"Hey, Catherine!" Sara called amicably, strolling into the breakroom. Turning over her shoulder slightly when Catherine merely grunted in response, she smiled. "Bad day?"

"Bad *day*? Try week... month... *three* months."

Sara made a face, as if reminding herself to steer clear of the irate strawberry-blonde for the rest of shift. Ducking down to peek into the refrigerator, she asked, "Do you know if we've got any diet sodas?"

"I don't know, Sara!" Catherine snapped, her hands balling into fists atop the breakroom table. "I don't have x-ray vision! Jesus!"

"Oookay..." She slammed the refrigerator after retrieving a bottle of water, and sat down beside Catherine, sliding her chair a few extra feet away in case of a sudden attack. "Why don't you tell me what's bugging you," she murmured, more of a statement than a request.

"Forget it," Catherine sighed, pressing her palms to the table and moving to get up.

Sara's hand on her arm pulling her back down stopped her, and she plopped back into her chair. "No, not 'forget it'..." Sara insisted. She cocked her head slightly, her chocolate eyes imploring her. "Come on, Cat. When I was going through my stuff with Hank, you listened to me. You took me out for a beer... let me get everything off my chest."

"So?" she shrugged.

"So..." She attempted a supportive smile. "Let me do the same for you." After a pause, she squeezed Catherine's hand, adding, "I want to."

Catherine chuckled grimly, shaking her head. "I don't know if I even feel comfortable discussing this with you."

Sara furrowed her brow. "Why? What is it? Y'know, we're both women, Catherine. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

Her aquamarine eyes searched the younger CSI's sable orbs, and she finally let out a sigh. "Fine." She raised a finger to her sternly. "But if I tell you this, it stays between us, got it?"

She shrugged, as if that fact were a given. "Of course."

"If I get any amount of teasing about this from your boyfriend, let me assure you..." She narrowed her eyes at the younger woman. "They'll never find your body."

Sara chuckled, raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Just tell me."

"Okay." Catherine drew in a deep breath before beginning. "So, for the past few months, I've kinda been hanging out with this guy..."

"Hanging out?" Sara questioned, raising her eyebrow and pursing her lips dubiously.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so not really hanging out. He's kind of a, uh..." She made a face, tapping at her temple as if trying to stir a memory. "Oh, what did they call it on 'Sex and the City'?"

"A fuck buddy?" Sara suggested.

"Yes!" Catherine exclaimed, her expression thanking the younger woman for jogging her memory. "That's what they called it. Yeah... that's what he is. A fuck buddy."

"Okay... that doesn't sound like much of a problem to me," Sara shrugged. "I mean, you get to have sex whenever, without any of the responsibilities of a boyfriend." She paused, making a face. "Actually, I think that's how Nick and I started..." She shook her head, as if shaking off a trance. "Anyway. Go on..."

"Thanks. So... while this has been great doing the no-strings-attached thing, it still kinda sucks."

"Why?"

"Because I haven't--" Catherine stopped midsentence, and slowly glanced over her shoulder at the doorway, making sure none of the guys were about to stroll in. When she turned back to Sara, she missed Grissom walking past the breakroom. "I haven't been able to, uh..."

"What?" Sara asked, making a face... trying to comprehend the reason for the strawberry-blonde's hesitance.

Grissom frowned just past the breakroom door, pausing on his way to his office after hearing Catherine and Sara having a civil conversation... and upon hearing Catherine at a loss for words. It wasn't like Catherine to have trouble getting something out. He leaned against the door jamb just outside the breakroom, knowing it was unethical to eavesdrop, but needing to know what the two women... who'd practically always been at each other's throats... could possibly have to talk about.

"I haven't been able to... y'know..." She made a face, raising her eyebrows to get her point across. "Y'know. When we're... y'know." She frowned. "Y'know?"

"I know," Sara replied with a slow nod, her mind turning over the meaning of Catherine's cryptic confession. "Wow."

She closed her eyes, a blush tinting her cheeks pink. "Yeah."

