A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. Thanks to Emily (clayfish32) for the beta.
Disclaimer: Um, if I owned CSI, there would be a geek baby. Enough said.
"Hey, Catherine. Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked, catching her as she headed toward the break room.
Shift would be starting in another fifteen minutes.
As soon as they arrived at the Crime Lab, Sara had bolted in the direction of the bathroom, hand covering her mouth. He had tried to get her to stay home, though he should've known he would have no luck and not wasted his breath. She'd told him it was silly for her not to go into work.
He sighed, both exasperated and concerned, which led him to wanting to talk with Catherine. Sara needed someone to look out for her.
"Yeah, sure."
He pulled her into a quiet corner before speaking. "I'm going to pair you with Sara tonight." Because if he paired her with him again, Sara would accuse him of being overprotective, which would've been true.
"Okay," she drew out the word. "That's fine, Gris. Is there something else…?"
"Yeah," he paused and made sure the hallway was empty. He knew if Sara found out she might not be too happy but her well-being was more important to him than having to suffer through a few days of her being upset with him. "Will you please keep an eye on her tonight for me?"
"Keep an eye on Sara?" she repeated, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Not that I mind—well, maybe… it depends. What exactly am I supposed to be watching for?"
"Just… you know how Sara is. Even if she's not feeling well, she wants to work."
"Yeah, I know. I think she might have a greater work ethic than you, which is saying something." Another moment passed before she asked, "Where is Sara anyway?"
"Uh, the bathroom, I think."
"The bathroom," she echoed. Slowly a picture began to form. He was shifting uncomfortably in front of her, his concern for Sara obvious. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on his face. "Is there something else going on? Something you're not telling me, Grissom?"
"No," he quickly replied. "Sara's feeling under the weather, and I'm concerned, naturally."
"Mm-hmm, naturally. Is there anything specific I need to look for? I mean she's not on the verge of having a brain aneurysm or going into epileptic shock, right?" She'd been watching way too many House reruns on USA.
"God, no! No, Catherine." Where did she even get these ideas? He sighed, he should have known better. Yet again. Nothing was ever simple with Catherine. Her eyes bore into his, and he thought—not for the first time—that he would be in a world of trouble if she ever learned how to read minds. She wasn't going to give up, so instead of fighting the inevitable he gave in. "Sara and I suspect she might be pregnant," he said, as his mind flashed back to when Sara gave him the news.
"I think I'm pregnant."
"Pregnant?" His mind was reeling, hearing those words from her. Could it be possible? After months of disappointment, his heart cautiously began to fill with hope. After the last negative test Sara had taken, he'd stopped asking, feeling she didn't want a constant reminder from him.
She let go of his hands, her arms finding their way around his neck as he wrapped his loosely around her waist.
"I'm three weeks late… I've never been that late. Then add in the nausea, the backaches, the exhaustion… all the other little things. I know it may sound a bit ridiculous, but I feel different, you know?"
He shook his head; he didn't think it sounded all that ridiculous. "So… we'll make a doctor's appointment?"
She nodded. "I think it's real this time."
"Pregnant," he repeated in awe as his arms tightened around her.
She nodded again. "Yeah. I think so." A single tear slid down her cheek and he lifted a hand, gently brushing it away.
He bent his head, his intention to kiss her clear.
"Wait."
He stopped, questioning why with his eyes.
"I've been throwing up half the evening, not to mention I just spent an unknown amount of time becoming one with the tiles of our bathroom floor," she explained. "Then Bruno gave me his version of a bath… let me first—"
"No," he said, cutting her off, touching his lips to hers.
Drawing back, moments later, she smiled. "Now, that's love."
"What's love got to do with it?" he teased.
"Everything," she murmured.
"Yeah, everything," he agreed, kissing her again.
Catherine laid a hand on his arm, drawing him from his reverie.
"Huh?" he asked.
"I said that's great," she repeated.
"It is."
