Chapter 7: Shocked

Grissom and Sara both mentally gasped, and Destiny looked at Faith before looking at her sister's line of sight, seeing she was still wearing her engagement ring, then she mentally cursed.

She looked at Faith again, but before she could come up with something, Grissom speaks. "We are home."

Destiny mentally sighed in relief while Faith shakes her head with a smile. "My questions will be answered, just letting you know."

They all got out of the vehicle feeling relieved, at least for the time being.

When they got into the house, Grissom wasted no time in starting dinner, then when Jeremy showed up a few minutes later, she told them a few stories about the life she had to live until it was time for dinner.

Throughout their meal they could feel this big elephant in the room, so when dinner was just about over, Faith drops her fork on her plate and asked. "Ok, enough of this. Can one of you please tell me what is going on?"

Knowing this was something he couldn't get in the middle of, Grissom looked over at Sara. "Dear, want to help with the dishes?"

Sara nodded. "It's the least I could do." He gives her a small smile as they stood up, then they picked up some of the dishes before leaving the room.

When they were gone, Faith looked over at Destiny before looking at Jeremy. "What did you do? Whatever you did, I will understand, you thought I was dead. We can work through it."

Jeremy looked at Faith before looking at Destiny, which she nods her head, telling him to go ahead. He looks down at his empty plate, trying to think how to say this, then he cleared his throat before looking a Faith a second time. "Faith, I really did think that you were dead. They couldn't find you anywhere, and we had a funeral and everything."

Faith nodded her head as she placed her hand on top of his with a smile. "I know, and I understand, so, what? You got drunk and had a one night stand? Or something."

He swallows before replying. "Or something."

Faith raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean? You met somebody long-term?" He does a short nod, and when he was about to continue, she pulls her hand back. "Oh, I see why you were so distant at the hospital. I guess I understand, I mean you thought I was dead, you weren't going to stay single for the rest of your life, you're still young." She gets up while she grabbed her plate, then before either Destiny or Jeremy could speak, she left the dinning room and walked into the kitchen.

Destiny looks over at Jeremy when they were alone. "This is going great."

He nods as he tossed his napkin on the table before running his hand down his clean shaven face. "I don't know how to tell her."

"I know, I mean how do you tell your girlfriend that you went to her sister for comfort."

Destiny stands up after she was done and was going to walk away, but Jeremy stands up and puts his hand on her shoulder to stop her before looking into her eyes."You know it was more then that Destiny." She nods while a tear goes down her cheek. He cups her cheek to wipe it away as he continued. "We will figure this out." Before she could speak again, they hear a gasp, so they turn toward it, and Jeremy moves his hand from Destiny's cheek as he said. "Faith.."

But Faith cuts him off. "That's who it is! My sister!"

Jeremy was walking up to her to calm her down, but Faith moves his arms so she could walk past him while saying loudly. "You wanted this to happen, didn't you!? When you found out I was dead you wasted no time getting him into bed, didn't you?"

Destiny shakes her head. "It wasn't like that Faith."

She snorted and said. "Oh yeah right, I had a gut feeling that you've always had a thing for him, so how did you finally get him into bed?"

Destiny had tears in her eyes, and Jeremy couldn't stand watching them fight like this, so he walked up to them and said. "Faith, can I speak to you for a minute?"

Faith looks at Jeremy then looks at her sister again. "Yeah, then you can tell me what made you be with a slut like her." Destiny gasped and ran out of the room.

Grissom had stuck his head out of the kitchen and Jeremy looked at him, which he does a short nod before heading toward his daughter's childhood bedroom.

When Jeremy and Faith walked out on the back deck, they sat down on the deck swing. He then shakes his head and asked. "You really don't believe that she would take an advantage of our grief like that, do you?"

Faith looks down ashamed on what she said to her sister, then looks over at him. "No, this just took me for a big loop and I was angry, just please tell me it wasn't some alcoholic induced relationship?"

Even after she said that, she was kind of hoping it was, instead of one that took time to mature into something meaningful.

Jeremy looked down at his hands, then looked at her, knowing this was the time to tell her the truth. "No it didn't happen like that." He watched her head bend down, and he knew it was hurting her, but he couldn't change what had happened.

He puts a hand on her arm and continued. "For six months we hung out with each other a lot and we formed a bond, a very meaningful bond. We thought you were dead and tried moved on with each other."

"So she was engaged to you?"

"She is engaged to me, present tense."

Faith realized her past tense use, and nodded. "So it's still happening?"

"I made a commitment and I am not breaking it, no matter what."

A piece of his heart that loved Faith was breaking, but he had already made a commitment, and he had a responsibility to that baby, he wasn't going to turn and walk away from them.

"Does she make you happy?"

"Yes."

Faith looked into his eyes and sees the truth, then nods.

Jeremy stands up a second later and holds out his hand. Faith looks at the hand and puts her hand in his before he pulls her up, then he brings her in his arms and holds her while whispering. "Don't put all the blame on Destiny, it wasn't her fault." She nods and holds him tighter, knowing this could be the last time she will get to be like this with him.

