AN: Thank you for the continued support, here is the next chapter, and a special appearance from an original CSI.

Chapter 12: A celebration interrupted

June 22, 2009

With it being Arthur's 8th birthday, they decided to have the party at the beach house, which was used for occasions like this, and while Sara was surrounded by the kids, that included three of Arthur's friends, some of Grissom's cousins, her mother-in-law, her best friends, and that also included a rare appearance from Sara's college roommate for two years, Lea, who was a traveling photographer after she realized college life just wasn't for her, and their significant others, Grissom was heading to the airport to pick up the sisters.

He had been there no longer than 10 minutes when he saw Hailey, Kim, Dennis and Leon walking into the airport, and when Leon saw him, he smiled as he rushed towards him. "Uncle Grissom!"

Grissom smiled bright and gave his nephew a big hug before pulling back and shaking his head. "Wow, you are sure getting big little man."

The young man shyly smiled before he continued. "And guess what?"

"What?"

"Mom is going to let me play baseball next year."

"That's cool, maybe we can find time to play catch while you are here."

Leon nodded with another smile, happy about that idea, before Grissom's attention turned to the women and Dennis.

First he gives Hailey a hug while they said hello, then after they pulled back, he moved in front of Kim, smiled a little wider and said. "Congratulations."

Kim smiled brightly with a nod before she brings her brother-in-law in a hug. "Thank you, brother."

Two months ago, during one of Sara's conversations with her sister, Kim announced, after years of trying, her and Dennis were finally pregnant with their first child.

Once they pulled back, Grissom smiled at Dennis and held out his hand. "Congratulations."

Dennis nodded with a smile as he shook his brother-in-law's hand. "Thanks, man."

After they release hands, Grissom looked over at Hailey and asked. "So, are we still waiting for someone else, or..."

Hailey nodded her head with a smile. "Yeah, he should be here in about 20 minutes."

It turned out the guy she had met in Hawaii turned into a true connection, but with their dedication to their jobs and the distance between them, the majority of their relationship has been through video chatting and phone calls with two scheduled visits with him going to Florida both times, so wanting to spend more time with him, Hailey asked her new boyfriend if he wanted to come to LA to meet the family formally, and he accepted, wanting to also spend time with her and Leon.

Grissom nodded in understanding. "Then lead the way."

She nodded before the small group headed towards another part of the airport.

20 minutes later

The plane, which was from Las Vegas, had arrived and the passengers started coming into the airport, then when Hailey saw a man that was Caucasian, around Sara's age, 5'll, a slim yet athletic body type with brown eyes and short brown hair, she smiled and started rushing up to met him, and while they were sharing a hug and kiss, Grissom looked at Leon, who had watched the scene before looking down at the floor, so Grissom kneeled down and spoke to the young boy. "Are you ok?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah, I guess it's just weird for me, and don't get me wrong, I want my mom to be happy again, but I can't stop thinking, he's not..."

Grissom cuts him off with an understanding tone. "Your father."

Hailey's college boyfriend during her Junior year, which was also his Junior year, turned out to be a longer relationship than either one had expected, thinking when they first started out that it was only a casual thing because they weren't really sure about something long term, but like some romances, they ended up falling hard for one another, and at the end of their senior year they got married, then a year later their son was born. Unfortunately, their happily ever after didn't last because when Leon was five, his father died unexpectedly, breaking his mother's heart like he had never seen before, like no one had seen before.

Leon nodded again with a sigh as he looked into his uncle's caring blue eyes. "I mean it feels like I barely knew him before he died, but I still miss him, is that weird?"

Grissom shook his head with a smile. "Not at all, and remember, he'll always be right here." He placed his hand on his nephew's chest where his heart was, Leon nodded with a small smile as Grissom finished. "And you still got pictures and stories about him. Believe me, I know it's hard losing a dad, especially at a young age, but I say you give this other man a chance, you may never know what can happen, if you don't."

Leon nodded. "I know, I'll try, if anything for my mom, because I don't want to see her sad anymore."

Grissom smiled with a nod. "There is my brave nephew."

Leon smiled in return, and as Grissom stood up, Hailey was walking towards them with her boyfriend, then she smiled as she first introduced him to Kim and Dennis, which they did acknowledge they sort of met when everybody was in Hawaii, but it had been very brief and right before that scary moment with Sara and the babies. Then she said while waving Leon over to them. "You remember my son, Leon."

The man kneeled down and smiled at the young boy before talking in a Texan accent. "Hi Leon, it is nice to see you again."

Leon nodded with a small smile. "It's nice to see you again too."

The man nodded with another smile before he stood up, then he became face to face with Grissom, and for a brief moment they felt like they just had a déjà vu moment before Hailey finished the introductions. "And Nick, this is my brother-in-law Dr. Gilbert..."

Nick cuts her off with a smile, knowing that name. "Grissom." Grissom raised an eyebrow as the other man continued. "An expert entomologists, who is also a CSI. You did a two day seminar in San Diego last year."

"Yeah, I did."

Nick then held out his hand. "Nick Stokes, CSI level III at the Las Vegas Crime lab, I was there."

There was a lot of people at that seminar so he couldn't place him in the crowd, but he still had a strange sense of knowing him.

He mentally shook it off a second later before he took Nick's hand. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you, but it is nice to meet you."

Nick nodded with a smile. "You too."