Grissom, from the other side of the door, made a face. What in the holy hell were they talking about?

"Can I ask you something?"

Catherine nodded. "Sure."

"Has it happened *at all* since you started things up with him?"

After a slow shake of the head from Catherine, Sara's eyes widened. "Wow. So that means, uh..."

"That means it's been a good ten months since my last orgasm," Catherine sighed, her hand flitting up to rub the back of her neck... a nervous habit she displayed once in awhile.

Grissom's eyes were now as wide as saucers after hearing Catherine's confession, his heart thudding in his chest. Before hearing another word, he turned tail and headed straight for his office.

"Wow... that's uh..."

"Pathetic?" Catherine suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Sara chuckled. "I was thinking sad. Not pathetic."

"Sad, pathetic... it's all the same."

Jerking her chin toward the door, Sara questioned, "Well, you wanna borrow Nick for awhile?" She nudged Catherine playfully, wiggling her eyebrows. "Come on, he's really good."

While her eyebrows raised, her mouth dropped into a chuckle... and Catherine slowly shook her head. "No thanks. While I have no doubt in my mind that he's probably really good, I'm gonna say no."

Sara shrugged, murmuring dryly, "Fine... your loss."

Catherine smirked at the young woman, before melting into a sincere smile, reaching over to pat her hand. "Thanks for the chat, Sara."

Sara returned the sincere smile. "No problem." She watched Catherine rise from her seat briefly before she spoke again. "Y'know what you should do?"

"Buy a vibrator?"

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. "No. Those are expensive, and konk out after awhile anyway." Ignoring the questioning raised-eyebrow expression she received from Catherine, she pressed on. "You should dump that guy you're with now and maybe look for someone else." She shrugged. "Maybe it's just the guy that's not really doing it for you."

She paused thoughtfully in the door, nodding slowly. "Maybe..." she murmured softly. She glanced back up at Sara and smiled. "Thanks."

Sara nodded in response, and smiled as she watched Catherine disappear around the corner. After a moment, she sighed. "Thank God for Nick's good lovin'..."

*****

Grissom sat behind his desk, his spine rigid, mouth parted in an expression of continuing shock. What had he just heard? Catherine hadn't had an orgasm in close to a year? She was seeing somebody? Somebody who couldn't give her an orgasm...

He sighed. More importantly, was there anything he could do with this newfound information? He couldn't exactly come right out and tell her that *he* would have sex with her... that *he* would try his damndest to give her an orgasm... could he?

Knuckles rapping softly on the doorframe diverted his attention, and he turned his head to see the object of his affection and desire leaning against the door, waving at him momentarily as she burst into a heavenly smile... her angelic beauty caressing him. He couldn't help but smile back... his words coming out a bit breathlessly as he still tried to recover from what he'd overheard. "Catherine..."

"You... said earlier you wanted to see me?" she questioned, a hint of amusement laced in her tone... her smile widening at the look on his face.

As if snapping out of a trance, he stood, shaking his head minutely as he grabbed a file off his desk, bringing it to her. "Oh! Yeah... here." He pointed to it when she'd taken it from his hand. "I was going over your case review for the John Doe you and Nicky just did, and you forgot to sign a couple of the forms."

"Oh, okay. Here, I'll just do it right now." She brushed past him, her eyes on the open file in her hands as she headed for his desk, bending at the waist to lean over the desk, grabbing for a pen and signing the indicated forms.

As she did so, Grissom allowed his eyes to roam her body unabashedly, starting at the back of her head and the shiny strawberry-blonde hair cascading around her shoulders... before moving down her spine, which was slightly visible through her skin tight, black baby tee... down past the small of her back to her toned buttocks, his tongue darting out to sweep across his lips unconsciously, her revelation from moments ago floating through his head. "Hey Cath?"

Without turning around, she replied, "Hmm?"

"Do you have any plans tonight?"

