CSI/NCIS Fic: Starting Over 39/?
TITLE: Starting Over 39/?
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: Gil/Catherine, Gil/Sara, Catherine/Lady Heather, Catherine/Gibbs, Ziva/Nick, Abby/Greg
WARNINGS: GSR for a while, Lady Heather makes an appearance later (and all that that implies), etc.
DISCLAIMER: I own no one... *sigh*
DISTRIBUTION: Graveshift Archive, crimsonchampagne... Others, ask.
SPOILERS: Season 6 for CSI, Season 2-3 for NCIS
SUMMARY/NOTES: Okay... so imagine a month has gone by...
Rubbing her temples didn't get rid of the headache three days of work and one month of spending evenings with Gil had cultivated. They were closer than ever before, but something was missing; he knew it and she knew it. After three days of working, without much sleep, a headache had blossomed behind her eyes.
Catherine saw a bottle being placed down on her desk; upon looking up, she saw Gibbs staring down at her.
"Take two," he advised.
She smiled a bit and nodded. She shook two out and put them in her mouth before chasing them down with the coffee she had been drinking. "Thanks," she murmured after swallowing the pills and coffee.
"Everything okay?"
"Well... yeah," she replied. She shrugged and laughed softly. "Gil moved to D.C.," she admitted. "And we're..." she trailed off and laughed again. "I'm sorry. This is kind of weird."
"What haven't you two talked about?" Gibbs asked, ignoring her comment about their conversation being weird.
Catherine looked up at him. "My dad... my job... his relationship with Sara. My relationship with Heather. And you, I guess."
"Sara bothers you," he commented.
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Is she keeping you from getting closer to him?"
She scrunched her face up. "Do you always have to ask the tough questions?"
He chuckled. "That's why the second B's for 'bastard.'" He tapped his fingers on her desk's surface. "So...?"
"So?"
"Do I have to beat it out of you, Braun?"
Catherine smiled again. "No... yeah, she's keeping me from getting closer to him. Or, well, the memory of her is. I know they're still in contact, over work. She didn't get the supervisor position, but if a case comes in with heavy bug evidence, she e-mails him. That doesn't bother me so much because he tells me about it. But it's... the way he treated me when they were going out," she said quietly, her smile slipping away. "I can't forget how miserable things were. And he has never admitted that she acted out against me." She sighed and looked up at him. "Maybe I'm being a little catty."
"Maybe?"
"Don't you have work to do?" she asked.
He grinned. "Nope. I'm on my way out... just wanted to see why you were still here."
"I'm avoiding going home," she muttered.
"He's living with you?"
Catherine blinked. "Oh, god no..." she laughed softly. "But, he can find me there."
Gibbs arched an eyebrow. "You don't think he can find you here?"
"Go home."
He laughed softly. "You, too," he responded. "C'mon. Nothing on your desk can't wait until tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Because I said so?"
She smiled and stood up. She turned the desk lamp off and grabbed her purse and coat. Gibbs, she noted, already had his coat and scarf on and he was halfway to the elevator by the time she managed to bundle up.
"Just tell him the truth," Gibbs advised.
She chuckled. "Are you going to be my relationship coach now?"
"Only when I see you trying to wreck something good," he replied, before gently smacking the back of her head.
"Why are you... I mean... we..."
"Had a good thing, but it wasn't going to be forever, was it?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Seriously, Catherine... when you thought about us, did you ever think..."
She swallowed hard and shook her head. It was true; she knew they wouldn't last forever, especially if they remained on the same team. They would take their work home with them and they would take their relationship to work with them. Those actions would compromise their relationship in the long term.
"That's why," he told her. "I still care about you."
"I care about you, too," she murmured.
"So, listen to me, would you?"
She smiled and nodded. "Okay... I'll... I'll tell him the truth."
"Good."
"Slap my head again and you'll regret it," she muttered as the elevator doors opened, as she walked towards the parking garage.
