Caving Under Pressure – Part 2

August 3, 2005 (Day 103)
Crime Lab
9:50 a.m.

Sweat dripping down his face, Greg bolted into the lab, knocking over a cart in the process. "Damn it!"

"What the hell is going on with you!" Sara demanded when she saw him worked up like a madman. "It's 117 degrees out there today and you're running in and out of the building like a nut. Look at you, you're drenched. Relax already, you turned the burner off, I checked it myself when I came back from the Ladies Room just to cover your ass."

After righting the cart and shutting the door, he broke down. "I screwed up, Sara. Big!"

Seeing the terror in his eyes, she dropped what she was doing and came to his side. "Which case? How bad? Can it be fixed?"

"Not a case…my life!" Nearing hyperventilation, he asked, "Where is everyone?"

"Everyone else is out working something. I'm here doing paperwork."

"Good." Frantically, he ran his fingers through his sweaty hair. "I need help."

"Okay, calm down. Whatever it is, I'll help you." She rested a hand on his shoulder. "What's the problem? Gambling? Drinking? Drugs? What?"

"Tawny!"

"Tawny? She's what this drama is all about? You had a fight with your girlfriend of three weeks and your life is over?" Her eyes rolled so hard she almost fell over from the force. "That's not the end of the world, Greg. I know she's a hottie with big boobs but, aren't you being a bit melodramatic? If she meant anything to you, you wouldn't be dishing juicy details about her to the guys." Walking away, she groaned, "There are a dozen strip clubs within a mile of here, I'm sure you can find another plaything."

Taking Sara's hand, he frantically pulled her to the back of the room. "We didn't have a fight." Reaching into his pocket he produced the vial of blood. "She's late. She may be pregnant. I need to test this. She says she's never late."

Any problem would have been welcome except this one. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Do I look like I'm kidding!" He checked his reflection in the stainless steel cabinet in front of him. "An hour ago, my biggest dilemma was which flavor donuts to buy. Now I'm four seconds away from total hysteria! I can't believe this is happening. I went to her apartment for our daily romp and she springs this on me!" Clutching his head, he gasped for air. "Sara, the room is spinning!"

"What the hell were you thinking!" Reaching for a set of gloves, Sara snipped, "How could you sleep with her without using something? You just turned thirty, not sixteen! Trust me…I understand what it's like to be a late bloomer, but this is ridiculous." She snapped on the latex along with an attitude. "Give me that, you're in no condition to do this yourself." She snatched the vial out of his shaking hand. "You should be worried about more than just pregnancy. Do you know how many HIV cases I saw while working in the morgue in San Francisco? If you saw what I saw…damn it! She's a stripper and, knowing this town, she could be more. Do you any idea what her sexual history is? Greg, my god, how could you be so irresponsible?"

"She assured me that's not an issue." His knees giving out, he scrambled for a stool.

"You've known her three weeks, Greg! From what Grissom told me, she hits on any man with a wallet!" Her cramps merged with the knot in her stomach sending a wave of nausea through her. "How do you know she's not lying about testing clean?"

His voice trembled, "Because she told me she has proof, and because she…she was just as scared as me. She was concerned maybe I gave her something. I could see it in her eyes, Sara. She's telling the truth."

"There's one lucky break. But, if I were you, I'd ask to see the proof." She finished prepping the sample. "Okay, here we go, let's see if you get two lucky breaks today."

Just three hours ago, she and Grissom were in the same room frantically hoping for a positive pregnancy result only to be disappointed by a negative one. Now here she was with Greg, running the same test while he rocked like a basket case praying for a negative result. How sad that some pregnancies are dreaded while for others it's a dream. It made her wonder what her parents felt when they discovered her existence. Was it a dream come true? Or was she an accident, never meant to exist? Worse yet, was she the cause of the downward spiral of their relationship into darkness? They were questions to which she'd never know the answers.

"How many more minutes?"

"Um…three." Seeing sheer fright in his eyes, her anger dissipated. "Greg…I'm sorry for yelling. I see you're a nervous wreck. I…I was just worried about you. You saved my life. I don't want you to lose yours. Besides, I'm getting used to having a pseudo kid brother. I care about what happens to you because I've lost enough in my life that I can't afford to lose anymore."

Swallowing the bile in his throat, he squeaked, "Thanks for saying that, and for helping me through this. I'm really scared. I know enough biology to know that the day in question is smack in the middle of the fertility zone."

"Want some water?"

He nodded.

