AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.


Chapter 7: Quiet before the Strom

Later that Afternoon

After Bailey arrived home after work, she had breakfast with the kids and husband before she went to sleep, and after sleeping her usual time, she got up and got ready before they headed over to Sara and Grissom's place with their bodyguard following.

Once they arrived at their house, and while grandma and grandpa was watching the grandkids, Megan left with Sam and Bailey and headed over to Kyle's place to meet his father and to pick the young man up, then after getting in the vehicle, Sam drove the foursome to the nearest ice cream shop.

When they arrived there, which the drive was pretty silent, they walked into the medium-sized building before Sam looked over at his wife with a smile. "Chocolate or Oreo today, sweetheart?"

Bailey smiled. "Oreo, please."

He nodded, and after picking up that sign from Sam, Kyle looked over at Megan and asked. "What would you like?"

"Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, please."

"Alright, you got it."

They smiled at one another before the guys walked toward the counter to get the ice cream while Bailey and Megan started discussing their seating arrangement so Megan and Kyle could have a little privacy but still giving Bailey a good view of them.

"Across the room." Megan asked.

Bailey shook her head. "One table away."

"Two?"

After a pause, Bailey nodded. "Alright, you win."

"Thank you."

Bailey just smiled as the guys walked over toward them with their treats before they walked toward the tables, and after Kyle and Megan sat down at the third table from the door, Sam and Bailey sat down two tables down from them.

They took a few bites of ice cream in silence before Megan took a breath and spoke while shyly looking at Kyle as she moved a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry that our plans got delayed, you have to know that in our family if things get delayed or cancelled it's for a very good reason, and it really..."

Kyle cuts off a rambling Megan, another nervous habit, one she got from her mother, with a smile. "It's ok, I understand, and considering there is a bodyguard following your family, I knew it wasn't just a line to blow me off."

Megan shook her head immediately. "Of course I wouldn't do that, I've been wantin..." She stopped herself before she said too much and smiled shyly again as she looked down at her bowl of ice cream. "Well, I'm glad because I was a little afraid that this wouldn't happen at all."

After swallowing a bite of his ice cream, Kyle asked with curiosity. "Why would you think that?"

She looked into his hazel eyes, shrugging her shoulders a little. "I don't know, I thought maybe you just asked me because of peer pressure or you might've just flat out changed your mind."

Kyle showed her his beautiful smile as he replied softly. "Now why would I do that to a girl who's had a crush on me the last two years?"

She looked at him with wide-eyes now. "You knew?"

He nodded. "I did."

"How come...How come you never said anything?"

He sighed before answering. "You were in the high school world, how could I could compete with that?"

Megan smiled while shaking her head. "My new freshman class never looked at me twice. Well, only when I answered every question right that the teacher threw my way. And even if they would have, I wasn't really that interested anyways."

They chuckled, then Kyle nervously moved his hand from the top of the table and placed it on top of hers, making both hearts pound as he finished in a sincere and honest tone. "Then I would have to say your freshman class, or the whole student body for that matter, isn't as smart as they think they are." Megan tried to hide her blush as he finished after clearing his throat. "And I would never have backed out on our date, no matter how long I had to wait for it, this wasn't some heat of the moment ask. I really wanted to go out with you because I've had a crush on you for awhile now too, and I couldn't wait any longer to ask you."

Megan was so happy to hear him say that that she didn't know what to say, so she just sat there with his hand still on top of hers as they just looked at one another with smiles and their eyes shinning.

Over at the other table, Sam smiled as he moved his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders as he spoke. "Oh, to be young again." He looked over at his wife and asked. "If you could go ba..."

Bailey cuts him off, knowing what he was going to ask, as she looked at him shaking her head. "I wouldn't want to go back to that time."

"Really?"

Bailey nodded with a slight smile. "You have to know that up until I was 15 I thought something was wrong with me." Sam was about to speak but Bailey continued after taking a breath as she looked down at her ice cream. "I mean think about it, if it wasn't for my constant answering questions in the classroom, joining the after school clubs, and the occasional 'hello's' from Blake, I might as well have been a ghost for the first two years of my high school education." Then she smiled as she looked at him, knowingly. "Then senior year happened and everything changed for me, I finally got to know what it felt like to have that special feeling for someone, that feeling that I've always heard about and wanted to experience myself." Then she sighed again and shook her head. "But because of the circumstances, it couldn't happen."

He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb up and down her cheek as he replied. "But we made it through that, we are happening now."