Gibbs chuckled and followed her, smacking the back of her head to provoke her. She squealed and turned, quickly moving to smack him back, but in the ribs. He laughed and soon, they were tussling around the parking lot.
When he pushed her against one of the concrete pillars, she laughed and wriggled against him, trying to free herself. He pinned her to the pillar and they caught their breath.
"You gonna say 'uncle?'"
"Are you?" Catherine asked.
"I'm not the one pinned to the wall, Probie," he reminded her.
She laughed and looked away from his eyes to find herself looking into Gil's eyes. Her face softened and she slipped out of Gibbs' hold when he noticed that they weren't alone. She walked towards Gil, a smile still on her face.
"Hey," she murmured, "what are you doing here?"
"I hadn't heard from you today," he admitted, casting a suspicious glance at the other man. "I... I was worried."
"I'm fine," she assured him.
Gil frowned. "I can see that."
Catherine turned her head and looked at Gibbs as he approached. She turned back to Gil. "Gil... no, we're not... I mean, we were just horsing around," she explained quickly. "Nothing's going on," she added quietly. "We're coworkers and friends. That's it."
"I know what I saw," he muttered in a glum tone of voice.
"You saw wrong," Gibbs said as he neared them.
Gil straightened his shoulders. "Did I?"
Gibbs nodded. "You did." He offered his hand for shaking. "It's nice to see you again," the former Marine said in a warm tone of voice. "I'm glad you're spending time with Catherine."
"Are you?"
He nodded again. "Someone's got to keep her out of trouble," he commented. He tilted his head and when Gil still didn't shake his hand, he said, "Look, Doctor Grissom, we had a brief fling, but we both know it wouldn't have lasted. I'm not looking for another wife, and she's already in love with another man."
Catherine glared at him. "You know, I like to be the one to say those sorts of things, Gibbs."
"Yeah, but you weren't," he told her.
Gil shook Gibbs' hand, while glancing at Catherine. Gibbs smiled and released the other man's hand. "Are you working with Metro Police?"
"George Washington University," Gil replied quietly.
"Nice," Gibbs said, nodding. He put his hand on Catherine's arm. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Training on the firing range."
She smiled at him. "Alright. Sounds like fun. Have a good night."
Once Gibbs was gone, Catherine turned and looked at Gil. "Jealous?" She was pleased that he blushed and bowed his head after nodding. She put her hands on his chest. "Gil... you do trust me, right?"
"We haven't even---"
When he stopped short, Catherine's eyebrows jumped up. She knew what he was going to say. They hadn't even kissed yet. She was afraid to let down her defenses; she was afraid of being hurt by him again. She let him spend the night, she let him cook in her kitchen whenever he wanted to make her and Lindsey a meal, but she never allowed things to progress to a physical level. She knew she was being silly. She knew he had moved across the country to spend time with her. He was serious about her; he never said much, but his actions spoke volumes.
And it was his previous actions that prevented her from letting him in.
"I know," she whispered. "Come on... you want to follow me home? After Lindsey gets on the phone with her friends, we can talk."
"I... are you sure?"
"Gil, yes," she murmured after clearing her throat a little. "Come home with me. You're the only man I'm inviting back to my house these days."
He smiled. "If you're sure."
"Very," she purred. "Follow me out, okay?"
He nodded. A few minutes later, they were driving out of the Navy Yard and towards Catherine's home. Lindsey greeted them both with a smile and a wave; Max barely lifted his head off of his pillow before returning to his evening nap. Lindsey was cooking something---whatever it was smelled great---so Catherine took Gil into the living room.
"We're going to start now?" he asked.
"I think we should," she murmured as she sat down and invited him to join her on the sofa. "Unless you'd rather wait..."
"No, let's talk now," he said when she trailed off. He put his hands over hers and smiled. "So, Agent Gibbs was right?"
"About what?"
He smiled. "That you're already in love with me?"
"Gil..."
