Chapter Nine – Heaven

The clock ticked quietly on the nightstand as Grissom woke up that evening. He sleepily glanced at the clock, rubbed the sleep off of his eyes and looked at the sleeping creature next to him. Sara was a vision of heaven with her beautiful hair sprawled against one of his pillow, his bed sheets covering her naked body. How many times had he dreamt about seeing her like this?

They still had a lot to talk about, but he knew Sara cared for him as much as he cared for her. They needed to get to know each other; they needed to be something else outside work. And this – seeing her in his bed, her cheeks still slightly blushed from lovemaking, sleeping deeply – just made everything even clearer to him.

She was a smart, beautiful and intelligent woman – he always knew that. As time went by he found out she could be very emotional, but she was a fighter. She never gave up, and she never judged him.

He moved, careful to not wake her up, and made his way towards the bathroom. He took a shower, expecting her to be awake by the time he finished it, but found her still asleep in his bed when he came back to the bedroom, already dressed for work. He sat carefully on the bed, by her side, and lowered his head.

He moved so his face was only inches from hers, and although he wanted to let her sleep, he knew that wouldn't be possible. They had little over than two hours before shift, and he knew how Sara hated to be late. He carefully caressed her cheek, making her stir a little. He watched as a small smile played on her lips and knew that she was already waking up. He moved a little closer and gently kissed her lips, making her open her eyes for him.

"Hmm, I could get used to this, you know." She said, mirroring his smile. "What time is it?"

"Two hours before shift. I'll go make us some breakfast." He said, stroking her hair. "You can go take a shower if you want to."

"Is this your way of telling me that I'm stinky?" She teased and he laughed.

"You're not stinky."

She closed her eyes with a sleepy sigh. "It's not fair. The first time we wake up together and you're all showered and smelling good while I'm all sweaty and with some morning breath."

He kissed her one more time. "Sweetheart, you do not have morning breath. And you smell just fine."

She gave him a pointed look and caressed his beard lovingly.

"I'll take a shower then." She shrugged and sat down on the bed, still holding the sheets around her body.

"Okay. I can try to find some clothes that would fit you until…"

"I have some clothes in the car. You know, for an emergency." Sara said with a small smile. "My boss always says it's important. You never know what you might find in a crime scene."

"He must be a smart man." He said, giving her a gentle peck on her lips before standing up. "I'll go get your clothes. Make yourself at home."

Grissom had just crossed the street with Sara's clothes when another familiar car parked in front of his townhouse. Damn, he thought. Brass always called before stopping by. Of course he decided to make it a surprise today.

He sighed, his mind racing about what to do. He vaguely thought about racing towards the house and telling Sara to hide, but Brass was already getting off of his car. He needed to find a way to send Brass away without him noticing Sara's car (which was, thankfully, parked on the other side of the street, God knows why) or noticing that Sara was in his house, taking a shower. As much as he wouldn't mind to tell his friend what was going on, he had yet to talk to Sara about what to do with the new status of their relationship – whatever that was.

"Nice bag." Brass said a moment later, looking at the bag Grissom carried.

"My mother gave it to me." He shrugged, not moving to enter the house. "What brings you here, Jim?"

"I was in the neighborhood and decided to come by. Why? Are you surprised?" Jim said, walking past Grissom and into his living room. "Thought you'd be watching the Cubs' game today. The Reds were beating them up yesterday."

"Yeah, they've had better seasons." Grissom agreed, sighing ever so slightly as he walked into his house once more and settled Sara's bag on the counter, right next to her purse. He could only hope Brass hadn't seen it at first. "Jim, I don't mean to sound rude, but what are you doing here?"

"I already told you. I was in the neighborhood and decided to come." Brass said with a smile in his lips. He frowned. "Well, I normally wouldn't come, but Sara's car is parked on the other side of the street. You seen that?"

Grissom sighed; Brass was too perceptive for his own good.

"You might want to take those clothes to her. While I don't think she would mind if you saw her undressed, I'm sure you don't want me in that scenario." The detective grinned.

He came back after no more than a minute to find Brass leaning against the kitchen counter with a serious expression on his face.

