"Gil Grissom!" came the loud and irate voice of Catherine Grissom.

The individuals clustered on the living room floor, playing a board game all snapped their heads up at attention.

"Uh oh," said 5-year-old Gerald, his eyes widening in alarm. When his mother sounded like that, it meant someone was in really big trouble. This time it appeared to be his Daddy.

Liselle, his twin sister, also had her eyes wide open in alarm. She had been fitted with hearing-aides which enhanced her hearing abilities. She could definitely hear her mother's loud and angry voice. She only had problems with softer, subtler sounds.

Lindsey, their elder sister, quickly picked herself off the floor. She had been sprawled out on her front, on the carpet. But upon hearing her mother, got up and thought quickly. She listened for her mother's movements. It sounded like her mother was moving pretty quickly.

They didn't have much time. They would not be able to transfer the board game upstairs to continue it. They would have to leave it here. There was always other things to do upstairs. She knew that her stepfather was in serious trouble for sure. She did not know why exactly but she did not want to get caught in the crossfire.

"Okay, you two, let's go upstairs," said Lindsey, hauling her twin siblings along.

Grissom had stopped paying attention to the children, as soon as he heard the ire in his wife's voice. Lindsey didn't blame him. Whatever he had done, he would definitely get chewed out good. Lindsey hurried the twins up the stairs.

"Gil Grissom! I cannot believe you did that!" exploded Catherine, as she walked into the living room.

Grissom couldn't help but admire the fact that she looked magnificent when she was angry. But he was the object of her anger and needed to stay focused. He chided himself mentally.

"Ah," said Grissom cautiously. He wracked his brains to try and find out what he had done to deserve her wrath. Had he done something wrong at the office? Nope. He really didn't think so. Forgotten an important date or event? Maybe. He went through a mental checklist.

"Ah, sweetheart," said Grissom, trying to buy time. He still hadn't figured out what he had done wrong.

Catherine had advanced towards him and she was really furious. Grissom's brain tried to work faster, but to no avail.

"What do you mean?" he said, finally, giving up. He'd live through this, he knew. He may have to do quite a lot of groveling afterwards, but he'd be able to get through. Reasonably intact.

"I mean," said Catherine, staring him straight in the eye, standing very close to him.

"Practically interrogating Nick and threatening him with unmentionable torture and castration?" she hissed.

Grissom looked surprised.

"How did you find out about that?" he asked.

"Never mind how I found out. What's important is that you practically bent Nicky's arm into promising not to speak to Lillee ever again. She's now really hurt and confused and upset and he isn't even allowed to explain a thing to her because he respects you and is probably afraid of you now and you forbade him!" said Catherine, her voice rapidly rising in volume towards the end. She jabbed a finger several times at her husband's chest.

Grissom looked unrepentant.

"Well?" huffed, Catherine. She stepped away slightly, after saying her piece.

"He made her cry," started Grissom.

Catherine was still breathing hard and waiting for him to continue.

"She said that he was a jerk and that he was cheating on her. I found her crying at home. After I talked to her, I went to talk to Nick. To make sure that he never hurt her again," explained Grissom. He didn't understand why Catherine was angry. To him, it was the most logical thing in the world.

Catherine looked at him.

"Did you actually talk to him? Or did you just say your piece and not let him explain himself at all?" she asked.

Grissom blinked.

"I ah," he stopped.

"What was there to explain? Lil saw him with another woman. She was crying," said Grissom, with a puzzled air.

Catherine groaned.

"So you lost your head and marched straight over to Nick's and just started to yell at him?" asked Catherine.

"Umm, yeah, I guess" answered Grissom, still unsure of why she was angry.

"Did you ever stop to consider that this is Nick Stokes we're talking about? A CSI and part of your team? He's always been a great guy and he has always treated Lillee with respect since they started dating," said Catherine.

"And that you really should talk to him first, since looks can be deceiving? You're the one who's always harping about following the evidence, Gil," said his annoyed wife.

"But I was," objected Grissom.

"No, you were following your heart. God knows, you've always been overprotective of Lillee. You saw her crying and she said that she saw Nick cheating on her. Did you sit down to find out exactly what she saw? And why she thought that? Come on, Gil, they have been together for way more than a year. And he had always been there for her as a friend for years before that. Why the hell would he suddenly start hurting her now?" said Catherine.

Grissom surveyed his wife's expression.

"I may have been a bit hasty," he acknowledged. He did admit to being paranoid about his children's well-being most of the time. Okay, all the time.

"Damn right you were too hasty. Lillee called me in tears when she found that Nick refused to talk to her. He said that he had made a promise to you and he respected you too much to break it. What were you thinking?" said Catherine.

"Well, he can't hurt her anymore," said Grissom. Wrong thing to say.

"Gil! She needs to talk to him and sort this out. She had been a little emotional when she saw Nick because it had been a pretty bad day at work. She admits that he was just standing close to the girl and talking to her. Talking! She cried because of a combination of things and that just set her off. It's their relationship," complained Catherine.

"She admits it was pretty irrational of her and she wanted to call Nick and confront him about it. Only to be told that he couldn't see her or talk to her because of you?" lamented Catherine.

Grissom opted to keep quiet. There was really nothing he could say.

