Title: When it All Comes Crashing Down
Author: CSIphile/Stepf
Notes: No Joey in sight yet and I'll tell y'all it will be a little bit yet before everyone's favorite stalker/QB makes an appearance. I gotta give the geeks some time. I'm not that cruel. Yet. Heh.
And sorry guys I forgot to timeframe this for you in the first chapter. It picks up about 11 weeks after Fear ended. Right before thanksgiving. The next few chapters will help clear the time up for you I think.
Thanks: Thank you to those who have reviewed, I appreciate it to no end. Really. I was a bit nervous about this whole scenario, but it seems to be working so far. So thank you and keep it up, it keeps me writing.
"Grissom, I need to tell you something."
Clearing her throat, Sara sees the fear in his eyes; conversations started this way usually aren't good for him. "This is hard, really hard and I understand if you."
"Sara! What is it?"
"I'm pregnant," she says, and almost cringes waiting for his reaction.
Shocked by her words, he releases the light grasp he has on her arms and takes a small step back.
"You're..pregnant? Are you sure?" he asks. His tone indescribable to her, the look on his face is one of confusion.
"Yes, Gris. I'm sure. I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't." Her tone is tense, on the verge of defensive.
Grissom immediately picks up on her agitation and smiles at her. "Sorry, that was a stupid question. Come here." He grabs her gently by the hands and guides her into the living room, sitting them down on the couch.
"Grissom, you're scaring me." Sara looks at her lap and rubs her palms together, unsure what his next words will be. Before he can start to speak, however, her small voice cuts through the silence, "I know this is a shock to say the least, and we've never discussed having children.."
"Sara, before you continue. Yes, it's a shock, a huge one. This is a life altering event; I'm confused and unsure. I don't want to scare you, but I need some time to think. Can you understand that?" He asks and smoothes down some of her errant hairs.
Swallowing, Sara considers what he said, and recalls the hour she spent coming to terms with what this means for them. "Yeah, I can understand. I just.I need your support right now; I need you to tell me that everything will be ok. That WE will be ok."
"I can tell you right now that we will be ok, Sara. I love you and whatever decision we make will be the right one for us." Leaning back into the couch, he pulls her with him, so her back is pressed into his chest.
"Well that's the thing Gris. We don't have a choice; it's been made for us," she pauses briefly and takes a deep breath. "I'm thirteen weeks, Grissom."
If her telling him she was pregnant was a shock, this information stunned him. "I'm sorry? You're over three months along?"
"Yeah, I called my doctors office; they gave me a general idea. I have an appointment tomorrow at noon." Sara is surprised when Grissom's strong arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into his warm body.
"Well then, I suppose I don't have much to think about do I? We're going to be parents in 6 months." His tone is light, but underlying that she can hear some apprehension.
"Grissom, that's really not the problem though. We can be parents and not be together, we can be parents together and hate each other. I don't want that to happen, but I don't want to force you into something."
"Sara, before you told me about this I asked you to move in with me. That's a commitment, one that I am serious about. You aren't forcing me into something."
He stops talking briefly before whispering in her ear, "And I could never hate you, never."
"No. But you could grow to resent me and this baby."
"Sara, are you trying to push me away from you? Because it won't work, I am here for you, no matter what. It's not just your baby, I am half that child's genetic code."
He pulls her tighter into him, trying to picture in his head what a fetus about 13 weeks gestation looks like. "God Sara, what's inside you, what we made, it's incredible. Yes, it's something I never expected and something that I was perfectly happy without, but now that I know I will be a father, the idea isn't as terrifying as I imagined."
She turns in place and looks at him, seeing no signs of him humoring her; he is serious.
"Doesn't this terrify you in the least? Cause it does me. I have not one clue what to do with a baby, how to raise one, anything. A baby is something other people have, not me."
"Oh I'm scared, Sara, don't get me wrong there. But no parents know what they are doing at first."
"But Grissom, come on. This kid is so screwed with us as parents. Two anti- social workaholics who would rather read up on the latest in DNA analysis than..how to deal with your newborn or.whatever!"
"Your newborns.whatever?" he questions, laughing lightly at her expression of confusion.
"See the problem here Grissom? I don't even know what questions to ask." She gives him a small frown of frustration.
"Sara, its ok. We can learn, we may be workaholics, but we are also highly intelligent people who can learn. I think Catherine may be a valuable asset at this point."
"Holy shit, Grissom: work. I hadn't even considered that."
