CSI/NCIS Fic: Starting Over 43/?
TITLE: Starting Over 43/?
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. I managed to write another chapter. My muse is... distracted. lol.
"Beautiful."
When she put the burgundy dress on, she wondered if she and Gil should have settled on a more traditional ceremony and all of the traditional trappings that went along with it. But, as Catherine turned and saw the smile on Heather's face, she felt her doubts begin to fade away.
"You think?"
Heather nodded as she approached. "Simple, classic," she murmured, referring to the strapless bodice and A-line skirt, "and it is such a complimentary colour."
"You should have worn white."
Catherine looked at her daughter and started to laugh. "Baby, I have a teenager. The secret's out---I'm not a virgin," she pointed out, trying to subdue her laughter with little success.
Lindsey sighed. "Yeah, well, it's tradition."
Heather looked at the teenaged girl. "Well, your mother's already done the traditional first wedding," she reminded Lindsey, "and since it was her first wedding, with her first love, it wouldn't be right to copy it. What do you think?"
The blonde girl's brow furrowed for a moment as she thought about what Heather had said. Then, she replied, "Well... I guess it would be weird to do two weddings pretty much the same." She paused and tilted her head. "Does Gil know you're wearing red?"
"Yeah," Catherine murmured, smiling at her daughter. "He helped pick the colour, actually."
"Okay."
Catherine shared a smile with Heather and then leaned over to kiss Lindsey's cheek. "You want to go check on the guys before you put your dress on?"
Lindsey huffed. "Mom... they're not going to listen to me. They're going to be late no matter what---"
"Then you march up to Warrick and you poke him in the chest and remind him that some people have planes to catch and some people need to get married by three o'clock," Catherine interrupted gently. "And if he doesn't have a watch, you go over to Jim... and you tell him that I will make sure Sofia is not very nice to him for a week if he does not get the group out and ready to go."
"But---"
Catherine interrupted her again. "And if that doesn't work, go down to the ballroom and get one of the ushers to politely remind the groomsmen that we have an appointment to keep," she said, referring to Nick, Greg, Timothy, and Tony. "They'll take care of it."
Lindsey huffed again, this time wordlessly. Catherine arched an eyebrow and waited for Lindsey to protest. She never did. Instead, she shrugged and said, "Okay. Fine."
A few minutes later, she was gone.
Heather chuckled and gently squeezed Catherine's shoulder. "She will make life interesting for her mate," the brunette murmured in an amused tone of voice. "She's... so much like you, but different, too."
Catherine blushed a bit. She knew some of Lindsey's personality came from Eddie; she wasn't sure if she found that comforting or not, since only a third of her marriage had been happy. She hoped Lindsey would reflect his better qualities; she also hoped her daughter wouldn't reflect many of her own negative qualities, but she knew what ran in their genes and she knew what Lindsey would eventually have to face.
"No sad thoughts today," Heather whispered. "Today's your day."
She smiled and reached out to put her hands on Heather's arms. "I don't know what I would have done without you here this week," she admitted. "You've been... you've been so good to me and Gil, Heather," she murmured, "beyond your capacity as my maid of honour, I mean." She paused and blushed again. "You know what I mean, right? The friendship and... the other stuff. We value it... you... equally."
"I know," Heather murmured before they exchanged a hug. When she stepped back, she looked into Catherine's eyes and smiled more. "We're very lucky," she whispered.
Catherine nodded. "Very," she agreed. She cleared her throat and then said, "I... Gil and I were talking about... well, how would you feel if..."
Heather cupped Catherine's face in her hands and looked into her eyes. "Pet, what would you like to ask me?"
"May I wear your collar?"
She had been prepared to share a conversation between herself and Gil with Heather. She and Gil had wanted Heather involved in the ceremony, so Catherine had asked her to be her maid of honour; however, they had also thought that wearing the collar she wore when the three of them were together might be an appropriate touch. Catherine and Gil weren't promising themselves to Heather, but they spent more than one or two nights in each other's company and they knew they would always be friends. Too much had happened between them for them to walk away from the bonds forged in the past couple of years.
