“Did you remember to get the music?”

“Yes, Lindsey. The CDs are with Warrick. He’s going to bring them tonight.” Catherine stepped back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

“What about…?”

“Lindsey, can you just give me a minute? Let me finished getting dressed first.” Not hearing any response, Catherine quickly slid the black dress over her head, twisting slightly until the dress fell into place. She took a moment to glance in the mirror before opening the door.

“You look great, mom.”

“Thanks. Can you zip me up?” She turned around, waiting as Lindsey pulled up the zipper.

“Gil is going to flip out when he sees you.”

“I highly doubt he’ll ‘flip out’. I’m sure he wont even notice what I’m wearing.”

“How can he not notice what you’re wearing? You look awesome, mom.” Lindsey flopped onto the bed, watching as Catherine readied herself for the evening. “Did you order the cake?”

“Yep. White. It should have been delivered to the hotel by now.”

“Why didn’t we just check with Sam first? I’m sure he’d have been happy to let us have the party there. Then we wouldn‘t have wasted all that time checking at other places only to end up at the Rampart.” Lindsey paused waiting for her mother to say something. “Is Sam going to be there tonight?”

Catherine froze before turning around to face Lindsey. “Can we not talk about Sam tonight?”

“But why…?”

“Let’s just say Gil and Sam don’t see eye to eye.” Catherine turned back around, returning to applying her make-up.

“Is any of his family coming?”

Catherine resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she once again turned around to face her inquisitive daughter. “I’m not sure. No one could say for definite, but they all said they’d try to make it.”

“Why wouldn’t they want to come?”

“I’m sure it’s not that they don’t want to be here. We don’t know what Gil’s family is like. I’m sure the trip will be too expensive for some of his family, or maybe they had prior commitments. And some may not be well enough to make the trip.”

“Oh.” Lindsey watched as Catherine went back to fixing her make-up. “I think you should wear your hair up. Maybe with a few curls escaping.”

“You do?”

“Yep. It looks good that way. And this is a fancy occasion. It’s not everyday that you go out on a date, and you never go out on a date with Gil.”

“This isn’t a date.”

“You’re all dressed up, about to grab your fancy perfume that you only wear for special occasions…”

Catherine looked at her hand, putting the perfume bottle back on the vanity table.

“And you’ve got the high heels by the door. The sexy ones that you…”

“Lindsey,” Catherine interrupted. “This is for Gil’s party. You know that.”

“Yep. And you wouldn’t go through this much trouble for anyone else’s birthday.” Lindsey smiled back at her mother, nodding her approval as Catherine once again picked up the expensive perfume. “I’m going to go and change my clothes so that I’m ready when Greg gets here… that way we’ll be long gone before it’s time for Gil to pick you up.” Lindsey jumped up from the bed, stepping over to Catherine and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck, giving her a hug from behind. “Have fun tonight, and don’t worry. We’ll get everything set up before you get to the Rampart.” Leaning closer, she quickly kissed Catherine on the cheek before leaving the room.

The bedroom door shut and Catherine sighed, glad to see Lindsey happy for a change. Moving quickly, she expertly finished applying her make-up before pulling the warm curlers out of her hair. She brushed her fingers through the ringlets, slightly loosening them, before pulling her hair back in a twist and fastening it up with an antique clip. Pulling a few select tresses from the clip, she carefully styled them to frame her face as Lindsey had recommended. Smiling at the results, she glanced at the clock. ‘Ten more minutes until Lindsey leaves…’

“Mom?”

She turned around to see Lindsey poking her head in the doorway.

“Great, you took my advice.”

Catherine nodded.

“Greg should be here pretty soon, so I’m going to go downstairs to wait for him. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Okay. Be careful. I love you.”

“I love you too, mom. Have a good time tonight. And if you aren’t wanting me to come home tonight I can stay over at Megan’s house.”

“Lindsey!”

The door shut and Catherine could hear the sound of laughter as Lindsey walked down the hall away from her door. ‘That girl is far too mature for her age.’ She moved to the closet pulling a purse from the inside and transferring contents from the purse she had been using earlier. With that task completed, she took one more look in the mirror before grabbing the shoes she had earlier set next to her door. She left her bedroom just as Lindsey called her goodbye up the stairway, the front door slamming closed before Catherine could respond.

She made her way down the stairs, turning on the stereo before sitting on the couch. She pulled her shoes on, fastening the buckle then leaned back against the couch, hoping Gil would be on time.

