AN: Surprise! Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter. Happy New Year!

Chapter 9: Going to Texas part 1

Spring Break, 1986

Austin Texas

Once Sara and Grissom decided to go with the girls to Texas, mostly for moral support for them, particularly Stephanie, they asked if it was even possible they get to go, and after the grown-ups ok'd it, even Sam offering to pay their way (which Stephanie was suspicious that him paying was for brownie points, but either way she was happy because they were coming), it was a waiting game until that day got here, which it did on a Saturday, the day after their last day of school for the upcoming week.

After the plane landed at the airport that early evening, the four teenagers followed the other group of passengers until they reached the inside of the airport, and after looking around, Michelle was the first to speak as she rushed to the left of them. "Daddy!"

Stephanie looked in the direction she saw her sister take off at, and noticed it was only their father standing there, who was around 6'2 with an athletic build, very short brown hair and brown eyes.

She took a breath before Sara, who was holding Grissom's hand, placed her other hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just wondering if seeing him will ever get easy."

Grissom spoke next with sincerity. "Just know that we are here for you."

Stephan turned to look at her best friend/cousin with a smile on her face. "And I can't thank you enough."

Sara smirked. "You can thank your father." She cringed a second later. "Sorry."

Stephanie sighed with a nod. "I know, and you're right."

Grissom then smirked. "When is she not?"

Stephanie chuckled as Sara lightly elbowed him in the gut with a smile before they started walking towards Stephanie's father, who was just finishing hugging Michelle.

Once father and his youngest daughter pulled back, he smiled at Stephanie as she got nearer. "Hi sweetheart, I'm glad you came."

Stephanie couldn't help but get a jab in there. "I didn't really have a choice though, did it? It was either come here or you take mom to court."

Before Sam could say something, Michelle spoke in surprise. "Stephanie!?"

Then before Stephanie could say anything to her younger sister, Sam spoke towards Michelle first. "It's ok, honey." He then looked at his oldest again, speaking softly. "I'm sorry if it feels like you're forced to be here, but I thought we could be in a different environment this time around." After a pause, he continued. "I don't know how much more I can apologize, and maybe there just isn't enough apologizing to make it up to you...But I hope you know I am trying here, and I'll do anything to help mend that broken heart I had given you." They all could see how remorseful he was for hurting them, and Stephanie was about to say something, when he continued. "I'll tell you what. By the end of this trip, if you didn't enjoy it for a single second, then I promise I won't ask you to come here again, if that's what you want. We'll go back to me coming to you, and I'll do it." He walked closer to his oldest, cupped her cheek and finished with tears in his eyes, which knowing him for as long as Stephanie has, she was really surprised because he didn't show emotion a lot. "I'll keep coming back to you, because I swear I'll never make you feel like I abandoned you ever again. It never should have happened in the first place, I know that, and I deeply regret it. I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

He wiped her tears off her cheeks before removing his hand, even though he wanted to hug her, he wasn't going to force that on her, so he just gave her a loving smile and started to walk so he would be in front of Sara and Grissom, and just as he took his second step, Stephanie spoke with emotion. "Dad." Sam looked at his daughter while Stephanie looked at him with more tears in her eyes. "I am sorry for what I said, and I promise I'll try to forgive you so we can put the past behind us, because I don't want to be angry anymore. I'm just going to need a little more time before I can start trusting you again, and believe me, I hope I can, I've missed our closeness."

He started to smile again. "Me too, and I'll wait for as long you need it."

Stephanie just nodded before turning her head so she could wipe a few tears off her cheeks while Sam turned his attention to Sara and Grissom, who were still holding hands, which that's where his attention went to first before he smirked. "Well, I guess things have changed a little since the last time I saw you two."

They both smiled shyly before Grissom spoke after clearing his throat. "Yes sir, they have."

With him not technically in the family anymore, Grissom felt like he had to be more formal, but Sam chuckled as he shook his head. "None of that formal talk, Gilbert, it's Sam, please." After Grissom nodded, he continued with a little more sincerity. "I am truly happy for you guys. I wish you nothing but joy and happiness, and a word of advice, if it means anything coming from me, cherish your time together, don't take it for granted, even the small moments."

They took that advice to heart while Sara nodded with a smile. "Thank you, not only for your words, but for paying our way to be here."

