Chapter 4
Before Grissom could open the door, it was flung open! Both Sara and Gil were swept up into a tangle of arms as they were passed from woman to woman in a series of bear hugs. Sara was smiling wide and laughing. Gil took her hand as they were finally allowed to enter. The youngest of the three women, whom Sara assumed was Debbie, took their coats and pointed them in the direction of the living room. The two elder women sat in matching recliners, leaving the love seat for Sara and Gil. Debbie entered the room and pulled a rocking chair up closer from the corner.
"Sara," Grissom began to sign what he was saying. Sara tried to not act shocked. This was one bit of information Grissom had left out. She knew he knew sign language, but wasn't sure of the circumstances. Well, one mystery solved. She looked up at Grissom as he continued.
"This is my Aunt Beth". He pointed to her and she waved her hand at Sara.
"This is Debbie. My cousin." Debbie got up and shook Sara's hand saying it was a "pleasure."
"And last but not least....." Grissom smiled widely at his mother. "This is my mom, Jane Grissom." His mom began to speak and sign at the same time. "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Sara."
Sara looked to Gil for direction on how to address his mother. As if he read her mind he informed her that if she just spoke slowly and clearly, she would understand her and communication should not be a problem.
"Well, Thank you for letting me join you for the Holiday." Sara spoke clearly in her court voice, Gil noted. Without thinking Grissom took Sara's hand in his. She looked at him and smiled. She looked around the room to see three women smiling at them.
"Sara, how about I show you to your room so you can unpack. Which means, Gilbert, you need to go get your bags." Debbie pulled Sara up by the hand and towards the stairs.
Grissom chuckled and went to get their luggage. Sara followed Debbie up the stairs to a small landing.
"The room at the end of the hall is the bathroom. Only one shower. There is a half bath downstairs that was installed about 10 years ago. Aunt Jane has a room on the main floor. The room on the left is mom's. That's the master bedroom. The one on the right are the two smaller rooms. The one closest to the bathroom is mine, and this one...."she opened the door next to where they were standing. "This where you and Gilbert are staying."
"Oh. Together?" Debbie gave her a curious look. "I just mean, I didn't know what his mom and your mom would think is appropriate." Good save, Sidle!
"Oh, pssh!" Debbie waved her had in dismissal. "They know you two aren't virgins. It's not a big deal. Besides, you are going to be married."
"Right." Sara just smiled at her as they entered the room. Debbie flipped the overhead light on. It was a small room with a double bed, dresser, and closet. This should be interesting, Sara thought.
"Hey." Grissom entered the room and plopped the bags down on the bed. "Get the grand tour?"
"Um, yeah. Debbie was just showing me where everything is." Sara stood with her arms crossed, rocking on her heels.
"Well, there are clean towels in the linen closet in the bathroom. I will leave you two to unpack." Debbie smiled mischievously at the duo and headed off to the main floor.
"Well, I guess we will be cozy." Sara smirked at Grissom.
"Yeah, um." He rubbed a hand across his mouth and beard. "I could sleep on the floor, Sara."
Sara moved towards him and then reached behind him to shut the door. Grissom turned to look at her, his eyes wide. Was he scared? Sara chuckled out loud.
"What, uh, what is so funny?" He shuffled nervously, putting his hands in his pockets.
"You are, Gilbert." She emphasized his name.
"You know, that IS my name, Sara." He was pouting a bit now. Sara stepped closer to him, he shuffled again.
"You know, the floor here is cold, and one of us sleeping on the couch would cause suspicion. So, I suggest this." She sat on the bed and pulled Grissom down to sit next to her. She leaned in close to him so she was only a few inches from his face. "I say we make the most of it."
The room grew silent. Sara heard Grissom swallow. Brown eyes stared in question at unsure blue eyes. "What, uh, do you mean by that?" He finally spoke, his gaze never leaving hers. Sara answered by leaning in and placing her lips against his. It was a soft, gentle kiss. She leaned back a bit and waited for Grissoms reaction. He just sat with his eyes closed.
