A/N: Another chapter ahoy :) Thank you for your patience. Time for a hospital visit and hopefully Grissom will be making some progress…

As always my thanks for all the thoughts and reviews and to calim for the beta.

On we go…

Chapter 34

Sara watched as Aaron worked on her husband's hands and fingers, massaging, loosening and very delicately moving his fingers. She kept a close eye on Buddy, who was lying near Grissom's feet, all too familiar of how too much pain could affect her man.

Sara was nervous; nervous about Aaron manipulating Grissom's hands and fingers again. Even here, in a controlled environment, she knew that if either of them pushed too hard, he could have a seizure. The worst part was that the time was getting closer when her husband would start to try and move on his own.

What if she wasn't there when he did so?

She brushed back the hair from her face and tried to relax. Until he was completely recovered there would always be that worry and, probably, even after that.

After what seemed like his fiftieth groan, Aaron smiled and carefully placed Grissom's left hand on the table.

"Really, really good, Gil," he praised. "Let's take a little break."

Puffing out his cheeks, Grissom nodded and sat back. Pulling a tissue from her bag Sara leaned towards him.

"You're doing really well," she said, dabbing the sweat from his rosy face. "You'll be playing guitar before you know it."

Grissom snorted briefly clenching his eyes together as his hands tingled.

"How's the pain, Gil?" Aaron asked, his eyes inspecting his patient's hands.

"It's okay," Grissom breathed. "Bearable."

Putting the tissue down, Sara held out some water and Grissom hastily drank from the straw.

Nodding, Aaron leaned a little forwards. "Not seeing a great deal of swelling yet either which is great. I think your muscles are finally starting to catch up."

Pulling away from the straw, Grissom glanced at his hands and then toward Aaron. "So, I can start weightlifting?"

Aaron laughed and Sara smiled. How much she'd missed this side of him. Finally, the humorous side of him was returning and she loved it.

Aaron winked. "Not just yet, okay?"

Managing a smile, Grissom took another sip of water.

"I do think though," Aaron continued, "with the way we are going, we might be able to move things along a little quicker than initially expected."

Sara's heart thumped. "What do you mean?"

"Gil is coping with movement a lot better than he did the first time around, so I think we can start talking about moving on to equipment and exercises soon. And the sooner we do that the sooner we can get his hands working properly."

Grissom looked at Sara. "And then I can start weightlifting."

Her eyes narrowed at him and he smirked. Shaking her head she looked back at Aaron.

"It scares me if we push too soon," she admitted. "We all know there are no more chances with this."

"I understand your concern," Aaron said softly. "But I wouldn't say something I wasn't confident in."

"I know," Sara said swiftly. "Doesn't mean I'm not nervous about it."

Aaron smiled. "I'd be worried if you weren't."

Grissom licked his lips. "So, how soon are we talking?" he asked.

"I'll see how we go for the rest of the session and then we can talk about it then."

"Okay," Grissom agreed. "I can live with that."

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The rest of the session continued to go well after the short break with Aaron moving Grissom's hands more than he'd done in the previous sessions. The left thumb still remained the most sensitive but that was to be expected. All in all, things seemed to be more receptive to recovery than the first time which pleased everyone, prompting Aaron to make the decision to step up things in the next session. And, since Grissom was quite positive about it, Sara buried her nerves as much as possible. There was no way she would intentionally deflate her husband's hopeful attitude.

After a bit of a rest, they left the treatment room and stopped at the elevator. As Sara hit the call button, she glanced at her husband, noticing his relaxed posture had been replaced with edginess. She longed for the day when all that would go away.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" she asked as he looked at her. "I know you're usually tired after treatment. We can do this another day."

She really hoped he was still up to it but would understand if he wasn't.

He nodded. "I'm okay. I know how important this is to you."

She leaned close to him and smiled. "To us."

"Yeah," he breathed with a smile of his own.

The night before Sara had called Donald for advice on who to speak to about the baby and he'd organized a ten-minute appointment for her at the antenatal clinic. She was just happy to get things rolling since she'd never been in this position before and any and all advice would be appreciated. A longer appointment would take place later.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened to reveal four people inside. Grissom hesitated at the sight of them. Two couples by the look of it, one woman heavily pregnant while the other looked slightly smaller.

"It's okay," Sara urged, taking his arm and helping him make that step into the elevator.

Buddy stuck close, his body brushing up against Grissom's legs. All eyes found the dog and Sara smiled at everyone before leaning over to push the button for the fourth floor but it was already lit.

"Nice deep breaths," she whispered to Grissom as he faced the doors.

He nodded and did just that trying not to think about the strangers behind him.