Hailey then smirked. "Well this is certainly a small world."

After they all chuckled, they headed for the exit of the airport.

A few hours later

When it was time for cake, Sara, who was close to the end of her pregnancy, walked into the kitchen, which had been remolded a few years ago (Really the whole house got remolded once they saved up enough money), to give it a more modern look with all the expensive appliances.

Grissom walked in a moment later and watched her put the candles on the cake. "I can't believe our little boy is 8 years old today."

Sara nodded with a smile. "I know, it feels like it was just yesterday he was placed in my arms."

Flashback

June 22, 2001

Once baby boy Grissom was out into the world, he was crying the whole time, even while the nurses were cleaning, measuring and weighing him, and he only stopped when he was in his mother's arms and heard her soft, emotional voice. "I know it can be a little scary out here, little boy, but you're ok, your mommy and daddy are going to do everything we can to keep you safe, you can bet on that."

Grissom, who had been by her side the whole time, like he was the first, smiled with tears in his eyes, seeing his son for the first time. "You got that right little man, and you can't do much better than your mom when it comes to protection, I promise you that."

She smiled before whispering, like he was telling him a secret, even though Grissom could hear her. "Your father isn't so bad himself, he just won't admit it."

They looked at one another a second later, their eyes filled with so much love in them, for themselves and the perfect baby they created out of that love.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly before whispering against her skin. "I love you."

She sniffled. "I love you too."

Before they could turn their attention back to their little one, the head nurse walked up to the bed and asked with a smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt this moment, but do you have a name for this little one?"

Sara nodded with a smile. "Yeah, Arthur William Grissom."

The head nurse nodded with the smile still on her face as she wrote it down and walked away.

Sara then looked at Grissom, was looked a little shocked. "I hope that's..."

Grissom cuts her off with another soft kiss, this time to the lips, before he whispered with emotion. "That's more than ok, but you didn't..."

"I wanted to, I wanted to honor both of you. I may have not known your father, but I know how much he meant to you and your mother, I still see the love in both of your eyes when you talk about him, and that's how much you and our son mean to me."

After one more kiss they turned their attention back to their son, thankful they get the opportunity to be actual parents this time.

End of Flashback

Grissom kissed her temple before she spoke again. "And while you're in here, that Nick guy that Hailey is seeing, was it just me or did you..."

Grissom cuts her off with a nod. "Feel a certain way about him, like we met before, yeah, I did." He reached for a chip and shrugged his shoulders. "I mean he did say he was at the seminar I did in San Diego last year, but I couldn't pick him out of the crowd."

"It just felt a little spooky."

Grissom nodded, then smirked while she lit the candles. "I'm just glad your sister saw him first."

Sara chuckled before she cupped his cheek. "Like there would be anybody else, Dr. Grissom."

"And that's always good to hear, Mrs. Grissom."

They leaned toward one another and kissed softly before she spoke after clearing her throat. "Ok, let's get this cake out there before a riot is on our hands."

Grissom chuckled as he slid his hands under the cardboard the cake was on before lifting it up, then he followed Sara out on the back deck, placing the cake down on the main table.

"OK everybody, it's cake time."

The boys came rushing to the table, and once they sat down, everybody's attention went to the birthday boy as they all sang happy birthday.

After they finished the song, Sara spoke with tears in her eyes while looking at her little man. "Happy Birthday, honey."

With his bright blue eyes sparkling, Arthur nodded with a smile. "Thank you, mommy."

She then cleared her throat and asked him what piece of cake he wanted, which of course he wanted the middle one, but it was his birthday, so what he wanted was what he got.

Once the cake was eaten, it was time for him to open presents, but halfway during his present opening, Sara quietly excused herself and headed back inside the house. Grissom, who was hyperaware of his wife's movements, especially this close to delivery, also quietly made it inside the house before seeing his wife with her hand on the kitchen counter while she was breathing heavily with her eyes closed.

He rushed up to her and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Honey, what's wrong?" She tried shaking her head, wanting to hide what was going on but the next contraction went right through her body, hard, causing her knees to practically buckle. Grissom acted quickly and held on to her before she could crumble to the floor. "We need to go to the hospital."

Sara shook her head with tears in her eyes, not only because of what she was going through but because of the timing. "It's our son's birthday, this is his day...I..."

Another contraction hit, stopping her words, and once she was calm again, Grissom kissed her temple before replying softly. "I know how you feel, honey, I feel it too, but this pregnancy is a risky one, and I rather be safe at the hospital now than wait until there is more urgency, just in case."

Sara nodded as a tear went down her cheek, not wanting to miss out on her son's day but also not wanting to risk the lives of their precious girls.
"I know." She took another deep breath before continuing. "Ok, but I don't want to ruin his fun, let's not put everybody in a frenzy. Just tell Melissa and Kim what's going on, they'll tell everybody else at the right time."

"OK. You going to be alright for a minute?"

After she reassured him, he headed back outside and quietly told Melissa and Kim what was going on, which they reassured him they got everything handled here, he walked back inside, made sure he had his cell phone and car keys before helping Sara to the vehicle, where her to-go bag was already packed and in the trunk of the vehicle, then they headed for the hospital.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review.

*I hope you liked that little Nick appearance, I just couldn't help it. It felt like it has been forever since I wrote any of the original CSI's into any of my stories, and I kind of missed them. :)