AN: Thanks for the continued support, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 21: Knowing the Truth & Acceptence

It wasn't very long after Sara had sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed when there was a knock on the door before it opened and Sheila's head popped through the opening.

"Hey, you mind if I..."

She trialed off and Sara gave her a little smile with a nod. "Sure, come in."

Once she walked into the room, she closed the door and walked to the end of the bed before looking at Sara. "Thank you."

Sara raised an eyebrow as she asked. "For what?"

Sheila smirked this time. "I think you know for what? I don't think Grissom would have just suddenly want to talk to Will, he would have waited a week or two..."

Sara cuts her off with a smirk in return. "And then would have felt guilty for not talking to him sooner."

Sheila chuckled a little with a nod. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Sara sighed as she looked at Ashley in the bed. "I just didn't want them to walk away from a great friendship because of this, I didn't want..."

Sheila cuts her off a second later. "Dr. Harrison to feel like he won?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Sheila nodded before looking at Ashley, and the image of her from the first night she seen her popped in her head, and she smiled. "I remember the first night I saw her. She was so beautiful and sweet, still is, and in complete awe of Grissom, just as he was with her."

Sara then used Sheila's words. "Still is."

Sheila nodded before walking to the other side of the bed and continued. "I could see they already had this bond, and I knew no matter what, Grissom wasn't going to let her go without a fight, regardless if he had signed papers or not."

Sara was starting to get it, but she had to be sure. "So you were there to see their new status from day one? You had a front row seat to her growing up."

"Yes." Then she chuckled a little. "Well, as close to a front row seat as I could get without dating the guy."

Sara chuckled again, then cleared her throat and asked. "It was never about the guys, was it?"

Sheila looked over at Sara and raised an eyebrow. "What was never about the guys?"

Sara took a breath before explaining. "I had felt this tension with you, and I thought it was the guys, but now I think it's because of Ashley."

Sheila chuckled and shook her head. "You thought I was jealous of you because of the guys?" Sara nodded with a small smile as Sheila continued after sighing. "Even if I thought that Will was actually interested in you, I knew he would never have an actual shot, you're too in love with Grissom."

"And Grissom?"

"Never a romantic interest to me, he is an amazing CSI and I still admire him after all this time. But believe me, I only see him as colleague, a friend, an older brother even." Sara nodded, seeing the truth before Sheila smirked. "Besides, no can hold a candle to you in his eyes, he's head over heals in love with you." Sara shyly smiled as she looked down while Sheila finished as she looked at Ashley. "So, I guess you are right about Ashley. I know I'm losing my place in her life."

Sara looked at Sheila with a little surprise. "Are you kidding? She adores you. Me, on the other hand, while things have been good between us, I know she still kind of feels like I'm invading her territory."

Sheila looked over at Sara again with a smile. "Believe me, you're getting closer than you think you are, she doesn't invite just anybody to spend her birthday with."

Getting that feeling, Sara nodded then she said with another smile. "We want the same thing for her, right? Which is loved, happy, and safe."

Sheila nodded with another smile. "Yeah."

"Ok, then that's what's important here. Just remember you're an important part of her life, so don't ever doubt how much she loves you. I'm just trying to fit in the best I can."

Sheila then held out her hand. "You'll get there." Sara reached for the other woman's hand, and as they shook it, Sheila continued. "And when you're ready for the lab here, it will be an honor to work with you." Sara looked at her with shock as Sheila finished with a smirk. "Oh come on Sara, you have to know he's going to eventually ask you to move here."

Before Sara could do anything else other than continue to look at Sheila in shock, the machines that were hooked up to Ashley started going off and she started moaning, snapping Sara's maternal instincts in high gear as she reached out and touched the girl's cheek. "Honey, it's Sara, you're ok, everything is going to be ok now." Sara looked up at Sheila. "Can you stay..."

She was cut off when Ashley's hand gripped her other hand, making Sheila smile. "I'll go, you stay with her."

