Tick Tock, a csi fanfic

Title: Tick-Tock

Author: Jennie

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: CSI is not mine and probably never will be. I'm simply borrowing the characters.

Summary: Waiting is always the hardest.

AN: My mother went into labor on Thursday and yesterday morning at 7:34 am, my little sister was born. While waiting for news and the chance to go visit, I got the idea for this story and decided to write it to pass the time.

Tick-Tock.
Tick-Tock.
Tick-Tock.
The clock is mocking him. He feels like an idiot sitting in the waiting room at two in the morning, waiting for something- anything to happen.

Nothing does.

He's always hated waiting rooms. They're always drab and impersonal and boring and they make him nervous. He's never been that patient of a person. He wants to blast music or work on a case or do something else- as long as it distracts him.

But there's nothing to do, but wait.

So he waits.

And waits.

He thinks his head is going to explode due to the infernal ticking of the clock on the wall. The walls of the room are pale yellow and the couch cushions are pale green and blue and there are pink chairs. Someone definitely went overboard when decorating. There are magazines scattered on the tables but he already flicked through them and didn't find anything interesting. There's a TV in the corner, but it's two am, so there's nothing on.

He hates waiting.

Tick-tock.

He'd like to climb up on the wall and rip the clock down and smash it into tiny pieces. The small piece of sanity he has left after this is what prevents him from actually acting on it. Well, he muses, also the killer nurse behind the counter. She's large and he already knows that she's no nonsense and doesn't have a sense of humor. For the life of him, he can't figure out what would propel her to work this particular ward. Aren't the nurses here supposed to be cheery and bright and all around annoying?

Sighing, he slouches even more in the chair. He really wishes he had thought to bring the latest AAFS newsletter with him- or at least something to take his mind of the waiting. This is getting ridiculous. It has been hours since he was kicked out of her room and no one is telling him a thing. Doesn't he deserve to be in the know? Isn't it half his fault that they were even there in the first place? Lord knows she was making sure he is well aware of that fact when they admitted her.

Tick-tock.

Click. Click. Click.

Greg starts at the sudden change of sounds. Looking up, he is greeted with Catherine, who offers a cup of coffee to him. "Long night?" She asks pleasantly, taking a seat next to him. "Any news?"

"Nope." He sips the scalding liquid, thankful for the distraction. "Nothing. And the nurse hates me."

Catherine chuckles at this and sips her own cup. "Let me guess- you asked her one too many times how long it would take?"

He humphs, rolling his eyes. "It's not like I've ever gone through this before. She could be a bit more considerate."

Smiling softly, the older woman reaches over and places her hand delicately on his. "Everything's fine. It just takes longer for some people. You have to be patient."

"I hate being patient," he grumbles, eliciting a laugh from her.

"It's only been three hours, Greg." She pats his leg and stands up again. "Nick took over your case, by the way. And Warrick is almost finished with his case. Griss will be by as soon as he finishes placating the sheriff about why your scene was compromised-"

"It wasn't my fault!" He shouts, causing both Catherine and the nurse to jump and stare at him. Wincing sheepishly, he lowers his voice. "I don't know why the sheriff has to get involved- it's not like Sara and I said 'oh, I have an idea, let's compromise the crime scene by-'"

"Greg, calm down." Catherine placates him. "It's protocol. No one's wrong or mad or whatever. Actually, I think most of the lab is amused. And Nick is one rich man at the moment."

Rolling his eyes, he sits down again. "Right. Glad that everyone's so amused." Groaning, he cracks his knuckles. "I'm sorry, I'm just... I don't understand why she kicked me out of the room. I have a right, you'd think, to be in there with her. But no..."

"Like I said, every woman is different. I was testy and irritated as well when I went through it with Lindsey. You just have to humor her for awhile. And you know that when it's really time, you'll get called in. This is just the boring and painful part."

"I've been humoring her for the last nine months," Greg mumbles and Catherine laughs again. "But I know," he finally admits. "When it's time, I'll go in. I'm just so tired of waiting now."

Catherine simply pats his shoulder. "Good luck, Greg. I have to make some calls; I'll be out in the corridor."

He watches her leave and leans back in the chair. He still has his field vest on, and his jeans are splattered with water and other fluids. They had been rushed to the hospital as soon as the paramedics arrived at the crime scene and while Sara had been immediately admitted, he had spent most of that time sitting here in the waiting room.

He hates waiting.

Sighing, he leans back in the chair. He should sleep. He hasn't been sleeping very well lately- Sara's been keeping him up. And while today is the exception, lately the crime lab has been very busy. Sleep has become a distant memory. He really ought to use the time to get some rest…

But he can't.

