2?
Max walked down the hallway, Greg the dog following him. It had become a sight that was familiar in the Grissom family – Greg the dog shadowed Max's every move.
That morning, the two ambled into the kitchen and Max sat on a chair, Greg sitting on the floor next to him. Catherine turned around from where she was at the kitchen bench and smiled at them.
"Morning, Max. Morning…Greg."
Max narrowed his eyes. "Why do you always pause before you say his name?"
"Well, honey, it's a little strange to be calling a dog Greg, considering I've worked with Greg for so long."
Max looked at his dog. "You think it's strange?"
The dog rested his head on Max's leg. The boy looked back at his mother.
"He doesn't think it's strange."
"Good to know."
"We're hungry." Max paused. "Where is everyone?"
"Lindsey took Jamie shopping for supplies. Matt went to play basketball with some friends, and Lizzie is at a friend's place."
"Where's Dad?"
"Taking a shower," Catherine replied.
"Ew gross!"
Blinking, she turned around to face her son. "What are you talking about?"
Max shrugged. "I just felt it was appropriate. You can't be too careful in this family."
Catherine smiled and kissed him on the top of the head. "How's your project going?"
"Great. But I can't show you. It's gonna be a surprise!"
Catherine narrowed her eyes for a minute. "It is going to be a good surprise, isn't it?"
"My surprises are always good surprises."
"What about the time you surprised us by telling us you could fly – and then jumping off the garage roof and then broke your arm?"
Max paused. "That was unfortunate."
She ruffled his hair. "Just be careful, okay?"
Her son grinned innocently. "Always."
--
Lindsey watched in bemusement as Jamie went through several different electronic gizmos. "You know, most normal people take their little brothers to toy stores."
Jamie looked up at her and shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better, this is more fun than a toy store!"
"True," Lindsey conceded.
"Besides, if you took Max to a toy store, he'd probably cause a lot of damage – particularly if he was all hyped up."
Lindsey mused on that for a moment. "Very true."
She followed Jamie around the store and finally looked on in confusion as Jamie hauled out some piece of metal.
"Victory!" her little brother cried.
She lifted an eyebrow. "Uh, yay?"
"That's all I need," Jamie replied. He went to head up to the counter, but paused mid-step and turned to his sister. "Can I borrow some money?"
--
Soon it was four weeks before Gil's birthday, and the house was shrouded in mystery and mayhem. Max was starting to drive everyone insane by constantly filming them. Jamie had almost moved into the bug museum and was busy at work on his project. Lizzie was hysterical over what to get her father for his birthday, while Matt was still laid-back about the whole affair. Lindsey was busy helping her mother prepare for the birthday party, and Gil was strangely quiet on the whole subject of turning fifty.
Which was precisely one of the reasons Nick Stokes had been avoiding one Catherine Grissom.
Now that he knew his boss was not all aboard the party train, he was afraid of Catherine confronting him over the birthday and that he'd blurt out the discussion he'd shared with Grissom.
So naturally, when he saw Catherine coming his way, he ducked into the nearest room and almost knocked over Greg.
"What the heck is going on?" Greg asked him, readjusting the framed photo of his family. "You almost knocked the family out."
"Catherine's coming this way."
Greg lifted an eyebrow. "It this something like those code messages? Does that translate to something like 'the crow flies at midnight.'? No…wait…that doesn't make any sense either…"
"What are you babbling about?" Nick asked. "Shut up!"
"I'M babbling? I need to shut up? You just came in here and…"
Nick clamped his hand over his younger colleague's mouth, causing Greg to struggle. The two continued the fracas until they ended up crushed together against the wall. It was then that they saw Catherine.
She stood in the doorway, an amused smile on her face. "Boys," she purred, "is this something I need to inform your wives about?"
Greg pushed Nick away from him. "You may need to inform Nick's wife that he's finally lost his marbles and has to be committed."
"I need to be committed? You're the one that for years has been absolutely…"
"Do I need to leave you guys alone for a while and come back at a later time?" Catherine asked.
"No," Nick said definitely. "Everything's fine here."
Greg straightened his collar. "I need a drink."
After Greg had left the room, Catherine turned to Nick. "You've been avoiding me, Nick."
"Me? Of course I haven't."
Catherine just folded her arms and stared at him.
"Okay, yes, I may have been avoiding you. But only a little!"
"Explain, Nick."
"It's no big deal," he assured her.
"Okay."
"It's about Grissom."
Catherine's eyes narrowed. "Is anything the matter with him?"
"No!" Nick assured her. "No, he's fine. He's in his office, I think."
"Start explaining, Nicky," Catherine said, her patience becoming thin.
"Gil is a little apprehensive about having a birthday party," Nick explained.
Catherine's face fell. "He is? He didn't tell me…" She bit her lip. "He's never not told me things like that before."
Nick suddenly felt a little lump in his throat. "Cath…He loves you. He knows how much this celebration means to you."
Catherine mustered up a smile. "It's fine, Nick." She patted his shoulder. "Talk to you soon, okay."
Nick watched Catherine walk out of the room and he frowned. He felt very, very uncomfortable.
--
Gil looked up and smiled as he saw his wife standing in the doorway to his office. "Hi, sweetheart."
Catherine smiled briefly at him. She closed the door behind her and leant against it. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't want a party?"
Gil leant back against his chair, taking his glasses off. "Cath, come here."
"No," she replied. "I want to know why you didn't tell me. We don't lie to each other."
He narrowed his eyes. "Where would you get the idea that I lied to you? I've never lied to you, Cath, you know that."
"You didn't tell me this."
"There's a difference between lying and not telling."
"Don't play your wordgames with me."
"Maybe you should listen to me before you start jumping to conclusions."
She shrugged. "I'm listening."
"I never said I didn't want a party, Catherine. I'm not always comfortable being the center of attention, and fifty is a big milestone, but I saw how happy it made you." He smiled at her. "I love you, Cath. And if I'm going to celebrate my birthday, I'm more than happy to have a party with you."
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she tried to look stern. "I'm not having sex with you in front of all your guests, Gil Grissom, no matter how sexy you think my body is."
He chuckled. "Are you kidding? Your body, my darling, is my exclusive property."
She lifted an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Gil crooked a finger at her. "Come here."
Catherine moved over and settled herself in his lap. Their lips met in a long, deep kiss and Gil's fingers disappeared under her shirt.
As his lips pressed kisses to her neck, Catherine shivered in delight. "Gil…here?"
"Yes, here," he murmured. "I may be almost fifty, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop making love to my wife in my own office."
Catherine giggled. "I love you, old man."
"I love you too…" He paused. "Nope, not in my best interests to go there."
Catherine punched him lightly. "Shut up and kiss me, Gil."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, granting her wish.
--