The doorbell ringing fifteen minutes later caused a smile to appear as she rose from the couch and moved to the front door. Opening the door, her smile grew as the relaxed image of Gil appeared before her. “You’re on time for a change.” With a laugh in her tone, she turned to retrieve her purse, leaving the door open for Gil. Grabbing her purse, she looked back to see Gil still standing in the doorway. “Gil? What’s wrong?”

“You look….”

Catherine stared at Gil, waiting for him to complete his sentence. Her smile became a smirk as Gil continued to stare. “Guess Lindsey was right.”

“What?”

“She told me this dress would be a hit. Well I think her exact wording was that you’d flip out.”

Gil blushed, not responding.

“I’m going to take the silence as a compliment, if I’m wrong… don’t correct me.” Catherine slid next to Gil, who was still standing on her doorstep and shut the door.

Gil led Catherine to the car, opening her door and letting her slide in. “You’re not wrong.” he said before shutting the door.

*~*~*~*~*

“This is nice.” Gil motioned to the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant. “I’ve never been here before.”

“I heard about it a couple months ago. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try a new place.” Catherine took a sip from the wine glass, setting it back on the table and taking a deep breath. “So… how has your birthday been so far?”

“Much better now.”

“Was it…”

“No, it was a good day. I talked to my mother for a while this morning, but other than that, it was just a normal day,” Gil stopped, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Well, as normal as any day can be when it includes going to dinner with you.”

“We’ve gone to dinner before.”

“I know. This just feels different. Usually it’s a bite while we have a break at work, talking about a case. Or it’s something with Lindsey. It’s never just the two of us. You dressed to kill.”

“You look pretty good yourself.”

“Thanks.”

Catherine took a deep breath, reluctant to change the course of their evening. “Did you need…? I mean, if you want to leave…”

“I’m not in any hurry. I don’t have to be anywhere tonight.”

“I thought you said you were scheduled for shift.”

“I was. But Warrick was wanting to pick up an extra shift, said something about needing some extra cash to buy a present. So I thought, why not. It might be nice to take my birthday off for a change.”

“You gave me the night off too… so I don’t have any plans.”

“What about Lindsey?”

“She’s with a friend.”

Gil nodded, picking up the check the waitress had left on the table earlier.

Catherine reached across the table, trying, without success, to take it from him. “Gil, I told you I was taking you to dinner.”

“It’s not right.”

“Don’t start that women can’t pay the check…”

“It’s not that you can’t. I just don’t want you to. My mother taught me better than that. And if she found out that you paid for dinner…”

“You’d get a lecture,” Catherine grinned.

“Exactly. And I really don’t want to get a lecture, so I’ll just take care of this and everyone will be happy.” Gil pulled his wallet from his back pocket and put one of the credit cards on top of the check.

“Thanks.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Gil nodded as the waitress picked up the check, then turned his attention back to Catherine. “Since you don’t have any plans, do you want to…”

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“I forgot. I’m supposed to… well, you wouldn’t want…”

“What do you need to do Catherine?”

“I just need to pick up something.”

“Well I can go with you to…”

“I need to go to the Rampart,” Catherine blurted out, hoping Gil wouldn’t protest too much. “You don’t have to go in. I just need to pick up some papers for my mother.”

“Okay.”

“What?”

“I’ll take you there. You can pick up the papers and then we’ll be on our way.”

“Thanks.” Catherine smiled as the waitress brought the receipt back, watching as Gil signed the paper and put his card back in his wallet.

He slid out from the booth, holding a hand out to Catherine. “Are you ready?”

Taking his hand, she stood up, letting him lead her out of the quaint restaurant.

*~*~*~*~*

Catherine unbuckled the seat belt, her door opening Gil reached in for her hand. “You don’t have to do this. You can wait in the car, I’ll just be a moment.”

“I don’t mind.”

Catherine didn’t argue, not wanting Gil to actually decide to wait in the car. “Thanks.” She looked down at their combined hands, smiling as Gil’s grip tightened slightly. She led them through the hotel, hoping Gil didn’t ask where it was they were going. Bypassing the casino floor, they walked through the hotel and back towards the convention rooms.

“Cath…”

“It’s just up here,” she interrupted. They continued down the hall, stopping in front of a set of closed double doors.

“You’re picking up papers here?”

Catherine didn’t answer, pulling her hand out of Gil’s and putting them on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, and with a hope that everything didn’t backfire, she turned the knobs and pushed the door open.

“Surprise!”