"I just realized that you and I have a very healthy relationship," Catherine murmured as they left the interrogation room.

Gil's eyebrow quirked upward in question as his head snapped to look at her. "We do?"

Catherine began gesticulating with her hands, a trait Gil found most endearing, as she explained, "When we have a problem, I don't paint Greg Sanders in latex and stick a straw up his nose."

Keeping his eyes straight ahead as he walked side-by-side with his favorite strawberry-blonde, he cocked his head, almost chuckling at the image she'd drawn. "Good, he'd probably enjoy it," he deadpanned, knowing it was true. Greg was pretty straightforward with his lust for Catherine; he was pretty straightforward with most things.

Catherine smiled at the comment and reached out to grasp her companion's arm. "Gil..." When he turned to face her, she mimicked this motion, keeping her hand on his arm. She gestured to him with her free hand, stepping a little closer as she lightly tossed her hair and shifted her weight. "This is the part where you say something revealing back to me."

Gil pursed his lips and felt her hand slip from his arm. He missed the contact already. "Okay..." he murmured. He smiled just slightly. "I've never told anyone this, Catherine..."

Catherine tilted her head to one side, smiling up into his eyes gently... expectantly. After a moment in which they just stared at each other, she began to worry that he'd back out of telling her. "Yeah?" she pressed.

He chuckled, praying she wouldn't slap him for what he was about to reveal. "Uhh... I actually don't know if I should say this here."

Her eyes suddenly came to life, the aquamarine irises glimmering mischievously. "Oooh, so it's inappropriate!"

He rolled his eyes at her, turning on his heel. "Meet me at the Tahoe in ten minutes," he told her, and headed off, feeling her glaring playfully at his back.

*****

Ten minutes later, Catherine stood by Gil's Tahoe, beginning to lean back against it... then, upon closer inspection of its exterior condition, she stood up straight beside it. She turned when she heard familiar footfalls on the pavement, a smile involuntarily making its way across her face just at the mere sight of him. "Took you long enough," she teased.

He glanced down at his watch, furrowing his brow. "Did I not say ten minutes?"

"Yes, you did. Which is why I'm slightly unnerved by the fact that it took you ten minutes and thirty-four seconds." She shook her head, gazing up at him in mock-sadness. "You're usually so punctual, Gil. What happened to you?"

He glared facetiously, biting back, "And I remember you used to be pleasant, Catherine. What happened to *you*?"

She just grinned her Cheshire grin. "Oh, I can be pleasant," she drawled in a low, breathy voice. Upon just receiving an eyebrow quirk in return, she pressed on. "So, what was this downright inappropriate thing you had to tell me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I never said it was inappropriate, I just said I wasn't sure if it was appropriate for me to tell you in the middle of the crime lab."

She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Sounds inappropriate to *me*..."

"Cath, you and I have always been completely open with each other, right?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Me, moreso than you, but go on."

"Okay. But when I tell you this, you have to promise not to slap me, okay?"

She laughed. "Gil, why would I slap you?"

"Just..." He held up a hand, signaling her to wait. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Okay," she sighed, stepping a little closer into the warmth of his body, sealing the conversation between the two of them. "So tell me something revealing, Gil."

"Okay." He directed his gaze to the pavement, eyes settling on her shoes... the toes pressed against the toes of his own shoes. Then, gathering his courage, he once again raised his eyes to hers. "I've had a fhhjmsmdflk about you."

"Huh?" She made a face. "Gonna need you to reveal that a little louder, Gil. You've had a *what* about me?"

He rolled his eyes, then, glancing over both shoulders to make sure nobody was getting into their car within earshot, he tried again. "I've had a fantasy about you..."

It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did... her eyebrows skyrocketed to her hairline, her mouth parting into a mixture of a grin, and an expression of shock. "A fantasy?"

A blush colored his cheeks, and he looked away... embarrassed. "Yeah..."

She pointed to him. "You... have had a fantasy..." She pointed to herself. "About me."

Gil emitted another embarrassed, "Yeah..."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Just one, Gil?"

His head dipped even lower in shame, the color of his cheeks now rivalling the hue of a lobster's shell. "No..."

"Gil..." Her hand found his cheek, fingers grazing just under his chin as she tipped his eyes up to meet hers.

