Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: First of all, I want to thank JBCC who inspired a section of this chapter, and secondly, I want to warn my lovely readers that Catherine is a little... obscene... in this chapter. I debated not having it at all, but... it was too funny! :) So, read with caution.

Chapter Thirty Seven:

The way Sara reacted to me told me several things—1) She still wanted me. Bad. 2) She wasn't ready to leave Jace. At least not yet. 3) She more than likely had not been the one who lied about Jace knowing about us. Otherwise, why wouldn't she have kept up the lie?

So I needed to approach this carefully. I needed to get close to her again, ease back into her life. If I threw everything on her at once, she would run away like she had last night. …Because she knew that she wanted me, and she didn't know what to do with the information. She wasn't yet at the point where she would consider leaving him… and while I knew that the longer I waited, the more likely she was to forgive him, if I rushed it, she might just rush back to him because he was safe.

Hadn't she done as much in San Francisco?

She ate breakfast with Jace, though I watched them from the side of my eyes and it did not appear that she was yet speaking to him. Once she was done, she came over to our table, inquiring what we were doing for the day and if we minded if she tagged along. I was worried Catherine would say something about having 'alone time,' but instead she welcomed Sara warmly. I was certain, then, that my words had sunk in and that she would not be so… Catherine.

I was wrong, of course. We had a short wait once we were actually in Puerto Ayora while the ship docked and anchored and… did all the other things ships have to do. We sat on the deck, in the sunlight, Catherine once again in shorts and a skimpy little tank top. She already had a fruity drink complete with umbrella in front of her, despite it being just past ten in the morning, and she was talking about everything she'd read about the town. She wanted to explore, visit shops, get something cool for Lindsey…

Sara, in shorts just as short as Catherine's and a far-more-modest t-shirt, sipped her lemonade and joined Catherine in conversation, saying that she'd love to find something for the baby—some sort of keepsake for his or her first vacation. Catherine smiled warmly at her, and I watched in surprise as the two women seemed to have a moment in which they honestly connected. It made me feel… almost lonely.

I mean, the two women who mean the most to me in the world (with the exception, of course, of my mother) were having this moment over motherhood, and not only did I not understand it, but I had no place in it. I was father to neither child, or to any child. I drank deeply from the soda in front of me, hoping the subject would change soon.

It did, but it made me wish we could go back to the motherhood discussion—Jace approached our table, bearing a refill of Sara's lemonade and the request that he be allowed to explore the city with us today. I wanted to say no, but I didn't want to raise his suspicions… Catherine tossed her hair and batted her eyelashes. "Well… if it's okay with Sara, I think it'd be a pleasure to have you…"

I looked at her in alarm at her words before it clicked—Sara was the one he was really asking. And if she felt threatened by Catherine spending time with Jace, she'd be more likely to tell him no. I turned to see what she was thinking, and though she had scowled at Catherine's words, she had her eyes focused on Jace in a way that was not soft, but not nearly as hard as I expected. …What was she thinking?

She sighed softly, and her voice was soft as well. "You can come, Jace, but… this doesn't mean we're better. It just means… it means that I'm a sucker and I feel guilty making you do everything alone. So don't expect anything."

Jace beamed, Catherine put on a grin that did not hide the way her eyes turned down in a frown, and once again I drank deeply. Couldn't he just disappear for a day or two?

Despite his presence, the day was surprisingly enjoyable. Catherine dragged us through innumerable shops, though it seemed like after the first twenty minutes, she had developed an eye for which ones would only have cheesy t-shirts and lighters and which ones would have more unique items. Jace followed Sara around like a puppy, but she hardly spoke to him. Instead, she went back and forth between Catherine and I, remarking on a set of Christmas ornaments made entirely out of seashells or on cute onesies with clever phrases.

We went back on board the ship for lunch, mostly because Jace threw a fit about Sara not eating anything local… and once he brought it up, she agreed, placing a slender hand over her still mostly flat stomach. Which, you know, I guess makes sense. …It would kill Sara, if something happened to the baby. I wouldn't want that in a million years.

It was when we were walking back, intent on seeing some of the local sights, that the most notable thing of the day occurred. Catherine had managed to distance Jace from Sara, asking him about any number of things—cars, his work, his workout routine—and Jace seemed to like having a beautiful woman flirt with him, since his wife was giving him the cold shoulder. Sara, focusing on reapplying sunscreen as we walked ahead of them, didn't even seem to notice, but I was listening.

"I can't believe Gil is planning to go off without you," he said, when she informed him that she was probably going to be spending the next day on a local beach sunbathing, because I would be off searching for bugs or something else 'science-y.' I scowled at this, not liking him flirting with Catherine, even if she wasn't really mine. It wasn't jealousy—it wasn't even remotely what I felt when I thought of him with Sara—it was just minor irritation. I felt like the man was slighting me, because he was clearly under the impression that he was flirting with my girlfriend in front of me.

The fact that she wasn't didn't mean it was any less of an affront.

She laughed. "Oh, you have no idea the things I put up with for that man… He's got this fetal-pig-in-a-jar in his office… the guys call it 'Miss Piggy.' Oh, and then his spider… I like to tease him that I have to speak in Latin to get him hard." Oh, god, my ears were burning. Hadn't she said she was going to tone it down? Like the 'Little Gilly' comment hadn't been enough…

Jace snorted, a little too maliciously. He was not laughing in a good-natured way, the way Catherine was. …Maybe he was starting to resent the time Sara was spending with me instead of him. "There's something wrong with that… beautiful woman like you, he should have his hands all over you constantly. Instead, he seems like he isn't sure he wants to touch you."