Walking over to the cooler, she shook her head. "So where is Tawny while you're doing this?"

"Starbucks around the corner."

Sara filled the paper cup and carried it back to Greg. "How old is she?"

"Twenty-two."

"Here." She handed him the cup, thinking, yeah, with your thirty-year old virility, her perky twenty-two year old eggs, and a bullseye in the fertility zone, I'm sweating for you too, pal. Good lord, your ages combined are fifty two. Grissom will be forty-nine in two weeks, not that he's the problem in our equation. No, it's my crazy cycle after being on the pill for a decade and the fact my eggs will turn thirty-five next month. If it doesn't work for us, it's my fault. Ironic, since all the nosy bodies seem to think Grissom is too old for me.

Holding the cup, he was shaking so hard, water spilled over the edges.

"Did she say what she would do if…"

"She was too scared to talk about it but, since she said Wedding Story is her favorite show, I think I have an idea what she'll propose." He gasped for a breath. "I know it's going to be positive. My grandma Enid predicted this. She's never wrong about this stuff."

"Do me a favor and stay rational."

"You sound like Grissom."

"Thank you." She kept one eye on the timer and one on Greg teetering on the stool. "Thirty seconds."

"Okay." He picked a spot on the wall and focused on it. "I'm not a bad person."

"Bad things happen to good people all the time." Knowing it all too well, she sighed. "You never know when your luck will change. You should have learned that out on Dales Trail…or in the lab explosion."

"Yeah."

When the timer rang, Sara shut it off and turned to Greg. "You want to interpret or do you want me to tell you?"

"I'm not even seeing straight." He gripped the edge of the counter. "You…you tell me."

For the second time today, Sara leaned in to read the results of a pregnancy test. Unlike this morning, however, the result wasn't negative. "Greg…I'm sorry, it's positive. A solid 25 mlU."

"I knew it." He felt what little blood was left in his face disappear. "One time in my entire life. How fair is that?"

"Uh…it's totally unfair when people are trying to get pregnant and aren't!" Cleaning up after the test, she felt her blood pressure rising. "Grissom and I have no luck two months in a row, and you accomplish it in fifteen minutes. I can only imagine what people who have been trying for a year or two feel when they hear stories like yours. Unbelievable!"

It wasn't until she heard Greg vomiting in the trash can that she realized she was talking out loud and being incredibly selfish. "I'm so sorry!" She rushed to his side. "I'm a little emotional about the subject."

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he nodded. "It's…"

"Are you going to be sick again?"

Before he could answer he was hunched over the trash can hurling.

Rubbing his back, Sara soothed, "I'll help you get over to Starbucks, and if you want me to stay with you when you tell her, I will."

Timing…it really is everything. And when Jim Brass entered the lab, his timing couldn't have been worse.

"What the hell is going on back there?" Shaking his head, he goaded, "Sanders, you delicate flower, you really need to toughen up. Hey, Sara, maybe we can desensitize him by locking him in a confined space with some decomp for twenty-four hours. How about it?" Then he looked around. "Anyway…what's in here that smells bad other than what Greg just upchucked? I don't smell anything else. What a wuss."

"Um…." Sara helped Greg to a stool. "It's not job related, it's food poisoning."

"Did you cook burritos again?" He laughed. "The County is going to have to up their liability insurance if you keep bringing in food. Stick to what you do best, Boom Boom."

"Very funny." She flashed a smile to keep up appearances. "It wasn't my cooking." She quickly concocted a lie. "After shift, Greg went out for breakfast at one of those two dollar places and then he came back to grab a file. Right in front of me he went pale and lost it." That last part was truthful.

Checking out Greg's appearance, Brass remarked, "You really do look like shit."

Greg remained speechless, staring at the wall.

"Yeah, I don't think he should go home alone." Realizing she still had her gloves on, Sara peeled them off. "I know I'm the only one here right now but, is it okay if I take him? I'm sure I'll have plenty of OT to counteract the time off."

"Shouldn't be a problem. I'll let Nick know what happened." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "If it was tomorrow it would be a problem, because I'll be on vacation…which I apologize to you for in advance, because your hubby will be covering for me while I'm gone. I'm sure it will cut down on the precious amount of quality time you two lovebugs have together."

"Where are you going?" She was trying to keep the focus off Greg while hoping he didn't flat line from the stress.

"Wouldn't everyone like to know? It's a secret and it's staying that way." He grinned wildly. "My first vacation in years actually."

