Daisy

by TriplePirouette

GSR She has no idea what could have happened to her... Sara's unspoken words, '...what happened to me,' hanging thick in the air.

Title: Daisy

By: TriplePirouette

Category: GSR, angst

Spoilers: eh, not really...

Disclaimer: They're not mine- I'm a poor college student having fun... take pity...

Distribution: please ask first :)

Summary: GSR "She has no idea what could have happened to her..." Sara's unspoken words, '...what happened to me,' hanging thick in the air.

Author's Note- written off a plot bunny from Moo on the CSI Grissom and Sara list. Kinda AU, maybe a bit ooc... Thanks to Marlou and Kelly for the amazing beta and to Claire for her advice!

Feedback PLEASE at: TriplePirouettePhilehotmail.com I love anything constructive! Blatant flames, however, will be disregarded and used to roast s'mores....

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.
--George Bernard Shaw

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Grissom grasped her flailing wrists, gently pulling them down to her body and transferring both of them to one hand so his other could cradle her face. He pushed the hair off of her sweaty forehead and whispered gentle words to her. Slowly the painful moans turned to soft whimpers and the wrinkles retreated from her forehead. As her nightmare subsided, Sara reached out for his warmth though still in the deep clutches of sleep. Pulling her close, Grissom dropped a kiss in her hair. He hated these times.

So many times in the past he'd wondered why she never slept, and now he knew. Her rest was often disturbed by terrifying nightmares; some made her scream in her sleep, some made her lash out physically, and once he awoke to find her clinging to his arm, tears streaming down her face. So he held her and lulled her from them during these times, afternoon after afternoon when cases became difficult or on the days that nightmares from the past revisited.

She clung to him on these nights, his presence soothing and cathartic. Yet in the morning, she refused to discuss the horrors that haunted her sleep. Sometimes she'd tell him, especially if they recounted cases. But she was tightlipped about the worst ones, the ones where she would wake up screaming and trembling. While they had been coming less often now, it had seemed they had only gained intensity, and if nothing else they scared Grissom.

Sara snuggled closer into his arms, her skin clammy and pale, and if he could have enveloped her in himself he would have. Yes, he hated these times.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Nick strolled into the locker room to find Sara taping a new picture into her locker. "Hey Sara," he said as he strolled to his own locker.

"Hey Nicky," she said with a smile, pushing and smoothing the photograph to secure it into place.

"What's that?" Nick asked, curious as ever, and applying a bit of charm as he strolled over and peaked his head around her locker door. Sara swung it out, pointing at the newest picture in her collage.

"Daisy in the kindergarten talent show," She said. Nick smiled at the glossy of the young girl who looked like it could have been Sara so many years ago. In the picture Daisy was smiling (though it was gaping without her two front teeth) and posing for the camera.

"What did she do?" Nick asked as he watched Sara carefully slide the diamond off her left ring finger and reverently place it in the velvet ring box, pushing the box to the back corner of the top shelf of her locker.

"Mom said she sang a song. They're sending me a video soon," Sara smiled up at him, and then busied herself putting the rest of her things away in her locker. Nick used the time to steal a glance at the rest of her little gallery, marveling at the candids of her and Grissom, quite unsure of the last time he'd seen smiles that big on either of them. Sara cleared her throat, and he looked up sheepishly at her. She just smiled as he moved back to his locker, then quickly locked hers and made her way out of the locker room.

Nick smiled. They had all probably been as shocked as Sara was when they had first found out about Daisy. But now Sara's surprise sister, almost thirty years her junior, held a place of honor in the office's heart almost as much as Lindsey. Nick laughed to himself; the little bundle of energy had once visited the labs, her young, mischievous nature capturing everyone's hearts, especially Grissom's, and brought out the best in Sara. Nick closed his locker, convinced it was going to be a good day, and headed out to the break room.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"Slow night," Grissom announced as he met his team in the break room. "Nick, Warrick; 419 down town at the sports complex." He handed them the assignment slip.

