A/N: Thank you for the kind reception of another story-and now, another chapter!

Love Finds a Way

Chapter 2

Sara watched the third play, another children's story, and let her thoughts drift over the past nine months—the length of a pregnancy, she realized. A year ago, she was struggling with day-to-day events until she fell into an open manhole and during the uncomprehending days that followed, her husband had returned. Her heart—her purpose—had returned when Gil Grissom had declared his love to her, had stayed by her side as she learned to walk again, and had stayed. And it was during that time, during a long and difficult rehab, that she and her husband had renewed their marriage. And, as an answer to a forgotten prayer, Eli had come to them. A child—a son—she had lost hope of having a family—and now she had a son; she smiled.

Glancing at Grissom, she found he was watching her, a smile on his face. Her smile spread into a wide grin as she slipped her hand around his elbow.

"He was a great prince," he whispered.

She squeezed her husband's arm, nodding her head. Grissom was a good father—she'd always known he would be. Eli's biological father had known it; had spoken of Gil Grissom as the father he wished he had had. She spread her fingers along his arm in a gentle caress and smiled, satisfied, happy.

Ducking her head to touch his shoulder with her cheek, Sara was grateful. Grissom was at the university in a full-time position which involved research and teaching one class each semester. He was home every night. She continued working at the CSI lab but only part-time. After her accident, as if the sheriff and Conrad Ecklie had taken some responsibility for the event—or perhaps it was the adoption of Eli—she had been offered a new position that gave her flexibility, a less demanding work schedule, and time to be a wife and a mother.

Easily, she smiled as she felt Grissom's hand placed over hers. He whispered, "Nick and Catherine are here." They watched the rest of the play and applauded with other parents as all the children returned to the stage.

When dismissed by the teachers, there was the usual noisy activity of young children celebrating a successful event; adults congratulated the teachers and praised the young children for their work.

Afterwards, Catherine insisted on ice cream treats from a new shop several blocks from the school. And Sara joined Eli in selecting a waffle bowl, filling it with three flavors of ice cream, and eating all of it while listening to Catherine tell stories of her work. Nick was entertaining Eli—or, based on giggles from both, the two were planning an adventure.

Catherine chattered away. She had left the crime lab for the FBI; a job which lasted less than two years before she returned to Vegas and became involved in the management of Sam Braun's operation. Catherine had always insisted she did it for her mother who was close enough to the financial process to know revenue was declining. And, from Sara's viewpoint, Catherine's return had certainly increased the financial situation for Catherine and her mother.

It wasn't the new house or the very expensive car she drove, or the clothes from the high-end shops; Catherine had been extremely generous in adding to a college fund for Eli after her offer to pay tuition at the most exclusive private school in Vegas had been refused. And she continued to be generous within the boundaries Grissom and Sara had set—not just with Catherine, but with Nick and Greg.

Sara made herself listen as Catherine talked about the influx of former Atlantic City casino employees flooding into Vegas. She knew Catherine was far removed from the day-to-day operations but kept an ear to everything that revolved around Vegas' chief source of revenue.

Hearing Grissom's phone ping, Sara watched as he pulled the cell phone from his pocket, frowned at the screen, and scooted his chair away from the table. Pointing outside, he said, "Taking this," and left the table.

"Who's after him today?" Catherine asked, not in a prying manner wanting an answer, but as an interruption in her thought process.

Sara shrugged and a few seconds later, Eli joined their table, slipping next to Sara with a grin on his face. She asked, "And what have you and Nick been doing?"

"He says I could go to the ballgame with him—if you say yes."

Nick, standing behind the boy, nodded his head, said, "I'll have him home early!"

With several other families from the school in the ice cream shop, Sara knew Eli did not want a display of affection, so she touched his hand instead of giving him a double-arm hug. For a brief moment, the love she had for this child, almost overwhelming at times, bathed her senses, tingling her cells as she felt his skin against hers.

Smiling, she said, "Of course, you can go." She had learned months ago that she must let her child develop independence.

There was a quick little foot jig from Eli as he placed his arms around Sara's neck and quickly hugged her; Then, with excited talk about who was playing, where the best seats were, and what food the two could eat at the ballgame, Catherine's chatter was diverted until Grissom returned to the table. He said nothing about the call, instead, adding his approval to ballgame plans.

Downtown, Judge Timothy Dorsey sat in his family court chambers, sighing as he looked at the stack of court documents on his desk. It was a never ending process—more cases coming in every day—yet he attempted to make progress every hour of his long days, often working weekends to clear some of the cases. The file in front of him was a different kind of case and he was worried.

A light tapping on the door was answered with a loud "Come in!" The judge knew who was arriving. When a woman entered, he greeted her with, "Good morning, Maria! Thanks for coming and—most of all thanks for your help."

The woman walked over to the vacant chair and sat down before saying anything. "None of these are easy, are they? But this one is different." She let out an audible sigh. "How do these things happen?"

The judge made a quick smile. "Should I answer that one?"

Maria, a woman of substantial size, chuckled. "You don't have to answer my questions, Judge."

Shaking his head, he said, "What do we do about Michele Stevens?"

A solemn grunt came from Maria before she answered. "I think we both know what's going to happen to Michele—she knew it when she killed her husband."

"Rephrase then—what are we going to do for Michele?" The judge's face saddened. "Why do we let this happen, Maria?"

"I don't know, but some—not many—these women—a few men—get battered and beat up and one day some of them decide they are not going to take it any longer." She shrugged slightly. "I don't think they plan to kill their abuser. It just happens. And when they get going," she shook her head, "they don't stop until—well, you've seen it."

"The entire situation is sad. Until the head injury, the husband had no violent history—it's just sad. He couldn't—didn't get help. She didn't get help, just tried to—to hide what was going on." Shaking his head, the judge reached for one folder on his desk and opened it. "Michele is going to be dead in a month. We—the law—did not do much for Michele while she lived. She really wants this settled before—before she gets to the point of not being—aware of things."

Maria pulled a folder from the large bag she carried. "I did as you asked—looked at a dozen possibles." She sat back in the chair and gave him a satisfying grin. "And then I did some thinking on my own."

Both eyebrows lifted on the judge's face.

A/N: Catherine, Nick, and a judge...more to come! Thanks for your reviews and comments!