a/n: gil/cath pairing... of course. still can't find my stupid flashdrive (see profile), and got really bored... so i wrote this little story. hope you like it.

Lindsey Willows had come home one day from school in tears, waking up her mother who was resting after a long shift at work.

“Lindsey, is everything okay?” Catherine asked softly, standing the doorway of her daughter’s room.

Lindsey shook her head. “This guy at my school, Zack, we’ve been friends for a really long time, and I really, really like him. But now he’s got this awful girlfriend, and I’m just so upset because I missed my chance to go out with him!”

Catherine’s heart broke for her, and she stepped in the room and sat beside Lindsey on her bed. Putting an arm around her, she stroked her back softly. “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” Catherine whispered. “I know how hard it is.”

“Now I know how you must have felt,” Lindsey sobbed.

“What do you mean, Linds?” Catherine asked.

“When Uncle Gil started going out with Sara.”

“Oh, honey…” Catherine sighed.

“You know you were upset, don’t even deny it,” sniffed Lindsey. “Maybe crappy luck is genetic or something. I can’t believe this happened to me. Zack and I usually tell each other everything. But then one day he just shows up with Taylor…”

“I’ll tell you what,” Catherine said. “I’m going to take the night off, and you’re not going to go to school tomorrow. We’re going to stay up late tonight watching movies, eating junk food, and giving each other manicures and pedicures. Sound good?”

Lindsey pulled away from her mother and looked at her in shock. “Seriously?”

Catherine smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I’d say we could both use it.”

--

They had agreed that Catherine would go back to sleep until seven-thirty. Lindsey did her homework and chatted with friends online until then, pouring her heart out about her situation with her best friend Zack.

Seven-thirty that night couldn’t have come fast enough. Lindsey gathered the supplies and set them on the coffee table so that they’d be ready as soon as Catherine came downstairs. She was searching for a movie to start their marathon as her mother entered the room.

“I see you’ve gotten everything ready,” Catherine said, eyeing the tub of ice cream and two spoons, two Diet Cokes, nail polish, and other manicure/pedicure tools lying on the table.

Lindsey grinned. “Yeah. I was just looking for a movie to watch, too. Something over the top cheesy and romantic, maybe?”

“How about The Notebook?” Catherine suggested.

“Perfect.”

--

Gil Grissom wondered why Catherine didn’t show up to shift that night. She had never called in, and wasn’t answering her phone (which was turned on silent mode, left forgotten on her bedside table). So, in an excuse to go to her home and see what was going on in disguise as an errand to give her some important paperwork, he went to her house and stood at her front door, pressing the doorbell.

He heard footsteps inside, but it was almost a minute before anyone opened the door. It swung open and Catherine stood before him in a loose tank top and sweatpants, a large container of ice cream in one hand.

“Catherine, hi,” Gil said.

“Hey, Gil,” she replied, a wide smile on her face.

“Err… what are you doing?” he asked, eyeing the ice cream and seeing Lindsey on the couch with an identical ice cream container. “Hi Lindsey,” he waved.

“Hi Uncle Gil,” Lindsey turned and waved back. Her attention was quickly re-directed back to the movie.

“Not much, really,” Catherine said. “Sorry I didn’t call in. Lindsey and I are wallowing in our own self-pity. It’s a long ordeal that will be taking up the entire night, so I didn’t see any reason in coming in to work.”

“Self-pity for what?”

“For the stupid guys who can’t see how great we are,” Lindsey called. “And the losers they end up with while we’re left hanging.”

Gil sent Catherine a questioning look. She shrugged. “That pretty much sums it up.”

“Well, I could use a good wallowing session,” Gil said.

Catherine narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you have a shift to run? Or Sara to be with?”

“Cath-”

“Don’t pull this on me when you’re the reason I’m skipping work and have a gallon of ice cream in my hands!” Catherine growled.

“I… Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Well, I’m on the same boat. How do you think I felt when you were dating that contractor guy? Or that club owner? Or when you hooked up with that Adam Novak guy?” Gil shot back. “It takes a lot of courage to be able to tell your best friend of twenty-so years that you’ve fallen in love with them, and it’s something I haven’t been able to muster up yet. Ever thought of that?”

“I…” Catherine was speechless. “Me?”

It went past the adults’ notice, as they were in a heated conversation, but Lindsey was slowly turning down the TV’s volume to listen in. She shoveled another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth to make it look like she was still busy.

“Yes, Catherine, you. It’s always been you. But I got so tired of being a coward that I tried to get past you. It’s not something I’m proud of, but when I started seeing Sara, I settled.”

“Settled?”

Gil frowned. “Just last week I ended it with Sara. I felt too bad about using her. I’ve been trying again and again to work up the courage to tell you how I really felt, and I thought that tonight during shift would have been the time.”

Catherine’s mouth was wide open.

Gil leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her cheek. “I’m sorry, Cath.” He started walking back to his car.

It only took a few milliseconds for Catherine to blink herself back into reality. Had Gil really just confessed his love for her? “Gil, wait!” She set her tub of ice cream on the floor and ran barefooted off her porch and through the accumulating snow to Gil’s car. “Gil!”

He stopped just as he was about to slide into his Denali. “Cath, go back inside. You’ll catch a cold.”

“No, Gil… Listen. You know all that stuff you just said about not being able to work up the courage? Well… that’s kind of what our wallowing party’s about, too. Not being able to admit our feelings in time, either. I’d definitely say you qualify, so… Wanna come inside?”

He looked at her for a moment, and Catherine thought for a second that he was going to wordlessly get in his car and drive away. But instead, he took a step back from his car, slammed the door, and walked towards her.

“I’d love to be included in your party. But I still have to work.” Gil told her with a small, shy smile. “And Cath? I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Catherine quickly replied, shivering involuntarily at the cold winter air. “I love you, Gil.”

In an act that surprised her, Gil swooped down and lifted Catherine up into his arms and began walking back up the porch. As he set her back down on the warm tile of her front hall, he kissed her on the lips.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” he asked.

She nodded, feeling like the moment she was living in was too surreal.

“And Cath,” Gil said, just as he was about to turn back to his Denali. “We should have our own party sometime. But not the wallowing in self-pity kind.”

She smiled at him. “I’d love to.”

Catherine watched as he walked to his car, and didn’t leave the front door until he had driven all the way down the street. She finally shut the door and turned back into the living room where she heard the TV getting noticeably louder.

Lindsey was sitting on the couch, tears streaking her face.

“Did I miss the sad part?” Catherine asked, sitting back down on the couch with her ice cream.

“You… and Uncle Gil…” Lindsey choked out. “Are the cutest… ever! Oh my god, if they made a movie based on you two…” She wiped the tears from her eyes, grinning. “I think that your movie would put all the Disney fairytale happy endings to shame.”

Catherine pulled her daughter close to her and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry, honey. You have your entire life ahead of you. Your happy ending is guaranteed to come around sooner or later.”