She took a breath and gave him a slight nod as she continued. "And even as I got older and went on dates until that happened, more times than not I felt like I was just going through the motions, going on dates so I didn't feel more like an outcast than I already did, because I already found my 'one' and was just waiting to be reunited with him again. So, to think about that time back then feels kind of lonely. Yeah, I had my family and friends, but a piece of me had felt missing, until." She moved her hand up to his cheek and cupped it as she finished with love in her eyes. "You came back into my life, that's when my life felt almost complete."

He smiled as he finished. "Our kids making it complete."

As they leaned toward each other, she whispered. "No doubt about that."

They kissed softly on the lips before putting their foreheads together for a few seconds, then they go back to eating their ice cream, and after a few seconds while thinking about her talking about her past, he looked over at his wife again and asked. "You still miss them?"

Knowing who he was talking about, Bailey nodded. "Of course, everyday. Don't get me wrong, I feel blessed, honored and grateful that I have my biological and extended family, but I also feel that my adoptive family is still apart of me. They helped shape who I am today."

He nodded in understanding as he asked. "In that case, I was thinking you should start telling our daughter about them, let her know that there was another family out there who loved you very much."

Bailey started to smile with a nod. "Yeah, maybe I should, thank you for that."

He smiled as he kissed her temple before pulling back and whispering. "No problem, anytime."

After one more smile and both showing that twinkle in their eyes for one another, they got back to finishing their ice cream in comfortable silence.


Once they left the ice cream shop, Sam drove the foursome back to Kyle's place to drop him off, and after the teenagers said goodbye to one another, the three of them headed back to the parents house.

When they arrived there, they got out of the vehicle and headed for the front door before walking in the house, where they saw their father finishing up a chess game with Ethan, while little Sarah was on her grandpa's lap, which she happily said hi to them the moment they walked through the door, and Sara was holding their little prince on the couch as Arthur was sitting next to them looking at a comic book.

As Sam was closing the front door, Megan hugged her sister before running upstairs with a smile on her face. Sam then walked to the couch and sat at the other end before Sara transferred little Sam into his arms, and while he was bringing his son close to his chest, Ethan asked his sister something as he moved one of his chess pieces. "So Sissy, how do you feel about some sibling bonding tonight?"

Bailey walks over to the chess board with a smile and kissed her daughter's head as she exclaimed she was helping grandpa, making them chuckle a little, before she looked at her youngest brother after Sam exclaimed he could drop them off sometime tomorrow, with a nod. "Ok, sure why not."

Ethan smiled as he moved one more piece and smiled at his dad. "'Checkmate' dad." Then he got up from his seat and ran upstairs as little Sarah looked at the chessboard with a pout. "Lose Grandpa?"

Grissom smiled as he kissed his granddaughter on the head. "I'm afraid so sweetheart, it seems I've created some little monsters."

It was becoming very difficult to win against his children on the chessboard these days, and the few times he does actually get a win, he believes they throw the game for his benefit. But he never asked if that was true and they never volunteered that information.

They chuckled while little Sarah turned around in her grandpa's arms and gave him a hug, making them say 'aww' as she said. "Love you anyways."

He held his granddaughter in his arms with a sigh of content as he replied. "Love you too sweetheart."

The family watched the scene as Bailey looked over toward the couch and asked Arthur. "You want to come over too?"

Arthur nodded with a smile as he got up from the couch before running up the stairs while Grissom says to him. "See if your sister wants to go too."

"Ok, dad."

When the kids were out of the room, Grissom stands up from the chair he was sitting in and hands little Sarah off to his oldest as he walks to the love seat, and as he sat down, he asked after clearing his throat. "So, is it a one and done outing?"

Bailey took a breath as she sat down next to her father and shook her head. "I'm afraid not dad, this one's going to be sticking around for a bit."

She saw the looks between the teenagers, and as scared as Megan was last night that this could have been her only shot, it was nowhere in sight by the time they had dropped off Kyle, there was a new look in her eyes.

Grissom sighed and shook his head. "You know it isn't really about the dating that's getting to me, because at the end of the day I do want her to meet other people, that's what help makes a person grow, it's just the fact that not all relationships are going to last forever or end in a nice package with a bow on top, and I'm just afraid that it's going to happen to her, and there is no more useless feeling than watching your child go through pain and you can't do anything about it, especially getting their heart broken."