The brunette seemed flattered by Catherine's question. She smiled and kissed Catherine's lips gently, being careful not to smudge any lipstick, and when she pulled back, she whispered, "Only if I can put it on you."
"Please," Catherine whispered in reply.
"Maybe life is supposed to be complicated," Heather mused quietly as she waited for Catherine to retrieve the strap of jeweled leather.
Catherine smiled as she turned to face Heather, collar in hand. "Yeah," she agreed, knowing that her life had rarely been simple and that she hadn't regretted any of it.
She didn't even regret moving away from Las Vegas. Moving away from Las Vegas had brought her closer to Heather, to Gil, and to a group of people she never would have met if she hadn't joined NCIS. She wouldn't have been getting married that afternoon if she had stayed in Las Vegas, so she could hardly regret the move---no matter how painful it had been at the time to pack up her life.
Heather took the collar from her hands and slid it around her neck. When the leather strap was in place, she stepped back and smiled. "Very nice addition," she murmured.
With one hand, Catherine reached up and put her hand over the collar. She reached around and made sure her hair---which was wavy and loosely pinned back in a messy chignon---wasn't in the way and then she turned to study herself in the mirror.
"Yeah," she whispered in agreement. She turned back and smiled. "Thank you," she breathed.
They shared a hug and then Heather moved back to get Lindsey's bridesmaid dress out of the garment bag it was hiding in. Catherine put the finishing touches on her makeup while she waited for her daughter to return to the room they were using as a bridal suite.
When Lindsey came back, she was holding a large brown envelope in her hands. She looked puzzled, but didn't say anything immediately. It took Catherine a few minutes of prodding before she provoked a response from the teenager.
"It's for you, Mom," she said quietly before she handed it to Catherine.
Catherine understood why she was so ruffled when she saw the writing on the brown paper. "'To: Catherine Willows. Re: Stopping your wedding.'" She frowned. "Interesting..." She looked at Lindsey. "Baby girl, why don't you go into the bathroom and put your dress on?"
"Yeah... okay."
Lindsey disappeared into the other room and Heather approached as Catherine opened the envelope and pulled out a few photographs. Catherine gasped as she saw pictures of herself, holding Heather close as they kissed as lovers kiss, as they undressed, as Heather teased Catherine's body with games of dominance and submission.
"These are... from the last time we were in Vegas," Catherine mumbled, referring to the trip she and Gil and Lindsey had taken a few months ago. "We were at your place... the lens didn't catch Gil watching, though."
Heather put her hands on Catherine's arms. "Who would send you something like that?" she asked quietly. "Someone who doesn't like your mother?"
Catherine shook her head. "N-no," she whispered, "the photos would've gone to her if that was the case. And they would have had a different demand attached. Mom doesn't care who I marry... I mean... well, you know what I mean."
"Yeah," Heather breathed, rubbing her hands over Catherine's arms and shoulders. "So, what does your gut tell you?"
Catherine smiled a bit. "I'm not Gibbs."
"Still..."
She sighed. "Someone doesn't want Gil and I to get married," she said quietly. "Everyone here has been incredibly supportive of our decision to be together."
"Who hasn't?"
Catherine frowned. Her instincts told her it could be Sara, since she had been incredibly unhappy with Gil's decision to marry Catherine, but she didn't want to say anything. If she accused Sara of sending her those photographs, of trying to stop the wedding, she couldn't take it back. She knew that Gil hadn't cut his ties with the other woman, and while they weren't close, he still considered her a friend of some sort.
When she didn't answer Heather's question, the brunette took her phone out of her purse and handed it to Catherine. She looked up, slightly startled.
"Call Gil," Heather advised. "It isn't going to stop the wedding, but you do want to tell him."
