AN: Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Thanks for reviews, here is the next chapter.


Chapter 9: Welcome to the Family

Later that evening

After they finished unloading the trailer, and as a thank you, Grissom bought everybody dinner, which after Bailey had ordered something vegetarian, Sara and Grissom got another smirk from Catherine since she just found something else that Bailey reminded her of them. Then after dinner, he bought ice cream for dessert.

When they were done, and the bill was taken care of, Catherine and Lindsey said goodbye and left the diner first, then Grissom took Bailey and Sara to Sara's apartment, carrying a box of clothes once they got there.

Once he dropped the box he had in his hands on the floor next to the couch, he looked at his daughter and cleared his throat, not sure how to say goodbye to her. Should he give her a hug? Or a pat on the shoulder? Or just give her a smile before telling her goodbye?

As he stood there in an unsure state, Sara and Bailey held in their laughter since they didn't want him to feel even more embarrassed than he probably already felt, but they did smile when Bailey walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"There, problem solved."

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her for a hug. "Thanks for the save."

As they pulled back, she smiled bigger. "Anytime."

He smiled before asking. "I'll see you tomorrow for Breakfast?"

"Sure, if you want to."

He was tempted to cup her cheek, but held back as he replied. "Of course I want to." Then with a more confident tone, leaving no room for doubt, he repeated. "I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast." This time Bailey just nodded with another smile.

After he smiled with a nod in return, he started walking toward the door with Sara following,
and as once they got there and the door was opened, he turned around to look at Sara. "Of course you are welcome to come too."

Sara smiled, happy for the invitation. "Thank you, I just might do that."

He nodded with another smile. "Alright. Have a goodnight you two, and I'll see you both bright and early tomorrow morning."

After they nodded with one more smile, Grissom walked out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

Sara stood there for a few seconds after the door was shut with an even bigger smile on her face, and she really didn't know why, it wasn't like they never had breakfast with one another before, but before she could really think about it, her moment was interrupted when Bailey spoke. "And you two aren't together, why?"

When Sara turned around she saw Bailey with a smirk on her face, but it wasn't just any looking smirk, it was Grissom's. She mentally shook her head with a smile a second later while walking up to Bailey with a sigh. "It's... well it's.."

Bailey cuts her off. "Complicated?"

Sara nodded, then changed the subject after clearing her throat. "I know you are use to having your own bedroom, so I'm sorry you are going to have to crash in the living room for a few nights until we can find a new place. I'll admit I was unprepared for this happening so quickly."

Bailey smiled again, knowing what Sara just did. "I will get you to talk about you two soon."

For Sara it was only partly about changing the subject, but the other part of it was that she was really concerned of Bailey not having her own room right away.

Sara's thoughts get interrupted when Bailey spoke again. "And it's ok, I understand." Sara still looked a little concerned about the arrangement, so Bailey shook her head with a soft, reassuring smile. "Relax Sara, I'm fine. It isn't like I'm grading you or anything. I know this is new territory for you, and you are still trying to catch up, I get it." Before she walked over to the couch and sat down.

Sara stood there for a few more seconds before walking over toward the couch, sitting down next to her when she was there before speaking. "You are being very understanding about all this."

Bailey looked concerned while asking. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all, but I think apart of me is just waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for you..."

Bailey cuts her off. "To become angry about my life being turned upside down again?"

Sara chuckled a little while shaking her head. "You are too good, and yes that is correct."

Bailey sighed as she looked down at her hands. "I could be, and probably have a little right to yell and scream at how much I think life sucks sometimes. But I was always taught to think of the positive, even at times when it is impossible to imagine that there could be." She sighed as she finished. "And although I didn't see how losing my parents could have been a positive thing when it happened, I think I'm starting to now."

"Ok, You have me curious."

Bailey looked at her before continuing. "Well, if they wouldn't have died here, then you may have never found out about me, or what was happening to those other babies and families. And I think finding out all of that is a very good thing that came out of a horrible tragedy."

"I can't argue you with that." Then she asked cautiously. "And what about now?"

Bailey's voice became a little softer when she replied. "You have your daughter back."