It only took a few moments for the ping to sound again, quickly followed by the doors opening. Grissom and Sara stepped out only to be passed by the others when he came to a stop.

"Are you all right?" Sara asked, rubbing Grissom's arm as he looked around again.

"Yeah," he said a little unconvincingly.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt Sara nodded towards the reception desk knowing it was probably a good idea to get in and out of here as quickly as they could. It was a lot busier than anywhere they had been yet and that made her nervous for him. He was putting on a brave face but she didn't want to push him too far.

"Over there," she directed, taking his arm as they walked to the desk, Buddy sniffing it once they reached it.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Sara Sidle," Sara said. "I have an appointment."

Nodding, the woman tapped at her computer. "Do you know who you are seeing, Ms. Sidle?"

Sara shook her head. "Eh, no. Donald Moore organized this for me."

The nurse's head rose and she looked at Grissom before her gaze fell back to Sara.

"Ah, yes. Doctor Moore did speak to us yesterday." Getting up, she pointed to a room to the right. "If you'd like to follow me we have a small waiting room out of the public eye he said you may want to use."

A look of relief passed over Grissom's face. "That would be great," he said appreciatively.

She smiled at him. "Happy to help those in need," the receptionist said as they headed towards the room.

Sara was very happy Donald had requested a quiet area for them. It made things so much easier. A lot of people in the hospital knew Grissom and, even those who didn't, had probably heard about him. The receptionist was certainly acting like she was clued in so, hopefully, this would make their visit run smoother. The less anxiety forced upon her husband the better.

The receptionist opened the door, gesturing them inside. "Take a seat. Doctor Patterson will be with you shortly."

"Thanks," Sara replied, watching as the woman closed the door as she left.

"Feeling a little happier now?" Sara asked Grissom as he sat down in one of the five chairs.

He gave a quick nod. "I'm sorry. I just…"

"Hey," Sara said, swiftly cutting him off with a finger to his lips as she sat next to him. "No apologies. Not now, not ever. Okay?"

Smiling under her finger he nodded again.

"Good." Sara lowered her finger and took his braced right hand, lifting it to have a look. "How are they feeling?"

"A little tingly," he admitted. "But it's okay."

Sara's eye twitched. "You promise?"

"Scout's honor."

She smirked and then let out a breath. "I feel nervous now."

"You do?" Nodding at him, Sara encased his hand in both of hers. "We're only here for a quick chat."

"I know. But I can't say I've ever chatted about a human being growing inside me before or..." Her thumb rubbed over his, "thought I ever would."

He gave her a sweet smile. "Me either."

"Have you, um…." She hesitated not sure whether this was the time or place, "Have you given any more thought into…you know…what you told me?"

"A little," Grissom admitted.

Sara's eyebrows lifted. "Do you want to share? I'll support you with whatever you decide. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Grissom said softly. "And…I think I've made a decision."

Letting out a breath, Sara squeezed his hand a little tighter.

"For now…I'm just going to leave it."

"Oh," Sara replied, a little surprised. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Right now we concentrate on now. On us and our baby. Honestly, I think that's all I can deal with anyway."

"Okay," Sara agreed, her tone gentle and supportive. "If that's what you want."

"For now it is. But, in the future…I might think about looking. Maybe."

Just as he said that a woman stepped into the room prompting them both to quiet and look up.

"Hi," she greeted. "Ms. Sidle?"

"Eh, yeah," Sara said, getting up. "Sara."

The woman smiled holding out her hand. "Amanda Patterson. Nice to meet you."

Shaking her hand, Sara nodded. "This is my husband, Gil."

"Good to meet you, Gil. And this is?" She asked, looking down at the dog.

"Buddy," Grissom said, getting to his feet.

She nodded. "Ah, yes. Doctor Moore did mention him."

"Did he mention anything else?" Sara asked not exactly sure what she may know or not know about their situation.

"Would you both like to come to my office?" Amanda suggested. "Be much more comfortable for us to talk."

Sara looked at Grissom and he nodded. Walking after the doctor they followed her the short way to the office and she closed the door behind them, gesturing for them to sit.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," she said.

Sitting, Grissom's attention was drawn to the awards and certificates on the wall while Sara just stared at the doctor.

"So," Amanda began, "please both of you try and relax. Doctor Moore has explained Gil's situation so we'll do our best to accommodate everybody's needs, okay? Just make sure if you need any special requirements during visits that you ask."

Sara smiled feeling a little relieved. "We will, thanks."

"I can see from your file and from what Doctor Moore has told me that you've both been through a lot," Amanda continued looking at Grissom. "And you are still recovering."

Grissom nodded. "Yeah."