"So has Sara taken a pregnancy test then?"
He twisted uncomfortably under her watchful eyes. "No. We, um… no, not yet." He wasn't going to explain any further; some things were best kept private.
"Oh. Well, have you at least made an appointment?"
"Yes. Sara called the day before yesterday but her doctor's booked until the seventeenth," he said. "So, now that you know… you'll keep an eye on Sara?"
"Yeah, of course, I will."
He smiled in appreciation and walked with her to the break room where Sara was already seated at the table with the rest of the team.
The following night came and Sara walked into the Crime Lab's locker room to put up her belongings. Catherine was already there.
"Sara, hi. How are you?" she asked.
"I'm good. Thanks." She closed her locker, turning to fully face Catherine.
"So, Sara," the blonde began, picking up a plastic drugstore bag that had been on the bench. "I bought you something."
"Um, okay?" She took the bag from her and searched her mind for a reason why Catherine would be buying her something. It wasn't her birthday; it wasn't Christmas, at least not yet. "Thank—" She stopped what she'd been saying when she took out her 'present'. Her face blanched as she backed up a few steps into the row of lockers, not even wincing when she felt the hard metal handle dig into her back. "I can't believe he told you."
"Sara, don't be upset with him," Catherine said, quickly coming to Grissom's defense. "He was worried and wanted to make sure I looked after you last night… said you were feeling sick. You know me, I pushed and prodded until I dragged the truth out of him."
"Yeah, I know you." She sighed heavily. "Thanks, but no thanks. I have an appointment already scheduled, so I don't need this," she said and handed back the pregnancy test. Seeing that pregnancy test brought back nothing but bad memories.
"Sara, for the last few days, I've seen you and Grissom… you are both preoccupied. Your mind is focused on whether or not you're pregnant… your appointment isn't until—"
"I can't deal with this right now," she said, leaving Catherine in her wake as she left the locker room.
"Why don't you just take the test?" Catherine asked, catching up with her.
"Catherine." Her voice was low and warning-like.
"What's the big deal, Sara? You take a test, find out if you're pregnant. If you are then that's great… congratulations. If not, then okay that sucks… try again."
"What's the big deal?" She whirled around, her face pained. "Why not take a little test? So easy, right? Yeah, except you know nothing about the months of disappointment… that Gil and I have been trying. Do you want to know the number of failed tests I've already taken?"
Catherine gasped. "I'm so sorry, Sara. I had no idea…"
"Hey, Catherine. Sara," Nick said, as he came up behind them.
To her credit, Catherine tried to hide the test she still held, but Nick's eyes were too sharp.
"Pregnancy test?"
"Who's pregnant?" Greg asked, a few seconds behind Nick.
Sara groaned. Catherine shot her an apologetic look.
"That's what I was trying to figure out," Nick explained to Greg. "It's true that Catherine's holding the test, but Sara's the one looking like she's about to hurl."
"Hey, guys," Warrick said, joining the ever-expanding group. "What's going on? Who's about to hurl?"
Sara groaned again. "Seriously?" she questioned aloud, thinking that right about now would be a good time for the floor to open up so she could disappear.
"Is that a pregnancy test you're holding, Catherine?" Warrick asked.
Before Catherine could respond, Sara saw a familiar figure striding down the hallway. "Gil," she called out quickly.
He came at her call and immediately noticed what Catherine held in her hand. His eyes widened, and he made a move to step back but Sara grabbed him.
"Oh, no. You're not going to leave me here… with them," she hissed.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he returned, smiling at her in hopes that she wouldn't be too furious with him.
She dashed that hope a second later. "That smile's not going to work on me, Gil Grissom. You just had to open your big mouth—"
"Sara," he began, not sure what to say to help himself out of the hole he had dug.
As if she hadn't heard him, she continued, "Though, on the other hand, your mouth is good for a few things…"
"Sara." His cheeks flushed a bright red. Catherine grinned while the boys wore matching expressions torn between amusement and way too much information.
