Chapter 2

Gemma had risen after her overactive bladder wouldn't let her stay in bed any longer. Warrick rolled over onto his back and was snoring softly as she made her way out of the bedroom quietly. She took a moment to watch him sleeping peacefully before leaving the room.

By the time his alarm went off, she had a big breakfast prepared for him. She had also packed him a double lunch, knowing that the single Greg Sanders would end up mooching most of his lunch anyway. As he stepped out of the shower, Gemma was waiting with a mug of coffee for him. Warrick accepted the mug and a kiss along with it.

They spent a quiet meal together, discussing the upcoming child and other pending events. As he left for work, Gemma walked him to the door, accepting his goodbye kiss with relish. She stood there watching as he got into his vehicle She hadn't closed the door after watching him drive off, when the phone was already ringing. It was Catherine. She had the day off and wanted to take Jess for the day.

Gemma had to laugh. "Cath, what did my husband bribe you with?"

"What do you mean by that?" Catherine questioned, never one to give any clue to what she was really thinking.

"First Lucy took her, then Gil…..and now you? Is Warrick bribing you all to take her so I can rest? He's always on me about how much I rest."

"No. This is what family does Gemma-girl." Catherine replied. "We help one another out. Now, if we were to listen to his bribes, we'd all be hanging out at your house. He doesn't like you being alone."

"I'm not due for another two weeks. Am I going to be without my daughter until then?" Gemma questioned. Catherine's only response was musical laughter, but Gemma couldn't be annoyed by her secretive nature. The older woman was an inspiration to Gemma. She was a wonderful mother, single and career woman; she seemed to have it all worked out. Her daughter, Lindsey, was a bright, likable kid, despite the tragedies that had befallen her while so young. In Gemma's opinion, it was all due to the wonderful mothering skills of Catherine Willows.

"So….is it okay if I keep Jessica?" Catherine asked. "If not, I can go pick her up and bring her to you. Maybe I can spend the day…..hovering over you?"

"That sounds like a threat Willows." Gemma laughed. "Where is she now anyway?"

"She's at the lab with Mia. Gil brought her in to work with him, planning to spend the evening with her. I guess they have a big case; he had to leave her at the lab. Mia doesn't mind, but she's not much of a kid person. Hodges and Judy are both out or they'd have claimed her. Doc offered to take her to the morgue, but that was definitely out."

"No, I don't want my child hanging out in the morgue! Alright, if you really want to take her," Gemma sighed. "But I would like to have her back sometime soon…"

"Fabulous! I promise, I'll return her while she's still five!" Catherine laughed, hanging up. Gemma chuckled, imagining Doc Robbins and David playing with Barbie in the morgue with her precocious daughter. She doubted the bodies would even bother her. Jessica was a bright and easy-going child; nothing seemed to get her down for long. She understood death. She understood what Daddy did at work and that bad things happened to people sometimes.

Wondering what to do to entertain herself for another evening all alone, she wondered upstairs to the baby's room. Warrick, Nick and Greg had painted the room a cheery yellow. Catherine and Hodges had stenciled pictures of cuddly animals along the walls. Warrick had filled the crib with pink bears and dolls. She smiled, seeing the dolls. They'd argued that the baby, if it were a girl, wouldn't be playing with dolls for a long time. Warrick, with his big emerald eyes pleading with her, had won. Now she removed the dolls, stacking them on a shelf out of the way. It was time to refresh all the linens.

Gemma had just taken the load out of the washer and into the dryer when the doorbell rang. Hurrying to the door as fast as her cumbersome body would let her; she checked the security door and opened it up.

The same sandy haired man stood there on the doorstep again. "Hello, Mrs. Brown. Is your husband home?"

"No, Mr. Arthur" Gemma frowned. "I'm afraid he's not. I gave him your information and he took it with him to work. Warrick said he'd try to contact you at his lunch time." Gemma noticed that he wasn't wearing his sunglasses this time. She looked into his green eyes and relaxed somewhat. He had kind eyes. There was nothing menacing in his eyes. Besides, she was partial to green eyes she thought.

"I'm really hoping to get in contact with him. I've traveled all the way from England to see him. Perhaps I should have contacted him before I came, but I'm very eager to see him in person." He truly did look sad as he stepped back off the porch. "Good day to you Ma'am."

"Bye. " Gemma watched him drive off; wondering what was so important that the man would travel across the ocean to see Warrick. What could a man in England have in common with her Vegas-based husband? Warrick had never been farther than Miami, he'd once told her. Closing the door, she shook her head, hoping Warrick would share the information about the man when he got home.

Gemma went back to preparing for the baby's arrival, even though there was still two weeks to go, she didn't have anything else to do and she felt the urge to stay busy. She glanced at the clock often, actually looking forward to having Catherine hovering over her. She was lonely.

Catherine came to drop off Jessica a couple hours later and sensing Gemma's loneliness, stayed until she had to get to work. Gemma busied herself feeding and bathing her tired daughter. Tucking her into bed, she was startled when the phone rang.

"Hey Baby, it's me." Warrick's husky voice greeted her as she answered the phone.

"You're not coming home, are you?" She declared sadly.

"It's doubtful." Warrick sounded upset. "Not unless we catch a break on this case. It's a big one. All hands on deck type of case."

"That man came by again." Gemma sighed, trying not to be upset. This was just part of his job. It wasn't something that he could change without changing who he was.

"Oh, geez, I haven't had time to call him. I'll try to call him in the morning. Just, don't be surprised if you don't wake up to find me there, Babe."

"I'll be fine. I've got Jess with me again." It was really difficult to not sound as sad and upset as she felt.

"Cath says you seemed sad tonight?" Concern was dripping from each and every word he questioned.

"I was just a little lonely. With Jessica gone, I didn't have much to do." Gemma paused, hearing Nick's voice in the background, she knew the conversation was over. "I'll be fine now."

"I have to go Babe, I'll call you sometime in the morning, okay?" Warrick hung up quickly, not able to wait for her answer. Gemma was glad as she hung up, for he would be able to hear the tears in her voice. Wiping the tears away, she made her way back to the front room. Prepared to watch TV until the news told her what her husband was dealing with.

Realizing that it was much too early for the news, she muted the television and turned Warrick's scanner on, listening to the noise, hoping for some information and praying that it wouldn't be something dangerous.

Hours later, Gemma woke up to find the television was on infomercials. Focusing her hazy gaze on the clock, she found that it was well past three in the morning. Her neck was stiff from sleeping weird. Levering herself off the couch, she stumbled her way to the bathroom and then went to crawl into her own bed. She hugged Warrick's pillow closely, inhaling his scent that lingered on the material.

She felt tears well up in her eyes irrationally wishing her husband was there in bed beside her. Since her pregnancy, there had been many nights that she cried for the warmth of her husbands arms. This was the one secret she had kept from Warrick. If he knew how miserable she was, the honorable man would quit the night shift and leave his CSI family. She would rather be lonely at night then cause him that heartache. She loved him too much to do that to him.