Saturday, January 5th
The alarm clock showed no mercy. Loud and shrill it got in the women's ears, not willing to get them a single minute of more sleep. Today wasn't a day for gentle wake-up and make-up, it was a loud and painful get-out-of-bed-now!-day.
"Why can't we have a gently alarm clock? Like a radio, that plays a smooth and quiet song into our dreams? Kissed good morning by the radio and not kicked out of bed with the first shock of the day." Sofia buried her face half under the pillow and half under Sara.
"Because we don't wake up and don't get out of bed the gentle way, we tried it. We snuggle up, kiss and go back to sleep, have to hurry later or come too late to work. Go and turn the alarm clock out." In order they couldn't just slam their hand on the alarm to silence it, they placed it on the desk, so one of them had to get out of bed and turn it off. Another brutal step of walking up and usually a reason to argue, who had to get up.
"Why me? I'm pregnant." Here they go again, the fight for ten seconds longer in bed. Sometimes ten seconds could be very precious.
"Pregnant doesn't mean you're ill and can't leave the bed."
"Why don't you get up?"
"I had my arm out, it's too cold for me."
"Ditto." The blonde grumbled. Noise. Maybe they could throw a pillow on the alarm, it fell down and was quiet?
"This is ridiculous." Sara got out of bed, turned off the alarm. "It's bloody seven in the morning and we have the day off."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"The sky is cloudy, it rains and Silver Lake looks much better in sunshine. Uhm, we can't see the Hollywood Sign, there are people jogging around the reservoir and if I'm not mistaken, there is more rain coming."
"Great, I stay in bed."
"In less than two hours your mother will be here, she finds you in bed, you get in trouble. Worse than being late at work trouble."
"It's dark outside, I live in bloody Los Angeles, I want to wake up with sunshine and not in rain and shitty weather. This is not Seattle. Do something."
"Like open the door?" Sara opened the door to the balcony. Immediately cold air came into the room.
"Are you crazy?" The blonde vanished under the blankets. When she asked her lover to do something, she meant something to brighten up her day, make her leave the bed and feel happy.
"No, I had to get up, now it's your turn. I jump into the shower. It's nice and warm there."
"Bitch!"
"Love you too." Sara left the room.
"I hate you right now." The cold air was worse than the alarm clock. Sofia tried to hide deeper and deeper in the pillows and under the blanket. Worse, she didn't get a kiss. How was she supposed to start her day without a kiss? This couldn't be a good day, it started way too bad to make her happy.
"Why do I have to get up? Why must my parents move on my day off? Why can't I stay in bed the whole day?" More and more cold air. And no kiss.
Sighing the blonde kicked away the blanket, squeaked when the cold air hit her body. So cold. She really hated the winter, even when winter in Los Angeles was warmer than in many other places. A temperature, that made you feel cold when you sat outside in a shirt, was too cold.
Getting her crutches, she decided she could join Sara under the shower. Not only the view of her beautiful fiancé naked, but she could also have the hot water make her feel warm and chase away the cold. And she would get her kiss. Kisses. So yes, the shower was a good idea. Maybe it could make this day a little bit better.
A Saturday, a day off, alarm clock, cold weather, a lot of work laying in front of them, something really amazing had to happen so she could make a smiley at the end of the day in her calendar for today.
"Big sis, you look…like somebody woke you up. Did you and your fiancé found something better to do after the alarm went off than getting out of bed?" Don smirked when Sofia came down the stairs.
"My fiancé left me alone in bed, opened the door to the balcony so cold air came inside, didn't kiss me good morning and was sloppy when I asked her to wash my back."
"Oh dear, this doesn't sound like a happy and over the moon in love couple. Where came the clouds from?"
"The forecast said from the ocean and thunder moves in from Las Vegas."
He laughed. "The Captain won't be happy when she hears you call her thunder."
"I wasn't happy to get up this early. Why can't she move in a little bit later? It's not like they're in a hurry. The house is all theirs, mom terrorized the renovating crew to change the place within four days the way she wants it to be and now they've the rest of the month to move out of their place in Vegas before the new owner arrive." Another twenty-six days to move into the new home, no need to make them leave their bed at a time that felt like close to after midnight and carry heavy furniture.
