Chapter Ten
Grissom had never hosted a party in his life. He had never been comfortable at social gatherings so planning one himself had been unthinkable. When Sara had suggested a party at the condo for the purpose of revealing their relationship, he didn't fight the idea. It was a good opportunity away from the lab to discuss the situation that would eventually affect them at work. It would also allow him to establish a non-working relationship with the people he had spent most of his time with over the past few years. He had told himself it was important for him to be sociable to facilitate Sara's continued work relationship with them. He refused to admit that it was for him, too. But as his involvement at the lab was diminishing and he saw less of them there, he was forced to accept the reality of his affection for them. He would miss this group if they left his life entirely.
Of course, he still would see them occasionally at the lab. He and Sara had discussed Ecklie's proposal to work as a consultant for the lab. They decided it was an excellent idea. Since the process of establishing a full-time position for him at the university was going to take longer than originally anticipated, the extra income would be appreciated. He could be involved in the portion of the lab work that he enjoyed – the science. His involvement would not be shift-oriented so he could work at a time convenient for him. It shouldn't affect his responsibilities teaching evenings. And when the baby came, he would work around Sara's time off and child care when needed.
The idea of a dinner party was sound. Initially, the plan had been for Sara to organize and cook everything and Grissom would help out by doing anything she told him. But they soon discovered that strong food odors were a primary source of Sara's nausea. It was difficult for her to cook simple things like oatmeal and impossible for her to cook anything with any pungency whatsoever. So they had resorted to plan B – a caterer.
But when they met with the caterer, Chef Michael, even the discussion of food options sent Sara running for the bathroom. Grissom had stumbled through the food selections alone, placing a lot of trust in the caterer himself. Later that evening, when she was well hydrated and full of protein, Grissom showed her the menu and got a weak nod of approval.
A quick scan of where they would seat everyone brought the realization that the townhouse was too small for a gathering, even one as small and intimate as this. Since no food was involved in this portion of the planning process, Sara had enthusiastically taken charge of the physical arrangements. The furniture was rearranged and table and chairs were rented to supplement the seating capacity. Grissom had an elegant set of china and silver that had been his mother's. Sara washed and polished everything to a shine. Floral arrangements, viewed odor-free online, were ordered for the tables.
Sara contemplated what to wear for days before finally making a decision. Today, full of excitement, she had showered and dressed two hours before their guests were scheduled to arrive. Then, when the caterer arrived with the food, the smell of the spinach lasagna had made her ill. With their guests' arrival imminent, she was forced to change and wash up again. She now sat in the bedroom in tears, nausea threatening again.
"My life is just one long series of disappointments. Now, I'll either ruin everyone's dinner being sick, or I'll have to sit in here all evening." Sara blew her nose and reached for another tissue.
If Grissom hadn't been suffering through Sara's morning sickness with her, he might have concluded that he was one of those disappointments. But he was confident in his position in Sara's life. And since their recent history included a string of meals ruined by nausea, he understood what she meant.
Grissom handed her a glass of water. "Honey, drink some water and get yourself hydrated. It will help. I'll bet if you lay down for awhile, you'll feel better, too. Then, when everyone arrives, you can join us."
Sara nodded her agreement and Grissom helped her out of her clothes and into the bed.
Just then the doorbell rang. Tears rolled down Sara's cheeks as Grissom closed the bedroom door, heading for the main entrance. Grissom opened the door to Catherine and Lindsay. Catherine gave Grissom a big smile and handed him a bottle of Dom Perignon. "For those of us who can, I brought a little bubbly to celebrate the big announcement."
"Thanks, Catherine. I'll put it in the refrigerator. Can I get you and Lindsay something to drink?" he said as he headed for the kitchen.
"I'll have a beer," announced Lindsay. Stopping short, Grissom, joined by Catherine, looked at her in amazement.
Recovering, Grissom grinned, "Coming right up." Any one who thought that Catherine's jaw could have dropped no lower would have been surprised.
Grissom continued to the refrigerator, and after placing the Champagne on the lower shelf, reached for two brown bottles on the shelf just above. Grabbing a bottle opener from the drawer, he popped the caps and walked over to Lindsay, handing her a root beer. He handed Catherine a Michelob, then watched in amusement as Lindsay pouted.
