Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: Sooo, some people have been requesting smut and fluff. Fluff is in this chapter, and in the next one... :) Let's just say we're not to the angst of the funeral yet. :P

Enjoy!

Chapter Eighty Nine:

Gil seemed… different. I mean, not in a bad way. But definitely in a confusing way. He had a bounce in his step when we left the lab and though he was a man who rarely smiled for no reason, he had a silly grin that kept unexpectedly twisting his mouth at the strangest moments. Finally, after taking Ayla to see the Bellagio fountains (which I think I might have enjoyed more than she did) and the lions at the MGM, she was curled up asleep on my shoulder while we strolled through the still light evening. I basked in the warmth, holding Gil's hand and keeping my baby close to me, and glanced at him out of the side of my eyes.

He smirked to himself again, like remembering some joke or funny situation…

"You're different. …Did something happen at the lab?"

"Hmm?" He asked me, turning his head in surprise, and I chuckled.

"I asked if something unexpected happened at the lab. …You've been in a strange mood since then."

"…Strange how?"

I laughed out loud this time. "Happy. Stop avoiding the question."

He grinned and tugged me in the direction of the bridge where you could overlook the gondolas of the Venetian. "Well, you have to understand some of the back history… I've told you about Ecklie, haven't I?"

I frowned. "A little. …You two don't think much of each other, do you?"

He snorted his amusement and I couldn't help but smile—he was rarely this light hearted. There had been times, on the cruise ship, when this light and playful Gil came out… although bug-hunting had been the only time he seemed present for an extended period of time. "No, we don't. We started at the lab roughly around the same time, on different shifts—to him, this is a career… each case a stepping stone. And, I mean, every criminalist thinks about 'career cases' and all of that… but they spend the majority of their time focused on the victims. This man… doesn't care about them, or the science… or catching the right person. …He cares about results and appearances and politics."

"The anti-Grissom." I said, my lips twitching at the look he gave me out of the side of his eyes. I giggled when the stern look intensified and his composure slipped, a smile breaking through.

"Right. Okay, the 'anti-Grissom'. Anyway, he played politics so he was promoted, and I didn't… so I wasn't. And… today, he tried to give me an ultimatum." We stopped against the railing of the bridge and I felt an eyebrow raise as I leaned forward to look down into the water.

"…and that was?"

"…That if I wasn't back in time for shift tomorrow, I'd be fired."

I turned to look at him in alarm, my pulse quickening. "Our flights don't come back to Vegas until the day after tomorrow, Gil! …We should call the airline, see if we can change th—"

His hand fell gently on the shoulder that wasn't acting as a pillow to Ayla. "Honey… we're not coming back early. Besides his request being entirely unreasonable, it still wouldn't help with the fact that we have flights back to Boston so we can pack up your house, get it sold, and tie up any loose ends…"

I sighed softly, nodding. He was right. Of course he was right. I nodded. "Okay… so what happened?"

His grin returned full force. "I told him where he could shove his ultimatums…"

My eyes were wide. "You didn't!"

He chuckled indulgently. "Not in those words… but I did quit."

"What? …Gil, money's already tight and now that we have the moving expenses and everything going on… we can't afford for both of us to be out of work right now!"

I almost felt dizzy with the panic that was overtaking me—I had grown up without very much, and from the time I was allowed to get a part time job I had had one, because I had learned early on that money gave you security. Even when I was convincing Jace to give up most of what he made to charity, it was only after determining that we would have enough to live on and enough to put aside for Ayla's college… I was fairly sure he'd drained that account now though, to get some of the ransom money. The idea of both Gil and I being unemployed, with a child, in a new city that I wasn't entirely sure I would like living in anyway…

Gil's firm hands on my cheeks forced me to focus my gaze on him. I felt sick. "Honey… calm down. I promise that I wouldn't have done this if it would put us in any kind of tough situation—I care more about you and Ayla than my pride."

I swayed slightly on my feet. "But—"

"I've got money saved, Sara. The sale of the house in Boston should help you take care of any outstanding bills or debts you have, and if it doesn't, Jace's life insurance will. I have some money in savings—not an exorbitant amount, but enough to take care of the bare essentials for over a year. And I have twelve weeks vacation they're required to pay me for within two weeks… We're just fine. I promise."

I inhaled sharply, willing my heart to slow, and he pulled me against him, wrapping her arms around both Ayla and I and running his hands comfortingly up and down my back for several minutes. When he pulled back, I felt calmer and the grin was slowly seeping back into his features. "So… you really just up and quit?"

He laughed, hugging me again. "Oh, I had a few choice words about the lab losing their grant money and the sheriff's reaction and him paying the price for his own overinflated ego…"

"They'll lose grant money?"