"They want to be here, want to be with their pregnant daughter, I can understand them. The sooner they've everything here, the sooner they can settle in and concentrate on their new life and obligations. They'll help you."
"I know."
"My parents asked if it's okay when they come over when you're due."
"Of course. We keep the room free for them."
"No, they can stay in my apartment, that's why I have this big comfy sleep couch. And they will drive me crazy."
"It's a part of the parents job description. And it's their first grandchild, of course they want to be here. Fight with my parents who are the happier grandparents. And which police team is better. NYPD or LVPD."
"That would be your mother and my father."
"While your mother and my father watch and roll with their eyes, annoyed their partners can't behave themselves." She met Don's parents twice and his father reminded her a lot of her mother.
"You and Sara will be the happiest of all, having your daughter in your arms."
"She's your daughter too - but she'll be a Lakers fan."
"We see about that." Don grinned. "Look who is awake, little Stephen."
Stephen threw a not so friendly look at Don, sat on the chair and took a banana from the bowl on the table. "Morning." The way he looked, he felt the same like Sofia: it was Saturday, a day without work, why did he have to leave the bed so early?
"You look like you want to be somewhere else than here with us." Don grinned.
"Try my bed."
"No thanks, I've got my own one. Your grandparents are on their way, need your strong arms, your bed is not the place to be for the next hours."
"Found that out. Where's Sara?"
"Out with the dogs. We leave in fifteen minutes, don't you want something more for breakfast than a banana?"
"Coffee and rum?"
"There are pancakes in the fridge, get two or three, heat them up. The Captain expects you to be settled with food and ready to carry all her heavy things."
"Guns?"
"Before she lets you come close to her guns, you have to pass police academy and then she'll still refuse to give you her guns. As soon as you own guns you're responsible for them. Means, you keep them away from anybody else."
"Sara can't borrow your guns?"
"No."
"She knows where they are, knows how to get to them. You share the safe for your guns." He put the pancakes in the microwave.
"True. But she would never take them. I know I can trust her. Didn't you say once, you don't like guns?"
"No, I don't. And I won't go to police academy. No matter what you, Sara or grandma say."
"We say, you do what you want. If you don't want to be a cop, that's fine. At least with Sara and me, the Captain might not agree, but she'll survive."
"Maybe I'll be a ranger. Do I need high school for that?"
Sofia chuckled. Did her son try to get out of high school? Oh, she did the same when she was his age, look for interesting jobs, you don't need a high school diploma for. Her mom told her what she could do with this idea and a few weeks later Sofia found out, she could do a lot better things with her life, when she finished high school with a good diploma. "Nice try, yes you do. Or do you think rangers are stupid?"
"No, but you don't learn in school what you in the forest."
"You do learn a couple of things, the rest you learn in college."
"More years of sitting down, listen to people, do homework and tests."
"There's always police academy with a lot of physical workout." Don grinned.
"No thanks, in that case I work at Triple Burger. Bad money but free burger. I get you a discount whenever you come in, Don."
"Thanks. What do you think of we get some burgers tonight? After carry the whole day furniture, we need good dinner."
"Great idea."
"Sofia can't carry much, she can go there, get our burgers and come back. Can you manage to get burger for all of us without eating them yourself?"
"Will be hard, I can try." The blonde smiled. Triple Burger burgers for dinner sounded like a great idea. And her parents liked a good burger too, so they should like the idea too. The day started to get better.
Professional mover carried heavy furniture out of the truck while Sara, Don, Greg, Mark, Stephen and Marie carried bags with personal stuff inside the house. Two levels, three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, a huge kitchen, living room, guest bathroom and an office in the first level.
"Why do you need such a big house?" Sofia complained. "An apartment with two rooms, kitchen, living room and bathroom would have been enough. Why three bedrooms?" Not that she hadn't complained about this the day her parents picked the house. Together with them she looked at a dozen different houses, all around Silver Lake, Echo Park and Los Feliz before her parents picked this one. A short drive to Sofia's house, with a little garden.
