A/N: It's another short one, but, again, I'm really happy with where it ends. I hope you like it!
Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Crime Scene, 147 Devon Street, Kendell
"You guys are going to think I'm a terrible person for saying this, but I love it when things like this happen in the affluent suburbs."
Sara and Greg looked at Nick as though he had lost his mind.
"You enjoy a double homicide?" Sara asked incredulously.
"I enjoy that it's not happening downtown," Nick said. He grinned. "Score one for us city folk."
Greg shook his head. "You, sir, are insane."
"Maybe." Nick looked around. "So, this is Kendell. Isn't there a palace around here somewhere?"
"Kendell Hall," Sara and Greg said in unison.
"I thought –"
"Wait a minute!" Greg interrupted Nick. He whirled around to stare at Sara. "You've been there!"
"Greg –"
"No, you must have been!" Greg exclaimed. "There is no way that anti-monarchist Sara, who acted like she didn't know anything about the Prince of Graccia Award, would have any idea that there is even a palace in Kendell, let alone what it's called, unless she had been there!"
"All right, fine, I've been there," Sara said testily, blushing to the roots of her hair. "Can we get back to work now, please?"
"No way! I want details! What is it like inside?"
Sara considered the question. "Museum-like," she finally said.
Greg shook his head. "Not good enough. I could have guessed that much."
"You've never been inside the palace, Greg?" Nick asked with a grin, thoroughly amused by the conversation.
"It's a private residence, Nick. It's never been open to the public."
"Ah," Nick said.
"Look, Greg, I really don't remember much about the décor," Sara said. "We had dinner outside."
Greg looked as though his head was going to explode. Sara was saved from further questioning by the arrival of Brass.
"Sara, go process inside," he said. "Nick, go give her a hand."
"Okay."
Brass followed them into the house, where the coroner was just finishing with the bodies. Nick approached David, but Brass put his hand on Sara's shoulder to stop her from joining them.
"You do not leave this house until I say so."
Sara frowned. "What?"
He stepped closer. "There are quite a few concerned citizens out there who seem to be taking quite a few pictures."
"That's not unusual," Sara said. "Did you want one of us to collect their phones?"
"They're not taking pictures of the crime scene, exactly."
"Jim, just get to the point," Sara said, quickly becoming annoyed.
"They're taking pictures of you, Sara."
"But, why would they …?" Sara trailed off as understanding dawned.
"You're high-profile now, remember?" Jim said.
She stared at him.
"From now on, when you're in the field, you only do interiors, okay? And, do your best to make sure that no one who isn't part of the investigation knows you're at the scene."
Sara nodded dumbly.
Gil had warned her extensively about the attention she would get from the media. She had never expected that she would receive just as much attention from ordinary people.
Royal Residence, Kendell Hall, Kendell
It was with a great deal of effort that Sara pushed aside what had happened at the crime scene. She had to shake it off – she had a big evening planned. Or, rather, Gil had a big evening planned for them.
"Are you okay?" Gil asked as the car pulled to a stop in front of Catherine's house. "You seem a little off."
"Not really," Sara admitted. "It's just some work stuff, though."
"Can you talk about it?"
"Honestly, Gil, I'd rather not." She sighed. "Really, you don't need to worry about it."
He looked at her with concern. "Are you sure?"
She nodded as Clark opened the door for them. They climbed out of the car, and Gilbert offered Sara his arm to lead her up the walk to the front door.
"It's just going to be Catherine tonight," he said. "Warrick and Lindsey are visiting family."
"Okay."
Gil looked at her. "Are you sure you're all right?"
She smiled. "I'm fine, Gil. Are you? You seem a little nervous."
He smiled slightly. "She's my sister, Sara. I just really hope you'll like her."
Sara's smile widened. "Aren't you worried about her liking me?"
He squeezed the hand that rested on his arm and smiled at her. "No. I know she'll love you."
With that exchange, Sara was finally able to brush aside what had happened at work. In its place, however, she felt a sudden nervousness about meeting Catherine.
Time to panic, however, was limited. Within moments, they were walking into the palace. A servant met them at the front door.
"Hello, Your Highness," she said, dropping into a curtsey.
"Hello, Patty," he replied. "How are you?"
"Fine, sir," she said. "The Princess is waiting in the library. Shall I take you there?"
"No, I can find it," he said, smiling. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Your Highness."
Gil turned to Sara. "Shall we?"
She nodded, once again stunned by the way he navigated this world that was so foreign to her.
Gil steered her through a maze of hallways – for the second time, she failed to notice the details as they walked – and stopped before a partially open door. He looked at her intently.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes," Sara said.
"Okay." Gil opened the door and led her into the library.
"Hello!" Catherine jumped up from her chair and stepped forward, hand outstretched to Sara. "I'm Catherine."
Sara shook her hand, remembering at the last second that she should have curtsied to the Princess. Before she could drop into a curtsey, however, Catherine pulled her across the room.
"Gil tells me that you like books," she said. "I wanted to meet you in here so I could show you this. We just got it last week."
Sara looked down at the desk to see an antiquated Bible.
"It's from before Gutenberg," Catherine said. "Can you believe it? Monks actually copied every letter, every illustration. It's amazing."