"Lindsay, why don't you go pick out some music for us to listen to," placated Grissom. Only slightly distracted from her mood, Lindsay went over and scanned the numerous discs that Grissom had housed on his shelves.
"Sara not feeling well?" inquired Catherine. Grissom shook his head.
"She's going to see if lying down will quell her nausea. She's been excited all week about finally telling everyone. I left her in there in tears." Grissom looked at the closed bedroom door.
"Do you want me to go talk to her and see how she is?"
Grissom shook his head. "I think if she just gets some rest and calms down, she can get through this. Half of the problem is fear of the nausea."
Catherine nodded in agreement.
The doorbell rang again and Grissom escorted Warrick and Nick into the room, followed shortly by Brass. Each of them carried a bottle of wine, which was soon exchanged for a beer. Nick went over to help Lindsay with the music selection and Brass sat down by Catherine, who had staked out a spot on the sofa.
Grissom smiled as he went into the kitchen to remove the appetizers from the oven and arrange them on the tray provided by the catering company. Grissom looked up from the tray and glanced around his townhouse. Lindsay was now sitting on the sofa with Catherine and Brass, the teen and older man vying for the title of longest belch from their respective 'beers'. Catherine rolled her eyes in mock disgust. Warrick and Nick stood by the book shelves sipping beer and discussing the attributes of the most recent acquisition to some ball team. Nick's toe was tapping to the Kenny Chesney CD he and Lindsay had picked out. Grissom was actually enjoying this!
Grissom was contemplating checking on Sara when the door bell rang. He rushed to admit their last guest, taking the bottle of wine Greg had brought. Grissom placed it in the refrigerator along with the other four bottles that had been presented to him.
"Can I get you something to drink, Greg?" Grissom called out from the kitchen. He was astounded at how quickly he had picked up on the duties of host.
Greg looked around the room and saw that most of the others held a beer in their hand. Seeing the root beer Lindsay was guzzling for her next belch, he stated, "I'll have the same as Lindsay. It seems to have made her giddy."
Greg headed to the sofa as he was greeted by everyone. When Grissom returned with his root beer, Greg hefted it toward Lindsay, then turning to Grissom asked, "Where is your lovely lady?"
All attention turned to Grissom. No one else had wanted to breach the subject first. "She isn't feeling well."
"So she won't be joining us?" inquired Warrick with disappointment.
"She will. She's lying down in the bedroom. When she became ill earlier, I convinced her to lie down until everyone arrived."
"Grissom, if she's not feeling well, maybe you should just let her rest," said a concerned Brass. "We can meet her another time."
"Jim, you've already met her." Everyone looked up surprised, while Catherine smiled knowingly. Grissom continued, "You've known her for years. She was very disappointed when she became ill. She's looked forward to this evening all week. Besides, I don't think this malady is going to go away anytime soon." Grissom and Catherine smiled, while everyone else looked concerned. "I'll go get her now that everyone is here."
Before Grissom could exit to the bedroom, Nick said, "So Sara isn't coming." He turned to Warrick. "I told you she wouldn't come."
"Oh, Sara's here," Catherine corrected, unable to stop herself.
Seeing Catherine's embarrassment at her faux pas and the look of confusion on the faces of the others, Grissom decided to give up the pretense. "Sara's lying down," he said. He watched the faces of the others as first perplexity, then realization settled upon them. When the daze began to lift and questions were imminent, he left the room to help Sara get dressed.
When Grissom and Sara entered the room a few minutes later, Sara noted the smiles and looks of acknowledgement on the faces of those in the room. She exclaimed with realization, "You told them without me!"
"Not exactly. I just gave them a clue or two." Grissom didn't want to divulge Catherine's culpability in the revelation. Besides, he himself couldn't keep the secret any longer.
"So did you also give them clues about the wedding?" Sara was obviously still disappointed at not being involved in the revelation.
Nick blurted out, "Wedding? How long have you two been seeing each other?"
Grissom smiled. "Just over a year. We've been functionally living together for nearly as long."
