Disclaimer: It's not mine, I just enjoy pretending I control their universe.
A/N: Hey y'all, thanks for the support about all my family issues and the late update. It's nice to have the support :-) from y'all. Oh, before I get on with my author's note- I put up a little one-shot dealing with ladybug (Cath/Gil) friendship, called "Why Can't He Sleep When it Rains?" so go read and review, please! Anyways, just a couple more things. A couple people mentioned that they thought Sara was out of character with the way she was dressing/acting. Personally, I agree, but I also think that 1- being with Greg has loosened her up, and 2- it was a bet. We all know how stubborn Sara is, and she's not going to back down from a challenge. And a couple of people also commented that they thought Greg would be jealous of the attention she was getting. Again, it was a bet. He picked out those clothes knowing she'd get attention from everyone. And besides, I think they have a high degree of trust, and therefore Greg knows he has no reason to be jealous. He knows Sara loves him, etc. And I'm glad that y'all liked Grissom's reaction. I kept cracking up while writing it myself lol. Oh, as far as we know, there's never been any real indication of religious preferences among the CSI/Lab tech peoples, so I'm taking liberties with that. Anyways, with all that being said, onto the chappie!
A Marriage of Convenience
Chapter Sixteen
"Jingle bells, Nicky smells, Warrick laid an egg, bug-mobile, lost a wheel, and Catherine took ballet, hey!" Greg sang as he waltzed, and Sara walked, back into the lab the night before their vacation started. Everyone was meeting back up to finish paperwork, and bid their farewells before the holiday.
"Ha ha Greg, and I don't smell," Nick gave him a sarcastic smile as he walked in, Catherine and Warrick behind him.
"Sure thing ol' buddy, ol' pal, if you say so!" Greg gave a theatrical sniff in Nick's direction. "Oh I just love Christmas!"
"Yeah, it's always nice to spend time with family," Warrick agreed.
"Yup, and besides, Christmas tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la," Greg burst into song.
"C'mon Greg, do you have to do that?" Catherine scolded in annoyance.
"You think that's bad?" Sara scoffed. "He's been doing it for the past two weeks- every day! When he's showering, making coffee, doing dishes, chores…it's unending."
"He does chores?" Catherine looked impressed. "Send him over my way, I've got some cleaning he can do, free of charge."
"No thank you," Greg said matter-of-factly. "I only do chores because we switch off weeks to do them. And if I didn't do my week, I'd be on the couch."
"Darn. Oh well. So what time are you guys heading out tomorrow?"
"Uh, probably around seven or so," Sara answered when Greg looked to her, not remembering what they'd planned. "It's about a four hour drive, and we want to get there so we can get settled in and rested so we won't feel dead on Christmas Eve."
"Cool, well, have fun," Nick smiled.
"You too, and say hi to Layla, and tell her next time she visits, she has to stop by so we can meet her."
"I'll be sure not to," Nick muttered under his breath.
"What was that Nick?" Sara looked at him innocently, though he knew she'd heard everything.
"Nothing, I just said I'll be sure to pass that along," he smiled back, just as innocently.
"All right," Grissom announced, walking into the room. "Once you've completed your paperwork, you can leave, and have a very happy holiday."
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"Time to wake up vennen min," Greg announced softly, not wanting to startle her out of her slumber.
"Huh?" She replied drowsily. She rubbed a hand over her face, blinking several times. "Ok, what?"
"We're almost there, about five minutes away, so I thought you might like the warning."
"Oh…Oh!" Sara sat up as her brain finally processed Greg's statement. "I'm about to meet my in-laws. They're going to hate me!"
"Oh shut up," he rolled his eyes, but reached a hand over to take hers in his. "We've had this talk before. They're going to love you."
A minute later, Greg pulled onto a residential road, and before Sara even realized it, they were pulling into the driveway of a beautiful house. It was a modest looking, two story, Spanish influenced style house. As they climbed out of the car, Sara felt her nerves calm as Greg interlaced their hands as they walked up the brick walkway, through a black wrought iron gate, and up to the door. Before Greg could even raise a hand to knock, it swung open and Greg was yanked into a hug that lifted him off his feet.
