*Ding*

Catherine turned around so fast when she heard that unmistakable sound from the computer. Grissom was up to something, and she needed to know right now. She would not leave his office until she knew what was going on in that C.S.I.'s head. Before Gil could react, she crept up to his desk and looked at the computer screen. There was her answer in all its glory. Now she knew why he was acting so strangely lately, and with that answer she only had more questions.

She tried to catch Grissom's eyes, but he would not look at her. "Gil, how long have you known about this?"

He finally looked up at her with her soft spoken question. "For awhile now. I knew it would happen someday, but somehow I hoped it would not happen to me. My hearing is slowly going."

"Can they do anything to prevent it, or prolong it?"

"There is only one option."

"What's that?"

"Surgery."

"So when are you having it?"

"The doctor recommends doing it as soon as possible."

"So I'm guessing you have not told anyone else about this problem. So first thing we need to do is inform Brass, because we will need to get time off for the surgery and to give you a chance to recover. Then we will tell the rest of the gang so they won't be left out, and can prepare themselves."

"Cath, hold on a for a second.

"What's this doctor like? Does he know what he is doing? Is he the best surgeon you can get?"

"Catherine." Gil said a little louder trying to get her attention.

"After work I will look up all I can about the surgery, and what to expect."

"Catherine, will you stop for a minute."

Finally, Catherine stopped her jabbering and looked at Gil. His eyes were a kaleidoscope of feelings from anguish to slight amusement at her jabbering. "Gil, I'm sorry for getting carried away. You probably know all about what to expect and have done all the work, and here I am talking like this is all new to you."

"I only found out about the surgery today. I'm not ready to tell anyone this so please could we leave it between us for now?"

She knew the others had to be told, but if he needed to keep it a secret she wouldn't betray him. "I won't tell anyone, but Gil you should, soon."

He paused a moment before answering. "I know, Catherine, I do feel relieved that you know now."

Catherine didn't know what to say. So she did what she would do for Lindsay, she took him in her arms and hugged him. At first, he was too stunned to react, but finally she felt him hold her.