A/N: Sorry for the slight delay on this chapter, hope you like it!
Chapter 3:
"Sara…" Grissom let out a sigh and shook his head slightly, "I uh…"
He never got a chance to finish what he wanted to say, because Betty Grissom came walking out her front door, waving enthusiastically at them. When she stood next to the car, Grissom got out to give his mother a hug. "I've missed you," he signed as he allowed his mother to sit in the front seat, sliding in the back himself.
Sara greeted her mother in law with a warm smile and started the car. "Where did you want to go, Gil?" She asked as she backed out of the driveway.
"That little Italian place I took you to the last time I was here," Grissom said.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Gil found the three of them a quiet booth in the back of the restaurant. Sara recognized the table as the one they sat at last time they were here. She scooted in next to Grissom, her mother in law across the table from her. For now, she decided it was best to focus on casual talk, she didn't know if she could handle Betty discussing their marriage any more. "What time does your plane leave tomorrow?" She signed as the waiter came to bring them the menus.
"Seven a.m.," Betty signed back and looked at Grissom. "Would you mind bringing me to the airport?" She asked.
Grissom looked at Sara, a sad look on his face. On the one hand he didn't want to disappoint his mother, and he definitely did not want her to take a cab early in the morning while it was still dark out in Vegas. He knew, however, that if he decided to honor his mother's request, he would disappoint Sara and that was something he swore he never wanted to do again.
Sara could see the question in his eyes and she could see he was torn. They would only have two nights together, and taking his mother to the airport meant he would have to get up at five in the morning after one of the nights. She mentally 'cursed' her mother in law for taking this moment away from her and for putting her in a corner when it came to making a decision together with Gil. Telling him she didn't want him to go, would create tension between her and Betty, something she didn't want after they'd agreed to start over. Allowing him to go in the morning, would mean denying herself his presence.
"It's fine…" she whispered and tried to give her husband an encouraging smile. "I understand," she added and took his hand in hers. She tried her hardest to be supportive and gentle towards him, but on the inside she felt tense.
Grissom gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek, "I'll hurry," he whispered. Then he turned to his mother, who had been waiting for a reply. "I'll pick you up at five, be ready," he signed and picked up the menu.
For a moment all three of them looked at the menu, trying to find something to satisfy their appetite. When they'd made a decision, Gil decided on a pizza 'quattro stagioni', his mother took a pasta with mushrooms and Sara asked for a vegetable lasagna.
"I'm glad you're back with your wife Gilbert, isn't this what you want permanently?" Betty Grissom asked her son while they waited for their food. She looked back and forth between her son and his wife and smiled at the both of them. "You seem so much happier when you are together," she continued, "and you know, if I'm ever to have grandchildren…"
"Enough mom," Grissom signed and looked at Sara, "we're happy this way, we don't have to see each other every day to know that we love each other. As for grandkids, we are not thinking about that yet," he finished and squeezed Sara's hand. "Or are we?" he whispered in her direction, before kissing her cheek again.
Sara shook her head and tried to find a topic they could discuss that wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable. "How long will you stay in Florida?" Sara asked Betty.
"I think two weeks, maybe longer, who knows," she smiled. Betty Grissom was determined not to let the previous subject slide and turned her attention to her son again, "You know I'm not getting any younger Gilbert, I would like the opportunity to be able to lift up my grandchild," she told him and took a bite from her plate that the waiter had just brought them.
Grissom let out a sigh and dropped his fork on his plate, "Mom, we don't want to talk about this right now. This is something between Sara and I, something we should discuss in private," he signed hastily, knowing that the moment they would be home tonight, this topic would come back to discussion. "Let's just eat for now, okay?"
Betty hesitantly nodded, a little impressed with her sons words. She looked at Sara, trying to figure out if she'd reached the young woman. Would she change her mind? Would she convince Gil to stay in Las Vegas and start a family with her?
The drive back to Betty's house after dinner was spent is silence, as the rest of the dinner had been. There was tension between them and Sara wasn't really sure who was the cause. Her mother in law's words stuck in her head again and she couldn't wait to talk to Gil about her plans of moving back to Peru with him. Or maybe they could start over somewhere else entirely. She had always dreamed of going to Europe, maybe this was their chance. They could go to England, or perhaps Italy.
"I'll see you in the morning mom, good night," Grissom signed and Sara gave Betty a quick hug as they dropped her off at her house.
When they got back in the car together the first few minutes they were both quiet. It was Grissom who eventually broke the silence, "About what my mom said…" he started and let out a sigh, "she has nothing to do with this. I don't want you to worry about what she said," he finished and looked sideways at his wife, who had her eyes on the road ahead of them.
"I think she may be right," Sara whispered and quickly stole a glance. "Being apart this long… I can't take it anymore Gil, I need to be with you. No matter how much I love working at the crime lab, being with you is more important to me. Let's… let's go somewhere new, start over, make a live together," she said and drove onto their driveway.
Grissom didn't respond for a while, thinking about her words as well as her mother's. Sure, he would love to have her with him, but he wanted her to be happy, and she was happy in Vegas. He knew, from past experience, she would eventually be bored wherever he was.
"Sara…," he started, but she cut him off by kissing him hungrily. "Honey," he tried again after breaking their kiss. "I want you to think this through," he whispered before he allowed her to push him against the front door. She unlocked the door behind his back and together they tumbled inside, immediately finding their way to the couch.
Sara straddled him and started lifting his black v-neck t-shirt. Her hands roamed his chest and he let out a shaky moan. Slowly she started to lift her own shirt, enjoying the look she could see in his eyes. The hunger, the passion. As she undid her bra behind her back, she felt Grissom working on her jeans. She got up and pulled down her jeans and her panties, standing complete bare in front of him. After giving him time to admire her, she pulled off his remaining clothes and straddled him again. She felt him slide into her and let out a soft moan.
Grissom's hand found her hips and he closed his eyes in bliss. "God Sara, I missed you," he breathed out and massaged her skin.
Sara slowly and teasingly rocked her hips, her hands on his shoulders.
It took them only minutes to find their release and Sara collapsed on top of him, her sweaty forehead against his. She tried to regain her breathing and slowly set herself down next to him on the couch, pulling a blanket over their bodies. "I love you," she whispered and nestled against him.
"I love you too," he whispered back and wrapped his arm around her. "We should head to bed soon," he said and looked at the clock on the wall.
Sara nodded and looked at him, "I don't want to think any longer, I want to be with you and start over," she said, "no discussion."
Grissom opened and closed his mouth. It would be nice to have her in his bed every night, he had to agree on that. But would they go to Peru together? He doubted it, he knew she had to be able to get something to do as well. Maybe she could find a teaching job somewhere, maybe they both could. "Okay, let's do it," he whispered and kissed her cheek. "Not Peru though, somewhere else," he added.
Sara smiled widely, the idea of being able to spend most of her days with him excited her. "What about Europe? London or Rome would be amazing…"
"Rome it is," Grissom grinned and gave her a passionate kiss. "I love you so much, but for now let's sleep, it's only a short night."
To be continued
