Some things are better left unsaid. I'll admit, I never bought into that adhage... or any of 'em, really. But I believe it now. That adhage basically sums up my relationship with Gil for the last eighteen years. We've always been able to say everything we needed to say without speaking the words. All we need to do is give each other a certain look, a certain smile, a certain touch... or sometimes even just meet each other's eyes. It's incredible how much he can say when all he's doing is looking into my eyes. It's something that sears my heart every single time.

*It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart*

He conveys his strength to me just by standing near me. He magically turns me into the most beautiful woman in the world when his hand is on my back, or my arm... just resting there casually. He speaks of his trust for me just by staring into my eyes. He can convey sentence upon sentence to me just with a certain mannerism or facial expression. And he brightens up my worst day by giving me just a hint of a smirk.

*Without saying a word, you can light up the dark*

It's something amazing that I've never experienced before... and something I know I'll never again experience with anyone else. Gil is everything to me, even though I don't yet know everything about him. I probably never will... but that's fine with me. It's the mystery that keeps me under his spell... the hope that maybe, someday, I'll solve the puzzle. His puzzle is the most intricate one I've ever had the opportunity to put together, and I'm quite proud to say I'm the only one he'll allow to even attempt to put him together. It's part of our bond... our connection that's kept us head-over-heels for each other for the past two decades.

*Try as I may, I could never explain what I hear when you don't say a thing*

And there he is now. I thought I was the only left after shift... the kids had gone home, so I just assumed that Gil had followed there lead. But there he is, walking down the hallway toward me, and this is when our nonverbal conversational skills go to work. He nods his head toward his office in a silent request that I follow him, the smile on his face a clear indication of why he wants me there.

*The smile on your face lets me know that you need me*

I can't keep the smile off my face as I silently follow him, strolling into his office, then turning to face him... just as he turns his back on me to close the door behind us. When he spins on his heel, our eyes meet, and my breath catches in my throat at the look in his eyes. He can always hypnotize me with his eyes... the truth in them tugging at my heartstrings.

*There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me*

His hand reaches my face, and everything is clear. If there had ever been any doubt in my mind before, it's gone now. Such a simple gesture, but for us, it holds so much more meaning. It always has. Just a simple touch from one of us always assures the other that we'll always be there to help each other. He'll always be there to catch me when I fall, and I'll always be there to pick up the pieces when his world falls apart.

*The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall*

He smiles deep into my eyes as his thumb strokes my cheekbone, and I know exactly what he wants... what he needs. So I smile back, glance quick to make sure the blinds are closed, then turn out the light as I allow myself to lean forward and caress his lips with mine. See what I mean? Words aren't needed between he and I. Talking is overrated, anyways.

*You say it best when you say nothing at all*

*****

Lying here in the dark, I hear his heartbeat and feel completely at ease, almost lulled to sleep by the sound... something that becomes a sweet kind of background music after our lovemaking. After spending some quality time in the confines of his office, we ended up heading for his townhouse. And, as we left, several stares followed our trail... something that always makes me smile. I'm used to it. Gil and I have always been able to raise eyebrows, so-to-speak, with our colleagues. For the ten years we've been working together, there have been several pools going around having to do with our personal relationship outside of work. Gil finds it annoying, but I find it amusing... and somewhat flattering, that our colleagues are expending their much needed mental energy trying to figure out whether we are or aren't together.

*All day long I can hear people talking about*

I feel him turn me on my side and I smile, anticipating his next move. My suspicions are confirmed as he spoons against my back, his body curling against mine in a perfect fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle. And though I may never solve the mystery that is Gil, at least our puzzle has finally been put together. His arm goes across me as he reaches for my right hand with his left, and I smile as he twines our fingers together, his lips caressing my shoulder while we both stare at our linked hands. Screw company policy about inter-office dating. Screw what everybody else thinks of us. This is right, this is meant to be.

*But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd*

There are no words that can possibly describe what's between us accurately. It's so much more than a soulmate thing... so much more than that fairytale true love. I think a whole new word will have to be made up. I'll have to think of one and send it off to Webster. Beyonce gets one, why can't we have one too? My common sense then kicks in... I may never be able to find one definite word that sums up what's between Gil and I.

*Old Mr. Webster could never define what's being said between your heart and mine*

I turn on my side to face him, reluctantly disentangling my fingers from his to caress his shoulders and defined arms. For being a middle-aged man, he's in pretty damn fine shape. I feel him smile and I look up, realizing he must have read my thoughts. He always can. My soft smile turns into a full-on grin as his hand sweeps through my hair, and I scoot closer to him on my side, my fingers tracing his smiling lips. He rarely used to smile. Now he does it all the time. And maybe it's just my inner narcissist kicking in, but I have a feeling that it's because of me. Maybe all those years he was grumpy and distant, I was all he needed.

