of minor panic that passed between the other people at the table.
"I need to go to the bathroom," Greg and Warrick said, simultaneously, both looking at the other with a small glare.
"We can't go together!" Greg exclaimed.
"Why not?" Sara smirked.
"We're not women!" Warrick responded.
Whilst Sara and Catherine shared a laugh at the look of horror on Warrick's face, the two men looked at each other.
"We enter separately…" Greg said.
"… And we leave separately," Warrick concluded.
They nodded their agreement and left the table.
Catherine shook her head. "Men!… Speaking of men, Nick's taking a long time."
"He's probably fighting through a fan club," Sara smiled.
"Did you enjoy his song?" Catherine asked, with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
Sara nodded. "He's got quite a good voice… And I love Enrique Iglesias!… Do you want another drink? I'm gonna go to the bar."
Through her disbelief that Sara really did seem completely unaware of the reason for Nick's choice of song, Catherine nodded, and the younger woman headed off towards the bar.
Brass shook his own head. "Head in the clouds," he commented. "We probably should get drinks for the rest of them… I'll give her a hand." With that, Brass got up and followed Sara.
It was only when she sat back in her chair that Catherine realised they had left her alone and her suspicious side kicked in. Once she started thinking about how strange it was that they had all found an excuse to leave, her brain threw forward an exchange she had overheard between Greg and Warrick as they had left for the bathroom.
Warrick had slapped Greg across the shoulder, and said: "You were supposed to go to use the phone!"
To which Greg replied: "No I wasn't! You were!"
At the time, she hadn't even registered that she had heard it, but now it suddenly seemed relevant.
She stood up and strained to see over the crowd to the bar. It was difficult to tell for sure, but she didn't need much convincing that Sara and Brass weren't there.
She was just turning towards the front of the club, to see if Nick was visible, when the lights dropped to one spotlight on the stage and Grissom appeared, microphone in hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen… and Catherine," he began, smirking. "… If I could have your attention, please?"
Catherine's eyes widened -- Gil wasn't particularly a fan of public speaking, if he was doing this then he must have quite a humiliation planned for her.
"I'm here this evening with some friends, to celebrate the fact that the woman who has been the love of my life for twenty years has agreed to be my wife…"
'He's drunk,' Catherine thought. 'Must be.'
"… It was once said that to love a person is to know the song that is in their heart. Well, the song I am going to sing definitely has a special place in Catherine's heart… So, now that all my backing singers are ready…" Grissom paused, and the lights came up on the rest of the stage revealing the missing members of her group, and five people Catherine recognised as Gil's 'Spice Girl' cousins (one of whom had bumped into her earlier), as well as his Uncle Bob. She laughed out loud, then lowered her shaking head, when the blond wigs they were wearing made it clear what song he was about to sing. Well, the skimpy pink dress that Uncle Bob was wearing was a big clue as well.
Uncle Bob handed Grissom a wig, and helped him secure it properly on his head.
The audience seemed amused, and totally confused, but tears of laughter were building in Catherine's eyes already. In all her wonderings about what he was up to, she had never imagined this.
The only one without a wig, Warrick stepped forward and stood to left of Grissom, his own microphone in his hand.
With everyone in place, Grissom continued: "… I dedicate this song to my darling Catherine… I hope it is suitably un-soppy for you," he grinned in her direction.
Catherine shook her head again, and settled down to watch what should be an entertaining performance.
Warrick lifted his microphone and began in a very deep voice: "Hiya Barbie."
"Hi Ken!" Grissom responded, in as high and girly a voice as he could manage, while one hand twirled some of his 'hair' round in his fingers, and he smiled shyly.
"Do you wanna go for a ride?"
He added a little giggle before responding, and some of Catherine's tears escaped as she laughed at him. "Sure Ken!"
"Jump in," Warrick said, and the music started.
Turning now to face his audience, Grissom smiled sweetly and batted his eyelids as he sang:
"I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world,
"Life in plastic, it's fantastic!
"You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere,
"Imagination, life is your creation."
"Come on Barbie, let's go party!" Warrick resumed his role, and then, as the beat picked up, the rest of the group joined Grissom to sing:
"I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world,
"Life in plastic, it's fantastic!"
