Chapter Thirty Eight:
She had dinner with them one evening telling them as a group. He sat beside her holding her hand as she told about the day her father died at her hands. They sat quietly and listened to each word. Once she was done, she sat there nibbling on the sandwich on her plate. Little was said at first as they each pretended to eat. It was Greg who spoke up.
"I accidently killed a cat with a dryer," he blurted out.
They all stared at him.
"Its name was fluffy," he said.
They gawked at him.
Sara chuckled and they stared at her.
"You have to admit that was a bit ironic…fluffy gets over fluffed in the dryer."
It eased the tension as the others slowly chuckled.
"Does this mean that from now on you're going to treat us like family and not keep crap from us?" asked Nick.
She gulped. "Yes."
She felt Grissom's hand tighten around hers.
"Good, cause we want to know how Grissom got that ring back on your finger without asking," said Greg.
He felt a kick under the table and yelled ouch.
She glanced down at the ring. "He slipped it on my finger while I was sleeping."
"Well, that wasn't very romantic," said Greg.
"It was to me…I woke with the two favorite men in my life beside me and then I found the ring on my finger…best feeling in the world," she whispered.
He leaned over and kissed her. He moved his plate over as she finished her sandwich and started nibbling on his.
The invitations were placed in the mail slots again as they went about their lives once more. There were flowers to order and food and cake but she seemed not to mind as Peggy Donner took over the planning of the wedding. The wedding was planned inside the house with only members from the lab and a few close friends from town. The reception was scheduled outside under a beautiful veranda Grissom had given as a wedding gift.
She arrived home one evening and found it suddenly in the back yard along with a huge ribbon wrapped around it. It was perfect. It was perfect even though she had sat there the other night and told him about the rape. He said little but let her talk until she could talk no more and then held her tight wiping the tears from her face. There were no questions posed although she paused from time to time waiting for them to come but they didn't. It was when they were in bed that he spoke. It was barely audible but she heard each word.
"You're so much stronger than me," he said.
It made her feel strong as she wiped his cheeks. It was the last secret, the last of her past that she had kept hidden and now there was nothing left. She felt cleansed.
"Nervous?" she later asked, "About the wedding."
"No," he said. "I put aside all of my fears the moment I saw you that night when I came here to investigate Matthew's kidnapping. I told myself that if I were given another chance I would never push you away again. I'm glad you gave me that chance…so very grateful Sara," he managed to whisper.
She smiled.
She stood there that day at the top of the stairs and smiled when she saw Brass waiting for her. She walked slowly past the nursery where their son was growing up, past the guest room where they had rekindled their love, past her room that she now shared with the man of her dreams and now she came to stand where Natalie had once stood holding Matthew.
She glanced below and saw Grissom there. His tux fit him perfectly and she knew he would no doubt relish the moment he could strip himself of it but then she wanted the pleasure of assisting him. As they descended the stairs she remembered that night when she had pushed Natalie in order to save her son. She stepped onto the very spot where Natalie's lifeless body lay. She glanced down once and saw no blood stains. There had never been any. Her death had been quick leaving no trace of foul play. She took a step toward him as she heard the familiar sing song voice inside her head.
"Oh, sad was the day for the little bisque doll,
for they cut all her stitches away,
She smiled slightly at him and then at Brass.
Shut up Natalie…
You're dead…
I'm alive…
Very much alive….
The last few remaining remnants of that final day slipped away and she smiled in relief.
No more looking over my shoulder….
No fear of the past….
It's finally finished….
She felt his arm entwine with hers and she took a deep breath. He hesitated for a moment but the brilliance of her smile made them both giddy and they proceeded toward Father Brannigan. She listened to each and every word as they faced one another. She felt his fingers caressing the palm of her hand and she smiled down at Matthew who stood there perfectly still trying to balance the pillow that held the rings. Greg stood close by for support. Nick and Warrick stood there beside Grissom as they smiled at her.
The kiss sealed their vows and then the reception began. She stood there on the veranda and danced with him as their son ran around chasing a butterfly with Greg in pursuit. As the evening came to a close, they were ushered away. Little had been said about the wedding night plans. She did not care.
She was married.
She was Sara Grissom.
She was beginning her new life.
It was perfect.
They spent the night in at a secluded house located by a lake. Grissom had managed to rent the house for the week although they knew they would be home within a few days to be with Matthew.
"Peggy said he would be fine with her," said Grissom.
"Yes, he will but I'm not used to being away from him," said Sara.
