Chapter One
Wednesday
Three days before the wedding
"What the hell do you mean you're leaving?"
Sara stood in the doorway of Grissom's bedroom staring at the suitcase lying open on the bed.
"It's just for a couple of days Sara," Grissom explained calmly as he reached into the closet and pulled out a shirt.
"A couple days? A couple days?" Sara was shocked. "The wedding is in a three days!" Her voice grew louder as she watched her fiancé tug the hanger out of the shirt collar. "Gil, I've spent months organizing the wedding, the reception. The menu is chosen, the flowers are ordered, the freakin' cake is being baked as we speak."
"We are not speaking…" Grissom stepped over to her. "You are yelling," he put calming hands on her shoulders, but she shrugged them off.
"You're damn right I'm yelling! I would have been fine with getting married by Elvis, but you wanted a real wedding, and that's what I've created for you, and now, you're not even going to be here!"
"Honey, calm down," Grissom tried again. "I'll be back the day before the ceremony, it's only Minnesota. It's not as if I'm flying to Russia."
"The Minnesota cops can just get themselves another entomologist."
"No, Sara, they can't."
"Well, then they can go fuc-"
"Sara," he tried to interrupt her.
"- themselves."
"Sara, there are very few entomologist's with crime scene experience, and the others have previous commitments."
"So do you!" Sara was still yelling.
"I'll be back the day before the wedding, I promise." And with that, he took another shirt out of the closet.
Thursday
Two days before the wedding
"What the hell do you mean he's in Montana?" Catherine was shocked, and her voice was louder than she intended.
"Minnesota," Sara corrected quietly. "He's in Minnesota." She handed Catherine a mug of hot tea.
"What difference does it make?" Catherine had taken on the roll of mother-of-the-bride, helping Sara with the decisions and plans, and was fully aghast at the thought of Grissom leaving the state so close to the wedding.
Sara sank into the cushions of the sofa. She'd dipped into her abundance of vacation time, taking this week off for last minute preparation for the ceremony and the next week off for the honeymoon. She sighed heavily as she tucked her bare feet next to her.
"Well," Catherine began, trying to make the best of the situation. "At least he's not here getting in our way."
Sara looked over at her friend and smiled wanly. "What's on the schedule for today?"
"Your final fitting. We also have to get with the photographer, the florist and make a final run through with the caterer." Catherine consulted her to-do list.
"Jeeze…" Sara's eyes closed. "Cath, was your wedding to Eddie this much of a pain in the ass?"
Catherine grinned. "Actually, Eddie and I eloped." She laughed with the memory, "We ran away from Vegas to get married."
"Really?" Sara asked and sipped her tea, grateful for the possibility of a conversation topic other than her own impending wedding and her absent groom.
"Yeah," Catherine took a sip of tea before she continued. "My mom didn't like Eddie, and his mom didn't like me."
"Why didn't she like you?" Sara interrupted.
Catherine shrugged. "Probably because I was a stripper….and because I was pregnant."
Sara didn't say anything at the revelation and Catherine continued. "She thought I'd trapped her baby boy."
"Well…" Sara began, and could think of only one thing to say. "Screw her."
Catherine laughed, took a sip of tea, then glanced at the clock. "We've got to get a move on if we're gonna do all this today."
Friday night
The night before the wedding
"I'm gonna kill him!" Sara paced the chapel hallway. "I'll be back the day before the wedding," she mocked Grissom's words. "Well, the day before the wedding has come and gone, and he's not back!"
"Sara," Catherine leaned up against the wall, trying to get Sara's attention.
"There are people waiting, Catherine! Waiting for a rehearsal, and a dinner, and he's not here!"
"Sara," Catherine tried again.
"What?" Sara finally stopped pacing and glared at Catherine.
"Your purse is ringing," Catherine said calmly.
"He had better be in a taxi on his way in from the airport," Sara threatened as she grabbed her purse and dug deep for the cell phone. "Where the HELL are you?" she screamed into the phone, her face growing tense and confused as she strained to listen to his answer, "Gil, I can barely hear you…" Catherine watched Sara's face grow redder as she began to pace again. "Snow?" Sara said, baffled.