He's nervous and excited and he doesn't want to miss a thing. Regardless of the boredom he's feeling now, he won't let himself dare miss what's going to happen. It's…a miracle. That's what it is. It's amazing and cool and he really, really hopes he isn't going to screw up.

He's going to be a daddy.

A daddy. His face lights up into a grin as the words play through his head again and again. Sure, when she got pregnant and told him the news, he was excited. But she didn't look pregnant and it didn't really sink in. And the first time he felt the baby moved- it was really exciting, but still… But now the baby's actually going to be here and he'll be able to hold the infant in his arms and he's actually going to be a dad to a real live breathing child.

He's floored.

He wants to ask the nurse how long it will be again- but one look at her and he quickly changes his mind. He's not brave enough to deal with her again, not after earlier… So he resigns himself to wait and listen to the incessant tick-tocking of the clock.

Tick-tock.

"Hey, Greggo!"

Nick. The man strides towards him. "How you doing? How's Sara? Anything new?"

"I heard it made you rich," Greg replies dryly. Nick laughs and plops down in the chair Catherine had vacated earlier.

"Oh yeah. Warrick thought I was nuts, but it just seemed like Sara." He grins again and pats Greg enthusiastically on the back. "Have to thank her later on. Going into labor at the crime scene- absolutely genius."

Greg just shook his head. It had been a slow night and he and Sara were paired together on a B and E- a case that should have been simple. However, when Sara's water broke while she was doing the perimeter, things changed quickly. The run-of-the-mill case became much more complicated, as Sara's water broke, contaminating that part of the scene, the paramedics were called, a crowd gathered and both Grissom and the sheriff were called in to assess the damage.

And through the entire experience, he still couldn't believe that Sara was actually giving birth. It took Vartann giving him a whack on the head and shoving him over to her as she lay on the ground, screaming obscenities at him for him to actually go over and have the news sink in. When they were loaded into the ambulance, he had been in a stupor. Even Sara's vice-like grip on his hand didn't faze him in the least. It took her throwing him out of her hospital room to wake him up.

And even then, he's still reeling.

He's going to be a daddy.

A daddy.

"You okay, there?" Nick asks him, bringing him back to reality.

"Yeah- yeah, I'm fine." He takes a breath. "I'm just…"

"Amazing, isn't it?" Nick leans back and stretches. "I remember the first time I became an uncle. Awesome. And you shouldn't worry about the sheriff. Grissom's got him covered- he can't fault you or Sara for her water breaking at a crime scene." He explains as Greg sends him a curious look. "I ran into Cath in the hall." He continues, "And the scene was simple anyway. Prints were left all over inside- turns out that some kids in the vic's history class were dared to break in and bring some of their 'unmentionables' to school to prove that they had been there."

Great. Idiot kids stealing their teacher's underwear as a prank. Nothing too surprising and nothing too interesting, yet he still wishes that he had at least something to take his mind off of waiting.

He wants to see her.

He wants to hold her hand and help her and do those weird breathing exercises with her that they learned at the class she made them take. She is a woman possessed with this motherhood thing. She bought books upon books, reading and analyzing and calling up old friends she hadn't talked to in years, simply to ask them about having children. She wouldn't allow him to paint the room green, because it might 'instill jealousy' and she had gotten even more obsessive over her vegetarian diet. She even cut back on the coffee- and he did as well, because he wanted to be nice and supportive. Sara had thrown herself into this motherhood thing, set on learning everything she could. But they both knew that knowing the theory and actually being parents were two very different things.

It scares him to death.

Tick-tock.

Every second brings him closer to actually holding their child. Actually being a dad instead of learning about being one…

"Mr. Sanders?"

He jumps up, eyes wide. The doctor is standing in the doorway, smiling. "It's time, if you'll come with me to suit up?"

Nick pats him congratulatory and he stumbles out of the waiting room, the world spinning. It's time. The baby- it's here.

He suits up, changing into the sanitary scrubs and enters the room. She's beautiful, he decides. Her face is flushed and she's swearing quite vocally- but she has this…glow and it's breath-taking. And as he takes his place and smiles at her and when the doctor tells her to start pushing and she takes his hand- it's ethereal. He can't believe it- it's all just a dream. It has to be a dream, because this- this- it's too much. It's brilliant and amazing and miraculous and she's actually pushing and-

A cry.

A little cry from the tiny being the doctor is now holding in his arms.

A baby.

Their baby.

And as the doctor announces that it's a boy and hands it to him and he stares at the wonder in his arms, he looks up at the clock. This clock isn't signifying the waiting anymore- it marks the reality. He's a father for every second that passes from now on.

Just like time never stops, neither will he stop being a father. It's incredible. He walks over to Sara and hands her their son and as their hands touch, it seals their fate.

Their clock ticks on.

Tick-tock.