It was December 7, 2003. Things had been very quiet at the Las Vegas Crime Lab in the two weeks following Thanksgiving. It was time for a meeting. Nick Stokes was in good spirits. With his crew cut brown hair, brown eyes and his chiseled, strong body, the 35 year old seemed more like a GQ cover model instead of an experienced, highly skilled CSI. Greg Sanders was now an active member of the meetings. His blond-brown hair was in it's perfect spiky coif. He was the youngest, but by no means the weakest member of the team. Warrick Brown had returned from his time off eager to get back to work. His lanky 6'5" frame filled the metal chair and it was obvious he was a bit uncomfortable. He was the only African-American. Their supervisor and friend, Gil Grissom, sat behind his desk as they waited for Catherine. She appeared as if on cue, juggling a brown paper bag, her purse and black leather coat. Gil immediately stood and their eyes met. He moved to her side and took the bag from h er. They exchanged loving smiles. He knew she had been busy with Lindsey and getting things ready for her part in the school Christmas show. Lindsey was no doubt in bed peacefully sleeping now and Mrs. Goodwin was keeping watch over her and their little house. They longed to tell the world they were married, but for now, it was their private heaven.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, boys," she said. Her reddish-blonde hair was softly waved this evening and her blue-green eyes flashed with happiness. Warrick smiled and Nick giggled. Greg nodded.

They settled in for the meeting and Catherine took the seat at the opposite end of the table from him. As he began to hand out the latest assignments, she pulled a banana from the brown paper bag. He was halfway through discussing a new procedure they were going to start for turning in reports when she began to peal it. Their eyes met and he knew her intentions from the glow of mischief he saw in her soul. He started again and had just completed a sentence when she licked her lips and slid the end of the banana slowly into her mouth. She held it there for a moment and then took it deeper. She closed her eyes. He cleared his throat. He watched her slowly slide it back out. Then she took a rather large bite. She opened her eyes. They met his. As she chewed and her tongue once again darted out to wet her lips as she swallowed, he shifted in his chair. They silently wondered if anyone caught onto what was going on between them. They were able to refrain from taking it any further. Gil closed the meeting and Nick and Greg went about their ways. Warrick made the decision to stay out of the field and work on his paperwork, run some tests and get caught up. Gil agreed and Warrick inquired after Lindsey. If he hadn't been focused on Catherine, he would have seen Gil smile with his heart.

"Oh, she's fine. She's excited about Christmas," Catherine offered with a beam. They chatted a bit more about what he did over Thanksgiving and time off and as they were about to leave, Catherine turned to Gil.

"Are you coming, Grissom?" She watched Gil pick up the manila folder that lay on his black leather binder and open it. Warrick left the room.

"I'll be along in a minute," he said. His eyes locked with hers as he looked at her over the rim of his glasses. She smirked in victory, knowing exactly why he chose to remain seated and pretended to be engrossed in a report.

Two hours later, Gil approached his office after a rather extensive turn in the lab with Greg. Catherine stood with her back to the door. A prime attack position. She heard the door close gently and the lock being turned. She knew the hands that drew her back and slid up her sides to rest on her breasts without a word or turning around. She moaned and leaned back against him. He massaged her tenderly but firmly for a few moments and then slid his hands back down to rest on her shapely hips. He began to nuzzle the left side of her neck, placing the tiniest kisses on each freckle he could see.

"This is inappropriate behavior for the workplace..." she managed in a low growl as the fire he always ignited in her began to rage. She closed her eyes.

"And what YOU did to ME earlier was?" he whispered, his soft lips brushing against her ear as he spoke.

"All I did was eat a banana, Gil," she whined innocently. He whirled her around, their bodies staying in full contact as he did so. Their eyes locked. He lifted her up and sat her on the edge of his desk with authority. "Whoa, baby... We're bordering on sexual harassment here... My boss is a tough guy, he won't like this at all."

"On the contrary, I think your 'tough guy' boss will enjoy it very much..." he said leaning in, pressing his lips to hers with loving passion.

Well I'm shameless when it comes to loving you
I'd do anything you want me to
I'd do anything at all
And I'm standing here for all the world to see
There ain't that much left of me That has very far to fall

There was a very long period of time when Gil would never have considered doing anything of this nature. Even recently, they had somehow resisted temptation when alone together in a darkened room supposedly watching Brass interrogate a suspect, but found themselves more interested in each other. He began to undo the buttons on her burgundy blouse.

"The less we remove, the easier it will be to regroup... and the faster we can get down to business," she advised as he began to kiss her neck again.

"Good point, my dear..." he said, stopping on the third button. She slid her hands down his chest and began to undo his belt. His hands moved to her waist band. Their kiss was now deep and searing.

She felt his warm, gentle hand slide between her legs. "Now is not the time of year to be naughty, Gil," she teased.

"Being naughty with you is nice... It balances out... Like we balance each other out," he reasoned as his fingers grew bolder. She arched against him and groaned, tangling her fingers in his grey-brown waves. They kissed and caressed each other with ardor.

You know that I'm not a man who's ever been Insecure about the world I been living in
I don't break easy, I have my pride
But if you need to be satisfied

I'm shameless

baby, I don't have a prayer
every time I see you standing there, I go down upon my knees

And I'm changin'

swore I'd never compromise
ah, But you convinced me otherwise
I'll do anything you please

Gil had been changed. Catherine had changed him. He wanted to change for her, he was changing for her. When he looked up and saw her standing in the doorway of the hospital room, looking radiant as an angel, he couldn't fight it anymore. He crossed the room to her and they held each other. All the emotions he'd held inside and all the walls he'd built up came tumbling down in that instant. He knew she loved him and that he would never be alone as long as she had a breath in her body. The surgery was a success and that was even more cause for happiness and change. He relaxed and even grew a beard. He wore his baseball caps backwards on occasion. (Truth was that specific change was Lindsey's doing. She said it was "hip and cool.") She was safe and loved and happy for the first time in her life.

You see, in all my life I've never found What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew
But I can't walk away from you

He had no idea what he'd do without her. He missed her when she was across the room and he knew she felt the same. No one, not even his mother, loved him the way she did. He was more protective of her and open with her than he had ever been. Only she knew all his secrets because he chose to tell them to only her. As for her, he was the one person who had ever loved her.

I have never let anything have this much control over me
I've worked too hard to call my life my own
I made myself a world and it worked so perfectly
But it's your world now, I can't refuse
I've never had so much to lose
I'm shameless!

shameless!

They lost themselves in each other and forgot about the world.

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong
I never lost anything I ever missed
But I've never been in love like this...
It's outta my hands...
I'm shameless!

I don't have the power now
But I don't want it anyhow
So I gotta to let it go

I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be
You can make a total fool of me
I just wanted you to know
That I'm shameless
Shameless...
Shameless...