So far so good. I'm having a change in occupations right now, but I have enough chapters saved up that it shouldn't interfere with updating. The semester's almost over and I really need to make more money.

Anyway, so other than that things are going just dandy. Many thanks for Amanda Hawthorn for her beta work, thespoon is on sabbatical. She just turned 21. Happy Birthday Spoonie.

T&T: Youth and Reckoning

Chapter 20

Grissom sat in the waiting room attempting to read his book, but his mind kept thinking about what was happening in the surgery room with his wife. Even with all of the research he had done the day before that seemed to produce encouraging results, he was still on edge. With shaky hands he turned the page and made the attempt to keep reading.

After an hour, he was told that Sara was out of surgery and currently in recovery. The nurse escorted him through several doors and to a very casual room. Several other beds were set up with other recovering outpatients. A large chair and couch centered the room with a television.

He found Sara's sleeping form and sat down in the chair next to her. Grissom reached out and gently held her hand as he focused on her relaxed face. She seemed to be in peace, but he knew when she woke up and the realization that their baby was gone took a hold, the tears would return. Grissom released her hand and settled back into the chair and began reading quietly out loud to her.

Sara heard the soft voice of her husband and slowly opened her eyes as the adjusted to the lighting. She batted her eyes to clear them as they focused in on the large room. Grissom was still reading and at the moment, she felt like she was in a dream. His voice was soothing her and it seemed like she didn't want to wake up from this dream. Sara sighed and it was them he stopped and looked at her.

She turned her head and made eye contact with him. "Our baby's gone." She chocked on the last word and Grissom was quick to stand over her.

"Shhh. Everything's going to be all right." He caressed her face and did what he could to comfort her.

Several hours later, Grissom had Sara lying comfortably in their bed so she could rest. She only had four small incisions, but it was the location of them that caused her some discomfort. He sat beside her on the bed asking if she needed anything.

"Just you." Was all the answer he got. Grissom climbed into the bed and gently held her. Sara sobbed into his shoulder as he held her.

XXXXX

Sydney and AJ were chatting when they entered the quiet house, and they instantly grew silent. She looked around before whispering, "Remember Mom had surgery today."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, let's help out." Sydney and AJ went upstairs and put away their book bags. "AJ, gather your laundry and take it downstairs, then unload the dishwasher will you?"

"I'm on it." AJ quickly gathered his clothes and headed downstairs.

Sydney went into their shared bathroom and started cleaning it. She thought about the stress herself and AJ have put their parents through. Sydney swallowed hard and couldn't help but consider the fact that they had something to do with the reason her mother had to terminate the pregnancy.

AJ started the laundry and then went into the kitchen. After unloading the dishwasher, called Rifle. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Well, when I'm finished being punished, I want to take you to a party."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the guy I met at the club, he's a cool guy. Because of him, I've got over a hundred bucks!" AJ bragged.

"No way."

"Way, and I'll get you in on it if you want." AJ started to explain the minor details of what he was doing and Rifle was more than willing to get on board. Only when he heard the door down the hall close he quickly ended to conversation. "Gotta go." AJ hung up the phone and started straightening things up in the living room when his father walked in. "Hey, how's Mom?"

Grissom looked at his son and what he was doing. "She's doing okay. What are you doing?"

"Oh…" AJ glanced down at the coffee table and the things in his hands. "Sydney and I thought we would help out. She's upstairs cleaning the bathroom, I unloaded the dishwasher and decided to clean up in here."

Grissom stood in near shock. "Thanks. What are we going to have for supper?"

AJ laughed. "I'm no chef."

"I can order pizza."

They turned their attention to Sydney as she came down the stairs. Grissom shrugged his shoulders. "If that's what you guys want. I'm going to make your mother some soup so she can take her medicine."

Sydney didn't go into the kitchen or pick up the phone. Instead she went back to her parents' bedroom. She softly knocked and pushed open the door. "Mom?"

Sara opened her eyes and smiled at her daughter. "Hey baby."

"Is there anything you need?" She asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"No, I'm fine." Sara weakly responded. "I'm just tired."

Sydney offered a smile. "Well, if you need anything, just remember AJ and I are here too." She leaned down and carefully hugged her mother.

Sara reached out to embrace Sydney. "I know, and I'm thankful I have all of you."

Sydney left her mother in peace and went to order the pizza. AJ was still cleaning up in the living room, only now he had the television going as well. The channel was tuned to play videos from before he was born. "What are you listening to?"

AJ turned around and he went from looking at his sister to the TV screen. "It's Pink Floyd."

"Whatever." She mocked.

"What's wrong with Pink Floyd?" Grissom asked joining in on the conversation.

Sydney shook her head. "It's old."

"Careful what you call old." Grissom said playfully.

"Yeah, 'cause Dad's older." AJ giggled and laughed even harder at the look he received from his father.

Grissom narrowed his eyes at his son. "You think that's funny?"

"Well, your hair is white." He made a faithful attempt to keep a straight face. "When did you start going gray?"