"Dead basketball player?" Nick asked as he read the slip over.

"Yeah, Brass says suspicious circs, though, so give him a call. He didn't have time to elaborate." Grissom turned to the other side of the table. "Cath, Greg, how's the B and E?"

"Jacqui's got something for me on prints, and the rest of the evidence is still in trace," Catherine said, tapping her pen on the file in front of her. He turned to Greg, who was still beaming from his recent promotion to CSI level two.

"O'Reilly and I are chasing the statements and the paper trail, something's not adding up. Plus I'm still training Donald," The resounding groan in the room prompted Grissom to give a stern stare. Donald, the third DNA tech they've had since Greg officially became a part of the CSI night shift, was dull, quiet, and inexplicably slow with the tests. While they were all glad to have Greg as a CSI, it became more apparent day after day that they'd lost a treasure without Greg in the lab.

Grissom rolled his eyes and waited for the room to quiet. "Okay. Keep me updated. There's nothing else, so Sara and I are on call and doing paperwork." A resounding "ohhh," echoed through the room, like a chorus of third graders. Grissom and Sara just laughed it off. The addition of Greg, as well as Grissom and Sara's new found happiness, aided in the lightening of the mood of the night shift.

"Well?" Grissom asked, his eyebrows raising, "Anybody gonna work around here tonight?"

Everyone filed out of the room, laughing and happy. Grissom and Sara retreated to his office, smiling. With the door open, they sat across from each other and started to work through almost two weeks of paperwork backlog.

At half past midnight Sara's cell phone rang. "Sidle." She said as she scribbled her name on the form she was working on. Grissom watched from across the desk as a huge smile spread across her face. "Why didn't you say anything?" He stopped and just stared at her, watching the thoughts pass across her face as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, I guess..." She looked up at Grissom, her eyes meeting his.

"What?" he mouthed.

"My parents and Daisy are here. They flew in for an extended weekend because Daisy has off from school because of a teacher's conference. They're at their hotel- but it seems they lost the reservations and it's gonna take them some time to sort things out. They may have to go find another hotel and she doesn't want to be dragging Daisy around all night if that happens. She wants to know if Daisy can come here 'till the end of shift." She said, holding her hand over the phone's mouthpiece.

It was clear that she was torn; she knew it wasn't very appropriate for Daisy to be here while she was on duty; the last time they had just visited in the morning to say hi to the team. She also knew that if she asked Grissom, he would probably say yes, and that it could be seen as favoritism. They'd been plagued with the precariousness of their position at the lab, but had managed to find a decent balance.

Grissom scratched his beard, knowing that the position was a difficult one for all of them. "As long as she stays either in here or in the break room, and is supervised at all times, I don't see how it would be a problem..." he mused out loud. Sara looked at him hopefully, raising her eyebrows. "Sure," he added with a smile, "Besides, I haven't seen her in a while."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

The door opened and Grissom stood, anticipating Daisy to run in as she usually did. Instead, Sara crept around the corner with her sister sleeping soundly in her arms. Grissom smiled, and moved around the desk to help her lay the girl onto his couch. "She barely made it past security before passing out," Sara whispered as she squatted down by her side, pulling off Daisy's tiny shoes and handing them to Grissom to place down on the floor as she moved her sister so she looked more comfortable.

She stood, and as she watched Daisy settle in Sara felt Grissom wrap his arms around her from behind, leaning his head on her shoulder in a moment of pure domestic bliss. She sighed, pushing back into his arms for this moment, and enjoyed the emotions coursing through her. While she and Grissom had never expressly said that they'd wanted children, they hadn't really discussed it, either. She felt a yearning deep in her stomach; she almost wished that this was their daughter instead of her sister. She pulled his arms tighter around her and nuzzled into his neck, knowing that if she ever broached the subject it would probably be a point of contention.

