He stood for a moment and waited for his eyes to adjust to the nearly complete lack of light. Others moved past him, either unafraid of the dark or already knowing the way. Finally a dim source of light ahead and to the left offered a path. He made his way in and found the table closest to the front of the stage.

The clinking of glass was constant to the right. The place was packed. It hummed. The first note from the sound system muted the audience for a moment. The light of a single spotlight glinted off the pole at the center of the stage. She appeared from the darkness at the back of the stage dressed in an elegant red evening gown. It caused the audience another collective gasp of silence.

It fit her perfectly. Confident and beautiful, she was exquisite. She had to be to hold his attention for this long. She circled the pole once. She knew exactly how to move. They howled at her, calling her name or simply shouting commands. His fingers dug into the cheap tabletop. She ignored all of it. Her stride was sure. Perfectly painted fingernails scratched against the pole then left it behind.

The sounds faded. His field of vision narrowed to only her. She stood at the edge of the stage. The small lights embedded in the floor there made her dress shimmer. She reached out her hand and he stood to take it. She stepped carefully to the floor and then into his arms. He held her, savoring the heat from her body. They remained locked together oblivious to everything else.

Her fingers tickled the edge of his ear on their way up and into his hair. She pulled gently and he responded immediately by moving his head closer. The scent, her scent engulfed him. He touched her chin and inhaled deeply. When their lips parted he wrapped his arms even tighter around her and rested his forehead against hers trying to regain his breath.

“Let’s get out of here.” She sounded certain. The look in her eyes confirmed it.

“Gil?” It was her voice but her lips didn’t move. Grissom cocked his eyebrow at the puzzle.

The diagram of the human brain stared back at him from his desk. Grissom held his head with both hands above the pages and tried to figure out how long he had been looking at it.

“I thought you needed a ride,” Catherine’s voice had a hint of annoyance now. Grissom’s mind raced to separate the unconscious and conscious world. He raised his head to look in the direction her voice had come from.

“I need to…what are you smiling about?” she asked.

Grissom was suddenly aware of his own smirk when he saw the look of confusion on her face. He looked away and closed the textbook before answering.

“I don’t remember.” He turned his back and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair.

“You have to be the worse liar I have ever met.” She moved back into the hallway, allowing Gil room to make it out of his office.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Gil struggled with his collar.

“Just an observation.” Catherine stifled a laugh watching Gil fight with his jacket. She grabbed his arm to stop him in his tracks.

“Stand still,” she demanded. Catherine pulled the collar straight up and folded it down exactly how it should have been.

“Thank you,” Gil looked down at her hand still holding his arm.

“I couldn’t stand idly by while that jacket got the better of you.” She smiled at him while her hand slid up to the front of his collar. He watched her fingers intently as they brushed a stray bit of fuzz off his shoulder.

“There’s that smile again,” she touched his cheek that puffed up like a chipmunk that was hiding something.

“Breakfast?” Gil made no attempt to hide his grin this time.

“Your treat,” she turned and headed for the parking lot before even hearing Grissom’s answer.

“Of course,” Gil picked up his pace to keep up with her in the hallway.