"Grissom is so weird..." Sara murmured, flouncing into one of the airport conference rooms, where their investigation had currently taken up residence.

Catherine quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the young CSI through her lashes while going over some evidence. "And you're just noticing this now?"

Sara smirked, taking a seat in a chair by the table. "I'm serious. We were in the bathroom on the plane talking about the 'Mile-High Club'..."

"Excuse me?" The strawberry blond's eyebrows were now fully raised to their highest points.

Sara smiled inwardly at the hidden meaning her statement surely could've had. "We were looking for evidence of blood in the sink," she clarified, and watched, amused, as relief flooded the older woman's features. "But anyways, the topic of the 'Mile-High Club' came up, and Grissom made this comment about how being at such a high altitude increases the sexual experience and euphoria."

Catherine smiled, almost a knowing smile, the young woman noted. "Ahh, I see..."

"And when I asked him to cite his source, he rattled off the name of some forensics magazine," she finished with a shrug. She made a face. "Doesn't that seem too weird?"

Catherine chuckled to herself. "When it comes to Grissom, Sara..." She cocked her head, giving her a look. "Nothing is too weird."

Sara chuckled. "Well, I just find it hard to believe that he got that information from a forensics magazine... but he offered to get me a subscription, so..."

Catherine shrugged. "I say take it. Free magazine subscription, after all, right?"

"Yeah, but that wasn't my point. Do you really think you could read about something like that in a forensics magazine?"

Catherine grinned. "Well.... no, but... it's Grissom," she shrugged again. "Who knows? For all we know, he could have a secret stack of porn that we don't know about." She smirked. "He could've gotten that information from a Penthouse Forum, and he's just covering his ass."

Sara laughed at the very thought. Grissom seemed like such a prim and proper man... him having a stack of porn just didn't add up. "Well, I don't know about that," she sighed. "I just thought a comment like that could've only come from experience... not from reading about it in a magazine. And the way he talked about it, he sounded so..."

Catherine's lips slowly edged into a smile. "So.... what?"

Sara made a face, trying to pinpoint just the right adjective. "Confident," she finally replied. "It just kinda makes me wonder if he didn't really experience that at one time..."

Catherine grinned. "Well, Sara, that's the mystery of Grissom," she sighed. She gave her a look, before heading for the door. "He's always gonna leave you wondering."

*****

"Get this sample to Sanders as fast as you can, and then page me with the results," Grissom sternly informed Warrick, then sent him away just as Catherine approached through the door to the plane.

"Well, well, well..." she sighed, sauntering up to him in a fashion that could only be construed as flirting, "You're weaving quite a little web for our CSI's, aren't you?" She pursed her thick lips.

He cocked his head slightly, furrowing his brow... attempting to hold onto the confused expression though a smirk was threatening to burst forth. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, and swiftly turned back to the bathroom, pretending to examine the walls for prints.

She smirked, giving him 'the look' though he refused to meet her eyes . "Come onnnn...." she breathed, drawing out her words in a half-teasing, half-seductive manner. "The 'Mile-High Club'?"

"Again," he persisted, examing the bathroom wall so closely now his nose was almost touching it, "Have no idea what you're talking about."

She grinned at the overly-obvious way he was avoiding her eyes and her flirts, and tried again. "Don't tell me you've forgotten already," she purred, and stepped up behind him, her chest to his back. After hearing him suck in a breath, she went on, gliding her hands over his butt before trailing them up his back. "The forensics conference? Daytona? Two months ago?" After still receiving no response, she stuck her bottom lip into a pout. "Was I that horrible?"

He bowed his head, his words barely audible... coming out in a deep, breathy murmur. "You were incredible." He turned, slowly in their cramped quarters, and faced her, catching the hopeful grin on her face as she leaned against the counter, their hips the only point of contact between them. He reached out and tucked a stray lock of strawberry-blond hair behind her ear. "Catherine, that was the best sex I'd ever had."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "The best? Trying to squish both of us in a cramped airplane bathroom was the best?"

A dazzling smile lit up his incredibly handsome face, and the blues of his eyes twinkled back into hers. "It wasn't the location I was focusing on..." he murmured, his deep voice buzzing through every inch of her body... "It was the incredible woman that made it the best."

"Gil..." she whispered, a loving smile caressing her features, and she leaned up to kiss him.

The sensation of their lips brushing, mixed with being in the familiar territory of an airplane bathroom, transported her back two months....

