FF :: Cupid's Chokehold (10 - Kissing a Fool)
Title: Cupid's Chokehold
Author: GraveyardIntern
Rating: CSI-1
Spoilers: None
Disclaimers: I don't own them. I only wish I did.
Summary: "Gil felt like a needle was poking at his chest or why he
felt like he had plunged into hell when he saw Catherine at the
restaurant. It was because Cupid had fired his smoking gun blindly, in
the wrong direction."
Writer's Note: HAVE FUN AND REVIEW PLEASEE!!!!!
<< Chapter 10 :: Kissing a Fool >>
“So how do you like Seattle so far?”
Gil and Catherine were walking in the downtown streets after having their drink at the hotel bar. Gil was surprised at the fact that he was already familiar with the environment and felt somewhat at ease. Catherine had her arm linked with his, and his hands were in his pocket. How natural this felt to him. He thought he could do this forever. He knew he could.
“It’s…different, and it’s interesting.” He answered, and she giggled. “What’s so funny?” He wondered if it was the alcohol that they had consumed.
“Just the two of us here…walking along the streets of Seattle at an ungodly hour. The fact that we never did this in Vegas surprises me.” She replied and he laughed. He suddenly remembered everything back at Vegas, where nothing seemed as bright as it did after she had left him so brutally.
“How’s Lindsey?” He asked, a smile appearing on his lips as he thought back to the angel of a daughter Catherine had, whom he hadn’t spoken to in too long.
“Oh she’s just about getting ready to go to college. She got accepted to UC Berkeley, and it’s been really hectic.” She told him, and he wondered how she could sound so casual, not letting a hint of pride get into that sentence.
“UC Berkeley? Wow. She’s got her mother’s intellect.” Gil told her and she nudged him. “She’ll wonder where you are.”
“Oh well. She’s 17. I think she can handle herself. At least that’s what she’s been telling me the last few years. She’ll think I’m with Ian anyways.” Catherine replied.
Gil’s muscles involuntarily tensed and he knew Catherine felt it. There was an awkward silence between them before Gil picked it up again.
“They miss you.” Gil whispered and she nodded, knowing whom he was speaking of. “It was really hard for us the first couple of months.”
“I’m sorry. I…I know I was being selfish, but…I had to do it.”
“You don’t have to defend yourself to me. I know it’s what you had to do.” He replied with a bitter smile and she nodded, acknowledging his understanding. “It’s just…you were so important to our team, and…I guess none of us realized it until we didn’t have you with us anymore.”
“Thank you.”
“How do you like it here? How’s work? What’s it like being an Assistant Director?”
“It’s…let’s just say I understand what Ecklie was going through. And I really must admit, Seattle is quite generous to law enforcement.”
“That says a lot, Catherine.” Gil replied, smiling. She chuckled.
“But…I miss being a CSI. I miss being on your team.” She told him, squeezing his arm. “I miss getting up late at night, and seeing that beautiful red sunrise as I drive off to a location. I haven’t seen a sunrise since, you know.”
“Then come back.” He told her, not losing a beat. He said it jokingly, but it wasn’t a joke. She smiled and shrugged it off. His face mirrored her smile, only it ended much sooner.
“Let’s go in here.” Catherine was pointing to a quiet coffee shop and Gil was surprised it was open at 10:00pm. They walked in, and grabbed a sofa in the far corner. Catherine turned her body to face Gil.
“So…how about you. Did the bugman date anyone while I was gone?” She asked, hesitantly, knowing Gil never liked the subject. Gil smiled and shook his head. “Oh come on. Not another Teri Miller? No Lady Heather?”
“Afraid not. I’ve been…really busy.” He left out the details of his life back in Vegas; work and Sara. He hadn’t seen anyone outside the lab after she had left.
Not another Catherine Willows.
“Oh well. We’ll have to find someone for you pretty soon.” She muttered as she went to grab their coffees.
“Some day.”
-------------------------------------------
After their coffee and feeling warm, they headed to the hotel. Catherine was pointing out places for him to pay special attention to, and as Gil was always eager to learn new things, he absorbed every piece of information Catherine told him, even in passing. As they were passing by an alley, a motorcycle raced out of nowhere, and Gil managed to pull Catherine back in time but lost his balance as he was pushed into the nearest wall.
“What the hell! I swear the traffic is worst here…” Catherine started but didn’t finish as she realized she was out of breath. Her back was now against his stomach and his hands were holding her forearms. It wasn’t as if it was their first physical contact, but both of them knew it was different somehow. It wasn’t intentional, wasn’t forced but it came naturally and instinctively. Gil tried to move, but his muscles failed him.
“You know…if you wanted to hold me like this, you could have asked.” Catherine had a knack for turning awkward situations into humorous ones. He chuckled as she surprised him by leaning further onto him. He didn’t know what else to do other than chuckle as he was hesitant to do anything. He looked around him, and the strange thing was, no one bothered to stare or glare at them. “Come on. I know you want to.” When he still didn’t move, she forcefully took his hands and put it around her waist, linking her fingers with his. “See? Much better.”
“Mhm.” Gil could only agree and chuckle. He realized she was quite secure in her relationship with Ian for her to be doing something like this. “You know, we should probably get you home.” Gil muttered as he pushed both of them off the wall.
“You want to take me home? Gil Grissom!” She playfully elbowed him in the ribs and he feigned hurt as he leaned his head against her shoulder. They both laughed, their laughter bouncing off the walls of the buildings towering around them. He had to shake his head at how easy they had fallen right back into their friendly bantering, fallen right back into being comfortable and being at ease with each other as much as they had been in when they were best friends back in Vegas.
Fallen right back into each other’s arms.
She walked out of his arms and pulled him with her as they resumed their walk back to the Sheraton. It surprised Gil that all this had happened so naturally, so innocently. They walked, arms touching, to the visitor parking and when they arrived at her car, they stood there, not saying anything. He looked at her, her hair a dim yellow under the fluorescent lights of the grey parking lot. He realized he liked seeing her during the day. Because she simply shone.
“So…” He put his hands in his pockets, feeling the emptiness of the pocket except for his hotel card key.
“Oh I forgot to ask. When are you leaving?” She asked him, rummaging in her purse for her keys.
“Ecklie thinks I worked hard and gave me a few days off.” Gil replied as he realized how ridiculous that sounded. Her head shot up from what she was doing and she stared at him in disbelief.
“Ecklie? The same Conrad Ecklie who would give me vacation over his dead body?”
“The one and the same.” Gil replied, making her roll her eyes.
“What are you up to tomorrow?” She asked.
“What do you think?” He replied, with a hint of sarcasm.
“Okay. So let me take you to breakfast and come to my house to see Lindsey.” She dug her keys out of her purse and unlocked the door. She leaned on the driver’s door, and looked up at him. “Then…you promise to be mine for the day. Deal?”
“Deal.” He was rewarded with a tender kiss on the cheek before she drove away in her Audi, and left him waving at the orange Seattle night sky, and grinning like a fool.