"We want a house and not an apartment. And we need a second bedroom for guests, like when your brother comes over or we have Susan here overnight. The third bedroom will be the library for your father, you know how many books he has."
"Yeah, I carried around a hundred of them and there are more in the truck. Dad, science came up with cute little pocket computer, e-reader. You can save over thousand books on one of them and all you have to carry is as heavy as a banana."
"Not my world, Baby. Call me old-fashioned but I like books, I like pages I can turn, feel the paper between my fingers."
"Like mom likes all the stuff she got during her forty-five years of service. We all know you're a great cop, no need to carry all the diplomas with you."
"It's not like you don't have all your diplomas from the time you were a cop."
"And as a CSI. I get your point - and another box."
"Take the small one and then you can leave and get our dinner. It will take a while until you're back from Malibu."
"Yes mom. Shall I get some drinks too?"
"A couple cans of coke would be nice." Stephen grinned and took a box.
"You better keep working instead of being a smart-ass, grandson."
"Yes granny."
"It's Captain."
"Not anymore, you're retired, a grandmother. The Captain is over."
"No burger for you."
"I get mashed food like you?" He ducked and ran inside before Marie could kick him.
"You little fuck! Wait until I get you."
"Family is always a loving and caring place." Sofia rolled her eyes.
"Of course, did you hear anything different?" Sara asked when she passed her lover, not knowing what her comment was about.
"Your son and your mother-in-law are having a disagreement. She called him a little fuck and he called her old."
"Ouch. Can we stay out of this?"
"We try. I get the burgers, what do you want? Salad and French fries or shall I pick up something else for you?"
"Chinese would be nice. There's a new one down the road, I give it a try."
"Don't worry, I stop there and get it for you. Anything else you need?"
"A kiss."
The blonde smiled and kissed the brunette. That was a wish she loved to fulfill immediately. "Can't stand on one leg for a long time." She pulled her lover closer and kissed her again. "Two is safer." And two more kisses. "Four is better. Don't work too hard, let the mover do the heavy stuff."
"We're almost done and the sooner we get over with it, we can all sit down and have dinner, relax and celebrate your parents living here. I want you in my arms while we do that."
"There are not many women, who are happy when their in-laws move close to them. I'm glad you love them this much."
"How couldn't I? They're great. And now get the food for all the busy helpers. But stay safe and get my fiancé and our baby back here in one piece."
"I'm just getting some burgers."
"Nevertheless, I always worry about you and hope to see you happy and healthy, even when you only walk out the room. Like I start to miss you as soon as you leave the room. Sounds pretty crazy, doesn't it?"
"I love you." Sofia pulled Sara in her arms. Her fiancé was the most wonderful person in the world. And sooner or later she'd be her wife - and Sofia would make damn sure it would be sooner.
"If I get sauce or fat on my new furniture, you're all dead!" Marie said when they sat down with the food. The truck was empty, the movers gone and all they had to do was unpack all the boxes, build up a few more furniture. Those things could wait until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
"Don't worry, we behave."
"You better get some salad on your plate, daughter, you need vitamins and so does Susan."
"Yes mother." Sofia rolled her eyes. What was the point in getting fast food for all of them when she was supposed to eat salad?
"We have everything inside, all you have to do is sort out the rest. Need some help on that?" Don asked.
"If you have some spare time after work tomorrow, we can always need a hand. Otherwise we have over three months to prepare our house for us and Susan. Honey, we need to go baby furniture shopping. I want everything perfect for our granddaughter."
"Of course. Don't forget a place for our grandson, he might need a bed too, when his mothers are gone for a long weekend."
"I think I can stay alone for a few nights, it's not like I'm all alone in the house." Stephen said. "Don can look after me while we fight each other on the Playstation. I'm not a baby."
"We might come over for the time Sara and Sofia are away. Teenagers get in trouble all the time, need a strong hand."
"Concentrate on your house, grandmother. Susan's room, you need it done soon."
Marie threw an evil look at Stephen for calling her grandmother again. "Before we get your kitchen I want to look for furniture for Susan."
