Bug Love

Rating: It's safe.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. RAWR.

Summary: Catherine, Gil, and a tarantula.

A/N: OH MY GOSH! I haven't written a Grillows fic in the longest time. Damn! I'm so sorry, all my Grillows peeps. But this is something I came up with while waiting for my McDonalds. LOL. It's nothing special, but I haven't written a GCR fic in the longest time and I just had to.

I do have a Beta, but I can't find her. I haven't talked to her in like, a week. :( Kayla, you can yell at me when you talk to me again. So any mistakes are mine. I'm sure you'll find a few. LOL. Hope you guys like it!

Nick casually walked down the hall, his shift being a slow and boring one. Every office he passed was either empty or the door was closed- until he got to Catherine's. He saw her sitting behind her desk, a book flat against her desk. She was flipping through the pages and nodding her head at some of the pictures. He moved a little closer to get a look at what she was reading, but he jumped when she slammed the book.

"Oh. Nick. Hi." He gave her a little nod. "What's up?" He walked into her office and took a seat across from her, his hands resting across his stomach.

"Nothing. Shifts been slow. I thought I'd explore a little," he smirked at his new found discovery. "What you got there?" He pointed to the book that she was reading seconds ago.

"Oh this? Nothing. Something to pass the time. Ya' know..." Her voice trailed off as he stood from his chair and leaned over the desk to get a better look at the cover. She closed her eyes to avoid his smile and bit her bottom lip.

"Big Book of Bugs," he asked, a hint of amusement laced in his voice. She nodded slowly and fell back into her chair, the embarrassment now over. "Can I ask why?"

"You don't want to know why."

Then it hit him. Book of Bugs? Grissom.

"This is about Grissom, isn't it?" Catherine's face instantly turned a shade of red. "Tell me, Cath."

She eyed him for a couple of seconds before she finally gave in.

"Fine. But if any of this gets out-"

"Your secret is safe with me." He poked his eye. "Scout's honor." She rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her face.

"Okay. So Gil likes bugs, right?"

"Right. Though... 'loves' might be a better adjective in this situation." She nodded.

"And do you think Gil would have another person around here to... share his interest?"

"Well..."

"No. So that's why I'm taking up the challenge. Plus, we'd have something in common." Nick laughed.

"Catherine, you hate bugs."

"I do not hate them," she was quick to protest. "I just... don't see their purpose in my life."

"Well I know where we can start." She smiled.

"Really?" He nodded and stood up, motioning for her to follow. They walked out into the hall and headed towards Grissom's office. Catherine stopped and grabbed Nick's hand, trying to pull him back.

"No! What if he's in there?"

"He's not. I passed by a few minutes ago." Catherine bit her bottom lip and let Nick drag her into Gil's office. He flicked on the light switch and closed the door behind them. "Welcome to the Bug Sanctuary. Everything you would want to know about bugs, I guarantee you, is in that desk."

Catherine held back her laughter and walked around Grissom's desk. Carefully, she opened up one of the compartments and shrieked. She closed it and fell into Grissom's chair.

"That has got to be the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

"Not that easy, is it?"

"Look... I just wanted to know a little about what interests him so much. I owe him that much, don't I? He barely socializes as it is. If someone would take the time to learn what gets him excited and what would make him want to talk, then he'd be..."

"A lot happier?"

"I hope so."

"Well since this nice little field trip to Grissom's office didn't help, maybe something else will."

In Catherine's office a few minutes later...

"The German cockroach is the prominent-"

"Catherine, wake up!" Catherine straightened up in her chair and blinked a few times. She yawned and stretched in her chair, the video on cockroaches obviously not keeping her interest. Nick was sitting across from her, with the remote to the television in his hand and a soda in the other.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Long enough for a female cockroach to reproduce fifty times." Catherine stared at him for a few seconds, letting herself fully wake up before she stood from the chair and turned off the video.

"This isn't helping."

"Well... I only have one more technique for us to try." Catherine's face lit up. "And it's something you're not going to like."

"Oh come on! Stop being so negative! Let's go!"

In the back of the crime lab...

"There is no way in hell I'm doing this." Nick smirked.

"Oh come on, Catherine. Stop being so negative."

"You little twirp. I am not picking that... thing up. You must be out of your mind!"

"I bet Sara would do it..." Catherine ran her tongue over her teeth, smacked her lips, and held out her hand forcefully.

