3:32 a.m. Catherine looked out the window. She really didn't know why; perhaps she was willing Gil home or half expected him to be home from work so early. It really was pointless to try to sleep. If it hadn't been her night off, she'd be pulsating on the high she received from working a case.

The moon was bright, out shining the stars. A glow was cast off it, giving it an artificial look. With a loud sigh, Catherine released the curtain and stepped away. Not really having a destination in mind, she just wandered. The house had an old feel to it; a lived in comfort that told Catherine love was not a stranger to it.

It was an older house that she, Gil, and Lindsey had loved at first sight. It had three bedrooms, a spacious living room and den, along with a delightful kitchen in the dead center of the house. There was a charm to it that Catherine always associated with ranch houses. That had been the one thing she had loved about her families ranch; the house. And now she had one just like it to live in with her husband and daughter.

"Husband." Catherine smiled gleefully at the word. Even after over a year of marriage she still felt a thrill of exhilaration race through her when she thought of Gil as her husband or called him that to other people. When people called her Mrs. Grissom it took her a moment to realize that they were indeed speaking to her.

Catherine had made it to Lindsey's room. The room was painted a pale, pale peach and was bright and warm, just like its occupant. Catherine stepped into the silent room and looked at the vacant bed; Lindsey was at a friend's for a sleepover.

Laundry. `That's what I can do,' Catherine thought cheerfully to herself. There was a time when she would have thought she had gone off her rocker when laundry became fun. But leave it to Gil to make a horrendous task, that she loathed, fun.

Giving her something to do, Catherine began retrieving the clothes from the hamper in her and Gil's bathroom and Lindsey's bathroom. As she separated the clothes, Catherine thought of the first time she and Gil had ever done laundry together.

They were at her house and the dryer had just quit. Gil pushed the stop button on the remote and the VCR halted. He followed Catherine into the bathroom where the washer and dryer sat. They loaded the clothes into the basket. While Gil started the next load, Catherine took the, still warm clothes, into the living room.

As soon as Gil sad down and joined in the folding, Catherine fixed him with a smirk. "I still can't believe you wear these things." Catherine said, holding up a pair of leopard print Speedos.

Gil looked up from his search for the partner of the sock that lay on his thigh. "Why?"

"They were a gag gift. I never thought you would actually wear them." Catherine retorted, as she folded an undershirt of his.

"They make me feel sexy." Gil stated nonchalantly.

His dead panned response had a stunned Catherine turning her attention to him for confirmation.

Gil just chuckled and offered Catherine a cheeky smile.

Catherine was clearly flustered and decided the subject needed to be changed. "I hate doing laundry." She grumbled.

"What's so bad about it?" Gil asked while he folded yet another pair of socks.

"I don't know. I just don't like it."

"Come on. It can be fun." Gil coaxed in a voice thick with laughter.

"How?" Catherine inquired.

"Oh..." Gil trailed off as he gathered up ammunition.

Catherine was suddenly struck in the shoulder by a pair of precision placed socks. She looked up in shock, and then smiled. Grabbing the first thing she could, Gil's leopard print Speedos, she fired back. Gil easily dodged. Catherine caught on fast and saw that socks were the ideal projectile. She successfully hit Gil in the chest, and then dodged as a pair came mighty close to her right ear. Determination and revenge fueled Catherine's next launch that connected with Gil in his groin.

"Moving on reflex, even though no pain was inflicted, Gil sharply stated, "Hey."

Catherine just tried to cover her laugh with her hand.

The battle waged on until all the clothes were successfully strung all over the room, looking as if the dryer had exploded and the two were laughing hard as they sat on the floor in a truce.

Catherine smiled at the memory.

As the clothes were being cleaned, Catherine continued her journey through the house and remembered the first time she had met Gil Grissom.

It was a dreary, rainy day in Las Vegas. The early morning sun couldn't break through the steel gray clouds. Catherine was delighted about the weather and was paying closer attention to details than normal. She found herself on the edge of Bellagio's Lake. A lone figure stood with his back to her. Catherine thought it oddly fitting that the man had his head down in a way of despair with the sad rain falling on him. There was something in the defeated slope of his shoulders and beaten down stance that pulled at Catherine. She cautiously made her way to him; after all he was a stranger. She got within about ten feet of him and he turned around. Catherine must have caught his attention because he looked over at her. The look on his face had Catherine clutching at her heart in an attempt to keep it from breaking. He looked at her with a long, painful stare then looked down at his feet.

Catherine slowly approached him. "Great weather for misery" was the best thing she could come up with.

The man turned back to her and gazed for a moment, then replied, "A truer sentence was never spoken."

"Hi, I'm Catherine Willows." She offered her hand. Normally Catherine kept to herself and didn't introduce herself to people she didn't know. But there was a feeling to this man. She sensed she could trust him and it was as if she'd always known him; like a faceless man from a dream, or a glimpse in a crowd.

"Gil Grissom, and you really shouldn't talk to strange men."

"I don't usually." Catherine said, eyebrows knitted, hardly believing what she was doing herself.

"That's good." Gil stated, sounding like he was relieved.

