While I was waiting

By Clara

Disclaimer: They’re not mine

Info: Second part of twenty

Year: 1987

Archive: My site, Working Love, ShipperWorld, Catherine Willows, Graveshift

Rating: PG

Category: CGR

Author’s notes: This started as answer to a challenge over at ‘Working Love’ and some how it turned into this! Thanks to Jo for the beta! None of the fics in this series will have a summary on them. I don’t want to give it away!!!

Dedication: To the wonderful Jo R. What would I do without ya? ;)

**** 

Catherine shivered as she stood in the doorway of the cheap bar. The rain had begun shortly after she’d come off stage and now she was soaked though from the short walk to the bar.

Shaking her head in an attempt to dislodge some of the water in her hair, Catherine pushed open the door and surveyed room looking for Eric.

She had met Eric shortly after her brief and destructive stay in Seattle and had jumped at the chance to go to Las Vegas. It had turned out nothing like she’d expected it to. He’d had to search for an age in order to get his current job as a badly paid bouncer, so to make ends meet Catherine had begun to dance, a job that she was good at, but not one she planned to spend the rest of her life doing.

Sighing when she realised he wasn’t there yet, Catherine sat down at the crowded bar between two men, she smiled at the one on the left and tried to stay away from the one on the right. She ordered a screwdriver before glancing around the room again, frowning when she realised he was 30 minutes late.

“Waiting for someone?” The man on the left smiled at her and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Yeah, my boyfriend, guess he got caught in the rain.” She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink before looking back at him. “What about you? Are you meeting anyone?”

He shook his head. “Nope I’m new in town, I don’t know anyone to meet.”

Catherine smiled slightly and tried to figure out what it was about this man that made her trust him. Usually she was wary of people she met in bars and didn’t know, but he seemed different, as clichéd as it sounded to her. “Oh, well I’m Catherine.” She extended her hand and shook his when he offered it to her.

“Gil Grissom.” He smiled and withdrew his hand, using it to pick up his drink and swirl the half melted ice mixed with amber liquid around the glass.

“What made you move here?” Catherine placed her head on her hand and tilted her head towards him, now intrigued.

“Work. I’m with the criminologist’s bureau. What do you do?”

Catherine tried not to look embarrassed when she replied and was surprised not to see condemnation in his eyes as he nodded before ordering another drink and offering to buy one for her to. An offer she wasn’t about to turn down.

They sat discussing their lives and both were surprised about how easy it was to open up to the other, neither usually being the type to share their history with complete strangers. Grinning Catherine was surprised to realise that she’d completely forgotten to keep an eye out for Eric and had given all of her attention to Gil.

As time wore on the bar began to empty and Catherine glanced down at her watch, surprised at the amount of time that had gone by. She stretched slightly and glanced at her companion apologetically. “I should probably get going, find out where Eric is.”

Gil stood and pulled on his coat and helped her off the barstool. “Come on, we might as well share a cab.” Catherine protested that she really couldn’t afford it but he wouldn’t listen and before she knew it the cab was pulling up outside of her apartment complex. Rummaging in her purse Catherine found a piece of paper and a pen, she quickly scribbled down her number before handing it to Gil.

“Here, since you don’t know anyone you’d better give me a call sometime… I had fun.” She smiled at him once more before climbing out of the cab. He called goodbye and she waved slightly before turning and walking up the steps of the building, she entered her apartment and fell gratefully into bed, not realising how tired she was until then or that Eric wasn’t in the bed beside her.

~I sat up at the bar talking to a stranger, it seemed a safe thing to do, while I was waiting, while I was waiting for you~

While I was waiting- Chely Wright