"Give me that damn bug." Nick smiled and placed some random bug he had found in the grass in her hand. She tensed when she felt the little legs poke at her hand, walking on her skin. She screamed seconds later and threw the bug down, shaking her hand quickly to make sure the bug was off.

"You almost had it. Just... don't... murder the poor thing next time?"

"Poor thing? You're going to take the bug's side?!" Nick held up the bug in his hand. "Euuuwwww." She shivered and wiped her hands against her jeans.

"Fine. We'll start with something that doesn't have legs?"

"Huh?" When Nick turned around, he held a white container. He opened the lid and revealed the next 'bug' she would be holding. She shook her head and stuck her hands into her pockets. "Hell no."

"But it has no legs!"

"That is not a bug, Nick! It's a... a..."

"Worm. It's a worm. If you can't hold a worm, then I give up. Like... seriously." She let out a long sigh, knowing she was going to hate herself for this, and held out her hand. Nick carefully took out a worm, holding it in the air for a few seconds. He placed it in Catherine's hand and watched with a smirk as her face twisted in disgust as he crawled in her hand.

"God.. this... is... disgusting."

"Just get used to it. It's not that bad. Come on, Catherine. Breathe." She took in deep breaths and opened one of her eyes. "If you can hold this, you can hold anything." She carefully handed the worm back to Nick and jumped when he placed it back into the container. Her smile was so wide, Nick almost laughed.

"I did it! I held it! Oh my God!" Nick nodded and pulled out another container.

"Good. Now hold this..." He opened the lid and revealed a small cockroach running around the bottom and trying to crawl up the container walls.

After a few hours of holding bugs and learning not to scream when one crawled on her hand, Catherine was ready to show her new interest to Gil. She proudly knocked against his office door and walked in before he could respond to her knock. He sat behind his desk, his glasses perching on his nose. She chose not to sit, but instead, stand in front of him.

"Catherine?" He noticed her smile and narrowed his eyes. She pointed to a cage in the back of his office and walked around his desk to stand next to him.

"What's that?"

"A tarantula." She observed the quiet creature for a few seconds before looking up at him to find he had a smile on his face.

"Can I hold it?"

His heart skipped a beat.

"Really?" She nodded.

"It's harmless, isn't it? I mean... if handled properly." He was at a loss for words. Instead, he stood from his chair and opened the cage. Carefully, he stuck his hand in and let his pet tarantula crawl into the palm of his hand. Slowly, he lifted it out of the cage and saw Catherine already had her hand out. With his free hand, he gently grabbed hers and encouraged the furry spider onto Catherine's small hand. "It's beautiful," she whispered.

At her words, Gil began to stare at her. Watching her smile widen as the tarantula moved slowly around her hand. No one else had the courage to walk into his office and ask to hold his pet. A few days ago, he wouldn't have imagined Catherine holding a worm, much less a tarantula. She began to giggle and grabbed Gil's hand. Neither one of them could ignore the sudden jolt of electricity that shot up both their arms at the sudden contact.

"I think she wants her daddy," Catherine whispered and placed her hand in Gil's, letting the spider crawl off her hand and into Gil's. "That was amazing," she commented as Gil placed the spider back into it's cage. He turned to face her and couldn't help but smile at her expression. "How long have you been having her?"

"A couple of years." She noticed he couldn't wipe the grin off of his face.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing's funny. I... I just can't believe you held a tarantula. My tarantula." She smiled and looked around his office.

"You got anything else in here that I can hold?" As she turned her head to look back at him, she felt his warm hands against her face. He pressed a soft, loving kiss to her lips and held her against him. Her hands slid up his chest and held onto the back of his neck. His arms dropped and wrapped themselves around her waist. She tilted her head and parted her lips, encouraging him to go further. Their tongues met and both of them moaned at the sensation. She slowed their kiss down and ran her fingers through his hair.

They parted when the need for air became too great. He rested his forehead against hers and smiled. She placed a kiss on his cheek as they swayed slowly in his office. He pulled her closer, hugging her tight. She nuzzled her face into the side of his neck, feeling warm and safe in his arms.

"I should've asked to hold that thing a lot sooner, then."

A/N: So I couldn't come up with a good ending. But of course, Gil and Catherine must kiss. They HAVE to. LOL. If you've noticed, I think in all my Grillows stories, they kiss. (laughs) Sorry for any mistakes, again. Kayla will probably kick my ass when she see's this.

Reviews would make my spring break a lot better!