Disclaimer: Don't own the main characters.

Summary: It's Christmas time, and for the first time in a long time all Grissom kids will be in their childhood home for the holiday. Find out what they've been up to the last 15 years, and why it's taken their youngest two years to come home. Seventh & Final in the Worth fighting for series.

AN: Hi everybody, I wanted to wait to post this story because I knew it was going to have a Christmas theme, so I hope I didn't make you too crazy on waiting.

AN#2: Since this is part of a series you might be confused if you haven't read or don't remember what happened in the pervious ones, so you might want to read them.

Title: A Christmas Miracle?
Genre: Romance, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Angst
Rating: T
Spoilers: None
Time-line: 15 years after last story ended
Warnings: Suggestive/Implied adult behavior, possible trigger moments
Main Parings: GSR, BSR (Sam/Bailey), Ethan/OC
Minor Parings: Megan/OC, Arthur/Alexis, Lindsey/Blake, CatNip (Mention), Greg/Morgan (Mention), Warrick/OC (Mention), Brass/OC (Mention)
Other Characters: Emmitt Stokes, Eli Brown (Mention), Sanders kids (Mention)
Series Order: Worth Fighting For, For better or worse, No matter the distance, Still the One, More Worth Fighting For, Still Worth Fighting For

Chapter 1: Coming Home?

December 21, 2035

Boston, Massachusetts

"I know, I'm sorry it's been awhile but I promise I'll be there, I already asked for the time off...Ok, I love you & dad too...Yeah, bye."

28 year old Megan, who was a spitting image of her mother, except for the gap between the teeth, ended the phone call to her parents just as the timer went off, making her sigh as her heartbeat raced while she placed her phone on the bathroom counter, then she moved her hand to the other item on the counter and picked it up before seeing a positive sign, knowing her life just hit another milestone, one she particularly wasn't shooting for, at least for a few more years.

Before her thoughts could continue there was a knock on the bathroom door and a voice on the other side. "Megan, you ok, babe? You've been in there awhile."

With her free hand she grabs her phone and slipped it in her pocket before walking to the bathroom door and opened it, coming face to face with her husband of a year, Travis Murray, before handing him the pregnancy test and walking in the bedroom as he looked down at what she just handed him.

When he looked up from it she was sitting on the end of the bed, then he smiled with his brown eyes sparkling as he walked up to her. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Megan sighed as she looked at him while he sat down. "It sure looks like it."

Kyle Jordan will always be Megan's first love, but 8 months after she graduated high school at the age of 16, they realized, no matter how much they tried while living in different cities so far apart from one another, they couldn't make it work, so instead of staying in a relationship where they could eventually hate/resent one another, they decided to let each other go. It was one of the hardest decisions they ever made, and a part of her will always care for him, but they both knew it was the right move.

Then four years later, after casual dating for three of those four years, she went on a first date with the new love of her life, and has been with him ever since.

Travis Murray was a year older than her, a little above average build, 5'9, just like her, with blond hair, brown eyes and the son of Drew Murray, who is friends with her mother, which because of that friendship they had actually met one another when they were really little but it wasn't until she had moved to Boston to go to Harvard, just like her mother, and had spent time with the Murray family, mostly for dinner since she didn't really know anybody else for the first few months of her college education, that they really connected.

First they started out as friends, then their connection started growing more, even though they tried denying it and hiding it, mainly because he was in a serious relationship, until they just couldn't anymore, and after that first kiss, they knew who their hearts belonged to and where their lives where going, even though at the moment he noticed she wasn't really thrilled about what she just found out, so he frowned a little while placing his hand on her arm. "Megan, what's wrong, why don't you seem as excited about this as much as I am?"

She took a breath before speaking. "Because I'm terrified, I have these thoughts in my head, mostly if I can even be a good mother?" She paused, and he was going to speak, but she continued before he could. "Look at Bailey, now she was the motherly type before she was even ready to have kids." Then she smiled a little. "Even my brothers are naturals at being parents." She then shook her head with another sigh. "But not me, I don't have that feeling you're suppose to have."

Now obviously she grew up in a loving family, so it wasn't the lack of love that was making her questioning this, it was her own lack of confidence and insecurities.

He ran his hand up and down her arm to give her comfort as he spoke. "You may not feel that now, but feelings can change..."

