Gil gently pushed the front door open and turned around to allow Sara to enter first.
Much to his surprise, Sara's head was drooping, signaling she was asleep.
"Sara. Sara! Go in the house," He instructed. When she didn't reply, he lightly took her arm just above her elbow and guided her into the house.
Once inside, her brown eyes flicked open.
"Go upstairs and go to bed," Gil smiled.
Sara nodded sleepily and slowly walked up the stairs. Gil slipped his coat and shoes off, and set off in search of Heather. As he took the few steps to the living room, he glanced at his watch.
2:34.
They had been gone eight hours.
A smile spread on Gil's face as he thought about all the bags he would have to unload in the morning. Of course, Sara would offer to help but she was pregnant and shouldn't be lifting anything.
He stopped in the doorway to the living room. The television was on, volume turned down; The lights from the changing screen flickered across the wall the couch was on.
Then his gaze drifted to the slender form on the couch; It was very clear she was asleep. She was lying on her right side, head resting on a crimson colored pillow that perfectly matched her lips. Her hand was nestled underneath the pillow whilst the other hung limp off the couch, her long elegant fingers grazing the white carpet.
Gil didn't know what to do; Wake her up? Or let her sleep? Five minutes passed, then ten and he still hadn't reached a decision.
With a sigh he walked out of the living room and turned left, walking to the kitchen.
The only light on was the overhead light above the sink. It's brightness no longer affected Gil. He had long ago grown used to the intense white light.
Still pondering what to do about Heather, he took three big strides to the fridge and pulled it open. He grabbed a bottle of water and twisted the cap off. The cool liquid felt good running down his throat and seemed to make him decide what to do.
Gil screwed the cap back on then placed the chilly bottle on the counter.
He returned to the living room, his decision was clear and final.
It wouldn't hurt if he let her sleep. Would it? His mind seemed to be playing ping pong with the idea.
After a quick shake of his head, Gil snatched the green chenille blanket off the back of the couch; He unfolded it to full length and softly covered Heather up with it.
She stirred a small bit, but was just changing her sleep position.
"Good night," Gil mumbled as he strode out of the room and up the stairs.
The Next Morning
Heather awoke slowly with the feeling that something had been placed on her legs and part of her stomach.
Following blinking rapidly for a minute, she lifted her head to Liz laying on top of her, her arms folded on Heather's stomach with her head resting on them.
"Oh! Good morning," She cautiously greeted, looking around at her surroundings.
"Morning. You sleep late, you know that?" Liz informed the dominatrix.
"Why… why am I still here?" Heather was talking to herself, trying to sort out why she was still on the Grissom's couch and not at home in her own bed.
"Daddy said he let you sleep."
Abruptly, Sara rushed into the living room. She was still in her clothes from the previous night and it appeared she hadn't been awake long either.
"Liz, oh my God, get off of her," She told her daughter. Without waiting for her move, Sara advanced to the couch and lifted Liz off of Heather. "There. Now go play, honey."
Liz obediently ran off in search of some form of entertainment.
"I'm sorry about that. Did she hurt you?" Sara inquired, sitting down in the Lazy-Boy chair next to the couch.
Heather shook her head as she sat up; Before answering with words, she stood up off the couch and folded the blanket that had been covering her, then placed it back where it had been.
"No, I'm fine," She smiled, sitting back down on the couch. She hesitated slightly but decided to go on. "Um… why am I still here?"
Sara furrowed her brows, appearing to be deep in thought.
"I don't know. Let's go talk to Gil."
The two women stood up; Heather gestured for Sara to go first.
They walked into the kitchen, where Gil was seated at the table.
"Hey, good morning!" He greeted with a smile. He sipped his coffee and turned the page in the newspaper he was reading, unaware that the two brunettes before both wanted answers.
"Why is she still here?" Sara asked. She didn't mind that Heather had slept over, but she wanted to think that her husband would have at least had the common courtesy to at least ask if Heather had even wanted to.
A slight blush tinted Gil's cheeks.
"Well… it was late and I just thought that… maybe she'd prefer sleeping to driving," He answered.
Sara stifled her giggling the best she could for a moment but then burst out laughing. Both Heather and Gil stared at her in shock. What could possibly be so funny?
"I-I'm sorry. It just struck me as funny! He's sitting there being interrogated by us," Sara waved as she walked back to the living room to try and get herself under control.
Heather grinned as she pulled a chair out from the table to sit down in.
"The giggling stage; Did she go through that with Liz?"
Gil set his mug down on the newspaper in front of him. "No. Nothing's she's done during this pregnancy is the same as the first time. Well, the cravings are the same, but nothing else."
Heather nodded. Her smile faded as she continued talking.
"I went through that with Zoe; The giggling phase." A sad grin appeared and she lowered her head. "I didn't have any cravings but I giggled all the time for nearly six months."
Gil didn't know what to say; He had just assumed that she had, not necessarily moved on, but had come to terms with Zoe's death.
"Sorry. Just reminiscing; Being around a pregnant woman makes me remember everything," Heather apologized. She wiped a tear from her eye before looking up at Gil.
"I'm sorry… about Zoe," Gil offered. "And there is no need to apologize."
She nodded once. "Thank you. I should be going now. Tell Liz I enjoyed playing Barbies," She laughed as she stood up from the table.
Gil followed suit and stood up; He pulled his black wallet from his back pocket and opened it. A single bill remained.
Before pulling it out and handing it to Heather, he thought, "Wow. That was a huge shopping trip. Good thing I got that raise." A smile spread on his face at the thought.
"Heather, this is for you."
The dominatrix spun around and came face to face with the fifty dollar bill Gil was holding up at eye level.
"No. No, not that much," She shook her head in protest.
Gil held up his free hand after slipping the wallet back into his pocket.
"Yes. It's all I have. Take it."
Reluctantly, Heather outstretched her hand and Gil dropped the bill into it. She looked up at him once more before walking down the hall to find her coat and leave.
"Heather?" Gil followed her.
She stopped, but didn't turn around.
"Thank you," He said with a grin. "Sara and I had a great time last night; We wouldn't have been able to if you hadn't offered to watch Liz."
"You're welcome," Heather replied. "You know who to call if you need someone to watch her the next time."
She pulled her coat off of the coat tree, slipped it on followed by her thigh-high leather boots; Just as she had grasped the doorknob, Liz ran down the stairs.
"Wait!" She cried. "Hold on!"
Heather let go of the knob to see what Liz had to say. Much to her surprise, Liz locked her arms around Heather's waist.
"You are a really cool babysitter," Liz informed her. Then with a smile, sprinted back up the stairs.
A chuckle escaped Heather's lips. "Thanks. Goodbye, Gil."
Gil closed the door behind as she exited. Sara's happy giggles interrupted his thoughts, but also invited him to join her in whatever was so funny.
With a grin, he walked to the living room to see if whatever his wife was laughing at really was amusing; But Heather's obvious pain about Zoe's death was still extremely fresh in his mind.