AN: Here is the next chapter, I hope it is worth the wait. Warning: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior.
Chapter 22: Not going anywhere
When they heard a second gunshot, Nick practically lunged himself out of the vehicle, so Grissom slammed on his breaks, causing the babies to wake up and start crying again, then once the vehicle had stopped, Nick was out of the vehicle in an instant and he started running towards the entrance to the diner, where the swat team was already going.
But Nick didn't get too far because a police officer, who knew him, stopped him. "Sorry director Stokes but you can't go in there, it's not…."
Nick cuts him off in a panic. "My wife and unborn child are in there. My best friend is in there."
While sympathetic and understanding on what he is going through, the cop shook his head. "Believe me, I understand how your feeling sir, but I can't let you get…."
He was cut off when a couple members of the swat team had walked out with the suspect in cuffs as he was jerking around to try and get free while cussing at anybody and everybody he saw, so with the cop distracted, Nick took off running again and headed right in the diner.
The first thing his eyes immediately sees causes a slight sigh of relief because it wasn't his wife that had been shot but it was the ex-wife of the suspect.
He took another breath before he ran towards his wife, who was kneeling down, putting pressure on the gunshot wound in the other woman's stomach. "Sabrina!" She turned her head to look at him, giving him a look that told him she was fine, but didn't get to say anything because the paramedics had rushed in, moving people out of the way so they could do their jobs.
Nick then turned his head, trying to find Sara, which he did a second later, seeing she was holding her arm with a terrified/shocked look on her face, so he took a few steps towards her and asked. "Sara, you ok?"
She shook off the daze and looked at him with a nod and cleared her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He looked down at her arm and saw why she had the other hand over it, she was bleeding, so he gasped. "Sara! You were shot."
She gave him a comforting smile as she moved her hand away from the small wound and replied. "It's only a scratch."
Before he could say anything else, Sabrina spoke as she walked towards them. "Yeah, miss hero over here got to the shooter before he could do anymore damage."
Nick looked over at Sara and spoke sarcastically with a hint of fear for her. "It's nice to know the old Sara hadn't left."
Sara smirked. "What did you think, I was going to change completely now that things are different in my life." Even though she said that calmly, the inside of her was still a little frightened she did that, knowing who would be devastated if something had happened to her. But then she remembers why she did it in the first place and looked at Sabrina then at Nick and continued before either one could speak. "Besides, there was a little one to protect, a little baby Stokes-Westbrook."
They looked at her with shock for a moment before Sabrina spoke. "How did you know?"
Sara smiled with tears in her eyes. "I saw the signs all day, subtle sure, but there was just something different about you." She then moved towards Nick and gave him a hug, whispering with emotion. "Congratulations, Nick, I'm so proud of you."
Nick cleared his throat from the emotions he felt. "Thank you, not only for what you said, but for protecting them. I don't know what I would have done…."
He was cut off by Sabrina while him and Sara started pulling back from their hug. "But you don't have to think about that. We are ok."
He nodded while turning to his wife and cupped her cheek with one hand and with the other he placed it on her stomach before asking. "You're really ok?"
She nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yes, we are."
Their moment was interrupted when Sara asked. "How do you think Christy will be?"
Sabrina sighed as she looked at Sara. "She was stable, I'm hoping for the best, and she'll be in the best hands at the hospital (Her oldest brother works in the same hospital she's at) But it's not a sure thing she's going to pull through." Sara nodded in understanding before Sabrina spoke while looking at the wound on her arm. "You should get that looked at."
As she nodded a police officer walked up to them and started asking questions about what happened, which Sabrina took the lead, telling him that Sara needed to be checked out first before she told him her story, so the officer let her go.
When Sara finally walked out to of the diner, another paramedic walked up to her and asked if he could check her arm, which Sara agreed before she followed him to the back of the paramedic truck, where he asked her routine questions while treating her arm, confirming what Sara had said, it wasn't that bad, she got lucky.
Another few minutes went by when her eyes finally saw her husband, who was still standing at a distance by his vehicle, holding their twins in his arms, and when his eyes finally met hers, she started to tear up, fully letting everything that happened in that diner sink in, and even though she didn't regret the decision that she made, seeing the three most important people in her life and envisioning them having a life without her and what she could have missed had things gotten any worse in there really got to her.
She mentally shook her head as the paramedic finished wrapping her wound, then the second she was free to go, she took off running right to her family.