"So...what had you adding to God's tears?" Catherine asked boldly.

"God's tears?" Gil inquired.

Catherine was glad she had his attention on something other than whatever was causing his pain. "My grandmother always said that rain was the tears of God."

"Are they happy tears or sad tears?" Gil wondered as he turned his body to continue the conversation with the beautiful, intriguing woman.

Catherine looked puzzled. An expression that fascinated Gil. He had an instant wish to see her face lit happily with a smile or fire spitting from her eyes in anger. He thought that she might be a passionate woman that had every mood filled with it.

"I'm not sure; she never said." Catherine stated.

"Oh." Gil paused to mull this over.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Catherine pushed forward gently.

"We didn't get to her quick enough. She was already dead." Pain weighed down his voice and touched Catherine.

"You're a paramedic?" Cath wondered.

"No." Gil shook his head, realizing he was speaking in fragments. "I'm a CSI. Crime Scene Investigator. I had a case that involved a kidnapping and by the time we put the pieces together and got to her she was dead."

Catherine ached. "How long did it take you?"

Gil looked questioningly at her, no quite sure what she meant.

"To put the pieces together?"

"Four hours."

"She died in four hours?" Catherine couldn't believe this.

"Actually she was dead when he dumped her body."

"So, even if you would have worked faster it still wouldn't have mattered?" Catherine asked, wondering if she was jumping to conclusions about something in which her only source of knowledge was movies and T.V. shows.

"No, it wouldn't have." Gil blew out a harsh breath.

"So why are you beating yourself up?"

"Because he beat her." Gil said in barely a whisper.

Catherine was drawn closer. She saw tears were falling from this strange man's eyes. His eyes were the color of sapphires, dark and mournful.

Gil switched his eyes to hers. Catherine saw a tender soul that cared deeply. Her throat tightened and tears burned her eyes. She tried desperately to hold them back, but to no avail. Gil reached down and brushed them away. Here was this man struggling with his own anguish, yet he was comforting her. Catherine looked deeper into his eyes and saw something that caused her breath to catch in her throat. It was eternity. Suddenly she remembered the ring on her left hand and backed up a little. Even though things were bad with Eddie, she was still married.

Gil noticed Catherine's gaze, which had suddenly dropped from his and noticed the symbol of "hands off." He found himself surprised at the disappointment he felt. `Oh, well, perhaps we can be friends,' he thought. "How about we get out of the rain and grab some coffee?" He suggested.

"Sounds wonderful." Catherine stated. A cup of coffee had never sounded better to her.

Catherine smiled. They had begun a friendship that was beyond words. `And now we're married,' she thought giddily as the sound of the washer completing its cycle pulled her in that direction.

Catherine was trying desperately to read. It was pointless, so she put the book down on her night stand. She glanced over at Gil's side of the bed, at his pillow. Reaching over she slowly ran her hand over the soft, forest green pillow case. Catherine picked up the pillow and brought it to her nose and inhaled deeply. The scent of Gil filled her senses; most of the time the two ended up sharing the pillow.

Catherine wasn't sad or lonely, she was just indulging. The relationship between her and Gil was warm and bold, peaceful and pleasant, secure and strong. She was "safe in the arms of love," to borrow a line from Martina McBride. Hugging the pillow to her Catherine remembered a special memory.

She'd just gotten out of the shower when the doorbell rang. Cursing softly, Catherine dried off quickly and pulled on a robe. She was very surprised to find Gil on the other side of her front door. "Hi." Catherine offered as she stepped aside in a silent invitation for her guest to enter.

Gil just smiled.

Catherine was intrigued. The two had spent the last 48 hours working on a case that was the stuff of nightmares, to put it mildly. Brief naps when the body demanded rest had been the only sleep. And now here was Gil Grissom, the man that swore he would suspend any one that disturbed him in the 24 hours following the shift.

Gil stood in the room and looked around.

Catherine approached him, but said nothing.

"This is a nice house, but the memories aren't." Grissom finally stated.

Catherine just looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

"When the time comes the one that is meant for us will just fall into our laps." He continued with his thoughtful ramblings. As if suddenly remembering he wasn't alone, Gil turned to Catherine. "Where's Linds?"

"With her grandparents."

This satisfied Gil, he nodded thoughtfully. Then a fiercely, intense look appeared in his eyes. It demanded that Catherine loose herself in it. Gil then took the small step that separated himself and Cath. He reached into the right hip pocket of his blue jeans and palmed whatever it was that he retrieved.

A gasp flew out of Catherine's mouth before her hands could hold it in. If anyone would have asked her two days before, or ten hours, hell three minutes ago, if she thought Gil Grissom would be kneeling on one knee before her, diamond ring in hand, she would have denied it. Yet here he was, with his grandmother's ring, at least that's what Catherine thought she heard him say. Aliens could have landed and zebras in tutus performing Swan Lake in the back ground could not have taken her attention from this gorgeous, loving man with brilliant blue eyes before her.

"So..." Gil asked, growing nervous by the second. He could feel tiny beads of sweat beginning to break out.