*****

"Gil, I'm so bored!" she whined, her head forcefully hitting his shoulder.

He didn't look up from his novel until she'd started banging her forehead repeatedly against his shoulder. "Why didn't you bring anything to do?" he asked.

"Because I knew I was going with you," she replied. When he met her eyes, she stuck her bottom lip into a pout. "You're supposed to keep me entertained."

He watched her lip jut out briefly, wanting to grasp it between his own, then smirked at her and turned back to his book. "Cath, you know the pout doesn't work on me..." he reminded her.

"Even if I do this?" She rested her chin on his shoulder, batting her eyelashes profusely as she stared up at him.

He craned his neck to look down at her, before softly chuckling and once more going back to his novel. "Yes," he replied, "Because now you're just making an ass out of yourself."

Huffing loudly, she sat back against her seat with her arms folded across her chest. "Fine."

He rolled his eyes at her childish antics, that reminded him more of something his younger CSI would do. "Okay, Sara..." he teased, his tone patronizing.

The glare she laid on him in that moment would've caused him to keel over, had he been standing up. "Don't ever call me that again," she snapped, then turned her gaze out the window.

This is what finally got Grissom to set his book down on his tray table. "Cath, what is it with you and Sara?" he asked. "Ever since she got to Vegas you've been at each other's throats." He ducked his head, trying to gain her attention. "What is it about her that you don't like?"

"I dunno, I just don't like her," she snapped once more, narrowing her eyes.

He nodded slowly. "Yes, well... that certainly narrows the scope." When she turned her head and gave him 'the look', he smirked. "There's gotta be at least ONE thing that stands out."

Catherine drew in a breath slowly, glancing down at her lap before turning to look out the window, her voice coming out soft. "I don't like the way she looks at you."

"At me?" He was unable to conceal the shock in his tone.

"Yes, you. Everytime she looks at you, it's like she wants to...."

"What?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, 'jump your bones' or something like that. It just makes me sick."

"Like jealous?" he asked hopefully, eyebrow quirking upwards.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, surprising them both. She shook her head... "I mean..."

He smirked. "So... Ms. Willows, jealous of another woman?"

"So? Big deal, so I'm jealous."

He shrugged. "You just... don't seem the type."

"And why not?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

Another shrug rolled off his shoulders while he slowly shook his head, inwardly searching for the appropriate wording. "Because, you... you're so beautiful," he finally replied, turning to look at her. "You're beautiful, and you know that you're beautiful. What would you have to be jealous about?"

She smiled ruefully. "Youth?"

"Cath..." The tone of his voice caught her attention, and she turned to face him. When she did, she found him glancing at her through his lashes, peering at her over the top of his glasses. When her eyes met his, he smiled at her. "You've got nothing to be jealous of."

Her lips slowly edged into a smile. "Good."

When he smiled and went back to his novel, her eyes stayed on him, caressing his every facial feature and emblazoning it into her memory. Her eyes then slowly trailed down his face, past his much-lusted after lips and the cleft in his chin... past his neck and shoulders and down his chest, to his stomach and the buckle on his belt... before her eyes caught on the bulge between his legs. She raised an eyebrow, wondering how come she'd never noticed one of his best assets before.

She then began to wonder how she could've missed such a thing. His size ten feet... the long, nimble fingers on his square palms. How had she never noticed that Gil was packing some serious heat? She raised an eyebrow before discreetly tearing her eyes away from his crotch. "Thunder down-under..." she murmured to herself.

"Huh?" He slowly brought his eyes away from his novel to meet hers, his brow furrowing in confusion.

She clamped her lips together, cheeks flaring a bright pink as she caught her Freudian slip, and she smiled reassuringly. "I said I thought I heard thunder."

He raised an eyebrow at this, and leaned forward slightly to glance out the window to Catherine's left. "Cath, we're flying through a cloudless sky."

She chuckled, a bit nervously, and followed his gaze. "So we are," she sighed, then turned back to him with a shrug. "Must've been my imagination, then." Another nervous chuckle, then... when her earlier thoughts about the rifle between his legs floated through her mind again, she shuddered involuntarily... then quickly covered it up. "Chilly in the cabin, isn't it?"

He shrugged indifferently, glancing around before going back to his book. "I guess," he muttered.

She smiled her response, a sudden plan formulating in her mind, and without another word she reached up and pressed the button that would summon the flight attendant. When one arrived, she smiled sweetly at her. "May we have a blanket, please?" she asked.

