"Grissom," the gruff voice on the other end seemed to growl.

Catherine paused, taken aback. "Wow, you sure sound happy to hear from me."

In place of where he would normally spout off a witty retort, he let out an aggravated sigh. "Catherine, my field kit was stolen!"

Her eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I was checking out this barn, and I found the victim's car."

"Oh, great!"

"Yeah, but just when I found it, my car alarm went off. Somebody broke into the Denali and stole my field kit!"

"Oh, no..." she breathed. She knew all too well by the irritation in his voice the last few times they'd spoken that things weren't going so well for Grissom out in Jackpot.

"Catherine, somebody doesn't want me solving this case," he told her. "And somebody is on my ass, making sure that I don't even get NEAR to catching the killer."

Her heart bumped into her throat. If somebody didn't want him solving the case, that could mean the killer was watching... and could possibly go after him, too. What would one more murder be to this guy? "Gil, get in the car and go back into town," she instructed him, her tone laced with worry. "Just go back into town, tell the Sheriff what happened, and have him go back to the barn with you."

"The Sheriff?" he balked. "The Sheriff might be the one that doesn't want me to solve this. He's been nothing but a first-class asshole to me since I got here. He may very well be the one that's hiding something."

She sucked in a breath. She had to do something. "Okay, well then just go back into town and.... I dunno, get something to eat. Do something low profile, so whoever is watching you will back off a bit. I'll think of something to do about this in the meantime...."

"What are you gonna do?" he asked, flinging the door to his Denali open, tossing a brief glance at the broken passenger-side window. "Cath? Cath!"

But the only response he received was the dial-tone.

*****

"Warrick! Geez..." Catherine cried, nearly plowing him over in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey watch it, it's not the Indy 500," he teasingly reminded her, then caught a glimpse of the worry lines indenting her forehead. "Cath? What's the matter?"

"Can you run the unit for awhile?" she blurted out. "I have to be somewhere."

"Uhh... sure..." he slowly replied. "What's goin' on? Are you going on a safari, too?"

"Grissom might be in trouble," she sighed, rubbing a hand across her forehead as if to smooth away the wrinkles of worry, "He needs me."

"I see." He continued to eye the petite strawberry blond, knowing something big was going on that she wasn't telling him. He ducked his head slightly while crossing his arms over his chest, glancing at her through his lashes. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything will be fine, Warrick... I just need to get to Grissom right now," she hurriedly replied, and brushed past him to head for the exit. "Thanks for doing this, by the way!" she called over her shoulder, then disappeared around the corner.

He furrowed his brow, still staring at her path of retreat. "No problem..."

*****

Catherine's eyes scoured the small town, searching for that familiar navy blue Denali... one that matched hers. Rounding the corner, she passed by the local pet clinic, and subsequently screeched to a halt, throwing the truck in reverse and pulling into the open space next to the SUV with the shattered passenger-side window.

Grissom turned at the sound of brakes squeaking, and his eyebrows raised... the true expression in his eyes hidden by his sunglasses. He slowly reached up to remove them, watching the blue Denali back up several feet before pulling into the open parking spot directly in front of where he and the veterinarian were standing. As he watched the gorgeous strawberry blond climb down from the driver's seat, he let out her name in a breath. "Catherine..."

She smiled, taking the few steps to be by his side. "Hi."

As the vet looked on, confused, Grissom cocked his head, shaking it slightly as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

She forced a confident smile, hoping the worry wouldn't show through in her voice this time. "I just... thought you might need me," she replied.

"Thanks for being here," he replied softly, giving her hand a squeeze.

She nodded her response, before her attention finally turned to the gentleman standing beside Grissom. "Hi!" she greeted him, extending her hand.

He took it slowly, still gazing at her face wearing an expression Grissom often saw on most men that came into contact with Catherine Willows.... a mixture of awe and wonder... amazement that such a beautiful creature would be speaking to them. "Hi..." he breathed, "I'm Dr. Dale Sterling." He glanced to Grissom with a smile. "Is this your wife?"

"Yes!" he replied quickly, tossing a nervous glance at Catherine, hoping she wouldn't deny it too vehemently. "Yes, this is my wife."

Instead of the look of disgust he was expecting to see on her face, she smiled brightly and continued to shake the doctor's hand. "I'm Catherine Wi--uh, Grissom," she replied, catching her slip before it was too late. "Catherine Grissom."

"Hey Doc, my station just got a call from your office, and--" Sheriff Brooks stopped in his tracks, spotting the strawberry blond stranger standing next to Grissom. He smiled. "Well hello there," he greeted her, wearing a cheesy smile. "I'm Sheriff Brooks." He raised his eyebrows. "And you would be?"

She smiled, shaking his hand. {{This must be the first-class asshole that Grissom had been talking about}} she thought. "I'm Catherine Grissom," she replied, taking a step closer to Gil.

He gave the Sheriff a half-smile... a look that was bordering on smug, Catherine noted, while placing an arm over her shoulders. "Yes, this is my wife."