"I just want to know that this won't go badly," he explained.
Catherine chuckled and threaded her fingers through his. "I don't want this to go badly anymore than you do," she assured him. She paused and sucked in a sharp breath before speaking. "When you started dating Sara, it hurt. And I don't know if I'll ever get past that hurt... you're not a man of many words, so your actions speak for you." She leaned forward a bit and said, "You acted like I didn't exist anymore. I'm afraid of disappearing to you again... I'm afraid of... getting close to you and losing you to someone else."
Gil's expression was softer and sadder than before. He squeezed her hands. "I learned my lesson the hard way," he said quietly. "When you left... I... it was... I was lost. For the first time, in a long time, I was lost." He sighed. "I thought what Sara and I had would make me feel better... more connected to the world and less left out. If I was doing what other people are doing, you know?"
She nodded and waited for him to continue speaking. She didn't want him to feel pushed or rushed because he usually curled back up inside of himself when he felt either of those two things.
"I thought she had been pursuing me for so long... that maybe... maybe she could see something I couldn't," he admitted. "Maybe I was a little... shallow about it, too. I mean, maybe I acted a bit too much like a man. She's young and smart. I got wrapped up in all of that." He sighed. "I wish I had noticed how bad it got for everyone. I didn't realise that she had taken over, so to speak." He brought one of her hands up for a kiss. "I'm sorry about that," he whispered.
"I know," she murmured.
"I didn't realise what I had lost until you left. I'm book-smart, but not people-smart. You know that better than anyone," he said quietly. "When I saw you again... I didn't know how to tell you what I was thinking."
She smiled. "Just open your mouth," she advised. "Even if it doesn't come out right the first time, okay? Don't hold back around me."
Gil nodded. "Okay," he whispered.
"How was your day?" she asked quietly, wanting to move on from their previous conversational topic for a little while.
He smiled. "Fine," he replied.
She smirked and leaned in towards him again. She pressed her lips to his and waited for him to respond. When he did, he nipped at her lower lip and then eased her mouth open for a deeper kiss. She whimpered softly; she hadn't expected their first kiss to feel so intense. Her pulse was racing and her body was warming after only a few seconds. She didn't know how they would ever survive a night together without being burned by the passion between them.
"Oh, gross," Lindsey muttered from the doorway.
Catherine and Gil broke apart, chuckling quietly. Catherine looked at her daughter. "Is dinner ready?"
"Just about. You have five minutes to get your hormones under control," the blonde teenager said before disappearing into the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Catherine looked at Gil and put her fingers over his lips. "I want to do that again... but when there's no audience," she whispered. She smoothed her fingers over his cheekbone. "We waited too long."
"Are you sure?"
She had never been more sure of anything in her life. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but love and friendship and she nodded. He smiled and kissed her fingertips before releasing her hand. They walked into the kitchen, side by side, and tried not to look too guilty in front of Lindsey, who was trying not to look too embarrassed. After a few minutes, their meal lapsed into a comfort zone and they were talking and joking and spending time together the way they had for a month since Gil made his career change permanent.
Lindsey went to bed after phone calls and homework and Max's last trip outside. Catherine and Gil had been watching the news, but once they were sure Lindsey was asleep, Catherine didn't want to wait any longer. She stood up and offered her hand to Gil. He slid his hand into hers and followed her out of the living room.
Once they were in her bedroom, Catherine felt a fresh wave of nerves spread over her body. The last time Gil had seen her body with his own eyes---and not through a camera lens---she had been younger. She hadn't had a gunshot scar on her shoulder, a cigarette burn on her thigh, both from another case gone badly, or the whip scars from the case that took her to Las Vegas. She was a little nervous because she didn't know how he would react to the sight of her body.
He didn't want to undress her immediately, though. He drew her in close to his body and he kissed her gently. A quiet moan escaped her throat and she curled her arms around his neck as she rocked her body.
"More," she whispered.
