Make Shift Family

Author: Lolly4Holly

Rated: K+

Pairings: GSR - Gil Grissom & Sara Sidle (Might be some Vartann/Catherine further on)

Summary: Moving back to Las Vegas after a journey across the US seems like a simple task, but it turns into a daunting one when a black cloud returns to Grissom's head.

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of its characters. This is purely fictional, for entertainment purposes, only.

Author's Note: I wrote a series of one-shots for GSR a while ago, that weren't really going anywhere, so I decided to piece them together for this short story. I've never really posted any of my long GSR fictions before, mostly because it's so popular, and I didn't want to disappoint any fans who have been reading GSR for so long. But this is one of my favourite stories of GSR that I've completed.

Hope you like it, please let me know what you think.

Chapter One - In The Beginning

"One... two... three... testing... testing," Clicking the microphone in front of him off, the man gave his colleagues the thumbs up, relieved that things for the lecture were coming along swimmingly. He hadn't given a lecture in over six years now, but he was eager to get back on the saddle or the horse, whatever it was that people said nowadays.

He stepped down from the stand with his notes in his hand, double checking that they were all in order. His shaky hands didn't make it very easy to turn the pages, but he knew that was just a temporary side effect of his nervousness. He knew that as soon as he started talking to the students, it would immediately subside, as he would finally be doing what he always wanted, again.

Stopping at the base of the stage, he spotted a perky young co-ed sat in the front row, with one of his books in her hands. She chewed the end of her blue pen between her perfectly painted lips, completely unaware of the male attention that she was attracting.

Her beautifully curved legs were barely tucked into a pair of denim shorts, while the top half of her was scarcely covered in a pink blouse that looked about two sizes too small for her, but it definitely worked in her favour.

Knowing that she'd never even look twice at a guy like him, the man left her to it, allowing the much younger, more good looking males to take a chance with her. But it was already too late, he was completely smitten after just one look. He hadn't even seen the colour of her eyes or heard her speak yet, but that didn't matter.

She was the most amazing woman he had ever seen.

"Doctor Grissom," A man flagged him down, holding a chart of some kind in his hands. "I've seated the board members in the front row. Students can sit where ever they like, but we'll need to reserve a couple of seats for the Chairman and the college dean..."

While Grissom was going over the details with him, the young lady climbed to her feet, waiting for him to finish. She had heard the other man call him, Doctor Grissom, which immediately peeked her interest. He was the whole reason she was even here, rather than at the kegger her boyfriend had invited her to.

"Okay, thank you, Doctor Grissom." The man quickly left his side, hurrying through the rows of seats to relay the details to the college dean.

"Hi." The young woman stepped forwards, startling the older man as he glanced up from his notes in his hands. "Sorry for the intrusion, Doctor Grissom, but I just had to meet you in person. My name is Sara Sidle."

"It was MOMMY!" The child jumped out from under her covers with excitement, interrupting her father's story for the fifth time. "I knew it would be. Mommy is beautiful. Did you get married to her right away? Did she wear a big princess wedding dress? Did Mommy's mommy go there?"

Her father immediately chuckled, pressing a kiss to his little girl's delicate forehead. "That story is for another night, my dear. C'mon, time for bed. Mommy will be back from work any moment, do you want me to get into trouble because you're still awake?"

"No." She quickly crawled back to her pillow, diving under the covers. "I will tell Mommy that I wanted to stay up. She won't be mad. Can you finish the story?"

"You think so, huh? I don't know, your Mommy will probably get mad at me anyway." He playfully tickled her sides, making her adorably giggle and squirm beneath her covers. "I will finish the story another night. You could always ask your mother about it, she probably remembers it better than me, anyway."

"O-kay." She reluctantly agreed, dropping her head back against her pillow. "Did you at least have dinner with Mommy? Did you ask her?"

"Actually, she asked me. Now, you have to go to sleep, young lady."

"Ohh." His daughter complained. "Night night, Daddy."

"Good night, my dear." Tucking the covers up to her chest, her father pressed a kiss to her forehead, giving her a smile as he climbed to his feet. "I'll tell Mommy to come kiss you when she gets in."

Giving her a wave, he clicked off the light, pulling the door slightly, so the light from the hallway didn't disturb her. He made his way back to his office down the hall, hearing his cell vibrating against the wooden desk as he approached.

"Gil Grissom . . . Hello, Catherine." He smiled into his cell, dropping into his seat behind his desk. "How goes things at the lab?" He hadn't been back to the crime lab in Las Vegas, for just over five years now. Since their move back, he had been meaning to stop by and visit the old team, but his current work was now getting in the way of that. "Yeah, I heard that it's being refurbished. I guess we're a little out dated. Good thing I did leave when I did actually. Sara's bought one of those tablet thingys. My own daughter has to show me the ropes, just so I can stop it from bleeping every ten seconds."