"Let's not ok? Why don't we eat and get some sleep and discuss more later, after your doctor's appointment tomorrow. For now we keep this to ourselves."
"Grissom, I love you, you know that. But this will change us forever."
"I know that, Sara. You are the only person I would have considered having my child. I never wanted or had one because you the right person wasn't in the picture. You're the right person. It might take some time adjusting to the idea, but maybe it's a good change." He kisses the top of her head, a small smile escaping his lips. Every word he said was true, somehow the idea of Sara having his baby was a pleasant one, even if unexpected and unplanned.
He looks over at her for what seems like the hundredth time that morning. Taking in her form, still slim, her body shows no signs of what is going on inside. He thinks back and tries to remember if she had any of the symptoms of early pregnancy. She had been extremely tired for a while and he recalls her being nauseous a few times, but never actually sick. Both symptoms he had attributed to the pain medication and exhaustion. Watching her pour two cups of coffee Grissom almost laughs out loud when Sara brings her mug to her lips and upon tasting the bitter liquid, scrunches her nose and sighs loudly.
"I probably can't drink coffee. Can I?" She turns to him and narrows her eyes at his wide smile. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. No you probably can't, but I doubt one cup will hurt." He continues to smile at her, his eyes unconsciously moving to her stomach.
Sara watches in silence as his eyes roam down, relieved that he seems to be happy about the baby. Grissom again tries to picture his son or daughter but can't seem to get it right. He has no clue what a human fetus looks like at this age, he knows approximately what has developed, there are fingers and toes, the brain has started to form connections. Ask him the gestational stages of a bowfly or a Dendroctus Tetrebans, that he can tell you without thinking. The size and weight of a human baby is a mystery to him. When she turns from him to pour her coffee in the sink, his concentration is broken.
"Well regardless, I'll wait until I see the doctor tomorrow. I'm going to sleep a few hours before work. You coming?" She waits as he nods and walks into the bedroom, quickly stripping off her clothes and getting in bed in just her underwear. He follows and as their usual custom he curls up behind her, pulling her a little more tightly into his body than usual.
"Gris?" her voice comes out of the dark, somewhat shaky.
"Yeah?"
"You sure about this? I mean, I guess I was expecting a different reaction."
"Like what?" He leans in and kisses her exposed neck, sending shivers down her back.
"I don't really know I guess. We had never discussed this.ever and I assumed that children were just not in the picture. With our jobs, lifestyle, and admit it Grissom, 46 isn't the optimal age to start a family. I suppose I was expecting you to be more hesitant maybe, confused, concerned, hell.pissed even. But you accepted it, why?"
"Sara I was surprised and shocked. But because its you." Is all he says and she nods slightly, understanding. If she had told this to anyone else, all of those emotions and feelings would have applied. Since it was Grissom, however, it was a whole different ball game.
Arriving at work that night, Grissom tries not to be overly protective and territorial, but even the best intentions often fall short. Grabbing the assignments, he quickly realizes they are all majors, not one minor to give Sara. Without even realizing it Grissom had assumed that Sara would take only the minor cases; it wasn't even conscious thought, it was instinct.
"Ok guys, two homicides tonight. Catherine and Warrick, take the one in Henderson. Nicky and I will take the one at MGM."
With that he hands out the sheets, not noticing the strange looks from his colleagues. Catherine snaps her gum loudly to get his attention.
"What?"
Nick watches as Sara shoots Grissom daggers from the other side of the table. He's not sure exactly what's going on, but Nick's positive that he doesn't want to be there when it all breaks down. He looks back and forth between the two, Grissom still oblivious and focused on Catherine, Sara giving him a hard look.
"Hello.I am here tonight. Or have you forgotten already we drove in together?" Sara finally speaks, her voice tight.
"Sorry, Sara. I need you to dig up information on our vic. Here's the name, get everything you can."
"You want me to WHAT? Why am I not going to the crime scene?" The others watch in amused fascination as Grissom backs up as Sara stands.
"Because I need you here," he states, simply refusing to acknowledge to her, or himself for that matter, why he's keeping her out of the field.
"Oh no. You are not pulling that with me Gris. I have always gone to scenes with you before I do research. Why." She stops mid-sentence and her eyes narrow to small slits, the brown and black almost indistinguishable from each other. "You chauvinistic." Before she can continue, he cuts her off with a hand in the air.
"How about if we discuss this elsewhere?" He asks and grasps her upper arm, carefully leading her into the empty hallway.
