Smoldering Desires

Smoldering Part 12

Sara had been standing there for less than a minute. Her daughter had not called her but it was well past her normal feeding time.

Gil. Holding their daughter. Grissom alive. Grissom talking to the as yet unnamed baby.

Slimmer, relaxed, healthy, happy, Gilbert Isaiah Grissom.

A dream? Perhaps.

His voice interrupted her contemplation. “Sara.”

He could think of nothing else to say. She walked to where they stood and took his daughter from him. She settled the infant, whose cries had only grown louder when she thought food was not forthcoming.

Gil sat next to the chair. Crying. Watching. Touching them both. Kissing them over and over again. Telling Sara he loved her and would never leave her again. Telling his daughter that he was sorry. Wiping at his tears first, then Sara’s.

She woke with a start. His side of the bed was empty as usual. Only it shouldn’t be. He was home. Home safe with her and their daughter.

She called out the familiar name. “Gris.”

“Here.” She followed the sound to her daughter’s room. The sound of her moving was no longer a hollow echo. Now it bounced off the frames of others. She would never be alone again. She leaned against the frame of her daughter’s door. Gil was seated in the rocking chair that she had ordered in the flurry of an online shopping.

“I know that we can’t have sex right now. If you want to sleep in here or in the other room, I will understand.”

Sara nodded to the twin bed that was along one wall.

“Sara Sidle, I am not even dignifying that with a response. I will not sleep away from you ever again.”

He took in her folded arms and her long legs. “Unless you want me too” he said, trying to steady the sadness in his voice.

Sara let out a soft sound. “No. No. I don’t want to ever spend another night without you, either. I just thought it might be too hard for you since it’s been so long, or that maybe…”

Gil looked at her. She had on his pajama top. She was biting at her bottom lip. “Maybe what?”

“Things have changed too much. That you weren’t sure anymore. I mean I know we have a baby but don’t feel like you have to…you know…stay with me just to be a good father.”

Aware of her father’s distress the baby stirred and made a sound of protest. Sara narrowed her eyes in mock anger. “She’s been a daddy’s girl from day one. Do you know that she would kick if I said something nasty about you?”

He kissed blonde locks. “What did your Mommy say about me?”

“Oh, that if you ever left me again I would track you down and they would not find the body.”

His Sara.

He laughed softly. “I can think of worse reasons to stay together than this little angel. She’s a bonus. Besides you already painted. I have to keep you, at least until I decide to redecorate.”

Sara smiled and looked at her family.


She knew where he was. She had fallen to sleep in his arms as he murmured softly in her ear. He loved her. He wasn’t leaving her. She was his everything. They were his everything. He was healthy and he would never willingly part from them again.

Gil held the now waking child close to him. “I think she’s scared. Should she be here by herself?”

She knew where he was headed. “We are next door. Not in another state. Catherine says that if she starts sleeping in the same room we will never get her out.”

Blue eyes found blue eyes. “I tried, sweetheart. Told you she was going to say no. Just in case you are unclear, I am the pushover and Mom is the enforcer.”

Sara shrugged. “Okay. But in four weeks, she’s back on her own.”

Giddily, he handed Sara the baby so he could start moving the bed.

Sara shook her head. “No need for that, honey. The box you haven’t opened that I sent you? It’s a bassinet.”

“Sara.”

“No”

“Sarah with an ‘h’” He tried. “My two princesses. Sara and Sarah”

They were in bed. Sara’s head was in his lap and she was looking up at him. His hands were twisting loose curls. Her hair was longer than he had ever seen it. Her eyelids were heavy. She was drunk with the maleness of him. She kissed a hairy muscled thigh.

“Well you don’t have any better suggestions.”

“That’s because I was waiting on your brilliance.”

“Angel,” he tried again.

Sara mulled over the name. “Hope Angel.”

“Here that, sweetheart.” Gil said in the direction of his daughter. “Hope Angel Grissom”


Sara watched as Gil devoured the plate of food. He had hardly eaten since he had left the hospital eighteen hours before. When he was done with his second plate of oatmeal pancakes, he leaned back in his chair. He felt very much like the king of his castle.

“So you learned how to cook?” Sara’s lack of culinary skills was legendary.

Sara glared at him and took the plate and kissed his forehead. Her lips lingered and he reached around and grabbed a cheek.

He pulled her close. “I like the post baby ass. Very nice.”

“Four weeks. Well more like three weeks.” She cautioned as she slipped reluctantly from his grip.

She motioned towards the pancakes that were left. “More?”

He shook his head watching her move around. She still only wore the pajama top. He would have to tell her that more clothes were necessary if he was going to make it through the next three weeks.

“So are you going to do all the cooking now or are pancakes and turkey sausage the extent of you culinary skills?”

Sara grinned. “When I found out I was pregnant and you were sick I figured that it would be extremely difficult to exist on take out for a vegetarian, a man who doesn’t eat red meat any longer, and a kid caught in the middle. So I learned. Between Brass and Greg, I can now do more than boil water.”

“Who said I wasn’t eating red meat?”

Sara raised an eyebrow and kept talking. “As I was saying, I figured it would be easier and I know how you like traditional. The whole home and hearth thing. Everyone at the table at five for dinner, or breakfast in our case.”

“So…are you um…going to keep working nights.” He did not want her to, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to put his foot down.

Sara slammed the dishwasher shut. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You are asking me?”

“You aren’t the only one who can change. Catherine gave me a good talking to while you were gone.”

“What did she say?”

Sara walked to where he sat and put strong hands on his shoulders. She began to work his shoulder muscles.

