Title: Employee Evaluations
By: sarcasticsra
Summary: Grissom lied.
Pairing: Ecklie/Grissom
Word Count: 561
Rating: PG
A/N: For Kelly, with love. And thanks for the beta, darling. =D Also, there really aren't spoilers, but this will make much more sense if you've seen this week's episode.

“You turned in your employee evaluations last week.”

Gil Grissom looked up at the red-headed woman now entering his office. She shut the door behind her. “I happened to catch Ecklie to tell him that you’d get them in as soon as possible. He looked at me like I was crazy and mentioned you’d turned them in. Last week.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but apparently thought better of it halfway through and snapped his mouth shut. His gaze locked with Catherine’s. “So you lied. What I wanted to know was - why? Why lie about something insignificant when it just makes you look bad?” She paused. “I thought, that doesn’t make any sense, now does it? Which means that the truth had to be something even bigger. Something no one could know about.”

“Cath-”

She interrupted him, walking toward his desk. “And that made me think. What, involving Ecklie, could be something that you didn’t want us to know about? You can barely stand Ecklie. What would you share with him that you wouldn’t share with your own team?” She was directly in front of him now, with her hands placed on the desk. “And then I remembered two weeks ago, when Lindsey said she’d called you because she found a bug, and said that someone else had answered. Another guy.” Her gaze never left his. “I figured that she must be mistaken, because who would be at your place on your day off? But she wasn’t mistaken, was she, Gil? Ecklie was at your place.”

“Finished?”

She slumped down in the chair in front of his desk. “How long?”

Grissom hesitated before answering. “Since the night after we rescued Nick.”

“Three months?” Catherine shook her head. “And you never thought to at least mention to your friends, ‘Oh, guys, I’m sleeping with Ecklie now, ‘kay?’?”

“It’s not something that can become public knowledge with our jobs, Catherine. And we’re both private people.”

“You could have told us, Gil. We’re your friends. You know? We might not understand it - Hell knows I don’t - but we’d still keep your secret and support you. That’s what friends do.”

Grissom sighed. “I know that, I think. But Conrad doesn’t. He was worried.”

Catherine looked like she’d just figured something out. “You’re in love with him.”

“I-” Grissom was flustered, now. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

“Then you’re happy?”

“Yes, Catherine. Happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

“Then that’s all that matters, Gil.” She paused, looking as if she was considering something. “So, what were you avoiding him for?”

“It was nothing.”

“Gil.”

“It was personal, Cath.”

“Did you two have a spat?” She grinned.

“I don’t have spats.” Grissom tried to look annoyed, but he knew that Catherine teasing him was a good sign.

“Whatever, Gil.” She sobered up, suddenly. “I don’t really like Ecklie, but if you’ve found good in him, great for you. Your secret’s safe with me,” she said, before looking like she was thinking about something. “You going to tell anyone else?”

“I made a rule that if someone asked, I wouldn’t lie to them. Fair enough?”

Catherine nodded. “I suppose.” With that, she got up and headed to the door. “Good luck, Gil. And I hope you and Ecklie work out your spat.”

The balled up piece of paper he threw after her missed by miles.

-End