"Gregers!" The tall, well-built man clapped Greg heartily on the back as he was set back on his feet.
"Hi Far," Greg laughed, then pulled Sara forward. "This is Sara-"
"My new daughter!" Olaf said cheerfully, and pulled Greg further inside before moving closer to Sara and giving her a bear hug. "Oh aren't you a pretty thing!"
"Thanks Mr. Sanders," Sara blushed.
"Oh none of that, I'm Far. You're familie now!" He leaned forward and kissed both her cheeks before pulling her inside too, and closed the door.
"Hello Mamma," Greg went over to his mother and kissed her cheek before bringing Sara over to meet her. "Mamma, this is Sara. Sara, this is my mother, Tekla, and you met my father, Olaf."
"Call me Mamma," Tekla smiled broadly as she stood up from her chair, bringing herself to her full height of four feet, eleven inches. Sara almost let out a laugh at how different Olaf and Tekla were. Tekla was under five feet, whereas Olaf had to have been at least six feet, five inches tall. And he was built- not fat by any means, but muscled and broad shouldered. Tekla was more delicate looking, though Sara could see the fire in her eyes, and knew she had a strong spirit. "Oh you're even lovelier than my son said. Welcome to the family."
"Thank you…Mamma," she smiled back. She was kept from saying anything else as a blond cannonball shot into the room and leapt into Greg's arms.
"Greggo!" the girl laughed, her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She planted a kiss on his cheek and gave his neck a squeeze before hopping down.
"Hey Kelly," he kissed her cheek too. "Glad to see you too squirt."
"I am not a squirt!" She replied firmly. "Now, where's my sister-in-law? I want to meet the woman who was smart enough to realize what a great guy you are."
"That'd be me," Sara announced her presence. "Hi, I'm Sara."
"I'm Kelly, Greggo's sister, unfortunately," she walked over to give Sara a hug.
"You poor thing, I know just how you feel," Sara laughed, liking the girl and her teasing attitude immediately.
"Hey, no fair!" Greg stomped his foot in mock irritation. "You girls are ganging up on me!"
"Oh you poor thing," Tekla laughed, pinching Greg's cheek. "Now, stop pouting and show Sara where you two are sleeping. Knowing you, you two probably drove here straight from work. Go upstairs and get some sleep for a few hours. I don't want to see either of you till dinnertime. We'll catch up then. Now go on you two, shoo!"
"All right Mamma, love ya," Greg kissed her cheek.
"You too Gregers," she smiled before turning to Sara and giving her another hug. "Sleep well, and welcome again."
"Thanks," Sara replied before turning and following Greg upstairs.
"Well this is it," Greg led her into a fairly spacious room, decorated in greens and whites.
"Huh, doesn't seem like you."
"That's cause it's not. When I left for college, Mamma decided it needed to be redecorated. So I left it in August looking like a rock star's dream, and come home at Thanksgiving to find Martha Stewart's handiwork instead. But it's cool; I like the green and white."
"Yeah, it looks like it'd suit your mature side," Sara laughed, then abruptly yawned. "Wow, I'm tired. Let's get some sleep; I don't want to be a total zombie tonight at dinner."
"I se-se-second, that, idea," he fought a yawn, turning the bedclothes down. "Good night."
"Don't you mean good afternoon?" Sara slid beneath the sheet and into his arms.
"Whatever. Won't change the fact that I love ya."
"I love ya too, kjære," she whispered back, already falling asleep.
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"Mamma!" Kelly hissed down the stairs.
"What?" Tekla hissed back up.
"Come up here and look at them, they're still asleep. Do I really have to wake them? They're so cute!"
"Oh you're right," Tekla smiled when she saw them. Sara was laying with her back to Greg, his arms wrapped around her middle, with her arms resting on his. "No, we'll let them sleep, now go and get my camera for me."
"Why Mamma?"
"Because I need to start a scrapbook for them! And for a scrapbook, I need pictures. Now go!" Tekla ordered.
When Kelly came back, Tekla took a few pictures quickly, then closed the door once more. She headed downstairs with a smile on her face, and a spring in her small step as she entered the kitchen where they took their meals.
