The Grissom family sat at various spots around the living room. Lindsey was looking at her parents in disbelief. Mattie was bouncing with glee. Gil looked a little nervous but generally happy and Catherine looked a little green. "Yes, Lindsey...you heard us correctly. I'm pregnant." replied the teen's mother.

Lindsey wasn't really all that surprised. They couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other. At home, when they thought no one was watching they were...well, the PDAs were a lot grosser than anything she saw in the halls at school; or that she had seen last week on her double date with her friend Caroline. The were like...like, animals. At first she had thought it was so romantic they way the pursued each other. Then she thought it was funny. Now it just seemd disgusting. Old people weren't supposed to act like that. And they were old...Dad was in his fifties, for gosh sakes. Men in their fifties aren't supposed to be able to do that; at least not without help from the little blue pills. Lindsey had ransacked their room and bathroom looking for his stash of little blue pills. She had thought that if she got rid of them then maybe she could get some sleep at night. But she never found any and never saw any signs that he ever took any pills, except for his migraines. And now,,,oh gosh, how embarrassing; Mom was pregnant...again! Lindsey would never be able to live this down at school.

Mattie was so excited he couldn't sit still. He had asked for a baby and now he was getting one. A baby brother would be great! But Mommy warned him that he might get a baby sister and that she would need loving too. "Okay, he had agreed. I'll love it if's a sister too." Daddy seemed happy but Mattie sensed that he wasn't as happy as Mattie was. Daddy had a funny expression whenever he looked at Mommy. It wasn't one of his playtime funny expressions, it was more like his funny expressions whenever Lindsey went on a date or if Mattie was sick. Daddy was happy but part of him wasn't.

Gil watched his wife closely these days. They were well past the prime years for childbearing and he was afraid. There were so many things that could go wrong with the pregnancy. And even if they made it through, there were so many things that could be wrong with the baby. They both had accepted the possibility of complications with any children when she had been pregnant with Mattie. Besides the usual issues for a woman in her forties, and Cath had been just into her forties, there was the sure knowledge that Gil carried a bomb in his gene pool. One day any child he produced might have to face the possibility of deafness, just as he had done a few years ago. Gil's only comfort from the guilt that he felt was the knowledge that science was creating solutions to a problem for which his mother had found no options. For Gil, a surgery had solved or at least delayed the problem. For his children, he hoped the solution would be easy and permanent. Right now he worried more about Catherine. Already it seemd to him that this pregnancy was harder on her.

Catherine knew her husband was worried. He seemed happy on the surface, but worry lines were becoming more prominant in his features. And he watched her constantly. She understood his worry. She had many of the same worries. But right now she just felt so tired, all she wanted to do was sleep. "Lindsey, I'm really going to need help from you with the house. I know you have so many things going on with your friends and I want you to be able to enjoy them. But I really can't handle it all right now."

Lindsey, for the first time, realized just how rough her mom looked. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked like she would hurl any minute. "Sure Mom, we'll figure it out. I know Dad will help when he's home and when he's at work, I'll be sure to be here. And Mattie can help with a few things too. He's getting bigger."

Mattie beamed. "I a big boy."

They all smiled. "Yes, you are getting to be a big boy," his father commented. "And so you will have a few things that will be your responsibility. I think you can take over the trash detail from Lindsey. And you can help fold laundry too. I'm sure we'll think of other ways you can help, but we'll start with those two."

Later that night, as Gil and Catherine relaxed in their bed, she addressed his worry. "Gil, I know you are worried. So am I. But the doctor says everything is okay and she's given me a list of things to do to help us through and a list of things to watch for. We've already done the screening test with the blood sample. She hasn't decided if amniocentisis will be necessary or not. But we're watching the situation. This won't be easy, but we're on top of it."

He had his arm wrapped around her, protectivly. "I know. It's just...You seem so tired and you're sicker than you were with Mattie. I just don't like waht this is doing to you. I don't want you to have to go through all this."

"What are you saying Gil? That you think we shouldn't have this baby?"

"Part of me thinks that, Cath...sometimes; especially when you are in the bathroom sick or when you are so tired you can't even eat. But...neither of us believes that's the right choice." He held her closer to him."I just love you so much and if..." he couldn't bring himself to say out loud his greatest fear in all this.

"It won't happen Gil. No matter what else happens, you won't lose me in all of this."

"I know we both want to believe that, but we both know it's...this is risky."

"You just hold onto me Gil. I'm not going anywhere as long as you hold on."

He wrapped her in both of his arms and held her as closely as he could, surrounding her with his warmth. "Always. You are my life."

"You know Gil, this isn't as risky as it used to be. I mean, all those stories we used to hear...they just don't happen as much anymore."

"No, not as much..." He still held her tightly.

The next day at work, he sat at his computer, researching the risks. He didn't like the statistics he read. Between the ages of 40 and 45, the risk for chromosomal problems went from 1 in 100 to 1 in 30. Cath was in the middle of that range. The were all kinds of other problems listed also. Miscarriage caught his attention...50. He knew what a miscarraige would do to her. She'd never be convinced that it wan't her fault in some way. His heart was in his stomach. Picking up the phone, he called Ecklie's office. The secretary gave him an appointment for later that afternoon.

That night, when everyone was tucked in for the night Gil sat down with his Love to tell her what he had done. "You did what?" she exclaimed.

"I took a leave of absence...until the baby is born and everyone is okay."

"Gil?"

"Catherine...I want to be here...not at the lab. Nick is taking over as acting supervisor. I'll be available for consultation but I won't be keeping regular hours. Cath, I need to do this. I need to be here for you. And I need to be here for my own sake. This...you...are the most important thing in my life. I have to be here."

Catherine looked at her husband in true amazement. For years, his life had been the lab. And today he had simply walked away from it...for her, and for their baby. "Well, then tomorrow you can go with me to the doctor. Maybe she can talk some sense into you." But she smiled as she said it.

"I love you Cath and we're doing this thing together."

"I love you too, Gil. And...thank you."

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