Sorry this chapter took so long to write. I lost interest for a while, but once I got started, this chapter came pretty quickly.
A month had passed, and both Beth and Greg had returned to work. Beth was the only one who would talk of the incident, but she would only do so if asked. Greg and Grissom chose not talk of the incident at all, except with each other or with Beth, and they only did that on rare occasions. Nick, Sara, Catherine, and Jim didn't ask them about what had happened that night because they didn't want to be responsible for bringing up unwanted memories. They were satisfied with the knowledge they gathered from the brief case file regarding the incident.
Beth and Greg dealt with the incident and its repercussions in different ways. Beth chose to accept what had happened and move on with her life, while Greg suppressed his feelings and locked them in a place deep within his heart. He felt that if he ignored the whole thing, it wouldn't bother him. But it did. Every time he looked at Beth, he was reminded of what happened. If he somehow managed to forget for one moment, he would be reminded once again when he watched her walk; for, although both of them had been injured, she had been left with the more visible scars. The bullet had been left in her leg, and as a result, she was left with a limp, one that was not horribly obvious, but one that could be detected by anyone who watched her carefully. And whenever there was a drastic change in the barometric pressure, she would feel it in her leg. There would be a dull aching pain that left her exhausted and in desperate need of Advil. Greg often wished that he could somehow take her pain upon himself. He had been relatively lucky. He had been shot in the shoulder, and with a little bit of physical therapy, he had regained the full use of his shoulder. Other than the scar, there was no physical evidence of the incident on his body. He had a very difficult time dealing with his fiancée's injury, constantly feeling that he should have been better able to protect her. But he buried these feelings. And the longer he kept them hidden, the more they weighed him down. His eyes had lost the luster that they once had, and his eccentricities became less eccentric. Everyone noticed that Greg had changed, but the only person who would talk to him about it was Beth, and she knew that he needed his time and space for a while. So Greg was left alone to deal with his thoughts and feelings in his own time.
Beth handled the incident in a vastly different manner than Greg. She did not ignore her feelings like Greg did. She would often talk to Grissom, not wanting to weigh Greg down anymore than he already was. Grissom would listen to her and would supply her with encouragement and advice when she needed it. Since she had decided to deal with her feelings, she quickly rebounded from the incident, and her life returned to a relatively normal state. One thing bothered her no matter how hard she tried to deal with it, and that was when strangers asked her about her limp. She had a hard time telling complete strangers that she had nearly died when a madman shot her and her best friend, so she created a story. Her story usually involved an intense softball game where she had slid into home plate only to come into contact with the catcher's unmoving leg. She would explain how the impact had broken her leg and left her with the limp. She never failed to mention that she was safe at the plate and that her run was the winning run. Her sense of humor had survived the ordeal unscathed, and she quickly resumed her never ending pursuit of laughter.
Grissom didn't really change much. The walls that he had built up before the nightmarish ordeal remained intact, only they had stretched to encompass the pain and anguish that he felt whenever his mind wandered back to what Rayford Steele had done to Beth and Greg. Whenever Beth came in to share her thoughts with him, his investigator instincts would be switched off and he would show a sympathy and a compassion that few others had ever seen. Sometimes, his walls would crack and he would share some of his mental anguish with her, but that did not happen often. He tried to keep to himself as much as possible, and in that respect, he remained unchanged by the incident.
It had been a little under two months since the couple had returned to work, and a little under three months since the incident in Grissom's townhouse, and everyone had returned to normal, Greg included. He had finally opened up to Beth and everyone in the lab knew it. His eccentricities came back with a vengeance and his eyes had more life in them than ever before. But on this special day, what had happened that dreadful night and the repercussions of the incident were the last things on anyone's mind.
Grissom parked his Tahoe in the small parking lot adjacent to the chapel. Catherine had needed a ride and Grissom was more the happy to drive her, so the two of them sat in silence before the chapel.
"Gil, what are you feeling right now?"
"Honestly? I feel nervous. I actually feel like I have butterflies in my stomach. And I'm not really sure why."
"I know why. It's because you care for these guys and you want only the best for them. Well, you can rest easy. If any man and woman were meant to be together forever, it would be Beth and Greg."