Grissom pressed a short kiss into Sara's neck, emotions coursing through him that he'd never felt before. While he didn't rush to identify them, he could have sworn they were almost paternal, and that frightened and excited him at the same time. Almost of its own accord, one of his hands moved lower, covering Sara's abdomen. Sara started to pull away, and he panicked, confused by her action.

"Gil?" She whispered as she knelt next to Daisy, holding her hand out behind her in an indication to join her. He did so, kneeling by her side, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x. {2}

The morning light was streaming into the lab when her silent tears finally stopped. Their paperwork and the lab forgotten, he'd held her as she cried quiet tears, mindful of the sleeping child a few feet away, and slowly told him her story and about the images that haunted her nightmares. They sat across from each other in the chairs in front of his desk in the silence, holding hands and trying to process the situation.

Grissom's desk phone rang, and he jumped to answer it. It was too late, however, as a tiny moan came from the couch. As Sara moved to finally see her sister awake, she caught Grissom's eye. "Jim." he mouthed, signaling that Brass was finally answering their earlier page.

"Morning, Sunshine," Sara whispered as she sat on the couch beside Daisy. Daisy just smiled, something like "morning" erupting through the cloud of sleep that was slowly dissipating. A lump formed in Sara's throat, and tears sprang to her eyes again. "Don't I get a hug?" She asked, and Daisy sprang up and wrapped her hands around Sara's neck, and Sara held her as close as she could, never wanting to let go.

On the phone, Grissom watched, feeling helpless. He saw the fear and sadness in Sara's eyes as she hugged her sister, and knew in that moment that he would do anything to be able to take that away from her, and to see to it that this stopped right now.

"Please tell me you're kidding, Gil."

"I wish I were, Jim. I wish I were." He watched as Daisy pointed to him and smiled. He smiled back, the best he could muster under the situation.

"Damn it." Brass breathed heavy on the other side of the phone, his frustration and anger evident, "Ok. I'll make some calls. This isn't gonna be pretty, though."

"We know, Jim." Grissom felt himself choke up as Sara lifted Daisy into her arms and brought her over to him, the girl jumping into his arms for a hug. She brought a smile to his face, and at the same time broke his heart as she pressed a sloppy kiss on his bearded cheek.

"I'll meet you in my office in a few minutes." The detective hung up, and Grissom shifted Daisy to one arm as he put the phone down, and then linked hands with Sara.

"Heya Sweetheart," He said softly to Daisy.

She just smiled shyly and laid her head on his shoulder, a mumbled hello as she wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"Well?" Sara said quietly, laying her free hand on Daisy's back and gently massaging her as she drifted back into sleep.

"Meeting Jim in his office in a few." He said, laying his head on top of Daisy's for a second, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he slowly began rocking back and forth. "This is gonna be hell, Sara," he said, gently pulling her hand so that she came to him, then wrapped his arms around her so she mirrored Daisy.

"I have to," She whispered, holding onto both of them with all of her might. "I can't let this..."

"I know," He said, holding her tighter. "I won't let it, Sara. I promise."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Sara carried Daisy out of Brass' office with Grissom close behind, a hand on the small of her back. Their passing the break room garnered the attention of the other four CSI's on the shift who quickly poured out to greet the bundle in Sara's arms.

"What's wrong?" Catherine asked as Greg diverted Daisy's attention by making his thumb disappear. One glance and they didn't have to be professional investigators to know that something was horribly wrong. The dried tear tracks on Sara's face and Grissom's tense expression of stone told them that right away.

Sara's mouth opened and closed a few times, like she wanted to tell them, but couldn't. Grissom's hand moved up to her shoulder as he quietly told them that they could discuss it later.

Even though one of his hands was still being played with by Daisy, Greg stopped and looked up. Everyone shared a moment of anxiety as dread fell like a pall over them.

"That bad?" Warrick said barely above a whisper.

Sara's nod, punctuated by tears, was all that was necessary as an answer.