*The smile on your face lets me know that you need me*

My eyes meet his, and like always, I lose myself in them... something that happens everytime I've looked into them since we met. I remember the first time we met. I was still dancing at the French Palace, trying to make enough money to support Eddie and his empty dreams. The death of our bouncer had been under mysterious circumstances, so naturally, the crime lab was called in. And man was I glad to be working that night! I remember this part vividly.

I was sliding down my pole, making sure to get in my signature hair toss that drove all the guys crazy, when I look up and see the most gorgeous guy I've ever laid eyes on, just casually strolling up to me. And I mean, for a dancer, this is no unnatural occurence. Gorgeous guys came up to me all the time... most or all asking for a lap dance, but not him. He was special. And this is what was so special about him.

He was looking into my eyes. And for a guy standing before a topless woman, that is no small feat. But for him, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. And for how deep he was staring into my eyes, I could've been wearing an outfit made out of tinfoil and paper bags and he wouldn't have taken notice. Those honest blue eyes were trained intimately on mine. My heart still skips ten thousand beats when I think of that moment.

*There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me*

He touches my face and draws me from my memory, and as our eyes meet, a small smile edges across those heavenly lips of his. I can't help but smile back... widely. Again, he knows exactly what I'm thinking about. He leans to kiss me and his hand slides down my arm... causing my heart to skip wildly as if it were the first time he touched me. Aside from his eyes, it's his touch that tells me the most. And it's telling me he's gonna stay... forever.

*The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall*

I gently pull away from our kiss, missing his lips the moment they leave mine... and find myself staring into those phenomenal eyes once more as I sink against the pillows. He leans over me, hand raking through my hair, before he leans down to me... just to hold me. Just to wrap me in his arms. The electricity between us sends a jolt to my heart, and it's then that I know for sure. Oh yeah, this'll be forever.

*You say it best when you say nothing at all*

*****

I have got to be the happiest woman on the face of the earth... plain and simple. I know everyone in the lab is staring at me... how can they miss my smile? They're giving me looks like I'm some crazed idiot, but it all just slides off my shoulders. And why am I so happy? I could rattle off hundreds upon thousands of reasons, but here's the most recent: I am now officially on my way to being a bride! Gil proposed to me lastnight, and, like always... words weren't even needed to pull it off.

He'd cooked my favorite meal, and set the ambience by lighting two red candles on his kitchen table. After dinner, he presented me with a beautiful bouquet of lilies... my favorites, and while I was smelling and admiring them, he got down on one knee. I think I may have dropped the flowers, but I can't be sure. I saw and remember nothing besides him. I know my mouth was hanging open by the way he was grinning at me, and when he pulled that tiny velvet box out of his pocket, that was when the tears started. I had slowly taken it from his hand after he offered it to me and opened it... and when I looked up to him for confirmation, he just smiled.

*The smile on your face lets me know that you need me*

I stared into his eyes for the longest time and saw everything I needed to see without him having to utter a word. He loved me... he had always loved me... and he would love me until the day we died. And I knew, as I stared into those crystal blue eyes, that this time around everything would turn out fine. I knew he would never leave me, he would never be unfaithful to me. He truly loved me. After realizing all that, all I could do was nod.

*There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me*

Still smiling gently, he took the box from my hand and extracted the ring, reaching out to take my hand. When he did, it sent shivers down my spine. Would every time he touched me feel like the first time? Or was it just the fact that we're meant for each other that was causing these sensations? Maybe it's a combination of both. I watched with tears in my eyes as he effortlessly slipped the beautiful shimmering diamond onto my finger, a perfect fit... just like us. And I started crying.

*The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall*

His hand on the small of my back once again brings me back to reality, and I look up into his smiling eyes. He takes my hand and leans to kiss my ring, inciting a grin from me, before he leans in for a kiss. It's one filled of promise for the future, and my heart soars. I can't wait to be his wife. I'm counting the days until I'll stop being Catherine Willows... and become Catherine Grissom. When we pull away, our foreheads meet, both of our eyes still closed, and my fingertips caress his cheek. It's amazing how we can say everything by saying nothing...

*You say it best when you say nothing at all*

And I hope it'll always stay that way. We simultaneously pull away from each other to stare into each other's eyes, our hands finding each other and lacing tight together as we make our way through the hall. We slowly smile at each other, and know that for now, we have to speak. After all... one of us has to tell the kids.

~FINIS~