MAMA LUPITA
Part three
Romance, humor, fantasy… and seemingly OOC situations.
I wrote this before Rashomama, so Sara's views on marriage may not coincide with those she expressed on that episode.
Warning: Since 'Gil-bear' weirded out most of you, I rushed to post this, so you knew what it all meant. I did say this was a silly story (remember?); well, this is the silliest chapter, so pleeeeease, bear with me.
It was just as Sara had envisioned it –it was even better. Countless hours passed in a whirlwind of passion and romance.
Sara would have given anything for a chance to stay in Gil's arms a little longer, but duty inevitably called. They had to go to work. Still, Grissom seemed to cling to her, and it was only after she promised to come back as soon as their shift ended that he finally let her go.
That night, Sara was the very model of discretion when she came to the lab. Looking at her, nobody would have guessed that just a few hours earlier, she'd been in Gil Grissom's bed.
Unfortunately, Grissom didn't show the same restraint. After he finished assigning the cases for the night, he announced, "Sara, you're with me," and then he winked at her.
Everyone else in the room froze. Sara's coworkers were as shocked as her at first, but after a moment, Nick and Warrick glanced at each other and snickered, and Catherine smiled knowingly.
Sara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She couldn't believe Gil would do that. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his cute gesture –she did. It just seemed so out of character –and out of place, too.
She tried to find an explanation to his behavior: Was it simply that being in a relationship was so new to him that he didn't know how to behave? Or was he bursting with so much happiness that he couldn't help expressing it?
Whatever the reason, Sara felt they ought to talk. It wasn't like she didn't understand -in fact, she felt just like him. But as much as she wanted to shout, 'Grissom loves me!' at the top of her lungs, she knew discretion was the best policy.
She vowed to talk to Gil as soon as they were alone, but every time she tried to broach the subject, he would gently interrupt her. He'd rather talk about their future together, he said. And he looked so happy, that Sara decided to save their conversation for later.
Besides, now that they were working on a case, Grissom would surely act professionally.
Unfortunately, she was wrong.
They met Sofia Curtis in the interrogation room. She had arrested Ronnie Morris, a petty thief who, according to the evidence, had committed his first murder the night before.
Morris wouldn't sit down. He insisted on pacing up and down the room.
"Your fingerprints were found at the scene," Sara said, "How do you explain that?"
Morris leant menacingly over Sara.
"Don't have to explain nothin'," he said sullenly. "And you and your skinny ass can go to hell."
"Now, wait a minute," Gil exclaimed, angrily shoving the man away from Sara, "You can't talk to her like that."
"It's all right-" Sara started.
"Let me handle this, honey," Grissom said, turning a tender look in her direction, "Now, you," he said, grabbing the suspect by the shoulder and shaking him, "Nobody talks to my lady like that, understand?"
"Hey, this is harassment!" the man protested, looking like a puppet in Gil's hands.
"Call it what you like." Grissom replied, still shaking him, "Now, apologize to her."
"Grissom -" Sofia started.
Sara rose.
"Grissom," she said, "Let's just continue the -"
Grissom turned to Sara.
"Now, honey," he said patiently, "We've already talked about this, haven't we? I asked you not to call me that."
He looked expectantly at her.
Sara froze.
"Right," she said, "Right, I... hum..." she hesitated. 'Don't say it,' she told herself firmly, 'Whatever you do, don't say it, don't say it -' But to her dismay, her mouth opened with a will of its own, and before she could stop herself, the word came out, "Gil-Bear."
A beatific smile graced Grissom's face.
"I love it when you call me like that." He said.
Sofia scoffed noisily and looked away. This pleased Sara enormously, but the feeling of triumph was only fleeting. After all, she couldn't imagine going through life calling Grissom, Gil-Bear.
At least, not publicly.
She definitely had to talk to him.
But she never had a chance. She was just too busy. Gil kept her occupied, both inside the lab... and out of it.
Sara had always wondered and fantasized about making love with Gil-Bear -Grissom, that is. She didn't ask for much; she merely hoped he'd be good to her. Tender and attentive…
She'd just never expected him to be this good, or so… insatiable.
One night, disheveled and exhausted, Sara rolled away from Grissom and turned on the bedside lamp.
"Gil..." she gasped, "Gil... we need to get some sleep -"
"But I love you so much" he said, almost whining, "And we've wasted so many years..."
"And whose fault is that?" she asked dryly.
"Uh, guilty as charged," he admitted, "I just- I just want to make it up to you."
"And you have," she said reassuringly, "Believe me. But we need to take a break. Besides, we're out of condoms."
"Oh, that's ok. We should start a family, Sara; the sooner the better."
Grissom's flippant attitude took her aback.
"W-whoa" she blurted out, "I... hum... Grissom, that's a -"
"Excuse me?" he interrupted.