Daisy dropped Greg's hand and turned to her sister. "Don't cry, Sara." She said as she wiped Sara's tears away with her hands. "Greg didn't really lose his thumb!" She announced as if it were the most startling revelation in the world.

Smiles suddenly appeared on the sullen faces of the CSI's, followed by laughter. Greg held his hand out for Sara to see, and Daisy pulled on his thumb to illustrate her point. Sara just held her tighter, small laughs quickly turning into large ones, until she and Daisy were both laughing and smiling at each other. Grissom was even smiling, his hand going to smooth down Daisy's hair over Sara's shoulder.

As the moment fell into an uncomfortable silence, Jim came out of his office, beginning the confrontation. "We didn't have to go far..." He started, but was interrupted by Sara's Mother shouting her name down the hall.

Sara's Mother and Father, who honestly looked far too old to have become new parents a few short years ago, betrayed their appearance with a fiery manner as they were escorted down the hall by an officer.

"Sara Ann, what's going on?" Her Mother asked in a stern voice, practically scolding her.

Sara and Grissom turned, and the night shift fanned out behind them, sensing that something important, yet volatile, was happening. Brass moved toward the officer and Sara's parents, creating a circle in the hall at the entrance to the lab.

Daisy was content to stay in Sara's arms, especially seeing how angry her Mother and Father were. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but her sister and Gil and the nice man named Jim knew what was happening. She told them she didn't like it. Sara said it happened to her, too, even though it shouldn't have. Gil had promised that he would never let it happen again. She trusted them and loved them. She loved her parents, too, but they didn't listen to her about things she didn't like.

"You know, Mother. You know." Sara spat at her, pulling Daisy closer as Grissom moved behind them both protectively.

"Sara..." Her Father began, but she cut his condescending tone off.

"No, Dad. No. I can't believe I didn't notice before, but this shouldn't be happening! I can't believe you haven't done anything! Wait.. Yes, yes I can. You never did anything about it." Sara's voice rose with each word. Grissom rubbed his hand up and down her back, hoping to help relieve some of the tension of the situation, but to no avail.

Their stern stares and silence only angered her further, "Don't you ever wonder why she needs the light on to sleep?" Sara yelled at them as she carefully shielded Daisy from them. "Don't you wonder about the bruises on her arms? It never crossed your minds the kind of danger you're putting her in?"

"Danger? Sara, don't be ridiculous. We never put Daisy in any kind of danger, no more then we would have you. As for the bruises, they are no worse then the ones you had as a child." Her Mother said, the tone she used clearly told Sara she didn't know what she was talking about.

"Daisy is four years old, you should be telling her never to talk to strangers, not send her into their bedrooms with clean towels." Sara looked around her and saw the graveyard shift standing behind her, the show of support clear, and deeply felt the love and strength Grissom was sending to her through his simple touch. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she knew was going to have to be said.

"You think that one of our guests hurt Daisy? Don't you think we would notice something like that?" Her Father asked, his voice dripping with contempt.

"You didn't notice when it was me. Why would it be any different with her? I will not let my baby sister grow up the way I did!" She threw back at them. She felt, rather than heard, the wave of shock that rippled through everyone, save for Grissom, who just pulled her closer and stepped to her side, putting the wide eyed Daisy between them.

Grissom couldn't tell if the shock on her parents' faces was from what they'd heard, or the fact that it was actually spoken, but this confrontation had to end, and now. He could feel Sara trembling under his touch, and the emotions were sure to be affecting Daisy.

"Sara, you can't..." Her Mother started out, only to be interrupted by Grissom.

"We are. This is not being taken lightly," he said, gathering the women in his arms closer to him, and speaking in the tone he saved for the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes, "This ends now. All of it." He gently moved Sara in front of him, and pointed her to the locker room. "C'mon," he whispered as he led them away from the crowd and into the quiet sanctuary.

