AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 9: Andrew?

August 24, 2032

Andrew was cooking dinner when there was a knock on the door, so he walked up to it and opened it while smiling. "Hey."

Isabella smiled in return, then right as she stepped in the apartment, her stomach started to churn, so she rushed towards his bathroom, slamming the door behind her, while he looked a little shocked on what just happened.

A few moments later, she came out of the bathroom, walked back into the doorway of the kitchen and asked. "What are you cooking?"

"Vegetarian burgers."

While Isabella classified herself as a vegetarian, like her mother, she wasn't a full blown one like her, she's been known to eat a few meat meals like her father and siblings, although they have been also known to eat a few vegetarian meals from time to time themselves. And even though Andrew was more of meat eater himself, he wasn't a stranger on trying different types of foods.

When he saw that look on her face, he said in surprise. "Why, what's wrong? When do you not like vegetarian burgers?" He then smirked a second later. "What are you, pregnant?"

When he noticed she looked a little more tense and looked down, he gasped as he turned off the stove. "Holy..." He walked up to her, took her hand before walking them towards the couch and sat them down before he asked softly. "It's true?"

Not able to hide this from him, and frankly didn't want to anymore, she nodded. "Yeah."

"Your parents know?"

"Yeah, I had a little scare last week." When he looked concerned, she reassured him. "We are both ok."

He sighed in relief, then he smiled. "A baby? Wow, how are you feeling about it?"

She took a breath then smirked. "Well, besides spending more time in the bathroom than I like from being sick, ok I guess."

"And your parents?"

"I think they are still in shock. This isn't the ideal situation they wanted for their daughter." Andrew nodded in understanding while Isabella continued with tears in her eyes, overwhelmed by her parents support. "But they did say I could move back home, they want to help me out."

There was a short pause before Andrew spoke again. "What if you had a different living option?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if you lived here with me."

Isabella looked at him wide-eyed with a gasp. "Andrew, I can't..."

He cuts her off. "Why not? There is an extra bedroom, I have plenty of space..."

She cuts him off. "I don't even have a job, I can't pay rent right now, and I won't let you..."

He cuts her off one more time. "Then you can pay me back until you do."

When his grandparents died, they left all their grandkids (Emily included) money, some even went to the Grissom family and the other extended family members who were close to their families, and while Andrew couldn't get into until he turned 21, his parents did allow him to take some of it out for an apartment and to keep him afloat until he found a good part time job while he was going to school.

She sniffled while shaking her head. "Why would you do this?"

He smiled as he placed his hand on hers. "Because you're my best friend, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, you know that, right?"

"I do know that, but this too much, a baby will cry all hours of the night, you won't be able to host parties like you've wanted to, which was one of the reasons why you chose to go with an apartment rather than staying in the dorms, you..."

He cuts her off again. "I don't care about any of that, I want to be there for you and that little one, I want to help anyway that I can."

There was a slight pause before she asked. "Are you sure?"

He nodded with a smile. "I am."

She took a breath. "Ok, but you're coming with me to tell them."

He looked at her wide-eyed. "Me?"

She chuckled with a nod. "It was your idea. Now you got to convince this little one's grandparents that their grandchild will be in a good environment."

He shook his head with a smirk. "Uh, maybe I changed my mind."

Isabella chuckled again. "Oh come on, they aren't that bad."

"Are you kidding me? If I hadn't known you my whole life I probably still be shaking while knocking on the door to ask if I could hang out with you. They can be very intimidating."

Very sincerely, she replied. "Only when they truly want to be. They are just fiercely protective of their family, the people they love." As he nodded, she stood up and continued. "Well, come one."

"What? Right now?"

She shrugged like it was no big deal. "Why not? Why wait to do something when you can do it now."

He took a breath and nodded as he stood up. "I guess you have a point there."

After taking care of the food items in the kitchen, they walked out of his apartment, then when they got down to the parking lot and they stopped next to the Grissom's minivan, he looked a little shocked. "No bike?"

She placed her hand on her stomach while replying. "I have precious cargo with me now, so no bike for me. Besides, do you honestly think my parents would let me get on one now?"

He chuckled as they got in, then he spoke while shaking his head. "Considering they weren't thrilled when you got on one yourself in the first place, that would probably be a triple no while hiding your keys."

She chuckled with a nod. "No doubt about it."

She started the vehicle before taking them towards her parent's place.

When they made it to the Grissom household, which Sara and Grissom were currently the only ones there since Katie went out with a few friends, it was a group effort cooking dinner, and this happens sometimes, especially since the kids had gotten older, but usually Grissom liked to use the kitchen himself.

Once everything was made, they sat down to eat, and about halfway through the meal, Isabella looked at Andrew and cleared her throat, so he nodded before setting his fork on his plate and speaking. "Mr & Mrs. Grissom."

Before Andrew could continue, Grissom spoke with a smirk. "Oh no, this is something serious."

Andrew smiled nervously as he asked. "Why do you say that?"

"Usually it's aunt & uncle, it's been a long time since you, or any of the extended 'kid' family members ever addressed us as Mr. & Mrs."