He snapped his eyes shut, knowing he was just seconds away from a slap. And he'd witnessed Catherine slapping someone before. It didn't appear to be a pleasant experience. Her soft voice broke through his thoughts, a slight chuckle laced in her words. "Look at me..."

He did so reluctantly, involuntarily flinching when she removed her hand from his face, preparing for the sting that would meet his cheek in seconds. "Just go ahead and do it, Cath."

"Do what?" she laughed, her teal eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Slap me."

She giggled. "Gil, I'm not going to slap you. Number one, because you told me not to when we started this whole thing... and number two, because I'd NEVER slap you."

"Okay... then what?"

A slow, half-smile plucked up the left corner of her mouth, her voice softening again as she stared into his eyes. "I want you to tell me your fantasy."

His eyes widened nearly to the point where Catherine considered they might fall from his sockets. "You want me to WHAT?"

"Tell me your fantasy," she repeated.

"Take your pick, there are a ton of 'em," he blurted out, then subsequently clamped his lips shut, his cheeks flaring crimson again at his slip-up.

"REally? Okay then... tell me two."

"Any two?"

"Any two. The first two that come to mind."

"Okay..." He jerked his head toward the Tahoe. "Get in the car."

"Gil!" Her eyebrows shot to her hairline once more. "I just said to TELL me two of them! We're not acting them out in the Tahoe!"

He glared facetiously. "Just get in." As they made for their respective sides, he grumbled, "And in the Tahoe? Give me some credit, at least."

When he placed his key in the ignition and started the engine, she furrowed her brow. "What are you doing?"

"We're just gonna go for a drive."

"Okay. Since you're so keen on taking a drive, you wanna drive toward my house? I kinda feel like being chauffered today."

He rolled his eyes, putting the SUV into gear and pulling out of the parking lot. "Yes, dear."

Once they'd emerged into midday Las Vegas traffic, Catherine broke the silence. "So... fantasy number one. Let's go."

"Cath, do we really have to do this here?"

"Hey, you promised!" she whined, making pouty lips at him.

He eyed her puckered, pouted lips, and for a moment considered leaning over to capture them with his own... but he instead turned his eyes back toward the traffic. "Fine." After pausing to gather his thoughts, and contemplate the location of his sanity, he began. "Fantasy number one... happens to involve the crime lab."

"Ooh, kinky!" She frowned. "I hope you're not going to be mentioning swabs and tape lifts."

"Do you wanna hear it, or not?"

She slunk back against the seat, smirking. "Fine, fine. Please continue."

"Okay. So... this particular fantasy involves you and me in the layout room."

She grinned. "The light-up evidence table?"

He chuckled at her ability to read his mind. "The very same one... and you in a red lace teddy."

"Wow. You certainly have a vivid imagination."

"Well," he sighed, "It got quite a bit more vivid than that, but I'll let you use your own imagination to conjure up the rest."

"Hmm... I'm guessing the blinds would be drawn, unless this fantasy happens to involve voyeurism..."

"Cath..."

"I know, I know. It's not your style, anyway. So okay... the blinds are drawn, and I'm... sitting at the edge of the table with one leg crossed over the other?"

He nodded. "You forgot 'leaning back on your hands.'"

"Ah. So, then, to summarize, we go at it like wild animals?"

He smirked, a blush tinging his cheeks as his voice dropped to a husky timbre. "Untameable wild animals."

A shiver crawled up Catherine's spine as the sensual words left his tantalizing lips. "Sounds fun..." she managed to whisper.

He merely smiled at her, forcing his thoughts onto baseball in order to tame the arousal now filling out his dress slacks. "Yeah."

"How about fantasy number two?"

"Number two?"

She rolled her eyes, his means of stalling for time instantly recognizable. "Yes, Gil. Number two. It's what generally follows number one."

"Cath, I don't know if I'm really--"

"Gil, just tell me! I'm obviously not going to slap you or be disgusted with you, so just tell me!"

"Fine. The other fantasy is pretty simple. You, me, in a bathtub."

She nodded slowly, watching as they pulled into her driveway. "Nice. Very nice."

He just rolled his eyes as he put the car in park and shut off the engine, climbing down as Catherine jumped down from the passenger side. "And what good has it done now for me to reveal these to you?"

As he followed her to the front door, she turned to grin at him, pulling her keys out of her purse. "Well, I learned that you and I have had the same fantasy about each other."

