Chapter Four - I Wake Up Exhausted
The months passed quickly and with it so did they. They told the rest of the team fairly quickly as Grissom had put his foot down and had decided that Sara would not be working after the six month mark. Sara thought that was fair enough considering the chemicals and emotional issues that they were faced with. It will eventually have to take it's toll on her and her pregnancy, something that she didn't want. Grissom endured her mood swings and cravings with good humour, playing music through headphones over her belly to the baby. It was the changes to her body that she found most startling. As the pregnancy moved forward she found that she found that the body that she was in tune with was no longer her own. She couldn't even do up her shoes, walk properly or move at an speed. Grissom had to help her in the mornings with shoes and anything that was out of her reach. He just smiled, all peace and serenity at her changing form as Sara sometimes raged with impatience. Every time she complained he had a book for her, explaining that the things she was experiencing was perfectly normal. It helped and to be honest, the change in Grissom was worth every second. The look of wonder that was on his face every time the baby kicked, the infinite gentleness as he rubbed her sore muscles and the never-ending patience as she travelled the rocky road to full term. They both decided that the sex would remain a surprise. Nothing really overtly changed in their lives. Grissom's new job lecturing meant that he had a steady 9-5 and Sara found work quieter and quieter which meant that they got to spend more time together. It didn't take long before Sara realized that Grissom was planning something and whatever he was doing, he refused to tell her. He spent hours on the computer, deleting the history as he went so that she could no figure out what he was up too. And if the rest of the team knew, they said nothing at all. It was three weeks after this strange behaviour started that she came home and found Grissom waiting for her. She frowned at him.
"You should be at work"
"I lied. I have the day off today."
"And you lied why?"
Grissom beckoned her forward and when she was close enough he gently blindfolded her.
"Ok Gil, just so you know, after Catherine, I am not comfortable with the whole blindfold thing"
"Trust me"
He gently guided her back downstairs and too his truck. Sara tried to keep track of where they were driving but after twenty minutes, she was completely lost. He stopped the car and guided her out. All Sara could smell was freshly cut grass and flowers. Grissom leaned close to her and spoke low in her ear.
"I got you a present"
"What?"
"You'll see for yourself in a moment. I just thought that it was time for a change and this baby is the perfect time for it."
"So show me already"
Sara felt the blindfold fall away and what stood before her took her breath away. It was the house. When they had first started going out, Grissom asked her more then enough questions, things he could not find out by working with her. One of which was the kind of house that she wanted to have when she finally got around to purchasing one. She had described her dream house in detail and she never, ever thought that it even existed. But here it was before her. It was an much older house then the ones next to it. It needed a paint job but it was beautiful none the less. With three levels, each slightly smaller then the last, high arch windows, a short pebbled path and even flowers littered the wooden fence.
"Gil…"
"What do you think?"
"It's the house. You found my house."
Grissom moved to stand beside her, his arm coming to rest around her expanded waist.
"It took some work and more phone calls then I have ever made in my life but I found it."
"We can't afford this Grissom."
"Yes we can. And we did. This is our new home. I signed the papers yesterday."
"It's ours?"
"That's what I said."
Sara felt the tears start, for the hundredth time that day. Grissom took her on a tour of the house and they discussed that repairs that were required and decided that they would move in and get set up before the baby arrived. They picked the room that would be the nursery and what designs and colours would be on the walls. Sara felt light-headed. It was almost too much. She had a wonderful husband, a baby on the way and now finally a home that was truly theirs, something that they could make their own. And not for the first time since she started her relationship with Grissom, the feeling of happiness almost overwhelmed her.
The move to the new house was a surprisingly quick process. Between the team and Grissom they managed to get the house packed and moved within two days. Sara felt horrible not doing anything, she had been banned from lifting a finger, short of helping pack. Every time she went to pick up a box it was snatched from her hands and she was left just watching the work going on around her. In no time at all they had moved in completely and they had gotten settled in without too many dramas.
It happened when she was at home. Catherine had come over for a cup of coffee, armed with a large coffee cake and a few bags of baby clothes that she had never cleared out after Lindsay was born. They were having the cake when Sara felt a hard cramp in her stomach. She had been having those for quite a bit lately and she ignored it. When it happened again a few minutes later she had gone to the bathroom to try and find some pain killers. She was in front of the cabinet when she felt a harder, deeper pain and with a rush her water broke. It took her a few seconds to grasp what was going on.
"CATHERINE!"
Catherine came rushing in and came to an abrupt stop just outside the door. She took a few seconds to take in the situation before tugging Sara out of the bathroom and into the living room.
"Sit down, take some deep breaths and I'll call an ambulance."
Sara sat and did as she was told but the pain was intense and more then once a moan escaped her lips. She felt a shift in her stomach and a deep urge to push.
"Catherine….I think the baby is coming. It's not going to wait."
Catherine quickly gave their address to the operator over the phone and hung up. She helped Sara lay on the sofa and gave her a small smile.
"I need to see if I can see anything Sara."
"I could just cross my legs and pray really hard."
"I don't think that would do the trick."
Sara sighed and let Catherine lift the edge of her dress. She heard a distinct gasp escape from her friend before Catherine lowered her dress.
"Sara, don't move. I need to make a call"
Sara did as she was told, another contraction cutting off the questions that she had. She heard Catherine dial and speak quickly down the phone. It only took her a moment to realize that she had re-dialled 911.
"I can see the baby's head…..Ok…..yeah I can do that. I'll put you on speaker. Hold on"
Catherine placed the phone on the coffee table before turning back to Sara.
"The baby is coming. The ambulance won't make it here in time."
