Author's Notes: I think I've kept ya'll on the cliff long enough. Thanks for "hanging" in there with me!
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All I Have to Do
by Kristen Elizabeth
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Sara returned to work the next night, just in time for good news in the Lara Monroe case.
Before Warrick would tell her anything, she found herself the subject of a thorough once-over. Apparently, you couldn't just faint in the middle of the lab, and be lucky enough to have everyone forget about it.
"You're sure you're okay?" her partner asked her with a critical eye.
"Do you want a doctor's note?"
Warrick looked her up and down. "Don't give me lip, girl. I watched you get hauled out of here by the paramedics 24 hours ago. You don't get to stand there looking at me like I'm crazy for wondering if you're all right."
His words struck a guilty chord in her. "I'm sorry. I promise I'm fine."
Greg walked into the layout room, carrying a thick file that was spread open across his arms. "So, why'd you faint?" he added, inviting himself into their conversation. "People don't just zoink out for no reason."
"I'll tell you," Sara said, crossing her arms. "When you tell us the real reason why you wore that bandage over your nose for two weeks."
He nearly dropped his file as he reached up to touch the bridge of his nose. As he scrambled to catch it, he mumbled to himself, "I took a football to the face."
"And I fainted for no reason." Sara returned her attention to Warrick. "Now tell me what you've found out."
Warrick gave in with a sigh. "That partial shoe print you and Grissom found…"
"I thought it was virtually untraceable," she interrupted.
"Virtually. Not totally. The wear impression indicates that the person who made it is pigeon-toed."
"So…that's it? That's the big break? We're looking for a pigeon-toed killer?"
Warrick held up his hands in self-defense. "Anything that narrows the suspect pool is fine by me."
She glared at him for a moment. "All right, you've got me there."
Catherine breezed into the room just then. "Greg, where's the DNA report for…" She stopped upon seeing Sara. "Hey. What are you doing here?"
"My job." Sara frowned. "Is there a reason why no one wants me here today?"
Greg spoke up from the other end of the layout table, where he was spreading out reports and crime scene photos. "It's called 'concern,' Sara. It happens when someone passes out cold in the middle of the lab. For no reason."
"I'm fine!" Sara exploded.
Nick had the misfortune of coming in just in time for that. He winced and put a hand to his ear. "Whoa, what's going on in here?"
"Nothing," Greg said. "Can't you see that Sara's fine?"
"Hey, Marcia Brady." Warrick gave the younger man a warning look. "Cool it."
Handing Catherine the DNA report he'd come to deliver, Nick motioned to Sara. "Wanna get a cup of coffee with me?"
With a hand to her forehead, Sara nodded. Nick guided her out the door, then turned to the others. "I'll get it out of her," he assured them in a low, conspiratorial tone.
In the break room, Sara sank down onto the couch. "I didn't mean to go off in there. I just…can't stand being fussed over."
"I know." Nick reached for two cups and the coffee pot.
She caught him just in time. "Decaf, please."
"Not sure what's more surprising. The decaf or the please," he joked. But he picked up the other pot and poured her cup. "You knew that if you came in tonight you'd get a fair amount of fuss. So…why come?"
Sara accepted the cup from him. "Because."
He sat on the arm of the couch with his own cup. "Gonna need more than that."
"If I'd stayed at home, I would have been fussed over just as much. Maybe even more. Here, at least I can do something productive at the same time."
Nick nodded. "I gotta tell you, I've never seen Grissom look so totally lost as he was last night when you wouldn't wake up. Maybe cut him a little slack? He just wants to take care of you." Sara stared into her coffee. "I'm almost afraid to ask this, but you're okay, right?"
"I will be," she allowed.
"But you're not now?" He frowned. "I don't get it."
Sara smiled softly. "Maybe you're right. I should be at home." She set her cup aside and stood up. "Tell the others I'm sorry." He nodded. "Thanks, Nick."
"I didn't do much. I poured coffee and asked if you're okay."
"Yes, but you did it in a very not-annoying way."
Although still confused, Nick had to wink. "That's me. Not-annoying guy." As she started to go, he stopped her. "Sara, you'd tell us if you were dying…wouldn't you?"
She lifted one shoulder. "Eventually."
"Eventually," he repeated once she was gone. "Great."
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When she got back to Grissom's place, he was in the middle of fixing a late dinner.
"I had my doubts that they'd convince you to go home," he told her when she asked why he'd waited so long to eat. "But I figured it was worth a shot."
"I'm not really hungry," Sara confessed.
Grissom stirred something in the big pot on the stove. "You can't take your vitamins on an empty stomach."
She came up beside and sniffed the air. "It does smell kinda good. What is it?"
"Lentil stew." He kissed her cheek. "Beef would be better for you."
"Lentils are a perfectly good source of iron," she reminded him.
"Non-heme iron," Grissom corrected her. "And non-heme is better absorbed when a heme source is also present."
Sara wandered around the island and sat on one of the barstools facing him. "Still a vegetarian, baby."
As he ground pepper into the pot, he studied his wife. "You look tired."
She put a hand against her stomach. "I think you mean anemic."
"Nauseous?"
"A little." Sara paused. "I almost told Nick. Almost," she clarified when he opened his mouth to say something. "Now he just thinks I'm dying."
Grissom shook his head, amused. "You could have told him if you wanted to."
"No, I want to wait. I want the trial behind us, and I want you there, back at work."
"That might not happen, Sara."
"Please stop talking like that." She moved her hand up to her neck, rubbing it wearily.
Wiping his hands on a towel, Grissom walked around to her side of the counter. "I'm sorry, honey." He was a little caught off guard when she swung around and buried her face against his chest. "Sara?" He tossed the towel aside in order to stroke her hair. "What's wrong?"
"Remember how the wedding hit you in the hotel room?" she asked, her voice muffled by his sweater. "Well…" She lifted her head and looked up at him. "I'm having one of those moments right now."
Grissom cupped her face in his hands. "Okay. We'll get through your moment like we got through mine."
"No offense, but mine's seeming a little bigger than yours." She returned her cheek to the comfort of his chest. "At least a lot more permanent."
"Sara." He swallowed heavily. "Have you changed your mind about wanting this baby?" She shook her head against him, and it was all he could do not to sigh in utter relief.
Sometime in the 24 hours since the doctor had informed them that the hCG level in Sara's blood confirmed that she was pregnant, he'd become inexplicably attached to the idea of it all. The baby was barely more than a cluster of cells, but already he had hopes and dreams for it. He'd told Sara he would love their hypothetical child. But he hadn't realized it would happen so fast. Who knew that you could fall in love with something you wouldn't see or touch for months?
She drew back to see him. "We really need to work on timing our freak-outs."
"I think they're timed just fine," Grissom told her, after giving her a kiss. "At any given time, one of us is calm, and the other is having a moment."
Sara smiled, and this time it was genuine. "I guess that makes sense."
"I know what we need." He took her hand and gently pulled her towards the living room.
She watched him copy his motions of what seemed like a lifetime ago, as he pulled out the now-familiar record and started it playing.
Grissom looked at her before he lowered the needle to the record. "We never finished our dance."
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is dream
Sara rested her chin on his shoulder as they moved to the music. "Baby likes dancing," she murmured. He lightly squeezed her hand, and she closed her eyes happily. "Moment over."
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To Be Continued
A/N: Sorry to the people who didn't want her to be pregnant. I was going to end up disappointing someone, so I just went with my gut on this one.