"Gil," she returned evenly. Later she would blame the hormones but, for now, she figured that since she was already embarrassed (and feeling a lot of other conflicting emotions) she would spread the love and share the embarrassment. "Catherine's holding a pregnancy test, which Nick so cleverly deduced would be for me… so," she paused, leaning toward him and adding in a staged whisper, "I'm pretty sure they already know we have sex."
He made a choking sound.
"Oh, sorry… did I burst anyone's little illusion?" Sara asked, taking in her friends' shocked faces.
Everyone remained silent.
"Anyone need a free lesson on the birds and the bees?" she asked. "I'm sure Gil would be happy to practice because if we have a little boy, he's going to have to give the sex talk—"
"Really? I have to?" Gil questioned, preparing to debate.
"Uh, guys… let's focus," Warrick interrupted. He caught Sara's gaze and asked, "So you're definitely pregnant?"
"Maybe. I don't know… I have an appointment next Wednesday."
Pointing to the test Catherine held, Nick asked, "Why don't you take the test now?"
"Because I'm not going to take a pregnancy test in front of everyone!"
"Why not?" Greg questioned.
"It's the least you can do since you and Grissom didn't invite us to the wedding," Nick said, thinking back to how they had found out months ago.
"Hey, Boss. We were wondering when you were coming back to work," Greg said, when he saw Grissom standing in the doorway of the break room. Everyone was seated, trying to enjoy a few moments of peace before shift started. "All Brass would say is that you needed some time off…"
"It was only three days," Grissom replied, "but I'm glad to know that I was missed." Smiling, he moved into the room, allowing the person behind him to be seen for the first time.
"Hi," Sara said, giving a small wave and wearing a huge grin.
"SARA!"
"You're back! I've missed you…"
"No wonder you took time off," Nick commented, followed by laughter from the others.
It had taken nearly ten minutes for hugs to be given and received and for the excited chatter to finally quiet down to a reasonable noise level. The team retook their seats, while Grissom remained standing by Sara's side. They explained that they'd talked with Ecklie the day before and he had agreed to allow Sara to return to graveyard; they just needed to work out a few more details.
"We have one more thing to tell you," Grissom said, wrapping an arm around Sara's waist, pulling her closer.
She gave him a smile before looking to her friends. Holding up her left hand, she let the light catch on her ring finger. "We got married," she said, and the quiet of the room was disrupted again.
Sara winced and felt a small sting of guilt at Nick's comment. She and Gil were not traditional by any means, and she knew in her heart that their 'ceremony' was right for them. Still, while the team had been happy for them, she knew they'd also felt left out. Even after all these years of working with them and becoming close, she wasn't entirely used to having people care so much about her.
So, if they wanted to be part of this whole pregnancy thing, she would go along with it she decided. Albeit not entirely willingly.
"Okay, okay. Fine," she said, grabbing the test from Catherine's hand. "Would you like me to bring out the test when I'm finished, too?"
"Would you?" Greg asked. "That would be so cool…"
She shook her head. "I wasn't actually serious," she said, walking toward the ladies room. She couldn't bring herself to look at Gil, afraid to see hope reflected in his eyes.
"You better come out, or we'll come in," Greg warned.
"Good luck," Nick called after her.
Once in the restroom, she leaned against the door. She looked at the test she held in her hand and swallowed hard. She hadn't bought one in nearly four months.
She read the instructions carefully, though she didn't need to. This was the same test she had taken that very first time.
Nervous didn't even begin to describe how she felt. It was more like petrified. Hopeful. Anxious. Her stomach was in knots.
She floated somewhere between wanting to know and not wanting to know. She thought she was pregnant, so certain that she could almost feel a new life growing inside her. Taking the test, though, was scary… because what if she was wrong?
Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.
