“Good. Everyone’s here.”

Warrick, Nick and Sara all turned out the sound of the slightly nasally voice in the doorway.

Sara gasped in surprise, a look of shock covering her features.

“What happened, Gris?”

He looked at Warrick, not answering before turning his gaze to the silent red-head leaning against the counter, stirring the cup of coffee in her hand.

“I broke my nose.”

“Does it hurt?”

He turned his attention back to Sara. “Not as much as it did last night.”

“What happened last night?” Sara repeated Warrick’s earlier question.

Gil’s glare returned to Catherine, along with four sets of curious eyes.

“I told you I didn’t want to go.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

“No, Gil!”

“Come on, Cath. It’s just one night. How often do I ask you to do something?”

“Do you really want a list?” Catherine asked, watching as Gil just stared at her. “Paper work. How many times have you asked me to help you with your paperwork?”

“That doesn’t count though, it’s work related.”

“The bug museum.”

“Work related.”

“That was not work related. We went there on our day off. No work at all. You made me watch cockroaches.”

“You made me watch a chick flick.” Gil countered.

“You told me you liked that movie.”

“No… what I told you was I had a good time. I was with you, that may have enhanced the movie a little.”

Catherine smiled, walking around the desk to him and leaning against the side. “Nice save, Gil. But I still don’t want to go.”

“Cath…”

“Are you whining?”

“No. But you know you are going to go with me, so can’t we just leave and avoid the lines?” He stood from the chair and reached for her hand, gently pulling her to her feet.

“Why do I let you talk me into these things?” She followed him through the office, stopping when he turned to look at her.

“Because you want to see me happy?”

“Maybe… or else it’s those puppy dog eyes you give me and that slight little pout on your lips.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

Catherine shifted back and forth on her feet, finally settling on leaning against Gil. “My feet hurt.”

He looked down at the stylish boots encasing her feet. “I told you to change into tennis shoes.”

“They don’t match.”

“We can go back to the car if you want to change. The line behind us isn’t that bad.”

Catherine glanced back at the hundred or so people behind them and turned her glare back to Gil. “I’ll tough it out.” She took a few steps forward with the rest of the line and returned to her resting against Gil. “So… how bad is this?”

“It’s not bad, Cath. You’re going to have fun.”

“Fun? I don’t think so. I can think of a thousand things that would be more fun.”

“But this isn’t just for me. You know Lindsey is dying to come…”

“Then why didn’t you bring her?”

“Because we both know her mom wouldn’t let her go. Not until she was sure it was safe and had made sure she wouldn’t be up all night with a frightened child.”

“I’d have taken your word.”

Gil raised his eyebrow.

“I would have.”

“I know. But would you really send me off by myself?”

“I trust you.”

“Good. But I still know you wouldn’t have let Lindsey come. That’s why we…”

“You talked to Lindsey about this?” Catherine questioned, straightening up and looking him in the eye.

“She really wants to go out with her friends this weekend. You know I can’t resist when she begs.”

“You can’t resist anything she asks you.”

“Just like her mother.” Gil said with a grin, pulling her back to his side. “Besides, once you see how safe this is and are convinced that it will be okay for Lindsey to come here with her friends, then I can have the pleasure of stealing you away for the weekend.”

“Oooh… what do you have planned?”

“Actually, nothing.” Gil said as they shuffled forward with the line. “But the point is that we can plan something. Or we can plan nothing, and just watch a movie. I could make dinner…”

“I like that idea. Just the two of us.”

Gil felt Cath stiffen as the line moved forward once again, and they were finally at the entrance. He reached into his pocket and took out enough cash to pay the entrance fee for the two of them. Handing the money over, the two took their tickets and entered the building.

“Gil…”

“Just trust me, Cath. This is going to be fun.”

“Like your roller coasters?”

“You only tried that once. If I had realized how sick you were going to get I’d have picked a different coaster.”

Catherine smiled. “Well that’s good to know.”

“You’re not going to get sick tonight, are you?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll say yes if it gets me out of this.” She turned to him with a big smile on her face, hoping for the best.

“Is this really going to be that bad?”

“You know I don’t like to be scared.”

Gil stepped forward in the line, looking at the decorations around them before turning to her. “Do you really want to leave? If you’re dead-set against this we can do something else.”

Catherine watched as he stepped out of line and took two steps away from her before putting her hand on his back.

“Gil.” She continued once he turned around. “Get back in line. But I’m telling you, I’m not responsible if I scream in your ear or dig my nails into your hands.”

He stepped back in line next to her, sliding his hand down to take hers. “I’ll take my chances.” He pushed her slightly ahead as they stepped into the dark confines of the haunted house.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“So what happened?” Sara asked, not as enthralled with the story as the other occupants in the room.

“We got to the end of the haunted house. I was fine, only screamed or jumped a few times.”

“A few times?” Gil questioned, shooting a look across the room at her.

“What happened?” Nick and Warrick both interrupted at once.

“This guy jumps out behind us with a chain saw. We both turned to look at him, then I reached out and touched Cath’s shoulder. She screamed and next thing I know there’s blood running down my face.”

“You broke his nose?”

“It was an accident.” Gil told Sara. “I shouldn’t have reached for her, and to be fair she did warn me what might happen.” Gil pulled out a chair at the table, sitting before anyone else could say anything. “Nick, Sara… you two have a 419.” He took the top folder and handed it to them before turning to the side. “Warrick, you’ve got a 426, the victim is at Desert Palms.” He watched as the three of them left the room, turning at the sound of a clearing throat next to him.

“I am sorry, you know.”

“I know.” He remained quiet, watching her shift in the seat.

“So what’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“Well… since I can’t really go in the field on these pain meds, I thought we could finish some of the paperwork.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? No arguments?”

Catherine shook her head, standing in front of him. “No arguments. Besides if we stick to paperwork all night, then we can leave on time. And you know what that means.”

“What does that mean?”

“You… me… our weekend together? I need to make up last night to you. Nurse you back to health.”

Gil jumped up from his seat and pulled Catherine to her feet.

“What are you doing?”

“Forget paperwork, let’s just leave now.”

~finis~