"Just get into town?" Brooks asked.

Catherine smiled. "Just a few minutes ago." She then turned to Gil, a wry smirk playing across her lips. "And what... no 'hello' kiss for your wife?" She quirked an eyebrow.

He sniffed, just barely a chuckle, and turned to glance at the Sheriff and the vet. "Of course," he replied to Catherine.

She grinned, then turned to glance at the two men standing near them. "Public display of affection," she warned them, "You might wanna look away."

The men exchanged a look before turning their backs on the couple, stepping a few feet away. Grissom then turned to Catherine and cupped her face in his hands, smirking down at her while his thumbs lovingly stroked her cheeks. "Just play along to the best of your ability... sweetheart," he whispered, his breath a puff of air against her lips.

A wonderful shiver crawled up her spine at the feel of his breath warming her lips, and she smiled, her aquamarine eyes staring up into his royal blue hues as she whispered back, "That's what I'm doing."

His lips then closed over hers, the kiss far from chaste as he grasped her bottom lip between his, sucking it into his mouth gently before giving her top lip equal treatment. He could've sworn he heard her whimper... the sound barely audible... before he pulled away, pressing another quick kiss to her lips. She stared up at him through clouded eyes, the moment having ended far too soon for her liking. And when he smiled at her, she knew... that was his plan.

"Okay!" he announced loudly, his signal to the Sheriff and vet to turn back around. "Moment's over, you can look again."

Brooks smiled at the pair. "You two seem quite in love," he said.

Catherine grinned, winding an arm around Gil's waist. "We're kinda still in that honeymoon phase," she replied, patting Gil's stomach affectionately while he smiled at them in agreement.

"How long have you two been married?" Dr. Sterling asked.

"Well, let's see..." Catherine sighed, wrapping her other arm around Gil while stepping into his arms, nestling against his side. "When did we get married, honey? About three years after we met?"

Gil smiled and chuckled, a bit nervously. She was playing this part far too well. Was she actually *enjoying* this? "Yep... so about sixteen years."

Both men's eyebrows raised, and they nodded. "Long time..." Brooks murmured. "Got any kids?"

Now it was Gil's turn to play his part. "We have a daughter, Lindsey," he replied, his toes tingling with warmth at the thought of calling Lindsey his daughter. "She's nine."

The men once more nodded their response, and the look on Catherine's face turned almost mischievous as she glided a hand across her abdomen, adding, "And there's one more on the way."

She didn't miss Gil's head snapping to look at her, a look of amazement on his face, which luckily the Sheriff and vet missed. Both wished them congratulations, before Brooks got down to the business at hand. "So what was this phone call about, now?"

"Ah, that was from me," Gil replied, rubbing Catherine's arm affectionately before releasing her. He led the Sheriff to his Denali. "Somebody broke into my vehicle and stole my field kit."

"Ohhh, no..." Brooks replied in false sympathy. He cringed. "Boy, that's gonna cramp your style, isn't it?"

Catherine smiled triumphantly. "Nope, not at all. I brought my own."

She watched as the disappointment flashed briefly through the Sheriff's eyes, before he nodded his response. "Oh. Well good, then." He glanced up to Grissom. "So you and your wife work together?"

"Yep, back at the Vegas crime lab."

The vet smiled. "Was that how you two met?"

Catherine smiled, not exactly willing to jump into the whole 'no, we met when I was still a stripper' thing. "Yep. After we worked our first case together, that was it. We knew right then and there."

"That's sweet," Brooks murmured, still frowning at the knowledge there was another field kit around. He glanced down at his watch. "Well, I gotta be getting back to the station," he announced, and headed for his Jeep. "Mr. Grissom, you might wanna head down to the gas station... have 'ole Marty take a look at your window. He can fix it for you mighty cheap."

"Thanks for the tip," Gil replied, eyeing him as he started the engine.

Brooks nodded his response, then turned to Catherine, offering a slight smile. "And Mrs. Grissom? Enjoy your stay here in Jackpot."

She smiled back politely. "Will do," she replied, then all three watched the Sheriff drive off.

Dr. Sterling smiled and bowed his head at them, "Well, it was lovely to meet you, Mrs. Grissom," he told her, and gestured toward the clinic. "But I have a few patients waiting inside, so I should probably get back to them."

She nodded and smiled in response, gesturing to the door. "By all means," she told him.

Once he'd gone inside, she turned to Gil, smiling up at him while standing toe-to-toe with him. "Looks like I'm not gonna be the Sheriff's 'favorite' anymore," she sighed.

"Of course not," Gil replied, his hand to the small of her back as he led her across the street to the diner. "You're helping me in my investigation."

She gave him a dazzling smile. "It's what any good wife would do," she breathed in a husky voice, and stole the opportunity to pinch his ass.

Gil stared after her, his mouth open in a stunned expression, before finally following her inside. He glanced at the elderly couple that had been watching their antics, beaming ear-to-ear at them. "She's my wife," he told them proudly, then went to find Catherine.

~FINIS~