"I mean, Gil-Bear," she amended a bit testily, "I think we should discuss this. Having a kid would be -"
"A kid? I want five or six, Sara. The more, the merrier."
Her eyes widened.
"Five? But... but... Griss –I mean, Gil-Bear," she amended, "We haven't even had a chance to enjoy being a couple -"
"You're right." He said thoughtfully, "We ought to get married first -"
"Marriage?" she mumbled, backing farther away from him, "Gil, hum, I've never -" She faltered. She wanted to say that she wasn't interested in marriage, but the look Gil gave her was so mournful, that her determination melted. "Ok, ok," she said, "We could get married, I guess. But no frills, no cake, no nothing, ok? Just you and me -"
"Fine," Gil smiled, "Where would you like to go on our honeymoon?"
"Oh, that's ok, Grissom; I don't need a honey -"
"Excuse me?" he interrupted.
"Gil-Bear," she said between clenched teeth.
"We will have a honeymoon, Sara. Just tell me where you want to go."
"I… well… Hum. What about… what about a Caribbean resort?"
"Wherever you want." he said lovingly.
"There's an island close to Barbados." Sara said, with growing enthusiasm, "It's not a popular place, so it's not that expensive. But get this," she added, "According to The National Geographic, there's a unique breed of beetles down there. Maybe you'd like to study them-"
"Oh, no, no, no. I plan to dedicate every hour to you, my beautiful rose."
Sara faltered a little.
"Well," she started, "That's, hum, flattering, but… I need a little time of my own, too, Gil-Bear."
He looked up. There was a wounded expression in his eyes.
"You don't want to be with me?"
She was taken aback. Hurting him was the last thing she'd want to do, but she just couldn't picture herself spending 'every hour' with Grissom. Frankly, she would have expected Gil to appreciate the fact that she was an independent kind of woman.
"Gil, we all need a little time alone." She said patiently, "I mean, you need some time off to take care of your maggot farms, right? Well, I also need some 'me' time. You know, to read, to meditate… If we go to this island, you'll have a chance to study those beetles while I -"
"But I got rid of my maggot farms," he replied, "I plan to dedicate every breathing hour to you from now on. I mean, who cares about Entomology?"
"Whaaaat?" Sara jumped out of bed. She hurriedly picked up a sheet to cover herself. "Grissom, what is the matter with you?"
"Nothing," he said quietly, "I just want to make you happy. Sara. I want to devote my entire life to you." He frowned, "I thought this was what you wanted."
"Well, it's not!" she retorted. "This isn't you, anyway!" She added, as she noticed the look of blind devotion on Gil's eyes.
It was too much.
She couldn't bear looking at him anymore -
Seeking escape, Sara closed her eyes.
…And when she opened them again, she found herself lying on the floor and looking into Mamá Lupita's concerned eyes.
Spooked, Sara sat up abruptly, only to dearly regret it. She felt slightly nauseous.
"Take it easy." Nick said.
Sara glanced up. Both Nick and Mamá Lupita were looming over her. What's more, they were not in the old woman's inner room; they were in the little parlor.
"You ok?" Nick asked.
"What happened?" Sara asked.
"That's what I'd like to know," Nick said, "There was a crash, in there. When I went in, you were on the floor. My guess is, you were having a hallucination brought on by that incense of hers. We got you here, so you got a little clean air." He tilted his head towards the old lady, "She says you fell off your chair -"
"What?" Sara asked incredulously, "I fell?"
"Actually, the chair broke," Mamá Lupita intervened.
"The chair broke?" Sara asked, growing more and more alarmed. She looked down at herself. "Am I that heavy?"
"No, no," Mamá Lupita said gently, "The chair was already wobbly."
"But that doesn't explain why you were out for a couple of minutes." Nick said.
"I passed out?" Sara asked, gingerly touching her head. "But I don't have a concussion."
"Actually, you kind of … fainted." Mamá Lupita said sheepishly, "You had an allergic reaction -"
"A what?" Sara looked at Nick, "Do you know what she's talking about?"
"Actually, I do have an idea." He scowled, "I did a little research on this lady, here. Once I left you two alone, it suddenly struck me, the fact that I was so willing to leave you alone, and the fact that Mamá Lupita knew way too much about us -"
"Well," the old lady cleared her throat, "My crystal ball..."
Nick ignored the interruption.
"So, I called headquarters for a little information on Mamá Lupita."
"And?" Sara insisted.
"And… I found out that this is Mrs. Guadalupe Vega, the dear aunt of Las Vegas detective Ricardo Vega."
Sara winced.
"Our detective Vega?" she asked. She glanced at the old lady, "So, that's how you knew all about Nick and his kidnapping-"
"Actually," Mamá Lupita said sheepishly, "I read all about it on the papers."