When she got there, Grissom's sight went right to her bandaged arm, and she cupped his cheek while speaking with emotion. "I'm ok. Believe me, it could have been a lot worse."
Before he could say anything, the twins started crying, hearing that was their mom's voice, so with tears in her eyes she looked at her two miracles. "Hey babies, mommy is here."
They cried even harder until Grissom had transferred them in their mother's arms, where she immediately kissed both of their heads and whispered how much she loved them, thankful this morning wasn't the last time she saw them, held them or kissed them.
About 15 minutes later, after Sara finally talked to the cop and they said goodbye to Sabrina and Nick, the Grissom family was finally heading home, which her hand didn't leave her husband's thigh the whole time.
When they made it home, Sara spent a little extra time with the twins, and when it was time to get them ready for bed, where they would usually alternate changing their diapers and getting them dressed for the night, Sara wanted to do it all, which Grissom didn't argue one bit, knowing she needed to do it.
Once they were changed and kissed goodnight by both parents, they were placed in their cribs then Sara and Grissom watched them fall asleep before heading to their room, and the moment they were alone with the door closed, Sara moved into her husband's arms so fast and started crying, finally letting it all out.
Grissom held on to his wife as solid as he could without hurting her as he comforted her, finally silently thanking god she was now safe and in his arms.
A few moments later, Sara sniffled and whispered. "I love you so much, you know that right?"
He pulled her back before cupping her cheek with a watery smile as he replied with emotion. "I do know that, and you know how much I love you?"
"Yes, I do." She then sniffled again as she continued. "And I'm sorry."
He looked at her with confusion. "For what?"
"For taking action, for…"
He cuts her with a smile but did sigh too. "And if you wouldn't have, you wouldn't be the woman I fell in love with. That's who you are, you act first and think later."
"But I know it drives you crazy."
He chuckled as he brings her closer to him again and placed his forehead to hers with his eyes closed. "Absolutely, but I wouldn't have you any other way."
She held him tighter before they took a moment to just soak up the feel of one another in silence, then she spoke again. "I know what I did could have put my life in even more danger than I already was, but all I thought about in that moment was what would have happened to Nick if he lost Sabrina and…."
She paused for a second to pull back so she could look into her husband's eyes, but before she could say it, he did it for her with a smile. "And their little one "
She looked mildly shocked. "You knew?"
He nodded with a small smile and sigh. "He was under distress, it just came out."
She nodded in understanding then couldn't help but smirk in return. "Just like when you blurted us out to the team 10 years ago." Instead of the reaction she wanted him to have, his eyes clouded with pain, and she shook her head as she cupped his cheek. "I'm sorry babe, wrong moment to bring that up. I'm sure today brought that other moment up full force."
He nodded, taking a deep breath. "It did, but as worried I was for myself, I think I was more worried for the twins, because I couldn't even imagine our children growing up without their beautiful mother." He paused while cupping her cheek, then continued with more emotion. "To watch them say their first words, especially 'mommy', their yearly school clothes shopping, especially for their first year, to see them grow and follow their dreams, fall in love, comforting them when they are hurting/heartbroken." He smiled as he continued. "To watch them fall in love again and again, until they found that perfect someone (She chuckled with a sniffle as he took another deep breath and finished) "To see them get married and become parents."
She sniffled one more time as she ran her thumb up and down his cheek and spoke with determination. "Well, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, and I will fight anybody who thinks they have other plans for me." She moved closer to him and whispered. "I'm here babe, I'm here."
He nodded as he moved towards her so they could meet in the middle, where they started kissing.
Once Nick and Sabrina made it home, she didn't waste time taking a shower, and the moment she was dressed and had walked out into the master bedroom, she was in Nick's arms, and they were both shaking with emotion.
After a few minutes, he pulls back and cups her cheek, speaking with emotion. "And you are sure you're ok?"
She nodded with a watery smile. "Yes, I'm ok, we both are."
He knows he already asked her that, a few times probably, but he just couldn't help it, then he brings her in his arms and whispered. "Thank God, because if I had lost you and our…"
She cuts him off, didn't even want to hear the end of that statement. "You didn't babe, we are now safe and sound, right here in your arms, right were we belong."
They pull back a moment later, looked into each other's eyes before they started kissing, then he picked her up and carried her to their bed.
After making it to and on the bed with their top layer of clothing off, Grissom pulls back and looks down at his wife.
She opens her eyes to see him looking at her before his eyes traveled to her arm that was bandaged.