"With the mystery lady?"

"Let's just say I'll be in good company." He snickered, "well actually I'm hoping she'll be bad at certain times. That's the thing about her…she's good at switching." Then he thought, why am I telling you, of all people, this? "Forget I said anything." He walked over to Greg. "This is the second time in a month I've seen you hurling. I feel so special. Go home and drink some ginger ale, puke boy."

Greg heard nothing and remained in his stupor.

"I'll see you when I get back in three days. I expect it to be nice and quiet around here while I'm gone." He headed for the door. "I need to go call your lesser half and fill him in on a few things."

"Have a good trip." Sara waved him off and then helped Greg off the stool. "Come on." Unbelievable! I woke up this morning dying to tell someone I got a positive pregnancy test result today. I just didn't think it would be Tawny's result and Tawny I was telling.

The Grissoms'
10:15 a.m.

Lying under the covers with his glasses on and the latest copy of Entomology Today splayed across his chest, Grissom was sound asleep…until the phone rang.

By the fourth ring, he was conscious enough to grab the cordless from the nightstand. "Grissom." He answered in a scratchy voice.

"Did I wake you?" Brass yelled into the phone.

"Apparently." He cleared his throat and checked the time.

"Catching up on your beauty rest?"

"You do remember I work nights and only get to see my wife in the evening, right? When am I supposed to sleep?"

"Whine, whine, whine. You're as big a wuss as Sanders." He laughed. "I'm calling for two reasons. One, to remind you that you're covering for me while I'm on vacation…not that I am in any way implying you could fill my shoes."

"Of course not." Removing his glasses, he chucked them on the nightstand, hoping the call would end quickly and he could get back to sleeping. He needed the rest because every evening was a baby making opportunity and tonight, after the failed test this morning, he was certain Sara would feel exceptionally motivated. When they spoke right before he left the office, she surmised if her cycle turned out to be forty days again this month, they were in the strike zone all this week, which meant no night off for the troops. Not that he minded.

"I've got a bunch of stuff on my desk with notes for you to follow. If you can't figure it out, ask your wife to help you. Which leads me to my second reason for calling. When I get back from vacation, I want to sit down and talk options for you and Sara. You can't keep passing like ships every evening. I have something in mind that might interest you."

"Like what?" He was intrigued.

"I said AFTER my vacation." He laughed. "Trust me…I'll be in a much better mood after."

"Why won't you tell me where you're going or who you're going with?" He had shared details of previous women, why not this one? Did it mean he was serious about her? Or was there a reason for hiding her? Was she his beck and call girl perhaps?

"I'm not telling you because I've decided to be a man of mystery." Laughing harder he said, "And to quote Jack Nicholson in the movie, A Few Good Men, you can't handle the truth. See, you're not the only one who can toss a quote."

"Is that a romantic comedy?"

"You really need to read less. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite. Hmmm…I guess you might actually like that, Bug Boy. Bye!"

"I wonder if that conversation would have made more sense if I were fully conscious?" After turning the ringer off, he tossed the phone on Sara's side of the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

Starbuck's
10:25 a.m.

Being the voice of reason, Sara told Greg he could not go to the Starbucks around the corner from work and break the news to Tawny in public. If Tawny's reaction was half as bad as his then it wasn't going to be pretty. And as much as she wanted her own story to be yesterday's news, it wasn't going to be because Greg and Tawny took her spot.

With the knowledge that Tawny was wearing a pair of hot pink Daisy Duke cutoffs and a white crop top that said, Juicy, Sara walked into Starbucks to find her. Even without the clothing description Greg provided, it wouldn't have been hard to pick her out of the crowd. She was the beautiful young girl with bodacious boobs, sniffling hard into a tissue in the corner of the room.

"Tawny, hi, I'm Sara, a friend of Greg's."

"Where's Greg?" She asked in a voice rife with panic.

"He got detained and asked me to come and get you." Showing her most supportive smile, she said, "I'll take you to him."

"O…okay." She grabbed her tiny pink purse and followed Sara out of the café.

When they arrived at Greg's car tucked in a secluded spot two blocks away, Tawny was surprised to see Greg in the backseat. "But I thought you said he was detained?"

"Sorry," Sara opened the door. "That was code for, the conversation you're about to have shouldn't happen at Starbuck's and he's in no condition to drive yet."

"That means…"

"Yes."

Devastated, Tawny slipped into the back seat and crumpled in a heap of tears on Greg's shoulder.

