A/N: This has been a story that I have been working on since July. I had originally started writing it when one of my friends inspired me. She said something about staying awake, and the idea just came to me. I never planned to publish it, but the friend who inspired me found and read the fic, then decided for me that it would be published. I hope that you enjoy. Please review as I am not quite finished and need people to comment, whether it be good or bad.
Rating: K+ for safety, nothing too bad though...
Awake
By Vega Dreamer
Chapter One: Long Hours
"Are you thinking about me?" Sara asked quietly as Grissom was falling asleep.
With a small groan he rolled over to face her. He looked at her as she watched him with her head perched on her arm.
"Why would you ask me something like that?" he replied, reaching over to touch her hair, "How could I not? You're here with me, its hard not to."
"Is that what its like when we're at the lab?" Sara smiled softly, wrapping her arms around Grissom's neck and curling into his chest. Since the girl Cammie die in her arms, she felt different. She'd needed more from Grissom, and surprisingly, he'd been willing to give it. From that point on she'd realized that she had him there for her, and he didn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. He looked deep into her eyes before replying.
"Yes, only its worse. Are you satisfied now?" Under Grissom's eyes were dark circles from long nighst of brooding over the miniature murders. With every passing week it was getting worse. The sleepless nights, the distractedness, the neediness. "Why are you still awake anyway?" Grissom glanced at the clock, "you passed out as soon as you hit the bed a couple hours ago."
Sara pulled the blankets around her and sat up, "I've just been thinking, that's all. Thinking about everything, you should know, you do it enough."
Grissom leaned back and studied her, "I'm sorry if I've been distracted, I know that it bothers you."
"You realize that I'm really one of the only people you apologize to like that, don't you?" Sara smiled and turned to face him. Grissom yawned, rubbing his droopy eyes.
"That's because I can't stand to have you mad at me," Grissom winced as his cell phone started beeping. Sara rolled her eyes and laid back again. Throwing the phone into the laundry basket across the room, Grissom wrapped his arms around Sara and closed his eyes.
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Groggily, Grissom opened his eyes and glanced at the clock, only an hour had passed since the last time he'd been woken up. A light crept out from under the bathroom door. Grissom rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Why did Sara keep getting up? Quietly, he opened the door and peeked inside.
"Sara? What are you doing in here?" Sara was sitting in the corner with a book in her hands. Seeing Grissom, she hid the cover from sight.
"I just couldn't sleep," she smiled, "Again. I'm sorry if I woke you." Grissom walked into the bathroom and slid into the corner next to Sara.
"That must be a pretty good book for you to have gotten out of bed.," Grissom smiled groggily as Sara sighed, looking anxious.
"I thought that it was just stress. You know? I'm not getting any younger and its not like I have one of the steadiest jobs. And, of course, keeping secrets doesn't help much." Sara looked at Grissom pointedly.
"What did you think was just stress? Are you feeling alright?" Grissom was looking more and more confused by the second.
"I'm not, sick, I-I-I'm late," Sara stared at Grissom, waiting for him to say something.
Grissom looked uncomfortable and tired, "Am I supposed to understand what you're talking about?" Sara sighed and showed him the book that she'd been reading when he walked in. Grissom raised his eyes and leaned into the page.
"This book explains how there are some cases of women having menopause earlier. Stress can do really weird things to the body, so that's often one of the factors. But it isn't normal for me to just miss one of my periods out of the blue. Especially when my stress level is even lower than normal," Sara stood up , bringing Grissom with her, she led him into their bedroom and sat down on the bed. "It means that either I'm starting menopause early, or…" Sara's voice trailed off.
"You're pregnant," Grissom looked at Sara, dazed, "This could mean that you're pregnant."
"It could be menopause," Grissom chuckled, leave it to Sara to jump to the worst conclusion, "Do you really think that I could be pregnant?"
"Well, it wouldn't be horribly out of the question. Only, it would mean that all the birth control wasn't working."
"Exactly! Its not very likely that the birth control wasn't working."
"Its also not very likely that you're experiencing early menopause," Grissom pointed out.
"What is it with you and arguing all of a sudden? Aren't you the man who's always avoided confrontation?"
"I'm simply trying to look at all of this in a logical way," Grissom defended himself as Sara rolled her eyes, "We're going to figure this out. Tonight. I'm going to the store."
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Grissom drove to the store quickly. He was excited, and at the same time nervous. He grabbed a pregnancy test and rushed on to the front counter. He fumbled with his money as a the pink-haired teenage cashier eyed him tiredly.
He looked up at her shyly as she rung up the test, "This isn't for me… I'm serious," He said upon seeing the look the girl gave him.
The girl popped her gum and stared at him over her fashion magazine, "No kidding dude…."
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"Well?" Whatever weariness had been bothering Grissom before, had disappeared by now. He had been pacing back and forth imagining the outcome of the test for the last ten minutes.
Sara opened the door to the bathroom and looked Grissom in the eye, "It's positive."
Saying it was different than just seeing it. The realization hit Sara like a ton of bricks. She was going to have a baby. Grissom's baby. She was 35 years old and she had thought she would never have children. It was funny how quickly things could change.
"I called the doctor while you were in the bathroom. They can take us in about an hour, if you want to go," Grissom looked at Sara tenderly.
"We need to talk about this first. What are we going to do?" Sara hadn't been insecure about their relationship in a while. She'd admit that when Grissom went away on sabbatical, she had her doubts about how long they could actually last. He was close to burning out on a job he loved, so he needed to go. But the way he'd gone about it had left something to be desired. As soon as he returned, she didn't believe for one minute that he'd needed space from her or that he didn't care, or any of her other fears. He was just a man that was set in his ways, and he wasn't used to opening up to anyone completely.
"We're going to have a baby… baby," Grissom smiled and took her hand, as if feeling her emotions seeping through to him, "I know that we'll make very capable parents. We'll be able to make this work out."
Sara had known that an abortion was out of the question, and that Grissom probably wouldn't want for her to give up the baby, but she hadn't expected him to be so… calm.
"I just can't believe that this is happening. You've never wanted kids, have you? How are we going to keep this one secret?"
"We're not. We're going to come out, there's no way that we're not. But I'll take care of it. And, I've never really thought about having kids. But you're the only person that I'd ever want to share a child with."
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"Congratulations! Ms. Sidle, you're a little bit more than a month pregnant. You seem to be coming along just fine from what we can tell, but its still too early to tell much. We'll know more as the pregnancy progresses," Dr. James handed Sara the results from the test and ultra sound as Grissom squeezed her hand, "Just don't overwork yourself or cause yourself unnecessary stress. And Mr. Grissom, please be sure that Ms. Sidle takes prenatal vitamins and gets plenty of rest."
Sara and Grissom walked out of the office hand-in-hand. They climbed into the standard issue Denali and drove off. "If you want, you can take off work tonight. I'll drop you off at home before I head into the lab," Grissom offered, stopping as the light turned red.
Sara looked at him like he was crazy, "I'm fine, I don't need to stay home. I'm the same as I've always been. Only a little pregnant," Sara shot him a look, "You'd better not try to baby me these nine months."
"I just want to make sure that you're alright, that's not bad is it?" Grissom looked hurt.
"Just don't think that I need for you to guard me at all hours of the day. Everybody is going to find out soon enough. We don't need for you to blow it too early," Sara turned back to him, "And I guess you can start babying me a little after about five months."
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To Be Continued...