"So I went over to Nick's. At first, he wouldn't even let me in the door. Then it took me ages to get the truth out of him. I cannot believe that you would resort to such, such tactics, Gil. We are not in the Middle Ages. You should have just let Nick and Lillee handle it themselves. They are both mature, responsible adults," sighed Catherine, gesturing furiously as she talked.

Grissom was calculating how much groveling he would have to do to make up for this one. Then he thought of something.

"What did Nick say?" he asked.

Catherine looked at him.

"He said that the reason that he was standing so close to the girl, was that she was holding up a ring," she said, in a softer voice.

This time, Grissom started.

"What?" he exclaimed.

Catherine laughed, slightly.

"Nick was inspecting rings. They had an exhibition of some sort on jewelry and Nick was considering his choices," she said.

Grissom grabbed on to the nearest object and sat down. He was stunned.

Catherine took in his flabbergasted expression. Grissom looked like his whole world was about to collapse.

"Honey," she said, quickly calming down.

"You knew it was going to happen sooner or later," she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Still no sound from Grissom.

Catherine sighed. Her anger had dissipated. She had simply been overly emotional after having had to handle her miserable daughter and her equally miserable boyfriend.

"Gil, honey? Lillee's 26, you know. And perfectly able to make her own decisions," stated Catherine, sitting down next to Grissom, taking his hand in hers and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"She's only 26," said Grissom, with what sounded like a whine.

Catherine grinned.

"I was already living on my own and doing all sorts of things by the time I was 26," she reminded him.

Grissom turned tragic eyes on her.

"But, but," started Grissom.

"No buts about it. They seem to love each other. And Nick is a good guy. He'll take care of her," said Catherine, silencing him.

"He's twelve years older!" burst out Grissom.

Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Gil, you're seven years older than me. Okay so Nick is twelve years older than her, but so what? It's not that big a deal if they love each other," concluded Catherine.

Grissom looked unconvinced. He pouted at her. Catherine's anger had completely gone by now and she could never resist that pout. He looked adorably put out by the news.

"He should have asked first," he whined.

Catherine kissed him, unable to resist. They stayed kissing passionately for a while, after going through that emotionally charged scene.

Eventually, Grissom pulled back, still unhappy about the situation that they were talking about, even though his mind was already filled with more carnal ideas concerning his wife. His eldest daughter's life was still the main issue and he struggled to keep a grip on his desires. He still thought his wife the most desirable thing on this earth.

Catherine smiled at him reassuringly.

"Gil, deal with it. These days, the woman can propose. It's not like it wasn't obvious where this was going. And you seemed to be all right with it, right up until today," she said, leaning into him and drawing circles on his chest.

Grissom had to concentrate hard on resolving this issue, instead of dragging her into their bedroom right away.

"Besides, we don't know for sure that she'll say `yes'. Even though I'd be really surprised if she said `no'," said Catherine.

"She may say `no'?" said Grissom, unable to keep some glee out of his voice.

Catherine laughed and smacked him lightly on the chest.

"Gil Grissom!" she chastised again.

Grissom sighed in defeat.

"You need to let her go, Gil. She's all grown-up now," said Catherine softly.

Grissom pulled her close and hugged her. He knew that Lillee was an adult. But it was simply a lot to take in. She had always been his little girl. His first princess. Where had all the years gone?

They stayed that way, just enjoying the closeness. Then suddenly the doorbell rang. Catherine sprang up to get it with a look at Grissom. Grissom leaned back and closed his eyes, still absorbing the news.

When Grissom opened his eyes, he already knew what had happened. He could hear muffled shrieks and exclamations from the front door. He got up and walked towards them.

Lillee was being enveloped in her mother's arms. They were both laughing gleefully. Nick, was standing beside the door. He was watching them.

Catherine eventually let go of Lillee and gave Nick a hug too. Grissom cleared his throat. Lillee looked at him with joy and launched herself into his arms happily.

"I'm engaged, Daddy," she squealed. She showed him her ring. It was a beautifully cut solitaire diamond. Grissom glanced over at Nick. Nick looked rather uncertain of himself.

"Where are the kids?" asked Lillee, excitedly.

"Upstairs, let's go tell them," answered Catherine.

She led her daughter up. But not before discreetly telling her husband to behave or else.

"Congratulations, Nick," said Grissom.

"Thanks, Grissom, I…," he was cut off by his superior.

"Nick, I apologize for my behavior previously. I shouldn't have done that. I should have listened to what you were trying to say to me. I'm sorry," admitted Grissom.

Nick looked relieved.

"It's okay, Gris. Look, I want to apologize to. I meant to ask you first, but then Catherine made Lil come over and I had to explain. And it just sort of happened," said Nick.

Grissom contemplated the man before him. He smiled.

"It's all right. I'm sure you'll be good to her," said Grissom, shaking Nick's hand.

"I promise, sir, I'll never do anything to hurt her," said Nick sincerely.

"Of course, because you know very well that I know how to dispose of a body," said Grissom with a serene smile.

He watched Nick gulp a little.

Then, with a twinkle in his eyes, he patted Nick's shoulder.

"Someday, Nick, you'll understand," he said.

"Understand what, sir?" asked Nick.

"How it feels to have to have to let your little girl go," answered Grissom. He made his way upstairs to his noisy family, with Nick in tow.

Grissom watched Lillee jump into her fiancée's arms happily. He would not be the main man in Lillee's life anymore. And to be completely honest, he hadn't been in some time. Grissom sighed. He would just have to deal with it.