Sara's eyes started to get misty. "Bailey I..."

But Bailey cuts her off. "I know the situation wasn't ideal to you, believe me I get that, and I can agree with you there, but it happened and we can't change it, so is me being here a bad thing?"

Sara now saw her daughter have a few tears going down her cheek, and she couldn't just sit next to her and do nothing, so going on instinct, she cups her daughter's cheek and uses her thumb to wipe her tears away while speaking with emotion. "You being here isn't a bad thing at all, I would never think that."

Bailey gave her a little smile before wrapping her arms around her, and Sara wrapped her arms around her to comfort her while she cried as a few tears fell down her cheeks as well.

After a few minutes Bailey's crying was reduced to a few sniffles as she pulled back from Sara, then she looked away as they both wiped away the tears, and once Bailey had a little more composure, she cleared her throat before speaking. "Sorry about that..."

But Sara cuts her off in a gentle tone. "Never apologize for showing emotion, alright?"
Bailey looked at her with a nod, then Sara continued after a few seconds of both of them trying to recover from that emotional flood that just happened. "Now, we've been out in the sun most of the day unloading a trailer, so why don't we clean up and get some shut eye. We've had some pretty long days." Bailey started to smile a little, making Sara raise an eyebrow as she asked with curiosity. "What?"

"Was that your first 'mother' command?"

Sara smiled proudly. "I believe so. Now let's get to it."

"Yes, Ma'am."

They both chuckled a little before Bailey gets up from the couch and goes through her bag to grab her night clothes and bathroom items, and after Sara pointed where the guest bathroom was, she gets up from the couch and heads for her room and bathroom so she could take a shower too.

When Sara was done, had changed into her night cloths, a tank top and sweatpants, then dried and brushed her hair, she walked back into the living room to check on her daughter, and what she found made her smile softly, Bailey had fallen asleep on the couch with an open book on her chest.

After watching her for a few seconds, Sara walked back into her room before stopping at her closet and pulling out a blanket. Then she walked back into the living room, stopping at the couch when she got there before unfolding the blanket and placing it over her, but before she moved the blanket up toward Bailey's chest, she kneeled down, and as gently as she could, picked up the book from her chest, which made her turn to her side so she was now facing her, still sound asleep though.

Sara made sure she had Bailey's bookmarker in place, then she placed it on the coffee table before turning her attention toward to her daughter again, just watching her sleep for a few minutes before she whispered. "Sweet dreams, sweetie. I love you, and I'll see you in the morning."

Seconds later Sara moved the blanket up further so it was now just under her chin, then after turning the light on in the guest bathroom with the door cracked, so Bailey could use the light just incase she woke up during the night frightened, and checking the door to make sure it was locked and turning out the rest of the lights, she walked back into her room, ready for some sleep too.

And during the night her heart was fluttering at just the thought of her daughter being in the next room. It had been a long time coming, and now that she was in her care, nobody was taking her away from her again.


Two Nights later

As the three of them were enjoying their breakfast the next morning at the diner, Sara and Grissom talked about when they were going to tell the team about Bailey because they knew they weren't going to be able to keep her a secret for long, which that was never their intention, they
just wanted to get her use to them before they threw other people at her. But of course Bailey spook up and told them they might as well get it done sooner rather than later, so after they agreed with her, they decided to tell them the next night, and it was also going to be the first night she'll be staying with him.

Grissom had placed a few snack bowls on his dinning room table when there was a knock on the door, making him look over at it, but before he walked over there, he looked back at the table one more time to make sure he was satisfied, then he cleared his throat before speaking as he finally started walking toward the door. "Just a minute."

Once he got there, he took another breath before opening it, smiling at Sara and Bailey when they came in view of him, and as they smiled back, he moved to the side. "Come on in."

After they stepped in his townhouse, Bailey's eyes got a little wide with excitement when she saw the butterfly casings on his wall, which Grissom saw, so he smiled a little bigger. "You like them?"

She nodded. "Can I go check them out?"

"Go ahead."

Bailey smiled, and with the bag that she brought, walked over to the furthest wall in the living room to look at his collection.