As long as she had the possibility of being pregnant, she could hold onto the hope. Once the hope was dashed… she couldn't get it back. It was hard not to think of all the negative tests she had taken. But she had everyone outside waiting, and if she was honest with herself she didn't think she could wait any longer. She needed to know.
Saying a quick prayer to a god she didn't believe in, she steadied herself and walked into the bathroom stall.
Five minutes ticked by slowly.
"Sara? Hey, Sara?" Greg's voice could be heard through the door. "Did you fall into the toilet or something?"
No response.
Five more minutes passed.
"Sara?" It was Catherine's voice this time. "Hey… um, the boys are talking about coming in and dragging you out. I'll try to keep them at bay but it would be easier if you would just say something… please?"
Ten seconds later, she walked out.
"What did the test say?"
"Is there a bun in the oven? A baby G? Is your eggo preggo?"
"Sara, are you pregnant? Sara...?"
She walked past them, searching for only one face. When she saw him—the lone figure leaning against the wall a few feet away—she breathed out a sigh.
His eyes locked onto hers and he met her halfway. He didn't say anything, just continued to stare into her eyes, wordlessly asking the question everyone else had already voiced.
Ringing phones, people talking, even distant wails of sirens surrounded them. But for the two of them, in that moment, there was no one else and nothing but silence.
She gave him a small nod.
Instantly, his arms found their way around her while hers wrapped tightly around his neck. He spun her around, her feet no longer touching the ground. She began laughing along with him, tears of happiness—of completeness—streaming down her face.
It was finally real.
A few moments later when he still hadn't released her, she reluctantly warned, "Maybe you should set me down… otherwise, I might throw up again."
He stopped, letting her body slide down his until her feet touched the floor. Placing a kiss softly on her lips, he whispered, "I love you."
She gave him a watery smile, with her arms still wrapped around his neck, and told him she loved him too.
--
"Sara!" he exclaimed when he saw her falter and stumble, barely managing to keep upright.
She steadied herself, placing a hand on her stomach, and took a deep, calming breath to slow her racing heart. "I'm okay, Warrick," she said after he rushed to her side.
They were in the evidence room, processing the things they had collected from their crime scene. Catherine had left a few moments before to harass Archie to see if he'd been able to glean any useful information from the convenience store video they had recovered.
"Maybe you should sit down," Warrick suggested.
"We have evidence to—"
"Sara, you're not going to be much help if you can barely stand."
She sighed, wishing she could argue but knowing he was right; she was fatigued. "Okay, fine. I'll go to the break room and find something to settle my stomach."
"Wait," he said as she walked away.
She stopped and turned.
"I want to go with you."
"It's not like I'm going that far," she grumbled but then noted the concern in his eyes and softened. "Sure, thanks. I guess I wouldn't mind the company."
At first, he was relieved she wasn't going to give him a hard time, but then he frowned because her being so amenable worried him—it meant she really wasn't feeling well. He walked closely beside her in case she stumbled again, and when they reached the break room, he pulled out a chair and ordered her to sit.
She sat not because of his order but because her body demanded it. Still, she managed to give him a mock salute. "Yes, sir."
"Don't get smart with me, young lady," he said, flashing a smile at her. "What would you like? I'm at your service."
Now it was her turn to grin. "At my service, huh? Well, in that case, I could really use a back massage… maybe even a foot rub, too. And at least half a pound of chocolate—the good stuff."
She would've made a great poker player because he couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.
"Don't look so worried, Warrick," she said, a bubble of laughter escaping from her lips. "I was only teasing… though that massage does sound good." Luckily, she knew a man with some very talented hands that would be more than happy to rub her back, among other body parts, later. "I'll take a bottle of water and some saltines. They should be over on the counter in a marked box."
He handed her the water and went to grab the box. "You mean this one?" he questioned, holding it up. It was marked with a yellow post-it note that warned of dire consequences: Touch these and suffer the wrath of S. Grissom.