She turned, her mouth parting in half-readiness to spout off a reply, and half-surprise at the abrupt, uncharacteristic way he questioned her. "Uhh... well, since we just pulled yet another double, no. Not really. Just relaxing, why?"

He shrugged, wanting to take back his question... wanting to brush off her response with a 'just wondering'... but he quickly realized that whatever his brain wanted him to say, his mouth wasn't willing to comply. "Would you like to come home with me tonight?"

How his words must have sounded finally registered with him when he saw her eyebrows shoot straight up, practically past her hairline... and he quickly moved to correct his Freudian slip. "To my townhouse, I mean! Would you like to come to my townhouse after work?"

"Oh..." She smiled brightly, watching his cheeks flare bright pink, and she nodded. "Sure, that sounds nice."

He couldn't help but grin right back. "Great."

She chuckled slightly, shaking her head at the look on his face, and brushed past him again, gliding her hand across his midsection as she did so. "See you in ten, then..." she called, heading for the door. Turning over her shoulder ever-so-briefly, she added with a mischievous smirk, "And I'm driving."

He frowned. "Dammit."

*****

After letting out a satisfied sigh upon finishing her drink, she slammed the glass back down the table and met his eyes through her lashes, shaking her head slowly. "Don't ask," she grumbled, "You don't wanna know."

He chuckled. "Come on, Catherine. Would I ask if I didn't care to hear the answer?" He made his way over to the counter, standing on the other side, leaning across it as his eyes begged with her to open up to him.

Her eyes somewhat blurry from the effect of the alcohol, she studied him hard, through narrowed eyes. "I really don't think it's the kind of thing I should be discussing with you."

He wanted to look taken aback... he wanted to ask why she'd talk about it with Sara, but not with him, but... knowing he'd be caught admitting his eavesdropping, he kept quiet... and attempted to hold onto a reassuring smile. "Come on, Cath. Tell me what the problem is. I offered to help when you were having problems at the lab... the extra hours and not having time for Lindsey..." He shrugged. "So tell me this one. Maybe I can help with this problem." His cheeks nearly turned crimson at what he was practically admitting to wanting.

She chuckled grimly. "Gil, you won't wanna help with this problem."

Oh, yes I do! his mind screamed. Outwardly, he gulped inaudibly. "Well..." Deciding to approach the subject a different way, he fired a question at her. "Would YOU want my help with this problem?"

Now it was her turn to blush as she averted her eyes, toying with her fingernails as she bit down on her lip... that action spurring Grissom's need to grasp her lips with his own. She slowly glanced back up at him, searching his sapphire eyes. If she told him, he'd surely flip out and ask her to leave. There was no way he'd want to help with her problem... even though all she wanted was his help. All she wanted was him. Screw Chris. He sure as hell wasn't getting the job done, and a tiny voice at the back of her head told her Grissom would be more than able to take his place... to get her where she wanted to go. The major question was... did he want to?

"Gil, I don't know..." she hesitated nervously, diverting her gaze from his once more. "It's not that simple."

He raised his eyebrows, knowing she was right... but desperately needing her to admit to wanting him. "Nothing in our relationship has ever been simple, Catherine," he argued, his cerulean depths imploring her. "Please just tell me."

"It's uncomfortable," she tried again, stalling for time.

He smiled, his tenor voice soft... thick with affection. "Tell me anyway."

"I..." She met his eyes again, contemplating the repercussions of such a confession... before her gaze flitted to the door. "I gotta go."

"Wait... Cath..."

She shook her head, shying away when he reached for her, heading straight for the door... grabbing her purse on the way out. "I'll just, uhh..." She spun quickly on her heel to face his look of shock and bewilderment before her hand reached behind her for the doorknob, twisting it in preparation to flee. "I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered, and was gone... leaving Grissom to sink, dejected, to his couch, raking his fingers through his graying curls.

*****

True to her word, but against her wishes, she did see him the next day... and whenever she'd meet his eyes, a blush would flare through her cheeks. Grissom, though he found this adorable, grew more and more frustrated as the day drug on without so much as a reference to their conversation the night before. Finally, when he'd had enough, he headed for the breakroom... where he knew he'd find her. "Catherine?"