Sara frowned.
"What about me? You seemed to know all about me and –hum- " she hesitated.
"Oh, that was pure gossip." The old lady said dismissively, "My nephew tells me everything that goes on in that building."
Sara briefly closed her eyes in embarrassment. Here she was, thinking she'd been discreet, while all along people around her had noticed about her and Gil, and-
"Wait a minute," Sara frowned, "You nephew couldn't know about -" She caught herself on time. Aware that Nick was looking at her, she added, "About the, hum, blonde woman-"
"Oh, honey," Mamá Lupita rolled her eyes, "In my experience, there's always a blonde involved."
"Excuse me," Nick said, "This doesn't explain the rest of your story, lady. You're obviously using illicit drugs in your concoctions; our behavior in there," he added, tilting his head toward her inner room, "leads me to believe you used an hallucinogen on us. You must have used one on Sara -"
"I do not use hallucinogens!" Mamá Lupita replied indignantly, "I only use herbs, all natural, from my own garden! When you came in, I was burning some incense –a new recipe. It didn't work out the way I expected. You," she added, looking at Sara, "You are allergic to the incense –you started coughing the minute you entered the room. But I didn't put anything illegal in it. Only cloves and oregano. It was meant to help you relax-"
"Wait a minute," Sara interrupted, "You put cloves in it?"
"Is that relevant?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, it might," Sara muttered. "I, hum, can't eat anything with cloves."
Mamá Lupita was happy to have Sara confirm her theory. "There you go." She said.
Nick wasn't that convinced.
"So, you're saying that she passed out due to an allergic reaction?"
"Well, no. I mean, yes. She started feeling dizzy; she pushed her chair away; the chair broke, she fell…"
Sara rubbed her temples with one hand. It all made sense now.
"It was a dream, then." she said, and she didn't know whether to rejoice or to mourn the fact that nothing had really happened between her and Grissom. "So everything I saw, and everything I said…" she paused. She abruptly looked up, "Did I say anything?"
Nick and Mamá Lupita glanced at each other.
"Uh, no." Nick said. "You didn't say anything."
"Nope," Mamá Lupita said, "Not a word. Nothing about bears, or any -" but she stopped when she noticed the warning look that Nick shot her. "Nothing."
Sara groaned, more embarrassed than ever.
"We better go," she said wearily.
"Are you sure?" Nick asked, offering her a hand, "If you were hallucinating -"
"Let's go, Nick." Sara said, with determination. She felt a bit stiff, but she rose and managed to stand on her own.
Nick walked to the door, but he turned to address Mamá Lupita.
"This isn't over," he said sternly, "I'll have a word with your nephew. If Det. Vega sees nothing wrong with his aunt earning a living like this, then we won't do anything, but… Until then, you better not use those herbs again, Mamá Lupita." And with that parting shot, he left.
Sara was about to follow him, when she felt a hand restraining her.
"You said you wanted his complete devotion," Mamá Lupita whispered, "That's what I gave you."
"What you gave me?" Sara was indignant, "What you gave me was the worst nightmare I've ever had!"
"That was the cloves' fault!" the old lady replied, "I only wanted you to dream a little; to know what his devotion would be like -"
"Well, it's not what I wanted!" Sara retorted, but Mamá Lupita's skeptical look made her falter a little, "All right, maybe I did," she said testily, "But I didn't want a drug-induced hallucination; all I wanted -"
"You wanted him to be as devoted as you are." The old lady said.
This made Sara pause. She had a vague recollection of Gil's face, and his look of blind devotion. Was that what she really wanted?
"I better go." She muttered. She closed the door and walked away. Fast.
She quickly caught up with Nick, who was talking on the phone.
"We've got to go back," he said when he was finished. "The sheriff wants us to concentrate on a specific area of the shooting."
They went back to the car in utter silence. Before they got in, Sara turned.
"Nick?" Sara said earnestly, "Whatever I said…"
"…It's already forgotten." Nick replied. He smiled. "Ok?"
"Ok." Sara said. She glanced at him, "Thanks."
But Nick wasn't finished. He was smiling widely.
"What?" Sara frowned.
"Nothing," he said, obviously trying hard not to burst into laughs.
"What… what?"
"Nothing, it's just… You're such a wimp! I mean, cloves? A pinch of cloves and you're out?"
"Hey, in my defense…!" she started. Then she realized there was nothing she could say in her defense. "Ah, just forget it." She muttered testily. "Let's go. We've got a lot of work to do." Thank God, she might have added.
From now on, she told herself, work was all she was going to devote herself to.
TBC
Actually, the story was going to end here, with Sara's life returning to normal. However, there's a little epilogue coming up, with Grissom in it, (the real Grissom, that is).