Warrick and Catherine briefly glance at each other before settling both their curious gazes on Nick.
"Why y'all looking at me like that? I don't know., he says and raises his hands.
The three turn to look at the couple still standing the hallway, it doesn't appear that much headway has been made. Sara is gesturing wildly, with Grissom trying his best to calm her.
"Sara. I'm sorry, I should have known better. I just don't want anything to happen to you or." He looks around to be sure no one is in earshot before continuing. ".or the baby."
She sighs before speaking, bringing her anger into check. He is only trying, however misguided, to protect her. "Grissom, we will be fine. Today is no different then yesterday regarding this job. I'll avoid anything I think may do harm and I doubt luminol will hurt me. I've been working while pregnant until now; the only difference is that now I know."
"But that's just it Sara, you need to be more careful, and if you have come in contact with something you shouldn't have, do you want to make it worse? Plus, I am sure Holly Gribbs thought it was another night on the job too."
Shaking her head, she touches his arm lightly. "Gris it's fine, I'll always go out with someone, ok? And as for chemicals, the damage is done. There's nothing we can do about it now, but I'll be more cautious. Besides, if I suddenly stop going to scenes, don't you think a certain three colleagues will get suspicious? Tomorrow I'll ask the doctor."
"Ok, you're with me and Nick then. And not so long from now, they are going to know anyway, you aren't going to be able to hide for long."
He smiles and reaches out to touch her belly, but pulls his hand back just short of its destination.
Catherine watches Sara and Grissom as the boys talk loudly about the upcoming Lions' Thanksgiving game. Only catching a word here or there, she watches as Sara and Grissom seem to sort our their differences. Something is decidedly different about the two, they have never gotten into it like that at work before, at least not in the open. Putting it out of her head for the moment she turns to Warrick and taps him on the shoulder.
"C'mon, we have a scene to get to."
"Yeah, ok Cath. Talk to you later, Nick."
He punches the younger man lightly on the shoulder and follows Catherine into the hall, nodding at Grissom and Sara as he walks past, noticing that they seem to have resolved their issue.
Warrick takes a few long strides and easily catches Catherine who appears to be lost in thought.
"Any idea what that was about?" he asks and hooks a thumb over his shoulder.
"No, I have no idea." She responds without looking, a small grin on her face.
tbc..........
Author: CSIphile/Stepf
Notes: No Joey in sight yet and I'll tell y'all it will be a little bit yet before everyone's favorite stalker/QB makes an appearance. I gotta give the geeks some time. I'm not that cruel. Yet. Heh.
And sorry guys I forgot to timeframe this for you in the first chapter. It picks up about 11 weeks after Fear ended. Right before thanksgiving. The next few chapters will help clear the time up for you I think.
Thanks: Thank you to those who have reviewed, I appreciate it to no end. Really. I was a bit nervous about this whole scenario, but it seems to be working so far. So thank you and keep it up, it keeps me writing.
"Grissom, I need to tell you something."
Clearing her throat, Sara sees the fear in his eyes; conversations started this way usually aren't good for him. "This is hard, really hard and I understand if you."
"Sara! What is it?"
"I'm pregnant," she says, and almost cringes waiting for his reaction.
Shocked by her words, he releases the light grasp he has on her arms and takes a small step back.
"You're..pregnant? Are you sure?" he asks. His tone indescribable to her, the look on his face is one of confusion.
"Yes, Gris. I'm sure. I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't." Her tone is tense, on the verge of defensive.
Grissom immediately picks up on her agitation and smiles at her. "Sorry, that was a stupid question. Come here." He grabs her gently by the hands and guides her into the living room, sitting them down on the couch.
"Grissom, you're scaring me." Sara looks at her lap and rubs her palms together, unsure what his next words will be. Before he can start to speak, however, her small voice cuts through the silence, "I know this is a shock to say the least, and we've never discussed having children.."
"Sara, before you continue. Yes, it's a shock, a huge one. This is a life altering event; I'm confused and unsure. I don't want to scare you, but I need some time to think. Can you understand that?" He asks and smoothes down some of her errant hairs.
Swallowing, Sara considers what he said, and recalls the hour she spent coming to terms with what this means for them. "Yeah, I can understand. I just.I need your support right now; I need you to tell me that everything will be ok. That WE will be ok."
"I can tell you right now that we will be ok, Sara. I love you and whatever decision we make will be the right one for us." Leaning back into the couch, he pulls her with him, so her back is pressed into his chest.