I could tell, without turning around, the expression on her face. She had laughed, but it had the ring of falseness—I knew her eyes would be a little harder, a little narrower. Catherine was the definition of a Mama Bear, and apparently, in this instance, I might as well be Lindsey. "Believe me, he's just old-fashioned. He doesn't like PDA. But when we're alone…"

"You have to blow the dust off his candle before lighting it?"

I wanted to turn around at that statement, but Sara's left hand had just dipped into her now-generous cleavage, rubbing sunscreen in, and I didn't want to have to tear my eyes from the show just to defend my honor. Catherine seemed to be doing just fine, and I wasn't supposed to be listening…

"Excuse me," she said, her voice rising, drawing Sara's attention away from those smooth, silky mounds to the pair behind us, "but you're not exactly in your early twenties either. Gil is a fantastic lover!"

Jace had the decency to look embarrassed, but he must have been feeling the strain of Sara's silent treatment, because I had never before seen the man even a little mean, and yet he didn't back down. "Yeah, once he gets himself worked up looking at his insects…"

She tossed her hair. "Do you know what his nickname for me is? In private?"

Jace's eyes flickered to Sara, who was now turned around, watching him with her hands on her hips. He wilted. "No… No, I don't and I'm sorry, I shouldn't hav—"

"Cuddle Muff." Her eyes flashed, and though I wasn't sure I knew what she was getting at, I knew I wanted to stop it.

"Catherine…" I warned, but she ignored me.

"It's a play on my pet name, 'Cuddle Muffin,' except it's referencing a very specific part of my body…"

"Catherine!" I said, but she rushed on.

"Because, with or without bugs, he loves to bury his face in my—"

"Catherine!" I said, this time catching her by the arm and dragging her backwards, away from the pair. But no, no, she wasn't done.

"And from what I hear, Sara introduced him to something San Francisco is famous for!"

I didn't understand the reference… trolley cars? Rice-a-Roni? Gay People? The bridge?

"What's that?" Jace asked, and I pulled Catherine further away, finally out of sight.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" I demanded. She blew upwards, causing her bangs to move out of her eyes.

"I was defending your honor, Gil. You could say thank you!"

"Reminding Sara of all the things she thinks we do behind closed doors isn't going to help me! …What was that San Francisco comment?"

She snorted, and a little blush filled her cheeks. I mean, honestly, I've known the woman a long, long time, and I have never seen her blush. "Oh… You probably don't want to know. That comment… was probably crossing the line a little bit."

"You think? I don't know what you were going to say, but either way it implied that something happened!"

"It didn't?" She challenged, and I huffed.

"He doesn't need to know that!"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll back off. I just… I got defensive. I didn't like what he was implying. …Only I get to do that."

I sighed, releasing her. "…Do we catch up with them or… what? I, god, I don't even know how to handle this."

She giggled. "Follow my lead, hot stuff."

I groaned out loud and she tossed her hair again, leading us back out to where Sara was leaning against a railing, waiting for us, and Jace was pacing angrily, clearly not pleased but getting no reaction out of Sara. She smiled at both of them.

"…I'm really sorry for the outburst. I haven't been getting nearly as much of my beauty sleep as usual on this trip. Jace, honey, I'm sorry I went off on you… Next time you rudely insult my lover and his abilities, I won't lash out, I'll just pity Sara. Jealousy breeds enmity, after all." He opened his mouth to respond, but she'd already moved over to the brunette who had her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the cement beneath her feet. "Sara, you know, I think I saw a mobile in one of the windows we passed… maybe you could find something for the baby in that store…"

And just like that, we were walking again. Except, the women were leading, and Jace was back with me. I wanted to avoid a confrontation altogether, but not to the extent that I would be willing to noticeably speed up to avoid him. And a confrontation seemed to be what he was looking for.

"…What did she mean? What did Sara show you in San Francisco?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "She was being vulgar, trying to upset you. Sara didn't show me anything. …She's always been very faithful to you." I realized too late that there was a bit of an edge to my voice, and it gave me away. When he looked up at me, I knew that he finally saw some of what was going on. He realized I wanted her, maybe even realized that I loved her.

"…She's married. She's my wife and she loves me. We… we're going to get through this, and in the meantime, you just need to stay away from her!" His voice was low, so that the women wouldn't notice, but although I'm a man who avoids confrontation, I don't hesitate to address it when it occurs.

"…Well, considering that I am not your wife, I'm not really concerned with what you think I should be doing. And, if I'm not mistaken… telling Sara who she can associate with after the comments about the money and the bed… might just clinch your worst fears. So… what exactly are you going to do about it?"

He leveled me with a long glare, and I gave him an enigmatic smirk and a shrug and sped up to walk with the girls in time to hear Catherine ask, "Do you think they sell fish tacos anywhere here? I mean, I know they originated in San Francisco, but you'd think that it would have caught on, right?" The grin on Catherine's face was devilish, and the surprise on Sara's was… telling.

Apparently that was what San Francisco was famous for. …How very classy, Catherine.