"Yeah, you're right." Grissom let out a heavy sigh, and opened his door. He felt uncomfortable in his suit and tie, but he wanted to look his best.
Catherine was dressed in a light blue cocktail dress with matching heels. She exited the Tahoe and walked over to Grissom. Adjusting his tie, she said, "Don't worry. I know it will be a beautiful ceremony and everything will be perfect." Grissom smiled, and Catherine knew it was a genuine smile. She took his arm as he led her into the chapel.
When they entered the pristine building, they were seated by one of the ushers. The young man led them to the third row from the front, where they were seated with Brass. The three of them chatted idly until the ceremony started.
Greg was among the first to enter. Grissom half-expected him to be wearing slacks and a Hawaiian print shirt, and was quite surprised to find the young man wearing a very sharp black tuxedo. Grissom was also surprised to see Greg's infamous water molecule tie decorating the front of his tux. He didn't think Beth would let him wear it. He let out a subtle cough to cover his laugh. As Grissom observed the ecstatic young man, he noticed that his hair had actually been styled. It had been tamed and gelled forward. Grissom watched as Greg twitched his hands nervously and finally ran one of his hands through his hair. Greg apparently realized that he had just ruined his nice hair, but he soon decided that his usual hairstyle was better. He quickly ran both hands through his hair numerous times until his trademark spiky hair was back. He then looked toward the people seated in the pews and pointed to his hair, asking the question, "What do you guys think?" People started to laugh, and Greg had officially broken the ice. Nerves were settled and everyone prepared to watch a beautiful wedding.
When the laughter had died down, the wedding party entered with Sara as one of the bridesmaids and Nick and Warrick being among the groomsmen. The three of them looked very nice in their respective attire, and they were all smiling, knowing that they had been right all along; Beth and Greg were finally getting married.
The music changed and everyone arose from their seats. The sounds of shuffling feet were abundant as everyone in the chapel turned to see the bride make her entrance. Beth entered slowly and Grissom couldn't see her behind all of the people straining to see. When Beth finally neared the front of the chapel, Grissom found that he had been holding his breath since she entered. He slowly let out a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. He couldn't have been more jittery if this was his own daughter's wedding. But Grissom didn't have any children and despite his nerves, he was very happy to see Beth and Greg finally getting married.
When Beth approached the altar, Grissom caught his first good look at her. She was wearing a stunning pearl white dress with a train that stretched out beautifully behind her. Grissom smiled at what he found decorating the lower right portion of the front of Beth's dress. He found nothing other than a water molecule to match the one on Greg's tie. Grissom smiled as he pictured Beth and Greg conspiring to match the symbols. Upon continuing his observations, Grissom could see that her hair had been curled and it framed her face very nicely. Tears began to form in his eyes as he watched the beautiful couple gaze into each other's eyes.
After everyone was seated, the ceremony began. As anticipated, the wedding proceeded beautifully. The minister spoke eloquently, the music was played beautifully, and the vows were said with love and commitment behind every word. Finally, the rings were exchanged and the minister spoke. "You may now kiss the bride." Greg seized the moment. He lifted the veil and leaned forward to kiss Beth. Suddenly, he placed his arm her around her waist and dipped her down low. He did notinitiate the kiss; instead she threw her arm around his neck and drew him in for a quick yet passionate kiss. He gracefully returned her to her standing position and the ceremony proceeded. "Ladies and gentlemen, I now pronounce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Sanders." A great applause arose from the people seated in the pews. Grissom was the first to rise, and everyone followed suit, congratulating the young couple on their marriage.
Beth and Greg walked down the aisle, hand in hand, and headed outside to take their pictures with the wedding party. Grissom couldn't help but notice how happy and beautiful Beth and Greg were. He watched them make their exit and he found himself evaluating his own life. Did he miss his chance to be that happy? Probably, but he wouldn't let that bother him, at least not now. Now was Beth and Greg's time, and he was very happy for them. The time finally came for his row to exit the chapel sanctuary and head downstairs for the reception. And as he headed down the stairs with Catherine by his side, he finally realized how good life really was.