"Demanding," he breathed, smoothing her hair back, off of her face.
"Do you like it?" she asked, her lips quirking upwards into a smile.
He grinned and nodded before sliding his hands into her back pockets. She smiled when he pulled her in closer, so no space was between their bodies. She initiated the next kiss, pouring her thoughts and feelings into it. He reacted in kind and backed her towards the bed slowly, one step at a time.
After a few steps, Catherine bounced and wrapped her legs around his hips as best as she could. Gil groaned but he caught her, making Catherine laugh softly. He tightened his hold on her and carried her the rest of the way to the bed while they continued to kiss. She scratched the back of his neck and she shivered when he groaned.
She felt tears burning the inside of her eyelids as she kissed him, as she thought about how much time they wasted---and in particular, how much time she had wasted. She had spent so much time being angry with Gil and Sara and she let that keep her from her heart's true desires. Even if they hadn't tumbled into a romantic relationship together, she had let her anger and fear keep her from her best friend. They had had years of friendship between them and she had pulled away from it; she knew he was to blame, too, but she also knew she should have fought for him. She thought about how close she had been to losing him and a tear slipped out from behind her eyelid and down her cheek to their joined lips.
Gil felt the tear. He lifted his head and looked at her. "Hey," he whispered.
She sniffled and opened her eyes. "Hi," she said quietly, bringing her hand up to cup the side of his face.
"Did I do something wrong?"
She swallowed hard and shook her head. "No... I did," she breathed, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't fight for you... for our friendship. I'll fight for you from now on." She swallowed again and added, "I promise."
"I let you slip away," Gil said, "so I didn't do much fighting either." He leaned in and kissed her tear-stained cheek. "I promise to fight for you, too."
Catherine nodded and pressed her lips to his. Those words from Gil's mouth meant more than he could ever properly articulate; she knew he had changed, but he didn't change that much. He had told her more than he had ever told her in the month they had been dating, or in the weeks and weeks of cross-country phone calls.
Suddenly, she didn't want to talk anymore.
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: Gil/Catherine, Gil/Sara, Catherine/Lady Heather, Catherine/Gibbs, Ziva/Nick, Abby/Greg
WARNINGS: GSR for a while, Lady Heather makes an appearance later (and all that that implies), etc.
DISCLAIMER: I own no one... *sigh*
DISTRIBUTION: Graveshift Archive, crimsonchampagne... Others, ask.
SPOILERS: Season 6 for CSI, Season 2-3 for NCIS
SUMMARY/NOTES: Okay... so imagine a month has gone by...
Rubbing her temples didn't get rid of the headache three days of work and one month of spending evenings with Gil had cultivated. They were closer than ever before, but something was missing; he knew it and she knew it. After three days of working, without much sleep, a headache had blossomed behind her eyes.
Catherine saw a bottle being placed down on her desk; upon looking up, she saw Gibbs staring down at her.
"Take two," he advised.
She smiled a bit and nodded. She shook two out and put them in her mouth before chasing them down with the coffee she had been drinking. "Thanks," she murmured after swallowing the pills and coffee.
"Everything okay?"
"Well... yeah," she replied. She shrugged and laughed softly. "Gil moved to D.C.," she admitted. "And we're..." she trailed off and laughed again. "I'm sorry. This is kind of weird."
"What haven't you two talked about?" Gibbs asked, ignoring her comment about their conversation being weird.
Catherine looked up at him. "My dad... my job... his relationship with Sara. My relationship with Heather. And you, I guess."
"Sara bothers you," he commented.
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Is she keeping you from getting closer to him?"
She scrunched her face up. "Do you always have to ask the tough questions?"
He chuckled. "That's why the second B's for 'bastard.'" He tapped his fingers on her desk's surface. "So...?"
"So?"
"Do I have to beat it out of you, Braun?"