She cuts him off as she stood up from the bed, making his hand drop from her arm. "I don't know, I don't think I'm ready for this."

Travis looked up at his wife with another frown as he asked. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Before she could speak, her phone started to ring from her pocket, so she pulled it out, and after looking at who was calling her, she answered it. "Dr. Grissom...Alright...Yeah, I'll be there in five minutes...No problem...bye."

Once she ended the call, she spoke to her husband as she placed her phone back in her pocket. "I have to go to the hospital, I told the other doctors I would cover for them if they needed it since we'll be in Vegas for the Christmas holiday."

After graduating from Harvard, she became a doctor, deciding not to go in the same the same direction as her parents, before they changed careers, her sister and youngest brother.

Travis nodded as he stood up and walked up to her, then he cupped her cheek and spoke with love in his eyes. "I want you to know that whatever you decide, I'll be there for you."

She had tears in her eyes as she placed her hand on top of his. "Thank you, you don't know how much I needed to hear that."

He gave her a little smile as he responded. "Love you."

"Love you too."

They kissed softly before she pulled back and headed out of the bedroom so she could grab her things and leave the house.

Once alone, Travis sighed as he sat back down on the bed, hoping he'll get the chance to be just like the 5 siblings above him, a parent.

San Diego, California

Flashback

Los Angeles, California

5 years ago

20 year old Ethan Grissom was still a mixture of both parents in looks and brains, and after graduating High School at Fifteen, like his oldest sister, he took a year off before deciding to follow in his father's footsteps and go to UCLA.

His parents were a little sad to see a second child leave Vegas, but they wanted him to follow his dreams. Plus, they had to admit they were a little excited because they had at least one child go to the same college as their father.

Currently he was in his off campus apartment pulling out a lasagna from the oven when there was a knock on the door, so after placing the glass pan on top of the stove, he turned the oven off, took his oven mitts off and tossed them on the kitchen counter before walking the short distance to the apartment door.

Once he was there, he took a breath and opened the door before coming face to face with the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. She was 5'7, had a above average build, her straight blond hair was just above her shoulders, the most beautiful green eyes that he could look at all day, not to mention the smile she had, which that's what she was currently doing while holding out his entomology text book to him.

"Now, if I didn't know any better, I would say you left this behind on purpose."

Ethan smiled back while replying. "And if I didn't know any better, I would think a part of you really does like me, or else you wouldn't have come all this way to give it back to me."

He had met her at a diner two weeks ago when one of her customers was giving her hard a time, and he helped her out. When he finally got the nerve to ask her out, she turned him down, but he wasn't ready to let go just yet, so after the last time of her turning him down, he wanted to try one more thing, he left his textbook with his address on a piece of paper inside with the hope she would bring it to him.

This time she lost the smile and asked straight up. "I just want to know what your game is."

Ethan lost the smile as he took the book from her and shook his head, replying in an honest and heartfelt tone. "This isn't a game, Alicia. I just really want to get to know you, that's all. No one is going to make you stay, you can leave, and if you really want me to I'll back away, I'll never bug you again."

Alicia Duncan paused for a second to let the tone of his voice sink in, then she asked with curiosity and a smirk. "Ok, so say that I do come in, how do I know that this isn't some trick to lure me in so you could do something harmful to me?"

He chuckled with a nod before asking with a raised eyebrow. "Well, how do I really know that you aren't taking advantage of me leaving my address in the book so you could come here and do something harmful to me?"

She chuckled back. "Very good point." After Ethan's second nod, she continued after clearing her throat. "So, what's your solution to this problem?"

There was no hesitation in his answer, and he was once again serious. "Do what feels right to you."

After a pause, and while looking into his eyes, she asked softly. "Am I safe with you, Ethan?"

With those Grissom's sparkling eyes and loving smile, he nodded. "100%, I'll even stay across the room if you want."

After she chuckled one more time while shaking her head. "We don't have to go to that extreme."

"Ok, come on in."

He moved to the side to let her in, and after closing the door, he helped her with her jacket, which she thanked him for that, then after placing the book on his desk that he had in the living room, he headed toward the kitchen and asked. "Do you want tomatoes and cottage cheese with your lasagna?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

As he was getting that together, Alicia was looking at the few photo's he kept of his family, and had asked a few questions about them.

