Goodbye Stephanie
Rating: T
Summary: Sequel to Saving Stephanie. Gil and Sara travel to Virginia for her funeral. You should read Saving Stephanie first.
A/N: Got writers block for the story Honeymoon? I hope this helps. Please R&R!
"Hello?" Sara answered the phone lying next to their bed.
"Hello. Is this Dr. Gil Grissom?" The man on the other line asked.
"No, this is Sara, his wife."
"Oh, may I please talk to Gil?"
"Yes, please hold on." Sara held the phone out to Gil lying next to her. "It's for you."
"Who is it?" She shrugged as he took the phone from her and put it to his ear. "Hello, this is Gil."
"Gil, this is Steve Martin, Stephanie's dad. The girl from Virginia who-"
"Yes I remember Stephanie, how could I forget her, she is some special little girl." Sara excused herself from the room when she heard Katlyn, their fifteen month old baby, crying in the next room. "I didn't expect to hear from you, it's been over a year since…well you know. How is she?"
"Well, actually that's the reason I called." After a moment in silence Martin continued. "Well, a couple days ago…she…she died."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. May I ask-?"
"Her kidnapper's girlfriend got a hold of her and we didn't reach her in time this time."
"I am deeply sorry, if there is anything I can do."
"I was wondering if you would like to come to the funeral and maybe say something."
"Wow, I would love to do that. When and where is the funeral?"
"Next week, on Tuesday, in Virginia."
"Oh, I'll have to talk to Sara and see if we can get over there."
"I understand."
"I'll get back to you tomorrow. If that's ok."
"Ya, I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Ok, talk to you then. Bye." Gil hung up the phone and sat in silence not moving. 'How could she be dead?' he thought over and over again. She has always been in the back of his mind ever since she left for her home in Virginia.
Sara made her way back into the bedroom with Katlyn in her arms as she nursed. "Who was that, babe?" The baby giggled in her arms. "I said babe not baby." She joked with Katlyn. She noticed Gil's sorrow-filed face and went to sit next to him. "What's wrong?"
"You remember Stephanie?" She nodded and let him continue. "Well, that was her dad."
"Oh. What did he call about?"
"He asked me to speak at Stephanie's funeral." Gil explained what happened and she scouted closer to his side.
"When is it?"
"Next Tuesday, in Virginia."
"You want to go, don't you?"
"Ya, I do."
"Well, if you call Ecklie and get yourself cleared for a couple days then I'll buy the tickets and book the hotel."
"You're really ok with this. I thought you didn't want to travel with Katlyn."
"I don't want to, but this means so much to you, I can tell."
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Getting into the rental car, they strapped Katlyn into the back and they sat upfront. As soon as they got to the hotel they crashed. All three of them slept in the master bed. Sara was curled in Gil's arms and Katlyn laid in-between them.
The next morning Sara woke up to an empty bed. She got up and looked around the bedroom of the hotel, they weren't there. She got up and rubbed her hands through her tousled hair, and she realized that she had fallen asleep in her clothes from the day before. Shrugging off her jacket and kicking her shoes to the side she made her way through the door and into the other room.
Gil sat on the couch with Katlyn in his hands. He had tears in his eyes but his face was lit with a small smile as he watch Katlyn try to bounce out of his grasp. Sara quietly made her way over to Gil and sat down. "Hey," she spoke softly.
He didn't turn his gaze away from his daughter. "Hey." His voice was no higher than a whisper.
"Are you ok?"
"Ya," Katlyn reached for her mother and Sara took her from Gil and placed her on her lap. Gil watched Katlyn laugh as Sara held her. A tear dripped down his face.
Sara reached over and wiped the tear away. Katlyn wouldn't stop moving so Sara placed her on the ground before taking Gil into a hug. "Talk to me, sweetie."
"I just don't see why someone would take such an innocent little girl away from her father."
"Is this really about Stephanie, or is it about your daughter?" Gil looked up at Katlyn happily rolling around on the rug. "Gil, this wasn't your fault and I know you will always take care of me and Katlyn."
"I guess this has something to do with you and Katlyn. Her mom died before they had a chance to get Stephanie back, and Steve has no one left anymore. It seems like he's lost his life, lost his passion, lost everything."
"Gil…"
"It's ok; I don't really know what to say either." He got up and walked out the door and out of the hotel room.
Sara didn't go after him; she knew he wanted to be alone. She picked up Katlyn and started walking into the bedroom. They sat on the bed for a little over an hour and Katlyn was still wide awake so Sara decided to try and get her to sleep. "Come on, we're going to take a bath, Katy." She spoke to the baby in her arms as she started to draw the bath water. A bath always put Katlyn to bed.
The water rested just over her waist and she had Katlyn settled in her lap. Sara's hair was tied back in a messy bun so she could keep it dry until she got Katlyn to bed and she could shower. Katlyn was too busy playing and splashing in the water to notice her mom trying to hold her still.
As Katlyn started to calm down Sara noticed a yawn escape the one year olds mouth. "Dada!" She screamed as Gil walked into the bathroom. She always was a smart little girl. She could say 'momma, dada, and bug.'
"Hey, baby girl." Katlyn smiled and then yawned again. "Hey, Sara." He said looking at his wife for the first time. "Do you want me to finish her bath?"
"I was just about to put her down so I could take a shower."
"Let me." He said and Sara hesitated before passing off Katlyn to her father. Gil walked out of the bathroom and Sara stood and opened the drain before turning on the shower. As the water soothed away Sara's frustration she could her Gil cooing to their daughter in the other room. "Hey. How are you? Are you tired, bug?" Sara loved it when he called her bug; she thought it suited them so nicely. "Come on, how about you go to bed so I can talk to mommy?" Gil placed pillows around Katlyn so she wouldn't roll off the bed while they weren't there and he left the bedroom.