"Griss?" She moved her hand to his face and gently stroked his bearded cheek. She smiled when Grissom leaned into her palm. He opened his eyes and placed his hand over hers, removing it from his face. He stared at their hands where they rested on his thigh.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Sara." He stood then and went to the other side of the bed to unpack his suitcase. Sara just sat there, he face red with embarrassment and humiliation.
"Knock, knock!" Aunt Beth opened the door as she placed a few small knocks on the door. "I hope I'm not interrupting." She smiled at them.
"No, not at all, Aunt Beth." Grissom moved over to the closet to hang up some shirts. "We were just unpacking."
"Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Well, why don't you come down and have a cup of cocoa with us before bedtime?"
"That sounds nice, doesn't it Griss-uh, Gil?" Sara turned to Gil and he nodded in agreement.
"We'll be down in just a few minutes, Aunt Beth."
"Ok, but hurry, you don't want cold cocoa!" She turned and left them alone once again.
Grissom hung up the last of his clothes and began to open up Sara's bag to unpack it. She stood and pushed him aside with a huff and hung up her clothes. "I'll finish when we get back." She stated and walked out the door. Grissom rolled his eyes and followed her downstairs.
"There you two are!" Debbie commented as the descended the stairs. Once again, they left the love seat vacant for them. Grissom smiled and took her hand in his as they sat. Sara gave a stiff smile and gently pulled her hand away from his when Aunt Beth handed her a cup of cocoa.
"I put extra marshmallows in it just like you liked it when you were a boy, Gilly." Grissom winced at the nickname and Sara snickered, mumbling "Gilly" under her breath.
"So, Sara, tell us how Gilbert proposed." Sara's eyes shot up and she stared at Mrs. Grissom, trying to think quickly. Why hadn't she thought of this before? Grissom said he told them he proposed recently, right? SHIT!
"I think Sara's a bit overwhelmed, Mother." She turned suddenly to look at Grissom as he took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the ring. "We had been working for 10 days straight, no days off, a couple double shifts were in the mix as well. So, when we finally got a day off together, I booked a day at the spa for Sara. I met her after her day of pampering at a really nice restaurant in that same hotel for a romantic dinner."
Sara just listened, eyes wide, a slight smile on her face as Grissom spoke. Had he thought this out? Who knew he could be so romantic? When he finished telling them how he had the waiter deliver the box on a desert plate instead of desert, the women in the room let out a round of "aww" and "so romantic". Sara squeezed his hand and smiled.
"That's so romantic, Gilbert." Grissom smiled at his mom. "So, have you two set a date?"
Grissom turned to Sara. They were both stammering out a response and finally Sara answered with "Next Fall". Grissom let out a deep breath and lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it in appreciation. Sara just smiled at him and then turned to the three women who were hanging on every word and interaction they shared.
"I'm so happy that Gilbert has finally decided to ask you to marry him, I know he'd been thinking about it all these years." Grissom's mom told Sara.
"Oh, really? I mean, yeah. I'm glad too." Sara turned to Grissom who was presently staring at a picture on the wall behind his Mother.
"Yeah, we are too, Sara." Debbie took over where her Aunt left off. "I was beginning to think that "Sara" was someone he made up to keep us off his back." They all chuckled and Sara shifted nervously in her seat. Grissom wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to his side. Sara leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "we need to talk" into his ear. He just smiled and gave her a reassuring hug.
"You two are so cute together." Aunt Beth observed.
"Thanks, Aunt Beth."
Debbie got up and collected the now empty mugs of cocoa from everyone and deposited them in the kitchen. She entered the room yawning. "I think its time to turn in." The elder women agreed. Grissom gave his mom a hug and kiss on the cheek. They then headed up the stairs declaring "good night" in unison to the remaining two women.