A moment of silence pervaded, broken only by Brass as he instructed the Sidles to be brought to an interrogation room.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"What do you need?" Grissom asked as he pulled his keys and jacket from his locker.

"Just my ring," Sara sighed. She watched as he pulled it from the box and slipped it back on her finger. Their eyes met in an emotional moment and he pulled them both into his arms, holding tight. After a few seconds, the door opened and Catherine popped her head in.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," Grissom said, only slightly loosening his hold. Office rules be damned, this was a time they needed to be broken.

"The Sidles gave me their car keys.. They said Daisy's car seat and suitcase are in there, " She said as she held them out. Grissom put up a hand and she tossed them to him, Grissom easily catching them with his one hand.

"Thanks, Cath." He said, moving from the hug.

"If you guys need anything..." She quietly offered. Grissom nodded, and she nodded back, knowing that he knew what she meant. "It goes for all of us," she added before disappearing back out the door.

"Let's go home," Sara said.

"Can I watch 'Toy Story' when we get to your house? I brought it with me." Daisy asked quietly as Grissom led them out of the building.

"Of course, Sunshine," Sara said. "We can do anything you want."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Sara watched Daisy from Grissom's kitchen, a warm cup of tea in her hands, as Grissom moved behind her, starting on breakfast. The urge to cry was strong, but Sara would not submit to it. She took a few deep, shuddering breaths, and almost jumped when she felt Grissom place a warm hand on the cold skin of her arm.

Leaving the pancake batter behind him, Grissom moved to wrap Sara in his arms from behind her, pulling her in tight. Her skin was cold, and he could still hear her breathing deep as he watched her watching Daisy.

"She doesn't understand it yet," Sara whispered sadly. Grissom knew she wanted to say more, and simply moved his hands to rub over her forearms in a comforting manner. He followed her stare to watch Daisy bounce on the couch, singing along with her video, a Woody doll in her hands being made to dance along with her. "You heard how she was talking, Gil," she started again quietly, "She has no idea what could have happened to her..." Her unspoken words, '...what happened to me,' hanging thick in the air.

"Sara," Grissom starts nervously, turning her around to look him in the eyes, "isn't it better that way?" A tear slips down her cheek as her eyes tell him she doesn't understand. Frustrated, and afraid it will come out wrong, he pulls her back into the kitchen and away from Daisy and takes her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs in calming circles. "Sara, honey, just think...Daisy's barely four and if we can take care of this now there's a very good chance that it won't affect her like it has you... that she may not even remember it. Isn't... isn't that what you'd want for her?"

Sara nodded her head silently, another tear slipping down her cheek. Grissom moved his hand and wiped it away, dropping a kiss where the tear had been before pulling her into a crushing embrace. "We'll talk more later, ok? C'mon, let's have breakfast."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"So what do we do now?" Grissom asked, leaning back into the desk chair. Through the crack in the door he could see Daisy and Sara sitting on the floor, playing with some Barbie Dolls.

"Unless we can figure out exactly what happened, when, and with who, we really can't do much," Jim Brass sighed over the phone. "The Sidles swear ignorance and I'm inclined to believe them, so we'd have to investigate every visitor to their Bed and Breakfast in the last few months, at least."

"So there's no recourse?" Grissom asked, defeated.

"I'm still looking into it, but since there's no sign of sexual abuse and unfortunately you and I both know that simply because of her age Daisy wouldn't be considered a credible witness, it looks like unless Sara wants to sue her parents for money or custody there won't be much that anyone can do right now."

"All right, thanks Jim," Grissom said, rubbing his temple.

"Yeah, anytime. Sorry it wasn't better news." Jim coughed, an attempt at holding back his own emotions. "Oh, and Cath told me to pass along that you and Sara better not bother coming in tonight and she'll hold down the fort. You guys need to spend some time all together, and she'll call you if she needs you."

"Thanks, Jim. And thank Catherine, too." Grissom rolled his neck in an effort to get rid of the tension there.