She shrugged, taking the box and opening it. "I'm pregnant," she stated simply. "Hormones," she added with a slight wave of her hand and began to slowly munch on her crackers.
He couldn't think of a suitable response, so he nodded sagely in agreement.
"Besides, I had to do something. Last week, I came into work nauseously sick. When I walked to the break room to eat my saltines, they were gone. Some brilliant young newbie," she said with emphasis on the word brilliant, "decided to let a murder suspect who was severely hung over have my saltines." She paused, taking a sip of her water to combat her dry mouth. "Seriously, who is more deserving of saltines? Pregnant woman or murder suspect?"
He knew the right answer this time. "You, of course."
She smiled pleased he agreed.
"Do you mind if I find Catherine and let her know where we are?" he asked, when he felt she was okay enough to be left alone. The color in her cheeks was returning again.
She nodded. "That's fine."
With one last look, he left. He found Catherine with Archie in the audio and visual lab; he quickly explained what had happened and assured her he had it covered. Taking a small detour before heading back to Sara, he stopped by the receptionist's desk.
Judy looked up and smiled. "Hi, Warrick."
"Hey. Could you do me a favor and page Grissom with a 411SG in the break room?"
"Yeah, sure. He'll, uh, understand the message?"
"Yeah, he will. It will come to make sense to you, too." He told her a quick thanks and walked away.
It had been two days before Christmas—a week and a half after Sara's positive home pregnancy test at the lab and almost a full week after her confirmed pregnancy test at the doctor's—when he along with Nick and Greg walked into Grissom's office.
"Yes?" Grissom asked, looking up from the pile of paperwork he was slowly sloshing his way through, beyond grateful for an excuse to take a small break.
"We wanted to talk about Sara," Nick began, stepping forward.
Grissom put down the pen he was holding, sitting up straighter in his chair, unsure where the conversation would go. He motioned for Nick, someone, to continue.
"We were talking the other day… discussing things. And we think we should have some kind of code," Nick explained.
"A code?" Grissom repeated.
"We all think of Sara as a sister," Warrick said.
"As family," Greg added. "We're all a family here."
Warrick stepped forward, moving closer to Grissom's desk. "We want you to know that we'll look out for Sara, make sure she's not pushing herself too hard."
"You can't pair her with you all the time—mainly because Sara wouldn't allow it. So, we're here to tell you that we'll take care of her when she's with us," Nick said.
"Thank you," Grissom said, moved and incredibly grateful to have these men in his and Sara's lives—and, in the future, in his son or daughter's life. They really were a family.
"So, the code thing," Greg continued. "We thought we could come up with some kind of system, in case something happens when we're with Sara and we think you should know about it. We could have number codes to correspond to different things…"
After ten minutes of plotting, they headed out of Grissom's office.
Nick stopped and turned back. "Hey, Boss?"
"Yes?"
"Let's, uh, not mention this to Sara… about the code thing. She might not be too thrilled with us."
When Warrick reentered the break room, Sara was still seated.
He grabbed a chair and sat next to her. Without asking, he knew she was upset about having to take a break. She was tough and didn't like to feel that she wasn't pulling her weight, no matter how legit her excuse was. In an effort to cheer her up, he launched into a story. "Did I ever tell you about that one time when Greg…"
By the time Gil walked in five minutes later, she was smiling.
"Hi," she said when she noticed him. She shot Warrick a quick, suspicious look, wondering if he was responsible for Gil showing up unannounced in the break room. Warrick just shrugged.
When he had received the page from Judy, he'd been with Nick and Greg. They had assured him they could finish up and for him to go to Sara. He hadn't hesitated a second longer. The code meant only lightheadedness but still he couldn't stem the panic from rising.
"Hi." He came to stand beside her, trying not to appear overly worried. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. I got a little dizzy for a moment… nothing to worry about." She reached for his hand, hoping to ease his concern. "Warrick took good care of me. He made me take a break and fed me."