After a few minutes, Jeremy pulls back and looked over at the back door, seeing Destiny standing there. "You ok?"

She nods while Faith looked over at the door too. "I'm sorry Destiny."

"I understand, you just got a pretty big shock, I won't hold anything against you, if you don't hold this against me."

Faith nods her head while she holds out her hand, Destiny walks up to her and shakes it, forming a new trust.

After they release hands, Jeremy speaks while looking at Destiny. "We better head back to the apartment."

Destiny shook her head. "I think I should stay here tonight."

He was about to answer when Faith speaks. "You don't have to Destiny, you should go, I'll be fine."

Destiny looked at her and asked. "You sure?"

Faith nodded with a smile. "Yes, go."

Destiny looked at Jeremy, which he said. "It's up to you."

After another nod from Faith, telling her it's ok, Destiny nods back. "Ok, I'm going to say goodnight to mom and dad." Jeremy nodded, and after Destiny hugged Faith, she walked back inside.

When they were alone again, Jeremy and Faith looked at each other, then she puts a hand on his cheek and said. "You take care of her."

He takes her hand off his cheek, kissed it, and spoke while looking into her eyes. "I will." She nods, then after he squeezed and released her hand, they walked back inside.

After saying goodbye to Sara and Grissom, Destiny and Jeremy walked out of the house before getting into his vehicle, and after he started it, she cautiously asked. "So what did you tell her?"

He looked over at her after hearing the tone of her voice, then he smiles a little while putting a hand on her arm. "I told her nothing has changed. We are getting married as planned." She looked a little shocked, so he leans toward her, pecking her on the lips, then pulls back and continued. "Did you think that just because Faith came back I would ditch you and the baby?"

Destiny was very honest when she nodded her head. "I would be lying if I said that thought didn't cross my mind."

Jeremy sighed, they were in a very unique situation. so he knew he couldn't get mad at that, so he just pecks her on the lips again, and when he was comfortable in the driver's seat, he replied. "Well it isn't going to happen. I have a responsibility to you and that baby, and I am not turning my back on either one." He squeezed her hand before placing his hand on the steering wheel so he could drive them back to the apartment.

While he was driving, they were in their own thoughts, and she kept thinking who he was trying to convince more, him or her, that the wedding was happening. She saw how they were looking at one another and the hug they shared,

She mentally sighed and shook her head, she wasn't going to go down that road. She knew he was a truthful man, so if he made an agreement he was going to stick by it, but that doubt was in the corner of her mind, and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.


Later that night

Grissom walked into his and Sara's bedroom, which she was already in bed waiting on him.

They smiled at each other, then she sighed before asking. "How is Faith?"

Grissom sighed back as he was getting into bed, and after he laid down, she got to her favorite spot, his chest. He puts an arm around her shoulders as he finally answered her question. "From what I could tell she's hanging in there. She understood the circumstances on why things are the way they are, but that doesn't mean it isn't affecting her." She nods, taking his left hand and slipping her fingers though his while he spoke again. "And I have a feeling it's only going to get worse."

She raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You mean you didn't know?"

She leans back to look at his face. "You know something, don't you?"

He smiles bigger before kissing her on the forehead. "I noticed a few things."

She raises an eyebrow again. "Like what?"

"Destiny didn't have wine or beer with her dinner, she kept glancing down at her stomach a few times, and I think she even put her hand on it once or twice."

Sara gasped. "Oh, wow, that's some sticky situation these girls put themselves in."

He nods. "What about Jeremy? Being in love with not only two beautiful women, but sisters, this could only end up in heartbreak for somebody."

She nods her head while putting it back on his chest. "I wish there was something we could do to soften the blow to the hurt one."

He kisses her head before replying. "The only thing we can offer is our shoulder. I don't like it either but it is their lives. But with that being said, I am happy Faith is back, that's something I would never take back."

Sara yawns, snuggling closer to him. "I second that, Love you Griss. Goodnight."
"Love you too Sara, sleep tight."

A few seconds later Sara was fast asleep, the emotional day that she had really wiped her out. Grissom stayed up a few more minutes, sending a silent prayer to whoever was listening to protect their daughters, knowing somebody was going to end up getting hurt, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.


Three weeks had passed since that bizarre day, and Faith was getting in the swing of things
again. She was also coming to terms that Jeremy wasn't hers anymore. She wasn't totally happy about it, but she wasn't doing anything to undermine what was between them, and like Faith, everybody else felt a little weird seeing Jeremy and Destiny as a couple with Faith now back into their lives, but they just wanted everybody to be as happy as they could under the circumstances.

Now it was the night before the wedding, and while Jeremy was at his bachelor party, Destiny and Faith were at the Grissom household.