"Well that's the thing Gris. We don't have a choice; it's been made for us," she pauses briefly and takes a deep breath. "I'm thirteen weeks, Grissom."
If her telling him she was pregnant was a shock, this information stunned him. "I'm sorry? You're over three months along?"
"Yeah, I called my doctors office; they gave me a general idea. I have an appointment tomorrow at noon." Sara is surprised when Grissom's strong arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into his warm body.
"Well then, I suppose I don't have much to think about do I? We're going to be parents in 6 months." His tone is light, but underlying that she can hear some apprehension.
"Grissom, that's really not the problem though. We can be parents and not be together, we can be parents together and hate each other. I don't want that to happen, but I don't want to force you into something."
"Sara, before you told me about this I asked you to move in with me. That's a commitment, one that I am serious about. You aren't forcing me into something."
He stops talking briefly before whispering in her ear, "And I could never hate you, never."
"No. But you could grow to resent me and this baby."
"Sara, are you trying to push me away from you? Because it won't work, I am here for you, no matter what. It's not just your baby, I am half that child's genetic code."
He pulls her tighter into him, trying to picture in his head what a fetus about 13 weeks gestation looks like. "God Sara, what's inside you, what we made, it's incredible. Yes, it's something I never expected and something that I was perfectly happy without, but now that I know I will be a father, the idea isn't as terrifying as I imagined."
She turns in place and looks at him, seeing no signs of him humoring her; he is serious.
"Doesn't this terrify you in the least? Cause it does me. I have not one clue what to do with a baby, how to raise one, anything. A baby is something other people have, not me."
"Oh I'm scared, Sara, don't get me wrong there. But no parents know what they are doing at first."
"But Grissom, come on. This kid is so screwed with us as parents. Two anti- social workaholics who would rather read up on the latest in DNA analysis than..how to deal with your newborn or.whatever!"
"Your newborns.whatever?" he questions, laughing lightly at her expression of confusion.
"See the problem here Grissom? I don't even know what questions to ask." She gives him a small frown of frustration.
"Sara, its ok. We can learn, we may be workaholics, but we are also highly intelligent people who can learn. I think Catherine may be a valuable asset at this point."
"Holy shit, Grissom: work. I hadn't even considered that."
"Let's not ok? Why don't we eat and get some sleep and discuss more later, after your doctor's appointment tomorrow. For now we keep this to ourselves."
"Grissom, I love you, you know that. But this will change us forever."
"I know that, Sara. You are the only person I would have considered having my child. I never wanted or had one because you the right person wasn't in the picture. You're the right person. It might take some time adjusting to the idea, but maybe it's a good change." He kisses the top of her head, a small smile escaping his lips. Every word he said was true, somehow the idea of Sara having his baby was a pleasant one, even if unexpected and unplanned.
He looks over at her for what seems like the hundredth time that morning. Taking in her form, still slim, her body shows no signs of what is going on inside. He thinks back and tries to remember if she had any of the symptoms of early pregnancy. She had been extremely tired for a while and he recalls her being nauseous a few times, but never actually sick. Both symptoms he had attributed to the pain medication and exhaustion. Watching her pour two cups of coffee Grissom almost laughs out loud when Sara brings her mug to her lips and upon tasting the bitter liquid, scrunches her nose and sighs loudly.
"I probably can't drink coffee. Can I?" She turns to him and narrows her eyes at his wide smile. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. No you probably can't, but I doubt one cup will hurt." He continues to smile at her, his eyes unconsciously moving to her stomach.
Sara watches in silence as his eyes roam down, relieved that he seems to be happy about the baby. Grissom again tries to picture his son or daughter but can't seem to get it right. He has no clue what a human fetus looks like at this age, he knows approximately what has developed, there are fingers and toes, the brain has started to form connections. Ask him the gestational stages of a bowfly or a Dendroctus Tetrebans, that he can tell you without thinking. The size and weight of a human baby is a mystery to him. When she turns from him to pour her coffee in the sink, his concentration is broken.
"Well regardless, I'll wait until I see the doctor tomorrow. I'm going to sleep a few hours before work. You coming?" She waits as he nods and walks into the bedroom, quickly stripping off her clothes and getting in bed in just her underwear. He follows and as their usual custom he curls up behind her, pulling her a little more tightly into his body than usual.
"Gris?" her voice comes out of the dark, somewhat shaky.
"Yeah?"
"You sure about this? I mean, I guess I was expecting a different reaction."
"Like what?" He leans in and kisses her exposed neck, sending shivers down her back.