Catherine smiled again. "No... yeah, she's keeping me from getting closer to him. Or, well, the memory of her is. I know they're still in contact, over work. She didn't get the supervisor position, but if a case comes in with heavy bug evidence, she e-mails him. That doesn't bother me so much because he tells me about it. But it's... the way he treated me when they were going out," she said quietly, her smile slipping away. "I can't forget how miserable things were. And he has never admitted that she acted out against me." She sighed and looked up at him. "Maybe I'm being a little catty."
"Maybe?"
"Don't you have work to do?" she asked.
He grinned. "Nope. I'm on my way out... just wanted to see why you were still here."
"I'm avoiding going home," she muttered.
"He's living with you?"
Catherine blinked. "Oh, god no..." she laughed softly. "But, he can find me there."
Gibbs arched an eyebrow. "You don't think he can find you here?"
"Go home."
He laughed softly. "You, too," he responded. "C'mon. Nothing on your desk can't wait until tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Because I said so?"
She smiled and stood up. She turned the desk lamp off and grabbed her purse and coat. Gibbs, she noted, already had his coat and scarf on and he was halfway to the elevator by the time she managed to bundle up.
"Just tell him the truth," Gibbs advised.
She chuckled. "Are you going to be my relationship coach now?"
"Only when I see you trying to wreck something good," he replied, before gently smacking the back of her head.
"Why are you... I mean... we..."
"Had a good thing, but it wasn't going to be forever, was it?" he asked, looking into her eyes. "Seriously, Catherine... when you thought about us, did you ever think..."
She swallowed hard and shook her head. It was true; she knew they wouldn't last forever, especially if they remained on the same team. They would take their work home with them and they would take their relationship to work with them. Those actions would compromise their relationship in the long term.
"That's why," he told her. "I still care about you."
"I care about you, too," she murmured.
"So, listen to me, would you?"
She smiled and nodded. "Okay... I'll... I'll tell him the truth."
"Good."
"Slap my head again and you'll regret it," she muttered as the elevator doors opened, as she walked towards the parking garage.
Gibbs chuckled and followed her, smacking the back of her head to provoke her. She squealed and turned, quickly moving to smack him back, but in the ribs. He laughed and soon, they were tussling around the parking lot.
When he pushed her against one of the concrete pillars, she laughed and wriggled against him, trying to free herself. He pinned her to the pillar and they caught their breath.
"You gonna say 'uncle?'"
"Are you?" Catherine asked.
"I'm not the one pinned to the wall, Probie," he reminded her.
She laughed and looked away from his eyes to find herself looking into Gil's eyes. Her face softened and she slipped out of Gibbs' hold when he noticed that they weren't alone. She walked towards Gil, a smile still on her face.
"Hey," she murmured, "what are you doing here?"
"I hadn't heard from you today," he admitted, casting a suspicious glance at the other man. "I... I was worried."
"I'm fine," she assured him.
Gil frowned. "I can see that."
Catherine turned her head and looked at Gibbs as he approached. She turned back to Gil. "Gil... no, we're not... I mean, we were just horsing around," she explained quickly. "Nothing's going on," she added quietly. "We're coworkers and friends. That's it."
"I know what I saw," he muttered in a glum tone of voice.
"You saw wrong," Gibbs said as he neared them.
Gil straightened his shoulders. "Did I?"
Gibbs nodded. "You did." He offered his hand for shaking. "It's nice to see you again," the former Marine said in a warm tone of voice. "I'm glad you're spending time with Catherine."
"Are you?"
He nodded again. "Someone's got to keep her out of trouble," he commented. He tilted his head and when Gil still didn't shake his hand, he said, "Look, Doctor Grissom, we had a brief fling, but we both know it wouldn't have lasted. I'm not looking for another wife, and she's already in love with another man."
Catherine glared at him. "You know, I like to be the one to say those sorts of things, Gibbs."
"Yeah, but you weren't," he told her.
Gil shook Gibbs' hand, while glancing at Catherine. Gibbs smiled and released the other man's hand. "Are you working with Metro Police?"