"No problem, anything to make my girls feel comfortable on being here."

He figured that was one of the reasons Stephanie asked if they could come, so he didn't hesitate on accepting, and not wanting anybody to worry about the expenses, knowing their money could go towards something that is more important than traveling fees, he wanted to pay for them as well, which he knew Stephanie probably thought he did it to get back into her good graces, but really it was all about comfort for them.

He smiled at them all before asking. "Baggage claim?"

They all nodded before the group started walking towards it, and as they were walking, Michelle did most of the talking, wanting to fill in her father as much as she could that hadn't been covered over the phone since the last time they talked.

Driving to the house wasn't as uncomfortable as most of them thought it would be, and once he pulled into the driveway to the two story, 7 bedroom, 4 bath, 2 garage, house, which also included a pool in the backyard, surrounded by a nice pool deck, and a half basketball court at the side of the house, they all looked at it in amazement as they got out of the vehicle, even Michelle said. "Wow."

After they got their bags from the back of the vehicle, they walked up the walkway before Sam opened the front door, where he was practically 'attacked' by his two sons, 4 year old Cameron and 2 year old Max, whom both looked a lot like their mother with blond hair and blue eyes. He smiled at his little guys and picked them up, then kissed their cheeks before looking at his daughters, feeling his heart skip a beat because all of his kids were in the same area for the first time since Max was a few months old.

The girls smiled at their half-brothers, but before they could say anything, Cameron spoke towards Stephanie with his arms held out to her. "Stephy, hug."

Stephanie looked surprised as she looked at her father. "He knows me?"

She had only seen him a few times when he was a lot younger because most of the times when her father would come to California for his visits it was usually just him since he didn't want time taken away from his time with the girls.

"Of course he knows you, you're his oldest sister, so obviously I talk about you to him, he even sees your picture everyday, almost everywhere he looks."

She finally noticed the walls and there were multiple family photos hanging on them, and some were of her and Michelle, so least they weren't out sight out of mind, and that did help her feel a little better.

Her thoughts get interrupted when Cameron became more urgent. "Stephy, Hug, pease!"

Stephanie smiled as she placed her bags down before taking a few steps towards her father and picked up the little boy, and once she got a good look at him, without all that hurt and anger towards her father blocking her view, she could finally feel something towards her younger brother, and it made her heart swell. And while he had more of his mother's looks, there was no denying on who his father was...their father.

She started to smile as she talked. "Well, hi little man, it's been awhile and I'm sorry about that. Maybe we can start closing the gap on how long it takes to see one another, what do you think of that?"

"Yeah!"

They all chuckled, and after a few more words, he wanted Michelle, so Stephanie passed him off to her sister before moving so she was eye level to Max, and she gave him a smile, which he smiled in return before tuning his head in shyness, causing Stephanie to chuckle while she placed a hand on his back. "It's ok buddy. I'll get to know you through the week, and maybe you won't be so shy when we see one another again."

Before Sam could speak, another voice came through the room, and it was the voice of the boys mom/Stephanie and Michelle's stepmom.

"I'm sure he would like that."

Everybody's attention turned to the beautiful 30 year old, blond haired, blue eyed woman, who was also around average height and average weight as she continued. "And I'm glad you came." She looked at the others with smiles. "All of you."

Like with the boys, Stephanie has only seen this woman, Jessica, a few times, mostly because she didn't want to get in the way when it came to her husband spending time with his daughters, knowing she wasn't going to be the Grissom's favorite person if she came along with him, which was why she didn't hesitate when Sam asked if she would mind if they came here this time around. She really did want to get to know them better, outside of the stories her husband shared when they were younger, even though she knew it wasn't going to be easy, especially where Stephanie was concerned.

Stephanie just nodded, while the rest of them said thank you, and after a short pause, which they got admit it was somewhat awkward, Sam smiled as he walked towards his wife. "Now, how about I show you around the house?"

Everybody agreed, and after Sam passed Max off to her, he picked up Cameron, who came running towards him the minute Michelle had placed him back down on the hardware floor, before showing them the downstairs, which included the kitchen, dinning room, a medium sized family den with a full bathroom attached, and an office that had a half bath.

