Stayin' With You Chapter Seven: A Baby Changes Everything

Sara felt her son move around within her very pregnant belly. She smiled and put a hand on her large belly. She couldn't wait to see him. Every night she imagined what her son will look like. She hoped that the baby had her nose, Grissom's hair, his eyes, and her vitality. She knew that the baby would be intelligent. She read to him almost everyday, and she played different styles of music for him. His name would be Joseph Michael Grissom. Sara liked that name.

Her cravings were odd, to say the least. She had a strange obsession with mustard and had to have almost all of her dinners with mustard in some way or another. She asked Catherine if it was normal or not, but Catherine's views of normal were slightly altered as well due to her pregnancy. Catherine preferred Hershey's chocolate fudge on everything; even a Subway sandwich. Another thing Sara craved was Mexican food. She would eat anything but burritos. Grissom was frequently taking her out to On the Villa Mexican Restaurant.

Sara chuckled as she stared at her belly. She wondered how something so little could cause such big changes. Sara never thought she'd be as big as she was. She felt disgusting, but Grissom insisted that she looked beautiful…biggest lie she'd ever heard. For that little stunt he pulled, she threw a bottle of body soap at him and locked him out of the bedroom for two days.

Catherine was too excited about her pregnancy to be moody. It was a big shock to everyone when she told them, but they were happy nonetheless. As Sara was entering her seventh month, Catherine was entering her fourth. Sara secretly envied Catherine because Catherine was a pretty pregnant woman. Sara looked rough, and she was exhausted. She couldn't wait to get her son out of her body.

Sara struggled to get out of bed. When she finally sat up, she was out of breath. For Sara having such a tiny frame-her pre-pregnancy size was a six and a half-she was having quite a large baby. People were surprised at how big Sara had gotten.

"Pretty soon, I'll get to see your tiny little face, and have you out of my body," Sara said. She felt like she was in a remake of "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers".

Sara slathered on mustard when she made a sandwich at two in the morning; a liver cheese sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mustard, cheese, and pickles. It was the best thing she ever tasted, and she knew that she would never eat it again after she had the baby.

***

"OH MY GOOOOOD!" Sara screamed in pain Grissom sped through traffic trying to get Sara to Desert Palm Hospital. "GIL! SLOW DOWN!"

"I can't honey," he said nervously. "Just breathe. Remember what you learned in lamas class!"

Sara did her breathing, but the pain kept coming. "HURRY UP! DON'T SLOW DOWN NOW YOU BASTARD!"

Grissom was shocked at the insult. He just looked at her through the rearview mirror. She had been possessed by the devil. Labor pains will do that to a woman. Sara was a different woman. She would bring down the entire hospital, kill every doctor. Kill him.

"I'm going to die," Grissom said to himself.

"OH GOD! DRIVE FASTER!" Sara yelled. "SHIIIT!"

"Honey, just breathe, we've all just gotta breathe," he said as he pulled into the ER driveway.

Grissom jumped out and opened the door for her. Sara hit him.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" She yelled.

After what seemed like forever, Sara was settled into a delivery room.

Sara was breathing as hard as she could to keep from screaming. Grissom was at her side. He offered a hand and she gripped it tightly.

"Ow, ow, it hurts," Sara cried.

"I know baby, but you just have to keep breathing," Grissom said. "You can do this Sara. I love you so much."

"I love you too Gil," Sara said breathlessly.

After another few hours, Sara was ready to push.

"Come on Sara, push, push, push," Dr. Thetson commanded. "Good girl."

Sara was pushing as hard as she could. The pain was overwhelming, and her body was exhausted.

"I can't, I'm tired," Sara said breathlessly. "I can't push."

"Yes you can Sara," Grissom whispered in her ear. "The baby's coming."

"Sara, you can push, okay? You have to bear down real hard to get the head out," the doctor explained. "Ready? Take a deep breath…and push."

Sara braced her herself and pushed with all she had. She closed her eyes and focused on pushing. She wanted this baby out of her body.

"OH GOD," she choked out as she pushed. She was sweaty and her hair was matted to her forehead and neck.

"Good!" The doctor commended. "You're doing a great job Sara. Just a few more pushes and you'll get to see your baby. Take a deep breath and push hard…"

She grabbed the sheets with one hand and Grissom's hand tighter with the other.

"Keep pushing, keep pushing," the doctor said. "Come on Sara, you can do this. Push harder."

"Honey, the baby's almost out," Grissom said. "It's right there. Just one more big push. You can do it Sara."

Sara pushed with all the strength she had left. "GOD! GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!"

Finally, she heard her baby boy cry.

"It's a boy!" The doctor sounded.

Sara cried hysterically. "Oh my God," she cried. "He's perfect."

Grissom kissed her as she held their newborn son. Sara cried harder as she held her baby. The baby she had carried in her body for nine months was finally in her arms.

"He's beautiful," Sara said with the brightest smile. "He's got your eyes."

"I love you," Grissom said. "I love you both."

He kissed his son's forehead before going to tell their closest friends.

Catherine was eating, as usual, Warrick was reading a magazine, and Nick was watching television. When they spotted Grissom, they were all anxious to hear what the sex of the baby was, since they kept it a secret from them.

"We have a healthy baby boy," Grissom announced.

"Congratulations," Nick said. "What's his name?"

"Joseph Michael," Grissom answered.

"I'm happy for you," Warrick said as he shook Grissom's hand.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're going to be a great dad, Gil," Catherine said as she hugged him, but not too tightly because of her belly.

"Thank you," he said. He placed his hands on her belly. "This little one's not too far off."

"I know," Catherine said, smiling. "Go, go back to Sara."

"Okay," Grissom said excitedly. "Thanks."

When he came back, the doctors were cleaning Sara up. The nurses weighed the baby.

"Little Joseph Michael weighs seven pounds, ten ounces, and he's nineteen inches long," she said as she handed Grissom his son. "Congratulations."

Grissom cradled his son as he sat down in the chair near the window. Sara smiled as she saw the interaction between Joseph and his father. She knew that life would never be the same.