As Sara nodded, Sheila was rushed out of the room, passing a doctor in the hall as she rushed towards the waiting room.

The minute she could see the guys, and them her, they stood up with worry, before Sheila smiled. "She's waking up."

Grissom smiled in return, patted her on the shoulder before rushing towards Ashley's room.

When Grissom was gone, Will asked. "Should we go too?"

Sheila cupped her man's cheek, feeling it a little stubble today, and shook her head. "I know how much you want to see her, but let's give the three of them some time."

He nodded before bringing her in his arms. "Ok."

They held onto one another, happy for these turn of events.

Once the doctor checked on her, which he was happy to announce that if everything keeps improving like they were, she could go home tomorrow, and told her that a nurse will be in soon to ask what she wanted to eat, he left the room.

After about 10 minutes of Grissom just staring at her, Ashley sighed slightly. "I'm ok, I'm not going to disappear."

Grissom sighed in return as he placed his hand on top of hers. "I'm sorry, but since finding out that you were missing and until you woke up, it feels like years have passed, and it's a feeling I'm not use to or like, so please give me a little break right now."

Ashley nodded while she tried to keep her emotions intact. "I'm sorry. It feels it's been years for me too, although unconscious years."

With her being sedated most of the time she was taken, she wasn't aware of anything until 10 minutes ago.

Grissom nodded and cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm so sorry sweetheart, I didn't protect you this time."

Ashley shook her head and squeezed his hand in reassurance. "You didn't know what was going to happen. Nobody could have predicted that, right?"

Grissom was going to speak, but Sara, who had been standing behind him while silently watching the scene, spoke after placing her hand on his shoulder. "Griss, I think it's time she knew the truth."

He turned his head the best he could and looked at her with a little shock. "Now?"

Sara nodded as she looked at the young woman in the bed. "I think she can handle it, she's a brave young woman."

Grissom turned his head to look at Ashley in the bed, and it was almost like he was looking at her for the first time. Yeah, she was now fifteen with a few more 'childhood/teenage' years left, but a part of him could see her as a young woman now, and after what she went through, a brave one, so he nodded with a sigh. "Yeah she is, and don't forget beautiful at that."

Sara squeezed his shoulder with a smile. "That goes without saying."

Ashley tried not to shyly smile at the compliment, having a feeling they were about to embark on something very serious, but she couldn't help it.

But she shook it off a few seconds later and asked. "Can somebody tell me what's going on? What truth?"

Before Sara or Grissom could speak. there was a knock on the door before it opened and Will's head popped through the opening with a smile, but immediately lost it as he felt a weird vibe in the room, so he frowned. "Is everything ok, should we come back later?"

Grissom shook his head before speaking. "No, you should be in here, this involves you too."

He didn't mean that in an upset way, but if they were going to tell Ashley everything, he wanted to tell her the whole story, and Will was a part of it.

Will looked confused as he stepped into the room. "Ok, what involves me?"

Once Sheila was in the room, Sara spoke softly. "It's time Ashley knows the truth, the whole truth."

Knowing exactly what that meant, and trusting Grissom that this was the time, Will nodded and started walking towards the bed with Sheila right beside him.

After a pause, Ashley looked at the four of them before stopping her eyes at Grissom. "Why do I have a feeling something is really bad?"

Grissom squeezed her hand before speaking softly. "What you are about to hear is how your mom died, and you can tell me you don't want to hear it right now, but it is a link to what just happened to you, so do you want us to continue?"

Ashley never knew how her mother actually died, and maybe she never asked because she was afraid to hear the details. But now, while she didn't know if it was just turning 15 or what had happened to her that made her not as scared anymore, she somehow felt ready, so she nodded and cleared her throat before replying. "Yes, please, continue."

Grissom then looked over at Will. "It was originally your case, so go ahead."

Will nodded, then after taking a breath, he told her where her mother was found, how she actually died, his talking to the suspects, how the case file stayed on the top right corner of his desk, always on top of other files, how he didn't stop searching for any clue that might break the case through the years, then came the details about the snow globe, the last piece that tied a bow to the whole case.

