Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: First of all... this chapter is not necessarily integral to the plot. I wasn't certain about including pregnancy lovin', because I don't know how weird that is to some people... but when I think about Sara and Grissom, apart for six months, and especially the way both of them think and analyze things... I can't imagine it not happening. But, like I said, if it's weird to you, go ahead and skip this chapter. Or, skip the very end of this chapter. Either way, I think was very un-detailed and un-graphic, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Now, onto personal stuff: My parents are coming into town this weekend to meet the fiance's parents for the first time. Depending on snow (Can you believe that? In May!), they may come either tonight or tomorrow, but either way my whole day is going to be crazy busy. So, there may or may not be an update tonight, but it will probably be late if it comes at all. Same thing tomorrow--late, if at all. Aaand, on Sunday, it'll be late afternoon or later, before I get another one up. I realize it isn't the most opportune place to stop--I had intended to get through the birth, at least, but I've been so busy... so, it didn't happen. I'm sorry about that. This next week is finals week and then the following Thursday or Friday I'm out of town for a little over a week... and after that, I go back to working full time. Sooo, before I leave on the trip, I'll try to get you guys to a good stopping point, because I really don't think I can finish this before I go, and then after that, updates will more than likely only come after 3 pm Central Time. Still, with less no homework, chances are I'll be able to update several times in a night... plus, I'm hoping that I'll be able to pick up one of my WIPs this summer.

...Whew! Okay. I'm sorry. Brevity is not my strong suit. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter Fifty Seven:

"…You mean you're going to be on one side of her, with him on the other, while she pops out a kid bearing his DNA but who you would like to call you Daddy?"

I groaned. Catherine had a way of making the twisted convolutions of our situation seem even more twisted than they were. And they didn't need the help. "The kid's name is Ayla. He has a right to be there, but she wants me there… We're all adults. We can make it work."

Catherine raised her eyebrows and glanced at me from the driver's seat of her vehicle—she was driving me to the airport. It was early morning, just after shift, and though Catherine had spent the night working, I had been at home, trying to rest before my trip, but getting very little actual sleep… I was excited and nervous and could not relax enough to get more than a few hours. "Well, if you think so, Gil. …Didn't you punch the guy the last time you saw him?"

I sighed, running a hand over my face. "Yes…"

She just smirked, pulling up to drop me off. "I hope you don't mind if I don't park and follow you in… I'm exhausted." I smiled, and she leaned over and hugged me tightly. "…Remember, when she's in that delivery room, everything she says, she's right."

I chuckled. "Thanks, Cath. …For everything."

"Yeah, yeah, get out of my car before I get a ticket…"

I grinned and took my duffle bag in hand, hurrying into the airport. It was early, but when you figured in waiting time, taxiing, and my layover, I wouldn't arrive until 11:55, Eastern Time… I had been told I couldn't come until the due date… and by the time I saw her, it would officially be past midnight on July 21st…Ayla's birthday, unless of course labor took Sara into the next day. …I was hopeful that it wouldn't, because Catherine's horror stories about thirty hour births had left me shaking. To be fair, I wasn't sure if she were exaggerating or not, but either way I wanted Sara's pain to be short lived.

I did manage to sleep on the plane, in part because I was exhausted and in part because there was no concern behind it—no fear of not waking up in time, no feeling of not moving forward at all. Even as I closed my eyes, I was getting closer to her. My layover was long enough that even if I had to wait for everyone to leave the plane and a stewardess to come wake me, I would still make it with time to eat… so I relaxed.

The layover in Chicago gave me a chance to get a slice of pizza—it just wasn't the same anywhere else—and to call Sara directly. We were in a situation in which the rules were temporarily suspended, and it felt amazing to not have to jump through hoops to talk to her. She was excited, getting nervous, couldn't wait to see me, complained that she felt so big and heavy that she didn't even want me to see her this way… I assured her that she would be beautiful and that I had been spending months fantasizing about touching her belly and feeling Ayla moving… She hung up only when I had to get on my next plane, repeating my flight information several times.

I couldn't sleep on this flight—I was too keyed up with excitement.

And when I finally landed, it took every shred of control in my body to watch my watch carefully, not standing to join the cue walking off the plane until it was midnight… I was playing fair, this weekend, for as long as I could. And when I finally saw her, I couldn't believe it. I fell in love with her even more, in that moment—she was round everywhere, her smile luminous, her eyes deep and inviting. I literally ran to her, pressing her to my body and my forehead to hers, hands moving in seconds from her back to her hair as I kissed her and then down to her stomach even before I pulled my lips from her.

"God, I love you." She said, the minute she could speak, and I felt heat flare up in me.

"I love you too." My hands moved over her stomach. "And you, little Ayla."

She grinned. "Did you check any luggage?"