Her golden locks flew as she turned her head to face him, having just been laughing with Nick and Sara. Upon meeting his eyes, however, the laugh died, and her smile faded. "Yes?"

His eyes pierced hers. "I need to see you in my office."

He watched as she gulped discreetly, managing a nod, before she rose to her feet... sending an apologetic smile to Nick and Sara before wordlessly following him back to his office. Once the door was unlocked, he held it open for her, the tension between them unbearably thick... then, once they were in the safe, sterile confines of his office, he spoke. "Cath, we need to talk."

She closed her eyes painfully, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. "Please Gil, can we just drop it?"

"No!" he barked firmly, his soul desperate for her revelation. "Not until you tell me what's going on with you!" He knew he wasn't much further from begging for it. "If it's a big problem, Cath, I wanna know what it is."

"No, Gil. It's too... weird."

"Weird?"

"It'd be too awkward if I told you."

"Well," he sighed, his last thread of self control dangerously close to snapping, "At the risk of sounding like a six-year-old, you started it."

She raised an eyebrow. "How, exactly?"

"You brought this up yesterday!"

"No, actually," she chuckled, "You badgered me about it *until* I brought it up."

"Cath, just spit it out!" he exclaimed.

"Fine!" She sighed exasperatedly through gritted teeth. "God!" After pausing to calm herself down... and will herself not to smack him for his behavior, she began. "Okay, so I've got this new... friend."

He nodded, already full aware of this, yet unable to stop the pang of jealousy from reaching him. "Uh-huh..."

"I kind of met this friend when I was feeling a little... frustrated."

He fought to keep the smirk from creeping across his lips, and instead cleared his throat, feigning confusion. "Frustrated?"

She glanced at him through her lashes, in a way that got her point across crystal-clear, and she nodded once. "Frustrated."

"Ahh..." He raised an eyebrow. "During your seven-month, shall we say... drought?"

She gave him 'the look'... half-smirking, half pursing her lips in a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "I prefer to think of it as temporary sexual anorexia... but yes."

"Okay, so... what about this new friend?"

"Well, this new friend was... uhh... helping me overcome my 'anorexia.'"

His jaw clenched unconsciously. "Mm-hmm..."

"But he can't do it."

Finally, he thought. An admittance. Outwardly, he feigned surprise. "What?" He slowly looked up at her... at her wide, azure eyes, her flushed cheeks... her parted lips. "What are you saying, Catherine?" he asked, his mind screaming at her to spit it out.

"I haven't had an orgasm in ten months, Gil. I've had sex... but no orgasm."

Grissom's mouth opened, then closed, as he contemplated what, if anything he could say in response. His eyes absent-mindedly drifted toward the button on her low-rise, skin-tight black pants... fingers itching to pop it open, pull her pants to her ankles, and solve all her problems. After a moment, he dragged his eyes back up to hers, whispering a lame, "Oh."

"See?" she smirked. "Not exactly something you could help with... but that's what my big problem was."

"Wait... excuse me?" He cocked his head slightly, as if mishearing what she'd said. "Not something I *could* help with?" He held his hands palm-up, half-shrugging and half gesturing to himself. "You don't think I'm qualified for the job?"

"W--" She paused, his words erasing any sentence she'd been about to say. She just stared at him, stunned, blue delving into deeper blue. "Uhh..."

"I may not be as experienced as you, Catherine," he snipped as he rose to his feet, anger and his all-consuming lust for the strawberry-blonde affecting his tone. "And I may not have had sex in a good year or two, but I think I'm damn qualified."

She just watched from her vantagepoint atop his desk... her mouth dropped in shock... as he stomped over to the door to his office, slamming and locking it, his ire sending shockwaves of arousal through her system. She watched his eyes as he stomped back over to her, a storm brewing in the ocean of his irises, and he stepped right up to the desk, glowering at her.

