BREAKING THE PATTERN
Spoilers: "Felonius Monk" (217)
Rating: CSI Level-1 (K+)
Genre: GCR
Summary: After Catherine reopens Stephanie's case, and subsequently has to charge Jimmy with planting evidence, she's in need of someone to turn to.
After making her way down every corridor in the lab, Catherine found him in his office... shuffling papers around on his desk, biting down adorably on his lip. She stood in the doorway for an extended moment and just watched him, smiling softly at him while she sniffled back the rest of her tears. The sniffle was what caused Gil to finally look up, surprise lacing his tone. "Hey."
She smiled weakly, still leaning against the door jamb as she stared at him. "Hey."
The pair shared a stare for a long moment, drinking in the other's presence and energy... before Gil cocked his head slightly, warily. "Did you need something, my dear? Or did you just wanna stand in the doorway?"
Truth be told, she would've rather just stood in the doorway. As long as he was in her sightlines, she could remain calm. She could breathe normally... his aura just giving her strength. Still, she permitted another half-smile to escape before stepping inside, into the dim light of his office... the desk lamp the only source of light.
This was when Gil saw the tear-tracks on her cheeks. His forehead wrinkled in concern, his tone dropping low... the tenor timbre soothing her bruised spirit. "Hey, are you okay?"
Gulping back the sobs threatening to burst forth, Catherine merely shook her head, her eyes drifting to the tile floor. His finger tipping her chin back up suddenly sent a G-force rattling through her stomach, and she soon found herself drowning in the calm sea of his cerulean eyes. "Tell me..." he whispered, and it was hearing those two simple words that she lost it.
As soon as her sobs filled the air, his arms reached out, first swinging the door shut to give them some privacy before engulfing her in his warmth... in his embrace. He held her tightly, one arm snaking around her waist while the other threaded through her shoulder-length strawberry-blonde strands, gently pressing her head to his chest. He rested his chin on her head. "Catherine..." he whispered, shocked by the sudden outburst. "Please tell me what's wrong."
When she opened her mouth to inform him of what was troubling her, her voice came out in a high-pitched whine, her words indecipherable. Gil frowned thoughtfully as he pulled away, pressing his lips together as he tried to make head or tail of the whine that escaped her lips. "You got jimmies?" was all he could come up with.
He was rewarded by a smack on the shoulder, and another one, this one more clear. "No! It's Jimmy!"
Gil made a face, shaking his head slightly. "Jimmy?" After a moment, realization settled in... that much evident in his change of expression. "Ohh... your old mentor, Jimmy Tedaro?"
When she nodded emphatically, he nodded in return. "Okay... so what about Jimmy?"
She sniffled, and began to whine once more in her high-pitched voice, before Gil held up his hands to stop her. "Wait, wait, wait."
When she looked up at him in question, he clarified, only the tiniest hint of a smirk playing on his lips as his eyes twinkled. "Cath, only dogs can hear you right now." He gestured to his couch. "Why don't you sit down, take a moment."
She complied, and after she'd sat down, he joined her... his left leg on the floor and his right leg crossed over it as he faced Catherine. Pressing his elbow into the couch, he reached up and began tenderly moving her hair out of her face, her head hitting the back of the couch as she took a deep breath. After she'd calmed considerably, he tried again, his tone low and soothing. "Now..." he murmured, "Tell me about Jimmy."
Catherine then relayed to him everything that had happened, starting with reopening Stephanie's case, to discovering new evidence, and finally coming to the conclusion that Jimmy had planted evidence... and therefore had to be arrested. When she reached the end of her story, her tears were flowing anew, and Gil reached for her, pulling her across the couch and into his arms.
"Cath, you did the right thing," he assured her, one hand rubbing her back while the other stroked her hair.
"I know," she whimpered, her voice muffled as her face remained pressed against his chest. "I know I did."
He craned his neck slightly to look down at her. "Well, then why are you so upset?"
"It's just... a pattern! Don't you see?"
He stared blankly at her for a moment, before shaking his head. "No."
"Every guy that's ever made a difference in my life has gone on to disappoint me! Do rotten things behind my back! Y'know?"
There was another pause, another blank stare, accompanied by another blunt, "No."
Catherine sighed. "Take Jimmy, first of all. He turned my life around by making me see how great I would be as a criminalist, y'know? And now, he's getting thrown in jail, possibly for the rest of his life, for planting evidence."
"Mm-hmm..."
"And Ty, the bartender I worked with at the French Palace. He pushed me to go back to school, kept telling me I was too good for exotic dancing... so I went to school. And then Ty got thrown in jail a year ago for embezzling."
"Uh-huh..."
"And then there's Eddie!"
Gil nodded, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Of course, Eddie."
"He got me off coke and set me straight... and he wound up abusing me and cheating on me!"
"Yeah, I remember. I was there."
"So you see? It's a pattern!"
"Yeah, I see." For a long moment, silence enveloped the pair, Gil still holding Catherine in his arms... before he pulled back slightly, craning his neck downward once more to look at her, inciting her to lift her head from his chest. When cobalt met aqua, he posed his question. "So where do I fit into this pattern?"
"You--" She froze in the middle of her sentence, her eyes seemingly drifting away into space for a moment as realization settled over her. When she met his eyes again, she let out her response in an exhale. "You don't."
He nodded just slightly, barely visible, his eyes searching hers. "I know," he whispered.
"You're the only one..." she murmured. Her eyes searched his, moving back and forth between his royal blue orbs. "You're the only one that hasn't disappointed me... yet."
"Yet?" Pain flitted across his face, and he shook his head, his tone low and sure. "Catherine, I will never disappoint you."
"Never?" her voice came out tiny, startled by the sudden intensity overwhelming his eyes.
"Never."
She pressed her fists to his chest, leaning back slightly as his hands remained on her back, holding her close. "How can you be sure?"
The left corner of his mouth twitched into a smile, and he allowed one hand to leave her back only briefly in order to caress her sleek, strawberry-blonde strands. "Because, Catherine. I made a promise to myself to never disappoint you." He wiped away the one stray tear that remained on her cheek with his finger. "To never make you cry..." He cupped the side of her face with his hand, his thumb stroking her cheekbone. "And to do everything in my power to make sure you're happy."
Her eyes searched his once more, realization dawning in her azure depths of what he was subtly confessing. But she had to be sure. "Why?" she whispered.
He chuckled, his other hand reaching her face. "Why?" he repeated, the question laced with a chuckle... as if it were completely absurd that she would even ask.
She didn't respond verbally... she just grinned that angelic, thousand-watt smile at him and shrugged her slender shoulders impishly. She knew... but she wanted him to say it.
He burst into a grin and chuckled at the look on her face, his thumb gliding across her lower lip as he leaned close to her. Her eyes followed his lips until they were millimeters away from hers. She met his eyes, both sets half-closed in anticipation as they felt one another's breath on their lips. He whispered his confession to her, his lips feather-lightly teasing her in the process as he dragged out each syllable. "Because I love you, Catherine."
And he sealed his words with a kiss.
FINIS