With tears in her eyes, and her voice choked with emotion, Catherine couldn't speak. She could only nod "yes."

Voice quivering a bit with anxiety, Gil asked, "Is that a yes?"

From somewhere Catherine found her voice, "Yes."

Leaping up, Gil gathered his new fiancé up in an embrace and lifted her off her feet. The two celebrated the whole day and well into the night.

Water ran in the stainless steel sink. Bubbles from the dish soap began to offer cover for the eating utensils. Catherine washed the dishes with care, transported back to a different time and place.

The place was Gil's town house. The pair, not yet engaged, not even dating, had shared a meal together. Gil was washing the dishes and Catherine was rinsing them. They chatted about Lindsey and who they thought would make the perfect couple between all of their coworkers.

"Bobby D? Really?" Gil asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I think he's perfect for Sara." Catherine stated as she placed the cup in the dish drainer.

"I thought there was a love/hate thing developing between her and Hodges."

"There might be a bit of flirting, but Bobby is the right guy." Catherine said.

"What makes you say that?" Gil inquired as he scrubbed eggs off a plate.

"Well, Bobby's easy going and rolls with the punches. He'd balance out Sara's intense tendencies. They'd balance each other, like we do." Catherine said.

Gil stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. "I have `intense tendencies'?"

"Well, no. But I tend to go with the flow easier than you do." Catherine retorted.

"I'm not denying that."

The two were quiet for a bit, each mulling over what the other had said.

Gil broke the silence with action. He placed a small dab of bubbles on Catherine's nose. Catherine lifted her eyebrow in a challenging manner. She reached into Grissom's sink, gathered a whole handful, and placed a white, bubble beard on his face. Gil smiled and reached for some more soap. This time he placed it on top of Catherine's head. Laughing, Cath went for the water and splashed Gil. The slow, meticulous battle was over and an all out water fight ensued.

The two finally called for peace. Standing together, catching their breath from all the laughing, and clothes plastered in different areas of the body, the magic hit. In one slow motion, they drew together. Lips met, arms embraced, and bodies melded. The kiss was short and powerful. Catherine would have sworn she was instantly dried from the heat of the kiss.

But one of Catherine's absolute favorite moments took place during their wedding.

The two believed a wedding was an intimate affair that only close friends and family should attend. It shouldn't be a place for family that they hardly knew.

Gil and Catherine had planned the wedding together; each taking equal responsibility. It was small and elegant; just as Catherine had always dreamed her wedding would be.

Gil had had only one request; that he be in charge of the song that they danced to as husband and wife.

Catherine was a little nervous about this at first. But as the process evolved, she realized that it didn't matter if they danced to Kenny Chesney's "She thinks my tractor's sexy;" what mattered was that they loved each other.

Gil, decked out in black jacket, black shirt, black tie, black pants, and black shoes, lead Catherine, dressed in pale pink, onto the dance floor. The band began slow and easy.

<I've seen the storm clouds in your past. But rest assured `cause you are safe at home at last. I rescued you, you rescued me. And we're right where we should be when we're together.>

Love radiated out of the couple on the dance floor. It filled the air and intoxicated everyone in the room. There wasn't a dry eye or face without a silly grin.

<I know the questions in your mind. But go ahead and ask me one more time. You'll find the answer's still the same. It won't change from day to day for worse or better.>

Catherine gazed up at Gil blissfully. She had no idea which song he had chosen. As the band began, she smiled. It was perfect, absolutely perfect. It fit their relationship beautifully. `And I'm the luckiest woman in history,' she thought as tears filled her eyes and one spilled over to roll down her cheek.

<I know the time will disappear. But this love we're building on will always be here. No way that this is sinking sand. On this solid rock we'll stand forever.>

Gil reached out and brushed the tear away. He kissed his wife quickly and sweetly. A sigh filled with content and happiness escaped him as he pulled his beautiful bride closer to him and he dreamed of the next day, and the rest of their lives. As he had been doing since he had proposed.

<Will I promise to be your best friend. And am I here until the end. Can I be sure I have been waiting for you. And did I say my love is true. Baby I will, I am, I can, I do.>

Catherine was awakened by the sound of the lock clicking. She threw the blanket off of her and jumped off the couch. She met her husband as he relocked the door.

"Hi, beautiful." He greeted in that voice that warmed Catherine's heart each and every time.

"Hi," she beamed at him with a radiant smile.

Catching the blanket and his pillow on the couch, Gil asked with a touch of concern in his voice, "You slept out here?"

"Well, I couldn't sleep, and then I did a few things around here, got tired, and wound up on the couch."

Cupping that beautiful face, Gil asked, "Why couldn't you sleep?"

"I'm used to working at this time. My body's not used to sleeping. But mostly, I missed you." Her face held a slight pout that Gil thought was absolutely adorable and could never resist.

"That does a husband's heart good to hear he's missed." Gil said just as he kissed his wife breathlessly.

Catherine's lips held a coy smile. "Why don't we head to our bedroom and I'll show you how grateful I am to have you home."

Allowing his wife to lead him, Gil retorted, "That does a husband good, too."

The End.