"Grissom…"
"Shit"
Catherine reached for Sara's mobile and quickly found Grissom's number. He didn't pick up and went to the answering machine. Catherine spoke quickly down the phone, telling him the baby was coming before hanging up. She did another quick search on her phone and found the number for the school and left an urgent message with the receptionist. Catherine dumped the phone back on the counter before turning back to Sara.
"How are you doing?"
"Resisting the urge to push."
Catherine spoke a little louder, directing her attention to the phone.
"Ok, now what?"
"Ok if Sara is comfortable where she is, Catherine, you need to get some towels, a pair of clean and dry scissors and you'll need something to tie off the umbilical cord."
Catherine dashed off to get the things that she needed. Sara gripped the arm rests as another wave of pain tumbled over her. It was nothing that she couldn't handle but the intensity was almost too much to deal with.
"Catherine, hurry. I need to push"
Catherine was back in a few moments are arranged the towels, three under Sara and another two aside for the baby. She placed the scissors and a piece of stings on the table before turning her attention to the phone again.
"Next step?"
"OK, now arrange Sara with her legs wide, dress up and then she can push. Sara, are you ready?"
"Not really"
Catherine helped Sara arrange herself on the sofa. The baby's head was starting to crown, dark hair already visible.
"Ok Sara, ready when you are"
Sara gritted her teeth and bore down, pushing as hard as she can. She felt the shift and movement between her legs. The pain washed over in steady waves and she suddenly wished that she wasn't in her own home. She wanted the hospital with it's friendly supply of drugs. She stopped pushing as she tried to catch her breath. It was then that the front door flew open and Grissom, flushed and breathless burst through the door. He was instantly at Sara's side, taking her hand and kissing her on the top of the head.
"Hey Sweetie. Couldn't wait for me huh?"
"Hey don't blame me, it's your child's idea thank you very much"
Catherine tugged at Grissom's hand.
"Come and have a look Grissom. You can see the baby's head."
Grissom glanced at Sara quickly before glancing down, a dopey grin coming to his face. He took his position back next to Sara.
"Ok, shall we get this baby delivered then?"
Sara, comforted by Grissom's presence, nodded slightly, gritted her teeth and once again bore down. It took two more hard pushes before, in a rush, the baby was born, pink and screaming in protest. They could all hear the sirens just outside the house as the baby's screams filled the house. Catherine, tears streaming down her face, handed the scissors to Grissom, a wide smile on her face.
"Want to cut the cord, Daddy?"
Grissom nodded and quickly cut the cord. He helped Catherine wrap the baby in a towel before handing the still gurgling bundle to Sara. She kissed the top of the baby's head and smiled up at Grissom.
"Boy or girl?"
"We have a daughter"
Sara looked down at her new daughter before looking again at Grissom.
"Did we ever settle on a name?"
Grissom stroked the thin mist of hair on his daughter's head, a small smile on his face.
"Athena Grace Grissom"
"Goddess of wisdom, huh?"
"Seems appropriate considering her parents"
Sara turned her daughter around so that her head was resting on her knees.
"Hello Athena. Welcome to the world little one"
Athena squirmed in the towel, her face screwed up like a little prune.
Everything now revolved around Athena. Sara decided to breastfeed which meant that her days and nights were Athena's. Except for the occasion when Grissom insisted she use the pump that Catherine had gotten her and put some in the fridge so that he could occasionally do feeding duty. Not that he was missing out. Every time their daughter cried, he was awake with her and he would watch as Sara fed Athena. Despite her fear, Sara found that motherhood came easier to her then she thought. The only problem she had was that nothing prepared her for the rush of love she had for her new little girl. It was all-consuming. She looked at every thing as a potential risk, from going to the market to people not washing their hands before touching Athena. It got a little mad at one point. The doctor advised waiting for a week or so before taking Athena out on her first outing, just in case. It took almost a month before Grissom to finally leave the house. And that was only because they were missing essentials and Sara was fairly certain he let it get to that point, forcing her into leaving the house. He knew that she would not leave without Athena. Sara was also fairly certain that Athena was also the most spoilt little girl in existence. The team, or as Sara and Grissom called them the official Aunt and Uncle squad, were constantly giving her gifts, picking up random things for her. After much discussion, Grissom and Sara decided that Brass and Catherine were perfect god parents, both more then enough experience between them to look after their little girl; god forbid something should happen. Sara never planned to cash in on that contract but it was safer to be prepared. As Athena grew, going from the helpless infant to a baby girl with a curious nature, Sara found herself seeing her little girl as a toddler then a teenager and finally an adult. It broke her heart that one day her little girl was not going to need her as much anymore. Then Athena would break the mood, her face serious as she tried to put her foot in her mouth.
Athena was almost six months old before Sara finally returned to work full time. It was the hardest thing that she had ever had to do, leaving her little girl crying in the sitter's arms, pretending not to hear the protest as she closed the door firmly behind her. She went to work but all she could think about was Athena and the team happily took the baby discussions and picture show, just as interested as she was to hear constant updates. Grissom joined in, filling in any gaps, making sure they knew of every little achievement. Athena had recently found the joys of crawling and the joys of having her parents chase her to stop her falling or catching herself on any sharp objects. Athena found the whole thing hysterical, while Sara was fairly certain that her first grey hair came about simply from the stress of it all. Sara was in Grissom's office eating lunch when his cell rang. She was licking ketchup off her thumb when the look on Grissom's face made her freeze.
"Gil?"
Grissom's face was stone white, his voice barely a whisper.
"That was the hospital. Athena's there"
Sara's heart stopped.
"Why?"
"She stopped breathing"
A wave of nausea and fear almost knocked Sara over but she somehow managed to keep her grip on consciousness. She didn't know how but she found herself flying from that office, Grissom close on her heels.
