MAMA LUPITA

Part two

Spoiler: Strip Strangler, A bullet runs through it.

Romance, a little humor, a little fantasy…

Once Nick left, Mama Lupita felt more at ease with Sara. She leant forward.

"So," she said, "Do you want my help?"

Unfortunately, now that they were alone, Sara didn't seem as willing to talk as before.The idea of talking about Gil made her uncomfortable. It was like a betrayal, or something.

In the end, Sara took the easiest way out, by turning her attention back to the case she was investigating.

"Did you, hum, witness any of the shootings?" she asked.

"No, no," the old woman said, "When shootings start around here, I hide." She lowered her voice, "But I can help you." she whispered, "I can give you a potion. A love potion." She added persuasively.

Sara was suddenly conscious of how silly this was. She shook her head.

"Listen, Mamá Lu –er," she couldn't quite remember the name, "Ma,am." She amended, "I think I better be going -" she started to rise from her seat, but the older woman reached for her arm.

"Or I could give you black potion," she said, louder this time, "For the blonde woman that lurks around him."

Sara gaped. How on earth could Mamá Lupita know...?

Sofia Curtis's face floated in her mind. A couple of hours earlier, Sara had entered Grissom's office, only to find Sofia there. Sofia was under a three-day suspension ordered by Internal Affairs, which meant she couldn't enter the LVPD building. By coming to the lab, Sofia was compromising both Grissom and the case.

Sara was surprised that Grissom hadn't pointed this out to Sofia, and so she took it upon herself to do it. She didn't move until Sofia left Grissom's office.

Sara had only been acting in the best interests of the lab -at least, that's whatshe had been telling herself. Deep down, however, she knew better: She simply didn't want Sofia around Grissom, and that was the truth.

That didn't mean she would ever resort to using black potions, or whatever they were called.

"I don't want any potions-"

"But they are really good," Mama Lupita said earnestly, "My tarot readings go wrong –I still need practice. But my potions -" she seemed eager to explain, but something made her stop. It was something she saw on Sara's face. "I see," she said. "You are a decent person."

Mamá Lupita's tone was one of regret as she added, "You won't get far in love, but you'll have a clean conscience." She shook her head, "Pity." She sighed.

She patted Sara's hand. "Still, I can listen."

"There's nothing to say," Sara said evasively, "I've got to -"

"Shhhh. There must be something I can do for you." The older woman replied. "Talking helps."

Sara would never admit it, but it was the kindness behind those words that convinced her to stay. It had been so long since someone had offered a sympathetic ear… And the woman seemed so… motherly. Sara couldn't help it; she sat back.

"There's nothing you can do -" she started.

"You don't know that. What is it that you need?"

"Nothing,"Sara said. "Nothing, I... I just..." she hesitated.

"Tell me," Mamá Lupita insisted gently, "Tell me what you dream of. Tell me what your heart yearns for. The man I saw…"

Sara nodded almost imperceptibly.

"You want to know what's in his heart?"

"I know what's in his heart." Sara replied, "At least, I think so. It's enough for me, but it's not enough for him. He'll always keep me at a distance. And there are others, who -" but she didn't finish. She did not want to talk about Sofia. "I wish -" she said impulsively and then she stopped.

"Yes?" Mamá Lupita said, leaning forward again.

It took Sara a couple of false starts, but she finally completed a sentence.

"I wish I were the only one in his mind." .

"And in his heart," Mamá Lupita added knowingly.

"Yes."

"And no more…?"

"I wish I had his devotion." Sara blurted out, and the sudden realization took her by surprise. "That's it," she said, looking at Mamá Lupita in wonder, "I want his complete devotion."

"That I can get for you," Mamá Lupita said, smiling. She pulled a slender stick of incense seemingly out of nowhere, and lit it up with the nearest votive candle. A bluish smoke hung around her as she quietly recited a few phrases in Spanish.

Suddenly, Mamá Lupita thrust the stick of incense at Sara.

The young woman pulled back, but she wasn't fast enough; the bluish smoke enveloped her as if it were a living entity leaping upon her.

Sara coughed and waved her hands, frantically trying to dissipate the smoke.

"Cut that out!" She cried out. She looked at Mamá Lupita, and for the first time she noticed a strange gleam in the older woman's eyes. Too late, Sara realized that trusting this woman may have been a mistake.

Sara pushed back her chair and tried to rise, but her body no longer responded to her mind's commands. She was starting to feel drowsy, too. She tried to fight it, but it was a losing battle; she blinked a couple of times, and then she closed her eyes -

But only for a second -of this, she was absolutely sure. She couldn't have kept her eyes closed for more than a couple of seconds… And yet, when she opened them, she found that she was no longer in Mama Lupita's presence.

What's more, she wasn't even in the old woman's house; she was outside, and in an entirely different neighborhood.

Questioning her sanity, Sara blinked and shook her head, but try as she might, the vision wouldn't fade. And the more she looked around, the more familiar the street seemed.

She'd been here, a while ago-

And then, all of a sudden, Sara knew where she was. She knew that if she dared to turn around she would see a house –Gil Grissom's house.

Sara took a deep breath. She turned.

Part of her didn't really expect to see it -

And yet, there it was. His house, looking just like it did five years earlier.

Sara's body moved on its own this time. Her mind was busily firing up all sort of warning messages, but to no avail; she was moving towards the house, and once she was at the door, her hand rose to knock.

But Sara's will prevailed this time, and her hand stopped in mid-air.

Questions overwhelmed her: What was she going to say? What was he going to say? And what if Grissom wasn't home, anyway?

Worst of all, what if he was? She couldn't imagine what his reaction was going to be if he saw her there…

... And yet, it wasn't that difficult to guess: Grissom would probably gape at her in surprise; he'd simply stand there, looking at her with the slightly baffled expression he wore whenever the subject of feelings came up...

And Sara didn't think she could stand to see that look.

Regretfully, she touched the door in a silent goodbye. She was about to turn and walk away, when the door suddenly opened.

Gil Grissom stood there.

"Sara?" he said.

She was taken aback.

"G-Grissom." She said, managing to sound as if he was the last person she expected to see.

He seemed baffled at the sight of her.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.

"I... hum. Yes." She said, "No. I mean, yeah. But..." she was confused.

Gil smiled. He took a step towards her.

"Is that a no?" he asked gently, "Or is that... a yes?" he asked huskily.

There was something in that huskiness that sent shivers down her spine.

"Er..." she hesitated, "I... I.."

Gil took a step closer.

"You're not usually this tongue tied, Sara." he said, "Maybe I can help you with that."

And before Sara knew it, he was kissing her.

And it was a real kiss, too. Deep and probing, but tender at the same time.

Sara found herself moaning and wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

It wasn't until they started gasping for air, that they pulled apart at last. But not for long. They kissed again and held each other close.

"Oh, Sara," he whispered in her ear, "I knew it would be like this-"

"Oh, Grissom-"

He pulled back a little.

"Sara?"

"Yes?"

"Don't call me Grissom ever again." he said. "Call me..."

"Yes, Grissom?" She asked earnestly, "I mean -yes?"

"Call me Gil-Bear." he said, and then he pulled her inside the house.

TBC

Yep, it's just a fantasy…

Or is it?