She couldn't keep her grin from spreading ear-to-ear when she glimpsed his slack-jawed, dopey-eyed expression, and she unlocked the door in one swift motion, wiggling her eyebrows to beckon the still-dumbfounded Gil inside.

"Wh-wh-wh--"

She chuckled, tossing her purse on the table near the door. "Words, Gil. Use your words."

"Words..."

"Yeah, y'know... verbs, nouns, pronouns. You can eventually form sentences with 'em!"

His facetious glare was her indication that he was, in fact, not brain-dead from the information she'd just laid on him. "I know what words are, Cath, it's just... which fantasy do we share?"

She merely grinned her dazzling, thousand-watt grin at him and headed upstairs. "I'll be back down in a bit."

His mouth dropped open once more, and a frown quickly settled over his features as he watched her slowly walk upstairs, swinging her hips tauntingly the entire way. "Oh, now that is just cruel..." he murmured deep and low.

"Make yourself at home, Gil!" she called downstairs. "I won't be too long!"

He made a face at the empty stairs, and the hallway beyond. "What are you doing?"

"Is there no mystery in our relationship, Gil?"

He made a sweeping gesture with his hands, shrugging half-heartedly, indicating their earlier conversation. "Apparently not..."

*****

Gil sighed heavily as he drummed his fingertips on the arm of Catherine's couch, fidgeting nervously as he glanced around her living room. What the hell was taking so long? "Cath?" he yelled upstairs... "What the hell's taking so long?"

"Hey Gil, could you come up here for a sec?" she called back.

He made a face, knowing in the pit of his stomach she was up to something... but ultimately shrugged it off and trudged upstairs. "Where are you?" he called once he reached the top of the stairs.

"Bathroom."

He raised his eyebrows. "Uhh, I think I'd rather stay on *this* side of the door, if that's alright."

After sensing her rolling her eyes, she snipped from the other side of the door, "Gil, just open the goddamn door! I really need your help, here!"

Upon swinging the door open, he immediately gasped and turned away. "Oh, no... no, Cath, what are you doing?"

She grinned at him from her vantagepoint in the bathtub, her naked body covered in sweet-scented bubbles... her legs draped up and over the edge of the tub, ankles crossed as her feet bobbed up and down. "What?" she shrugged innocently, draping her arms over the edge of the tub as well.

He shook his head, holding his hand up to the side of his face, acting as a shield. "You are just pure evil, Catherine Elizabeth."

She rolled her eyes while smirking good-naturedly. "No, I'm not!" she insisted, then held out a loofa sponge to him, her tone snapping back to innocence far too quickly. "Will you wash my back?"

"No!"

She pouted, droplets of water hitting the floor as her outstretched arm dangled over the edge. "No?"

"No! I know what game you're playing!"

"Gil, I'm not playing any kind of game! You know a non-double-jointed person can't perfectly scrub their entire back!"

"Cath, stop it."

"Fine," she snipped, pointing her nose to the air as she turned away slightly. She dipped the sponge into the water, then pulled it back out, squeezing the extra moisture from it. "Then I'll just wash it myself."

He nodded. "Good idea."

She sighed, then arched her back, her chest jutting out as she reached down and around herself, attempting to scrub her back with the loofa. For the third time that day, Gil's mouth dropped open... his tongue snaking out to wet his lips as he avidly watched her display. He unconsciously balled his hands into fists, willing his ever-swelling arousal to wane. He clamped his lips shut and his eyelids snapped closed. "For the love of God, stop. I'll just do it."

She smiled brightly, handing the sponge over to him as she chirped out a "Thank you!"

He shook his head at her overly-obvious antics and sat down on the toilet seat, gliding the sponge across her shoulders while squeezing the excess water out of it... watching as it created rivulets down her creamy, flawless back. He felt his breathing quicken, and when she lolled her head back to moan, he stood abruptly, dropping the sponge back into the water with a 'sploosh.' "I have to go!" he suddenly exclaimed.

She turned slightly in the tub, furrowing her brow. "What? Why? I thought we were gonna eat after my bath!"

"Ahh, no! I can't! I really have to go!" he sputtered, tripping over her trashcan as he made for the door.