"Sara, we're twenty miles from home," he chided.
"You think he's asleep by now?" she asked. "Greg let him eat too much cake…he probably has a stomach ache…."
He kissed her silencing her as he made love to his wife. The thoughts of Matthew were put aside as she made love to her husband. She woke later to find him sitting up in bed.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Just thinking about what we should do," he said.
"Already?" she asked.
"It's think about our future or wake my wife up and make love to her again. I decided to let you sleep a few more hours," he said with a grin.
"Gil, about those plans…." She said.
"You don't want me to leave the lab. Do you?" he asked.
"Only if it's what you want. I'm better. I'm more than better. I feel balanced now. I haven't felt that way in a long time," she said.
"Good," he said leaning down to kiss her.
"Sara, the different shifts are hard. You don't seem happy on the first shift," he said.
"It's just a job. My life with you and Matthew are the most important thing," she said.
He grinned. "You're using my words against me."
"No, I'm putting things into perspective," she said as she ran her fingers down his chest.
"Go any lower and there won't be any plans made," he said.
She grinned as her hand descended leaving their plans to be worked out another day.
Mrs. Donner brought Matthew by the next day to spend a few hours but Grissom insisted they spend another night alone. The little boy did not seem to mind as he ran toward the car.
"Bye momma," he said as he waved to her.
"No bye to daddy?" asked Grissom.
"Bye dada….bring her home soon."
They stared at one another.
"His speech is getting much better," said Sara.
"I detected a hint of jealousy in his voice," said Grissom.
"Most little boys have crushes on their mothers at one time or another," said Sara.
Grissom smiled. "He has good taste."
They returned after three days. Mrs. Donner chuckled the moment they came in carrying the suitcase.
She leaned over and whispered to Grissom. "She stayed longer than I would ever guess."
He laughed.
They spent the remainder of their time with Matthew. They purchased a toddler bed and Grissom removed the baby bed. She sat there and watched as Grissom set up the new bed.
"Brad and I put the baby bed together. It took us two hours just to figure the nuts and bolts," she said with a yawn. "I can strip a car but a baby bed is much harder."
He smiled at himself when he was done and she put the new bedding on it while Matthew sat in the floor and watched.
"You like the new bed?" asked Grissom.
"I like that one," he pouted.
"You don't need it anymore," said Sara.
"Greg really liked this one. He had one when he was your age," said Grissom.
"Probably still does," muttered Sara making Grissom grin.
The small boy came and sat on the bed. He rolled over and smiled at Sara.
"That's my big boy," she said.
"Now for this one," said Grissom.
"It can wait to be dismantled," said Sara as she pulled him into his arms.
"I thought we could go into town and celebrate since this is our last night before we go back to work."
"You make it sound so dreadful," he said.
"I didn't mean to….I'm just going to miss this time together," she said.
He kissed her gently on the nose.
"We could change shifts," he offered.
"We can talk about that later," she said pulling them downstairs.
The return to work resulted in a double on the first night and they took it in stride although he worried about her return to work. She had taken several weeks off prior to the wedding and he wondered if the rest had helped. She had dinner ready for him when he trudged through the door and she smiled as he told her about the antics Greg was trying to pull with Hodges. She asked about the cases but he said little choosing to change the topic and discuss the meal or Bruno or Matthew or even the veranda. She sat there and let him knowing he was still trying to overcome his fears from her near break down but she felt stronger than she had ever felt in her life.
The weeks passed and yet he refused to talk about work. She said little but let him choose the topics for discussion.
"We got an offer on the townhouse," he said.
"Going to accept?" she asked.
"It would cover Matthew's college tuition," he said with a grin.
"That would be nice," she said.
"I'll let the realtor know tomorrow…Sara, have you given any thought about work….our shifts?" he asked.
"Yes, I have," she said.
He looked at her but said nothing.
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
"What are your ideas?" he asked.
"You first," she said with a smile.
He frowned.
"Sara…"
"Do you want to stay on graveyard?" she asked.
"Do you want to stay on first?" he asked.
"My plans have nothing to do with yours," she said.
"Yes, they do!"
"No, they don't."
"Gilbert, you've been a night person for as long as I've known you. You do your best work at night," she said with a grin.
He returned her grin with a smile. "Stop trying to flatter me and tell me what you want," he said as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips.
"Another baby."
He spewed his coffee.
Note from author:
Should always be prepared for those one liners at the end of a chapter. LOL
Take care!
Penny