"Nope."

"Let's go then."

We turned to head out of the airport, hand-in-hand, both of us beaming… and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She did waddle, a little, but it was endearing… and she hadn't been exaggerating on the phone when she'd told me she was massive—like, seriously, I didn't know how her thin frame could support the weight. The bump was lower down than the pictures I'd seen, but I guess I should have expected as much… Catherine had lent me a bunch of her old baby books and I had purchased a number of them myself, so I could understand what Sara was going through, as it was happening.

I could help it—I reached out and touched her stomach while we were walking. "…It's almost surreal, actually being able to touch her. …Being able to touch you."

She grinned and blushed, leading me out to her car in the short term parking lot. "Do you want to drive?" She asked, and I found myself laughing.

"…Are you asking to be nice, or because you hardly fit behind the wheel?"

"…A little of both." She admitted and I tugged her to me again, capturing her lips. Oh, god, I had missed her. And bizarrely, I had wasn't sure if I had ever desired her so fervently—but my baby books had informed me that while some women felt far more sexual during pregnancy, others wanted nothing to do with it… so I kept it light and tame, releasing her from a kiss that clearly said 'I miss you' but not 'I want you.'

She gave me directions to the hotel I had rented, and grinned when she pulled her own bag out of the backseat after we'd parked. "…You don't think you're pushing it, a little?"

She smirked back. "He said he didn't care what I did, and he knew I was picking you up at midnight. …I promised him that we'd be at the house tomorrow morning and that we'd all go to the doctor together… at my last check up she said she'd definitely induce on my due date, because Ayla's taking up about all the room I have in there. She's huge…"

I wrapped an arm around her and guided her into the hotel. Check in felt like it took forever, but finally the door to our room closed behind us and for a few precious hours, I had her all to myself. I immediately threw down my bag and pulled hers from her shoulder, tossing it too, before falling to my knees and lifting her shirt to lay kisses over her massively pregnant belly. When my fingertips slid over her, reverently, and she shivered… I had to stop, breathing deeply, knowing that a shiver could mean a thousand things and—

"Please, Gil, kiss me…"

I leapt to my feet—I didn't know if it was her hormones or the fact that we hadn't seen each other for six months, but the minute our lips collided, I knew that she wanted me too. I also knew perhaps more than I ought to about sex with a pregnant woman, because I liked my fantasies to be informed… I had had far too many lonely nights without her, and I liked to imagine her just as she was, rather than some vague memory of the past… which meant imagining my way around the bump.

She pulled my clothes off me quickly, but I pulled hers off slowly, relishing in the feel of her skin and the differences, great and small, that the pregnancy had made in her body. A single brush of my fingertips between her legs had her gripping me tightly and gasping and moaning… which made my head positively spin. I had read that because of increased blood flow to the area, during pregnancy some women were especially sensitive and responsive… and that thought alone had me panting.

I pulled away from her, arranging the pillows so she could lie on her back without laying completely flat, which I had also read was a concern after a certain point—and with how big she was, I could certainly agree—and then reached for her, guiding her to lean back against the pillows which leaned in turn against the headboard, and then kissed her feverishly. "…Are you sure?"

She nodded, tilting her head back, and I moved down between her legs, trembling with anticipation. …When the third orgasm moved through her, simply by the stimulation of my mouth, I felt like a freaking god. I mean, really, why on earth would men ever want their wives to go back to the status quo… I was more than ready to attempt a fourth when she stopped me, gasping and clutching her stomach, her eyes wide with fear. "I… Do you think it's… I'm not sure if I'm…"

"Shh," I soothed, moving up to her and turning her on her side to lay curled up to me as much as was possible. "Braxton Hicks can sometimes be triggered by an orgasm… it should go away in a half hour. If it doesn't, we'll get dressed, call Jace, and head to the hospital…"

She swallowed. "Are… are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Besides, even if Ayla comes now… it won't be in the next half hour. And she'll be just fine… she's ready."

She chuckled softly, leaning over to kiss me. "She's ripe. Every time I'm in the produce section at the grocery story, I expect someone to come thump my belly and—Oh!" She gripped herself again and I gently rubbed her stomach, hoping to help take it away.

The aftershocks died away within about twenty minutes, and almost as soon as they did, she was drifting to sleep. Sure, I'd have to take care of myself in the shower tomorrow morning, but it was a very, very small price to pay for her contentment. And after the amazing night we'd had, I would do just about anything to play by the rules and set Jace's mind at ease… I realized that being in the birthing room was something I would have done, with or without his consent… but the way it had worked out was so much less stressful for Sara. I was grateful to him, for that. I would do everything I could to mind certain boundaries tomorrow… Tomorrow, when Ayla would come into the world. My sweet, beautiful, little Ayla.