"I'll give you guys a call in the morning, let you know if we've gotten anywhere. Have a good night, Gil."

"You too, Jim." He hung up the phone, and rested his head in his hands. It was a drastic move, suing for custody, but he had promised he'd never let it happen again, and what was a better way than to keep Daisy here with them? It would be incredibly ugly, though. And what would they tell Daisy when she asked why she was living with her sister instead of her parents? But chances were they could win; they're a stable, engaged couple in law enforcement with blood ties. That was if they were going to take legal action.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Sara walked out into the living room, her eyes drooping as she rolled her head in circles. "She's down for her nap." Sara whispered out, snuggling up against Grissom on the couch. Pulling her close, Grissom wraped his arms around her, pushing his fingers into her back and methodically kneading out the knots.

"Sara, I talked to Brass," he said, his lips brushing across her forehead as he spoke.

"No." She said, snuggling deeper into Grissom's embrace.

"No?"

"Not now. I don't even want to think about it for at least a few minutes. I just look at her and I want to cry."

There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but her knew that if she didn't want to think about it, then he would make sure she didn't have to think about it. "Ok, we can talk about it later." He said, smoothing down her hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Sara pulled herself closer to him, burying her head in his neck and completely covering his body with hers.

CNN droning on in the background, they lay quietly entangled for what seemed like hours, the deep orange sunset filtering in through the blinds across from them and bathing the room in a fiery glow. Grissom had just decided to move what he thought was a sleeping Sara to their bed to get some rest when he felt a tear trickle down the side of his neck, followed by another and a quick sniffle.

"I don't remember when it started," Sara whispered as she swiped at the tears.

"Sara..."Grissom started, trying to let her know that she didn't have to talk about it. He replaced her hand with his, gently lifting the tears off of her skin instead of swiping at them. After another sniffle Sara grabbed his hand in hers, holding it close to her heart.

"I didn't even understand that it was wrong. My parents were always..." She paused, looking for the words, "affectionate with each other around us, so I just assumed it was something you did with people you liked." Grissom's other hand came up to stoke her hair, a comforting motion. "At first it was just the old man at the end of the hall. He didn't... he just liked to have me sit on his lap. He'd tell me stories, and every once in a while my mom would pop her head in and smile. She didn't understand that she couldn't see..." Sara's voice hitched, but she forced herself to continue. "I just assumed it was ok, what was supposed to happen after that. Then it was a while before... before... I never liked bringing things to his room... the way he looked at me was just... He was a lot younger and he..." When the sobs come this time Sara doesn't hold them back, but speaks through them, "My mother told me that he was a nice man... that I could trust him and to not judge him by how he looked. I bring him up towels, or lunch, or whatever he needed, just like everyone else, but he..."

"Shhh," Grissom begs as he pulls her to him, not sure if he can hear anymore. He cradled her tightly, whispering his love to her, but she pushed away, looming over him, her face red and stained with tears and her words flying out of her mouth in harsh whispers.

"He stayed with us for three years, Grissom. Three years! It wasn't until fifth grade when the school nurse, Mrs. Collins, gave all the girls the 'you're turning into a woman' speech that I even questioned whether it was supposed to happen! How does that happen, Grissom? How?" She fell onto his chest, her fists pounding into him and unanswerable questions accompanying the sobs as he held her.

"I don't know, Sara, I don't know..."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

He felt her grabbing for him through his sleepy fog, and he instinctively reached out across the bed to pull her trembling body to his, hugging her tight. Her shaking slowly subsided, only to be replaced in his embrace by the feel of her body desperately making contact with his. Her hands, hips, legs, and mouth all fiercely roamed his body and claimed it.

Without thinking he responded, holding her even closer and claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss. He let a hand roam down her side to lift her leg over his hip, as they'd done so many times before, then let it roam back up to caress over her flesh. Yet this time, unlike so many times before, as his hand caressed the underside of her breast she jumped away from him.

