Rating: K+

Spoilers: None, just a little wishful thinking!

Disclaimers: CSI belongs to me. So does the Eiffel Tower… and the Statue of Liberty too! Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit… alright, a lot… fine - I don't own anything but a 2003 Chevy Cavalier. Happy now?

A/N: Written in response to the Unbound Challenge from 25 Dec 2005. (I know it's really late, but I've been so busy lately that I had to wait until I was sick in bed for a day to finish it up!)

A/N#2: For those of you waiting for an update on "One Row Over and Four Seats Down", I do intend to continue with it, but the perspective is a little harder than I anticipated. My writing time is very limited at the moment, but once classes are done I should be able to get back at it in earnest. Thanks for all the kind reviews!

By Chance

by Lapsus Stili

"I feel like crying, and I don't know why!" Sara sniffled.

He traced a finger around the rim of her face, peeling back the damp locks plastered there. His other arm was draped between her shoulders and the starchy hospital linens. In her half-reclined position it was somewhat awkward, but still he managed to crane his neck around to plant a tender kiss on her temple.

"It's only natural sweetheart," Gil soothed. "This is very intense… for both of us." He reached up a finger to halt the new salty stream making its way down her cheek, swiping it away for her.

She lowered her gaze. "It is, isn't it… God, I just never expected to react this way."

Though his wife's gaze was focused elsewhere, he continued to study her eyes. More tears threatened to spill, but it didn't worry him. He knew that unlike earlier, these ones expressed joy instead of pain. He looked down too and smiled.

Her fingertips were gliding in circles over the tiny head of the baby snuggled in the crook of her arm. "She's perfect," the new mother whispered, continuing her caresses.

"Well," he softly replied, "I have it on good authority that she has great genes from her mother's side."

"Oh, I dunno about that… her daddy is a pretty special guy himself."

She leaned further into his chest as another of her teardrops broke loose, plopping down to soak into the pink receiving blanket. A second one landed right next to it, and she looked up in surprise to see the wet trail that ran down to the tip of his nose where the droplet had fallen from.

With both hands occupied, she couldn't return the favour of wiping his tears, but offered him the next best thing.

"C'mere."

Never one to refuse her, Grissom turned and leaned in closer. His eyes closed as her gentle kisses tracked the wetness back to its source, her lips resting briefly on each lid.

"I love you, Sara," he murmured, opening his eyes when she pulled back.

She stared deep into his icy blues and found herself wondering, yet again, how she had been so lucky as to end up with this incredible man.

God knows she didn't have a good upbringing – her father murdered, her mother imprisoned, her youth spent floundering in the foster system. It was tough. Even her studies, which eventually earned her a scholarship to pursue physics at Harvard, served a purpose. They allowed her to forget about all the shit in her life. She could hole herself up in a lab and bury herself in books. Hiding away and hoping not to be noticed by anyone had become her self-preservation method of choice.

Ah, but the best laid plans often go awry. Despite her intention to remain in the shadows, the day she sat at the front of an auditorium, pelting the visiting lecturer with questions on the forensics he was presenting, Sara did anything but go unnoticed. The wavy-haired man with brilliant eyes and a soothing voice was enthralled by the young woman. With her natural beauty and obvious intelligence, he was immediately drawn to her. Neither realized that their lives would be forever changed by that one day.

Yes, here in this brief moment, as she held his gaze in the sterile green birthing room, Sara was thankful for her luck. Luck that, for the first time in her life, had played in her favour that day.

A warm smile crept to her lips as she finally spoke. "I wasn't supposed to be there."

Well, that certainly wasn't the response he was expecting. "Huh?"

"The day we met… the lecture… I wasn't supposed to be there."

"Honey, what on earth are you talking about?"

The soft chuckle that bubbled from her caused the baby to stir, but not wake. "I don't know why I never told you before…"

Grissom's eyebrow rose to the occasion, silently begging her to continue.

"You weren't the only guest lecturer that week. I was planning on attending a thermodynamics seminar. It turns out it was on Thursday, but I must've mis-read the schedule, because I showed up for it on Tuesday."

"And you stayed," Grissom finished.

"And I stayed. When you came out and introduced yourself, I thought at first that you were the one that was mixed up. Then I looked over and saw the notes of the guy beside me. Wouldn't you know it," she said with a smirk, "they were, indeed, on forensics. I didn't want to cause a scene leaving, so I stuck around."

Throughout her explanation, Grissom's confusion had dissipated and his broad grin had returned. "Wait… you mean to tell me that you knew nothing about forensics before that day?"

Blushing, she shook her head, absently hugging the baby a little closer.

His confusion returned. "What about all your questions? Your comments? You had such a grasp of the topic…"

"Well Gil, that was all thanks to you. I knew nothing about it, but everything you talked about was fascinating. Then you put up that slide on blood spatter and determining its trajectory, and that was it… I was completely hooked!"

Grissom was both flattered and stunned at her remarks, and then it hit him – had it not be for her mistake that morning all those years ago, they'd have never met. It was only a matter of chance.

A gentle mewling brought their attention back to the infant. Pale blue, unseeing eyes peered up at them. One tiny hand, clenched in a fist, worked itself free of the flannel as she became more vocal. The mother's slight rocking wasn't quite enough to calm the infant, and it was clear she was too exhausted to do much more. Grissom leaned down and brushed his lips across Sara's as he plucked the child from her arms. He hoisted the bundle against his chest, head on his shoulder, and proceeded to rub her back. The cries stopped.

"I think I've found a good middle name to go with the one we picked," he said, gently swaying fromside to side. "What do you think of Marina Chance Grissom?"

Tearing up again, Sara nodded. "I love it… and I love you."

"I hope you like it too, young lady," he cooed to his daughter. "Your Mom and I love you very much."

He wrapped his arms around her, offering her all the comfort he could.