They all ran their hands down the sides of their bodies as they sang that line, then mimed brushing their hair and undressing as they continued. Catherine chuckled to herself as she recognised the choreography, and it confirmed her suspicion that her daughter was in on this. When Lindsey was younger she had devised her own dance routine to this song, and she and Catherine used to dance around their living room.
"Imagination, life is your creation," they sang, their hands twirling away from their heads, in an action to indicate dreaming. Then the group dropped out, and Grissom again sang solo, but they continued to accompany him with the actions.
"I'm a blond bimbo girl, in a fantasy world," he continued, strutting, as if wearing high heels, across the stage.
"Dress me up, make it tight…"
They wrapped their arms around their bodies…
"I'm your dolly…"
… And twiddled their hair, whilst smiling over-innocently. Then, as Warrick sang:
"You're my doll, rock 'n' roll, feel the glamour in pink…"
… they shrugged their shoulders in time to the music, and to the line:
"Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky…"
… they blew a kiss to the audience, then slapped one hand onto the top of their right butt cheek, and with that hand still there, wriggled their butts.
Slapping both of his hands onto his ass, and making a cheeky "oooh!" face, Grissom picked up:
"You can touch, you can play, if you say I'm always yours."
That move had left Catherine rather shocked when Lindsey had first shown her the routine, but now, she almost blushed when Gil wiggled his tush again.
There was a chorus of "oooh-oh!" then they all sang the chorus, with the accompanying actions, moving their heads to the rhythm when they reached the "ah-ah-ah yeah" lines.
Grissom's turn again, he crossed the stage in the other direction, singing:
"Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please,
"I can act like a star…"
They all jumped into a star jump, their arms and legs spread. It was something Catherine had seen several times from Lindsey, but watching eleven grown adults do it, almost doubled her over with laughter.
"… I can beg on my knees."
Warrick's next lines gave all the 'Barbies' time to stand up again, and Catherine wondered how many of them had anticipated how hard their knees were going to hit that floor.
"Come jump in, bimbo friend, let us do it again," the CSI sang, only just managing to contain his own laughter as Greg and Nick rushed to help Uncle Bob maintain his dignity as he tried to stand up in that dress.
"Hit the town, fool around, let's go party," his voice trailed off into chuckling as he lost his control.
Catherine nearly blushed again as Gil shook his ass in time with his next line, and she sensed that he heard her laughing, because as that line was repeated, he shook it with more force, causing her to laugh even louder.
By the end of the song, the audience was on its feet cheering, and Catherine's face was tear stained -- luckily she had learned from past experience, and was wearing waterproof mascara this time.
She joined in the standing ovation, wolf-whistled as Gil took a bow and cheered for the others, then her laughing faltered when she noticed that the others were leaving the stage but Gil wasn't.
Sensing, as she did, that there was something else to come, the audience retook their seats, and frowning once more, Catherine went to do the same, but was stopped by a voice from the stage.
"You don't need to sit down, Catherine," Gil said.
She froze where she was, and then warily turned to look at him.
"Could you come up here, please?" he asked, his mischievous smirk back in place.
Catherine shrugged, "I really don't think that's necessary," she replied, knowing that wouldn't be the end of it.
"We had an agreement," he reminded her.
She feigned ignorance.
"You would sing, if I did," he explained for her -- and for the audience, who, though highly entertained, were wondering what the hell was going on.
She glared at his smug face. "I haven't decided what to sing yet," she tried.
"You can decide when you get up here," he offered.
Catherine knew she couldn't win this argument, but she still didn't move.
"Catherine?" Grissom asked. When she didn't respond, except for to intensify her glare, he added: "You've forced me to do this." He then paused before starting to chant 'Catherine' in the same way she had done to him at his cousin's party.
Everyone in the room joined in with his 'encouragement', including the members of their team who were now returning to the table.
Catherine made sure she glared at each one of them for taking part in this torture before she reluctantly made her way towards the stage.
As she passed Uncle Bob, he gave her a small hug and winked at her, then he wished her luck for her performance and sent her on her way.
