Summary: How exactly does Isabella feel about sharing her class and grade with her younger sister?

Genre: Family, Friendship, Hurt/comfort
Rating: K
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Main Parings: GSR
Minor Parings: None
Other Characters: Grissom kids, Andrew


Chapter 25: Nothing to worry about?

August, 2022

Another year had passed them by, and before they knew it, it became that time of the year again, and for the first time, all three Grissom children will be going to school from now on, which maybe outside of a few low sniffles here and there while watching her children eat breakfast, Sara had taken the morning in stride.

When they made it to the grade-school, William, who will be starting his first last day at the Middle School, included, Sara bent down so she was eye-level with her youngest and asked softly. "This is it, are you going to be ok?"

Katie nodded slowly, but whispered. "Yeah, but I'm a little scared, mommy."

Before she or anybody else could say anything, William kneeled down next to his mother and asked with bright eyes. "Hey, do you want me to come with you, take you to your class?"

Katie's eyes get bright, looking at her brother as if he was her hero, before asking. "You would do that?"

William nodded with a smile. "Yes, if you want me to."

He turned around and looked up at his father, the one who was going to take him to School, and Grissom nodded with a smile. "Sure, I have a little extra time to wait."

He was suppose to go to a teachers meeting later this morning.

William nodded before looking at his youngest sister again. "So, what do you say?"

Katie nodded with a smile. "Yes, please."

He chuckled as he stood up. "You got it."

After giving both of her parents a kiss and hug, she took a hold of her brother's hand before they started walking towards the entrance of school building, then Sara cupped her oldest daughter's cheek and said. "Have a good day, sweetie."
Isabella just nodded, and she asked, sensing a sudden shift in her daughter's demeanor. "Hey, you ok?"

Isabella gave her another nod and smile, making it as real as she could. "Yeah, mamma, I'm fine."

Even though Sara felt something was now off with her, there wasn't much she could to do unless she talked to him, so she nodded. "Ok, but know that I am here if you..."

Isabella cuts her off. "I know, can I go now, please?"

"Alright, I love you."

She softly whispered. "I Love you too."

After a hug with her mother, she hugged her father before walking towards the school entrance with her best friend, Andrew, while both parents were watching her as Sara stood up, then once she was standing, they looked at one another with a little worry, hoping that Isabella was really ok with her younger sister sharing the same class with her.

When that particular conversation came up with their daughters, Isabella didn't show any outward distress of the situation, although they knew that if she's anything like them, which she had proven over the years that she very much is, they were pretty good at hiding how they felt at times too.


(Lunch Time, Cafeteria)

When it was lunch time at the grade school, which the second and third grade classes share the same lunch period, Katie walked with her princess themed, 'Beauty', from the Beauty and The Beast to be exact, lunchbox and sat at the far end of the table that had a bunch of second graders on the other end, and started eating her lunch alone while the rest of the kids around her were talking and laughing together about their summer vacations.

After Isabella got her hot lunch, she scanned the room and saw where her sister was at it, and it broke her heart that she was eating alone, then her attention gets pulled in another direction when she heard her friends shouting her name from a nearby table. "Isabella, here, we got our table!"

She walked towards her friends with a smile before stopping once she got there, but then she looked at her sister again, and shook her head. "I'm sorry guys, but not today, there is someone else I have to sit with."

They all nodded in understanding before Isabella walked towards the 'second' grader table, walked on the other side so she would be across from her, then cleared her throat and asked. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here with you?"

When Katie heard the sound of her sister's voice, she looked up with a bright smile, giving her the same look she gave to their brother earlier that morning, like she was now her hero, and that warmed up Isabella's heart more than she could describe.

She didn't feel the greatest when Katie looked at William like that earlier, not that she blamed her for thinking their brother was her hero because she did it too, but since Katie and William always had a close bond, despite him being six years older than her, she was wondering if her sister would ever look at her like that, which in this moment it happened, and she enjoyed it more than she ever thought she would.

Katie nodded next. "Yes, you may."

Isabella she sat down with a smile, then a moment later they were joined by Andrew, making the atmosphere between the three of them feel comfortable, like they were at home enjoying a meal together.

Once the lunch break was coming close to the end, Andrew had left the girls to hang out with some of the kids in his class, Isabella asked softly, like she was still a little hurt. "Hey Katie, why did you accept William's offer to walk you to class this morning?"

Katie was finishing up her chocolate pudding, looked at her sister and said. "Oh." Before looking down at the table.

"It's ok, you can say it."

Katie took a breath before looking at her sister again, speaking while tears were coming to her eyes. "I didn't want to burden you more than I already have been." Isabella's eyes got wide as she tried to speak, but Katie continued after a sniffle. "I maybe only 5 years old, but I know it can't be easy for you to share your grade, and class with a sister that's two years younger than you, so I didn't want to be in your way."

Isabella tried really hard to keep her emotions intact, then she cleared her throat and moved her hand across the table and took her sister's hand before speaking with a smile. "Ok, first off, you are not a burden, I never felt that way towards you and I never will, ok?" Katie nodded with another sniffle before her older sister continued. "And yes, I'll admit it's a little weird having a younger sister in the same class as me, but I rather have you as a sister than anybody else in the world."

Katie's eyes got bright again as she asked. "You mean that?"

Isabella's smile got bright, brighter than it had all day. "You bet I do, and if you need help with anything, I hope you know you can come to me too. I'm sorry if you never felt that you could before."

Katie nodded with a smile. "It's ok, and thank you, Izzie."

Isabella removed her hand from her sister's with a nod. "You're welcome."

They stood up from their seats, and after tossing their trash, they headed towards their classroom as the bell rung, ready to start the second half of their school day.


(After school)

Like they did with Isabella, and William before her, Sara and Grissom were waiting outside the school building when the last bell rung to officially end the first day of school.

Moments later, they see Katie rushing their way, and when she was near, she practically jumped into her father's arms, which he grunted a little but held on to her tight and brought her up further in his arms until she was settled at his hip, then they chuckled before Grissom asked with a smile. "It looks like someone had good first day of school."

Katie nodded with a bright smile. "Oh, I did, it was the best."

Sara then smiled as she asked. "And what was the best part?"

There was no hesitation when she responded. "Lunch time."

They both raised their eyebrows at her response, not expecting that one before Sara asked again. "And what was so special about lunch time, sweetie?"

Katie's eyes got bright again, a different kind than what they saw just moments ago, while she explained. "Sissy had lunch with me. She could have sat anywhere she wanted, but she choose to eat lunch with me." By then Isabella and Andrew were near them, so they heard what she had said, and Andrew cleared his throat, making Katie giggle. "Oh, and Andrew was there too."

They all chuckled as Andrew playfully looked like he was offended that he was an afterthought, even though he knows he's more than that in this family.

While they were calming down, Sara looked at her oldest daughter and asked. "Really?"

Isabella nodded with a bright smile, brighter than their parents saw before she left them in the parking lot this morning. "Yeah, and it was nice."

They smiled in return before Grissom asked. "So, today went alright with you too?"

Isabella nodded again, the smile still on her face. "Yeah, it did." Then she looked at her sister and asked. "We got this handled, right Katie?"

Katie looks at her older sister with another bright smile and nod. "Yeah, we do."

With one more bright look, Isabella and Andrew started walking towards the parking lot, and Sara and Grissom shared a relieved look a second later before they started following the kids, happy that whatever Isabella had felt earlier that morning seemed to have went away during the day, and that maybe this arrangement was going to be better than they previously thought.


AN: More to come soon. Thanks for reading, and please review.