Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: ...Everyone thinks that we're winding down, huh? This is the end, wrap it up, throw in some smut and some fluff, a little drama, and skip into our happily ever after...?

So sorry to disappoint. Those of you who wanted a reason to hate Jace... Careful what you wish for?

Chapter Forty Nine:

The next morning, waking up with my arms around her naked form, there was no awkwardness. It was perfect. I ran my hands over her body, delighting that I was allowed to, kissing her collar bone, nibbling on her ear lobe, causing her to moan softly and roll against me. "…God, I'm sore. Are you this sore?"

I chuckled. "Probably more so… and I was hoping you'd make it worse."

Her eyes opened a crack, squinting at me in the very early morning light—we'd fallen asleep in the early evening after all. "Hmm?"

"…You said something about the shower…"

A grin slipped across her still sleepy features. "…Are you insatiable, Dr. Grissom?" She teased me, but I frowned.

"…Please, call me Gil. …You called me 'Dr. Grissom' when were weren't…" Her fingers came up to my lips, stopping me.

"I won't… I think I'd cry if I had to hear you call me 'Mrs. Wendt' again…"

"Speaking of…" I said, frowning and drawing her left hand up between us, spying the large rock there. "…Are you going to… stop wearing this?"

She grinned, reaching up and tugging it off and laying it on the nightstand. "Better?"

I kissed her finger. "Much… I can get you one to replace it. I… Well, I… I have one." She raised an eyebrow and I stopped and took a breath in an attempt to stop my stuttering. "I have… my grandmother's. But if you'd rather pick one out…"

She grinned. "…Are you asking me to marry you, Gil?"

I blushed a little, realizing belatedly that I had jumped the gun. A little sheepishly I smiled, "Well… I think I proposed to you over a year ago… You just have yet to give me an answer."

God, she was beautiful when she smiled, but especially this way… sleepy, naked, comfortable, content, naked, warm, cuddy, naked… Did I mention that she's naked? She smiled at me in just that way and gave me a lazy, contented blink. "Yes."

So simple, so quick… so perfect. I pulled her close to me, kissing her, drawing her body against mine… and before I knew it, we were stumbling out of bed, half-kissing and half-chasing each other into the shower where she pushed me up against the wall. "…I'm sorry for…"

"I know." I said, not needing to hear it. She'd been in a terrible position, and the tough stuff was far from over… but we were on the other side now. I turned the water on, cringing briefly until it turned warm, enjoying her soft shriek as she tried to leap out of the cold spray and found the shower in no way big enough to not be in the spray, even if she'd been in here alone.

I caught her arms and pulled her against me when it had warmed up, kissing her softly and then turning her until she was against the wall. In a shower this small, there was really only one way for this to be done. I slid my hands to her thighs and felt her tense, bracing herself for the lift. I smirked. "…Don't you trust me?"

She relaxed. "Absolutely."

I gently lifted her up, sliding her up the wall and bracing her there, shifting my hips just slightly until I was slipping inside her. She was wet, though not as much as she had been the night before. She gripped my shoulders tightly, "…Go slow."

I frowned. "I'm sorry… Does it hurt?" I wanted to pull back, but she gripped me tighter.

"No… but if you go hard or fast right away… it will. I'm not used to… You're very…"

"What?" I said, frowning, and she gave me a sly smile.

"Big, Gil. You've got a big caterpillar…"

I cracked a grin and she giggled like a little girl, clutching me to her and letting the sound change into a husky giggle that could only come from a woman. God, I loved her. So I told her so. And then I proceeded to love her under the hot water until she was screaming out my name.

Once again, I hadn't brought clothes. I put on the sweaty clothes from yesterday, kissing her deeply, telling her I'd meet her for breakfast in an hour, because we had woken up rather early and, despite our time-consuming activities, we'd still beat Catherine by almost an hour if we showed up any sooner. When I went to my room, I was whistling. Yeah, there was still Jace to deal with and no doubt a certain amount of turmoil over the baby, but I wasn't worried. We'd get through it, together.

The knock that came on my door shortly after Gil left had me laughing. Though only clad in a towel, I swung the door open smiling, "…Back for more already?" My jaw dropped when I saw my husband standing there, looking distraught.

I expected screaming, and honestly felt fear for it—I had been witness to my share of violent fights, and they were probably the reason I had such a temper myself… I had grown up thinking it was normal to be unable to control your anger. But it didn't come. He looked… miserable. And when he spoke, he sounded like a man broken.

"…Can I come in, Sara?"

I tightened the towel around myself, feeling self-conscious despite having been naked in front of Jace more times than I could count… and I was good at math. I stepped back, allowing him to enter, thinking I had been foolish to think I could put this off until I was ready to face him, but also thinking that I sincerely wished Gil were still here with me, for this.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, turning back to face me and catching sight of the ring on the nightstand in the process. "…You're not wearing your wedding ring."