"Marie, Susan won't be born another three and a half months, while we need the kitchen ASAP. Luckily it will be delivered the day after tomorrow, I took care of it. Any chance you have an hour or two, Don? Help with the heavy stuff?"
"Of course, dad."
"That's what I call a good son…not like our other son, who has no time for us - again. Not a popular guy." Mark smiled.
"He comes over, he better brings a lot of great gifts and excuses."
"Maybe he comes over for Susan's birth."
"If he doesn't, I will drive to his place and drag him down!" Mark said firmly.
"Finally you're talking."
"Mom, cut him some credit, I haven't been over for a while and I was also not very often in Vegas."
"No, but you came over more often than your brother and now stop defending him. He has to come to your place, meet you. When was the last time he was here?"
"A long time ago."
"See."
"He's busy, has a family and better things to do than come to L.A., and we all know, he hates Los Angeles for whatever reason."
"It's a city with arrogant wanna-be-stars, bad overworked men and women, overpaid assholes, over the moon rent billings, earthquakes, millions of tourists and no culture and character at all."
"Mom, you live here now and most of the things you mentioned are not true."
"Because my daughter and my grandchildren live here and need me. Or, to stick to the truth: my daughter blackmailed me, told me she only gets pregnant when I move to L.A. and take care of the baby. She knew how much I want her and her lovely lover to have a baby, so I had no other choice than moving to here. I did it for you."
"I feel sorry for you later, when I'm not pregnant anymore, don't get kicked all the time by your grandchild. Stephen is much nicer kid, he doesn't kick me."
"He only knocks out your mother."
"Yeah, with a can of coke." Sara grinned and got the evil eyes from Marie. Now she could laugh about it, when it happened, she was shocked.
"This information wasn't important to give, CSI Sidle."
"Ranger Sidle."
"He knocked you out with a can of coke?" Don chuckled. "Finally we know what happened to you in the forest."
"Nothing we want to talk about. None of us!" Marie starred at Sara and Stephen, warning them not to say another word about the incident.
"You knocked out the best Las Vegas police captain, I'm really impressed, Steve. How did you do that?"
"Marie said, we don't want to talk about it." Stephen smiled.
"Are you afraid of her?"
"No, I respect her wishes. She's my grandmother."
"Good boy." Marie petted his shoulder. Her stare still worked, good to know.
"That's life, from a little fuck to a good boy."
"You keep doing what's good for me and we won't have any problems., because most times, what's good for me is also good for you. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Good."
"I tell you, our daughter will be the youngest rookie in history. Maybe I should stay at home. We rent out both empty rooms and make the money, we lose due to me staying at home." Sofia said to Sara.
"Honey, you're not made to stay at home the whole time, you need your work, you need to chase criminals, one way or another. It's in your blood."
"It is. And I don't want a stranger upstairs around our baby."
"We have the one room for extra money, the rest we need to get with work. Like other people too. Susan can go to daycare too, in fact, I want her in daycare with Jorja and Eric. She needs to learn to interact with other children, it's the best place to learn and find new friends."
"What about a second job? Pay for the daycare, gifts for the kids."
"You do that and I tell doctor Bendler about it. She'll let you know what she thinks about your idea working more."
"My leg is fine, I don't need special treatment, can work like anybody else. At least office jobs and the ordinary CSI work when I'm not pregnant."
"And we all know how much you love office jobs." Sara kissed her lover. "You stay a CSI, Los Angeles needs you. You and Greg, you solve all the big cases, save a lot of lives and Don chases the bad guys down for you. You can work with your little Yankee brother, do you want to give this up?"
"Never. I love him and having him and Greg at a crime scene can only be topped by having you at the crime scene too. CSI Sidle. One day I want to come to a crime scene and introduce you as our new CSI, work with you again."
"If we have a crime scene in the forest, I will call Don and let him bring you over. This way we can work together, I secure the scene until the two of you are there, answer all your questions and work with you. You as a CSI and I as a ranger. And I promise, I will be very cooperative."
"Bugger, I hoped for some personal interrogation time." The blonde kissed the brunette softly. She had a lot of ideas how she could make Sara talk, when they were alone in a room. Not a room with a one way mirror, more like their bedroom. Taking work home.