"I'll drive," Catherine grumbled, having just finished her rant about Sam Braun not returning her phone calls. They'd dug up so much dirt on him in the past twenty-four hours, however, that she didn't know why she even expected him to return her calls.

Grissom just stood serenely in the doorway, leaning against the door jamb for a moment while he watched his best friend... someone who he *hoped* still thought of him as such... though inwardly he knew he didn't deserve such a title. He'd hidden his hearing problems from her for an entire year... he hadn't been there for her when her estranged ex-husband was murdered... and now, when he knew something was bugging her... he didn't dare ask what it was. "I'm not going with you," he murmured, and this statement got her attention.

"What do you mean?" she asked, brow furrowing in a way that told him she was still clearly fuming over the Sam Braun issue... her tone almost snippy.

He watched as she slammed her locker shut, and he stepped completely into the room, regarding her seriously. "I'm scheduled for surgery at Desert Palm."

The fury in her eyes disappeared, leaving adorable wrinkles of confusion across her forehead and around her eyes as they narrowed, taking in his last bit of information. "Surgery..."

He kept his eyes trained on hers as she stepped up to him, her eyebrows raised slightly as her wide, aquamarine eyes searched his. Her voice came out soft... knowing. "Your hearing?"

He nodded, eyes blinking slowly as his tongue jutted out to wet his lips. "Yep."

Her expression immediately changed, the wrinkles of confusion slowly morphing into wrinkles of sadness, remorse showing in her eyes. She hadn't been there for him... "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not. Has to be done."

"Well..." Her eyes flitted over every inch of his face while her hands gesticulated absent-mindedly, searching for something... anything, that she could say. She wanted to help him, be there for him... be a better friend to him than she'd recently been. "What can I do?"

His response came too quick, his tone devoid of any emotion as he shrugged with indifference. "Nothing. I'm fine." Quickly deciding it would be best to leave before his eyes betrayed his words and divulged the truth, he began to back away... pointing at her. "Take care of the case."

Her eyebrows quirked upward briefly as she stared at him incredulously. That was it? "Uhh, w--" After all that they'd been through... despite not having been that close lately... that was all she got? Try as she might not to let her emotions get the best of her, the sadness still seeped through in her tone. "That's it?"

Though she didn't dare admit it to herself, she knew... in that moment, she wanted him to tell her he loved her. She wanted something from him... in case he wound up being one of the many statistics where a simple surgery went fatally wrong. Even if the words held no romantic intention behind them whatsoever, she wanted to hear them.

Grissom turned back to face her, watching her struggle with herself... struggle to keep her emotions in check... and he briefly wondered why. Then it dawned on him... she knew that wasn't it. She knew there was more he wanted to say. And it was true... that wasn't it. Not for him. He knew that wasn't it... he wanted to whisper his love for her, in case something went awry while he was in surgery. But he didn't dare do such a thing. "That's it," he finally replied, his subconscious damning him straight to hell for uttering such a lie. "Uhh..." His gaze lingered on her angelic face for a long moment, and the corner of his lips twitched into a pseudo-smile as he uttered his own version of what he really wanted to say. "Good luck."

And with that, he turned away to head for the hospital, leaving Catherine staring... confused... in his wake.

Having been promised by the nurse that she would return in a moment, Grissom nodded his acknowledgement, folding his hands in his lap while his legs dangled over the side of the examining table, swinging in a boyish fashion. After a moment or two had passed, a soft, all-too-familiar voice caught his attention... "Hey."

His head snapped upward and toward the door, eyes taking in the most wonderful sight to ever be bestowed upon him. Catherine stood in the doorway to his hospital room, smiling angelically at him... her large, piercing eyes taking him in from head to toe. He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled impishly, swinging her arms just barely in a pseudo-shrug. "I just wanted to see you," she replied candidly, holding his gaze. A gentle smile once more graced her angelic features. "And I didn't want you to go in..." The corner of her mouth twitched in a grin, an almost knowing grin, he noted, "Without wishing you... good luck."

The tiny grin that followed her words nearly stopped his heart... she'd cracked his code. And not only had she cracked the code... she'd said it back. In the wonderfully repressed way he'd told her he loved her, she'd said it back. He tore his eyes from her heavenly beauty as the nurse reappeared in the doorway with a wheelchair, and his eyes flitted between the two intruders before settling once more on his deity.

He pushed himself up, forcing himself to move... to go to her. He had to, and now. Eighteen years had been wasted. As he approached, he eyed the nurse, and the wheelchair, briefly noting in the back of his mind that there was no way in hell he was going to sit in one of those and be wheeled off to surgery like an invalid. Not in front of Catherine. He'd walk with his head held high... and his hand holding the back of his hospital gown shut.