He looked at his oldest with a little sadness as he remembered when she was heartbroken at 15, the rest of them nodded in agreement as Bailey placed her left hand on her father's arm. "And I know you felt that way when I was hurting, but I got through it, and if/when it happens to her, she'll get through it too."

He smiled a little as he cupped his daughter's cheek. "I always knew you would, mostly because of everything you had to go through by the time you were her age. But Megan's never went through anything near of what you had to endure."

Bailey sniffled with a nod. "Thank god for that, but she's also a Grissom, and I like to think of us as a strong bunch. She'll know when to lean on us when she needs it, but it's also something you need to let her go through."

Grissom nodded as he wiped a tear of his daughter's cheek, then cleared his throat to get the emotion out. "You're right, but I'll never stop wanting to protect her, or any of my kids for that matter."

Bailey shook her head. "And we never would want you stop, just maybe not over do it all the time."

Grissom nodded in understanding as he whispered. "I love you."

She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek before she placed her forehead against his. "I love you too, daddy."

Sara and Sam secretly wiped a few tears off their cheeks, watching moments between them were always so heartwarming. They always knew they had a very special bond, one they would never want to mess with, even if they could.

Their daughter/father moment was interrupted when they heard the kids running down the stairs with their overnight bags.

As Bailey was pulling back from her father, she cleared her throat and asked. "You guys ready?" After around of 'yeah's' were heard, she nodded as she stood up from the love seat with her daughter still in her arms. "Alright, say goodbye to mom and dad, and we'll leave."

After the boys walked over to their mother, they kissed her cheek and said their love yous before they walked over to their dad and did the same thing before walking toward the front door, stopping before going outside, then after Megan kissed her mother's cheek and they said their love yous, she walked to her dad and gave him a hug but they both felt it was a little uncomfortable, so as she was pulling back, but before she could speak, Grissom gave his youngest daughter a smile before cupping her cheek. "When things get back to normal, or as normal as this family can get." They all chuckled a little at that before he continued. "I'll gladly take you and..."

He trailed off, just realizing he didn't even know the young man's name, so Megan finished for him. "Kyle."

Grissom nodded. "You and Kyle to the movies."

Megan's eyes lit up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Megan nodded as she gave her father another hug, this one feeling a little better between them as she whispered. "Love you, daddy."

He wrapped his arms around her as he whispered. "I love you too."

After they pulled back, she kissed his cheek before following her brothers and Sam out of the door, and after Bailey kissed her parents goodbye while exchanging their love yous, she walked out of the house, shutting the door behind her.

As the door clicked shut, Grissom sighed as Sara walked over to the love seat so she could sit next to her husband, then she placed her arm over his shoulders. "I'm very proud of you, that couldn't have been easy."

He sighed again as he took her free hand and slipped his fingers through hers as he looked over at her while shaking his head. "Bailey's right, I need to let Megan do this, I can't keep her, or the boys for that matter, in a box, I need to help them grow not hinder them."

As much as Sara wanted to keep the kids in a protective box too, she knew her husband was right so she nodded in agreement, making Grissom sigh for a third time as he moved closer to his wife so he could place his head on her shoulder, and after she turned her head and kissed his forehead, she spoke again. "And you were right too." As he moved his thumb back and forth on the top of her hand, she continued as she ran her fingers through his hair. "She'll eventually go through some heart breaking moments, but I believe that it will only make her stronger and make her feel that more rewarding when she finally finds the one she's meant to be with."

He nodded against her shoulder before replying after one more sigh. "But even then, you and I both know that it isn't a guarantee it will last forever."

She slipped her fingers out of his before cupping his cheek and running her thumb up and down it while he moved his eyes so they could have eye contact as she replied with emotion and love in her eyes. "And you and I both know that if it's worth fighting for, it could."

He smiled with a nod, knowing she was talking about them, then they moved toward one another and kissed, softly at first before it became a little passionate.

After they pulled back a little breathlessly, they put their foreheads together as she whispered. "Well, Mr. Grissom, it seems we have a whole house to ourselves, is there anything you can think of that we can do?"

He smiled as he whispered back. "Oh, I can think of a few things on the top of my head, but for the time-being can we just enjoy this quiet moment?"

She ran her fingers though the back his hair with her other hand as she nodded. "Of course."

As much as they love their children, grandchildren, and the other kids in their extended family, it's been a house full of kids for the last few days and they just wanted to take a few moments listening to the quietness.


AN: Alright, things are about to take a turn, how bumpy will things get? Find out soon. Please review.