Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: Sorry it's a little short, but I'm exhausted. This will be the last update of the night, and it isn't the direction I expected to go next... but once I read reviews to the last chapter, Jace kept yelling at me. Soo, this is his response to accusations against his manhood. :)

Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Nine:

I woke up early the next day feeling very… conflicted. But I was excited. That was one emotion that was clear and unobscured—I couldn't wait for the day ahead of me. I showered, brushing my hair and throwing it into a ponytail while wet, hoping to prevent the inevitable frizzing it would do in the heat as it dried, and put on a swimming suit under shorts and a tank top. I sunscreened while Jace was still in bed, snoring softly. …Which struck me as odd, considering that he was usually an early riser. …Maybe his movie had gone late.

I went to go have breakfast in the main dining room, thinking that I would see Gil when he came in… but he didn't come. It was nearing nine thirty and I had been thinking for the last hour of how I might be able to convince someone on staff to tell me what room they were in, hoping he had just overslept, when Jace came in… looking, for the first time in a day or so, well rested. He'd showered, shaved… there were no bags underneath his eyes. And the shirt he wore was just fitted enough to remind me of everything I knew that was beneath it.

He sat across from me, remarking that he was surprised I was still here. He asked about my night, about breakfast, about the plans for the day…and when ten thirty came and passed, he asked if Gil shouldn't be here yet.

"Yeah, he should. …I don't have any idea which room is his. I left them at the bar, last night… it's possible they're sleeping in."

"Or having morning sex." He countered off-handedly, which made me snap my head back to face him. He shrugged. "It could happen… Catherine can't be all talk, can she?"

Yes, she can, I thought to myself. That was something I should definitely tell Jace. I mean, wasn't… wasn't I being deceptive, not telling him? Then again, I'd never told him about kissing Gil. Or, well, Gil kissing me… and me not pushing him away. Why? Because it didn't change anything. And this information didn't either—he knew that Gil was pursuing me. His relationship status was of no issue.

…There was really nothing I could do but wait. I mean, this was the most obvious place to meet. And if we both went searching for each other, we'd probably never find each other. One of us had to stay in one place. I ordered another beverage, and then an appetizer when I got bored enough to fool myself into thinking that I was hungry again. I justified it by saying that I was eating for two.

And in the mean time, Jace was talking to me… talking about how he'd seen on the information channel, last night, about all these things to do on the island… there were ferries to other islands, nature walks, glass-bottomed boat rides. His enthusiasm was catching. I started talking about how fun these things sounded with fervor… so when noon came and passed, I sighed and suggested we see if we could get on one of those boat rides.

I had been stood up. Just like at the wedding. Dr. Grissom was apparently not very reliable.

We went onto the island, and though it was not the thrilling, excitement-filled day I had been anticipating with Gi—Dr. Grissom—it was fun. We watched the wildlife beneath the boat, marveling at the marine iguanas and the bright undersea world, and when that was done, he suggested we go to the beach for a swim. We ended up joining a volleyball game that some other tourists had started, laughing and teasingly taunting one another.

My team won, and I felt amazing. Jace and I hadn't had this much… fun… in so long. He worked so much now, and he was so tired when he came home… it seemed like sex had been our only form of recreation for so long, and it was nice to spend time with him, laugh with him, in such a natural way, without any pressure. We strolled along the beach as the sun was setting, and when he took my hand, I let him. This was why I'd chosen Jace in the first place—he was reliable. He was warm and comfortable and always there… and Dr. Grissom wasn't always there. In fact, he seemed noticeably absent at the most important times.

"Sara…" Jace began, as we were walking back to the ship.

"Hmm?" I asked, my shoes in one hand and his hand in the other, my eyes still focused on looking for shells.

"I, uh… I'm going to quit my job. If I can get internet access on the ship, I'll do it tonight. Otherwise, I'll do it from the island tomorrow. I… I just wanted to make sure that I cleared it with you, before I did. …We're partners."

There was that pang of guilt again. I swallowed. "I, uh… That won't make this better, Jace. I mean, okay, it's a start but… the real problem is that you did it in the first place. You lied and you… didn't care about those things you knew they were doing. Not seeming ungrateful to people who were practically strangers at the time we discussed your other options took precedence over the valid concerns of your wife."

"But I can change, honey. It… I really did care, I just didn't think there was anything I could do about it. …I was wrong. …I'm going to try to be better. I'm going to try to deserve you… and the baby."

My hand moved to my abdomen, briefly, and I sighed. "I'll… think about it."

He beamed. "Thank you! Honey, I… I'm going to do whatever I can do to make this up to you. I promise!"

I nodded, absently, cursing the pang in my chest that told me I was settling… again. This was what I should want to hear. Fixing the problem and moving on as… a family. But it wasn't what I wanted to hear, and I knew it.

We changed for dinner and almost as soon as we entered the dining room, Gil was rushing up to me, Catherine in tow. "Sara!" He looked frantic. I frowned.

"…Are you okay?"

"No! I… I'm so sorry. I don't even know how it happened…"

I crossed my arms. "…You're not really making sense, Dr. Grissom."

At the return of his title, his eyes snapped to me in concern. "No, Sara, I… we were locked in our room. The door wouldn't open! We kept banging on it and calling down for help, but it was eleven thirty by the time they sent anyone, and it took them two hours to get the door open, and then I couldn't find you anywhere! …They don't even know what happened… they said it looks like someone messed with it, but they don't know how that's even possible."

"Oh." I replied, letting out a breath. That changed my view of him significantly… maybe he wasn't so unreliable. Maybe I shouldn't have spent the day with Jace when I had only really done so out of hurt that he'd stood me up again. …Maybe he hadn't stood me up in the first place. What had he been trying to say about the wedding?

"Listen," he frowned. "Let me make it up to you… Can we try to do everything we had planned for today tomorrow?"

"…Sure." I said, my mind reeling again. He grinned.

"Oh, good. Thank you! I was… so upset. I'm sorry if the day was ruined…"

Jace stepped up, his hand falling gently on my lower back. "It wasn't. I was more than happy to take Sara out for the day. …Honey? Should we head to our table?"

"Hmm? Oh… I… Sure. I guess." I frowned. Something just felt… off.

Gil spoke up. "What about… after dinner? We could play pool? …For old time's sake?"

"Yeah… that'll be fun. I'll… meet you after dinner."

"Great." He said, beaming at me. I let Jace guide me over, realizing with some amount of surprise that I was famished… and that once I'd finished eating a meal that could probably feed three, I could hardly keep my eyes open. It had actually been a rather long, exhausting day. I tried to go play pool, but it was a struggle… and by the sixth time I yawned, he gently told me that I was exhausted and that I should get some sleep.

He walked me back to my room, looking a little disappointed but saying in a heartening fashion that at least I would be well-rested for tomorrow. I hugged him gently goodnight, and disappeared into the room, collapsing in bed without even changing into pajamas I was so tired. That was true though… at least tomorrow I'd be well rested.