She nodded and took the phone from Heather's hand.
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. I managed to write another chapter. My muse is... distracted. lol.
"Beautiful."
When she put the burgundy dress on, she wondered if she and Gil should have settled on a more traditional ceremony and all of the traditional trappings that went along with it. But, as Catherine turned and saw the smile on Heather's face, she felt her doubts begin to fade away.
"You think?"
Heather nodded as she approached. "Simple, classic," she murmured, referring to the strapless bodice and A-line skirt, "and it is such a complimentary colour."
"You should have worn white."
Catherine looked at her daughter and started to laugh. "Baby, I have a teenager. The secret's out---I'm not a virgin," she pointed out, trying to subdue her laughter with little success.
Lindsey sighed. "Yeah, well, it's tradition."
Heather looked at the teenaged girl. "Well, your mother's already done the traditional first wedding," she reminded Lindsey, "and since it was her first wedding, with her first love, it wouldn't be right to copy it. What do you think?"
The blonde girl's brow furrowed for a moment as she thought about what Heather had said. Then, she replied, "Well... I guess it would be weird to do two weddings pretty much the same." She paused and tilted her head. "Does Gil know you're wearing red?"
"Yeah," Catherine murmured, smiling at her daughter. "He helped pick the colour, actually."
"Okay."
Catherine shared a smile with Heather and then leaned over to kiss Lindsey's cheek. "You want to go check on the guys before you put your dress on?"
Lindsey huffed. "Mom... they're not going to listen to me. They're going to be late no matter what---"
"Then you march up to Warrick and you poke him in the chest and remind him that some people have planes to catch and some people need to get married by three o'clock," Catherine interrupted gently. "And if he doesn't have a watch, you go over to Jim... and you tell him that I will make sure Sofia is not very nice to him for a week if he does not get the group out and ready to go."
"But---"
Catherine interrupted her again. "And if that doesn't work, go down to the ballroom and get one of the ushers to politely remind the groomsmen that we have an appointment to keep," she said, referring to Nick, Greg, Timothy, and Tony. "They'll take care of it."
Lindsey huffed again, this time wordlessly. Catherine arched an eyebrow and waited for Lindsey to protest. She never did. Instead, she shrugged and said, "Okay. Fine."
A few minutes later, she was gone.
Heather chuckled and gently squeezed Catherine's shoulder. "She will make life interesting for her mate," the brunette murmured in an amused tone of voice. "She's... so much like you, but different, too."
Catherine blushed a bit. She knew some of Lindsey's personality came from Eddie; she wasn't sure if she found that comforting or not, since only a third of her marriage had been happy. She hoped Lindsey would reflect his better qualities; she also hoped her daughter wouldn't reflect many of her own negative qualities, but she knew what ran in their genes and she knew what Lindsey would eventually have to face.
"No sad thoughts today," Heather whispered. "Today's your day."
She smiled and reached out to put her hands on Heather's arms. "I don't know what I would have done without you here this week," she admitted. "You've been... you've been so good to me and Gil, Heather," she murmured, "beyond your capacity as my maid of honour, I mean." She paused and blushed again. "You know what I mean, right? The friendship and... the other stuff. We value it... you... equally."
"I know," Heather murmured before they exchanged a hug. When she stepped back, she looked into Catherine's eyes and smiled more. "We're very lucky," she whispered.
Catherine nodded. "Very," she agreed. She cleared her throat and then said, "I... Gil and I were talking about... well, how would you feel if..."
Heather cupped Catherine's face in her hands and looked into her eyes. "Pet, what would you like to ask me?"
"May I wear your collar?"
She had been prepared to share a conversation between herself and Gil with Heather. She and Gil had wanted Heather involved in the ceremony, so Catherine had asked her to be her maid of honour; however, they had also thought that wearing the collar she wore when the three of them were together might be an appropriate touch. Catherine and Gil weren't promising themselves to Heather, but they spent more than one or two nights in each other's company and they knew they would always be friends. Too much had happened between them for them to walk away from the bonds forged in the past couple of years.
