A/N: Hello all! I know that this is an update long overdue, but I hope I've been entertaining you with Reunions & Revelations. I've been working hard all day to get this out to you, and I am excited to see what you think. This chapter is the beginning of what I got inspired to write in the first place, so I hope you like it.
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Sara scrunched her nose as she walked down what felt like the umpteenth aisle of baby furniture. Catherine was twenty minutes late. They had met up after shift and agreed to meet at the store an hour later. But here it was, twenty after nine and there was no sign of Catherine Willows.
Sara peaked idly at a price tag and dropped it like it was on fire. How could one baby be so expensive? And why did they need so much stuff?
"May I help you, miss?" Sara jumped in her skin and turned to see a middle-aged woman in a pink apron and collared white blouse that had gone out of style some time in the early eighties.
"What?" Sara questioned, still startled.
"Well, I noticed that this was the third time you've walked down this aisle, and I couldn't help wondering if you needed some assistance." She had a kind smile and bright eyes, and despite her poor fashion sense, Sara got guessed that she was probably pretty nice.
"Oh, uhh…" Sara wasn't the greatest at situations like this, and she glanced longingly at the exit, willing Catherine to walk in and save her from this well-intentioned woman. But she didn't appear. So Sara took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts together. "I'm not sure. I'm waiting for my…girlfriend- she's much better at this whole shopping…thing." Her girlfriend. Sara was hesitant to say it out loud. After all, it had only been a couple of weeks, and despite their constant talks about the future, they had yet to discuss where their relationship stood now. But she couldn't just say Catherine was her friend, that felt cheap somehow; dishonest.
The last two weeks had brought many changes in the lives of both Sara and Catherine. For one thing, they were ecstatic. Joking, laughing, they just didn't seem to be able to stop smiling. At the office they were at the top of their game, solving cases in record time- and they never left the lab more than a minute late, anxious to get home and just be together. It had been nearly a month since the brunette had first walked into the older woman's home, and she had never left. It now seemed that she would be spending most of her life there until the time came for her to move into her new home. But neither woman talked about that, neither able to imagine life without the other. Sara felt like her world had been turned inside out and where there had once been emptiness and uncertainty in her life, now she had Catherine and Lindsey and the baby to fill her with energy and joy. So, girlfriend? She certainly hoped so. Because she never wanted this feeling to end.
"I see…Well, do you know what you're looking for in a general sense?"
Sara frowned at the woman as if she had just said something completely absurd. "Baby stuff," she pointed at her belly and then gestured at the rows and rows of merchandise, "Stuff for babies."
The other woman laughed good-naturedly, "Of course. Is this your first?"
Sara nodded.
"I can always tell the new parents apart." She waved a hand, "Always that little bit of terror mixed in with the excitement."
"Really?" Sara asked, curious in spite of herself.
"Oh, sure. Now, if this is your first, then we are starting with a clean slate, aren't we?"
Sara nodded, twisting side to side, hands in pockets, trying not to turn towards the door. Where the hell was Catherine?
"Do you have a theme or a color scheme picked out? What style were you thinking about?" The woman's smile seemed permanent.
Sara felt a headache coming on. "Umm, I really hadn't thought about it. I suppose something…baby-ish, right? Like cute animals or whatever. You know, I really think we should wait for my girlfriend, she knows a lot more about this than I do."
The woman nodded, understanding. "I tell you what, why don't you keep looking around until she comes, and I'll start pulling out some options?"
"What do you mean?" How many options could there be?
"Well, we've got a lot of different sets and you can always mix and match depending on what you're going for. Do you know the sex?"
"Yeah," Sara couldn't help but smile, "He's a boy."
"Oh, that's wonderful- I've got three sons myself. All grown now; my first grandchild is due next month, a granddaughter. I love my boys, but its about time we had a baby girl in the house." The woman waved a hand and turned away, her smile still in place.
Sara inspected her watch, Catherine was now twenty-three minutes late. She pulled her cell phone out and walked toward the front of the store.
"Hey, you've reached the cell phone of Catherine Willows. Either I can't come to the phone right now or I just really don't like you. You know the drill; Name. Number. Beep."
Frustrated, Sara hung up and turned back into the store. Haphazardly, she looked through a bin of half price infant clothing. Just then, the jingle of bells signaled someone entering the shop. There stood Catherine with a very oddly wet pair of jeans. Despite her frustration, Sara had to cover a smile.