They then went outside in the back, and the teenagers were impressed with the good sized yard and pool that had a deck around it and a roof above it, before they headed upstairs, stopping at the first bedroom.

Sam gets a smile on his face, like he knew a secret, while he spoke. "Now this is Michelle's room."

He opened the door a second later, causing Michelle to gasp as she walked into the room in amazement. "This looks exactly like the room I have at home." She looked around before her eyes reached her father's. "Thank you, daddy."

"You're welcome, honey."

He looked at his oldest, and she was a little shocked. "How did you know?"

"When it came to decorating yours and your sister's rooms, I called your mom."

"Wow, that couldn't have been easy on either of you."

He sets down Cameron, who immediately went towards his room as Sam continued. "No it wasn't, more so your mother I'm sure, but she wanted to do this for you girls." While Sara and Grissom stayed in Michelle's room, Sam and Stephanie moved across the hall before he opened the door, and just like with Michelle's room, this room 'screamed' Stephanie. It looked picture perfect to the one she had at her mom's, well outside of the fact that here she had her own room, not that she hadn't loved sharing a room with Sara the last few years, but she almost forgot what it was like to have her own room.

She sighed as she walked in the room. "And why did you..."

He cuts her off with a smile. "Go through all of this trouble, not knowing if this was going to be the only time you'll be here? Because when you are here, I want to you to not only feel comfortable, but to know you have a place to stay if you want it. When we were looking for a new house, I was adamant we get one with two more bedrooms than what we had before, for you and Michelle, and Jessica was fully on board."

She sighed again as she walked towards her dresser with her bags. "I know what you were trying to do there."

"Well, it's the truth, so I'm trying to be honest here, she wants you here as much as I do, and even though I know it's not easy, thank you for trying."

Stephanie took a moment before she turned around and spoke with emotion, tears going down her cheeks. "Dad, why did you do it? Did you really stop loving mom?"

Sam walked into the room the minute he saw her tears and cupped her cheek before speaking the truth after taking a breath. "What you'll learn growing up, is that sometimes in life things don't always go as you planned, and while I did love your mom very much, it did end up changing to a different kind of love, which yes it does happen and I wish I can tell you it doesn't, but that's the side of fairy tales they don't tell you about. Some couples just don't get that happy ending, and I know she didn't deserve to be hurt like that, if I could go back I would be more upfront with how I was feeling instead of taking the cowards way out. But know that I am very thankful for the time I did get with her, because she gave me two of the best gifts of my life. "

Stephanie took a breath, letting what he said sink in before she replied softly. "Thank you for being honest with me, even if it's 7 years later."

He nodded, and had the sudden urge to bring her in his arms for a hug, but once again, he backed off as he cleared his throat. "I'll give you a few moments, then we can discuss what we want to do for dinner."

She nodded in return as he turned around and started to walk towards the door, but then stopped when he heard her voice. "Dad." He then turned around just in time to see her walking up him before he was surprised when she wrapped her arms around him for a hug, causing his whole body to feel relieved that he finally gets to hug his oldest daughter, his oldest child.

As he wrapped his arms around her, she continued softly. "This is a thank you for what you have done. Plus, I really wanted a hug from my father, it's been too long."

He smiled while whispering in return. "You're very welcome."

He kissed her head before they pulled back, and after a small smile between them, he turned and walked out of his daughter's room and headed for his son's room so he could take him downstairs with him, which he saw Sara and Grissom interacting him that made him smile. "Hey, everything good in here, I see he found two new playing partners."

Grissom smiled before asking. "I hope it's ok that we..."

Sam cuts him with a smile as he walked into the room so he could pick up his son. "Of course Gilbert, I may not be your family by marriage anymore, but I still see you as a part of mine, so if anytime you want to be around the boys, go for it, I'm sure they would enjoy your company." Grissom nodded with a smile, and as him and Sara were standing up, he looked at Sara and finished. "Same with you, I know we don't know each very well, and I'm sure I haven't painted the best picture in your eyes from what you do know about me, but I know how special you are to Maria and Stephanie." He then smirked as he looked at Grissom. "Not to mention changing this guy's attention away from the bugs."

They chuckled before Sara spoke with a smile as she slipped her fingers through her boyfriend's. "Oh, it's still there, but I happen to find it very cute."