By the time he had opened his eyes she was already curled up away from him on the bed, fighting to control her breathing.

"Sara?" He whispered as he inched closer to her.

"I just, I thought..." She stopped, sniffed, and turned to be caught by his embrace. Her harsh whisper tempered by the tears she was fighting back. "I had a nightmare about... and I needed you. I needed to feel you... or I thought I did." She brought her face up to meet his, leaning their foreheads together. "But as soon as I closed my eyes, it wasn't you anymore..."

His hand came up to caress her cheek, his eyes looking deep into hers. "It's me, honey, it's me," he said, pulling her into his embrace. "That's over now," Grissom whispered into her hair as he felt her tears drop into his t-shirt. "I will never, never, let anything like that happen to you again." The power of his voice promised her that it was true, his tone betraying the anger and helplessness he felt. He squeezed her closer.

"Just hold me," she asked quietly, knowing that only time could repair what had been done. With her emotional scars brutally sliced open she would be of little help to Daisy if she didn't have Grissom standing behind her, and his desperate embrace told her that he would be there, holding her up, just like always.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Grissom awoke to the feeling of being watched.

His eyes adjusted from the void of his slumber to the dark of the room, and he could see that it was not Sara's eyes trained on him. Still asleep in his arms, her pain had washed away as her eyes fluttered under their lids. Though he wanted to watch her, he still felt as if he himself was being watched.

A quick sweep of the side of the room beyond Sara showed nothing, so he slowly began untangling himself to peer behind him. There, he saw Daisy's tiny form. He further untangled himself from Sara, who sighed and rolled over, to fully face Daisy.

"Hi," he whispered as quietly as he could as he sat up and held out a hand. She slowly walked toward him, her eyes big and round with apprehension. She held out her arms and he lifted her into the bed and into his lap. "Why are you up? It's late." She shrugged as she hid her eyes.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, smoothing down her runaway curls. Again she shrugged, but this time she curled into his arms, laying her head on his chest.

"Do you want to sleep in here with us?" He dropped a kiss in her hair as she made a noise in the affirmative. "Ok, then," he lifted her a bit as he rolled over. Daisy held on tight to him as he tried to position them in the bed. "Why don't you sleep right here between me and Sara, ok?" Daisy nodded, then settled in next to him. Her little doe eyes looked up into his big ones as she put her hand on top of his larger one that lay between them. Then she leaned up and placed a tiny kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight," she whispered as she settled back down and let her eyes flutter closed.

Grissom pushed back up and watched Daisy and Sara breathe in and out the deep breaths of sleep. In that moment he felt more important and masculine than ever before: he was their provider and protector, the one who would be strong for these two ladies in his life come hell or high water. The urge to protect them at this moment was overwhelming, though there was nothing to protect them from here in the safety of their home and bed. Grissom settled for simply taking up watch as they slept, holding the world at bay for at least one night of rest.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"Are you sure this is okay with you, Gil?" Sara asked, worrying her lip across the dinner table.

"I had my doubts, Sara. I won't lie." He frowns, but a smile forms as he looks over into their living room and at Daisy, quietly coloring. "But then I remember last night, and I know we're making the right decision."

Sara smiled back. He'd told her the story of Daisy's presence in their room last night, and she saw the spark of love and pride in his eyes as he did. "Thank you, Gil."

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

"You have the paperwork?" Sara asked as she hurriedly carried Daisy out of the bathtub to the bedroom.

"Yes, dear. Do you need some help?" Grissom finished packing his briefcase and rested it by the front door with Daisy's car seat and tiny purple suitcase.

In the bedroom Sara was pleading with Daisy to get dressed as she streaked around the room, giggling wildly as her wet hair pulled up into curls with the movement. "Can you... uh, DAISY!" Sara yelled as she evaded her again and ran out of the room. She sighed and began to follow her, Daisy's clothes draped over her arms as Grissom walked into the room, laughing along with the nudist in his arms. He put her on the bed and stood in front of her, the smile fading.