"Just so you know, Gil, I'm not telling anyone. But you guys should be a bit more… Well, her car is there for everyone to see." He said, obviously trying to sound nonchalant, but Grissom knew better. "You better know what you're doing. She's pregnant. You had years to do something and decided to act now?"

"It's not that simple, Jim."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. With you two, it's always not simple." Brass sighed. "Don't hurt her, Gil. She's a good kid. She deserves better than that."

"I know that, Jim. I think I've hurt her more than enough." Grissom said.

"You plan on telling Ecklie and the sheriff?"

"We haven't discussed that yet. I'm not sure if Sara wants that."

"Well, you better tell them. It might be easier. Maybe you'll even get to keep working together." The detective said. "Well, either way I'm sure you'll know the right thing to do. I know my way out. Tell Sara I said hi."

"Hey." Sara said a few minutes later as he was putting the plates on the breakfast bar. He turned around slightly and took in the sight of her; her hair was still wet, with stubborn curls beginning to appear out of nowhere and he smiled as he remembered a few years back, when she used her hair curly all the time. She looked absolutely stunning as she walked towards him with uncertain steps. "Thanks for getting my clothes."

"No problem. I hope you like pancakes." Grissom said, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, I have no decaf… But I do have orange juice."

She gave him a big smile. "I love orange juice."

They ate in comfortable silence, occasionally glancing at each other from time to time.

"Brass stopped by while you were in the shower." Grissom said after a few minutes. "He noticed your car."

Sara's eyes widened. "Brass? But… What did he say?"

"He said he's not telling anyone until we tell someone." Grissom said. "Sara, I want to know what you think about this. I already told you this morning. I can go to Ecklie and Burdick first thing this evening if you want to."

"No. Let's… Do we have to tell them? So soon?" She asked, looking at him pleadingly. "I mean… This is so new and we don't know about the baby. Grapevine just stopped talking about me, now that everyone knows Warrick is married."

"Okay. If that's what you want… We'll have to tell them sooner or later." Grissom said, taking her hand. "We'll just have to be careful for a few weeks."

"We can do this. Right?" She smiled, and he had a feeling she wasn't talking about telling the sheriff and Ecklie anymore.

"Absolutely."

"When was the last time we shared a meal?" Catherine's voice echoed in his office as Grissom looked up from his book to see his longtime friend looking at him with determined eyes.

"Um… Last week?" Grissom asked, a bit uncertain. It always meant trouble when Catherine stopped by his office for no apparent reason.

"I meant without the guys. It's been months." She said, walking over his desk but not bothering to sit down. "Come over after shift. I'm sure Lindsey will love to see you."

It didn't matter that he had already made plans with Sara or that he was a bit concerned with Catherine's sudden invitation, because she hadn't given him enough time to say anything; she was gone as fast as she had arrived.

Sara had been looking forward to spending time with Grissom after shift – she had, albeit clumsily and a bit embarrassingly, invited him to her place and he had accepted her offer in the bliss of a second. So you couldn't say she had been very happy when she read the text message he sent her in the middle of the shift, telling her he'd not be able to go to her apartment after shift. She even rejected Greg's invitation to breakfast – twice – not feeling in the mood to talk at all.

Maybe we're going too fast. Maybe I pushed too much.

Her mind had been going on that direction as she got into the locker room, denying herself to let the tears fall. She wasn't exactly a cold person – she cried every now and then, mostly because she had a reason to shed tears – but this was getting annoying. Just as she opened her locker, steps came closer and she glanced at the door to see Greg.

"Hey." He said, stepping into the room and opening his locker. "Leaving on time, huh? Now that's something you've been doing a lot lately."

"Yeah, shift's over and I can't do anymore overtime, so…" She shrugged, putting her jacket on.

"You don't look very happy, Sara. Something happened?" He asked concernedly and she smiled at her friend.

"No, not at all. Just tired, I guess." She lied, closing her locker.

"I suppose you don't want to have breakfast, then?" Greg asked her, sounding hopeful.

"Hmm… No, not breakfast. You know where I can find a broccoli pizza at seven am?" She teased and Greg's eyes lit up.

"This is Vegas, baby. You can find anything at any time of the day." He smiled. "Let me find that broccoli pizza for ya and I'll go to your place in, let's say, half an hour?"

