Catherine was still in a mildly put-out mood when she arrived to the crime lab that night, so she decided to hide in her office until assignments were being handed out. But whoever was currently knocking on her door obviously had other plans for her.
"Go away," Catherine muttered, sitting at her desk with her head resting on it. She hoped that with the lights off, the person would think she wasn't in. But the persistency of the knocking told her that they knew.
"What?" she called out louder, unable to keep the irritability out of her voice. "I'm kind of busy."
"No you're not," replied the voice. It was Grissom.
"Oh God…" Catherine murmured, flipping the desk lamp on. Hesitantly, she added, "Come in."
Gil Grissom soon opened the door and took a seat across from Catherine. He set a slip of paper on her desk. "Here, this is our assignment."
"Our?" Catherine repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. You and I have a suspicious circs downtown. Ready to go?" Grissom asked.
"Wait… What about you and Sara?"
"What about Sara and me? I assume you've heard the rumors. They're true, by the way." Grissom said.
"Well, why aren't you pairing yourself up with her?" Catherine asked. "Trouble in paradise?"
Grissom glared at her. "She and I have been on cases a lot lately, and I just thought that you and I should work on one. I mean, we are best friends."
Catherine's heart sank. "Yeah." She said softly. She sat up a little straighter and pushed the assignment slip back towards Grissom. "Well, what's Warrick's case? Maybe I'll pair up with him."
Quickly, Catherine stood up. "Yeah, I think I'm going to do that. See you later." Abruptly, she marched towards the door.
Grissom wasn't sure what was going on, but he grabbed her arm and held it tight. "Catherine. Wait." He waited until her eyes locked with his. "What's going on with you?"
Catherine sighed, her eyes traveling to the ground. "Nothing. It's nothing, Gil." But as Grissom continued to look at her unconvinced, she went on. "Okay, look." For a split second, Catherine Willows actually considered telling Grissom the truth and admitting her love for him. But as soon as she opened her mouth, she chickened out. "Lindsey and I are just going through some hard times. She's so rebellious and angry all the time. I'm feeling a little paranoid. It's like she wants me to feel like a bad mother."
Well, I sort of told the truth, Catherine told herself. That's part of it.
Grissom put a hand on her arm. "Catherine, I'm sorry. But Lindsey's a good girl. You're a terrific mother and I'm sure she'll get out of this phase quickly."
Catherine smiled weakly. "Yeah. Thanks."
When shift had finally ended, Catherine was beyond relieved. While driving home, she looked back on her day. The entire time, Catherine couldn't get Grissom out of her mind. It didn't help at all that he was with her at almost all times. The slightest touch sent tingles rushing through her body.
The house was empty when she got home, and Catherine was thankful. Not feeling at all tired, she got out a wine glass, filled it, and made her way upstairs.
"You're pathetic, Catherine Willows," she spoke aloud to herself, downing half the glass in a single gulp.
She changed her clothes into a baggy t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants then returned downstairs and made a sandwich. The sandwich was accompanied by three more glasses of wine, and then Catherine went to bed.
Catherine Willows and Sara Sidle sat in the break room, delicately sipping their first cups of coffee of the new shift. Catherine couldn't help but be annoyed by the huge grin on Sara's face. Eventually, she caved and had to ask. "Sara, what's up with you?"
"What do you mean?"
Catherine rolled her eyes. "It's the beginning of shift and you have this ginormous smile on your face. It's not normal."
The smile got bigger. "Oh, well, Grissom's taking me out to dinner tonight and, I don't know, I guess I'm just excited."
Just then, Nick walked into the room. He immediately felt the tension emitting from Catherine and he caught the nasty glare that was sent to Sara which went by un-noticed.
"Hey Cath?"
Catherine glanced at him. "Hey."
"Can I talk to you for a sec?"
Catherine got up and nodded. Once she stepped out into the hall, she murmured, "Thank god you came. I thought I was going to have to hurt her."
"Yeah, I noticed the death looks and all." Nick commented.
"So, Nicky, what did you need? Surely not just to let me know my death glare was working. I'm well aware."
Nick grinned. "Of course not. You and I have a body at a local diner off the strip. Ready?"
"Always." Catherine answered. "Let me grab my stuff and I'll meet you at the car."