I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling exposed. I decided on honestly—he deserved as much. "…No."

He swallowed. "So it's… more than just sex." His voice trembled, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Despite how mad I'd been for his deception, I couldn't feel that anger now—I had hurt him, badly.

I looked down at my bare feet. "…Yes, it's more than sex. It… wasn't even sex… until—"

"I don't want to know." He said, a little harshly, but I could forgive him that. He moved to sit on the bed and then stopped, taking in the tousled covers and looking repulsed. He moved instead to one of the two chairs in the room and gestured that I should do the same. I glanced around, thinking to find a complimentary robe or something, and came up empty. I sighed and moved to sit down, keeping my arms across my chest.

He watched me for a long moment. "…I thought that this was what you wanted. I mean, Sara, I… I tried very hard to make you happy. You wanted a baby, but not before we were financially secure…I gave us security. You didn't like the idea of taking too much of the pie, so we gave away everything we didn't need, with the exception of starting a college fund for the baby. …We got the house you wanted, to have the family you wanted. …I tried to give you everything you could dream of."

I felt tears at the back of my eyes. "…You didn't do anything wrong, Jace. It… I mean, I was… really mad about the deception. I still would be… but I've hurt you too, now, and it's hard to be mad when I feel so guilty… Jace, I… This didn't happen because of anything you failed to do or provide me with…"

"I… thought you were happy. I thought we were happy."

"We were. …I was."

I expected him to question what happened, but he didn't. He just nodded. "…And what about our baby? What's… going to happen, with this?"

I frowned. "…Lots of parents have… shared custody. I… won't ask for alimony. I'm sure the courts will determine child support based on your income, but…"

"No."

I blinked. "…I'm sorry?" I asked, confused.

"You're… thinking that you'll move away to Las Vegas. You never wanted to stay in San Francisco long term, and you wouldn't make him give up his job. And… you're thinking that you'll take the baby nine months of the year and I'll get a summer? …Sara, don't think I won't fight for my child."

I swallowed. "…Excuse me?" My arms loosened, slipping down to cover my abdomen as if that could give me an extra level of protection against what he was saying.

"…You cheated on me on our honeymoon. Who do you think they're going to sympathize with more?"

I shook my head. "They… It's rare for a child to be taken from its mother…"

"But it happens. …I could divorce you on the grounds of infidelity today, Sara. I wouldn't have to have you sign it for something like that. …Which would mean that you could take me to court for custody and your half of our possessions… but everything I would make from this point on would be mine. …You've given almost everything to charity. I can pay for lawyers; you can't even pay for your half of our debts…"

My voice was an incredulous whisper. "You would take… my baby… from me?"

He didn't look angry, he didn't rise, he just… looked resigned. "It's my baby too, Sara. I'm not giving it up without a fight, just like you wouldn't. …It's not my first choice, believe me. I would rather stay a family. I don't want our baby growing up in a broken home, spending time away from us… You might not love me as much as you love him, but you do still care for me… I can see it in the softness of your eyes. Sara, you wouldn't feel guilty for sleeping with him if you didn't still love me, a little."

I shook my head. "It's not the same… I've never felt this way."

"…But am I wrong to say you felt this way before you married me?" Silently, I shook my head. His eyes betrayed that this information hurt him, but nothing else did. "…And yet you say that we were happy. We could still be happy. …It wouldn't be the same, but it would be the best thing for our baby."

I stood up then, unable to listen to his craziness anymore, starting to pace the room. "Lawyers or no, you can't believe they'd choose you over me simply because I cheated…"

"No," he shook his head, "I can't."

I dropped my hands in frustration. "Then what are we even talking about?!"

"I think, when the court sees the options… A house in San Francisco, a faithful husband with a lucrative job and a history of charitable donations, who has three sisters in town to act as a support system and parents who would not only be willing but would be able to make the trip if an emergency came up and I needed someone to take the child long-term. Or… an unfaithful younger woman who wants to take the baby to live with her lover in the City of Sin whose job cannot cover her half of the debts, much less support a child. And if she's moving, can she even guarantee that she'll have a stable income? Either way, she'd be a struggling single mother with no support system—how reliable can the new man be if he sleeps with married women? …I'm sure that news would do wonders for his credibility as an expert witness in court…—no family, and a torrid family history, if the court chose to go into it."

I felt the breath rush out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for air. My head was spinning. "…You… wouldn't."

"…There's reason to suggest that you're not mentally stable, Sara. You get into moods where you can't get out of bed for days, and other times you don't sleep for days on end. You were in foster care with mandatory counseling, and you've always been a rather heavy drinker… Your mother died in prison, where she had been because she killed your abusive father. You have a brother who you haven't spoken to since the age of twelve, though not for lack of trying… he's as screwed up as you are, and yet he still doesn't want anything to do with you. …What do you think the courts are going to think of that?"

