"Whosawha?!"

Gil Grissom shot up from a dead sleep (no pun intended), heart pounding in his chest. Glancing about wildly for whatever woke him up, he swung his gaze towards the soft chuckling he heard. He reached blindly for his glasses on the nightstand. Pulling them on, he glared until he could make out the source of laughter.

"I'm sorry...did you just say 'whosawha'?

Gil tried to look as angry as possible, but sleepy was all he could manage.

"I'm not sure, since I was sound asleep up until about twenty seconds ago. Would you happen to know why I'm no longer asleep?"

"Well I'm not positive, but it may have something to do with someone kicking you in the shin."

"Ah, and why might this anonymous person have been kicking me in the shin?"

"Well, and again I'm just guessing, but perhaps it's because it's time for you to get up."

He finally looked away, to immediately return his glare.

"I can't imagine how that could be right, since it's 2:03 AM, on my night off. Any other theories?"

"Well it may not be work related. Hear anything unusual?"

He paused to listen intently, and it only took a few seconds for a piercing wail to nearly knock him over.

"No, nothing unusual. Same ole, same ole."

"The crying?"

"Pretty normal here, isn't it?"

He grinned cheekily, sleep finally washing off him, and received a pillow square in the kisser for his troubles.

"Yes, I suppose it is normal. Normal enough to require taking turns attending to it, and I believe this would be yours."

Nodding he climbed out of bed, and made his way to the door, but not before stopping for a quick kiss. She smiled, watching him leave, before lying back on the pillows. Turning to the monitor on the nightstand, she turned the volume up slightly at the first sound of his deep voice.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong? Uh oh, did someone lose his favorite spider? Well let's just...uh...well where is it? Hang on, hang on..."

She heard rustling as he picked the child up, probably bouncing on his feet to stop the crying.

"Okay, let's think, where could it be? If it's not in your crib then where in the world did it...oh look! Look, there it is! How did it get all the way across the room? Did you do that? Hey, look's like we've got ourselves a quarterback...maybe a pitcher. Nice job little man. Come on; let's go see mommy. Maybe you can tell her it's not nice to kick people."

The voice faded momentarily from the monitor, before returning full force in the hall outside their bedroom. He appeared in the doorway, bundle in arms. The spider was clutched in the child's hands, as he happily sucked on one of the eight red plush legs. Smiling at his wife, Gil moved around to his side of the bed, carefully setting his son down before climbing in himself. Lying on his side, he faced his wife and son, the sight instantaneously bringing a smile to his face.

"What?"

Her voice cut through his thoughts.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He reached over his son, careful not to jostle the now fast asleep baby, and caressed her cheek, rubbing his thumb over the space between her eyebrows. It was as though he was trying to erase all the worries that had ever creased that spot.

"Catherine?"

"Yes, Gil?"

"Thank you."

She was perplexed, and reached up to momentarily seize his hand.

"For what?"

He smiled adoringly, drawing invisible circles on the hand that now held his own.

"For everything. For Aaron; for Lindsey; and for my life. You gave it back to me when you first told me you love me, and I thought I had lost it forever."

Gil had become more expressive and emotional as their relationship progressed. In all honesty, by the time they had gotten married, she was stunned by the transformation that had taken place. He always held her hand wherever they went, including at work. He even stole kisses when he thought no one was looking, although he was more prone to kissing her right in front of anyone who happened to be there when the urge struck him. He had also become much more vocal about his feelings, not just regarding her. Praise for the team was more common, much to the delight of their coworkers. Equally, he was more likely to voice his disapproval, although there was rarely anything to warrant such sentiments. More importantly to Catherine, though, were the reminders she got several times a day of how much he loved her.

It had been a particularly difficult shift, and the fact that Gil had the night off certainly didn't help. She was sitting in his office, although at some point it had become `their' office, going over paperwork and could feel the headache creeping up on her. She reached blindly into the drawer where she kept the Tylenol, and felt around for the bottle. She found it, but was surprised to find a piece of paper attached to it. Pulling the bottle out to look at it, she saw a post-it note stuck to it. Upon reading it, she felt the smile tug at her lips. I love you. That was all that the note said, but it was more than enough. Popping a couple pills and downing them with some water, she went back to the paper work with newfound enthusiasm.

With a sigh, Catherine pushed open the door to the locker room. The shift was finally over and in about two and a half minutes she would be on her way home. She had spoken to Gil once when she called to ask about some forms she couldn't find. She thanked him for the note, explaining how much it had helped her get through the night. She could see the smile on his face as he repeated the sentiment, and after returning it, she hung up. Now she smiled in anticipation of going home, to him. She opened her locker to collect her personal effects, and stopped short when she saw the piece of paper dangling in front of her. Taped to the shelf directly in front of her face was a scrap of notebook paper, his handwriting unmistakable. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite. She shook her head, laughing and pulled the note down. She fingered it for a moment, then turned to leave and startled when she saw Nick standing right behind her.

"Oh! Jesus Nick, you scared me!"

He chuckled as he pulled on his jacket.

"Sorry Cath. Hey what's that?"

He nodded at the note in her hand, causing her to smile again. She handed it to him, and after a quick appraisal he returned it with a cheeky grin.

"I tell ya, I still can't believe how different Grissom is. You've made him...goofy."

The flash in her eyes was a sure sign that she was about to get angry but he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's great, Catherine. We all think so."

She nodded, the ire fading just as quickly as it appeared. They said their good byes, and she finally left. When she got to her car, she laughed out loud at the familiar sight of a note; this time attached to the steering wheel. She pulled it off, read over it, and hauled ass home. When she reached their townhouse, she ran inside to find him curled up on the sofa with Lindsey in his lap and a Disney movie running on the TV. His eyes were drooping, but he smiled up at her when she stood in front of him.

"Did you guys have a busy night?"

"She woke up about 30 minutes ago, and wanted to see you when you got home. I took her out on a little...mission, of sorts, to help her stay awake. Guess it just tired her out even more."

Catherine laughed, and leaned down to place a kiss on her daughter's forehead and her husband's lips. Holding up the last note, she dropped her purse on the table.

"I think this one was my favorite. `Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar but never doubt that I love.' Coming from you, it has a special element of the ridiculous about it. I mean, imagine our coworkers finding out that you suggest doubting the stars and the sun. What kind of CSI are you?"

"One who is very much in love."

Catherine snapped out of her reverie and returned her focus on her husband to find he had fallen asleep. His hand had fallen from her cheek and his arm was now draped protectively over their son. She smiled warmly at the sight and laced her fingers with his, settling back down to let sleep claim her. Within moments she had joined her family in a serene, contented slumber.