In a move he was least expecting, Catherine rose to her feet in the tub, and Gil's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he watched the bubbles cascade down her breasts, her belly, her pelvis, thighs and legs, before settling in the rippling water. "Gil! Stay."

"Oh God..." he groaned, tearing his eyes away from the tantalizing vision and practically sprinting for the door.

With a few more sputtered exclamations, he'd streaked out the door in a blur and jumped into his Tahoe, speeding off toward his townhouse. Catherine smirked to herself as she finished toweling off, slipping her robe around her shoulders and fastening it before going to the window... just in time to see Gil turn the corner and speed out of sight. "Aww, Gil. You won't be going *anywhere* tomorrow!"

*****

Gil cautiously made his way down the halls at CSI, glancing every-which-way as if Catherine would pop out at him, naked, at any moment. He had to admit to himself he felt incredibly guilty for just running out on her the night before. He knew what she was doing, however... and it scared him a bit. While the sight of her naked, covered in bubbles aroused the hell out of him, the speed with which she was moving their relationship frightened him. He had to find some way to apologize. Perhaps he should've stayed, after all. He made a conscious decision to go along with it if it happened again, whether it scared him or not. A change of pace is good... and perhaps, with Catherine, a change of pace was exactly what he needed.

"Warrick?"

The lanky CSI-3 glanced up out of the microscope he had his nose buried in, tossing a greeting at his supervisor in the form of a head jerk and a "Hey, Grissom."

"You seen Catherine?"

"Uhh... she said she had some evidence to look over. Must be a pretty big case, too. She wouldn't tell me anything about it, and she banned all the lab techs from the evidence room."

"Really?" he furrowed his brow, the oddity of such a behavior not really registering with him.

Warrick just nodded. "Yeah. Y'never know, maybe it's just 'that time of the month' and she wanted to be left alone."

Gil nodded, though his heart dropped at the prospect of Catherine being upset with him. When his protege glanced up at him questioningly, he quickly covered up his expression by quipping, "Warrick, the breadth of your knowledge concerning the female species never ceases to amaze me."

Without missing a beat, Warrick replied, while sticking his nose back down the microscope, "It's a gift."

With that, Gil turned on his heel and headed straight for the layout room, shrugging off any warnings passed on to him by frightened-looking interns and lab techs concerning Catherine's demeanor. He knew she was upset about the night before... and he was determined to make things right. Even if, God forbid, that meant he had to open up and share something *else* revealing.

He knocked gently on the door to the layout room, the sight of the drawn blinds disconcerting him slightly. Her voice immediately sounded from the other side before he could utter a word. "Dammit Greg, I told you, I DON'T wanna guess where your new tattoo is! Go bother Nick and Sara!"

"Cath, it's me," he called.

"Oh!" The change in her tone was immediate, dropping to a low, sweet tone. "Please come in, Gil."

He raised an eyebrow at her abrupt change of tone, praying it was a good thing, before pulling the door open only wide enough to slip inside. When he did, and the door shut behind him, every breath left his body at the sight in front of him.

The only light illuminating the darkened room came from the lit-up evidence table, upon which Catherine was perched... in nothing more than a red-lace teddy and a pair of high heels. Her legs dangled over the edge tauntingly, her right knee crossed over the left, her feet tracing imaginary circles in the air as she sat leaning back on her hands.

"Oh, God..." was all he managed.

"You like?" she asked, slowly drawing out each syllable.

He exhaled forcefully and nodded, gulping. "Oh, God..."

Her flirtatious, seductive grin widened, the left-hand corner of her mouth curling further upward as she curled her finger at him, beckoning him to come closer. He did so immediately, eyes cemented to her body as if he were under hypnosis... just gravitating toward the goddess in red lace. Another "Oh, God..." escaped his lips as his hands found her waist, his gaze drifting to her cleavage.

She smirked. "Is that the best I'll be able to get out of you?" she teased.

He exhaled in a series of incoherent babbling, his eyes still cemented to her chest as the blues sparkled with the excitement of a kid in a candy store. "I just you're so oh God I can't believe fuhhumnmflmn..."

She giggled, snaking her hands up his chest, venturing toward his shoulders as she slowly uncrossed her legs, winding them around his waist. "Gil, you're mumbling again."

"I can't help it," he finally managed to whisper, gasping as her hands grasped his, guiding them up to her chest. He squeezed the soft, supple mounds through the thin lace. "You're just so..."

