The first in a series of short little drabbles based on lines from Fall Out Boy Songs.

Author's Note: Each main character will have a chapter based on a line. I have chosen to write everything in first person…we'll see how it turns out.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all. I just like to pretend I do.

Spoilers: Possibly.

Pairings: Catherine & Warrick, suggested pairings Catherine & Grissom, Nick & Sara

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Gil

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"Say my name and his in the same breath. I dare you to say they taste the same."

'I Don't Care'

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said "It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know it has begun." I'm sure most people would agree with this sentiment. After all, in the real world, 'love at first sight' is nothing more than lust. Right? Of course.

When I first met Catherine, I was taken aback by her immense beauty. Then again, so where the hoards of sweaty, disgusting men who watched her night after night at The French Palace. But I've never been the kind of man who falls for a woman simply because she is attractive.

I think I began to fall in love with Cath while she was studying criminalistics at the University of Las Vegas. Student by day, dancer by night. Brains and beauty. I admired her for trying to make something of her life, even if she had to pay her way through school by performing at the Palace. Then, she met Eddie.

I never liked Eddie. When Catherine first introduced him to me, I tried to be civil. If she liked him, I wanted to like him too. But I saw the way he looked at her, like she was his property. As if she belonged to him. I knew Eddie wasn't a good guy, but Catherine couldn't see it. I eventually worked up the nerve to tell her what I thought of her boyfriend. Of course, by that time he had gotten her hooked on coke….and married her. So I decided to bite my tongue.

She tried to hide her little habit from me, and she managed to for a while. But she apparently forgot that I was trained to look for clues. One night I stopped by her and Ed's apartment. I knocked, but no one answered. The door was unlocked, so I went in. Eddie wasn't there, thankfully. But Cath was. I found her sitting on the floor of the living room, surrounded by empty beer bottles. On the coffee table in front of her were two lines of cocaine. The powder on her nose proved she had already done at least one line. When she looked up and saw me, she just started crying.

I took her back to my townhouse. Or, as she likes to call it, my condo. She spent the night…in my bed.

I slept on the couch.

The next day, I took her to a rehab facility. She spent quite some time there, but she kicked her habit. Too bad she still had Eddie. And then she had Lindsay. I love Lindsay as if she were my own daughter. I was there when she was born, but Eddie was off with some of this music 'associates'.

When Eddie hit her the first time, she turned up on my doorstep with Lindsay, who was just a few months old. Cath slept in my bed…with me this time.

Other than sleep, nothing happened.

The next day she went back her jerk of a husband. But there were plenty of other nights she showed up at my house with a black eye and a crying baby.

For such a brilliant CSI, she can make incredibly poor choices when it comes to her personal life.

Catherine finally got rid of Eddie for good…but not before he beat her up a few more times. And not before she caught him with a 'client' in their bedroom.

When she left him the last time, she showed up at my townhouse like she had many other nights. She put Lindsay in my spare bedroom to sleep. As usual, we argued over who would sleep on the couch before finally deciding to share my bed. Because, after all, we were just friends. That night I kissed her. Or maybe she kissed me…I don't think either of us really remembers. But my gosh….what a kiss.

Of course, after we kissed I did the gentlemanly thing and moved to the couch for the night.

So she divorced Eddie. Became an excellent CSI. Raised a beautiful daughter. Remained my best friend. Friend. You know, I could really grow to hate that word.

Eddie, Chris, Adam Novak…well, Adam doesn't count. But still. She always falls for guys who end up hurting her, either emotionally or physically. Now she seems to have a thing for Warrick…at least, I think she does. Sometimes it's hard to tell, because she's such a flirt. She flirts with everyone: Warrick, Nick, Greg, Brass…even me. Maybe Cath and Warrick are just friends. I hope.

I've never really minded her dating other men, because I know she'll get hurt again. She always does. Not that I want her to get hurt! I just know that when she gets hurt she'll show up at my townhouse looking for comfort, which I'll give her. And knowing she will once again end up in my arms helps me not grow bitter.

She needs to use her head when it comes to finding love. I am the only man who has never hurt or betrayed her. I have always been by her side when she needed me most. We've been together nearly 20 years now…that's longer than most marriages.

One day she'll realize that what she has had with other men can never compare to what she has with me.