Catherine woke up the next morning, her head resting on Gil's shoulder. The warmth of his body and the comfort of his arm around her made her feel happy and cozy. She smiled softly as she listened to the rhythm of his heartbeat and his breathing. Last night had been their first time together. Even after he'd declared his love and she had responded in kind, he'd kept a little distance between them; not quite ready for the final commitment to a relationship. All of that had changed last night. After a horrific case and his startling revelation about his past, he'd finally let her all the way in; exposing his most closely guarded hurts and fears. Having given his trust to her so totally seemed to have freed him to also give his love. And what a night of love it had been! The last twenty four hours had proven to her once again that Gil Grissom was a man of surprises.

She needed to go to the bathroom badly but didn't want to leave the comfort of his body. Finally, she just had to do it. As carefully as she could she slid out from the covers and hurried into the bathroom. On her trip back to the bed she saw him smiling mischievously at her. "What's that smile for?"

His blue eyes travelled up and down her body, silently assailing her as his hands and mouth had done the night before. "Just thinking that the way you're walking you look a little saddle sore."

"Oh, I do...do I?" she smirked at him. "Well, that was some horse I rode last night."

"Yeah?" he laughed. "Well, I hear that the best cure is another ride..." He reached over and pulled her to him, his lips already beginning their attack. Their love making this morning didn't have the urgency of last night. He took his time, taking and giving pleasure all over her body. She shared her delight with his attentions by lavishing some of her own on him. The results were similar though as it ended with her calling his name in ecstacy and him groaning with satisfaction.

Once again she found her head on his shoulder. He had one arm around her waist and the other hand rested in her hair; his fingers softly massaging her scalp. Her left hand rested on his chest, gently teasing his bare skin. Neither was really sleepy but they were enjoying the lethargy of their post love making time. "Gil..."

"hummmmm?"

"Last night...why were you so afraid to ask me to marry you?"

His fingers stopped thier motion as he thought of a reply. He didn't have an easy answer. The most concise one was, "because I was afraid you might say no."

Cahterine thought for a moment. She knew he was afraid of personnal feelings; always had been. But she also knew he'd been opening those up to her more and more over the past couple of weeks. So why the sudden reversal? "But you knew that I love you. I told you that I've loved you for a long time. So why the fear all of a sudden?"

He searched his thoughts for a reply. "Habit, maybe. I'm not used to the idea that someone like you can love someone like me."

"Someone like me? Exactly who is someone like me?"

"The most beautiful girl in the Eighth Grade. I had a tremendous crush on her, you know. And she seemd to like me, in the way Eighth Grade girls like Eighth Grade boys. But she was just being nice to me. She was really interested in the cool guy. I learned then that geeks don't get to date the most beautiful girl in the class. Let alone, marry her."

"I'm the prettiest girl in the Eighth Grade?" she cooed.

He smiled and nuzzled her forehead. "No, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever known. I thought that the first time I met you. And I think everytime I see you. Guys like me don't get to be with women like you."

"Guys like you? You mean guys that know how to treat a lady? Guys that are smart and funny AND good looking? You mean guys that make my knees go quivery when they flirt with me...or even just smile at me the right way? Those guys?"

I mean geeks...or nerds. Guys that are smart about things in books but have no clue when it comes to people. Guys who can do advanced cross word puzzles but trip all over themselves when they try to talk to a woman. Those guys...me."

"Well, maybe now that you have your nose out of that cross word puzzle, you'll see that you do have me. And I don't intend to let you go.You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Gil and I know it, even if you don't."

He closed his eyes as he absorbed her words. He thought of all the years he had loved her; wanted her. He remembered how intimidated he had been by her beauty at first, until they had settled into a deep friendship that until now had been his most cherished realtionship in his life. Now it seemed they were headed into something even better. More than anything he had ever imagined possible for himself. Of course he was afraid. He was afraid that he might not survive the pain when it went wrong and he lost her. And if it did go wrong, he would be left with no one.

He squeezed her closer to him, his other hand holding her head against him. "I love you Catherine," he whispered..

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That night they were called to a homicide on the strip. A bouncer at one of the clubs had been shot by someone in the crowd. Gil and Catherine were working the scene when the bouncer's wife showed up. She'd heard on the radio that there had been a shooting at the club and had rushed over to check on her husband. She ran past the yellow tape and headed into the buiding. Gil caught up with her just inside. "You're not suppossed to be in here; this is a crime scene," he said.