Before shutting the door, Sara said, "Greg…I'm going home but I'll keep my cell on me. Don't hesitate to call." Then she shut the door and walked away, happy to be on her way to Grissom's shoulder.

Catherine's House
10:52 a.m.

Before Warrick saw them walk into the house, he heard them. Clicking off the TV, he waited on the couch for the dueling tornados to blow into the room. These tiffs weren't commonplace anymore but, when they happened, it was ugly.

"It's totally not fair!" Lindsay yelled. "Tiffany's mom and Staci's mom are letting them go! My best friends can go and I can't. Do you know how that makes me look!"

"Like you're thirteen with a mom who's not naïve?" She tossed her keys on the counter. "Maybe Staci and Tiffany's moms are blissfully ignorant about the real world, but I'm not."

"Of course not, because there's nothing you haven't done."

"Right!" Stuffing her hands on her hips, she snapped, "And you're lucky I did everything because, now when I tell you not to do something because it's stupid, you can be confident I am speaking from personal experience and saved you the trouble of finding out the same lesson the hard way. Should we review the list? Running away…stupid. Smoking…stupid. Drugs…stupid."

"Why do you always think I want to do what you did? Does it ever occur to you that I don't want to do that stuff because I don't want to be like you? But you never give me a chance to prove I'm not like you!"

"Time out." Warrick called from his spectator's spot on the couch. "My ears are ringing."

Lindsay took that as a sign she could appeal to the man of the house. "All I want to do is go camping in the desert with my friends at this great campsite. There will be two parents there. My best friends are going! She always thinks the worst!"

Holding up his hands, he said, "You know I don't get in the middle of this stuff."

Catherine stormed over to Lindsay. "Two parents will be there, huh? And how many boys will be at this campsite?" Turning to Warrick, she said, "Do you have any idea how much I got away with while well-intentioned chaperones were present? Can you see where I'm coming from?"

"You know I don't get in the middle of this stuff, Baby."

Simultaneously, Lindsay and Catherine shouted at Warrick, "You just don't want to make her mad at you by agreeing with me!"

The Grissoms'
11:03 a.m.

Mentally exhausted and fraught with cramps, Sara quietly entered the house, happy to be home to decompress from the stressful day. Even though she was desperate to talk, she didn't want to wake up Grissom because he would be pulling doubles the next few days covering for Jim, and therefore needed as much rest as possible.

Upon reaching the bedroom door, she saw her husband peacefully curled up in bed and had an overwhelming urge to join him. However, she knew if she climbed in bed, she would only disturb him by tossing and turning, so she opted instead for the kitchen.

Her head throbbing in rhythm with her abdomen, she decided to take something to alleviate the pain. Then she remembered she had tossed her Advil in Colorado Springs after finding out you couldn't take it while pregnant. Moaning, she started for the bathroom to see what else they had but then realized rifling through the medicine cabinet would be too noisy and would surely rouse Grissom.

Finally, since she was certain she wasn't pregnant, she thought, I'll kill the pain the old fashioned way…a stiff drink. Opening the fridge, she grabbed a carton of Tropicana then, opening the freezer, she retrieved a chilled bottle of Absolut from the bottom shelf.

After dumping three fingers of vodka in a tall glass, she poured in some orange juice and stirred the potent cocktail with a fork. A test sip proved the concoction a success so, with her drink in hand, she headed for the comfy couch, where she plopped down and grabbed the remote for the big screen.

When the TV came on it was tuned to Animal Planet.

Next on, That's My Baby, Petals, the Cooper family's Yorkshire Terrier is about to give birth and the whole family is on hand to watch the miracle.

"I wonder how long it took Petals to get pregnant?" Sara commented before downing several sips of her lunch. "Maybe Trading Spaces is on TLC." She flipped the channel.

Coming up on, A Baby Story, after five years of trying, including two failed in-vitro fertilization attempts, Mark and Kimberly Lennox are finally about to meet their dream baby.

"Five years!" She gulped a hefty portion of the glass's contents. That would make me forty and Grissom fifty-four. He'd be seventy-two when the kid went to college. Tawny, on the other hand will only be forty when her kid goes to college! I wonder if her boobs will still look that good when she's forty? I wonder if her boobs will get even bigger now that she's pregnant? I wonder if she'll go through with the pregnancy? The poor girl was devastated. And Greg…ugh. I felt helpless.

Tilting her glass in one hand, and flipping the remote with the other, Sara found herself watching Discovery Health.