From the corner of his eye, Gil saw an arrhythmic flashing of light. He tried to ignore it but the object, whatever it was, caught the light that illuminated the layout table and reflected it in his direction.

He brought his gaze to it and promptly fell into confusion. Why was he directed to Catherine? Then, she moved and the object glinted again.

Frowning, he reached towards her and took hold of her shoulders. He used pressure as gentle as he could exert to turn her upper body towards him. She followed reluctantly but he was too distracted to note her annoyed expression.

"I was working, Gil," she stated, placing an emphasis on "working".

She exhaled and, now, finally, he could see what had been attracting his attention. It was the ring he had bought for her at Christmas. She wore it looped through a medium-length chain that hid the ring beneath her shirt. With her leaning over the table throughout shift, the ring's weight had allowed it to slide, exposing it to his view.

He used a single finger to bring the chain to him. The new angle also brought Catherine's face into his field of vision.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Cath," he said, quietly.

Her lips twisted into a self-conscious smile. "It felt appropriate to wear it today."

Gil nodded. I'm glad you did."

He focused his gaze entirely upon the ring, absorbing the warmth it had gained by lying against Catherine's skin.

"Does this mean I'm your Valentine today?" he asked; uncertainty forced his words to leave his mouth slowly.

Catherine released an exclamation that was equally a sigh and laughter. "That's such a juvenile question, you know," she said.

"Maybe," he answered. He changed his focus to her eyes as he spoke the single word. Then, he added, "You haven't answered the question yet."

Her eyes were sad.

"Gil, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You've been amazing these past two months. Not just to me and Lindsey, I mean. Here at work, you're actually paying attention to things outside of cases."

He licked his lips and said, "I've finally found a reason to try."

"Me?"

"It's always been about you."

Her hands rose and surrounded the hand that still retained the ring in his grasp. It was a physical connection that he savored.

"That's why I'm sorry."

"Cath--"

She interrupted him by a sudden tightening of her fingers.

"I don't want to give you false hopes. Maybe our chance has passed; maybe I threw away our chance to be together by meeting Eddie, but what if this--this--is this even friendship anymore?--is as good as we'll get? Gil, what if I can never love you as much as you love me?"

Gil surprised even himself by smiling.

"If this is all we're to have, Cath, then it's more than I have ever expected." He put all his love into those words and the ones that followed the question; it was enough to remove the sadness in her eyes.

"This--" He reached with his free hand to cover her hands. "-- Relationship as it stands lets me love you. I couldn't before, Cath; there were too many memories from the past and too many ghosts before."

"What about your promise to Lindsey?"

"I promised her that I would try to be happy, Cath. That was all."

"And this makes you happy?"

"More than you know."

Pain filled Catherine's contradiction. "But this is half of what you could be having with someone else. This isn't fair to you. It's not fair to anyone."

"But, Cath, I'm not anyone. I want you in my life, that part I spend away from the lab."

"That's it?"

"That's it," he confirmed though he knew doubts still remained within Catherine.

So, he reached for the clasp of the chain and released it; the chain spilled down from around her neck and into his ready palm. He removed the ring from its confinement and slid it onto her finger.

"Think about it and, meanwhile, just for today, feel. Be someone more than my best friend. Cath, be my Valentine; tomorrow, we can return to normal."

Her voice shook when she whispered, "What do you want me to do?"

"Meet me for dinner before shift tonight. Let me drive you to work and back home in the morning so we can talk. Give me a chance."

"Just talk?"

"Talk and eat. I love you, Cath; sex is only a small subset of that."

"And then what?"

"It's up to you."

He pocketed the chain and leaned towards Catherine. He felt her eyes close as he kissed her cheek and skimmed his lips across her skin to her ear.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you and I would do nothing if you asked. For today, think about what you want from me and let me do it. I just want you."

Then, he stepped out of her personal space and returned to his seat. Now, from the corner of his eye, he watched Catherine react to the ring's presence on her finger. He had sworn that he would wait forever for her and he avowed himself again to that task. Yet, he acknowledged to himself the difficulty when he saw how close he was to heaven, to his heaven of loving Catherine with his mind, soul, and body.

FIN