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Chapter 8

As the two parents walked through the curtain, the young girl lying on the bed awoke. "Sorry," Grissom said, "I didn't mean to wake you." He smiled sweetly. The kind of smile, that when directed at Sara, made her legs turn to jelly. "How are you?" He asked.

"I'm ok," she began, "a little shaken up still though." Leah let out a smile before sighing, and resting her head back against the pillow. "Am I allowed to leave soon?" she asked either of her parents.

Sara walked up to the side of the bed, and addressed her, "The nurse said that you wouldn't be here for very long, so I'm sure you can go soon." She smiled.

"Where am I going to stay?" she asked. She had begun staring and fiddling with a loose bit of thread on the shirt she had been given by the paramedic. It had started as an excuse to avoid eye contact with either of the adults around her, as she was still hurt from the lies, but it has escalated into an obsession. At one point she nearly ripped the whole thread off, but as soon as she noticed the tear forming in the fabric, she decided against it.

Sara and Grissom looked at each other. Neither of them had thought about what would happen now. They had just assumed that the other person had thought of it. "Erm Griss," Sara began, "I think we may have a problem here." He looked at her confusedly. She tried to elaborate, "Well I didn't know that David was coming out here, so I don't have any room at my apartment yet. In a few days or a week or so, I may have something permanent, but there isn't even a bed in the spare room for her to sleep in." When he didn't say anything, she tried to call his name but he still refused to answer. "Grissom," she almost shouted in his ear, "can she stay at your townhouse for a little while?" eventually he looked up at her, but still refused to give an answer, when he looked over at Leah, she tried a different approach, "She is your daughter as well you know."

His head snapped up as his eyes found hers. She could see the hurt in them immediately, and regretted what she had just said. "You say she's my daughter, yet you refused to let me even know she existed, let alone see her, for over 13years"

Tears had threaten to spill from Sara's eyes as soon as he spoke, but she felt that she needed to keep it together for Leah's sake, as much as her own. "I'm sorry ok? How many times do I have to say it before you will believe me? Please look at your daughter and tell her if she can stay with you or not!"

Leah had observed the conversation between Sara and Grissom, and waited silently until they had reached her decision. Even though it was her life they were talking about, it seemed that she didn't get a say in it. She felt it would be better for her to keep quiet, then to say something and give her father a greater reason to be angry. As they had both begun to calm down, she felt she had a chance at saying something without getting her head bitten off. "Can I say something now?" she asked. Grissom had already turned to face her, and has seen the plead in her eyes already. "I know that this must be hard, but I am willing to stay with whoever you feel is best at looking after me. I would prefer it if it were one of you, but I know that it's not possible to stay with you Mom, but Dad-" she saw them both flinch as the names registered again, and they doubted they would get used to hearing them for a while, "but Dad, please let me stay with you. I'm guessing that there are a lot of things that you and Mom need to talk about, but I want to know you now, so am I allowed?" the pleading in her eyes had returned.

"Ok, for a little while," he finally answered, after a period of thinking. He wasn't looking forward to having someone in his private space, but it was hard saying no to the girl's blue eyes. He wondered if that was how Sara felt when she looked at his, but quickly dismissed the thought. The next part he was dreading, "Sara would you like to come to my townhouse for dinner tonight so we can all talk?" Seeing the grin on her face turn into a full blown 'Sara-smile,' one he hadn't seen in a long time, he took that answer as a yes.

'Maybe he will finally get his head out of the microscope with Leah's help' she thought with a smile. "Ok then, how about I come around at about 7.30? Do you have to work tonight? I had better check with my boss that I can have the week off on compassionate leave, considering I have just lost my brother, but I'm sure he would give me the time off if I wanted it." She smiled.

"As a matter of fact, tonight is my scheduled day off anyway," he smiled back. She hadn't seen him smile like that in a while, and was curious as to why. As they stared at each other, they each noticed in the other's eyes, that something else was there, something that wasn't there normally, but neither of them could put a finger on what it was that was extra. They were interrupted by a very left out teenager, who was getting fed up and wanted to go home.

"Hello, as sweet as this is, could one of you please go and find the nurse, and ask her when I can go home? I'm so bored!" she emphasized on the word 'bored' by scrunching her hands into fists, and punching the mattress on the bed.

Both Sara and Grissom looked at their daughter and smiled. 'She has to be ours if she'd that stubborn' Grissom thought to himself. What he hadn't realized was that Sara had stopped looking at Leah, and was staring at him again, lovingly, as he watched is newly found daughter throw a tantrum. For a moment, she thought, 'life's perfect.' She turned around and left the cubicle in search of the nurse to finally discharge Leah.


Meanwhile, back at the lab, the blood results from the knife has come through and Mia gave them to Greg. "So how's Sara taking the news?" she asked. Mia hadn't seen Sara when she was at the lab other then when, she handed the lab tech some more blood samples to analyze. The DNA lab was just too full up with other cases to give her a chance to take a break. The day shift lab tech was like a angel from Heaven when he arrived to relieve Mia of her duties.

"Not very well last time we spoke. She practically jumped out the car before I had even stopped properly to get to Leah, anyone would have thought that she was her daughter not her niece." He laughed, unaware of how true he was.

"Well anyway, here are the results from the knife," she paused as he read them, "I'm sorry"


Hehehe Sorry I like a cliff hanger :p

Please R&R