"You bet that, Greggo. See you later."

Greg had been true to his word. Half an hour later, he stood in front of Sara's door with two pizzas with him. One of them was a broccoli one.

They talked and laughed and Sara realized that she missed hanging out with Greg as often as before. Ever since she had gotten pregnant she grew distant from people in general. It would be difficult as hell to tell someone what was really going on in her life right now.

"Hey, you're already choosing names and didn't tell me?" Greg asked, sounding disappointed. He was now sitting comfortably in Sara's couch drinking a soda and looking over the book that had been on the coffee table.

"I'm not choosing names yet. I just bought the book to see some of them." Sara said as she came from the kitchen, sitting beside her friend. "Why? Do you have any suggestions?"

Greg grinned. "Well, Nana Olaf once said I was the best baby namer she had ever seen. You had anything in mind?"

"Absolutely nothing. I mean, it's much more difficult than I thought it would be. I just don't want it to be very popular, I guess." Sara said.

"Well, I for one think you should name the baby Gregory if it's a boy." He grinned and Sara rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm serious! It's a beautiful name. The best for your son. If you don't like it, we can always find a nice Norwegian name for him. What about Silje for a girl? Or maybe Inga?"

Sara laughed. "I'm not naming my daughter Inga, Greg. No offense."

"None taken. I've always preferred Silje." Greg said enthusiastically. "You really have no idea? Lots of women have their babies' names chosen even before they get pregnant."

"Yeah, I'm not one of those. I still have plenty of time left, anyway."

"Yeah, just choose it soon. I don't want to call the baby 'Baby' forever." Greg said, rolling his eyes and reading a few lines from the book. "What does Daddy say about this?"

The question surprised Sara, but she tried to be cool about it – this was Greg, they weren't at the lab and there wasn't anyone snooping around.

"We haven't discussed names yet."

I can't do this. I'm already thinking of Grissom as the father – what if he isn't? I really have to stop doing this. He probably thinks we're going too fast. He did look very well yesterday, but maybe he has regretted everything by now.

"Ah. So there is a Daddy." Greg teased. "I know you won't be telling me much but… Is he happy? About the baby? I mean, he is going to help you, right? Personally… Financially… Whatever."

"Yes, Greg. You have nothing to worry about. And when the time is right, you'll know everything." Sara said patiently. "We are just fine."

"Good. You hear that, baby Silje? Mommy has everything under control here. And if she doesn't, Uncle Greg is always gonna be there to help ya."

Sara smiled as Greg said those words, realizing she had never talked to her child before; it sounded a bit silly when she first thought about it, when she found out she was pregnant. But now… Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"I don't think I'll name the baby Silje either," Sara chuckled, "but I'm sure he or she appreciates the concern."

"Of course he or she does! I'm the one your baby will come after you deny to buy the newest Grand Theft Auto."

"Of course I won't buy that! It's repulsive, no matter what you say."

"What are you buying? The Sims?" Greg laughed. "GTA is awesome! Just ask Mandy and Nick. Sometimes we do a kind of championship to see who the best is."

"Well, my baby won't be into that stuff. Not with me as a mother and Grissom as…"

Her eyes widened as soon as the words left her mouth, and Greg stared at her with a blank expression on his face. She couldn't believe that escaped – she couldn't have said what she think she said. No. no, she wouldn't be that stupid.

Apparently, I am.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" Greg asked her, already recomposed.

Damn. What have I done?

Grissom stood worriedly in front of Sara's doorstep, calling her for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon. He managed to survive through Catherine's inquisitive babbling thanks to Lindsey's constant presence and thought it might be a good idea to stop by Sara's apartment after he was finally free.

He tried calling her landline as soon as he left Catherine's place, but he could only get her answering machine, and she wasn't answering her cell. He decided to come over anyway; it was possible for Sara to be sleeping. Or maybe she simply didn't want to talk to him, but he refused to think that was the case. He was getting worried, but as soon as he parked his car he saw hers a few feet away.

He really didn't want to use her key – she hadn't exactly let him do that, but she hadn't actually asked for the key anyway. After knocking a few times, he decided to call her one last time and come in.

"Hello, you've reached Sara Sidle. I'll…"

He ended the call before hearing the rest and grabbed her key and opened her door.

