Do you know how rare it is for this site what you just did? Taking critique graciously and showing humility about the craft is the sign of a good writer and you stepped up to the plate quite nicely. :) Now I do want to go back and read this story, and give feedback on its content.

Your Voice is that of high literature, but I suppose you know that already; the turn of phrase is far more elegant than what is normally seen around here. I like the scientific imagery, of the viral infection spreading -- it's potent and the crisp precisness of science is counterpoint to the fluency of the language. Sort of like Gil and Catherine themselves.

The confrontation about the dream reads a little strange because it sounds as if she's still talking about the events within the nightmare when she says she needed him. And, for two middle-aged people to break up over waking up alone... it stretches the verisimilitude really thinly. If you have a lifetime worth of emotional baggage, you don't rashly run out on a 20-year friendship if you find yourself alone in bed after a bad dream. You could pick a fight after not getting enough sleep, but eventually you'd have great make-up sex without all this emotional upheaval. The little things... you just have to let go of because what matters is, when he thought something was wrong, he ran to her rescue.

However, with the comments of her wearing a mask and acting for so long that she's forgot how to be any other way, I think you're spot-on. It's being brought up time and again on the show. Apart from her looks, Catherine is insecure about her own worth. Can she offer a cerebral man like Gil Grissom anything worth having? She's always told she looks hot, but never that she's smart and after projecting that aura of confidence for years, she's probably more than a little scared to owning up to Gil that she's really not that strong and that his opinion has the power to make or break her. She needs his vote of confidence; despite their knock-down, drag-out fights, Catherine depends on him to have her back.

So, yeah. A good start. A little short, but very good. So keep writing! Join the yahoogroup graveshiftcsi and share this work too. There are plenty of people will love this story. And, you'll get reviews. :) I'll certainly come back for more.

Okay, Ms. Ink Cat--I read your profile. Are you sure you're only 14? You are an excellent writer and your grasp of narrative technique is quite impressive. The entire time I was reading, all I could think of was, "this was written by a 14-year-old?" because you write like someone much older, who has both life experience and a strong literary background under her belt. Please continue this story and the exploration of your writing talent. I look forward to seeing the next chapter.

Wow! That's brilliant! And to think you're only 14! Way to go girl! I'm a huge Catherine/Grissom fan and I'm really happy you've decided to give them a chance. I'll be looking forward to the next chapters of this story, it's truly great. :) And please don't despair over lack of reviews. It may mean two things: a)your readers are lazy or b)very stupid. ;) You should be really proud of yourself though for you're a very talented young writer, so pay no attention to little things such as few reviews. :)

After reading the first chapter I was in awe and wonder as to how one could not review this story! This is so beautifully written and so very sad I only hope you write more G/C in the future. I'm sure you could make a big dent in G/C fanfiction.

" I saw on CSI-Forensics that there are more GC stories than GSR and CW combined, which is odd because those are the two canon ships, and usually canon ships are the most popular. It got me thinking about, "Hey, would they make a good couple?"
- Really? I didn't know that. I'll have to check that out. I think you'd get a better response on graveshiftcsi dot com than here on fanfiction dot net.

"Tongues slipped, saying things to each other or about each other that just friends and co-workers wouldn’t."
- I just love that. Every line in this whole story is put together with perfection but this has to be my favorite.

*crying* you, you made me cry for real,... you have to correct that.. please..

anyway good fic, very good indeed.

more??!

Don't give up!! There are tons of GC fans out there, keep posting! This is great, and SO something that Grissom would have done. Keep it up!

There are three things which probably account for the low reviewage. First, isn't really the scene for GC fic, so your potential readership isn't finding your story since they're not checking out this place. Two, holding a fic hostage for reviews is off-putting and generally thought of as bad form enough to actually quit reading. Three, the very first thing you mention are the 'canon ships' -- there's a whole lot of UST going on on the show, but as far as I know (and I've seen every episode), there are no established relationships. Thus, no canon ships. Claiming so could potentially scare away what little GC readership is present on this site because they don't really want to end up reading something which has the possibility of turning into a Gil/Sara or Catherine/Warrick love fest by someone who clearly not shares their view of the show. Because, really, if you can see Gil's undying love for Sara somewhere in the subtext of canon, but not his long-standing emotional connection to Catherine, you probably won't be writing a story GC shippers are interested in reading. Find your audience, whether it be G/S, C/W, or G/C, and keep writing. :)

I am loving this story. Though I like to read the Gil/Sara stories, I know that the true love for Gil Grissom is Catherine. I love the gentleness of this story...please contunue.

Oh wow, very good! Please update soon!! Obviously, they're no longer together, at least at this point when Grissom is remembering, but could I maybe request a happy ending? I love these two together, and I can SO believe that there are more of these stories than the other two combined. I mean, look at them. They're so perfect!