“She said that I have to learn how to compromise. That I have to consider you and the baby when I make decisions. That I won’t every really make decision alone again. That you are kind of old school and you might not want me to work. “

He leaned back and inhaled her sent enjoying the feel of her hands and mouth as she kissed him.

“So…” She said softly.

“I would prefer it if you didn’t work for awhile, at least not at night. I want us to have a normal life. No more going to sleep when the sun comes up.”

“What are you going to do?” Sara asked. She knew how much money he had, or they had. He didn’t have to do anything.

“Write another book. Do some lectures. But I will not go anywhere without the two of you, so my traveling will be limited.”

He sat back in his chair. Yes. He felt very much like the king of his castle.

“Oh, no. You are doing that chest puffing thing. Which means you are about to make some grand gesture.

His lips twitched. “I was unaware that I puffed.”

“You puff.”

“We are getting married today.”

Sara frowned and handed him a folded white sheet of paper. She handed it to Grissom.

Gil,

I didn’t buy your con job for a minute. I knew you couldn’t wait to get your girls. Although at the time you didn’t no there were two of them now.

We are giving you 48 hours for you to love on those two. After that we shall descend on you like locusts. And don’t even think about sneaking off and getting married. We want all our pomp and circumstance. After what you put us through, we deserve it.

Sharpening a stiletto so that I can kick you ass,

Catherine

PS Dana’s with me. It’s like she is me, with more money. How do you keep finding these people?

Sara sat in his lap. They could not stop touching one another. “It was in the mailbox.”

He saw something in her eyes. Worry?

“What…”

“You know honey. I completely understand if you met someone and you became close. You didn’t know if you were going to live.”

“Sara...”

“I mean these things happen and I want you to know that I understand that and if you need some more time to sort out your feelings.”

Brown eyes searched a face riddled with confusion. “Who’s Dana? Cath said she came with you. That she packed up your things…”

“No…There is absolutely nothing going on with me and Dana. She’s my friend. She had bone cancer. We were just buddies. She knows all about you. I would never… All I wanted to do was get back to you. I just wanted to get better.”

Sara looked down and back at him.

“You believe me?” He said quietly.

She nodded.

He stroked her back with a strong hand. “What do I have to do to convince you? I just tried to get you to marry me…shit.”

He patted his robe pocket. He had been so thrown off by the note that he had forgotten his plan. He took out a modern looking oval gold box.

Sara kissed and ear. “What’s that?”

“Guess…”

Sara snatched the box from him and opened it. Emerald cut. At least two karats. Platinum setting. Flawless.

Sara’s eyes went wide and tears began to fall. “This is mine. I mean this is my ring. I mean this is my engagement ring.”

She was sobbing in earnest now.

“Honey, stop crying. Please. If you don’t stop crying I am going to start crying and I don’t need to cry for another decade at least.”

She back handed tears. “I want you to get to your knee,” she demanded as she stood up.

“Hope is going to ask about this and you will need some redemption when she finds out you weren’t at her birth.”

On one knee, he took her left hand in his right. He thought of something and taking Sara’s other hand, moved to a position in front their daughter’s crib. He got back on one his knee. “If anyone had told me when I met you 9 years, 27 days and 3 hours ago that you would love me and have my child. I would have told them that this young beautiful woman would have better prospects than me. Sara, things have not been the best between us and I have made a lot of mistakes. The biggest was not telling you…showing you how I felt. I am going to spend the rest of my life showing both of you how much I love you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”


They had descended like locust. Cath oohed over the baby. Gil retrieved his daughter from her, only to have her stolen again. Warrick and Nick held a never ending arm wrestling tournament. Dana sat next to Sara and told her all the sweet things Gil had said about her. Greg sucked down beers like water.

When Grissom asked him why he was drinking so much he responded, “Because this responsibility thing was getting old, big guy. I am the baby. No one should be in charge of anything. I am smart and cute and dependable. If you need a worker bee, a support staff, I am your man. I don’t ever want to be in charge of anything again.”

“I second that emotion,” Warrick called.

“Me three,” Nick volunteered.

“There are reasons why the oldest are considered the wisest,” Brass called from the door, waving a bottle of Scotch in Grissom’s direction.

“Booze,” Grissom said gleefully. “Honest to God booze.”

Sara made a sound. She had just come back from feeding Hope. She sat next to Dana at the counter that separated the small kitchen from the rest of the house.

“I guess that means I can’t have any?” Gil said eyeing Sara. He whispered to her softly. “No sex. No red meat. Honey, you got to let me have something.”

“Aw, come on. Cookie. This is our favorite. I had to go to three stores.”

She pursed her lips together and pointed at Brass. “You take whatever’s left with you, Jim Brass.”

“Deal.” He was pulling glasses from the liquor cabinet and asking who else wanted a swig when he caught sight of Dana. Gil almost laughed. March was going to be so pissed that he was out of town

“Hello,” he said stupidly. She gave him a little wave, but he took her hand and kissed it.

Sara leaned and whispered to Grissom, “This was of your making. You have to clean up the big pile of goo when they are done.”

“James Brass.”

“Dana Owens.”

“Why haven’t I met you?”

“I think we kept missing one another,” Dana grinned stupidly. He was cute in a tough guy sort of way. She didn’t think men kissed hands any longer.

He nodded towards her glass. “So you like red wine.”

Dana nodded. Gil had never seen her quiet for this long.

Brass continued and he leaned on the counter. “My family still runs a small vineyard on the outskirts of Patmos.”

Sara took the bottle from Brass’ grip and pulled a shot. “I’ll pour you a glass, honey.”

Gil rubbed his hands together gleefully.