Gil took the familiar route up the sidewalk to Catherine’s house and pressed the button. He smiled as he listened to the chime and the resulting calls of ‘I got it’ as little feet ran towards the door.

The door swung open and a blonde streak catapulted towards him. He quickly opened his arms just in time to catch Lindsey.

“Hi, Uncle Gil!”

“Hi, Lindsey.” He said, spinning around before putting her back on the ground. “You seem pretty excited tonight.”

“I am!” Lindsey said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the house. “You haven’t been here in almost two weeks.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s all right. You are coming over tomorrow right? That’s what mom said. Since I can’t go to dinner with you guys tonight, that you will come over tomorrow.”

“That’s right.”

“Good. I’m going to make a cake for you at Aunt Nancy’s tonight. And I still have to wrap your present. Oh… just a minute.” Lindsey jumped up from the couch and ran to the kitchen, returning moments later with a package in her hand. “Mom wanted me to give you this. She said that you should take it out to the car so you can open it at the restaurant tonight. She said no arguments, just take it out to the car.”

“She covered everything didn’t she.” He stood and started walking back to the front door. “You coming with?”

“You bet!” Lindsey flew past him and ran to the Denali.

Gil laughed and followed her out to the vehicle, opening the back door so she could place the small box in the back. Once Lindsey was out of the way, he shut the door and they went back into the house. He had just shut the front door when Catherine’s voice floated down the stairs.

“I’m almost ready Gil. Give me ten minutes, okay?”

“Take your time.” He called back up the stairs and went into the living room to continue his earlier conversation with Lindsey.

“So what do you want to do tomorrow night?” Gil asked as he sat back down on the couch.

“We can watch a movie. Do you have tomorrow night off? Or do you have to go to work?”

“I’m off. Your mom made sure we both have the night off so we can spend it with you.”

“Good! You can pick the movie, since it’s your birthday, but you gotta make sure it’s something I can watch. Mom won’t let me watch anything rated R, but most PG-13 movies are all right.”

Gil nodded, cataloging the information in his memory. “Is there anything you’re wanting to see?”

“I’m not supposed to say. Mom said I can’t influence your decision.”

“Lindsey!” Catherine said stepping into the doorway. “What did I tell you about bugging Gil about tomorrow night?”

“But I wasn’t! He asked me…”

“Wow! Cath… you look…. Wow…” Gil interrupted, openly staring at Catherine.

Glancing down, she looked at her outfit, black pants and a lilac tank top. “I’m not even wearing anything special, just pants and a tank, I don’t even have a jacket on yet.”

“Don’t.”

“’Don’t’ what?”

Gil stood from the couch, letting his eyes drift up and down her body. “Wear the jacket. You don’t need it. I love the way you look now.”

She could feel a slight blush coming to her face at his unusually complimentary words, but continued speaking. “I can’t wear this to work tonight without a jacket and we aren’t going to have time to come back here after dinner so I can change before work.”

He remained silent for a minute, working out a solution in his head that would satisfy them both. “Then you can leave it in the car.”

Catherine gave him a look, then glanced at Lindsey, who was eagerly watching the conversation play out between the two adults. “Lindsey, you ready for tonight?”

“Yep! My bag is already in the back of Gil’s car. We put it in there while we were waiting for you to finish getting dressed.”

She looked over at Gil for confirmation of Lindsey’s story. Seeing his nod, she pointed to the door. “Let’s go then, we don’t want to be late. We‘re going to miss our reservation”

“Or at least not later then we already are.” Gil filled in. He quickly went across the room and put his arm around Catherine’s waist before she could say anything. “I’m sure the restaurant will hold it a few minutes.”

*~*~*~*

“Sorry we’re late everyone.” Catherine said as she led Gil into the backroom.

Gil stopped in the doorway, refusing to budge. Once Catherine turned back to him, he leaned slightly over and whispered. “I thought it was just the two of us.”

“I know you did. But I didn’t think you’d mind if a couple others joined us.”

He shot Catherine a look, choosing not to say anything at the moment. He turned his attention back to the table and they made their way across the small room. He pulled out the chair and waited for Catherine to take her seat before sitting himself.