Everything seemed to be in its place as he quietly closed the door behind him. He dropped his keys on her counter and started for her bedroom. He took notice of the baby books resting beside her computer and smiled. He got into the bedroom and found her lying on her bed, a book rested on her chest and, as he got closer to her, the reminiscence of tears on her face.

His face softened at the sight of her; perhaps she got worried when he said he wouldn't be able to come over earlier. Maybe he should have explained everything to her, but when? It wasn't as if they had a lot of alone time in the lab.

He quietly took his shoes off and picked the book from her hand, trying not to wake her. She sighed in her sleep and he slowly sat on the mattress, making the slightest bit of noise and he almost cursed when he saw Sara's eyes shot open.

She was startled when she saw him there but blinked again and smiled gently at him.

"Grissom. What… What are you doing here?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"I said I couldn't be here right after shift, but I didn't say I wouldn't be here today." He explained and her smile grew bigger. "I'm sorry about that. Catherine basically ordered me to go have breakfast with her and Lindsey. She can be worse than Greg is with you when it comes to insist or demand."

He watched as her eyes clouded and she looked away from him.

"What's wrong, Sara?" He asked her, caressing her right arm, sitting by her side now. "If this is about Catherine, I'm…"

"It's not about Catherine." She said, sniffing. "Greg came over after shift. I was a bit upset and he cheered me up but then I screwed everything up and told him everything about the baby and Henry and you, and I'm so sorry I did it, I didn't mean it…"

She said everything so fast and then launched herself onto his arms that he had little time to understand everything as she sobbed on his shirt. He smiled at her reaction, rubbing lazy circles on her back as he embraced her.

"Honey, it's nothing." He said as she continually said a few incomprehensible words against his shoulder. "Sara, it's okay. Greg is your friend. I'm sure he supported you."

He felt her nod against him and pulled away from her, looking into her puffy brown eyes.

"See? No need to be upset. I'm not worried about this. Was Greg angry at you or anything like that?" He asked gently, caressing her cheeks.

She sniffed. "No. He just asked to be the baby's godfather." She let out a small chuckle and rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong with me? I knew you wouldn't mind and I know Greg won't tell a soul."

"There's nothing wrong with you, my dear. You're just pregnant." He said gently, pulling her to him once more and kissing her temple. "And you're one adorable pregnant lady, if you want my opinion."

"Stop kissing my ass, Gil." She chuckled, pulling away just enough to look at him. "I was looking over a few names before I fell asleep. Do you have a favorite?"

"Name? Uh… No, I don't think so." He said after a moment. "Do you?"

"Not really. I only thought about going with Henry as a middle name if it's a boy, but I want the baby to have his or her own name." Sara explained, caressing his beard. "Would you be okay with that?"

"Absolutely, my dear. Whatever you want." He said, kissing the tip of her nose and making her smile. "Please tell me Greg didn't suggest any name."

"Oh, that he did." She said, giggling. "Gregory, of course, Silje, Inga, Asta, and about ten other Norwegian names."

"Why am I not surprised?" Grissom sighed. He then looked at her worriedly. "We're not naming the baby after Greg or any Norwegian name, are we? Because it would be incredibly difficult to…"

She smiled at him before kissing him soundly on the lips and he instantly forgot what he was going to say.

They had managed to keep everything a secret for the next few weeks – except from Greg and Brass, of course –, but Sara had been right about one thing: a new relationship could cause some trouble.

They really were doing well. They were learning things about each other, which meant good things and bad things. For example, Grissom snored. Like a pig.

God, she hated that. She needed sleep all the time, but she couldn't do it with Grissom by her side. Sometimes she managed to sleep before he did, and that was always a good thing – except when she had to get up to pee in the middle of the day. She rarely went back to sleep after that happened. They even got into a rather nasty discussion after she had needed to sleep so badly that she got up and went back to her apartment without telling him.

At least after that he agreed to use the long forgotten nasal strips and she had agreed on waking him up if he was snoring too much.

Not long after that, she got incredibly annoyed by the fact that he seemed always more into the new baseball game than trying to help her find good baby names. Whenever she asked his opinion, he would say that whatever she wanted was fine by him, he trusted her.