Brass appeared in the doorway, having heard Sara's yelling.
"Snow?" Brass repeated as he sauntered over and stood next to Catherine.
"Doesn't sound like he's in Vegas, does it?" Catherine asked.
"Nope." Brass said simply.
"You son of a bitch!" Sara held the phone out, and stared at it unbelievingly for a long quiet moment before snapping it shut. She shook the phone toward Brass and Catherine. "He's still in Minnesota. Snowed in. Can you believe it? He's snowed in!"
"Okay, okay," Brass stepped up to Sara and put his hands on her shoulders, stepping easily into the roll of father-of-the-bride that he'd been assigned. He'd known for a long time now that if Ellie were to beat the odds and get married he wouldn't be invited, let alone asked to walk her down the aisle, so when Sara asked him to give her away, Brass had been flattered, and touched to the point of tears (the tears came later, at home, in the privacy of his shower, where no one could see, not even himself) In this moment of Sara's need, his fatherly instincts took over, and he stepped up, calming his temporary daughter. "Chances are, he'll be here in the morning," he soothed. Sara's eyes filled with tears and Brass produced a handkerchief from his pocket with the flourish of a magician headlining on the strip.
"And chances are good that he won't," Sara uttered over the wet frog in her throat and dabbed at the angry tears.
"We'll deal with that tomorrow." Brass lifted Sara's chin so that her eyes met his. "It's gonna be okay, I promise." His words were having the desired effect; Sara took a deep shuddering breath, beginning to calm down. "Okay?" he asked softly.
Sara nodded slowly, drying the last few offensive tears and gave him a small smile. "Okay…Let's get this rehearsal over with."
Catherine led the way in to the chapel.
Doc Robbins stood at the far end of the aisle, his appointed spot as the best man. Greg, Nick, and Warrick stood in a cluster on the other side, looking like the bridesmaids Sara secretly wished she had.
"Ok," Catherine held out her hands in a quieting, attention getting motion. "Grissom is stuck in Minnesota, snowed in." Nick and Warrick exchanged glances, each man's eyes saying 'we should have known'. If Catherine saw them, she didn't comment. "We're going to continue on without him." She glanced at the cluster the three CSI's had formed, evaluating. "Nicky," she choose, "you stand in for Gil."
Greg watched as Nick crossed the aisle and stood next to Doc Robbins, glad that he wasn't the one standing in front of a preacher, rehearsal wedding or not. "Greg," Catherine's voice broke through his thoughts. "Greg, go get the minister, would you please."
As Greg disappeared through the back door behind the pulpit, Warrick took a seat in the first pew. Catherine turned to Sara and Brass, standing behind her. "Ready?"
Sara lifted her chin determinedly and nodded. Brass held out the crook of his arm, and Sara thread her own arm thorough it. Catherine turned back to face the pulpit to find Greg settling himself in to the pew next to Warrick, and the minister standing at the ready.
"Okay," Catherine whispered to herself, "here we go." She walked slowly down the aisle, trying hard not to stare at Warrick as she did, and took her place to the left of where Sara would be in a moment, standing where Greg had been just moments before.
All eyes watched Sara and Brass coming down the aisle. When they reached the pulpit, the minister took the rehearsal over.
"Okay," he said. "Father of the bride will give the groom the brides hands." Brass did as he was instructed, Nick took Sara's hands. "And then he will step aside," Brass did, sitting as Warrick and Greg slid down the pew to make room.
"Okay," the mister said again, "As I've been told the bride and groom wish, this will be a simple ceremony, and we'll get right to the vows." The minister straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat, his voice taking on an official tone. "Friends, we are gathered here, yada yada yada, for this man…" he looked at Nick questioningly.
"Uh, Nick, Nick Stokes," Nick introduced himself, and watched as the minister made a note in the book laid out in front of him.
"This man, takes this woman," he paused.
"Sara Sidle," Sara said before he glanced at her.
"As this man, and this woman take vows of marriage before God. Or something like that."
TBC…