While Jim as doing his thing in the kitchen it also afforded him the time to do some serious thinking. He thought about he and Sara and the months they'd spent together and the years they'd known each other. True, Jim was no Spring chicken, but in the time he'd spent with Sara these past months he'd begun seriously thinking about family and permanency. He loved Sara, there was no question about that, but did he love her enough to ask her to marry her? He knew her deepest, darkest secrets, her moods and melancholy and knowing all of this, he still loved her. The real question was, did she feel the same about him?
She was moving in, They were sharing a bed and spending nearly all of their free time together. She had taken care of him during his convalescence just as he had taken care of her during her ordeal. Their relationship was such that she was even helping him set out clothes for work; picking out whichever garments highlighted his eyes or accentuated his slightly muscular build. He in turn would help her with her hair after her shower, prepare meals for work and tell her, almost on a daily basis, how lucky he was to have her around.
In the end, in his mind, it came down to the fact that he didn't want to die a bachelor. He wanted a family. The lab guys were the closest thing he had to a family, with Nick as a sort of son and Catherine as an ex-wife that they divorced on amicable terms with. Grissom was like a brother, Warrick was like a hot headed son that needed to be reminded that the world was not perfect and Greg was like a high energy teenager. That was his family. However, he wanted blood. He wanted another son or daughter by blood and during the weeks and months, he kept looking at Sara as a possibility.
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The last of the boxes having been taped shut, Sara took one good last look at her old apartment and when she was satisfied that she'd left nothing behind, she closed and locked the front door and turned the key in to management. As she drove off to her new house she couldn't help but think that this was IT, she was moving in with Jim, but it troubled her somewhat that she didn't know where they stood, relationship wise.
She liked Jim. Hell, if anyone asked her if she loved him, she'd probably say yes. But she wanted more. She wanted stability, consistency and a family; so why not Jim? She'd seen him with kids and knew that he loved them; he was great with them. But what sort of father would he be to his own child? With the hours that he worked and the hours that she worked it would be difficult to parent a child. Sara didn't want baby sitters and nannies, she wanted to actually raise her child. She wanted to be there when her child took his or first step or said their first word. She wanted to teach them to play baseball and football as well as educate them about things that they weren't taught at school. She had a feeling that with her brains and Jim's strong stock their child would grow up to be strong and fine. A child with her intellect and Jim's good looks is what she pictured while sitting at a red light. It was then that she decided that she and Jim needed to have a talk about where they were going in their lives. The more she thought about it, the more she believed she was ready and from the signals that Jim was putting out she believed that he was ready; but for what? Was he ready for a child or was he ready for a child and a wife?
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Pulling into the drive and unloading the last of the boxes, she couldn't help but notice that every time she came back in the house Jim was looking at her. Not just looking at her as if to acknowledge her presence, but LOOKING at her as if he had something weighing heavily on his mind and he was bursting at the seams trying not to say what was on his mind.
Finally, suppertime rolled around and as they sat at the dining room table neither of them either eat much nor did they have too much to say. It wasn't until they moved into the living room and flipped on the tellie that Jim couldn't hold it in any longer. He turned to Sara and took her hand in his, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Looking at him, she could tell he had something serious to say, so she just sat there while he spoke.
"Sar, we've known each other for a long time now and in these recent weeks and months something has been on my mind. You know I love you and would give you the world if I could, but I can't; I can only give you myself. That being said, would you be amenable to making our relationship official? But more than that…………."
Jim tried to stop his voice cracking as he tried to manage those four little words. Before he could continue, Sara interjected.
"I think I know where this is going and I've been doing a lot of thinking about it and the answer is yes. I will have you. I will hold you. I will care for you, both in sickness and in health, but more than that I am forever yours."
A bit taken aback by her response, all Jim could do was sit there and stare at her for a few moments before remembering the contents of his jeans pocket. He slid off the couch and dropped to one knee and removed a lovely ring studded with sapphires and emeralds. Placing it on her finger, her slowly got up and wrapped his arms around her in a very tight hug.
So, now were they not only going out, officially, but they were engaged. Jim was so happy in thins moment that a few tears ran down his cheeks. As for Sara, she had made her decision, but in the back of her mind, she somehow always knew that she and Jim would eventually end up together, and after all that they'd been through during the past months she was more sure of this than of anything else in her life.