The brunette seemed flattered by Catherine's question. She smiled and kissed Catherine's lips gently, being careful not to smudge any lipstick, and when she pulled back, she whispered, "Only if I can put it on you."
"Please," Catherine whispered in reply.
"Maybe life is supposed to be complicated," Heather mused quietly as she waited for Catherine to retrieve the strap of jeweled leather.
Catherine smiled as she turned to face Heather, collar in hand. "Yeah," she agreed, knowing that her life had rarely been simple and that she hadn't regretted any of it.
She didn't even regret moving away from Las Vegas. Moving away from Las Vegas had brought her closer to Heather, to Gil, and to a group of people she never would have met if she hadn't joined NCIS. She wouldn't have been getting married that afternoon if she had stayed in Las Vegas, so she could hardly regret the move---no matter how painful it had been at the time to pack up her life.
Heather took the collar from her hands and slid it around her neck. When the leather strap was in place, she stepped back and smiled. "Very nice addition," she murmured.
With one hand, Catherine reached up and put her hand over the collar. She reached around and made sure her hair---which was wavy and loosely pinned back in a messy chignon---wasn't in the way and then she turned to study herself in the mirror.
"Yeah," she whispered in agreement. She turned back and smiled. "Thank you," she breathed.
They shared a hug and then Heather moved back to get Lindsey's bridesmaid dress out of the garment bag it was hiding in. Catherine put the finishing touches on her makeup while she waited for her daughter to return to the room they were using as a bridal suite.
When Lindsey came back, she was holding a large brown envelope in her hands. She looked puzzled, but didn't say anything immediately. It took Catherine a few minutes of prodding before she provoked a response from the teenager.
"It's for you, Mom," she said quietly before she handed it to Catherine.
Catherine understood why she was so ruffled when she saw the writing on the brown paper. "'To: Catherine Willows. Re: Stopping your wedding.'" She frowned. "Interesting..." She looked at Lindsey. "Baby girl, why don't you go into the bathroom and put your dress on?"
"Yeah... okay."
Lindsey disappeared into the other room and Heather approached as Catherine opened the envelope and pulled out a few photographs. Catherine gasped as she saw pictures of herself, holding Heather close as they kissed as lovers kiss, as they undressed, as Heather teased Catherine's body with games of dominance and submission.
"These are... from the last time we were in Vegas," Catherine mumbled, referring to the trip she and Gil and Lindsey had taken a few months ago. "We were at your place... the lens didn't catch Gil watching, though."
Heather put her hands on Catherine's arms. "Who would send you something like that?" she asked quietly. "Someone who doesn't like your mother?"
Catherine shook her head. "N-no," she whispered, "the photos would've gone to her if that was the case. And they would have had a different demand attached. Mom doesn't care who I marry... I mean... well, you know what I mean."
"Yeah," Heather breathed, rubbing her hands over Catherine's arms and shoulders. "So, what does your gut tell you?"
Catherine smiled a bit. "I'm not Gibbs."
"Still..."
She sighed. "Someone doesn't want Gil and I to get married," she said quietly. "Everyone here has been incredibly supportive of our decision to be together."
"Who hasn't?"
Catherine frowned. Her instincts told her it could be Sara, since she had been incredibly unhappy with Gil's decision to marry Catherine, but she didn't want to say anything. If she accused Sara of sending her those photographs, of trying to stop the wedding, she couldn't take it back. She knew that Gil hadn't cut his ties with the other woman, and while they weren't close, he still considered her a friend of some sort.
When she didn't answer Heather's question, the brunette took her phone out of her purse and handed it to Catherine. She looked up, slightly startled.
"Call Gil," Heather advised. "It isn't going to stop the wedding, but you do want to tell him."
She nodded and took the phone from Heather's hand.