The entire room was stunned into silence. 'A year??' thought Catherine. She had suspected a few months at best. But a year? They had been amazingly adept at keeping this secret.
Looking around at the other staggered faces, Greg was the first to break the silence when he asked, "This is my job, to analyze evidence and figure stuff like this out. I'm embarrassed that I had no clue. But none of you had any idea, either, did you? You've been at this job much longer than me. If you didn't suspect something, I don't feel so bad."
Nick was defensive. "But we didn't have all the evidence. They've never given us the least bit of hint that they were together."
Grissom and Sara laughed together. Grissom explained. "Nick's right. If we were to continue working together after we became involved, we had to completely separate the personal from the professional. Otherwise, it might cross over to inappropriate. So we were careful never to let the two realms of our lives intersect. There were times that it was pretty tough."
"But why now? Why, after a year of silence, is it now necessary for you to quit the lab and get married?" Nick was suspicious.
Sara, Grissom and Catherine exchanged knowing glances. "It seems that Grissom is old fashioned. He thinks parents should be married before a baby is born," said Sara, ending with a smile she could contain no longer.
Mouths again dropped open as this newest bit of news was revealed. Brass was the first to regain his senses. He walked over to Sara and tenderly kissed her on the cheek. "You will be one fantastic mom," he said with conviction.
"That's what I keep telling her," exclaimed Catherine.
"You knew about this?" asked Warrick, surprised.
Nick chimed in, "You told me you didn't know anything!"
Catherine was quick to explain. "I knew Sara was pregnant. I recognized the signs when she was sick for so long. When I confronted her with it, the other half of the equation was obvious. Nick said it. Sara has been in love with Grissom for years. Who else could it be?
"Nick, you asked if I knew about Grissom's resignation, which I didn't know about."
"How is it that everyone seems to have known how Sara felt except me?" asked Grissom with a puzzled look on his face.
"You knew, bug man," declared Brass. "You were just afraid to admit it. Just as much as you were afraid to admit how much you love her."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Well, I admit it now." Grissom turned to Sara and took both of her hands into his and said, boldly, "I love Sara Sidle more than life itself. And I pledge my life to making her happy." He moved to her back and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her abdomen. "And we will both love and protect the symbol of our love growing here."
Touched, Catherine spoke for the first time since the drama began playing out. "With a declaration like that, who needs a wedding?" Everyone laughed.
"Well, since we already have one planned, we might as well indulge," said Grissom. He nudged Sara, indicating that she should reveal this information.
"The nuptials are Tuesday morning, 10:30 at the Bellagio conservatory. We'll have a brunch immediately after to celebrate. We planned it later in the morning to accommodate shift running a bit late. I hope you all will be there."
"Me too?" Lindsay spoke for the first time, reminding everyone that she was there.
Grissom smiled. "Of course, you too. I'm sure mom will let you take off school for the morning festivities, won't you Mom?"
Catherine looked skeptical, then smiled broadly. "How can I deny her the opportunity to see what most of us thought would never happen. Gil Grissom corralled."
Just then the oven timer went off, indicating that it was time to serve the lasagna. Grissom and Sara unentwined themselves and Sara began seating their guests while Grissom began placing the lasagna on plates. Grissom placed the plates in front of their guests, as Sara opened the first bottle of wine and began pouring. When almost everyone was served, she opened a bottle of ginger ale and poured it into wine glasses for Lindsay and herself.
Sara sat at the end of the table near the open window in hopes of avoiding the food aromas. Grissom sat next to her and took her hand in his. Interrupted from her conversation with Lindsay, Sara turned and looked into Grissom's eyes. Gazing back at her were blue orbs, full of love and happiness. Sara had never been happier in her life. Yet, somehow she knew that this was just the beginning.
Grissom took his glass and knife in hand, stood, and tapped his glass to gain the attention of the diners. When everyone had turned to him in silence, he put down the knife and held his wine glass high.
"I would like to propose a toast: to my lovely bride to be, our future family, and all of our extended family here with us today. May our lives be full of love and contentment."
Phrases of concurrence rang through the room as the group toasted and celebrated their lives together.