Awake and Dreaming

Rating: R

Pairing: Catherine/Gil

Description: C/G fluff. It has no plot whatsoever!!!

Disclaimer: I still don't own them...

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The crime lab was fairly empty that night. Everyone had gone home early

to get ready for the weekend. It was slow. Catherine Willows strode

briskly down the hall to Gil Grissom's office. She knocked once on the

door and a gruff voice answered with a curt "Yes?"

"Gil, I have the results of the labwork done on Jane Doe's blood and..."

she stopped abruptly, trying to hide the smirk that was creeping across

her face. "Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked teasingly. He had a red

stripe across his cheek that matched the stack of papers sitting on his

desk. There was a wet spot smudging the ink on the top piece...something

that looked suspiciously like drool.

"Er..." Gil looked flustered. Catherine was almost shocked. Grissom?

Flustered? He quickly pulled himself together. "Excuse me, Cath, did you

have something you wanted to tell me or shall I just go back to sleep?"

he asked coyly.

"Yeah. We got the blood back from the lab and it seems our mystery vic

had high levels of CO2 in her...blood..." Catherine trailed off when she

noticed the glazed look cloud her coworkers ice blue eyes. "Uh, Gris?

Is something wrong?" she asked, a little concerned. It wasn't like Gil

to lose his concentration like this when there was a case that needed

solving.

"Huh? Did you say something Cath?" he asked, not really meeting her eyes.

"Gil, what's up? You're a total space cadet tonight!" she exclaimed.

"It's just.....no, there's no way I could tell you. You'll only laugh at

me." he replied, dropping his eyes to the floor. Catherine laughed.

"What is it, Gris? Girl trouble?" she joked. Grissom concentrated harder

on the floor, and Catherine could swear a red glow was rising in his cheeks

and tickling his ears. "Oh my God, the apocalypse is here! Gil has girl

problems!" Catherine shrieked with laughter.

"Wanna announce it over the PA? I'm sure it'd be quieter!" hissed Gil,

embarrassed at his current situation.

"Well? Who is it? Wait, I know, it's Sara, isn't it? Oh my God, you

have the hots for Sidle, don't you?" she gasped, feeling a familiar pang

of jealousy in her gut.

"No, for God sakes, no! She's, like, fifteen years younger than me!!

That's just wrong!" he exclaimed, shocked.

"Not Sidle, huh?" said Catherine thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "Well,

who else is there that Gil has romantic interest in?" she said, a comment

made more to herself than Gil. She was hesitant to admit, even to herself,

that this was a very uncomfortable situation for her to be in.

She was used to the feelings she got now whenever she was working in a

close proximity to Gil; a warm feeling spreading from her core out to her

fingertips, a tingly sensation all over her body. For a while she had

tried to convince herself that it was hormones, or some sort of nerve

disorder. The more it happened the more she attempted to dismiss the

feelings for something else. But the feelings became more intense.

She had to learn to hide her passion, or to change it into a passion

for whatever case she was working on. She learned to accept the fact

that she, Catherine Willows, the calm, cool and collected one, was falling

head over heels for him. She felt like dancing whenever he paid her a

compliment. She wanted to pin him to the wall when he got his sexy look;

brow furrowed in concentration, tongue sticking out of the corner of his

mouth, sometimes sliding across his lips to moisten them.

And now, he was about to discuss his feelings for another woman right in

front of her. "OK, spill" she sighed, plopping into the chair across

from him, moving slightly away from a nasty specimen suspended in green

liquid on a shelf behind her.

"You don't give up, do you, Willows?" he sighed resignedly. "Fine. She's

an amazingly gorgeous woman" he began. Catherine nodded, a knot of

jealousy growing inside her. "She's sophisticated, smart and caring.

Very passionate." he said, twiddling his pen through his fingers. "I have

to admit I've had a crush on her for a while now. No, she doesn't know"

he added, to the look on Catherine's face. "No, I doubt she can come close

to fathoming my feelings for her." He leaned forward on his chair, resting

his elbows on the top of his desk and placing his chin in his hands. She

gazed intently into his eyes, her lust growing every second.

"Her hands fascinate me. I love to watch her work. I can't stand being

near her. I feel like I'm going to burst when I'm around her." he said,

blushing again. Catherine had never heard Gil talk like this. She watched

his mouth as he talked, watched his moist red tongue darting back and

forth, wanting to press her lips onto his in an earthshattering kiss. She

shook the thoughts out of her head, scolding herself inwardly.

"So she works here...you work with her..." Catherine summarized, going over

a list of people in her head. There was Sara, but he had already protested

vehemently to that one...countless interns, techies and other lab

rats...Catherine felt very clueless.

"She makes me feel alive" he whispered. Catherine's jealousy was painfully

pulsing, coursing through her veins. She wanted to reach across the table

and grab his shoulders, to yell 'damnit Gil, kiss me'. But she could never

do that. Instead she sat in stony silence.

Gil broke the silence. "So, Cath, queen of the crime lab, don't you know

who it is?" he asked.

She shook her head and replied "No" almost scathingly.

"Well, I told you she's drop dead gorgeous" he said. Catherine's jealousy

raged like an inferno inside her chest. "She has blonde hair, beautiful

hazel eyes..." he continued. Catherine nodded curtly. "She is an amazing

mother..." Catherine felt a surge of excitement as Gil reached across the

desk and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "And she is sitting

right here in front of me" he finished.

"Wha..." Catherine began but was too stunned to finish. Gil stared

intently into her eyes, boring into her very soul. She stared back into

his eyes, fathomless, filled with...was it lust? Desire? Catherine was

sure hers mirrored his.

"I was so afraid, Cath" he said as he stroked her cheek. She couldn't

hold back the sigh that erupted from her throat. "I was afraid I would

never be able to tell you. I took the chance tonight...and I can see it

in your eyes that you feel the same" he said. He ran his finger up her

striking cheekbone and caressed her ear. She sighed again and began to

speak when he pressed his lips to hers, so tenderly. Their lips seemed

to fit together perfectly. She took initiative and deepened the kiss,

prying at the crease of his lips, slipping her tongue into his mouth to

caress his own. She felt like she was in a dream. He pulled her head

closer to his, wrapping his hands in her hair as she undid the top button

on his shirt. He gently pulled her hand away and chuckled at her groan

of frustration.

"Not here, not now." he whispered. Disappointed, she nodded in agreement.

He gazed at her; lips swollen from the kiss, eyes lustily half closed,

shirt crooked on her torso. She straightened it self consciously and

turned to leave. He caught her hand.

"Call me when you get home"