Chapter 2

His hair was slightly more grey and he appeared to have lost a little weight, but it was the same Gil Grissom-stance; the same Gil Grissom-sparkle in his eyes; and the same Gil Grissom-leather jacket, that greeted her when she opened her office door.

She had often wondered what it would be like to see him again, and even after their rather comfortable conversations a few days ago, she had always expected there to be more anger than this.

She stepped towards him, unable to stop the smile that was spreading across her lips.

It faltered, however, and she stopped about two feet away from him, when she realised that, in all her anxious preparations, she had not considered whether a handshake, or a hug, would be the appropriate greeting.

The decision was made for her though when Grissom crossed the space between them and his arms encircled her, pulling her closer to him.

She returned the hug, feeling like mere days had passed since she was last in his embrace, and not the seven years that had in fact been since she hugged him goodbye.

They stepped apart, and she smiled up at him.

"It's good to see you again," she said.

Grissom nodded once, agreeing with her sentiment, then said: "You look good."

Her cheeks flushed a little and one eyebrow quirked at the unexpected compliment. "Thank you… And thanks for coming, Grissom, I –"

"Catherine, please call me Gil. 'Grissom' from an Assistant Director reminds me of – "

"Grissom!"

The exclamation came from the doorway in a familiar, weasely voice.

Catherine smirked as Grissom rolled his eyes before turning to face the latest visitor.

"Ecklie," he said, "I hear congratulations are in order."

The Director's eyes narrowed briefly as if he was trying to assess whether or not Grissom was being genuine. Then they returned to normal again as if he decided it didn't matter.

"Thank you," he said, smiling the smile you saw from him every single time the man was speaking to anyone who had ever implied that Ecklie had no right to be in charge of the lab. Smug. Proud. And gloating. "And I guess I can return those congratulations," he added, his smile actually slipping towards genuine.

Catherine smiled as she watched Grissom's eyes widen in surprise.

"Thank you, Conrad," he said.

Then Catherine watched, amused, as both men stood in silence, eyes flitting around the room, fingers twitching occasionally, neither knowing what to say next.

Eventually she giggled to herself, shaking her head, and stepped towards them.

"Conrad, was there something you needed?" she asked, smiling pleasantly.

His response was immediate, clearly glad of the escape. "I just stopped by to confirm our plans for this evening," he said. "Seven o'clock?"

Catherine nodded. "Seven o'clock."

He confirmed this with his own nod, missing Grissom's intrigued frown.

"I'll see you later then." Ecklie said to Catherine. Then he turned back to Grissom. "Gil, thank you for coming. No doubt I'll see you again before you leave."

Grissom nodded and then Ecklie was gone.

"Well, that was quite a reunion," Catherine chuckled, as she walked over to her desk and picked up a file.

"We never did have much to say to each other," Grissom commented, turning to face her as she moved.

Catherine smirked. "Well, now you're rivals again… That should provide some conversational material."

Grissom gave her the best 'unamused' look he could muster, given that he was amused, and Catherine giggled a little more, before flicking her head in the direction of the doorway.

"I guess I should take you to the bugs," she said.

"I guess that is what I'm here for," he replied with a shrug and a small smile, and he followed her out of the office.

-----

Grissom frowned as he looked at the information Catherine had given to him, then he turned to her and frowned again.

Catherine nodded. "It puzzled our resident Gil Grissom wannabe too."

At this his frown deepened so much that his eyes almost closed, causing Catherine to laugh once again.

"Jacob Norman," she explained, "CSI on days, studying entomology at night school… We tease him that he's aspiring to be like you. He denies it of course," she grinned, then she turned, entering the layout room.

Grissom's next words were quiet, probably not intended for her to hear, but she did, and they stirred within her a mixture of sympathy, hurt and anger.

"At least I wasn't completely forgotten."

She was tempted to stop in her tracks, but knew that would let him know that she had heard him, so instead she continued to the table; where a dark-haired, young man was sitting, wearing a lab coat, and gloves, and surrounded by photographs of a body, and plastic pots containing various creatures.

Now wasn't the time to dig up the past. After all, he would only be here for a few days. Was it necessary to bring it up at all?

Suppressing everything she had found that she wanted to say to him, she put on a smile and made the introductions.

"Gil Grissom, Jacob Norman… Jacob will be able to show you anything you need to see… And hopefully assist you in figuring out why the hell all these bugs were on our vic… I have some work to do, so I'll leave you two bugmen to it."

Grissom was already examining the pots, and sifting through the photographs, and Catherine wondered if he'd even been listening to her.

Jacob appeared awestruck, and for a second Catherine worried that the younger man wouldn't be able to find the power to speak to his idol. But then Grissom asked him a question about one of the pictures, and the two were soon deep in conversation.

Catherine stepped towards the door, and when she thought they would no longer notice she was there, stopped and observed for a few minutes.

Grissom looked so at home. He took off his jacket, exchanging it for a lab coat, and sat down beside Jacob, bombarding him with questions regarding how all the photographs were connected, and exactly where each bug had been found. His eyes sparkled with excited interest, the same way they did all those years ago. It was as if he had never left.

But her heart reminded her that he had.

She smiled sadly, watched him for a second longer, then turned away, stepping back into the corridor. She stopped, though, when he called her name.

Turning back, she found that he was standing right in front of her, and she let out a quiet, startled gasp.

"Sorry," he said, smiling. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She shook it off. "It's okay…"

"Will you have dinner with me?" he asked.

Catherine stayed silent, subconsciously choosing to respond to him with only a look of surprise, and puzzlement. It took her a few seconds to realise that she hadn't actually spoken.

"Er… Yeah… Er… Sure. Of course… But, er, tonight's not good for me… I'm free tomorrow?"

Grissom nodded. "Tomorrow is fine… I'll come by your office to finalise the arrangements."

He smiled once, then he returned to the table, leaving Catherine smiling, yet with a furrowed brow, confused by the mixture of feelings coming from him, and from herself. One minute she was angry at him for leaving, the next she felt as if he'd never been away, and the next, she missed him.

And it was the missing him that confused her the most. In the years since he left, she had never admitted to herself that she missed him. Until now – when he was right there in front of her.

It was going to be an interesting few days.

TBC…