She turned and looked at him, her eyes pleading. "Please, my husband works here. I need to see him. I need to know that he's okay."

"What's your husband's name?"

"Harry Wilson," she replied.

Gil's heart sank. Catherine approached, ready to jump in if needed. Gil spoke to Mrs. Wilson softly, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Wilson. You're husband was killed tonight." He watched her quietly as understanding set in. Tears began to seep out of her eyes. "Is there someone here with you? Someone we could call for you?" He was very tender and solicitous. Catherine had seen him deliver similar bad news many times over the years and she was always surprised by the empathy in his voice when he spoke to the loved ones. Empathy was an emotion and emotions were something that Gil didn't share easily. But here he was, doing it again.

They had collected several guns at the scene and back at the lab, they waited for the ballistics reports. Sitting in Gil's office, they were enjoying a few quiet moments together. The rest of the team had various assignments and most were in the field. Catherine sat on the corner of his desk, watching him. He was keenly aware of her attention and therefore having difficulty concentrating on the latest memo form Ecklie. Fianlly he looked up and smiled at her. "Okay, I surrender. I'm have no idea what Ecklie's memo says. I can't think about Ecklie's edicts with you around."

She winked at him. "Good, nice to know I'm effective."

There was a long pause as he simply looked at her. A small smile crept across his face as he thought about their time together last night and that morning.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked provocativly as she saw the smile.

"You." he flirted back.

Now she was smiling; a very naughty smile. "Well, you've certainly given me a lot to think about."

"Me? What did I do?"

"Well, there's last night. And then there's this morning." Then she turned more serious. "And also, there was you at the scene, telling the vic's wife that he was gone. You always amaze me with your level of empathy when you talk to the loved ones. Face it Gil, you usually don't show that kind of feeling, especially to strangers. Your voice was all warm and tender...caring."

Gil thought a minute and then answered her inquiry. "When the paramedics came to the house for my father, they were very businesslike. I think we all knew he was gone before they got there, but..." His brow furrowed as he remembered. "My mother was having a hard time since she couldn't hear what they were saying. I was trying to translate it to her. And when they finally declared him dead; well, their words sent chills through me. In my heart, I knew he was dead but when they said the words, they were so cold; so matter of fact. I know that to them it was just another DB, but to me it was my Dad. I try to remember that when I talk to the families. I try not to be cold. There's no easy way to receive the news, but I keep thinking that maybe in some small way it helps to not have the words sound so cold."

She smiled in amazement. How many times had she called him a robot? Of course, she knew it wan't true, but he hid his emotions so well...most of the time. Over the years she had realized that Gil felt some things deeper and more intensly than most. She just had never figured out when and where he would let his feelings out. The fuuny thing was, she'd noticed, he always had some reasonable clinical excuse for showing what he felt. He never just admitted to feeling things. Well, at least not until he had declared his love for her. She slid off his desk and leaned into him, preparing to kiss him with a promise of more things to come later. But jsut as she touched his lips, they heard a "hurump" from his doorway. Gil let out a sigh of frustration as they both focused their attention on the sorce of the noise.

Jim Brass stood smirking in the doorway. His eyes were alight with his 'I've got a secret' look. He seemed to be waiting for something. When neither said anything he quipped, "well don't let me spoil the fun. I can always come back later." But he said it as he strolled in the door.

Catherine was amused by Jim's obvious delight at having caught them at an awkward moment. Gil was piqued by his unexpected appearance. He was just getting used to this closeness with Catherine and always seemed to need to touch her now. Like an addict, he couldn't seem to get enough...never enough. Jim caught the frustration that flashed across his face before he recovered his placid mask.

He decided to share his information on the case and let Gil get back to things that clearly were more interesting for him. "Got a lead from one of the patrons. He saw a young woman, early twenties close to the vic and then the vic dropped jsut as she moved away. We've got a pretty good description and my guys are out looking."

"Thanks Jim." said Catherine smiling. "Now go away. I have some unfinished business with Gil."

"Yes, Ma'm," he said laughing as he turned to leave. "I'll, uh...I'll just close the door on my way out." He winked as he left, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Catherine turned back to Gil, preparing to pick up where they had been interrupted. He was ahead of her and his lips touched hers. When he finally let her up for air she mumbled, "Wow, I think I'm liking the new yo..." The last of her word was lost in his next kiss.

--------Okay, let me know what you think :-) ---------