"George Washington University," Gil replied quietly.
"Nice," Gibbs said, nodding. He put his hand on Catherine's arm. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Training on the firing range."
She smiled at him. "Alright. Sounds like fun. Have a good night."
Once Gibbs was gone, Catherine turned and looked at Gil. "Jealous?" She was pleased that he blushed and bowed his head after nodding. She put her hands on his chest. "Gil... you do trust me, right?"
"We haven't even---"
When he stopped short, Catherine's eyebrows jumped up. She knew what he was going to say. They hadn't even kissed yet. She was afraid to let down her defenses; she was afraid of being hurt by him again. She let him spend the night, she let him cook in her kitchen whenever he wanted to make her and Lindsey a meal, but she never allowed things to progress to a physical level. She knew she was being silly. She knew he had moved across the country to spend time with her. He was serious about her; he never said much, but his actions spoke volumes.
And it was his previous actions that prevented her from letting him in.
"I know," she whispered. "Come on... you want to follow me home? After Lindsey gets on the phone with her friends, we can talk."
"I... are you sure?"
"Gil, yes," she murmured after clearing her throat a little. "Come home with me. You're the only man I'm inviting back to my house these days."
He smiled. "If you're sure."
"Very," she purred. "Follow me out, okay?"
He nodded. A few minutes later, they were driving out of the Navy Yard and towards Catherine's home. Lindsey greeted them both with a smile and a wave; Max barely lifted his head off of his pillow before returning to his evening nap. Lindsey was cooking something---whatever it was smelled great---so Catherine took Gil into the living room.
"We're going to start now?" he asked.
"I think we should," she murmured as she sat down and invited him to join her on the sofa. "Unless you'd rather wait..."
"No, let's talk now," he said when she trailed off. He put his hands over hers and smiled. "So, Agent Gibbs was right?"
"About what?"
He smiled. "That you're already in love with me?"
"Gil..."
"I just want to know that this won't go badly," he explained.
Catherine chuckled and threaded her fingers through his. "I don't want this to go badly anymore than you do," she assured him. She paused and sucked in a sharp breath before speaking. "When you started dating Sara, it hurt. And I don't know if I'll ever get past that hurt... you're not a man of many words, so your actions speak for you." She leaned forward a bit and said, "You acted like I didn't exist anymore. I'm afraid of disappearing to you again... I'm afraid of... getting close to you and losing you to someone else."
Gil's expression was softer and sadder than before. He squeezed her hands. "I learned my lesson the hard way," he said quietly. "When you left... I... it was... I was lost. For the first time, in a long time, I was lost." He sighed. "I thought what Sara and I had would make me feel better... more connected to the world and less left out. If I was doing what other people are doing, you know?"
She nodded and waited for him to continue speaking. She didn't want him to feel pushed or rushed because he usually curled back up inside of himself when he felt either of those two things.
"I thought she had been pursuing me for so long... that maybe... maybe she could see something I couldn't," he admitted. "Maybe I was a little... shallow about it, too. I mean, maybe I acted a bit too much like a man. She's young and smart. I got wrapped up in all of that." He sighed. "I wish I had noticed how bad it got for everyone. I didn't realise that she had taken over, so to speak." He brought one of her hands up for a kiss. "I'm sorry about that," he whispered.
"I know," she murmured.
"I didn't realise what I had lost until you left. I'm book-smart, but not people-smart. You know that better than anyone," he said quietly. "When I saw you again... I didn't know how to tell you what I was thinking."
She smiled. "Just open your mouth," she advised. "Even if it doesn't come out right the first time, okay? Don't hold back around me."
Gil nodded. "Okay," he whispered.
"How was your day?" she asked quietly, wanting to move on from their previous conversational topic for a little while.
He smiled. "Fine," he replied.