Gil walked into the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain back so the water sprinkled on his shirt. "Sara?" He asked quietly. She turned to face him in the shower and started to unbutton his shirt. He got the message and undressed fully and hopped into the shower with her. Sara stepped forward and into Gil's arms. The water beat against her back as they stood in silence.
After a couple minutes Gil pulled back to look into her eyes. They both had tears in their eyes as they looked gazes. Gil raised his hand to caress Sara's cheek. His gaze left her eyes and found her lips. He brought his lips to hers in a light kiss. Sara pulled him to her and kissed him again but this time with more passion. "I'm sorry I left." Gil said when they broke the kiss.
"I understand."
"No, you don't." She looked sad so he continued. "Let me explain it so you do." She looked up at him again. "I was just so frustrated. I didn't understand what I was thinking. I couldn't make sense of it all. I didn't know why I was feeling how I was."
"Baby, you know you can always talk to me."
"I know, but I don't know…I just couldn't bring myself to reality. I put myself in Steve's place, and I broke down. For no reason I sat on a street corner and cried. I didn't lose anything. I didn't lose a wife, or a child, all I lost was a little girl I met once. That's it, just once." His tears started to fall over his cheeks.
"Gil, she meant a lot to you. And I'm sure she still does." She wiped away the lose tears on his face.
"I shouldn't be feeling sorry for myself. I shouldn't be crying about you or Katlyn when you're both right here." He let more tears find their way out of his eyes.
"Gil, you have a right to cry. You were trying to think about what he is going through and you are afraid of it being you losing your family. It's ok to cry." She said with her own tears slipping down her face. "It's ok to be scared, Gil. It's ok."
He dipped his head and captured her lips with his own. "Thank you, Sara."
"For what?"
"For shedding light on my world. Not just now, but when ever I feel like I need help. Thank you for saving me."
"Always." They stayed in each others arms until no more tears came and left for the bedroom; to tired to finish their shower. They lay on the bed with Katlyn in the middle and went to bed.
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The next morning they were getting ready for the funeral. Sara was dressed in a long black dress that stopped right before her feet; Gil was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and silk black tie. They had dressed Katlyn up in a simple dress that was a dark maroon on the bottom and the top was white with flowers the same color as the bottom of the dress.
It was raining, and they all thought that the rain suited the occasion perfectly. They walked into the front of the funeral home. They saw Steve sitting in the back, alone.
They made their way over to them with Katlyn following behind, holding her fathers hand. "Steve." Gil said getting his attention.
"Gil, Sara." He politely nodded at each of them.
"Dada." Katlyn called from behind Gil. She tugged on his hand pleading for him to hold her.
He pulled her up into his arms. "Steve, this is Katlyn, my daughter."
Steve stood up. "May I?" he asked holding his arms out asking if he could hold Katlyn.
"Sure," He turned to Katlyn. "Do you wanna see my friend Steve?"
She looked up at Steve and stretched her arms out so he could hold her. "Hey, sweetie." He took her in his arms. He smiled as she looked at her mother for approval. Sara smiled so she leaned over and gave Steve a kiss on the cheek. "You remind me a lot of Stephanie." Tears built in his eyes again. Gil took Sara in her arms and they watched as Steve hugged Katlyn.
He gave Katlyn to Sara and he smiled at the happy family. "How old is she?"
"Fifteen months."
"That's a great age."
"Ya, it is."
"If you'll excuse me, I have to get some air." He left in a hurry and exited the room.
"Sara, excuse me." She nodded and Gil followed him out. He left the building and found Steve standing in the rain. Gil opened an umbrella and stood next to him. "Are you ok?"
"Ya, I just need some air." He wiped away the stray tear.
"It's ok to cry, you know."
"Ya I know. I just, can't do it."
"Cry?"
"No, I can't stay at this funeral."
"Sure you can."
"No."
"Come on, let's go inside and talk." Gil led the way inside and they sat down and talked for a while.
Sara walked over to them. "Come on, it's time to go outside." All the guests filed their way outside to the grave yard. They all stood by the grave as Stephanie's coffin was lowered into the ground. Gil gave his speech which made everyone cry.
After the funeral everyone left except for Steve and The Grissom's. Steve sat next to Stephanie's grave; not caring about the mud of the rain. Gil made his way over to Steve and crouched in front of him. "Hey, you doing ok?"
"Ya. Thanks for coming; we don't really have family so it means a lot to me that you came."
"Of course. If you need to you can come stay with me and Sara in Vegas."
"No, I think I need to stay here."
"Ok, the offer is always open."
"Ok. You should probably leave; your daughter's looking pretty tired."
"Ya," Gil said turning to look at the sleeping Katlyn in Sara's arms. He turned back to Steve. "Bye."
"Ya, bye. Keep in touch this time."
"I will." Steve stood and gave Gil a hug before Gil left with Sara and Katlyn.
Steve turned to the grave and rested his hand on the tomb stone as he kneeled next to the grave. "Bye, Stephanie." The tears came crashing out of his eyes and he laid his head on the stone before he stood. "I love you." He blew a kiss and slowly walked away from the grave.
Sara and Gil watched this from the car and Gil turned to Sara. "I love you, Sara."
"I love you, too, Gil." Gil kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling away from the grave yard and heading to their hotel.
FIN
Hope you liked it. I felt like I needed and ending to Saving Stephanie and I didn't feel like writing a happy story. Honeymoon? Will hopefully be up soon. I'm just not into it right now though I'm working on it I want to make it better than it is. Please R&R!