Sydney held back a giggle and Grissom glared at her. "Well, if you two must know, I started dealing with gray hairs before your mother and I met. So…" He pointed his finger at AJ. "Get ready." Grissom went back into the kitchen to tend to the soup he was making.

XXXXXXX

Three days later Grissom was proudly driving home from the high school with AJ sitting in the passenger seat.

"So, is this going to be a problem?" AJ asked once again as he had in the office.

"AJ, I'm proud of you. You're willing to put aside your personal time to help others with their studies." AJ shrugged as his father bragged on him. "I'm serious, I even tutored when I was in high school and in college. It's a great way to meet new people."

With a smile AJ replied. "Yeah, and most of them are jocks, so maybe I could even earn a little extra on the side for helping them."

Grissom narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure about that."

The rest of the ride home remained silent. When the garage door opened, Grissom was shocked to see Sara in the garage. He quickly climbed out of the truck. "Sara, what are you doing out here?"

Sara smiled. "I was just putting some things away." When Grissom offered her a concerned look, she grinned at him. "Gil, I feel fine. The incisions don't even hurt any more. Besides, the doctor said it would speed my recovery the sooner I got moving around."

"I suppose, but still…" When she turned and went back inside, he knew it was pointless to even argue the subject.

Sara began doing her normal daily routine around the house with the help of Sydney and AJ. She appreciated their help as the Thanksgiving holiday began to approach.

"So, Kassie's going to be home in a few weeks huh?" AJ asked with a mouth full of food at the dinner table.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Grissom said to AJ once again as he had many times before.

Sydney smiled at her brother from across the table. "Yeah, and I heard she's bringing her boyfriend."

Grissom started coughing. "Gil?" Sara stood and went to stand behind him, and started patting his back. He continued to cough and choke. "Slow down there." She continued to pat his back until he was able to take several strained breaths. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He barely got out between his deep breaths. Both AJ and Sydney were wide eyed and ready to laugh.

"I'm thinking you didn't know your daughter had a boyfriend?" Sara said as she returned to her seat.

"No, nor did I know about him coming for Thanksgiving." Grissom let out another cough before wiping his mouth.

"Oh my God!" Sydney spoke up. "We so need to watch the movie 'Son in Law'."

"Yeah!" AJ agreed.

They both rushed from the table leaving Grissom and Sara alone. "How come you never mentioned anything to me before about this 'boyfriend'?"

Sara shrugged. "I don't know. It's not that big of a deal Gil. Besides, of the three kids, don't you think she's a little more capable of picking out a good suitor?"

"She's nineteen, I don't want to think about her getting married, let alone having sex." He stood from the table and picked up his plate. On his way into the kitchen he yelled into the living room. "Hey, pick up your dishes you two."

After the short discussion about Kassie's boyfriend, Sara and Grissom joined Sydney and AJ in the living room as they watched the movie.

"So, what's this movie about?" Sara asked as they watched the parents in the movie leave their daughter at a college in California.

"Shhh, just watch." Sydney shushed her mother. "It gets way better."

After an hour into the movie, Grissom got up and left them. Sara found herself laughing along with her kids, but he was not amused.

AJ and Sydney watched the entire movie with their mother, and then she shooed them off to bed being a school night. They went willingly as it seemed they were trying to change their ways.

Sara decided she was exhausted herself and decided to head to bed. She went straight into the shower. After a hot soaking, Sara emerged from the bathroom and it was then she noticed her husband in bed. She dressed in her nightgown and crawled under the covers to join him.

Grissom moaned and moved so he could hold her. "How was the movie?"

She snuggled against him. "I thought it was funny. He winds up with the girl at the end." Sara listened to his breathing as the room fell silent. "How long have you been in bed?"

"Since I left you guys."

"Do you feel alright?"

He smiled at her with his eyes still closed. "I was just tired, that's all."

Sara kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, I love you."

"Mmm." Was all she got from him.

XXXXXX

AJ began tutoring several football players from the high school, and several of them had gotten word that he was the one that had sold the party drugs. After several sessions AJ realized that there was more than one way to skin a cat. He began using his tutor sessions to sell the roofies he got from TY to sell the drugs. Since the majority of the people he tutored were athletes, they were more willing to buy them. He was invited to many parties, and even several just off of the UNLV campus. AJ declined the offer to all of them.

Grissom picked up AJ from the school on his way to the airport. AJ was talking with some of the other students when his father's truck pull up. He ran away from the group and climbed in. "Are we going to get Kassie and her…well you know?"

"Yes. I guess he's already there, since Kassie said he was able to get on an earlier flight." Grissom clenched the wheel as he pulled away from the school.

He managed to find a parking place close to the terminal. AJ walked with him as they headed inside the busy McCarran terminal. Grissom checked the monitors to find out which gate Kassie's plane would be landing. Once he found the gate number, Grissom headed off in the general direction of the gate leaving AJ to lag behind. They waited at outside of the security checkpoints for the plane to land.

"So, how do you like tutoring?"

AJ shrugged. "It's okay."

Grissom began observing the crowd at the air port. "Making new friends?"

"Kinda. I've been invited to several parties after the football game next week." He also began noticing the strange activities of the people.