After Ashley slowly processed everything, she asked softly. "And you are sure it was 100% him that killed my mom?"

Will took that answer with a head nod. "Yes, it was confirmed earlier that his print matched the one we had gotten from your mother's body and the snow globe. Not to mention he did confess."

Ashley nodded then started to ask. "Why did he..." But stopped and asked something else. "Is it ok for me to ask more questions?"

They all smiled as Grissom answered. "You ask as many as you want, and we'll try our best to answer them."

Ashley nodded before asking. "Why did he come after me?"

Grissom moved his hand from hers and cupped her cheek before speaking in a comforting tone. "He saw your mother in you, and you became an obsession to him."

"And why now?"

Sara explained that one. "Either he wanted to finally act on his obsession or he wanted to wait for the perfect opportunity."

"Do you know why he killed her?"

Will took that question as he walked to the other side of the bed and sat down.
"We have theories, something could have set him off that night, guilt or anger, maybe both, but we don't really know for sure, and sometimes we aren't going to always get all the 'whys' answered." Ashley nodded in understanding before Will continued after taking another breath. "And Ashley, if you ever want to blame someone for what happened to you, you can blame me, I'll understand."

The three grown-ups were about to speak at the same time, but Ashley did as she took his hand. "Uncle Will I would never blame you, you didn't really know it was him."

"But..."

Ashley cuts him off. "You did everything right." Then she looked over at Grissom for confirmation. "Right? He did everything you taught him?"

There was a slight pause, and in that moment Sara and Sheila had to admit they were unsure what Grissom would say, then he slowly smiled and looked at Will, who was now looking at him in return. "Yeah, he worked the case just as if I was doing it."

Will gave him a smile and nod before looking at his 'niece', and she smiled as she replied. "See, it's not your fault, and I could never blame you."

Will had to admit he was relieved and they shared a hug, but it was short lived when she gasped, making Will pull away fast like he was burnt and looked at her with concern, along with everybody else in the room, and he was about to speak, but Ashley did it before he could. "Where's Mike, how is he doing?"

The grown-up sighed in relief that it wasn't pain that made her gasp, then Grissom spoke.
"He's at one of his friend's house right now." Then told her how he was feeling, and not what he did to him earlier this morning. "He was pretty devastated to hear what happened, more so for your well-being I might add."

"It couldn't have been easy to hear what his father did, I mean parents are suppose to be protectors." Ashley then looked at Grissom and finished with a smile. "Like you are."

Grissom smiled warmly as he squeezed her hand. "I try very hard."

Ashley smiled a little wider as she looked at the other grown-ups in the room. "And thank you all for saving me."

This time Shelia speaks as she walked over to the right side of the bed. "Of course sweetheart, nothing would stop any of us from going after you."

While they were sharing a hug, a short, light red haired, slim build, blue eyed, 5'6' woman came into the room with a smile and a cupcake with a candle on top. "I heard it was someone's birthday today."

They all smiled before the five of them stared to sing happy birthday to her, then after they were done, Ashley blew out the candle and said. "Thank you."

The nurse nodded with a smile before handing her a dinner menu. "Now that you have dessert, let's see what you want for dinner."

They all chuckled, and after Ashley had picked out her meal and drink, the nurse grabbed the menu and told her that it will arrive shortly and walked out of the room.

Not long after, Will and Sheila hugged her goodbye and said they'll see her tomorrow before they also walked out of the room, leaving her alone with Sara and Grissom.

There was a moments pause before Sara spoke after placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm kind of hungry, do you want something from the cafeteria? We still got a little time before it closes."

Before Grissom could answer her, Ashley asked in a soft voice. "Actually, can you stay Sara, I want to talk to you."

Grissom turned around to look at Sara, and with a slight shocked look, she managed a nod and smile. "Uh sure, it's alright with me.'