He smiled. "Nah… The lab director is a problem solver. I expect a phone call before he mails the check, asking what it would take to get me to call those particular organizations and assure them that the lab still deserves the grant money, even if I'm not there…"

I pulled back, looking into his eyes. "And you're going to do it…?"

His lips twitched, like he was trying to hold back his laughter. "…Once Ecklie's had some time to sweat it out, yeah… The City of Sin needs all the help it can get."

"Especially if Ayla's going to be growing up here." I added, thinking that it certainly didn't help the city's reputation in my mind if Gil wasn't in the Crime Lab… it was like giving the depravity an edge. I realized belatedly that he hadn't answered me and looked up at him in surprise. He had an uncertain look on his face, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to speak his mind or not. I narrowed my eyes, "…Gil?"

He sighed heavily. "I, uh… I didn't want to do this tonight, Sara. I wanted to wait until… until after Jace's funeral, and… I wanted to have the whole… moment planned out." I blinked uncertainly, and he sighed again. "I… Sara, I want to take you to Paris. No, I… I want to marry you in Paris." And then he was on bended knee, in this very public place, holding my right hand instead of my left because my left arm was tucked under Ayla. I felt lightheaded again, staring at him in surprise. "You were right, Sara, when you said that I'm different. For some reason I've always been impulsive when it comes to you, and I feel even more so now. …Most people don't get three chances at happiness, like we have. … I feel like I would be a fool not to seize it. …Sara, I'm sorry that all three times I've asked you this question have been spur of the moment and unplanned, without a ring to offer you… but I will never love another woman, my whole life long, the way I love you. …Be my wife, Sara. Make me the happiest man in the world. …Say you'll marry me."

I felt with some surprise that there were tears streaming down my face. I sniffled, pulling my hand from his despite his somewhat alarmed expression in order to dig my fingers under the collar of my shirt, where I had put fastened the chain with his grandmother's ring before leaving Boston—I had been afraid to leave it there, but more afraid to leave it in luggage. I swallowed back the lump in my throat. "…Gil, help me."

It took him a moment to realize what I was doing, and then he was leaping to his feet, unfastening the chain, and sliding the ring off it. "I didn't think you were still wearing this…"

I sniffled. "I took it off when I called you to come help with Ayla…"

His eyes shone at my words and I wondered briefly if he was going to cry, but then he was kneeling again and I was shifting Ayla onto my right arm and he was sliding the ring onto my left ring finger—very little else in my life had ever made me feel so right. A sob escaped my lips and I tugged him to his feet, falling into his arms and clinging to him as the sounds of applause began to filter through my awareness—we were still outside the Venetian, and a large group of tourists had apparently watched our very private moment. I blushed and pulled back, seeing the same surprise and discomfort in Gil's gaze at the realization.

We both wiped our eyes self-consciously, waving in embarrassment at the bystanders and making a hasty getaway. We were quiet in the car, simply holding hands and breathing while he drove. Ayla remained asleep and when we got inside, I pushed aside the feeling of guilt and laid her on a folded over comforter in Gil's bathroom, so that we could put a door between her and us…

It felt like we were already married as we slowly undressed together, not in a fit of impassioned kisses, but on opposite sides of the bed with slow, calm smiles on our faces. We took turns going to the bathroom down the hall. Gil retrieved us both a bottle of water from the fridge which I politely thanked him for and placed on the nightstand, unopened. Anything from that fridge…

And then we moved together, my head falling to his chest easily, our hands gently moving over each other's chests and backs, a gentle exploration. We both knew, after the emotion of the night, exactly where this was going… but we were in no hurry to get there. I sighed softly, laying a kiss to his chest, and looked up at him lovingly. "So… you don't want to live in Vegas?" I brought up, because his proposal had cut our conversation a little short.

He shrugged. "I'm not opposed to living here… I was just saying that I don't care where we live. My only concrete plans are to take you to Paris and marry you… after that, we can go wherever you want."

"…Why Paris?"

He smiled softly. "…When you first told me where your dream honeymoon would be, you suggested Paris and Costa Rica. …Although, the place I have in mind, for our wedding, isn't exactly in Paris… is it close enough simply to be in France?"

My heart was thumping and my eyelids fluttered. "…You already have a place in mind?"

A slow smile slid over his lips and he bent down to me, laying a soft kiss on my lips. "I do… if that's alright?" His kissed moved to my neck and I felt goose bumps break out across my arms, down my spine, over my legs, filling me with a deep, pulsating warmth. I nodded as a breathy sigh slipped from my lips, and that grin he had indulged in all night was back, making me feel weak-kneed. …Oh, I had always loved Gil, but… I definitely, definitely liked the new Gil.