Growing Period.

By Dany

Rating: T

Summary: Set after "Growing Together" in my Baby series. Grissom and Sara continue to make a life together.

A/N: It took me a while, but I did it. I needed a break from this story to take a deep breath and sort through everything I wanted to put into it and I hope I managed to do so well. This is going to be the final story.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.

xxxxx

"It seems like this is the perfect place for us," Grissom said with a smirk.

Once again they were wandering through the wildlife park, but this time they were walking along the path they had not yet taken.

Grissom's statement certainly seemed to be true. Whenever they had something important to discuss, they came to this park. Today, it was him who had brought her there. After their talk a couple of weeks earlier, things had progressed.

They had really settled into their new home and were getting used to juggling work and their time as a couple. It was not always easy being around each other almost 24/7. That they had bought a house big enough for them to go separate ways when they needed a time out was a big help.

They had developed a routine where Sara would retreat to her study, listening to music and the scanner or surfing the net for an hour to relax. Grissom, for his part, busied himself with taking care of his bugs. That way they were able to regain some distance – from work and from each other. An hour of that solitude was enough for them to enjoy the rest of the day together.

They had also gotten better at social interaction, frequently meeting the others for breakfast or dinner and a movie. It was easier than Grissom would have thought.

But now, there were more important things than worrying about other relationships.

Right now, there was something about their relationship that needed to be discussed.

"This place is special," Sara agreed, snuggling up closer to Grissom as he kept his arm around her. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Since we were here the last time, I've been thinking about something. I don't know if we are at the point to discuss it, but I want to try."

A couple of months ago she would have reacted with a retreat, the potential for misunderstanding being great. She knew better now.

Grissom's words were still highly ambiguous, but she had learned to deal with his habit of keeping everyone guessing, so she waited for him to tell her what had been on his mind for weeks.

"Sara, we already talked about our future when we decided to buy the house, but do you think you're ready to talk about it some more?" Grissom couldn't believe he was actually the one to start this. He didn't know why; he just knew it felt right.

Sara nodded, still watching the different emotions play out on his face. They told her he wasn't sure about this at all, which worried her.

Having her assent, Grissom continued to pour out his thoughts. "Would you like to have children?"

His question startled her, making her mind pause and her breath lock in her throat. 'Would you like to have children?' That was more than a loaded question, one her mind had to process first if it started working again. Eventually it did and it made her travel back in time. She hadn't thought about that in a while, but she couldn't deny that it had played a big part when Grissom had started coming closer. Seeing him with Amelia had made her think about how it would be if she were actually their child. When they had gotten to the point where the 'closer' moved to 'close relationship,' other things had become more important. To even seriously think about having a child with him, they needed to make it work. That's what she had focused on. Only when they saw the little girl, her thoughts had started to wander.

Now they were once again wandering in that direction. "My first instinct is to ask you back, but that wouldn't be fair so..." She chose her words carefully, not wanting to fall into the same trap that Grissom did so often: miscommunication.

"I'll try to answer as short as I can. Given my history, I didn't think I'd ever want to have kids. My biggest fear would always be to become like my parents. Having a child is definitely not something to take lightly."

She didn't want her words to come across as too stand-offish, but there were things that needed to be said. "I can't make a decision right now. Well, I know that my opinion has changed; life has changed. I have changed, and now that I've regained some confidence, that sheds a different light on things."

She took a deep breath and realized that she was over talking again. Grissom's face showed confusion and deep thinking lines as he tried to keep up with her. "Simple answer?"

Grissom raised an eyebrow, letting her know he was interested to hear whatever she had to say. "Yes."

Sara paused and changed her position so she was in his arms in front of him.

"Yes, I think I want to have children, but only if you want to, and only with you."

Her last statement had the potential to scare him, but she hoped that he would be fine. She wanted to show him that she was serious, so serious that she didn't even want to think about doing this with someone else.

He took his time to ponder her words, weighing all of his options. It had been his idea to talk, but now it seemed as if her answer had taken the wind out of his sails. His eyes left hers and he stared over her head at nothing in particular. He was thinking.

"I had an answer for the question that I knew you would ask back, but now it seems to be an absolute mismatch," he began after a while.

Sara had just let herself be held by him, waiting patiently for any reaction. "I expected part of your answer and yet, I didn't see some other things coming. We are much more alike than the others think. I have the same fears and worries that you have. I worry about being a good father. I never thought I would even want to seriously consider it. But, I do think about it now. You have changed that."

Sara had to smile, quickly declaring that particular phrase as one of her favorites.

"Want to hear my 'simple' answer?" At her nod, he breathed out a yes and turned to smile at her. Sara leaned forward to bridge the gap and kissed him.

They didn't care that everyone could see them; this was another milestone in their relationship and it called for a celebration.

After taking their sweet time, enjoying the intimacy, they broke apart with huge smiles on their faces.

"I love you." Sara nuzzled his neck, not ready to let him go. She would never be ready to do that. She just hoped that he felt the same.

At the moment, it certainly looked that way. After all, he wanted a child with her and she would not doubt his decision.

"We still need to talk about a lot of things." When he saw her wrinkling her forehead, he hastened to add, "But not now. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day."

He pulled her into an embrace before taking her to his side again and continuing their walk, enjoying their time together.

Life was good.

TBC