Catherine followed Sara's eyes and then looked up, dismayed. "It looks like I've peed myself, doesn't it?"
"Just a little," Sara said, trying to be kind. "What happened?"
"Some jerk. Cut me off while I was leaving the Starbucks parking lot. I braked to avoid him and my scalding hot coffee went straight down my front- I'm serious, I may have permanent scarring. Then I was going to go home and change but at that point I was closer to the lab than to the house, and I always keep a change of clothes there. But when I got to my locker, I remembered that I had used my spare pair of slacks after that dumpster diving expedition on Tuesday and hadn't replaced them yet. So I changed my top and bra and then spent way too much time trying to scrub the coffee out of the crotch of my jeans because I figured the only thing worse than a crotch stain is a brown crotch stain." Catherine was winded by the time the story ended. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck. "But none of that excuses me for being late." She kissed her chastely on the lips and pouted. "Can you forgive me?"
Sara looked at that face and her shoulders sagged. "Of course." She returned the kiss just as sweetly and took Catherine by the hand. "Come on. There is so much baby crap in this store, we could be here all day if we don't get a move on."
Catherine laughed. "Overwhelmed?"
Sara stopped, rolling her eyes. "You have no idea. Does a baby really need all of this…stuff?"
"This and a whole lot more." The redhead pulled the reluctant younger woman deeper into the store, pausing to give her another quick kiss and a grin.
"Oh, this is the girlfriend then, is it?" The woman who had been talking to Sara earlier appeared from seemingly nowhere. She smiled absently. "You know, when you said your girlfriend was coming, I just assumed you meant, you know; a friend that is also a girl, but obviously I was mistaken. But just look at you two, such a sweet couple." She clapped her hands together. "Anyway, I pulled you a few things to help give you ideas, if you'll just follow me to the register."
Sara began to follow, but Catherine stopped her with a hand on her chest. Sara looked down to see mischievous eyes. "Girlfriend, huh?" The redhead quirked an eyebrow.
The brunette fumbled her words, hoping she wasn't in trouble. "Well, I, uh…I didn't know what else…and I didn't want to say friend but I…"
Catherine beamed up at Sara, patting her cheek. "Its okay. I like it. Now come on, girlfriend, we've got shopping to do."
The younger woman groaned and dragged her feet. "I hate shopping, let's just come back at night and rob the place; we'll hide all the evidence and its way better than shopping."
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But they did shop. And Diane, for that was the name of the saleswoman, was an amazing help, especially when the girlfriends didn't see eye to eye.
"What about frogs as the theme for the nursery, Sara? Look at this blanket, aren't they cute?"
Sara made a face. "Maybe a little too cute."
Catherine sighed. "Well then, I am out of ideas. You didn't like the bears, the trains, the ducks, or the jungle animals."
"I just don't want something that is dumb, that's all. In the real world, bears and jungle animals are not cute and cuddly, trains are dangerous, and ducks…well, ducks are just dumb- no offense, Diane."
"None taken. Perhaps we would get going faster if you told me what you're looking for."
"I don't know what I'm looking for." Sara was beginning to think this was hopeless.
"Well, when you and your baby are in his room, what do you want him to experience? Is it fun? Is it silly? Or maybe its more serious than that. What can you visualize? When you close your eyes, what do you feel?"
Sara did not close her eyes, but she did stare at the carpeted floor for a long moment before she looked up. "I want him to feel safe," she replied, focusing her attention on Diane. "I want him to know that he is loved, and not alone. I want him to be hopeful, to know that everything will be okay, I want him to know that the universe is a beautiful place. But most of all, I want him to feel safe."
Diane nodded, smiling. "I have just the thing, honey. Just give me one second, I'll be right back."
When Sara turned to Catherine, she saw the redhead was studying her intently with a strange expression on her face.
Sara looked away nervously, "What?"
Catherine picked up on the uncertain tone of the brunette's voice and sighed. "Nothing," she smiled and stood on her toes to kiss her girlfriend's lips sweetly. "You're just a beautiful person, that's all."
Sara shifted uneasily, not sure how to respond to that. But Diane returned a moment later, arms full of packages. When Sara saw the theme that the saleswoman had brought with her, she beamed. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Her son would sleep every night safe and loved beneath a blanket of stars.
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What do you think? Any idea where I'm headed with this one? Any idea where you want me to go? Let me know in your beautiful reviews!