Her voice came out a breathless whisper. "I never said you weren't..." She gulped, her gaze centering on his lips. "Qualified, Gil..." She gasped as his hands slid up under her shirt, the feel of them caressing her stomach causing her skin to jump with excitement. Her voice shook. "I-I think you're plenty qualified, I just..." She sucked in a breath as his long fingers deftly unbuttoned her pants. "I d-didn't think you'd wanna help out."

"Yeah, well..." he growled, latching onto her neck as he unzipped her pants. "You thought wrong."

In one quick sweep, he whipped her pants down her legs and off, dragging her panties with them and flinging both articles of clothing across the room. She just watched him, lips parted in shock... eyes half-closed with utter desire.

As his lips and tongue branded the skin on her neck, his hands reached her hips... squeezing gently before gliding down her bare thighs, around back to her calves, then back up again to the insides of her thighs. Giving them a gentle squeeze, he parted her legs, then pressed one hand to her tummy, encouraging her to lie back on his desk. Her voice gone, she just nodded and followed his lead, her neck hanging over the opposite edge of the desk.

Her head snapped back upward abruptly, however, as she suddenly felt his lips and tongue on her most private of areas, dancing gently... yet aggressively, across her core. She cried out, completely forgetting where they were until his hand clamped over her mouth. Their eyes met and the stare that passed was electric; the look in his eyes alone almost drove Catherine over the edge.

She held his gaze for an extended moment and bit down on his palm, licking to soothe a second later. He moaned against her, and the vibration caused her head to loll back... and with a forceful expell of breath, she laid back down against the desk.

As his lips and tongue continued to drive her closer and closer to that long-awaited paradise, she bit down on her lip... the need to scream his name at the top of her lungs unbearable. She managed to hold back long enough to whisper shakily, "Oh God, Gil." Then, as she felt her world start to spin, her back arched off the desk once more. "I'm... I'm..."

He lifted her head from her long enough to growl, "Look at me, Catherine," before resuming the ministrations of his tongue.

She obeyed his command, and the second her eyes met his, she crashed over the edge, the intensity of his stare overwhelming her. Her elbows shook while she pressed her palms to the desk, attempting to hold herself up while wave after wave of bottled-up pleasure rattled her body. Keeping his eyes cemented to hers, he gently brought her down off the high while she continued whispering his name and muttering incoherently.

Once she fell quiet, he stood and reached his hands out to help her up off the desk, her legs shaking as she stood beside him. She glanced up, eyes still half-closed in ecstasy... to meet his grin, which was almost of a smug nature. His eyes twinkled mischievously at her... "Problem solved?"

She leaned up to kiss him... her own eyes reflecting his mischief, along with her continually-burning lust... and her hands unzipped his pants, pushing them to his ankles. "Not nearly," she breathed huskily, and closed her mouth over his in a searing kiss as she finished divesting him of his clothes, pulling him atop her, pelvis-to-pelvis.

The sudden contact was pure torture, and Grissom cried out, aching to be surrounded by her. "Cath..." he whispered.

"I want you inside me, Gil," she growled, and that was all the incentive he needed.

He glided inside effortlessly, frantically pumping in and out, groaning her name in time with his thrusts. The sound of lust and passion lacing her name quickly drew Catherine to the edge once more, and she threw her head back, a tremor sliding down her spine as she came once more, calling his name in the throes of ultimate release.

The sound and sensations of her powerful orgasm, and the knowledge that he'd been able to bring this beauty over the edge not only once, but twice... sent Grissom spiralling toward release, his entire body shuddering as he exploded inside her... both riding the tidal wave of pleasure until it ebbed... their minds and bodies flowing back toward a state of calm as they sank together against the desk.

"Well..." Catherine breathed, a dazzling grin brightening her kiss-bruised lips. "Guess I should come to you for my problems more often."

"Catherine, my dear," he grinned, his tone clueing her in to the quip on its way out... "You can 'come' to me anytime."

~FINIS~