The flight attendant, a middle-aged red-head with her hair spun into a beehive, smiled back at her. "Of course, miss," she replied, then ran off to fetch one.

Gil eyed her from his spot next to her. "I don't think it's THAT cold in here, Cath..."

"I'm a 'freeze-baby' Gil," she defended, "You know that."

"This is true."

When the flight attendant returned with a navy-blue fleece blanket, Catherine smiled and thanked her sweetly, then proceeded to drape the blanket across both her lap and Gil's. "Why am I getting some of the blanket?"

She smiled at him. "So you don't get cold." She faked a yawn. "I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me when we get there." With that, she nestled her cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

She felt him turn his head to watch her for a moment... then when she felt him smile, he turned his head away, going back to his book. This was when she slowly opened her eyes, settling her arms beneath the blanket. She sighed contentedly, giving the impression she was still asleep, while casually placing her hand on Gil's knee.

He sucked in a breath at the contact and straightened slightly in his seat, glimpsing quick at Catherine's closed eyes before his gaze drifted to the hand on his knee. Catherine, eyes shut tight, smiled at the reaction and dared to venture further, slipping her hand just above his knee, on the inside of his thigh. She fought to hold in the giggle threatening to surface as she once again felt him squirm in his seat.

Her mind practically sang to her how fun this was going to be, and she dared to slip her hand a few inches higher, this time being awarded with a sharp intake of breath from the man next to her. She slowly dragged her eyes upwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of the look on his face... only able to see the corner of his mouth from her vantagepoint against his shoulder. Her smirk grew almost wicked as she put him in 'check'... her hand resting right at the point where his thigh connected to his pelvis, her pinky finger rubbing teasingly against him.

This time, he loudly cleared his throat and sat stick-straight in his seat, his muscles tensing beneath her fingertips as he clenched his fists. His breathing was growing ragged, and when she dared to squeeze the inside of his thigh, kneading gently, he gasped... causing her to grin and make the final move... her hand cupping his arousal through his slacks. {{Checkmate...}} she thought wickedly.

She sucked in a breath as she felt his head snap to look at her, and she quickly shut her eyes. She practically moaned at the feel of his staccato breaths hitting her lips, wanting to just give in and be devoured by him. As he continued to stare at her seemingly-sleeping form, she made a decision. She couldn't take it anymore... she could no more resist him than stop breathing. With that, she slowly leaned up and let her tongue caress the cleft in his chin, gliding upward before claiming his lips with her own.

The gasp that followed from him was highly audible, and his hand found her face as he deepened the kiss, temporarily forgetting where they were as he let his tongue push past her lips, tasting her. All too soon, though, she broke away. His eyes, heavy-lidded and clouded with lust, searched hers... concern etching across his boyish face. Regrets? "Cath?"

Tearing her eyes from his, Catherine grabbed the edge of the blanket and threw it off of her, rising to her feet while Gil just stared up at her, bewildered. When she turned to face him, he saw a ghost of a smirk flit across her heavenly face, before she leaned down to him, brushing her lips feather-lightly to his as she whispered, "Meet me in the bathroom in thirty seconds." With that, she flounced off toward the back of the cabin.

His eyes grew wide, eyebrows raised to their highest point on his forehead as he stared after her, his mouth slightly open in shock. For the next thirty seconds, he remained in that position, wondering if perhaps he'd imagined her suggesting such a thing. After the thirty seconds had passed, however, he shrugged in resignation. "Gee, I kinda have to go to the bathroom," he muttered, as if anyone around him cared to hear such information.

Pressing his now profusely-sweating palms to the armrests, he pushed himself up... certain that his legs were shaking in anticipation so much he wouldn't have been able to manage getting up on his own. Heading toward the bathroom, he realized in vain that there were two different doors. He knocked on the one that said 'occupied' and called in a polite voice, "Excuse me? Is anyone in there?"

When the door cracked open discreetly, a triumphant smile escaped his lips and he stepped inside. As soon as he was fully inside, and the door had swung shut behind him, Catherine grabbed a hold of his polo shirt, bunching it in her fists, and shoved him against the wall. He let out his breath forcefully, eyes clouding over with desire once more at her animalistic behavior. "Catherine..." he murmured.

She hurriedly grabbed at the hem of his shirt, untucking it from his pants as she gazed up at him through her lashes. "No more talking," she growled, and pressed her lips aggressively to his.