Grissom's wish of becoming 'Uncle Gil' again came true, now the next generation, while their weren't many, at least ones who could talk yet, has continued the tradition.

Andrew nodded after a short pause before continuing. "I guess in a way it is." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "I want to help Isabella out. I know that she's pregnant."

Both Sara and Grissom looked at the two of them in shock before Sara asked. "You do?"

Although, if they really thought about it, they really shouldn't have, considering how close they've always been, so it was very believable that he would be one of the first people she would have told.

Isabella was giving them a shy look as Andrew nodded with confidence. "I do, and I want to provide your daughter and grandchild with a roof over their heads."

Before any one in the kitchen could speak, they weren't expecting another voice outside if it.

In the doorway, they hear a gasp before Katie's voice, which was in a very shocked tone. "You're pregnant!? And you're the father!?"

Then she ran out of the room, and headed outside, while Andrew stood up quickly and shook his head as Sara and Grissom looked more shocked than after his request. "Whoa, I swear I'm not the father, that's not what this is about."
He then looked at Isabella and asked, pleading even. "Tell them please, so they can stop looking at me like they want to bury me alive in a hidden location?"

When her parents looked at her, now with a very curious look on their faces, Isabella shook her head with a smile. "No, Andrew is not the father." Andrew and Isabella looked at one another and she continued with the smile still on her face. "We've only been best friends, we've never crossed that line, any line for that matter."

Andrew nodded with a smile before looking at the Grissoms and clearing his throat. "Now, if you'll excuse me for a second." He then rushed out of the room and headed outside, while the rest of them looked around the table, once again in shock on what his action meant.

Once Andrew stopped in front of the swing set the Grissom family still had up for the younger generation when they came over, he spoke towards Katie as she was looking away from him. "Katie, I swear to you I am not the father of Isabella's baby. Nothing like that has ever happened between us." He paused for a second before finishing with sincerity, finally telling her how he truly felt about her. "Besides, do you think if I ever went there with her I could have a chance with you? Do you honestly think I would risk that?"

Katie looked into his eyes briefly before shaking her head. "I don't think so, but then why did you offer her a place to live?"

He ran his hand through his hair and spoke his truth. "Because she's my best friend, and I want to help her out. But Katie, I swear that's all..."

Katie stood up from the swing set and shook her head again. "I'm sorry, I can't do this right now. I need some time/space." She then looked at him and finished softly. "And I think you need some time to think who you really want to be with."

Before Andrew could say anything else, Katie had rushed past him and headed inside the house and up to her room.

He sighed when he could no longer see her, and just as he was about to sit down in the swing she had just gotten up from, he hears Grissom's voice behind him. "Katie, huh?"

Andrew stood up straight, turned around and replied with his eyes wide. "Nothing has happened with her, sir. I just, I..."

Grissom cuts him off. "I believe you. Now why don't you take a breath before you pass out." He nodded before doing just that while Grissom continued. "But, it seems you got yourself in a situation here. You want to help one sister out while date the other one."

He sighed again, feeling a little frustrated now since he thought he was doing a good thing. "What is so wrong with me wanting to help my best friend?"

"Nothing, in fact I respect you more for wanting to help her when you're not even the father, but what I'm curious and most concerned about is this really a best friend act? Or is there something more behind it?" Grissom walked up closer to him and continued, more in a serious tone. "I see how much both of my daughters look up to you, and while I see how much you care about the both of them, I'm not going to stand by and watch you play with their hearts. I think you need to spend some time to think things through."

Andrew nodded in understanding before speaking softly. "So, you're saying no to everything?"

"Living with you is ultimately up to Isabella, I trust her to make a decision that is best for her and her child, and frankly having you an official member of the family isn't that bad of an idea, one I wouldn't be opposed to (Andrew smiled warmly at that), but not at the expense of one of my daughters getting hurt."

"I understand sir, I would never intentionally hurt either of them, your daughters are two of the most special women I've ever met."

Grissom nodded with a proud smile. "I know that, they get that from their mother." Andrew smiled with a nod, seeing why he would stay that, then Grissom spoke again after clearing his throat. "Now, why don't you let the sisters speak while you go visit your parents, I'm sure they would like that."

After another nod, Andrew turned around, and as he started walking towards the part of the fence that had a gate, something they put in when him and his parents moved next door so it was quicker to go to each other's houses, Grissom spoke again. "And Andrew?" The young man turned to look at him again while the older man continued sincerely. "Thank you for being that best friend that both of my daughters can count on. I just hope it continues, because unofficially or officially, you are a part of this family, and I don't want that to change."

Andrew smiled wider. "Me neither, Uncle Gil."

Grissom smiled a little wider in return before Andrew continued on his way, so he could visit with his parents.

Later that evening

When Andrew made it back to the Grissom household, him and Isabella left the house so she could take him back to his apartment, and when she pulled close to the entrance of the complex building, she looked over at Andrew and asked with shock. "My sister, really?"