“Happy Birthday boss.” Warrick said once the two had gotten settled.

“I won’t ask how you three…”

“Milander case. It’s not often something personal comes up in a case, so we tend to remember it.” Nick explained. “We knew you wouldn’t want us to make a big deal about today, so we asked Cath to help us out a little.”

“And I readily agreed. You never let us do anything for you, even though you always try to do as much for us as you can, and always stick your neck out for us. This is just our little way of saying thank you, even though we did have to trick you into it.”

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Looking around the table, he was reminded of just how great this team was. The way they worked together was unlike any team he had been on in his long career. Their differences completely complimented each other, and even with all the headaches involved with leading this team, he couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.

Clearing her throat, Catherine quickly got everyone’s attention. “We have a little time before work. Does anyone need to go home before work, or are we all going to work directly from here?” Once they had all said they were going straight to work, she continued. “Well then why don’t we let Gil open his gifts here, as opposed to work? Then we won’t have to worry about any cases taking us away tonight.”

“Great idea Cath!” Warrick said as he jumped up. “I’ll go out and get everyone’s gifts from their cars if you give me your keys.”

Nick and Sara handed their keys to Warrick. Gil reluctantly following after being nudged by Catherine.

“Gil picked me up,” she explained. “My car’s in the shop and Gil is much more reliable and cheaper than a taxi.”

“Gee, thanks,” he replied sarcastically. “Just wait until you actually get the Grissom Taxi Service bill. You may wish you had called a cab.”

Catherine burst into laughter as the others stared in shock, none of them used to seeing Gil behave in this manner.

Warrick smiled in remembrance, seeing the more carefree Grissom peek his head out from behind the office doors he had been locked behind. “I’ll be right back.”

True to his word, Warrick was back in the room in less than five minutes, his arms loaded with gifts for their friend and boss. Seeing that their meals had arrived, he placed the packages against the wall in the corner and went to his seat. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, who knew the food would arrive so fast.” Sara replied.

*~*~*~*

“That was delicious. Who picked this place?” Gil asked placing his napkin on the table.

Nick nodded sheepishly. “I may have been here a few times.”

“Well, I’m sure your dates definitely appreciated it,” Catherine said. “Not only is it a romantic atmosphere, but the food is great. I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

Gil started to stand, but was quickly admonished by the rest of the table.

“I don’t know where you think you are going, but there are a few presents over there that have your name on them, and you are not leaving until you open them.”

“Cath, I was just going to…”

“You were going to fake going to the bathroom and sneak out the back door.”

He glanced down, knowing she had caught him. “I wouldn’t have actually left though. Sure, I thought about it, but I’m not a cad. I’d have waited for you to come check on me, and then dragged you out with me.”

Catherine smiled, glad to know that he wouldn’t leave her, no matter how much he didn’t want to be there. “Warrick?” She said as she nodded towards the gifts.

He took her hint and grabbed the gifts, placing them on the table in front of Grissom.

Gil looked at the gifts, eying each of the team members as he did. “Does it matter where I start?” He finally asked.

Everyone shook their heads and Gil removed the package on the top of the stack. Reaching for the card, he opened it then glanced at Nick.

“Let me see?” Catherine asked, leaning over his shoulder.

“Just be patient. Let me read it first.” He said, but moved the card to the side so Catherine could read it over his shoulder. After making sure that Catherine was done reading the card, he slowly placed it back on the table and picked up the gift. Examining the box carefully, he glanced to the side, smiling at the look on Catherine’s face.

“Gil…”

“How do you make it through Christmas? All those presents just sitting there waiting to be opened. Patience is a virtue, my dear.”

“But not one I was blessed with. Just open it already.” Catherine said as she pushed the package towards him.

He ripped the paper open, not wanting to drive Catherine any more crazy then he already was. Lifting the lid, he revealed several gift certificates.

“I couldn’t decide what to get you, so I thought I’d let you pick.” Nick explained.

“Thank you, Nick. It’s great.”

