Chapter 10
The rest of their day was spent doing what thousands of visitors do every day in San Francisco. They rode an open-top sight seeing bus and acted as typical tourists, eating chocolate in a candy store, eating fortune cookies at a factory and riding a cable car. In a small jewelry store they found two plain gold rings.
He had made an appointment at city hall so they would not have to wait in line. The next morning, nervous as a cat in a strange place, he dressed in a suit and waited for Sara who was surprised at how serenely calm she was. She had found pants and a shirt in a blue and white print appropriate, she thought, for marrying an entomologist; blue butterflies and flowers cascaded down each leg. When he saw her, the smile on his face was enough to tell her she had made a good choice. Of course, he was not thinking about her clothes at all.
On the drive, it was Sara who took his moving hands and held them between her own. She wore a gold band for him on her thumb; he kept touching his pocket for her ring.
"I didn't think I would be so nervous," he admitted before stepping out of the cab. She waited while he paid the driver and as the car drove away, she saw his eyes move from her to something behind her right shoulder and he smiled. She turned around.
Coming down the steps, dressed for a wedding, smiles on faces, were Catherine, Greg, Warrick, and Nick. Jim Brass took her hand. "You can't get married without someone to give you away." He kissed her cheek. Tears formed in her eyes as each man hugged her as she tried to form questions.
Catherine was last to hug her, turning to Grissom saying, "We made it with time to spare. I'll be your best woman!" She held out her hand as he found Sara's ring and placed it in her hand.
Brass' handkerchief blotted Sara's eyes. Everyone was talking at once. Finally, Sara's question was answered. Greg, doing the talking, explained, "Catherine has ties to some big players now. Sam Braun had dibs on a private jet and that's how we got here!" His hands swooped in. "And we have to return today because," he raised eyebrows, "the boss would not give us the day off because he wants to be gone a week!"
Sara was speechless. She turned to Grissom as he raised his hands. "I could not stop them." His arms encircled her. "You're okay with this?"
She nodded. How could she be anything but happy? Nick handed her flowers. Greg produced an old coin as he said "Something old." Warrick pulled a slim blue ribbon from his pocket and wrapped it around her wrist for something blue. Catherine unclasped her necklace saying, "This is borrowed and you have a new ring."
Jim took her hand; Catherine wrapped an arm around each. Quickly, the group was inside, standing before a stranger who said the words heard by thousands before them; names were written on paper and just as quickly, the group was back outside.
Catherine made a phone call and a long limo pulled to the curb. "We have to celebrate!" She exclaimed. "We will not see this day again—and I'm talking about another wedding, guys." If anyone had been looking at the men, two blushed and Warrick refused to meet Catherine's eyes. Instead, they were all looking at Sara and Grissom who were only slightly aware they were not alone.
The limo took them to a restaurant overlooking the bay and for several hours, everyone talked as they ate food unlike the usual diner selection. An unspoken agreement kept them from asking questions about Sara's abrupt departure. No one referred to unsolved murders, or disappointing lab results or Warrick's suspension. This was the time for smiles and laughter.
Too soon, Catherine stood announcing they must leave for work. Greg said this would be the only time he got to work in a jet. They hugged Sara; shook hands with Grissom. Brass returned to hug both. "Take care of each other. Everything else will work out," he said. He hugged Sara saying, "You've always been special to me, Sara. We want to see you soon." He turned away quickly to hide the tears forming in his eyes.
The couple waved to their friends and laughed as Greg's head appeared in the sunroof quickly disappearing and replaced by Nick's until the car was no longer in sight.
"You were right to have them here." Sara said as they walked back to their hotel.
"It wasn't my idea. Catherine would not have it any other way. Once she told the others, I had no choice." He chuckled. "Especially when she got the plane. I don't even want to know what she did to get that worked out."
"They are family."
"Yeah, they are." He pulled her to him. "We have a week. Are you ready for married life, Mrs. Grissom?"
She could not believe she blushed as she felt heat rise across her face.
He smiled, "I know I've never made love to a married woman." She heard him laugh and very quietly he said, "I know there is a God in heaven who put you in my life."
Sara laughed with him. Her thoughts were not of God, but of the years and months it had taken for the two to get to this point in life.
Their days together passed in a haze of walking in late morning sun and cool evenings, of finding a vineyard and a winery, of entering a tunnel of greenery opening to flowers and birds and a view of the bay. Any time conversation turned to work, one or the other skillfully changed the topic.
Only in the quiet darkness of their bed would Grissom hear her fears and anxious worries of the past and future. He listened assuring and reassuring and unwavering with his support and encouragement. He let her talk and with one exception, she gradually soothed her own fears.
"I can't, Gil. I'm not ready to have a baby. I'm not sure I'd be a good mother."
"That's fine, honey. We have Hank. You are a good mother to him." His promises to take care of her included letting her make this decision.
They drove to Las Vegas knowing she would return to San Francisco alone. She had not budged in her resolution to stay in California for a 'few more days.' Grissom did not waiver in his decision to support her. She needed time and as hard as it was for him to watch as she packed a suitcase, he understood her need for solitude, to take a sabbatical, to retrace steps from a distant past. He knew her mother was no longer the driving force behind her need. She was looking at her past to help find her future.
They parted with a certain sadness of separation, but none of the heartbreak of previous weeks. She would return to him; perhaps neither would remain in Las Vegas. He was determined to let her decide the next part of their life. She spent days in San Francisco with Grissom flying to be with her on his days off; she flew to Las Vegas twice. He never questioned her decision to remain in the city by the bay.