So who else is excited for next week's CSI? I sure am... but I'm also really nervous about it! I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, huh?

Thanks for reading, and as always I'd love it if you stopped to review. :)

A/N: I will not be posting another chapter for a few weeks - sorry for the inconvenience!

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Gil was mad. Sure, he had entertained the idea of Sara being with other men before – at some points in time, he had had to. There had been Hank… Oh, how he had dispised that man. He remembered how he’d found out about Hank and Sara and the mere memory pierced through him like a knife to the chest. Sara had tried to hide it from him and he had he remembered the look of shock and embarrassment that crossed her features when Philip Gerard exposed their relationship.

There had been other men in Sara’s life for the time Gil had known her, too – he was sure of that. But there had never been a man quite like Eric Lachlan. He and Sara had been closer than any other of Sara’s boyfriends had, that much was obvious, but had she been in love with him? Gil shook the idea from his head: He couldn’t bear to even think about that possibility.

Gil looked up at the San Franciscan night sky and sighed. He was leaning against his, Sara’s and Ecklie’s rented SUV out in the parking lot of the motel they were staying at. He’d been hoping to find some privacy and had resorted to this since there was no way he was staying in his room, and he didn’t feel like dealing with Sara right now – or her sympathy.

Gil felt a migraine coming on – this always happened when he was frustrated – and closed his eyes against the dull ache in his head. A few moments had passed when Gil heard her voice. “Hey.” Sara was only a few yards to his left and he subconsciously wondered why he had not heard her approach.

“Hey,” he replied, and looked away. Gil heard her walk up and stand next to him, and he wondered not for the first time this trip what she was thinking. Did she know he was upset? Was she thinking about what happened today, too? He sighed and saw out of the corner of his eye Sara turn to look at him, as if she was trying to read his expression.

“You ok?” she kept her voice low, as if trying not to frighten him.

“Yes,” he said, and knew she could see right through his lie. Sara didn’t say anything for a few moments, though, and instead looked up at the sky as Gil had done just minutes before.

“You’re still mad, aren’t you?” She was obviously more observant when it came to his feelings than he had thought.

“I’m not mad, Sara. I’m frustrated. Maybe I’m jealous. I don’t know.” He sighed roughly and folded his arms across his chest.

“But… Why?” Gil could hear the confusion in her voice and was suddenly angry. Wasn’t it obvious? This man – one of Sara’s past lovers – comes out of nowhere and tries to woo Sara – his Sara! And all under Gil’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Because I—I—“ but he couldn’t find the words. Or maybe he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but couldn’t. He didn’t want to push Sara away any more than he had lately.

“Because you…” Sara searched his face; he could feel her eyes on him.

“Because I hate seeing other guys flirt with you, Sara. I always have. And to see this man that you used to be infatuated with try to win your heart is infuriating.”

“Why? Because you think I’ll go running back to him?”

“Because…” he didn’t know. He didn’t know and he couldn’t say. Gil just stared at Sara as realization swept over her delicate features.

“You don’t trust me,” she said in a small voice, and he could see the hurt in her eyes.

“No! Sara, I—I do,” he replied quickly, but even questioned his own answer. Did he really? He trusted her with lots of things, but this was one of the things he had been afraid of when he had agreed to go on that first date with her… what he had been afraid of all along. What if she ran into the arms of another man once she realized how much better than him she could do? Did he really trust her fidelity to him?

“Why are you so worried about me and Eric? I already told you that there’s nothing between us anymore.” Sara was standing in front of Gil now, her arms folded across her chest.

“Because of the way you act around him, Sara.” Gil knew his tone was too stern, but he could feel his anger rising and couldn’t control it. “You should see yourself.”

“Oh, really? What do I act like, Grissom?” she spat back.

“Like you can’t wait to get him into bed with you.” he said without thinking, and immediately regretted it when he heard her sharp intake of breath.

Sara stood, speechless before him for several long moments. “Is that what you really think?”

“I—I… No. I mean—“

“You know what? Save it. I don’t want to hear it right now.” Sara cut him off. She then turned and started to walk away, but stopped after a few paces and turned back toward him, “Since you obviously haven’t realized it yet, I committed to this relationship for you, not him. I never expected to run into him here… If I had, I wouldn’t have come.” She paused and looked away, and when she looked back the anger and contempt that had held her gaze before was gone, and Gil winced at the hurt he saw that had taken its place. “And just so you know, I don’t want to sleep with Eric. He’s charming, sure, but he’s not what I want.” Sara let out a long breath and wrapped her arms around herself in an unconscious act of self-protection.

Gil stood there, unsure of what to do. They had been standing for several moments in silence, with Gil looking at his feet, when he heard Sara turn and walk away. He sighed after he knew she was gone and leaned back against the SUV, then pinched the bridge of his nose. He definitely had a migraine now.

Gil knew that he had never been good at relationships before, but he hadn’t been aware of how easily he could screw them up.

Gil pushed himself off the SUV and started toward his own room. Tonight would be a long night.