She nodded focusing back on Sara. "Although we can't change the past we do our best to keep the future bright and bring your baby into this world as trouble free as possible."

"Trouble free would make a nice change," Sara replied, taking Grissom's hand.

Amanda smiled. "This is your first baby, correct?"

"Yeah," Sara breathed, her heart strumming a little bit. "Not really planned," she admitted.

"Okay," Amanda said. "Not everything is planned but how do you feel about it? Are you keeping the baby?"

Grissom frowned. "Isn't that why we're here?"

"Not everyone visits us with the intention of keeping their baby. Some abort, some put them up for adoption. I have to ask the question of the parents and not just take what I'm told for granted."

"We're keeping the baby," Sara said quickly before the conversation turned somewhere she didn't want it to go. "We were surprised but we're happy."

"Good," Amanda returned. "Then we can start things in motion and the best thing for us to do is to set you a proper appointment where we can do an examination and some screening tests."

Sara swallowed. She may not know much about having a baby but she knew some babies could have problems. She wasn't old but she wasn't a spring chicken either so she hoped that didn't work against her.

"What time frame is recommended for that?" she asked.

"Before ten weeks usually but considering your circumstances and your higher stress levels I'd suggest we make it as soon as we can. Let's get as much out of the way as possible and then you can concentrate on the good stuff."

Now Sara snorted. "Hmmm. Bloating, sore backs, eating like a pig and the constant urge to pee?"

Grissom's head turned her way. "That's the good stuff, huh?" he joked.

Looking at him, Sara narrowed her eyes and then a tiny smirk found her lips before they pursed at him.

"If I've come to learn anything over the years," Amanda continued, "it's never try and predict what pregnancy will bring. Everyone is different. Some have morning sickness but not everyone, some bloat, some don't. You may have cravings you may not."

"Well morning sickness has already started," Sara said. "Been having it for nearly a week."

"Then you're lucky."

Sara frowned at her. "Lucky?"

"Early morning sickness can mean it will pass quicker and you may not suffer from it later in your pregnancy. It's not guaranteed but that's how it works for most of my patients."

"Oh," Sara mumbled. "Good then. I guess."

Amanda flashed her another smile. "So, I'll make you an appointment and try and get you in early next week if that's good with you."

Sara looked at Grissom and he nodded. Smiling at him she turned back to the doctor.

"Fine."

"Any urgent concerns you'd like to ask about now?" Amanda asked.

Letting out a long sigh, Sara thought. "I don't know. I thought I'd have a million things to ask but now that I'm actually sitting here nothing comes to mind."

"I have a question," Grissom said and Sara's eyebrows lifted.

"Go ahead," Amanda urged.

"You mentioned screening tests. What are they exactly?"

Reaching into a drawer, Amanda pulled out a booklet and held it out to Sara.

"Everything you need to know for right now is in here. Please take a look and then I'll be happy to answer any questions at your next appointment. The tests would just take me too long at the moment to go through and sadly the clock is against me."

"We understand," Sara said taking the booklet. "I'm happy you agreed to see us on such short notice and as far as any concerns go there is nothing drastic that can't wait."

Looking back at Grissom, Sara noticed his expression had changed. He looked slightly worried. Why did he look worried all of a sudden?

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," he whispered but Sara wasn't that convinced.

There was certainly something on his mind and she needed to find out what that was.

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With the doctor's next patient due, the couple left her office with appointment in hand to attend Monday afternoon. That wasn't too bad. Just four days away. Sara could live with that and was happy they'd gotten the ball rolling. However, she was still concerned her husband, yet again, had something on his mind he wasn't telling her.

As they stepped from the elevator and headed towards the main entrance, Sara decided to ask him.

"So, what's on your mind?" she asked.

He shot her a quick glance but remained quiet as the double doors to the outside world opened and they stepped out.

"Something came to me," he said. "And it's made me a little worried."

Frowning, Sara took his arm and guided him out of the way of the doors. Not the best place to be standing with the amount of footfall. Taking him around the corner, she stopped.

"What is it?" she asked concerned.

Just as he was about to answer, a jackhammer sounded making the both jump, Grissom nearly shooting out of his skin. Their gazes shot across the road to see men working, seemingly digging up a sidewalk on the hospital grounds.

"Are you all right?" Sara asked urgently.

Grissom didn't hear her. His heart was racing. His breathes were hard. And then one of them raised a sledgehammer and… BAM… Basderic was there with the mallet raised, his own screams echoing in his head.

Buddy began barking and Sara's hands shot out as Grissom stumbled backwards then started to fall. She managed to grab one arm but it slipped from her grasp as he went crashing to the concrete.

A/N: Hmmm, what is Grissom worried about? Apart from crashing to the floor that is :P