Dedication: To Indiegurl2008, who is quite possibly the only person in the history of the world to describe my life as a "fairly tale." At any rate, here you go, Indie! You wanted an honorable mention...here it is!
A/N: I'm still sorry this has taken so long! My first week of school kicked ass--it's been so fun! But still, it's been incredibly tiring! So here's my promised update. Please keep reading and reviewing! I haven't been getting as many reviews lately, so I'm concerned!
PS--Someone pointed out the similarity in Sara's story to the book "A Child Called It."Yeah, I cheated. I couldn't think of anything to do with Sara as it related to her childhood, since I'd already played the rape card, so I "borrowed" just a tiny bit from the aforementioned book. Sorry if it sucked. ;)
Sara shared a few more details of her childhood horror, and she and Grissom cried together for a little while. When her tears had slowed to a trickle, Grissom demonstrated his appreciation for her openness by sharing some of his own childhood with her—things he'd never shared with anyone in his adult life.
He told her of how his father had left when he was five, unable to handle a wife who was going completely deaf, and a small precocious son, to boot. Sara had known that Grissom's father abandoned them when he was very young, but she was surprised to her such emotional details from Grissom's lips. As he was describing what little he remembered of his father, his voice choked up and his eyes began to water yet again.
Then he began to speak of his isolated childhood—"It was just my mother and myself," he mused, "and in our house we didn't generally speak. We signed," he used his hands to drive his point home. "It wasn't long before living in a silent household carried over into my outside life. Children at school didn't understand me, and I wasn't generally too concerned about it," he said matter-of-factly. "Still," he continued with a sad look in his eyes, "it would be nice if I could look back now and pinpoint at least one close childhood friend. But I can't. I was truly a loner." He looked up, as if something had clicked. "Maybe that's why I am the way I am," he said.
Sara reached out and stroked her hand down his arm. "Gil," she said earnestly. "I love you. And I need you to know that I love you exactly the way you are. I love you because of the way you are. Sure, your private nature and enigmatic ways can be frustrating as hell," she laughed. "But they're also what make you you, and that's who I fell in love with—not some perfect Prince Charming ideal," she offered. "Although," she added with a sly smile, "you do come pretty close in the Prince Charming department…"
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Grissom called everyone on his team up, as well as Brass, and asked if he and Sara could take everyone to dinner before shift started. Everyone had enthusiastically agreed, and now he and Sara were walking into a small Italian restaurant not far from their townhouse.
Once everyone had arrived and placed their orders, Grissom got right to business. He stood up and looked at his six companions for a moment, smiling, before he said, "Sara and I asked you all here for a reason. We're planning our wedding for March 12th, so hold that date." He smiled down at the woman sitting next to him and brushed the back of his fingers lightly across her face. Then, looking to the man sitting next to her, he said, "Jim, I'd be honored if you would stand beside me as my best man."
Jim's face lit up in a wide smile as he stood up to shake Grissom's hand enthusiastically. "Nothing would please me more, Gil," he said warmly.
Grissom smiled, then turned toward the remaining three men. "Warrick, Nick, Greg, I would love it if you three would agree to be my groomsmen."
Catherine's prophecy proved to be pretty close to the truth. Warrick and Nick grinned broadly, but Greg started squirming like a puppy in his excitement. They all agreed; Warrick and Nick did so in rather brief fashion, but Greg was so excited and flustered that he babbled incessantly until Grissom held up a hand and said, "Greg? Shut up." Everyone laughed and Greg dropped his head in mock embarrassment. Looking back up, he grinned and said, "Thanks, Grissom. It means a lot."
Grissom gave him an uncharacteristically wide grin, reached out to shake his hand, then sat down and looked at Sara expectantly.
Sara smiled broadly, then reached over and took Jim's hand. "Jim," she said shyly. "If it's all right with you, I'd love for you to walk me down the aisle."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Brass and Sara. Jim struggled to keep his emotions in check as he leaned toward Sara and gently kissed her cheek. His voice trembled as he whispered, "It would be my honor, Babydoll." His eyes shone with unshed tears as he looked up toward Grissom. "Can I do both?" Grissom nodded.
"Catherine says you can walk her down the aisle, give her away, and then join me as my best man."
Jim gave Sara a tearful smile as he tenderly stroked her hand with his own. "You don't know how much this means to me."
Sara met his gaze, her own eyes full of tears. "You're the closest thing I've had to a father in a long time, Jim," she whispered.