Grissom turned back around and looked at Ashley before he stood up with a smile. "Ok." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, whispering softly. "I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, dad."

He pulled back and turned to Sara, but mindful of Ashley being in the room and respecting her feelings about them, he just kissed her on the cheek, and after sharing a loving smile and look, he walked out of the room, letting the door close behind him as Sara sat down in the chair he just left.

Sara waited patiently for Ashley to speak, and she did after a few seconds. "You know he never really dated that much."

"I know."

"And I guess the other part of me, when I wasn't thinking of my childish fantasy, couldn't help but wonder why. Was it just something he choose not to, or was it because of me."

Sara didn't hesitate on answering in a comforting tone, "I think it was a little of both, he had to make sure that you were his first priority."

Ashley nodded before continuing. "Anyways, when he did go out, I could see that something was missing in his eyes, and after every one ended, it never really bothered me." Ashley took a breath before looking at Sara. "Then it all changed after he said he met somebody new after coming home from Vegas. I could see it in his eyes, he had that glow." Sara shyly smiled and looked down as Ashley finished while looking down at her fingers. "And I knew in that moment things were going to change, and it made me scared, and..."

Ashley trailed off, a little ashamed for saying the words, but Sara spoke them with understanding. "Jealous that you would be sharing your time with him?"

"Childish, I know."

Sara shook her head and moved forward to place a comforting hand on her arm. "No, I call that being a human. It's only childish if you act that way."

Ashley wiped a tear of her cheek as she asked. "I haven't been too bad, have I?"

Sara shook her head with a smile. "No, you've been pretty tamed compared to how I see other people act."

She gave the other woman a smile and replied. "Good, because I don't want you to go." Sara looked a little shocked, and Ashley clarified. "I mean, don't break-up with him. You two deserve each other, and I can see that you love him. I don't want to be in the way of your guy's happiness."

Moving her hand to cup the young girl's cheek, Sara smiled. "You were never in the way, we understood how you felt and we wanted to make sure you were ok with us."

"I am now, and I wanted to tell you that this weekend."

"That's why you invited me?"

Ashley nodded with a smile. "Yeah, and for Valentines day, it's been awhile since he enjoyed one."

They both chuckled before Sara spoke after removing her hand. "Now it's my turn to talk."

"Oh, no. What did I do?"

Sara chuckled again and shook her head before continuing. "Absolutely nothing. I just have something I've been waiting to say, and it's this." She squeezed her hand and continued in a warm voice. "I know I'm not your mother, or can ever replace her, but I do want to be your friend. I maybe dating Grissom, but you are a part of my life too, and whenever you need to talk about anything or need help with anything..."

Ashley cuts in with a smile. "Especially math?"

Sara chuckled. "Especially that, all you have to do is call, and I'll even give you my email if you want it."

"Ok, thank you."

Sara shook her head and squeezed her hand one more time. "No, thank you. Having your blessing means the world to me, and to him too."

"Thank you for making him so happy."

Sara smiled with a nod. "You too."

Their moment of 'girl' talk ended when the door opened and Grissom walked in with a bag that had two sandwiches, two bag of chips and two bottles of juice in it, and when he felt a different vibe in the room than he had when he walked out, he raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

They both smiled and said 'nothing' at the same time before they chuckled, making Grissom laugh as he moved closer to the chair. "Oh, so I see, this is how it's going to be now, you two telling secrets?"

Sara gets up from the chair, shares a look with Ashley, which she just nods with a smile, before Sara turned to Grissom and kissed him softly on the lips as she whispered against them. "Maybe."

She pulls back to see a very shocked looking Grissom, but when he saw that Ashley was just smiling at them, he smiled in return with a nod. "Ok, then I guess that's just something I'm going to have to live with."

The girls chuckled a little with smiles on their faces, and for Grissom, if it got both of his 'girls' liking one another and Ashley approving of them, he'll take them telling secrets all day.

AN: Hope you didn't think it would, or want it to end here, there is still more to come. Thanks for reading and Please Review.