Scene Nineteen
When Gil woke the next morning Heather was not in the room. He sat up, and looked for her, and realized almost at once she must to be outside with the dogs; neither Hank nor Ruby was in the room with him. He got out of bed, showered, and dressed quickly to go in search of them. When he reached the lobby he saw a familiar face. "Good morning Miss Lily."
"Good morning Gil. Heather said to tell you when you came downstairs that she'd be out by the pond."
"Okay, thanks Miss Lily." Gil replied waving good-bye as he left the lobby."
Once he was outside, he found her; sitting on a blanket in the grass and playing with the dogs. Ruby sat in her lap, and Hank was flat on his back beside her with all four feet in the air and really enjoying a belly rub. Gil sat down on the side opposite Hank and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"I did; and you?"
"Like the innocent. Have you eaten yet?"
"No, I was waiting on you. I decided to give you until nine before I ate without you. You had another sixteen minutes."
"Why didn't you wake me before you left the room?"
"Because I told you I'd let you sleep in."
Heather smiled as Jill came walking toward them. "Are you ready to order breakfast now?"
"Yes, I think so Jill." She looked at Gil for confirmation, and he nodded.
After they placed their orders Heather suggested they move to a table on the terrace. As he took his seat, Gil asked, "Have the dogs eaten yet?"
"Yes they have. They were hungry this morning."
"Well, Hank is always hungry, and it might be a while before Ruby feels secure in the knowledge she will be fed every day. Poor girl knows what it's like to be hungry."
Heather reached down and patted the little black dog on the head.
Jill brought their breakfast and after she left Heather asked, "Where did you get Hank?"
"I got him from a shelter. One day A few years ago I was feeling kind of lonely. I went for a drive; just to get out of the house and wound up at an animal shelter. That's where I found him. All of the other dogs were alert and responsive; they wanted my attention. Hank just lay in his cage and stared at me without moving. He wouldn't even wag his tail. I left but I couldn't stop thinking about him. So the next day, I went back to take him a bone, and I wound up taking him home."
Heather gave him one of her soul-probing stares, "A lonely man befriends a lonely dog."
"Well, this woman I liked…" he paused and gave Heather a pointed look."…she'd just made it perfectly clear she didn't want anything more to do with me. I guess I was feeling rather rejected, and I didn't like the look in Hank's eyes. He didn't even try to interact with me. He seemed resigned to the fact that no one wanted him. It worried me."
"So Hank found someone who did want him; and… what about you? Did this woman you liked change her mind?" she smiled and winked at him.
Grissom smiled, "Yes …I think she did… eventually."
Heather simply smiled without comment, took a bite of her oatmeal, and then changed the subject. "What do you want to do today?"
"It doesn't matter. I don't have anything particular in mind."
"Well let's take that tour of the winery and then find a way to stay active throughout the day. We'll make it a late night so you can revert back to your nocturnal ways in time for work tomorrow. Our flight leaves at ten A.M. so that I can get you back to Las Vegas in time for a long nap before then. If all goes according to plan you should be back in Henderson by noon. I'll do my best to keep you awake between now and then."
"Sounds like you thought of everything." he commented while spearing a bite of pancakes with his fork.
"No not everything...I should have made you a birthday cake, and brought it along."
Gil set his folk down and stared at her; his blue eyes smoky with desire. "I remember the last birthday cake you made."
Heather slowly set down the coffee cup that she'd been about to sip from, picked up the strawberry from his plate, and held it to his lips; waiting for him to bite into the sweet fruit. "As do I Mr. Grissom, as do I." She smiled seductively as he sampled the berry.
Nearby a tall dark haired man who was passing their table was watching the couple so intently that he walked right into a large potted fern at the edge of the terrace, and the resulting commotion caused both Heather and Gil to look up briefly. An employee of the inn rushed to help the man to his feet.
"Sir, Are you alright?"
The man muttered an inaudible reply and hurried away embarrassed by his careless accident.
Heather covered her mouth to conceal a quiet chuckle. "Poor man: why is he familiar to me?" she questioned.
"He's a guest here too. He was the man who stared at you all through dinner night before last. Maybe I should take you back upstairs to the privacy of our room before he seriously injuries himself."
Heather laughed quietly before sipping her coffee. Then, talking over the rim of her cup, she warned, "If the goal is to keep you awake as much as possible over the next 24 hours, then we should stay out of the bed. If we go back up there now, you will only wind up sleeping poorly between bouts of passion." She raised a flirtatious eyebrow. By tomorrow night, you'll be utterly exhausted and work will make you unbearable. You'll be short tempered, and your team's not-so-discreet speculation over exactly how we spent our weekend will do nothing to improve your mood."
He helped himself to another bite of pancakes before answering with a shrug. "They're going to gossip whether or not I'm well rested. I may as well get used to it. Catherine can be counted on to be discreet… but, now that we've confirmed our relationship with her… Well, it's only a matter of time before everyone else is talking about it too."
Heather studied him quietly for a moment before asking in a hushed tone, "Are you sure you're ready for that?"
He sat quietly for a moment carefully choosing his words before responding. "it's a minor annoyance compared to the privilege attached."
She studied him a moment longer. "And if the annoyance wears thin?"
He smiled easily, shrugged, and offered honestly, "I'll lose my temper, snap that someone, and, in doing so, I'll give Catherine a cheap thrill."
Heather raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yes, for some reason or other, she likes it when I momentarily loose my head and start barking at people."
Heather cocked her head to one side and thought this bit of news over for a moment before she nodded her acceptance. "Yes… That would appeal to Catherine."