Gil Grissom poked his head around the corner, peering into the breakroom, a gentle smile settling on his face as he studied the strawberry blonde at the coffee-machine, her back turned to him and the world. Catherine Willows. His best friend. There had been something bugging her the entire time they had been working the main case together... a live burial case... and it wasn't long before he found out what it was. Lindsey. It was her daughter's sixth birthday, and she didn't want a party... and this, for some reason, was what had Catherine living in a storm-cloud.

Catherine sensed his presence the moment he poked his head inside the breakroom. She could always feel Gil's presence. They'd been the best of friends for fifteen years, and over those fifteen years a strange, inexplicable bond formed between them... an extremely sensitive one, but thick as concrete. Unbreakable. Though she knew he was there, his voice startled her... "You any better?"

She slowly spun to face him, his question catching her off-guard. "What are you talking about?"

"Your little major/minor blow-up about Lindsey not wanting a party."

"Oh that, yeah," she sighed, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "I'm just afraid of making her weird, y'know?"

He stared at her for a moment, blinking, then replied simply, "No."

"I work 24/7," she explained. "I have no time for my friends." She grabbed a stirring stick out of a cup near the coffee machine, stirring her coffee as she made her way over to Grissom. "My daughter rarely sees me having any fun, and all of a sudden she doesn't want a party."

They began walking down the hall in the crime lab together, Catherine's eyes focusing on her cup of coffee while Grissom's eyes remained trained on her. "And that's because of you?" he asked, skeptical.

"Yes. I'm her mother. She mimics me."

"Well, then she'll be fine," he replied, smiling at her. "I mean, look at you."

She met his eyes, melting into a smile when she saw the way he was looking at her... so much tenderness in his eyes, his smile almost loving. She had an overwhelming urge to lean over and kiss him, but held it back. "You're just saying that to make me feel better," she murmured.

He smiled, shrugging just slightly. "Yeah."

They stood for a long moment staring at each other, both wondering if the other could feel the palpable electricity, before their thoughts returned to the task at hand. "We should, um... get to the experiment," Grissom breathed, his voice husky and low. Catherine was almost too close for comfort, and he felt his pants growing tighter in the groin area as the rest of his body began to respond to her closeness.

"Right," she replied, "The experiment." She arched an eyebrow suggestively, her libido controlling her actions as she moved her body closer to his. "So... you ready to tape me up?" she asked breathily, almost seductively.

His eyes widened at her suggestion, and he fought to choke out a response. "Sh-sure."

She grinned that wicked, flirtatious grin of hers that he adored, and brushed her body ever-so-lightly against his as she turned and began walking away from him. He could only stare for a prolonged moment, hypnotized by the sway of her hips. When she turned slightly over her shoulder and gave him that flirty smile, his eyebrow arched upward sexily. "God, I love my work..." he whispered to himself. His eyes roamed her body hungrily, and he almost growled as he set off after her, like a predator hunting its prey.

"I've gotta admit," she purred, grinning, "You're the first guy to use duct tape to tie me up."

Gil threw a flirtatious grin of his own back at her and finished winding the duct tape around her wrists. "Is that so?" he teased.

She drew in a breath as she watched him lean forward, and her mind began to conjure up some very dirty thoughts. She almost scooted closer to him as she watched his head near her wrists, his eyes still cemented to hers, and as he opened his mouth she unconsciously licked her lips.

His nose brushed her wrists as he bit down on the tape, tearing it off the roll while his eyes remained on Catherine's. He had to admit to himself that this was quickly turning out to be the most erotic experiment he'd ever done... and it was barely getting started. He picked up on Catherine's reactions to him easily, the bond they shared being incredibly sensitive... and he wondered if he should do anything. The signs were there... the quick intakes of breath... and God, that look in her eyes. Her beautiful sea-blue eyes were darkening with lust quicker by the second.

Catherine watched his eyes, the look of desire in them unmistakable. She wanted him more than she'd ever wanted anybody in that moment, and she prayed for their experiment to end soon. "S-so..." she stammered, and silently damned herself for sounding like such a moron while a blush colored her cheeks crimson.

"So... according to the statement, she was unconscious and bound in the front seat like this..." Gil reached down and grasped Catherine's thighs, smiling when a gasp escaped her lips before turning her to face the windshield in the passenger seat.

"R-right..." she whispered, gulping as inaudibly as she could.

"And her head would've had to've been tipped back like this..." Gil murmured, and grazed his fingertips lightly along Catherine's jawline, using his index finger to tip her head back against the seat. Granted, he knew he didn't necessarily have to do this... it wasn't necessarily part of the experiment, but he just wanted to touch her again... tease her a little.

When he heard her whimper, he almost lost it, but her voice breaking through his delicious thoughts brought him back under control. "S-so if she really had been bound, her arms would be like this..." she demonstrated, her voice shaky, holding her arms up at right angles.

"Right," he murmured, "But they found fibers from the seat on her shirt."

"But then her arms would've had to've been resting against it like this," she replied, demonstrating as best as she could with her bound wrists, "Which would mean she wasn't tied up."

"But would he really place a woman unconscious and unbound in the passenger seat?" He knelt down next to the car, teasingly skipping his fingertips down Catherine's arm.

He watched in delight as her eyes snapped shut and she sucked in a deep breath through her nose. Oh yes, he was certainly getting to her. After opening her mouth to respond, stuttering and then closing it again, she finally replied in a shaky voice, "I would have to say no."

"Me too."

"Great. Now get this tape off me," she quipped, trying to sound as normal as possible. Truth was, she really didn't want him to untie her just yet. She wanted him to do some very unsavory things to her first...

"Sure thing. But the scissors are in my office."

The wicked grin that broke out across his face made her jaw drop in a mixture of a chuckle and an incredulous expression. "You mean I have to walk through the lab tied up?"

"That's right..." he called in a teasing voice, and headed for his office.

Catherine stared after him, eyes focusing on his tight, muscular ass, and she arched an eyebrow coyly. "I love my work," she sighed, then got up and followed after him, her eyes roaming his body hungrily.