He chuckled with a nod. "Sometime between the tutoring lessons and really hanging out without the rest of the family/friends around, I don't know, something started happening. I wasn't seeing her as my best friend's sister anymore, or even just a friend of the family. She was starting to become something more to me."

She could see how serious he was, so she nodded before she sighed. "She told me she was starting to feel the same way towards you, but she wanted you to think things through."

Andrew nodded with a sigh before looking at her. "And maybe she's right." Isabella looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he continued with a smile. "I mean, not only did your sister say it, but your father as well." He then smirked. "And when are they ever wrong?"

Isabella chuckled while shaking her head. "There aren't many things they get wrong." Then she gets a little more serious. "But maybe they're wrong about this, because all we are is best friends, right? I mean that's all we've ever been, all we'll ever be."

"But how do we know that for sure, we've never explored it."

"Andrew..."

He cuts her off. "Listen, I think the only way I'll ever get a shot at being with your sister is if we can say definitively that nothing more than friendship is between us, and if it means going to a place we've never been to see if that's true and to wipe away any doubt out of her head, then I want to do it."

"I understand what you're saying." Then she spoke softly. "I just don't want to lose you, especially now, our friendship is everything to me."

He shook his head with a smile. "It's everything to me too, and you won't, as long as we are being completely honest with each other."

There was a small pause before she nodded with a smile in return. "Ok, say that we do 'explore' this, and there is something more between us?"

He took a breath before replying. "We'll cross that bridge if/when we have to."

Isabella nodded again, she would do anything for her sister, even something she never thought she would do.
"Alright, I'm in, so what are we doing to test this?"

It didn't take Andrew long to figure it out. "How abut something classic, a dinner and a movie at my place?"

"Ok, just let me know when."

"Alright." As he unbuckled his seat belt, continued. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, and Andrew?" He looked at her before she continued. "Thank you for not asking."

Knowing what she was talking about, he nodded with a smile. "You'll tell me who when you're ready." He sighed as he finished. "Whoever he is just better be there for you when it really matters."

Isabella just nodded before they shared their goodnights and Andrew got out of the vehicle so he could get to his apartment.

As Sara and Grissom were getting under the covers in their bed, Sara asked. "So, what do you think about Isabella and our grandchild living with Andrew?"

He sighed. "Well, like I told Andrew, it is ultimately her choice, and while I do trust they'll be responsible, I hope they are deciding this under the right circumstance. I want our daughter and her little one to be in a stable/safe environment."

She nodded in agreement with tears in her eyes. "Oh, me too."

When Grissom saw the tears, he looked concerned as he turned and cupped her cheek. "Honey, What's wrong?"

She shook her head with a sniffle, not able to stop how she's feeling. "I'm just feeling a little emotional right now. Our babies are growing up with grown up problems, and I just want them all to be ok, Andrew included."

Grissom nodded with a smile as he wiped her tears away. "I know, and I have faith that it eventual will be, they'll figure it out, and if they need us they know where to find us." He continued while wiping the remaining tears off her cheeks. "You know the rainbow doesn't usually appear until after the storm is done."

Sara nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, I know."

After a pause, he gave a more wider smile. "You ok now?"

She took a breath with a nod. "Eventually, when I know my babies will be ok."

Grissom nodded in understanding, feeling the same way, before he leaned down and kissed her softly on the forehead, then when he pulled back and they looked into each other's eyes, that special spark that they share between one another, that more often times than not turns into something more in an instant, ignited, and with it being months since their last time, with Grissom needing to get back to full health and still in shock mood about their daughter, it happened before their lips even touched.

However, before things got too passionate, he pulled back and shook his head. "I'm sorry, honey, but..."

She cuts him off, both knowing that they never needed to explain why they weren't in that particular mood. "It's ok."

He gave her a smile with a nod, and after kissing her on the forehead again, he laid down on his side and held out his arms, wanting to cuddle with her.

She smiled softly with a nod before she turned her body so her back would be against his chest, and once she was settled, he kissed her head and whispered. "I love you."

She took a breath and whispered in return. "I love you too."

While he eventually fell asleep, Sara couldn't seem to settle her thoughts enough to fall asleep herself, because for the first time in her marriage with Grissom, she was beginning to feel that something wasn't right between them.

Yeah, they still had their cuddle times, which she was never opposed to, and their kissing never lacked the powerful feeling it has always been. But, when it came to going beyond that, he had been stopping things.

Now in the beginning she understood why things were lacking, he needed to get his health back to 100%, but now that he has it, her insecure feelings when it came to them as a couple, which she hadn't had them in years, were starting to come back, stronger than ever before.

She mentally shook her head again and did a small sigh, not needing this on top of everything else that was going on in this family, including the guilt she still feels, causing his arm to tighten a little around her waist, feeling like he needed to protect her, even in his sleep, making her smile with tears in her eyes.

Whatever was going on with him, she hopes they could fix it.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. Also, things are about to take a few painful turns for the family, so be prepared.

(Which I'm sorry about the timing of it all, when I know you all could use happy things to read. Also, try and stay safe out there)