"I think someone needs to listen to their sister..." he said in a leading tone.

"Nuh uh." Daisy smiled back.

"No? I could have sworn there was a little girl that needs to get ready to go back to California!" Daisy shook her head. While Grissom kept his eyes on Daisy, and her eyes on him, Sara circled around the bed. "Are you sure?"

"Yup!" Daisy smiled, just as Sara lunged at her from behind.

"Got ya!" she yelled as she pulled Daisy to her, a stern smile on her face. "You have to get dressed."

Daisy's face fell immediately into a tiny pout. "I don't want to."

"Daisy, you have to." Sara said as she began to dress her, Grissom helping.

"I want to stay here with you." Her bottom lip quivered. Sara wasn't sure if she was acting or telling the truth. Her heart pounded in her chest with the thought that she was telling the truth.

"Daisy," Grissom turned her to him and sat her in his lap as Sara brushed out her hair, "we talked about this. You need to go back for a little while. Then, as soon as school is over," and he mentally added that when all the paper work was finished, "you are going to come back here and live with us."

"'Til I'm grown up?" She asked hopefully.

"Until you're grown up." Sara reaffirmed as she sat on the bed and put her arm around Grissom. "And remember what we talked about?"

"That I can call you anytime I want." Daisy said proudly.

"Anytime with that special number we gave you, ok? And if anything happens that you don't like–" Grissom led.

"I just tell either you, or Sara, or Mommy or Daddy." She nods as she talks.

"Promise?" He asked.

"Promise." She said with a hug.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

The tension between Sara and her Mother was palpable as they stood across from each other, Grissom behind Sara and her Father behind her Mother. Daisy looked up at the two women that stood over her, each holding one of her hands in the busy airport.

"If I had known..." Sara's Mother began, her barely controlled voice holding a myriad of emotions in tact.

"You should have, Mom," Sara softly retorted, a sad timber making its way into her alto, "you should have."

After a tense moment, Mrs. Sidle pulled on Daisy's hand. "Come on, honey. Let's go home." Her eyes rose to Sara, her voice angry yet resigned. "You'll be back here in six months..."

Grissom put his hands on Sara's tense shoulders as they watched Daisy wave goodbye. Sara forced a smile to her lips as she waved back, watching her retreat through the gates to wait for their plane.

"Six months..." Sara breathed out, turning to Grissom.

"She's going to be fine, and back here in no time," he reassured as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to lead her out of the airport. They walked to the car silently.

"You know, she'll be here for the wedding then!" Grissom said with a smile as he got in, hoping to elevate his future wife's melancholy. She smiled at that, then frowned again.

"What do we do for our honeymoon? We have two weeks in Barbados all scheduled..."

"Worst case scenario? She spends two weeks with your parents." Grissom sighed as he pulled out into traffic. Once they were on the highway he grabbed her hand in his, rubbing his thumb in reassuring, soft circles.

They drove silently, the weight of the situation hanging in the air; the what-if's and questions about the past and the future weighing down on them both. Just when the tension was getting to be too much to bear an idea began in his mind. "What do you say we go to Home Depot?"

"Home Depot?" She asked, confused by the change of subject.

"Yeah." He smiled at her. "After all, we only have six months to change the guest room into a bedroom fit for a princess, right?" He turned his head, smiling at her, before turning his attention back to the road. After a few tense minutes of silence he grew worried about Sara, but she broke his reverie before he could take it much farther.

"Purple," She said simply.

"Purple?" He asked, glancing over at her. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her reflection in the passenger window as a small smile grew on her face.

"Daisy's favorite color is purple... Can we make her room light purple?" She asked hopefully.

Grissom smiled at her before taking his hand from hers to switch lanes and head for the shopping area only a few minutes ahead. "Light purple it is."

The End.