Catherine reached into the box and pulled out the certificates. “Twenty dollars, for here… nice. Ten rentals at blockbuster. Two for one passes at that art house cinema we went to last year. Please don’t take me to see a silent movie. You know all it does is make me want to talk through the whole thing.”

“You two went to the movies last year?” Sara asked in a small voice.

“Yes.” Gil replied simply, not wanting to go into further details. Handing the box to Catherine, he reached for the next gift on the table, this one from Sara. Quickly reading the card, he passed it over to Catherine before she could ask.

She glanced at the card, noting the ‘Love, Sara’ at the end. “Nice card, Sara.” She hoped the sincerity came through in her voice. It was a nice card, just not necessarily appropriate to be giving your boss in front of your co-workers. “Go ahead and open it, Gil.” She urged him.

He shot her a look but did as she said. Lifting the lid, he saw a “Forensics Monthly” magazine.

“I got you a subscription. You don’t get that do you?”

Gil glanced down, not wanting to disappoint her. “I can call the company and see if they can add it on to the end of my subscription. I’m sure they’ll let me do that. Thank you, Sara.” He reached for the next package, Warrick’s. He again took the card, quickly reading it and handing it to Catherine. Opening the package, he found an envelope. Lifting the envelope, he looked at Warrick before turning his attention back to the item in his hands. He opened it to reveal two passes, he looked closer. “Warrick? Is this what I think it is?”

“You’ve been saying that you wanted to get to that butterfly exhibit at UNLV, so I pulled some strings. Dr. Fredrickson will be there tomorrow morning when you get off work to open the exhibit just for you. And you can ignore all the barriers and get as close to the displays as you want. Ask any questions you want.”

“Wow! Warrick…I can’t. This is great. Thank you.” He set the package down with the others and went to grab the last one. “I trust you don’t need me to give you the card for this one, do you?” He asked with a grin, opening the card on the present from Catherine.

She smirked, but didn’t respond, instead leaning back in her chair to watch him open the gift.

Gil pulled the card out of the envelope, feeling the instant blush come to his face at the risqué picture. Opening the card, his blush deepened. “Maybe I should open this later, we’re going to be late for work if we don’t leave soon.”

His words were met with protests by the three younger teammates, and confusion from Catherine.

“Just open it, Gris.” Nick told him.

Not hearing any protests from Catherine, he reluctantly peeled off the paper.

Catherine reached out for the card he had slipped back in the envelope and set on the table. Pulling out the card, her mouth dropped open in shock. “Gil! Don’t open…” She stopped as she noticed the lid off the package and the further reddening of his face. “That.”

“What is it?” Nick and Warrick both asked, standing to get a better view inside the box.

Gil quickly shut the box, but wasn’t fast enough.

“Oh my… is that what I think it is?” Nick asked.

“Open the box, Gris. We already saw what was in there, let us have a closer look.”

Gil shot the two a look before turning back to Catherine. “What…”

“Lindsey grabbed the wrong box.” She whispered. Looking at Warrick and Nick, she sighed and took the box from Gil’s hands. Opening the lid, she pulled out the white lace teddy and held it up to her. “This was supposed to be a blue shirt. Lindsey put the wrong box in the car.”

“My mind is going places it really shouldn’t be right now.” Warrick muttered, sitting down with his eyes still focused on Catherine.

“Definitely.” Nick agreed as he sat down as well.

“Would you two stop staring at me.” She folded the garment and put it back in the box.

“So, if that isn’t for Gris, then who is it for?” Sara asked, watching the expressions of the men…each still picturing Catherine in the teddy.

Catherine didn’t answer, her focus still on the others. “Maybe we should get going. I’m sure Gil still has a few things to go over before shift tonight. Gil?” Catherine stood, reaching for her purse and tossing some bills on the table before tugging on Gil.

He stood, following her commands as he gathered the boxes and followed her out of the restaurant. Once back in the car, his mind slowly starting to function again, he turned to her. “Let me guess. That isn’t something you wanted the others to see.”

“I don’t want anyone else to see, or imagine that ever again Gil. It’s for your eyes only.”