She never really told him that it annoyed her, but figured she would have enough time to find names.

His home was always a bit messy – he never cleaned the sink up after shaving and he always let his shoes anywhere. His only hope was Mrs. Walsh, an old friend of Grissom's mother, who came twice a week to make sure everything is in its right place.

"Gil always says I don't have to come," The woman said when she first met Sara, "but I'm glad I do. I don't work and I live two blocks away. At least I can always tell his mother he's doing okay. And I'm afraid I always hope to find a lady friend around. Betty will love to hear about you."

The thought of it sounded a bit terrifying to Sara, but Vera Walsh was a great person and Sara loved to talk to her. Grissom never talked much about his mother to her, and she didn't push him; it wasn't as though she talked a lot about her own mother either.

The weeks passed by quickly and soon it was time for Sara's new doctor's appointment.

"You've lost three pounds since your last appointment, Sara. How's morning sickness?" Dr Bennett said, looking at Sara's charge as she got ready for the ultrasound.

"It's been better. I've been feeling very good this last week." Sara said.

"Your blood work is normal. The weight lost was probably due to the morning sickness. And don't worry if you're not showing yet, it's completely normal at this stage." Dr Bennett said, smiling at Sara and Grissom. "Now, let's see if this little one will be kind enough to let us know if we have a boy or a girl in there."

Sara felt the cool gel on her skin soon enough, and the familiar excitement filled her as she looked at Grissom once more before turning her eyes to the screen. Dr Bennett moved the transducer across Sara's belly as she looked attentively at the screen.

"The baby's size is normal. Heartbeat's stronger than ever." She said with a little smile. "Ah. Looks like someone's pretty social today. Well, at this stage I can't be a hundred percent sure, I could be mistaken… But I think you'll be having a girl."

"A girl." Grissom said, giving Sara a quick peck on the lips. He then looked at the doctor again. "What's the percentage for that?"

The doctor chuckled. "Well, I've never been wrong before, but we'll know for sure after the amnio."

"Sounds good to me." Sara said, already feeling the tears moistening her eyes.

"We're having a baby girl." Grissom grinned, kissing the back of Sara's hand.

The doctor smiled. "This ultrasound may take longer, Sara. We need to know the baby's measures before going for the amnio. Everything alright?"

Sara sighed deeply and exchanged a look with Grissom before nodding.

"All done now. Feel anything abnormal, Sara?" Dr Bennett said, as the couple sat up on the chairs in front of her desk almost an hour late. She looked at Sara, who shook her head. "That's good. Now, Sara, I know we've talked about this before, but I want to make sure Gil hears it too. I trust you to take good care of her these days."

"I'll do my best." Grissom said.

"Okay. I want you to go home and rest for at least two hours. No lifting weight for the next 24 hours." Dr Bennett said. "No strenuous exercise, no air travel and no intercourse for the next 72 hours. There could be some cramping, spotting and maybe a light bleeding. Sara, anything different, don't be afraid to call us or come here. Any light fever or pain, call us."

"We will." Grissom assured her.

"I'm sure everything will be perfect, but please be careful." She shook hands with both criminalists as they got up. "We should have the results in ten days or so. We'll call you when it's ready."

Grissom linked his hand with Sara's as they left the clinic and headed for his car.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, opening the passenger door for her.

"Perfectly fine." She said after waiting for him to climb onto the driver seat.

He caressed her cheek. "Now you can start looking for girl names."

"Yes. Yes, I can." She smiled, leaning into and kissing his lips. She sighed. "And now we wait."

"And now we wait." He agreed.

A/N: Sorry about the delay, guys. I had a bit of trouble with the internet, but now everything's fine. I was going to update yesterday, but there are lots of stuff to do. I'll try to update in the weekend, though.

Now we know the baby is a girl… Or is it really? Maybe the doctor is wrong… :) Or maybe I won't be that mean to you and leave things as they are now.

We'll know soon who the baby's father is! I'm happy to say that I've already written that part, and I would have put it in here, but this chapter is so long that I decided to wait.

Thanks for those who reviewed! I'm glad to see that people seem to be enjoying the story.

Have a nice week!

Peace,

Maddie