When the door to their room was shut, Sara began to pace. Grissom just gathered his toiletries and pajamas and headed to the bathroom, deciding she needed a few minutes alone to calm down. Sara sat on the bed and put her head in her hands. How did she get herself into this? What exactly had Grissom been telling his family about them? WHY did he choose to use her in his lies? Sara put the rest of her clothes away in the top drawer of the dresser and began to put her pajamas on when Grissom entered the room. "SHIT! GRISSOM!" Sara hurriedly pulled on her t-shirt.
"Sara, I am so sorry." Grissom stood facing the closed bedroom door. "Let me know when you are decent."
"You can turn around." She sat on the side of the bed, her back to him. Grissom put his things away and sat down next to Sara.
"So, you've been using me as an excuse for a while now." He didn't miss the accusing tone of her voice.
"Yeah." He sat staring at his hands. "I'm sorry about a lot of things, Sara. Im sorry I didn't tell you about my mother's deafness. I didn't tell you about the sleeping arrangements. I am so sorry I didn't tell you about the lies."
"I don't like surprises Grissom." Sara crawled into bed and pulled the covers tightly around her, her back to Grissom. "Good Night."
Grissom sighed and turned off the light and crawled in next to Sara. He lay flat on his back staring at the ceiling.
"I'm not mad, Grissom." Sara rolled over to her back, staring at the same patterns on the ceiling as Grissom. He turned his head to look at her frofile. He sat up, leaning back against the headboard.
"I didn't want to upset you, Sara. I was thinking of my mother and myself. I never thought it would end up like this. My mom......dying....and having to lie." His voice was breaking. He was holding back tears. Sara sat up next to him. She reached over with her left hand to wipe the lone tear from Grissom's cheek.
Grissom turned to look into Sara's eyes. He put his hand on hers and brought it to his lips, softly kissing the palm of her hand. Suddenly Sara was there, straddling his lap, pressing her soft flesh against his. "Sara...."
"Ssshhh. Don't think, Gil. Just go with it." Sara pressed her lips to his and slowly began to drive him out of his mind with her lips and tongue. She pressed closer, feeling him against her center. When Grissom moaned, she moved her hips, causing him to press her closer, his hands on her backside.
"Oh, Gil!" Sara moaned out loud. Grissom chuckled, pulling away his lips from hers for a moment.
"I love hearing you moan my name." He moved his hips against hers to prove his point. When Sara opened her mouth he swallowed her words with a deep, sloppy kiss."But I don't really think my Aunt and cousin need to know what we are doing."
"Gil" she whispered this time, smiling at him. "You ok with this?"
"Sara." He leaned his forehead against hers, panting for air. "God, I miss kissing you."
"Then why did you stop?" Sara pulled herself off of his lap and sat down next to him on the bed.
"Let's not go over this now, Sara. I'm too tired, too emotional." He looked over at her. She was still angry, whether she wanted to admit or not. She had gone back to her original position, curled up facing away from him.
"Im tired too, Grissom. So tired of it all."
Grissom stared up at the ceiling again. Somehow he had to make things right with Sara. But first, they had to make it through the next few days. He closed his eyes and sleep finally over took him.
Debbie sat up on the edge of her bed. She hadn't meant to hear what was going on in the next room, but apparently the walls weren't so thick. At first, she heard Sara's rather loud moaning and calling out Gils's name. She chuckled. Then she heard Gil's distinct voice saying he "missed kissing her". Their voices were hushed but she heard Sara say she was "tired of it all". Apparently everything was not well in paradise. By the time they left for Vegas, Debbie vowed that Gil and Sara would be happy and have a date set for their wedding.
A/N: Thanks for reading! And thanks for all the wonderful reviews! A few of you mentioned Ruth saying something about Gil being Sara's father. I just put that in to feed into Grissom's fears. So it might come up again! (Hint Hint). Hope I didn't disappoint. Just a little angst, but not much. Please leave a review! Wendy :O)