He moaned against her lips and reached for the button on her pants... his hands shaking with all the pent-up desire and affection he'd carried for her for fifteen years. Once undone, he slid her pants to her ankles, dragging her panties with them. He then grabbed her hips and hoisted her up onto the counter, watching with his lips parted in a mixture of ecstasy and shock as she grabbed his pants by the waist and pulled him to her, unbuckling his belt in a frenzy.

She had his pants down around his ankles in seconds, and before he had time to process it, she'd grasped his erection and guided him into her. "God, Catherine..." he moaned, throwing his head back at the exquisite sensation.

She gasped, gazing at him through her lashes, her mouth agape in pleasure. She, too, threw her head back, and, to increase his pleasure, she contracted her muscles around him, hugging him inside of her. He growled in response and latched onto her neck, sucking the skin with as much pressure as he could put on the sensitive spot, smiling against her neck when she bucked wildly against him.

He held her hips, preventing her from slamming against him like she really wanted to, and instead slowed his pace, his lips leaving her neck to dust sweet kisses up her jaw, cheeks, ears, and finally ending on her lips. Catherine groaned in frustration, her voice coming out in a shaky, desperation-laced whisper... "Gil... we can't be in here for very long..."

"Says who?" he muttered, trailing his kisses back down her neck while his hands moved to caress and fondle her breasts through her shirt.

Her head lolled back once more. "Oh God, please... I need you."

"Do you?" he taunted her, continuing to thrust into her at a torturously slow rate. "Or is the teaser just not enjoying being the teased?"

She groaned, her chest beginning to heave as she panted. "Both." She tugged on his waist, trying to convey her need for him. "Please, Gil..."

His aim being to tease and not torture, Gil finally relented, and began to thrust into her with a white-hot intensity that seemed to overtake his body. The pace he set would fastly tire any man... but he didn't stop. And he didn't get tired.

Catherine, on cloud-nine, continued to throw her head back as she chanted his name, each thrust bringing her closer and closer to the edge. When her climax hit, she met Gil's eyes as her own widened, and when her jaw dropped, he quickly covered her mouth with his, stifling the scream that bubbled up from the back of her throat. This sound effected him more than any movement on her part could have, and he grunted into her mouth as he exploded inside her, his entire body tensing and shaking.

The pair stayed melded together for several moments, their foreheads pressed together... slick with sweat. Their chests heaved together, one battling against the other, and Catherine's hand wandered up to the collar of his polo shirt. "Wow..." she whispered.

"You can say that again..." he breathed, his lips seeking hers.

"Wow," she muttered against his lips, and subsequently let loose a giggle.

When they pulled apart, their foreheads met once more, and they stared into each other's eyes. Reluctantly, Gil spoke the obvious. "We should get back out there, now."

"I know," she whispered.

After spending another long moment savoring the feel of one another, they reluctantly broke apart and straightened their clothing before heading back out, Gil going first... Catherine following after several minutes later.

*****

Catherine finally came out of her reverie, sighing against Gil's lips at the memory. She felt him smile before his hand reached her face, deepening the kiss as his tongue pushed its way past her lips. Both were so consumed in their kiss, in their open display of affection for one another, that they didn't even notice Warrick and Sara stepping back onto the plane. "Hey guys, we just--whoa!"

It was at hearing Warrick's 'whoa' that they broke apart, both their eyes going to the floor as they hurriedly tried wiping off their lips. Catherine slowly glanced up to meet the eyes of the younger CSIs... noting Warrick seemed unfazed by walking in on such a thing, and that Sara seemed downright outraged. After a moment, Sara's lips curled into an almost self-satisfied smirk. "Jealous of my conversation with Grissom, Catherine? Trying to get a pass into the Mile-High Club?" she teased, crossing her arms over her small chest.

"A pass?" Catherine balked, practically snorting at the absurdity of the younger woman's comment. She reached behind her and grabbed Gil's hand, dragging him behind her as she headed for the door of the plane, calling wryly over her shoulder, "Please... Gil and I have a lifetime membership!"

The two younger CSIs looked to Grissom for a confirmation, noting he was just grinning widely at them, his eyes twinkling... and as he let the strawberry blond drag him out of the plane, he tossed a shrug in their direction and followed her out, leaving the two of them staring open-mouthed at each other behind his back.

~FINIS~