The parents watched her for a few seconds in silence before looking at one another, then he asked while he shuts the door. "You want something to drink? I also have snacks on the table."

"Nah, Maybe later."

"Alright."

He then took a breath before looking down, and Sara looked over at him, wondering if he was as nervous as she thought he was. "You ok?"

He looked over at her before replying. "I'm just not use to people being in my place...well you know with a few exceptions." Sara nodded as he continued. "And wondering how they'll react about me having a 11 year old daughter that I wasn't there for."

From the moment they planned this get together with the team, Grissom was kind of worried how the team will react to this new development.

Sara looked at him with concern as she spoke. "Griss, it wasn't your fault that you weren't there for her. For one, you didn't even know she existed. If they want to look down at somebody then that should go towards me not you."

Now it was Grissom's turn to look at her with concern. "But you didn't know she was alive, she was taken from you."

Sara nodded as she looked over at their daughter. "I know, but I had her without ever telling you." When she looked over at Grissom again, she continued softly. "And maybe if I had told you, we'd be in a different situation right now."

He didn't fully know what she was trying to imply with that statement, but a part of him was thinking, or maybe wishful thinking, that she was implying things between them could've been different by now, and he couldn't help but think that maybe she was right.

As they looked into each other's eyes with a lot of thoughts going through their minds and their hearts fluttering in their chests, there was a knock on the door that broke their spell.

They get out of their trance as Grissom cleared his throat and walked toward Bailey. "I'll show you where you can put your bag." Then he looked back at Sara. "Can you get the door, please?"

Sara smiled with a nod before Grissom and Bailey headed for the spare room he had, which before a few days ago, stored his insects/bug collection, his pet tarantula, a few boxes, a desk that had stacks of old files and other knick-knacks around. Now, the live animals were stored in his office and the other items that wouldn't be useful for Bailey was put in storage.

By the time they got to the room, they both heard the team's voices out in the living room, and as Grissom stood in the doorway of the room while Bailey looked around, he replied softly. "You can personalize it the way you like after you go through your things and decide what you want to keep at each place, sorry it isn't much."

It wasn't the smallest room in the world, but Grissom saw the room she had when she was living with her aunt, and this one didn't even compare to it, but Bailey didn't complain. She was never known to do that anyways because she was truly grateful for whatever she had, so she just smiled as she looked over at him from her spot in the middle of the room. "Don't worry about it, it has potential."

Grissom smiled, happy with that response. "That's always a good sign."

Bailey nodded, then she spoke as she walked to the twin bed to drop her bag. "You can come and get me after you've prepared them."

Grissom didn't even hesitate to respond to that. "No, we go out there together."

Bailey looked at him with a smile before walking over toward the door, then she stopped in front of him before taking a breath. "Do I look alright?"

Grissom smiled at her with a father's love in his eyes. "You look beautiful."

After one more smile and taking another breath, they walked out of the room and down the hall to head back toward for the living room.

When they came in view of the team members, which included Brass, and the almost CSI, Greg, who were in his living/dinning room, they had stopped talking immediately as all eyes fell on the 11 year old girl next to Grissom. Of course, Catherine had a known smile on her face that she was trying very hard to hide.

After a few seconds of complete silence, Nick, who was the only team member to recognize her, outside of Catherine that is, spoke with a shocked tone. "Bailey, what are you doing here?"

Bailey smiled, happy that Nick had remembered her, but instead of answering him, Grissom cleared his throat and spoke. "Those of you who don't remember, this is Bailey Houston.
She almost died along with her parents two years ago in a robbery in the motel off the strip."

Warrick nodded. "Yeah, and Sara saved her life."

Sara smiled with a little embarrassment while Grissom nodded. "It also opened a door that was very unexpected."

They looked at him with a little confusion as Nick asked. "What do you mean?"

Grissom cleared his throat again before trying to speak. "What mean is...What I'm trying to say is that..."

Knowing he was struggling with the words, Sara walked over to her daughter and Grissom as she finished for him. "What he means is that Bailey is our daughter." The guys looked at them even more shocked than they were earlier while Catherine was eating a few snacks with a smile that grew a little more, really enjoying the 'show'.