When they were finally sitting at the dinning room table with their food in front of them, he watched her take a bite, then after she swallowed she looked at him with a little shock. "Wow, this is amazing."

He smiled with a nod, proud of his cooking skills. "Thank you, I leaned from the best."

She smirked. "Let me guess, your mom?"

He shook his head. "Actually, my dad."

She had to admit she was a little surprised by that. "For real?"

He nodded again after taking a bite, then once he swallowed he explained. "I heard my mom is better with the cooking since they've gotten together, but my dad still mostly did it, and he taught us all."

"Well, he did an exceptional job." Then with her eyes sparkling now, she finished with. "And not with just the cooking skills."

Their eyes connected for a few seconds before they went back to their meal with a little talk here and there.

Eventually their evening took them to the couch, which he was on one end and she was on the other one.

They had just finished one of his many childhood stories with a laugh, and after a pause, she looked at her water bottle for a few seconds before looking at him again. "Tonight was wonderful, thank you."

He looked at her with sincerity. "We can keep having them, it doesn't have to end after one night."

She smiled slightly as she asked while shaking her head a little. "You're really not scared off by this 10 year age gap, are you?"

Ethan response was immediate. "I watched a 15 year age couple my whole life, and you know what I learned from them?" He paused before finishing. "As long as there is communication, commitment, honesty and true love, it shouldn't matter the age difference, as long as they are of age of course."

"I agree, and as long as the partners involved doesn't have a problem with it."

His heart dropped a little as he asked. "So, you do?"

She looked down at her water bottle again. "Before I met you I wouldn't hesitate on saying 'yeah'" Then she looked into his eyes with tears in her eyes. "But getting to know you is making me rethink that." Ethan's heart started beating with hope again as she continued. "But..."

Ethan cuts her off with a nod. "You're afraid of getting hurt, I understand that, and I'll do everything in my power to not let that happen." He took a breath before he continued. "You have to know I'm afraid of the same thing, but I'm willing to take the risk, are you?"

There was a pause before she spoke again. "Before I answer, I need to tell you something that might change your mind about all of this."

"Which is?"

After one more pause, she told him. "I have an eight year old son and he means everything to me, and I'm not going to bring someone in his life who doesn't want anything to do with him." He was a little surprised about this information so it made him hesitate for a second, which made Alicia continue as she stood up after placing her water bottle on the coffee table. "I guess I finally said something that scared you off, huh? That's ok, I understand."

Just as she was opening the door after grabbing her jacket, Ethan had placed his hand on the door and closed it while he whispered in her ear from behind. "Wait."

When she turned around, so her back was now against the door, she had tears in her eyes while looking at him, then he spoke with emotion. "I can't predict what's going happen in the future, I just know that if I let you walk out of that door without knowing what could be, I'll regret it because for the first time in my life I finally have that special feeling that my whole family's been talking about, that I've witnessed my whole life. Did I plan on it being with a woman 10 years older than me, who already has a child, no? But the first time I saw you in that diner, something shifted in me, so please, let me get to know you and your son."

She couldn't help but sniffle as she asked. "You sure you want to do that?"

With his eyes shinning, he nodded as he slowly moved his hand to her cheek, but had stopped and asked permission with his eyes if that was ok, which once he got the ok, he cupped her cheek and ran his thumb up and down it as he whispered. "Absolutely."

She then cleared her throat and nodded. "Ok, I'm willing to take the risk with you, under one condition."

"Which is?"

"You're completely honest with me on how you feel, if things change for you, I need to know."

"Ok." Then he smiled with his eyes continuing to shine. "But I don't see that happening any time soon, so I hope you're not expecting a quick out."

She chuckled as he moved to allow her some room so she could put her coat back on the hook on the door, then spoke as they started walking toward the coach again. "Well, after seeing how persistent you can be, I don't think I'm getting a quick out, even if I wanted it."

He chuckled as they sat down, this time she was in the middle spot while he was at the end. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, I think I get that from my mom. When she really wants something she has a tendency to hold on with everything she has."

She looked him fondly as she heard the loving tone he used while talking about his mother. She could tell, which wasn't the first time that night, that he really cared about his parents, well really his whole family.

"You mean with your father?"