His eyes scanned the crowd as he thought of an appropriate response. "What are you going to do?"

"There's Kassie!" AJ hopped out of his chair and ran to his sister. Grissom stood and followed.

"AJ!" Kassie embraced her brother. "Are you ever going to stop growing?"

"No." AJ joked. "Mom thinks I'll be taller than Dad. I'm already taller than Syd."

"When I left you were barely as tall as I was; now you're an inch taller." She held her brother back at arm's length. Then she noticed her father standing behind him. "Dad." Kassie went around her brother and practically leapt into her father's arms as she hugged him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too sweetie." Grissom smiled as he held his oldest child.

"Oh, Dad I want you to meet Pepper." She gestured to the young man standing behind them waiting patiently.

Grissom eyed the boy as he stood with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He wore a sandy colored cowboy hat with a starched red plaid shirt, jeans, and boots. Grissom glanced at the belt buckle and read the writing on it. "Pepper, Gil Grissom."

The young man held out his hand. "Pepper Houston. Nice to meet you sir."

"You're named after a spice?" AJ snickered.

Kassie turned to face him. "Oh shut up will you."

Grissom decided it was best to get AJ home where he had some control over his son. "Come on, let's get home."

Once at the house, Kassie greeted her mother and happily introduced everyone to her friend. That night she helped her mother fix dinner, and did her best to keep her younger siblings from asking Pepper twenty questions.

"So, Pepper what are you studying in school?" Grissom was the first to question the boy that was pursuing his daughter.

"Well sir, at the moment I'm undecided. I thought about business." He announced. "My grandparents own a ranch in Oregon, and I'm being pressured into returning to help run it."

"An education is priceless." Sara commented.

"Yes ma'am. That's why I'm trying to stay in school." He noticed AJ and Sydney whispering across the table, and since Kassie prepared him, he knew obscene questions were about to be tossed his way. "What's so funny you two?"

AJ cleared his throat. "So, you're from Oregon?"

Pepper nodded. "I did start my freshman year at Texas Tech before transferring to USC."

"You know what comes from Texas don't you?" Sydney tried to hold the laughter in.

"Don't you dare." Kassie threatened.

"Steers and queers!" AJ blurted out laughing and Sydney followed suit. The dropped their silverware they were laughing so hard.

"All right, that's it. Bed, both of you." Grissom ordered at his two rude children. They continued to laugh as they slowly stood from the table. "NOW!" He yelled and both of them practically ran from the dining room.

"I'm sorry about that Pepper." Kassie apologized.

He held up his hand. "It's fine Kassie. I've heard them all."

Kassie helped her mother clean up while Grissom and Pepper relaxed in the living room. Grissom sat in his recliner and let his eyes bore into the young man. "So, Pepper, how did you meet Kassie?"

"Well sir, we have art history together. I invited her to a football game. She didn't want to go because of the crowds and such."

"So, did you get her to go?"

"Yeah." Pepper snickered at the memory. "I told her that I could get her on the field. She called me a liar."

"Well, I wouldn't have if you told me what you did during the games." Kassie entered with her mother in tow. She sat down next to Pepper and leaned into him.

Grissom raised his eyebrow at his daughter's actions and glared towards Sara. She just smiled back at him. "So, what do you do at the games?"

"Oh…um…you know the USC mascot is the Trojans." Both Grissom and Sara nodded. "Well, I'm the Trojan on the horse at the football games."

"Really?" Sara sounded impressed while Grissom remained emotionless.

"Yes ma'am. The only thing I don't like is the costume, but no one pays attention to it." Pepper lifted a leg to rest it on the knee of his other.

Kassie took his hand in hers resulting in a smile from Pepper. Grissom seemed somewhat unimpressed. "I've been helping him in some of his classes."

Grissom inclined his head. "Pepper, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty one sir."

Sara looked at Grissom and shook her head at him. He shrugged back to her. "Well, I need to do some work, Pepper glad to have you stay with us. I'll see everyone in the morning."

They waved goodnight to Grissom and continued to visit, but it wasn't much longer that Sara soon retired to bed as well. Kassie sat on the couch with Pepper. "Do you want to watch TV?"

Pepper shrugged his shoulders. "I've had a full day today, I'm thinking about heading to bed too." He reached over and gently pulled Kassie towards him. Pepper kissed her gently on the lips. "So, where do I get to crash?"

Kassie thought about the couch in the den, but then she knew her two devil siblings would get up early just to harass him. She shrugged. "You can just stay with me."

Pepper's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I don't want to leave you to be attacked by Sydney and AJ in the morning. I have full size bed, we'll both fit on it." She stood and grabbed his hands. "Come on."

Pepper let her pull him to his feet. "Are you sure? I don't want to make your dad upset."

Kassie leaned forward and kissed him. "I'm old enough. Let's go." She lead him up the stairs and to her room.

Now haven't we all been there before. 'You can sleep in my room, it'll be harmless." Yeah, right.

So anyways, another Happy Birthday to thespoon, and thanks to all who have been reviewing, I always get a kick out of them.

TDCSI