After what seemed like an eternity, he'd stepped up to Catherine, and watched avidly as her eyes took in his every step, open wide and seeing only him. He felt he could do anything, her eyes giving him strength. He was now toe-to-toe with his beauty, and when he stopped in front of her, she nearly stopped his heart once more as her eyes drifted to his lips and lingered there... her own gloss-enhanced lips parting unconciously.

When she finally dragged her eyes back up to his, the sea-blue irises contemplated his next move. He simply held her intense gaze, breaking it ever-so-briefly to allow his own eyes to caress her lips... before bringing them back to the blues. "Thank you..." he whispered, indulging himself in one more glance at her lips before meeting her eyes again. The corner of his mouth twitched just slightly. "...for being here."

Her perfect lips spread into a smile... the brightest he'd seen on her face in years... and her hands moved to his shoulders, pulling him into an embrace. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around her waist, fingertips grazing her strawberry-blond strands as he held her. His eyes shifted toward where the nurse stood, still on the other side of the doorway. Why the hell did she have to be there? He needed to tell Catherine so many things... or at least one specific thing, since there wasn't that much time. And maybe... kiss her? Damn that nurse.

He was ripped from his thoughts at the feel of her hands on his shoulders, skipping over the bare skin on his back that showed through the hospital gown. He gently patted her back in return and pulled away to look into her eyes once more, finding that wonderful smile still gracing her features. He couldn't help but smile back... and cast another glance toward the annoying presence on the other side of the doorway.

The nurse smiled and chuckled lightly, finally catching the hint, and released her hold on the handles of the wheelchair. "I'll just give you two a minute," she murmured softly, and excused herself, heading down the hallway.

Catherine tossed her hair as she turned to watch her go only for a moment, before turning back to Gil, one eyebrow quirking briefly. "So... good luck," she whispered, and that Cheshire-cat grin played across her lips once more.

Fighting his first instinct to laugh at the adorable look on her face, he instead opted to stare deep into her eyes... searching them intensely. "You know that I didn't just mean... 'good luck'... right?" he asked, daring to reach out and sweep a lock of hair behind her ear.

Her knees nearly buckled from the g-force his touch incited within her, and her eyes slipped shut as she sucked in a breath to steady her emotions. "Yes..." she breathed, keeping her eyes closed as she willed her heart to calm its wild palpitations. "Th-that was why... I said it back." Her eyes drifted to his lips, watching avidly as they slowly parted, his tongue peeking out to wet them. That tiny action... that small, seemingly-insignificant gesture dissolved any reservations or doubts she'd had, and she leaned forward to capture those lips with her own.

He gasped in surprise at the feel of his lip being held hostage between hers, and his eyes snapped shut. His hand flew up to rest against her face, his thumb caressing the soft skin as he matched her fervor, deepening the kiss as his other hand reached her waist, pulling her close. She sighed against his lips, tilting her head as they sunk into the kiss... her heart soaring at how natural it felt to be with him in this way. Another contented sigh emanated from her as his hand glided across her cheek, becoming lost in her thick, golden hair.

After an eternity... which for both was far too soon... the kiss ended and they broke apart, both eyes half-open as they relished the 'after-shock.' Catherine let out a breath, a puff of air hitting his lips in the process... as her parted, kiss-swollen lips spread into a smile. "Wow."

Gil chuckled breathlessly. "That was gonna be my line."

He pulled completely away and stared into her eyes lovingly, his fingertips still basking in the silkiness of her hair. "Catherine, I love you." His smile turned almost sheepish as he added, "THAT was what I really meant to say."

She grinned. "I love you too."

"And Cath, I know things between us haven't been the best lately, but--"

She stopped his words with a kiss, lingering for a moment before pulling away. "But we'll have plenty of time to mend the rift when you're out of surgery."

He grinned. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I dunno," she sighed, her tone dry and filled with sarcasm, "But whatever it was, you're stuck with me for the rest of your life."

When she cocked an eyebrow, he mirrored the expression, his lips edging into a smirk. "God, that sounds unbearable..."

"Mr. Grissom?"

Both heads turned as the nurse once more appeared in the doorway, and she smiled at them for a moment before turning her attention to Gil. "We're ready for you, now."

He nodded his acknowledgement, and squeezed Catherine's hands while his eyes stared into hers, struggling for something to say. She giggled at this, her eyes shimmering with love and adoration. "I'll be here when you wake up," she promised, in answer to his unasked question.

"Good," he whispered, and glimpsed quick at the nurse to make sure she was looking away before he stole one more kiss. "Love you..." he mouthed.

Her smile lit up the entire hospital as she mouthed the sentiments back at him, her eyes then drifting toward their clasped hands as he released his hold on her.

He glanced toward the nurse, and the wheelchair she was once again hanging onto. "I don't need that," he informed her, then brushed past Catherine to head to the operating room.

Catherine leaned against the doorframe to watch him go, her eyes drifting toward the back of his hospital gown... and the view she was offered because of it. One eyebrow arched upwards, and her words came out as an expell of breath... "Good luck, indeed."

~FINIS~