A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback on the sabbatical chapters. I was unsure if I should go for it, but I'm glad I did :)

Spoilers for episode 7x15, Law of Gravity.

I'd spoken to Mike Keppler for a handful of minutes. But after his death, the lab was a mess. He must have made some kind of impression. Catherine looked close to having a nervous breakdown, Nick and Warrick kept long faces, and even Jim, a fellow New Jerseyian, was sullen.

It wasn't exactly how I imagined my homecoming. It was a lot of paperwork and talking with Ecklie and Catherine and running around doing so much this and that, that I hardly got to see Sara at all. When I'd finally exhausted most of the things that needed to be taken care of, I retreated to the quiet of my office and called her.

"Hey," she answered warmly.

"Where are you?"

"Home," she positively purred. "Waiting for you."

My stomach stirred with nervousness and excitement. I'd missed her so much over the last month, and I couldn't wait to be home. Until I left, I never realized how much that word meant. How much Sara was home for me.

I think I ran four red lights on the way home.

When I opened the front door, Hank bounded his way to me, placing his huge paws on my chest and panting furiously. I spared a few seconds to give him a good scratching behind the ears, then made my way to the bathroom, where I could hear soft movements behind the closed door.

I knocked quickly and cracked it open, finding Sara wrapped in a towel, hair curly and still damp and her smile bright. I went straight to her, wrapping my arms around her and pressing her close.

"Mmm," she murmured against my lips. "I missed you."

My kisses moved down her soft skin to the nape of her neck. Her fingers grazed my cheek.

"I think I missed this, too," she teased.

I couldn't part my lips from her, not for a second. She felt so warm, so soft, so… good.

"Sara."

It was a whisper of a breath, said pressed into her skin, but when she looked at me, she understood. She dropped her towel and pulled me out of the bathroom, undressing me along the way, until we both landed at my bed. My stomach flipped at the sight of her. My hands moved over her breast, stroking them softly, to her stomach and down her legs. I couldn't get enough.

By the time we finished, we were both damp, but still pressed body-to-body. I didn't want to lose the feel of her. My home.

"I missed this," she sighed.

"Were you close with him?" I asked after a pause, my fingers playing through her hair.

"Who?"

"Keppler."

She rolled a little to face me.

"Not really," she said softly. "But I liked him. I think you would have too."

I nodded and tugged her closer.

"I almost kissed you in the hallway today," I said, only half joking. "Even though you stunk."

"Well, a little warning would have been nice," she teased back. "My idea of a reunion was candles and wine. And we have to be careful, by the way. We're leaving too many clues."

"I'll try," I breathed, kissing her hand.

She pulled back from me a little, propping her head in her hands.

"Are you still glad you went?" she asked.

"Yes."

She looked at me for a moment, kissed me, then settled back into my embrace.

"Good."

"I won't leave you again," I said, meeting her gaze. "I promise."

She nodded, and we laid together for a while in silence, enjoying the closeness of our bodies and each of our fingers drawing traces on the other's skin. She was almost asleep when I detangled myself from her, slipping out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Sara murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

"Bathroom," I breathed back, kissing her hair. "I'll be right back."

She murmured again and I left as quickly as possible, eager to get back to her. As I washed my hands in the sink lined with Sara's hair products, I noticed a bright pink box amongst the bottles of hair gel. I picked it up in disbelief, opening it with doubt, even thought I knew what must have been inside. And sure enough, a little white stick with two little pink lines.

I nearly fell backwards. I dropped the stick and placed two hands firmly on the counter to keep myself upright, reminding myself to breathe. In and out.

There were too many thoughts racing through my head at once to concentrate on just one. How? Why? When? Why hadn't she told me?

Was she scared? Was she happy? Was she planning on keeping it?

Was I scared? Happy? This was never something I had planned for…

Jesus.

Why hadn't she told me?

I was as much angry as I was confused. I was angry with myself, for leaving her and not being around as she was going through this. But I was angry with her too. This affected my life just as much as hers.

I grabbed the stick and made my way back to the bedroom, where Sara was breathing lightly.

I plopped down next to her unceremoniously, her eyes fluttering open.

"You want to explain this?" I asked, holding the stick out to her.

Her eyes grew wide, and she sat up slowly.

"I thought I threw that away," she said timidly.

"When were you planning on telling me, Sara?"

Her lip trembled.

"No – you don't understand—"

"I understand perfectly," I said thickly. "I hurt you, so you wanted to hurt me right back. Well, this was a lousy way of doing it, Sara."

"Gil—"

"Pregnant?" I said incredulously. "Jesus, Sara, I don't even know what to say—"

"I'm not pregnant," she burst.

I stopped short, still holding the stick in my hand.

"What?"

"I'm not pregnant," she repeated, gathering the sheets up around her, looking wounded. "It… it was a false positive."

My lips parted. I put the test on the nightstand and sat next to her. She withdrew a little, pressing the sheets closer to her, which made my heart break.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she said forcefully, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Oh, Sara…"

"Don't," she cut in. "Judging by that reaction, I'm glad I'm not."

She paused, shaking her head slightly.

"Would it really have been the worst thing in the world? Having a baby with me?"

The tears streamed down her face as we gazed at each other. I could already feel them building up in my own eyes.

"God—no," I said. "Honey, no. That's… that's not it at all. I just couldn't believe you wouldn't tell me. I still don't."

"I wanted to," she whispered. "And after the doctor, I was going to, but when I found out I wasn't, I just… couldn't."

I took her hand, and this time, she didn't pull away. Both our faces were tearful. In our locked gaze, I understood how difficult it must have been for her. Children were something we'd never discussed; we were too content and inexplicably happy enjoying just each other's company. It must have been scary and unexpected and ominous all at once. I wasn't sure how I felt about it quite yet, but I was more worried about her than anything.

"We've never talked about it…" I began.

"I know," she said, nodding quickly. "I know, and… I'm not even sure it's something I want. I guess once the option was there…"

"I know."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said softly.

"Hey," I whispered, cradling her head in my hands. "I have no room to talk."

"We suck at this sometimes, don't we?" she giggled.

"A little," I admitted. "But we're still learning."

She leaned into me, and we both wrapped our arms around each other.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm sorry too."

She settled back into the sheets, and I joined her, still unsure of exactly how to take all this, and feeling a little uneasy, but mostly just glad that we still had each other.