Destiny didn't feel right about having a bachelorette party but Faith wanted to a least do something for her, which surprised her, but she wasn't going to discourage it because if Faith was willing to make this new situation work, then so was she.

Faith was sitting on the couch looking down at some photos of when they were kids as Destiny walked into the room carrying two glasses, one had wine in it for Faith and the other one had water since that's all the drinks she can hold down these days, and she didn't want to have an episode in front of Faith since she didn't know she was pregnant yet. Only a few people knew now, and that was their parents and Jeremy's parents.

Destiny hands the wine glass to her sister before sitting down while Faith says "Thanks."

Destiny gets comfortable on the couch before replying. "You're welcome."

After they smiled at each other, Faith looks back down at the photo album, and after a few seconds, Destiny looks at her sister and asked. "Faith, can we talk? We haven't really done that since you've reacquainted yourself here."

Faith was busy getting her life back on track, which included, finding an apartment that she could afford from her bank account she had, signing up for some art classes again, and finding a job that fits her needs.

Faith was expecting this moment, so she closes the book and sets it on the coffee table before looking at her sister with a nod. "Yeah, it's time."

Destiny nodded, but remained silent for a few minutes before she finally asked. "Are you ok with this? I mean... I know it can't be easy."

Faith moves a piece of hair behind her ear and looked down at her wine glass while replying. "Well it isn't like I am going to be singing a happy musical about it any time soon." Faith looked at Destiny again with a small smile on her face, which she gave her a small smile back as she continued. "But the reality of it, is that both of you guys thought that I was dead, and you helped each other through that grief. Then when the majority of it was gone, it left something else, a bond that was too strong to ignore. There was no way you guys thought I would be coming back. And now that I am, you can't just turn back the clock to make it the way it was before, it doesn't work like that."

When Destiny looked at her with a surprised look after her speech, Faith smiled a little bigger before asking. "What? You thought I was going to tell you that I will get what I want, by whatever means."

Destiny tilts her head a little. "Well it kind of did run through my mind."

Faith chuckles a little, shaking her head. "Do you honestly think I am that kind of a woman?"

Destiny puts her hand on her sister's arm while speaking in a heartfelt tone. "I don't. You went through a bizarre and scary year, and you could have given up, but you didn't. Now you're here, which wasn't a reality you were expecting, but you are making the most out of it. I applaud you."

Faith wipes a tear away. "Thank you." Destiny nodded and took a drink of her water, and after she swallowed it, Faith spoke again. "Besides, I couldn't take away the man you're marrying because it isn't just the two of you anymore, is it?"

Destiny chokes on another sip of her water and looked at Faith with wide eyes. "Faith..."

But Faith cuts her off when her hand went up to stop her. "I may not be a CSI in this family, but I still have eyes. I see you touching your stomach every chance you get, I have noticed no alcoholic beverage has seen your hand since I have been back, and you were the first one to get a beer the moment you turned twenty one, not that you were an alcoholic or anything but you would always have a few more drinks in you when you knew somebody was taking you home." Destiny nodded at that, out of the two, she did like to party a bit more. She then looked down while Faith touched her arm. "But just for the record, am I right?"

Destiny and Jeremy both agreed that they weren't going to tell her until after the wedding, unless it was brought up, and she wasn't going to lie to her face, so she looked at Faith again with a nod. "You are."

The wind was knocked out of Faith the minute it was confirmed, it is one thing to speculate, but it is another when you find out the truth.

She then moves her hand from Destiny's arm, taking a few breaths. "Wow."

"You ok?"

Faith nods after hearing her sister's concern voice. "It's one thing to think about you two marrying, but it is another when you add a baby to the mix." As Destiny nodded in understanding, Faith looks at her and asked. "May I?" She nodded again while moving so Faith could put her hand on her stomach. They couldn't feel anything physical yet, but it was the thought of a baby being there

While Faith's hand was still on Destiny's stomach, she asked. "Are you guys happy about this and being together?"

Jeremy had told her that he was, but she had to hear it from Destiny's side too.

Destiny nodded with one of the biggest smiles that Faith has ever seen, which if her answer didn't tell her that she was, that smile sure did. Then she speaks after putting her hand over Faith's. "Yes we are very happy." Destiny paused before looking at her a little sadly. "But we also want you to be alright, are you?"

Faith nodded while cupping her sister's cheek. "It will take a little time, but I'll get there." Destiny couldn't fault her for her honesty. "I just won't do anything that will hurt your guy's relationship, you have my word."

Destiny smiled and said thank you, having a piece of her doubt going away.

She knew she didn't get Faith's full support, but it was enough to wipe away any insecure feelings toward Faith and Jeremy if they were alone long periods of time, or at least on Faith's side of it. She was still having a little trouble with Jeremy's side, she just hopes in time it will get better because she doesn't want a marriage full of doubt and meaningless fights.

After Faith smiled, they changed the subject to old times, then by the time they went to sleep that night, they felt that a new sisterly bond was formed and had felt better then they had in a very long time.


AN: Please review.