"Da-ddy." A little voice called from down the hall.

"Speaking of, I gotta go. Yeah, I promise to stop by soon. Say 'hi' to the team for me." Grissom quickly set his cell down, hurrying down the hallway towards his daughter's bedroom door. He eased the door open slightly, giving his demanding five year old a smile. "Yes, my dear."

"Could I have a glass of water?" She sweetly requested, giving him an innocent smile. "Please."

Grissom gave her a nod, pulling the door to, before he made his way towards the stairs. He hurried down them, hearing a car rolling across the stones in the driveway. It was really dark out, but it was definitely his wife. He recognised the way the car pulled in immediately. She always pulled in a specific way, cutting the lights and the engine, before she opened the car door. She didn't like the dark, so as soon as the engine was off, she opened the door to flood her car with light again.

Sara retrieved her bag from the passenger seat, checking to see if anything else was in the car, before she climbed out. She locked it up, turning for the front door, just as her husband pulled it open. "This is a surprise. Were you waiting for me?" Sara licked her lips, before the man greeted her with a tender kiss. "Mmm, you should do that more often."

"Kiss you?" He gave her a quizzical look.

"Greet me at the door." She chuckled, dropping her bag and keys on one of the unpacked boxes at the door, so she had her hands free to hug him. "Usually I have to find you in the house to kiss me after a long day. This makes a nice change though."

"Da-ddy!" The little voice shouted down the stairs to him this time.

"Is she still up?" Sara pulled away from her husband, making her way towards the stairs. "It's just gone ten, Gil. She went to bed at midnight last night, these late nights aren't good for her development. If she tells this to her new teachers at kindergarten, they're going to think we're horrible parents."

"She won't tell anyone, and no they won't."

Sara sighed softly, shaking her head at him. "I suppose you fed her instant noodles for dinner again?"

"No." He objected, pointing to the pizza boxes sat on the table. "I realise that it looks bad, but we've only been here for two days. She's too excited and hyperactive at night to sleep, and we haven't got the kitchen fixed up yet. We really should have checked that out, before we signed the rental agreement. I think something died in that fridge."

"I hope you didn't tell her that." Sara warned him, removing her jacket and shoes at the bottom of the stairs, before she hurried up them to check on her daughter. She approached her bedroom door, noticing that all the boxes for her room were gone. She hoped her husband hadn't stuffed them inside her room, as she might bump into them with the lights off.

Stepping inside, she realised that the boxes hadn't been stuffed inside, but they had been unpacked. All of her clothes had been hung on individual hangers, and placed in the wardrobe. Some of her toys had been emptied into the storage boxes, while the others were on the shelves that her husband had just put up too.

"Mommy." Her little girl excitedly cheered, climbing out from under her covers as the door opened.

"Hello." Sara took a seat on her 'Hello Kitty' bed spread, hugging her little girl tightly in her embrace. She never thought in a million years that her life would pan out the way it had. She thought for sure that she would never get married, and she was never exactly the kind of person that adored kids or liked being around them either.

Now that she had both though, she never wanted to let them go.

"What's this?"

Feeling something cold against her chest, Sara pulled back slightly, seeing a multicoloured beaded necklace around her daughter's neck. She immediately rolled her eyes, wishing that Grissom would be more careful where their daughter was concerned. She didn't want her to choke to death in the middle of the night, but he didn't seem at all concerned about their daughter's well being.

"Where'd you get it?" She lifted it off her head, taking a look at all the different sized beads.

"Nana Bets." The little girl brushed her finger across the beads on one side of the necklace, showing her mother the beads that had initials on them. "Look, Mommy. G.S.R. Gilbert, Sara and Rosaline. That's Daddy, you and me." She smiled at her mother, receiving a proud smile in response.

"It's very good." Sara set it down on her nightstand for safe keeping. "Now, it's time for you to go to sleep, missy. It's way past your bed time." She lifted her back into her bed, gently tucking her in under her covers. "I love you, sweetie. Good night."

"I love you too, Mommy." Rosaline slid lower on her bed, getting herself comfortable, before she closed her eyes.

Her mother stayed with her a moment to watch over her, before she finally left to give her husband a scolding. She thought that after five years of having a child, he would start getting used to her simple routines and learn how to keep her safe, even when she was sleeping, but it never seemed to sink in.

"She's five years old, Grissom. She needs her sleep. Is it really that difficult for you to put a little girl to bed? You used to run a whole lab, for gods sake. And as for the food, you know I don't want any of that junk in her system."

Grissom knew that he was in trouble when his wife used his surname, he just didn't realise how much, until he was left with a pillow and blanket, sleeping on the sofa for the second night in a row.

There's the first chapter, let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading!

~ Holly