All it takes is a moment of truth, a slip of the tongue. And suddenly your worlds spin apart, or collide together. Her world was in chaos; she was trying to understand a shocking revelation, to believe the word of a perfect stranger and at the same time - not to hope she was right.

An hour after the visit she found herself in his office door way asking the one question she knew he would have given away all his bugs, to avoid.

"How long have you loved me?"

Grissom looked up from the paperwork he was pretending to look over. She could tell he was pretending because she had been watching him for over a minute, and his eyes had yet to move. His face was perfectly impassive and blank, and when he spoke his tone was flippant - as thought they where talking of nothing more than the weather.

Only she knew better, only she could hear slightly tremors of fear.

"In days, months, or years?"

She smiled weakly, appreciating the joke but letting him know that humour right now was not exactly what she was looking for.

"Years," she selected.

"17," he said, his tone nonchalant and he went back to his pretend reading.

"What date?" She knew he would know. He always remembered the little things - while she could only select the month his birthday fell in.

"April 21st," he said again with the weather tone.

Catherine stood there for a moment, even she knew the significance of that date, she took a deep breath before continuing.

"Gil, if you loved me since the day we met why have you waited 17 years to tell me?" She asked, exasperated, so much time had been wasted.

"I would have waited another 17," was his reply to the paper.

She shook her head; she knew this was not going to be easy but really.

"Why wait all this time?"

"Well you were married," he smirked, pleased with his answer.

"Before that," she said impatiently.

His head snapped up from the paper he was still not reading, "I have ... had reasons." He frowned slightly, as though it had been his fault she'd found out.

"Good reasons?" It was a stupid question; no reason would be good enough in either of their eyes.

"I didn't say they were good," his tone was falsely light.

She moved from the door way she had been standing in. Closing it behind her, she had to move a pile of paperwork to sit down.

"I'd like to know."

Grissom sighed in resignation, muttering a few choice words about Lady Heather and taking off his glasses. Catherine allowed herself a small grin, getting him to talk about his feelings should have an award.

"I'd like to tell myself that it was because I didn't want to spoil what we had, but it's not, not really. You deserve the best Cath, the very best."

"And what," she couldn't resist asking, "makes you any less than the very best." Silently doing something she never thought she would do. Thank Lady Heather.

He looked at her; his face was no longer emotionless and now showed something akin to pain.

"Because in a way I'm just like Ed," he ignored her shaking her head, "not in that womanising way, obviously, but you'd still have to share. This," he gestured to his office, "is what I'm married to. What I've always have been married to and what I always will be married to."

Catherine smiled, getting up from her seat and came round to his side of the desk.

He watched her movements with obvious trepidation, she realised she still hadn't told him how she felt about him, there had been no time at Lady Heather's what with the shock and him practically fleeing to hide in his office. She stopped when she was just in front of him and knelt down.

"If you can share me with Lindsay then I think I may be able to share you with a job," she said with a smile.

He searched her eyes for a long moment, making sure this was what she wanted. He found it, as she knew he would and they both closed the distance between them.

After the sweetest kiss she had ever felt they where searching each other's eyes again. His had become indescribably brighter and she knew hers would be much the same.

"So have you got a better reason?" she asked cheekily.

He smiled his famous half smile as he threaded his fingers through her blonde hair, and then replied simply.

"You don't like bugs."

Finish.