She smirked and leaned in towards him again. She pressed her lips to his and waited for him to respond. When he did, he nipped at her lower lip and then eased her mouth open for a deeper kiss. She whimpered softly; she hadn't expected their first kiss to feel so intense. Her pulse was racing and her body was warming after only a few seconds. She didn't know how they would ever survive a night together without being burned by the passion between them.
"Oh, gross," Lindsey muttered from the doorway.
Catherine and Gil broke apart, chuckling quietly. Catherine looked at her daughter. "Is dinner ready?"
"Just about. You have five minutes to get your hormones under control," the blonde teenager said before disappearing into the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Catherine looked at Gil and put her fingers over his lips. "I want to do that again... but when there's no audience," she whispered. She smoothed her fingers over his cheekbone. "We waited too long."
"Are you sure?"
She had never been more sure of anything in her life. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but love and friendship and she nodded. He smiled and kissed her fingertips before releasing her hand. They walked into the kitchen, side by side, and tried not to look too guilty in front of Lindsey, who was trying not to look too embarrassed. After a few minutes, their meal lapsed into a comfort zone and they were talking and joking and spending time together the way they had for a month since Gil made his career change permanent.
Lindsey went to bed after phone calls and homework and Max's last trip outside. Catherine and Gil had been watching the news, but once they were sure Lindsey was asleep, Catherine didn't want to wait any longer. She stood up and offered her hand to Gil. He slid his hand into hers and followed her out of the living room.
Once they were in her bedroom, Catherine felt a fresh wave of nerves spread over her body. The last time Gil had seen her body with his own eyes---and not through a camera lens---she had been younger. She hadn't had a gunshot scar on her shoulder, a cigarette burn on her thigh, both from another case gone badly, or the whip scars from the case that took her to Las Vegas. She was a little nervous because she didn't know how he would react to the sight of her body.
He didn't want to undress her immediately, though. He drew her in close to his body and he kissed her gently. A quiet moan escaped her throat and she curled her arms around his neck as she rocked her body.
"More," she whispered.
"Demanding," he breathed, smoothing her hair back, off of her face.
"Do you like it?" she asked, her lips quirking upwards into a smile.
He grinned and nodded before sliding his hands into her back pockets. She smiled when he pulled her in closer, so no space was between their bodies. She initiated the next kiss, pouring her thoughts and feelings into it. He reacted in kind and backed her towards the bed slowly, one step at a time.
After a few steps, Catherine bounced and wrapped her legs around his hips as best as she could. Gil groaned but he caught her, making Catherine laugh softly. He tightened his hold on her and carried her the rest of the way to the bed while they continued to kiss. She scratched the back of his neck and she shivered when he groaned.
She felt tears burning the inside of her eyelids as she kissed him, as she thought about how much time they wasted---and in particular, how much time she had wasted. She had spent so much time being angry with Gil and Sara and she let that keep her from her heart's true desires. Even if they hadn't tumbled into a romantic relationship together, she had let her anger and fear keep her from her best friend. They had had years of friendship between them and she had pulled away from it; she knew he was to blame, too, but she also knew she should have fought for him. She thought about how close she had been to losing him and a tear slipped out from behind her eyelid and down her cheek to their joined lips.
Gil felt the tear. He lifted his head and looked at her. "Hey," he whispered.
She sniffled and opened her eyes. "Hi," she said quietly, bringing her hand up to cup the side of his face.
"Did I do something wrong?"
She swallowed hard and shook her head. "No... I did," she breathed, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't fight for you... for our friendship. I'll fight for you from now on." She swallowed again and added, "I promise."
"I let you slip away," Gil said, "so I didn't do much fighting either." He leaned in and kissed her tear-stained cheek. "I promise to fight for you, too."
Catherine nodded and pressed her lips to his. Those words from Gil's mouth meant more than he could ever properly articulate; she knew he had changed, but he didn't change that much. He had told her more than he had ever told her in the month they had been dating, or in the weeks and weeks of cross-country phone calls.
Suddenly, she didn't want to talk anymore.