Taking Care of Me
A/N: (I fixed and reposted it.) I am a GSR shipper so don't be afraid about what will happen. I'm sorry to turn Sara into a crying baby but I needed to write this. This is not a character study and doesn't match up with the story placed in CSI.
"Mike, do you have to leave?" Sara asked.
"I'm sorry, I have to. I promise to be back as soon as possible." Mike talked into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.
"How long will you be gone?" She asked into his jacket.
"A week, two tops."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." He looked at his two year old daughter, Katlyn but said nothing.
"Last call for flight 217." The over excited voice played again over the intercom.
"I gotta go." He let her go and looked her in the eyes. "I love you." He kissed the tip of her nose.
"We love you too." He looked at his daughter and left without talking to her. He disappeared through the crowed without even waving one last time.
She walked into the airport's main entrance. Gil was waiting there for her and stood up when she was standing in front of him. "Let's get you home, Sara." Gil put his arm around shoulders and led her to his car.
He drove her to her house, the ride was silent. Not one word was spoken and the radio played softly in the background. When they got to her and Mike's house they got out and Gil ran ahead and opened the door. "You don't have to stay here with me, Gil."
"I know, but you're my friend and I want to help. Plus I promised Mike that I would take good care of his fiancé and his daughter." She smiled a small smile at him and walked into the house.
"Gil, thank you. But really, I can do it by myself, I'm just a little bruised up, you know. I can still take care of everything."
"Sara, you fell down the stairs, you need help and it's no problem. Now let's get you and the little bug to bed, you seem tired." He walked her up the stairs and into the master bedroom. "Try to sleep." He tucked her into the bed and spread an extra blanket over Katlyn, who was lying next to her. "I will be just down the hall if you need anything."
"I'll be fine."
"I know. Just in case." He smiled at her and she smiled back.
Two weeks later
"Mike, what are you saying?" Sara spoke into the phone.
"I have to stay for another week."
"Mike, you told me two weeks tops!" She yelled into the phone.
"I know, but…I can't do anything about it." He sighed.
"Mike, I miss you." She cried.
"I know, I will try and get back as soon as possible."
"Ok."
"I miss you. I love you more than anyone."
"I love you, too. Please come home soon, we miss you so much." She talked quietly into the phone.
"I know." There was a woman talking in the background and Sara couldn't make out what Mike and the woman were talking about. "Listen, honey. I have to go." He talked rushed.
"Mmmhmm."
"Stay safe."
"Ya," she hung up the phone before she slumped into the chair behind her.
Gil entered the room, and Sara's back was to him. "I just put Katy down. Do you need anything?" Sara didn't answer. "Sara, what's wrong? Who was on the phone? Did anything happen?"
"It was Mike." He walked over to her and sat across from her.
"What did he say?"
"He has to stay an extra week in New York."
"Oh…do you need me to do anything."
"No." she looked into his eyes and could tell how much he cared.
"Do you want me to get you anything?"
"I want a drink."
"Sara you haven't had alcohol in years, are you sure that's wise?"
"No, but I need it."
"Ok, come with me." He took her hands and led her to the kitchen. "I haven't had a lot but Mike has his liquor cabinet pretty stocked."
"Ya, he always enjoys his fine liquor."
"Ok, what do you want?" Gil opened the cabinet. She took little time before grabbing a bottle of whiskey and walking to the couch and taking a seat. "Do you want a glass?" He turned and noticed she was already drinking from the bottle. "Oh."
After three hours and a half empty bottle of scotch and whiskey Sara was falling nearly off her chair. "Gil, come with me." Sara took his hand and moved into her bedroom. She sat down with him on the bed. "Gil, I can't wait for Mike every night, and you have been here for me forever." Sara leaned in for a kiss and Gil pulled away.
"Sara, no."
"Why not?"
"You have a fiancé, and a kid." She looked at him and her eye's told him that she didn't care. "You're in love with Mike, not me." He got up off the bed. "You are drunk and you don't know what you are doing."
"Yes I do." She stood and kissed him; he almost gave in but backed off. "You and Mike have a kid, Sara."
"She isn't even his."
"What?"
"I can't believe you never figured it out. The timing and everything."
"Sara, what are you talking about?"
"Katlyn is your daughter, not Mike's." Gil stood there not talking. "Not even three years ago and you already forget."
"Sara, I never forgot, I just…I'm trying to forget." Gil walked out of the room and into the room they were in earlier.
"Do you regret it?" Sara said sitting down next to Gil on the couch.
Gil took a big drink from the bottle of scotch. "Only the part were I left." He told her truthfully. He took another long swig from the quickly emptying bottle.
"Then why did you leave?"
"Because you had Mike!" He shouted waking Katlyn in the next room. She started crying and he stood to get her from her crib. "Shh, bug baby, don't cry."
"You're a great father you know." He didn't turn to face her only kept his eyes on his daughter. "Now that you know, I'm not going to keep her away from you. You can take her to your house sometimes and spend time with your daughter."
"Sara, why are you telling me this now?"
"Because…I thought you should know." She rambled drunkenly.
"Yes, but why now?" He turned around and looked her in the eyes. She could see tears streaming down his face.
"Since Mike left and you have been living with me and taking care of me, I realized I need you here with me. It's not Mike that I need, it's you. Katlyn needs you." She walked over to Gil and touched her daughters face. "Did you know Mike wouldn't even touch her when I told him she wasn't his?" She kept her face on Katlyn. Katlyn grabbed her finger and laughed making Sara smile. Her smile left as quickly as it came. "He still hasn't touched her since. One year, three months, he hasn't touched her."