"Beautiful," Sara breathed, wanting to touch the manuscript, but afraid to do so. She looked up at Catherine. "I'm Sara, by the way."
Catherine laughed. "I'm sorry. I guess I came on a little strong. This is a new experience for me, too. Gil hasn't ever brought anyone home for me to meet before."
Sara arched an eyebrow and looked from Catherine to Gil. He shrugged helplessly.
"I've been excited to meet you for quite a while," Catherine said. She smiled. "I've never seen Gil like this about a woman before."
Sara blushed, unsure of how to answer that. "I'm very honored to meet you," she finally said.
Catherine looked mildly annoyed for a moment, as quickly as the look appeared, it vanished. She smiled. "Well. Shall we have dinner on the patio? I know Gil likes to eat outside."
"Wait," Sara said, realizing where she had likely erred. "I want to be clear with you, and I don't think I was a moment ago."
Catherine arched an eyebrow in question.
"I didn't mean that I'm honored to meet you because of your …" Sara paused and took a deep breath. "I'm honored to meet Gil's sister. That's all."
Catherine looked at her for a moment, then grinned. "You were right, Gil," she said, still holding Sara's eyes. "She's special."
"I told you," he said.
Catherine grabbed her arm. "Come on. Let's go have dinner."
Catherine was at once bubbly and forceful, a combination that Sara found to be rather baffling. All the same, she liked Gil's sister very much. She could easily see why he said that she had less security than he did because of her own whims. She clearly was not one who would stand for having the terms of her life dictated to her.
"Thank you," Sara said as they prepared to leave after dinner. "Everything was amazing."
Catherine smiled. "I'm glad we finally had a chance to meet," she said. "I have a feeling we're going to be friends."
Sara smiled. "I hope so." She had a feeling she was going to need another ally when dealing with Gil's family.
Catherine looked from Sara to her brother. "Hang on to this one, Gil," she said. "You need her."
He smiled and took Sara's hand. "I fully intend to."
After giving hugs to both Gil and a rather surprised Sara, Catherine sent them on their way.
"That wasn't so terrible, was it?" Sara asked playfully as she and Gil walked back to his waiting car.
He gave her a sidelong glance. "No."
Sara shook her head and smiled. "You're allowed to calm down now, you know."
He smiled slightly. "I'm glad you and Catherine got along so well," he said. "She certainly speaks her mind, so if she didn't like you, we'd both know already."
"Well, then, I'm glad I passed the test." She frowned. "You still look upset."
They climbed into the car, both greeting Clark and Harold. Gil raised the barrier between them and the two men, and looked at Sara.
"What?" she asked, a bit concerned by his intense stare.
"When we got here …" He trailed off and looked away from her.
"Hey," Sara said, putting her hand over his. "Tell me."
His face showed his inner struggle for a moment, then cleared slightly as he made a decision.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
Sara was rather taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"When we got here, you told me something was bothering you, but you wouldn't tell me what it was other than that it had to do with work." He sighed. "I come from a long, sad history of arranged marriages, Sara. My family tree is a long line of failed marriages that never ended because royals can't get divorced. So, they've done the next best thing: staying married for the sake of the crown, but having affairs with the ones they truly loved."
Sara nodded slowly. She had known that – history was full of the openly secret affairs the royal family had had.
"I don't want that life," Gil said. "I've never wanted that life. The one thing in our lives that I've always resisted was arranged marriage. Catherine has supported me – it's probably the main reason I've been able to stay single for so long. But now …
"I meant what I said to Catherine," he continued. "I don't want to let you go. I want this relationship to be strong, Sara. But, if you're not willing to share yourself with me – especially when it's something that's so obviously upsetting you – then, I don't …" He trailed off again and looked away from her.
Tears filled Sara's eyes at his words, at the depth of emotion in his voice. For the first time in her life, she felt truly loved.
"I was photographed at a crime scene," she said, her voice raspy with unshed tears. "It's not the paparazzi that's following me, it's ordinary citizens. And, because of all the extra attention, I'm not allowed to work high-profile cases. That's been the rule since the announcement. But, after what happened this morning, Jim said I'm not allowed to work outside at a crime scene – today, I had to stay inside the house. And, I'm not allowed to tell anyone who isn't directly involved in my cases that I'm at a crime scene." She exhaled. "I don't regret anything, Gil. I really, truly don't. It's just impacting my life in ways that I didn't anticipate."
Gil squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, Sara. I'm sorry that I'm causing you so much pain."
Sara's wide eyes snapped up to his face. "What do you mean? You're not doing anything! Gil, you are the one thing that has never caused me pain."
"If it weren't for me – for who I am – this wouldn't be happening to you."
Sara shook her head. "I don't care."
Gil frowned. "But, you said …"
"Well, yes, of course I care about what's happening at work. But, when I consider the alternative …" She smiled. "My job is important to me, Gil, but you're the one I love, not it. I …"
Sara trailed off, her eyes widening with the realizing of her admission. She didn't have a chance to say another word; Gil's lips claimed hers in the sweetest, gentlest kiss she had ever had.
"I love you, too," he said hoarsely, kissing her again. "That's why this is so important to me, Sara. I don't want to screw this up."
She took his face between her hands and looked deeply into his eyes. "We won't screw this up," she said. "I promise."