Ethan chuckled with a nod. "Especially my father, outside of her kids, he's her whole world, there isn't anything she wouldn't do for him." Before she could ask more questions, he continued after clearing his throat. "We'll get back to my family in a minute, but first, I would like to know something."

Even though she had a feeling on what he was going to ask, she still asked. "What?"

"What's your son's name?"

She smiled with love in her eyes for her son. "Teddy, after my father."

"Nice." Then he cautiously asked something else, hoping it wouldn't upset her too much. "And Teddy's father?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "He left the night I told him I was pregnant, and I haven't seen him since."

Ethan frowned as he leaned forward and placed his hand on her arm. "Alicia, I'm so sor..."

But she cuts him as she shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I'm over it. Was it hard? Oh, yeah, I had to quit school to work to take care of him, but we survived the really tough times, and it only made us stronger. He's the light of my life."

He looked at her fondly while she spoke about her son with so much love and devotion, then he took her hand and kissed it softly before looking into her green eyes with a smile. "I'm so amazed by you, and I know you two have been doing alright, but know that you guys aren't alone anymore."

She smiled then surprised him a little when she scooted closer, and after she was tucked at his side with his arm around her shoulders, she placed her hand on his chest as she said. "I guess I should warn you about Teddy, he might not melt at your feet right away, because the few guys he has met, which isn't many I assure you, he didn't really go easy on them."

He smiled as he kissed her head before whispering while placing his other hand on top of hers that was still on his chest. "Well, that just means I'll have to try harder than the others because I'm not willing to walk away without fighting for what I know will be worth it."

End of Flashback

Ethan's memory of the past was interrupted when his cell phone started ringing on his desk, so he wiped the tear that was on his cheek away while placing a family photo down on the desk, then he picked it up, cleared is throat and answered it without seeing who was calling him first.

"Grissom."

"Hi sweetie, it's your mom."

There was a slight pause before he spoke. "Uh, Hi mom, is everything ok? Dad?"

"There's nothing to worry about there, he's fine. I just wanted to remind you about Christmas."

"Oh, uh mom, I do..."

Sara cuts him off sharply. "Now don't tell me you're not going to be here." Then her tone got a little softer. "You know how long it's been since we've seen the grandkids? You? Far too long for you living in San Diego, so please come here, at least for a day, that's all I'm asking for."

Knowing he couldn't disappoint his mother, he replied after a sigh. "Ok, we'll be there."

"You promise?"

Knowing he would never break a promise, just like her husband, she wanted to here him say it, which he did after a slight smile. "Yes, mom, I promise."

"Ok, I love you."

"I love you too, tell dad I love him too."

"I will, goodbye, honey."

"Bye mom."

After he hung up, he placed his phone back on his desk with a sigh as he ran his hand down his bearded face before looking at another photo, this one of just Alicia as memories of the past came to his mind while his heart was still filled with sorrow.

Las Vegas, Nevada

After hanging up from their youngest child, Sara looks at her husband of thirty years with tears in her eyes as she whispered. "All of our babies are coming home for Christmas this year."

It has been two years since they've seen their youngest son, a year since they've seen their youngest daughter, and five since all the Grissom children were in their childhood home for the holidays.

Grissom, who looked older and his hair a little whiter than he was when they first met, but still as handsome as ever to his wife, smiled with those shinning blue eyes that she never gets tired of as he replied with love and excitement. "That is wonderful news."

Sara nodded, who also looked a little older than when he first met her, but still the most beautiful woman in her husband's eyes, before replying. "And I can't wait to see our grandchildren again."

Ethan adopted Teddy not long after he had married Alicia, so Sara and Grissom still saw him as their grandchild, but even if he hadn't they still would have because their son loved him like his own.

As Grissom nodded with the smile still on his face, Sara continued with a sparkle in her eyes. "And I don't know, there could be news about another one."

He does his famous eyebrow raise as he asked. "You think?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders as she scooted closer to him and snuggled to his side as she asked. "Well, can't a mother hope?"

He kissed her temple as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and whispered. "Absolutely. Hope all you want."

Like his wife, Grissom couldn't wait to see all of their kids in the same house again, he just hopes nothing will stop it from happening.

AN: Hope you liked it. More about Ethan's, and Bailey's life next chapter. Please review.

*If you don't remember, Sara's friend, Drew was first introduced in the first story, and had a bigger part in the second one.