"Why don't you go ahead and take Sara home, Grissom?" Warrick suggested. "Catherine and I already agreed that we can deal with the rest of the night's work, and I'm sure Nick and Greg can handle things as well."
"Well, we are almost finished. And if you and Catherine are willing—"
"Hello! Remember me?" She pushed up from her chair suddenly, startling both men, and threw her hands up in annoyance. "I'm still in the room, you know."
"We know," they echoed simultaneously. They caught each other's eyes and thought the same thing: Uh-oh. Hormones.
"I appreciate everyone's concern… really, I do. But I can't go home early just because I got a little dizzy. Nausea, fatigue, dizziness… they're all common for pregnant women. It's going to happen again, and I'm not going home each and every time—"
"We're just worried, Sar," Warrick interjected softly.
"I know that," she said. "Thank you." She was beginning to feel shaky again—the sudden leap up from her chair wasn't the brightest idea apparently—so she added, "Warrick, if you don't mind, I'll… uh… sit down for a few more minutes and then come to find you in the evidence room."
"That's fine, Sara." He knew she probably wanted to spend a few minutes alone with Grissom. "Just take your time," he said before exiting the break room.
Retaking her seat, she motioned for Gil to take the one Warrick had just vacated. "I'm okay," she murmured, reaching to caress his cheek. "I promise I won't over do things… and it's only a few more hours."
He placed his hand on top of hers and drew it down, intertwining their fingers. "Okay." He trusted her to be honest and to know what was best for her and the baby.
"I love you," she said.
He smiled, leaning forward to give her a kiss on the lips. "I love you, too."
They sat quietly, finding solace by being in each other's presence.
She broke the silence first. "I do know one thing you can do for me though."
"And what's that?" he asked, knowing he would say yes to anything she wanted.
"On the way home, you can stop at the store and buy me some more pickles."
"Didn't I just buy a jumbo jar three days ago?"
"What can I say? I had a craving… the baby wanted pickles." She gave him a winning smile. "Oh, you know what? Maybe you should buy some chocolate syrup, too."
"Don't tell me you want to dip pickles in chocolate syrup now?" he questioned. "Here I thought watching you dip buttered popcorn into chocolate milk was gross—"
"Hey! Don't knock it until you try it. And I only dipped a couple of kernels into my milk… I wanted to see how it would taste." She shrugged. "It wasn't that bad actually," she said, rising from her chair to throw away her empty bottle of water and to put away her crackers. She turned to face him again and said, "I think it's time for us to get back to work."
"Do you mind an escort?" he asked, standing.
She sighed. "Sure. I would love one… since, you know, I might get lost in the big bad dark and winding hallways of the Las Vegas Crime Lab…"
"Sara." He followed her to the doorway, where she had stopped, and laid a hand on her arm. "Don't ask me to stop caring… please. I can't do that. I'm new to this whole fatherhood thing… I just want to make sure that the mother of my child is taken care of."
She turned, her eyes lifting to meet his. "I know. I'm not asking you to stop caring," she said. "For so long it seemed I only had myself to rely on, no one really cared or worried about me. I got used to that… so sometimes it's hard to shake that habit. I'll work on it, okay?"
"Okay." He nodded and smiled. "Thank you."
They walked down the hallway together, his hand resting comfortably on her back.
"You know," she began, "if you and Warrick and everyone else are this bad at only eleven weeks, I shudder to think of what will happen when I'm five months pregnant. I can already foresee a twenty-four-seven bodyguard…" She broke off, chuckling at the image.
Gil remained silent, so she stole a glance at him. He looked lost in serious thought. Crap, she groaned inwardly, she had just unwittingly given him a new idea.
"Gil, sweetie… that was just a joke. You know, ha-ha funny…"
"Mm-hmm," he mumbled, distracted.
"Gil…? Honey… Gil?"
A/N2: I hope you enjoyed the chapter because I had fun writing it. Constructive criticism and reviews are both adored. Thanks!