Grissom shyly smiled while Sam chuckled again before he nodded and replied with sincerity. "You better hold on to her, she sounds like a keeper."

Grissom nodded with a smile on his face as he squeezed her hand while looking at her. "Yeah she is, and I'm going to try my hardest."

As Sam watched those two interact, it made him think of how him and Maria was when they were around that age, and admittedly it did send a pang in his heart as he thought about the past.

He then cleared his throat before speaking again. "Now, if you'll come with me before we go downstairs."

With curiosity, Sara and Grissom followed Sam out of the room before they headed to another room, and as he opened it, he looked at them and continued. "Now, I hope you I can trust you two sharing a bedroom." They shyly smiled while Sam finished with a smile. "But if it's not something you can do, there is a hideaway bed in the den room, or I'm sure Stephanie will welcome either one of you into her room."

After they stepped in the room, they saw a queen sized bed, two night stands, a nice dresser, a sliding door closet, and a TV. Then they looked at him and both said thank you, and he nodded in return before walking out of the room to give them a little privacy.

Once they were alone, he raised an eyebrow. "So, you think we can handle sleeping in the same bed?"

She chuckled as she walked to the end of it and sat down. "It's not like we haven't done that before." He nodded with a smile as he sat down next to her, then she took his hand and shook her head. "And I think we can handle this just fine, because I wouldn't want to do anything here, even if I was ready, it would feel a little..."

He cuts her off with a head nod. "Weird, yeah I know what you mean, and I completely agree."

Later that evening

It was decided, and everybody agreed to it, that while Sam, Jessica, Stephanie and Michelle were out having dinner together, Sara and Grissom volunteered to stay at the house and watch the boys so the family could have a meal together without the added distraction of them, and surprisingly things went without a problem, and when it was time to put the boys down for bedtime, Cameron asked for a story, which Grissom was happy to do it, so he got the boy's favorite book, made sure he put on his glasses before reading to him.

After he was finished, he got up from the chair by the bed, walked up to the sleeping boy before fixing the blankets around him with a smile. "Sleep tight, little man."

While he was standing up straighter, he heard her voice, but was a little taken aback on what she said. "God, I love you."

He turned around instantly, seeing her shocked face that she had said that out-loud before walking away from the doorway, then as quietly as he could, he quickly got out of the room, turned the light out and cracked the door before searching for Sara, who was in the guest bedroom she was sharing with him.

She stopped her pacing and head shakes the minute she saw him standing in the doorway. "Griss, I..."

But he cuts her off with a serious look in his eyes. "You just said you loved me."

As she had watched the interaction between him and Cameron, ideas about their future had popped in her head, making her feel light and letting her guard down, which also meant saying something out-loud before she could stop it, and with the world 'I love you' on the tip of her tongue for weeks, it just finally came out.

Sara looked down, and he lifted her chin up once he was near her. "You just said you love me."

Not able to deny it was released, she finally nodded. "Yes, I did."

He started to smile at first, but then he shook his head and continued. "But love could be taken in many ways, you could love me in a platonic, non-romant..."

She cuts him off while she cupped his cheek with a smile. "You know which kind of love I feel for you."

He nodded, his heart racing with his eyes sparking. "I know, but I want to hear you say it."

She took a breath before replying with her heart racing. "Ok, Gilbert Arthur Grissom, I'm undeniably, head over heels in love with you, and have been for quite some time."

His face just lit up like he just got everything for his Birthday and Christmas all rolled up into one before he repeated. "You're in love with me."

She chuckled with a nod. "Yes I am."

They sighed as they place their foreheads together, and after a moment, she spoke again. "Now the only thing left to..."

He cuts her off after he pulls back so he could look into her eyes. "I'm in love you with you too, and I honestly couldn't remember a time when I wasn't."

Sara's eyes started to feel up with tears as she whispered. "I saw it in your eyes and felt it through your kisses, but to hear the actual words feels pretty freaking amazing."

He chuckled with a nod as he wiped the reaming tears off her cheek. "Yes it does, and now that those words have been released, I'll never stopping telling you how much I love you."

"I'll never get tired of hearing I love you."

She took his glasses off, then he whispered just before their lips touched in a passionate kiss. "And when the right time comes, I'll never stop showing you how much I love you."

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. Stay safe. Find out what happens more in Texas.