The chant continued even as she took the few steps onto the stage, only subsiding when she was stood at Grissom's side, at which point it turned into applause.
"Hi," he said to her alone, kissing her softly on the cheek.
"Hello," she said through ground teeth, but a smile could be seen in her eyes.
"It seems you've been crying," he commented. "But the song wasn't soppy," he smirked, feigned innocence dripping from his words.
She simply glared again, and, laughing, he turned back to the audience. "Thank you for your help," he smiled. "Now, before Catherine sings…"
Catherine's heart seemed to stop beating as she heard his words. Did he have something else planned? Had he got her up here under false pretences?
"… I would like to explain my choice of song. Catherine has a young daughter, and the two of them used to dance around their living room to that…"
Catherine relaxed when he began his explanation.
"… I needed a song that wasn't 'soppy' and wouldn't make my sweet fiancée cry… I narrowed it down to two songs. This was the one I thought would not cause the tears… Apparently I was wrong…"
The audience laughed at this, assuring Catherine that they could all tell that she had been crying.
"… Anyway, I thought the other one would definitely have been too soppy… Because it went a little something like this…"
Catherine looked around in shock as the stage lights dropped to that one spotlight again, this time just encircling her and Gil. Her eyes widened as he walked towards her, smiling, soft music beginning in the background.
"She may be the face I can't forget," he began to sing.
"The trace of pleasure or regret,
"May be my treasure, or the price I have to pay.
"She may be the song the summer sings,
"May be the chill the autumn brings,
"May be a hundred different things,
"Within the measure of a day…"
Her heart was racing as he stood simply looking into her eyes, his love for her flooding through his gaze. Despite her determination to not let it affect her, she could feel the tears prickling at the back of her eyes, and she shook her head, once more surprised by the lengths he had gone to.
The music stopped, and she frowned at him.
"Too soppy so far?" he asked, wiping at the moisture beneath her eyes.
She shook her head emphatically. "No, not at all," she grinned.
"Okay," he smiled, and the music resumed.
"She may be my left hand… and my right…" he smirked, proud to have caused the look of pleasant surprise that moved onto her face.
"May never let me win a fight,
"Get on her bad side, and you'll feel like you're in hell…"
There was a "Tell me about it!" from within the crowd -- in a voice that sounded a lot like Greg's. Catherine made a mental note to call him on it later.
"She, a constant presence through the years,
"A calming force to soothe all fears,
"A face still pretty stained with tears…" He ran a finger softly along her cheek.
"I'm in her spell."
"She, whose moves could dazzle any crowd;
"Who, with her daughter, always looks so proud;
"She can light a room with… just one smile.
"With her, I know this love will last,
"We build our future upon our shared past,
"And I will love her til the day I die.
"She will be the reason I survive,
"Why I'll be grateful I'm alive,
"I'll live each day to make her every dream come true.
"Each smile, each burst of laughter and each tear,
"They will all have a place in here…" He placed his hand across his heart.
"For all she is forms part of me…" He stepped closer to her, preparing to deliver his final line.
"The meaning of my life is… she."
She closed the space between them and kissed him firmly on the lips, earning an increased cheer from the audience.
"You're full of surprises, Mr Grissom," she beamed, her eyes sparkling more than usual with unshed tears.
"Nice surprises?" he asked, although her embrace seemed to provide the answer.
She pretended to be deep in thought for a second. "Erm… They'll do," she smiled, then she kissed him again.
Someone in the audience shouted for them to get a room -- again it sounded distinctly like Greg.
"So," Grissom said, pulling back. "You're next."
"But I can't beat your performance… performances," she pouted.
"It's not a competition… Luckily for you," he smirked.
She hit him playfully across the shoulder. "You're drunk aren't you?" she teased.
He shook his head and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No… I'm just happy." He kissed her softly, just once, on the lips, then said: "And I'll be even happier when you sing."
TBC…
Song info:
Nick sang "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias
Grissom and co. sang "Barbie Girl" by Aqua
Grissom sang "She" (in my version) by Elvis Costello, previously sung by Charles Aznavour (?) – Alternative lyrics written by Gil Grissom.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed :-)