"If you say 'oh God' again, I'm gonna whack you upside the head."

"Sorry," he chuckled. "I just can't believe this..." He slowly dragged his eyes up from her chest to meet her aquamarine pools, glinting in the dim lighting. "Was this the fantasy that you and I share?"

Catherine smirked, focusing her gaze on her fingers, which were currently making fast work of his buttons. "Actually, the one you and I shared was the one in the bath tub, but you didn't seem too keen on acting out THAT one..."

He cupped her face, his thumbs on her cheeks while his fingers rested on the underside of her earlobes and the sides of her neck. "Cath, I'm so sorry about--"

She placed a finger to his lips to silence him, shaking her head. "You don't have to apologize, Gil," she whispered. She smiled into his eyes, trailing her fingertips back and forth between his lips. "I know I came on a little strong lastnight. It's just... I was so overwhelmed by you saying you'd fantasized about me... and then the fact that you've had one of the exact same fantasies I've had..."

"You weren't coming on *that* strong, it just... seemed to be jumping to the next level pretty quickly, and I guess I was just trying to preserve the relationship."

She smiled, gliding her hands down the exposed skin on his chest. "And now? You're not running away now."

"Well..." he chuckled. "SOME of that may be due to the fact that you're sitting here in front of me in nothing but a red-lace teddy." He sighed. "I might as well say something revealing now, too, Cath... I'm so hard I won't be able to walk in a normal fashion through the lab! Something has to be done."

She raised her eyebrows, gazing at him seductively through her lashes while unzipping his trousers and shoving them toward his ankles, breathing, "And something *will* be done," before pulling his lips to hers.

His hands once more found her breasts, squeezing softly and pinching experimentally as his tongue dove past her lips, tasting her... while she snuck her hands into his boxers. When he felt her hand close around his length, finger by finger, he pulled away with a grunt, burying his face in her neck, and chin-length hair. "Cath..."

"I need you NOW, Gil," she growled, and laid back on the table.

"You've got me, Cath," he moaned, and crawled over her, dipping his hand between her legs while she freed his manhood, his boxers joining the pile of clothes already on the floor.

When he felt nothing but her naked core against his fingertips, he gasped, pulling away to meet her eyes. She smirked, shrugging innocently. "Crotchless teddies..."

He shook his head. "The eighth wonder of the world revealed."

With a shared chuckle, the couple brought their lips together once more in a frantic kiss, Gil's fingers pumping steadily in and out of her core while she moaned and bucked against him. "God, Gil!"

All too soon, he withdrew his hand, moaning, "Cath, God, I need to be inside you," as he positioned himself over her opening, inching just the tip of his member inside.

She gasped, slamming her head back against the table as she attempted to push herself onto him... finding he was holding her in place with his hands on her hips. "Yes," she whimpered, then moaned in relief as he thrust the rest of the way inside her.

He held himself deep inside for a moment, both adjusting to the new, yet intoxicating sensation... before he slowly began to move. Her moans served as encouragement, her hips bucking and rolling against his thrusts, and he took the hint and sped up, receiving a whimper of approval from the strawberry-blonde beneath him.

"Gil, I'm so... close... oh, Jesus, right there, harder..." she babbled, her hands clawing at his back.

One more thrust and he hit the spot, and she threw her head back, stars before her eyes as her jaw dropped in silent scream, her fingernails digging into the muscular flesh at the small of his back as she came... her entire body convulsing as the most wonderful orgasm rattled her body.

The feel of her spasming against him, coupled with the feeling of her fingernails scoring his back caused him to topple over the edge with her, spilling his warmth inside her as he tensed and shuddered, calling her name. Sated and exhausted, they collapsed together against the table, breaths mingling... bodies slick with sweat.

"Wow..." he breathed, his chest heaving against hers. He smiled. "Had I known how fulfilling it is to tell you something revealing, I would've done this a long time ago."

She laughed breathlessly, bringing his lips down to meet hers... caressing them softly. "Gil..." she murmured through their kiss, after a moment of comfortable silence had passed.

He raised his eyebrows, eyes remaining closed. "Hmm?"

She broke away softly, her baby blue eyes staring up into his. "Since it's now my turn again to tell *you* something revealing..." She broke into a slow smile. "Wanna hear about my locker-room fantasy?"

~FINIS~