"I don't really know I guess. We had never discussed this.ever and I assumed that children were just not in the picture. With our jobs, lifestyle, and admit it Grissom, 46 isn't the optimal age to start a family. I suppose I was expecting you to be more hesitant maybe, confused, concerned, hell.pissed even. But you accepted it, why?"
"Sara I was surprised and shocked. But because its you." Is all he says and she nods slightly, understanding. If she had told this to anyone else, all of those emotions and feelings would have applied. Since it was Grissom, however, it was a whole different ball game.
Arriving at work that night, Grissom tries not to be overly protective and territorial, but even the best intentions often fall short. Grabbing the assignments, he quickly realizes they are all majors, not one minor to give Sara. Without even realizing it Grissom had assumed that Sara would take only the minor cases; it wasn't even conscious thought, it was instinct.
"Ok guys, two homicides tonight. Catherine and Warrick, take the one in Henderson. Nicky and I will take the one at MGM."
With that he hands out the sheets, not noticing the strange looks from his colleagues. Catherine snaps her gum loudly to get his attention.
"What?"
Nick watches as Sara shoots Grissom daggers from the other side of the table. He's not sure exactly what's going on, but Nick's positive that he doesn't want to be there when it all breaks down. He looks back and forth between the two, Grissom still oblivious and focused on Catherine, Sara giving him a hard look.
"Hello.I am here tonight. Or have you forgotten already we drove in together?" Sara finally speaks, her voice tight.
"Sorry, Sara. I need you to dig up information on our vic. Here's the name, get everything you can."
"You want me to WHAT? Why am I not going to the crime scene?" The others watch in amused fascination as Grissom backs up as Sara stands.
"Because I need you here," he states, simply refusing to acknowledge to her, or himself for that matter, why he's keeping her out of the field.
"Oh no. You are not pulling that with me Gris. I have always gone to scenes with you before I do research. Why." She stops mid-sentence and her eyes narrow to small slits, the brown and black almost indistinguishable from each other. "You chauvinistic." Before she can continue, he cuts her off with a hand in the air.
"How about if we discuss this elsewhere?" He asks and grasps her upper arm, carefully leading her into the empty hallway.
Warrick and Catherine briefly glance at each other before settling both their curious gazes on Nick.
"Why y'all looking at me like that? I don't know., he says and raises his hands.
The three turn to look at the couple still standing the hallway, it doesn't appear that much headway has been made. Sara is gesturing wildly, with Grissom trying his best to calm her.
"Sara. I'm sorry, I should have known better. I just don't want anything to happen to you or." He looks around to be sure no one is in earshot before continuing. ".or the baby."
She sighs before speaking, bringing her anger into check. He is only trying, however misguided, to protect her. "Grissom, we will be fine. Today is no different then yesterday regarding this job. I'll avoid anything I think may do harm and I doubt luminol will hurt me. I've been working while pregnant until now; the only difference is that now I know."
"But that's just it Sara, you need to be more careful, and if you have come in contact with something you shouldn't have, do you want to make it worse? Plus, I am sure Holly Gribbs thought it was another night on the job too."
Shaking her head, she touches his arm lightly. "Gris it's fine, I'll always go out with someone, ok? And as for chemicals, the damage is done. There's nothing we can do about it now, but I'll be more cautious. Besides, if I suddenly stop going to scenes, don't you think a certain three colleagues will get suspicious? Tomorrow I'll ask the doctor."
"Ok, you're with me and Nick then. And not so long from now, they are going to know anyway, you aren't going to be able to hide for long."
He smiles and reaches out to touch her belly, but pulls his hand back just short of its destination.
Catherine watches Sara and Grissom as the boys talk loudly about the upcoming Lions' Thanksgiving game. Only catching a word here or there, she watches as Sara and Grissom seem to sort our their differences. Something is decidedly different about the two, they have never gotten into it like that at work before, at least not in the open. Putting it out of her head for the moment she turns to Warrick and taps him on the shoulder.
"C'mon, we have a scene to get to."
"Yeah, ok Cath. Talk to you later, Nick."
He punches the younger man lightly on the shoulder and follows Catherine into the hall, nodding at Grissom and Sara as he walks past, noticing that they seem to have resolved their issue.
Warrick takes a few long strides and easily catches Catherine who appears to be lost in thought.
"Any idea what that was about?" he asks and hooks a thumb over his shoulder.
"No, I have no idea." She responds without looking, a small grin on her face.
tbc..........