He took a shuddering breath, and she moved her hand to his chin and brought his face back so he was looking at her again. She gives him a smile while speaking with love in her eyes. "Let's not think about that right now. I want, no need, my husband here with me, in this moment. Can you do that for me?"
He took a breath and nodded before going down to kiss her again, letting their love and passion carry them throughout the night, despite both of them working tomorrow.
Next Morning
When Sara woke up the next morning, she turned her head to see Grissom wide-awake with his head propped up in his hand while his thumb on his other hand was moving up and down on her bandage. Once their eyes met, he sighed and replied softly. "I hope I didn't wake you."
She shook her head with a smile. "No, you didn't. You ok?"
He moved his hand to cup her cheek and ran his thumb up and down it with another sigh. "I should be asking you that, but I know by now what your response will be."
She moved her hand to his that was on her cheek and took it while doing a small sigh before speaking again. "And it's the truth, you know how many times my life has been in danger before?"
He moved closer to her so he could wrap his arms around her and to lay his head next to hers to whisper in her ear. "Too many to count, especially after you came back to Vegas."
She nodded before continuing. "And I know it's different this time because it's not only you, but honestly, I'm really ok."
He nodded, knowing not to bring this subject up again, but he couldn't help but ask with a smirk. "So, no rethinking on going back to being a CSI, huh?"
She couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Is that what you think I would have done?"
"Maybe."
She moved a little and looked at him with a small frown and asked softly. "And rethinking this move, is that what you want me to do?"
He shook his head. "I want you to do whatever will make you happy, that's all I ever wanted, you know that. I just want to make sure it's still something you want to do, that you're going back to it in the right state of mind."
She nodded in understanding then she smiled as she replied, squeezing his hand lightly. "You know as long as I have been a CSI, it feels like I am just getting started. I want to go back, more than ever now. My personal life is filled with more joy and love than I ever thought possible, that I ever thought I could ever have. I just need that other part of me to fully feel complete for the first time in my life."
He believed her words, so he nodded with a smile in return, letting the subject drop. "Ok, then I guess I'll start breakfast now."
She chuckled before asking. "Is that what you were waiting on, to see if I was going in today?"
He smirked as he moved closer to her and whispered. "Yes, and as a matter of fact, if you had decided you weren't we could have done something else in bed other than breakfast."
She raised an eyebrow. "And what about your job? You still have to get ready for work, Professor Grissom."
He placed his lips against her neck and spoke against it. "Ah, the students would have been happy if I had called in late."
She chuckled again but was cut short when he moved his lips down to her shoulder as he moved so he was above her, then he traveled his lips back up, but before their lips could touch in an anticipated passionate kiss, her phone rings from her nightstand.
They would have ignored it, but the ringtone was Sabrina's, so they looked at one another in understanding before he moved back to his side of the bed while she turned her body to grab her phone and answered it. "Hi Sabrina, what can I do for you?"
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know my brother called this morning and said Christy is going to make it, a full recovery at that."
Sara sighed in relief before replying. "That's amazing, I'm so happy to hear that. Thank you for letting me know."
"You're welcome. I knew you were worried too. And I didn't say it last night, but thank you for what you did in there, it was very brave."
"It's ok. And I would do it again, I'll protect those I care and love."
"And that's what makes you a good friend. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, enjoy your day."
"I will. Bye, Sara."
"Bye, Sabrina."
After they hung up, Sara placed her phone back on her nightstand before turning to look at her husband with relief flooding in her eyes. "She's going to make it."
He also sighed in relief. "That's wonderful to hear. Now her two young kids won't have to grow-up without their mother."
She nodded as she moved closer to him and cupped his cheek, whispering. "Just like ours won't, I promise you that."
He nodded while moving closer to her so they could share a sweet kiss, and after pulling back, he moved to kiss her forehead and whispered against it. "I'll start making that breakfast. Should I plan to bring it in here or do you want to eat out there?"
"Out there. I'm getting up anyways to check on our babies."
"Ok."
He pulls back and they share on more kiss before he turns around in bed and gets out, reveling him in nothing but boxers as his wife watches him head to the bathroom first.
By the time he gets out, Sara was already up and standing in their twin's room, watching them sleep with a few tears in her eyes, happy she gets to still experience these moments, and many more with them.
AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. Thanks for the patience, I'll post another chapter when I can find the time. I hope you are all being safe out there.