Sara looked at Gil and he looked at her. "Do you know what it's like to have a father that doesn't love you?" Her tears were coming back to her eyes. "Well I guess it doesn't matter since he isn't her real father. That's what my dad said." Gil looked her much deeper in the eye. "He told me he didn't need to love me since he wasn't my real father."
"Sara…" Katlyn yawned in her fathers arms. He set Katlyn down in her crib and turned to find Sara right behind him.
"You love her, don't you?"
"There's always been a connection. I guess I know why now."
"I never had that connection. I never knew who my real dad was, never got to meet him." Sara wiped a tear away. "I never had a real father, and I think she deserves to know her father, not just from stories. Her father is a great, special man."
"Sara…" He let his hand rest on her cheek as she cried.
"Gil…" She started to sob and Gil pulled her to him in a hug. He walked them slowly out of the nursery and turned off the lights before shutting the door. He walked her into her room and shut the door behind them. Gil sat them on the bed and she continued to cry. He laid her down on the bed and once again tucked her in. He stood to leave but she held on to his arm. "Don't leave." He got under the covers and she laid her head against his chest.
"Sara, I don't know what to say."
"It's ok, just hold me." And he did. He wrapped his arms protectively around her waist and held her to him.
The next morning Sara woke up to the light sound of Gil snoring. It wasn't loud or rude, but cute. It was soft and sweet and made her feel protected and safe. Sara lay on his chest just listening to his heart beating. He was calm and soon their hearts where beating in sync. Sara could feel his breath hot on her hair and she didn't feel uncomfortable the way she did with Mike. Her head was pounding but some how it didn't seem so important right now.
Katlyn was crying in the next room and when Sara got up to get her she felt Gil hold her still with one of his hands. "I'll get her." He stood softly and he went to check on his daughter. She could hear his cueing and it made her smile to know he loved his daughter so much. He came back into the room carrying Katlyn. He sat down on the bed and Katlyn sat between her parents.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
"Gil."
"Hmmm?"
"Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I want you to know this. Gil this morning-"
"Sara-"
"Let me finish. This morning when I woke up with you, I felt…felt safe, and…loved. I like that feeling, Gil. This morning was the first time I felt it." She swallowed hard. "I want to feel it every morning, not just when Mike is gone." Gil looked her in the eye but held back from interrupting, partly because he wanted to hear what she had to say, partly because he didn't know what to say. "I love you, Gil." A tear dripped down her face but she didn't wipe it away. "I'm sorry; you can leave if you want to."
Gil's hand went up and wiped away the stray tear and another one that fell from her eyes. He brought his other hand up to hold her face in both palms. He lowered his head and she closed her eyes. They were so close, and all he could do was look at those luscious lips before him. He tilted his head and lightly brushed his lips against hers.
She opened her eyes to meet his when he pulled his head away but left his hands where they were. "I love you, too, Sara. So much." He brought his lips to hers again but this time there was more passion.
Their kiss was cut short by Katlyn screaming, "Bug!" Gil rested his forehead on Sara's and they both laughed.
"She defiantly is your daughter." Sara said.
"Bug, dada, bug!" They smiled at her.
"She is smart, she never called Mike dada."
"Mama, dada, bug." She pointed to the bed where a small caterpillar was sitting. "Bug." She crawled over to it and it inched to her.
Gil took the caterpillar away from her before she ate it and walked over to the window and opened the window. He placed it on a branch right outside the window and Katlyn started laughing. "Dada, bug." She repeated.
They both smiled at each other then Sara picked up Katlyn to go play down stairs. Sara placed her in front of the TV and turned on Little Einsteins, which was her favorite show. Sara walked into the kitchen and Gil was sitting on a stool at the bar connected to the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"
"Sure."
"Ok, how about I make a fruit salad?"
"Ok, do you want help?"
"No, I got it covered. Just make sure our daughter doesn't run away."
"Deal." He walked over to sit on the ground next to Katlyn. She got up off of the floor and climbed on to his lap and continued to watch her show.
"Dada, show good." She smiled proud of herself.
"Yes, this show is very good." She smiled at him then went back to watching the show.
Twenty minutes later Sara called to Gil that breakfast was ready. Gil put Katlyn in her highchair and sat down next to her. Gil was feeding Katlyn fruit while he and Sara also ate. "Don't tell me you are teaching our daughter to be a vegetarian."
"No, just a health nut, like her dad." They smiled at each other before Gil interrupted the nice moment.
"Sara, we have to talk. I need to know, make sure rather, about where we are going with this." He pointed to her and him.
"Well, I…I want to stay with you, Gil. I'm not going to lie to you." She put her fork down and looked for his answer.
He smiled at her and fed a piece of strawberry to Katlyn. "Good, because I don't think I'll be able to leave this behind."
"I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind, if I could put your last name on her birth certificate?"
"I would love that." He took a bite of banana. "I hate to ruin this again, but what are you going to do about Mike?"
"Well, I haven't thought about how to do it, but I thought maybe me and Katlyn could move in with you after I break up with him."
"Of course you can."
"Gil, I don't really know what to say to him. I don't want to hurt him. I've never broken up with a fiancé before."
"We can talk about that later. Right now, let's just relax; we have a week to think about it."
After their breakfast, all three of them sat down and watched Peter Pan together. When the movie finished they put Katlyn down for an early nap because she was up late last night. They went back to the kitchen to clean up from their breakfast.
Sara turned from the refrigerator to find Gil right behind her. "Sara…" He backed her up until her back was up against the fridge. He brought his hand to her face and leaned in for a kiss. She could feel the fridge being pushed further back as both of them laid their weight on it. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
A/N: This is what you get after I have been up for three days straight and am trying to waste time by writing. Please! Review! It is kinda like my others. I guess.