I shook my head, clutching my abdomen desperately. "You… you wouldn't. Jace… How can you be so… hateful?"

He frowned and moved over to me, attempting to place his hands on my bare shoulders. I flinched away and the pain flashed in his eyes again, but he shook his head. "…I'm not hateful, Sara. I don't want to do any of this… But I'm not going to let you take our baby to Vegas to be raised by another man and see him or her… what? On holidays and summers? Alternate weekends when they're older? That's no kind of life for a child, and it's… unacceptable, for me. I wanted to be a father as much as you wanted to be a mother. …Not only have I lost my wife, but now you expect me to let you take my child without a fight, and it isn't going to happen."

I was gasping for air and this time his hands did fall on my shoulders, guiding me to sit down again. "…I'm really not trying to hurt you or be unfair, honey. …Breathe, Sara." He got me a glass of water, trying to calm me down, and with a minute of measured breathing and not allowing myself to think about what he'd said, I was able to stave off an anxiety attack. When I was calm, he took my hand, gently.

"…Listen to me. I… I'm really trying to be civil, here, okay? …I know that you would do anything for this baby. I mean, Sara, you and I both know that you would kill for it… and that I would too. And if you had some deep, dark family secret of mine that would guarantee I couldn't take your baby to another state and only allow you to see him or her three months out of the year… you can't tell me you wouldn't use it. So I'm just being honest with you… I'm not giving up my child without a fight."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So, I see two options… One, we get a divorce on board here, you go home with him when we dock, and we have a custody battle that I will do my damnedest to win… and in the process I will drag up your secrets, threaten your job, cast doubt on his credibility, and do anything else it takes to be granted my rights as a father… I have the resources, in money, in secrets, in support, in reputation. …It would be a long shot, for you to win. Or, if you don't like that option… you stay with me. We reconcile our differences, pack our bags, fly out today… and give the baby two parents and the life and home he or she deserves."

I was sobbing openly now, but he did not seek to comfort me, and I did not want it. I hated him right now. I wanted to kill him. He sighed softly.

"…You might not love me that way, but you know that we're good partners, in life. We could be happy, or at least content, trying to make the marriage work for the baby. …You can even have your own bedroom, Sara, if you hate me that much for everything I've just said."

I wish I could say I agonized over it forever, the way I did about being with Gil… but Jace knew my weakness. When it came to my child, nothing compared. I loved him as much as I loved my baby, I did… but I could survive without him. I couldn't survive the loss of my child. …And the way he was talking, I might lose my right to any custody at all. So I forced myself to calm down, I thought about what I could live through and what I couldn't… and then I nodded.

He smiled, snatching the ring up from the nightstand and bringing it back to me. I was still sobbing, and this made it worse—I didn't want to put his horrible ring on. I wanted the Gil's grandmother's ring. I slid it on anyway, the pain in my breast wrenching. Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe I couldn't survive this either. He sat down beside me and I gasped, wiping at my eyes, forcing myself to speak.

"…You quit your job?"

"I haven't yet… but I will, if you stay with me." He said softly, wrapping an arm around me. I recoiled from it.

"You work somewhere eco-friendly." I said, not a request but a demand. "And we move out of San Francisco… I hate your older sisters and I don't want them around our baby daily. …But not to New York. I don't want to be near your parents either. And… we have separate bedrooms. You have no 'conjugal rights' in this marriage."

He was quiet, briefly, and then nodded. "Okay… but no cheating, for either of us. …Which means that if we're not doing it, you'd better invest in a vibrator." I rolled my eyes. Like any of this had been about sex. "We can't move to Vegas. …You have to be a stay at home mom. …And you can never speak to him or see him again."

I squeezed my eyes against the fresh wave of tears. "…I'm not going to be a stay at home mom. And… I… I have to… say goodbye to him. Before we go."

He shrugged, looking angry at this but trying to pass it off. "Fine. …But the minute we're on that plane and the doors close, that's it. …The end. …I'll go schedule us some flights. This afternoon, if I can… this evening or tomorrow morning at the latest."

He left, slamming the door behind him, and I let a wail escape my throat, finally dissolving into the fit of tears I'd been desperately holding back. This morning, I had never, ever been happier… and now… I wasn't sure if I'd ever been so miserable, and that included my childhood horrors and the disappointment I'd felt when I'd believed Gil hadn't been at the wedding. Because, this time, I'd had him… allowed myself to believe in a new life, and then I'd lost it again.

I cried and cried, the tears endless… I could not stop them to answer the door when the knocking came, and when Jace's voice came through the door, telling me he had the flight information, I had even less inclination to do so. He slid an envelope under the door and walked away, and I felt myself fall to pieces all over again. …How was I ever going to tell Gil? This would break his heart… hurt him so badly… I hated Jace, and I hated myself for having to hurt the only man I'd ever loved this way.