Sara continued, taking the advantage of the room that was so quiet they could hear a pen drop. "As you can tell what happened between him and I happened long before I even showed up here, or even before San Francisco. And yes, there is a reason we didn't know Bailey was ours, and no, Grissom had no idea I was even pregnant, so if you want to rip into anybody, it should be me." Before Grissom could speak about the last part, Sara takes a breath and finished. "So If there are any questions, I suggest you ask them now."

Greg was the first one to get out of his shocked state. "That nurse that you put away a few days ago? She had something to do with it, didn't she?"

He didn't know the details about the case, but he could see a determination in Sara that rivaled any other case he's seen her work before.

Sara nodded while keeping her emotions intact. "Yes, she did."

He nodded as Nick cleared his throat before asking "So uhh, so what happened?"

"I'll tell you all in a minute." She wanted to talk them in a smaller circle so Bailey didn't have to hear it again, knowing it would probably bring up some bad/sad memories. They nodded as Sara looked over at Bailey. "You ok?"

She nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sara nodded before she walked over to the guys to tell them what happened while Catherine, since she already knew the story, walked over to father and daughter with a smile on her face, then she spoke as she looked at Bailey. "Lindsey wanted me to tell you that she would like you to come and spend the night with her sometime."

Bailey smiled with a nod. "I would like that." Then she looked up at Grissom. "Can I?"

Grissom nodded with a smile. "We'll figure something out soon."

Bailey nodded again, then spoke as she walked over to the snack table. "Awesome."

Catherine and Grissom chuckled a little before she looked at him. "So, how are you doing with all of this?"

She knew he was the last person who would want to share something personal, and she didn't think it got any more personal than announcing he had a child.

He took a breath before replying. "I'm alright, I just hope Bailey is accepted by them."

Catherine smiled as she placed her hand on his arm. "Are you kidding? They would be crazy not to."

He smiled as he looked over at her. "Thank you Catherine." She nodded with another smile before walking away, going to get something to drink out of the fridge.

Grissom stood there alone for a few more minutes before Nick walked over to him. "So in the hospital, you knew she was your daughter?"

He looked at the younger man with a nod. "I had just found out. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you Nicky."

Nick sighed a little before replying. "I guess I can kind of see why you didn't want to say anything at that moment, but know you can trust me."

Before Grissom could speak, Warrick spoke as him and the rest of the guys walked up to him. "Yeah Griss, you can trust me too. You should know we all have your back, and not just because you are our boss."

They all nodded in agreement to Warrick's words as Grissom finally spoke with a little emotion. "Thank you guys." He doesn't remember if he has ever felt this accepted before in his life, to hear them say out-loud that they were there behind him, and not just because he was their boss, brought out some new feelings he wasn't use too.

They smiled before their attention turned to Bailey, which she had just taken a drink of juice out of her red plastic cup, so after she swallowed, she asked with curiosity on why they were looking at her like that. "What?"

Nick walked up to her while speaking. "And as for you kid." Then he stopped in front of her before he held out his hand with a smile forming on his face. "Welcome to the family." Bailey smiled, and as they shook hands, the rest of them moved around her and introduced themselves to her, already silently vowing to protect her like she was their own.

As the guys were getting acquainted with Bailey, Sara walked up to Grissom and stopped next to him, then he spoke as they were watching the scene. "I guess we had nothing to worry about with them."

Sara smiled. "I never thought we would." Grissom looked at her with a raised eyebrow, making her snicker, knowing she was caught. "Ok. Maybe for a minute or two, happy?"

Grissom looked over at his daughter again while she was being accepted by the team, before nodding as his heart was fluttering in his chest. "Yeah, I am." And he meant that to mean more than her corrected comment

It has been a long time since Gilbert Grissom felt satisfied with the direction of where his life was going. Now, he may not be dating the woman he loved at this moment, and he still wasn't sure where things were going to go between them, but he had something that was more rewarding in his life than he ever thought he could have, a daughter, and that was enough to say that he was happy.


AN: Next chapter: Bonding time between father and daughter. Find out how it goes. Please review.