"I like her!" Olaf declared boisterously.
"Me too," Tekla agreed, giving him a kiss, laughing as his mustache tickled her lip. "He picked a good one. Not like some of those girls he liked to use and lose."
"And she's fun!" Kelly had to add her two cents. "She likes to tease him as much as I do, and I bet she can give as good as she gets."
"Hey, sorry we overslept," Greg interrupted as they entered the room. "Why didn't you wake us? I mean without the camera flashes?"
"Oh, did that bother you? Sorry, but you were just so cute that I had to take some pictures for your scrapbook," Tekla apologized.
"Oh no Mamma, not the scrapbook again," Greg groaned.
"What?" Sara interjected, curious.
"I'll have to show you after dinner! It's adorable really, contrary to what Greg thinks," Tekla shook her head at her son's antics. He was pretending to bang his head against the table. "Ever since he was little, I've been working on a scrapbook for him. You know, putting in pictures of major events in his life; baby pictures, first day of school, homecoming, prom, graduation, and the like. Well, of course as he's gotten older, there haven't been too many to put in, but I thought this would be photo-worthy, especially since it's party selfish on my part too. I don't have any pictures of you two, so I figured this would be a nice way to kill two birds with one stone."
"Yeah, sorry about that…Mamma," Sara said, hesitantly using the word, still not quite comfortable with it. "We're working on that."
"Oh no rush. But like I was saying, once I've added in a few pictures last pictures, I'll give it to him so he can share it with you, and your future children."
"Thanks Mamma," Greg said sarcastically. "It's not enough you know all my flaws, but now my wife and children will too."
"Yes," she simply smiled. "There will be grandbabies for me to spoil sometime I trust?"
"Sometime around August," Greg grinned broadly as his mom stopped with her fork half-way to her mouth.
"You're joshing me!" She looked at him in shock as he shook his head. "He's not joshing me?" She looked at Sara next, as if not believing her own son.
"Nope. You're going to be besteforeldre," Sara confirmed with a smile.
"Did you hear Olaf? We're going to be grandparents!" Tekla jumped up and ran to her husband excitedly, giving him a hug. She then ran around the table, squeezing the life out of everyone, several times each, as well as bestowing several kisses upon Greg and Sara.
The rest of dinner went smoothly, filled with conversation, and the occasional sporadic laugh of happiness from Tekla. After dinner Sara spent the evening sitting on the couch with Tekla, being regaled with stories of Greg's childhood misfortunes, and looking through the scrapbook. Greg of course, kept interjecting comments about how everything his mother was saying was a lie, but for some reason he couldn't explain why there were pictures to support the stories. And after all, Sara reminded him with a smirk, the evidence never lies.
The next day, Christmas Eve, Greg took Sara on a drive around San Gabriel, introducing her to his life. He showed her his elementary, middle, and high school, and all his old hangouts. He took her on a visual tour of her history, and she loved every minute of it. In all the years they had worked together, she hadn't really gotten to know a whole lot about him. So it was nice for her to get a glimpse of his past, and what made him into the man she loved today.
That afternoon Tekla sent Greg and Olaf to pick up some last minute things from the grocery store for the party that evening. Sara was dragged upstairs by Kelly to start getting ready for the dinner party that would start around six. Sara gladly excepted Kelly's help, as she knew a few of Greg's old girlfriends would be there, as well as old family friends, and they would be judging her. She wanted to make Greg proud.
After hopping in the shower, she came into her room to find Kelly had picked out a dress for her to wear. Sara had bought it on a whim several months ago during a sale, but hadn't worn it. Pulling it on, she gave a satisfied nod as she looked at herself in the mirror. The demure, dark red gown was rather simple, but only served to highlight her own unique beauty. It was off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved, slightly clingy gown, with an asymmetric hem that only accentuated her long legs. To complete the look, she swept her hair up in a French twist, held in place by two silver hair combs that had been a high-school graduation gift from her grandparents. The only jewellery she wore was her rings, and little silver hoops. In regards to make-up, a little eye-shadow, and a little lipstick, but nothing else.
"You look gorgeous Sara!" Kelly exclaimed as she waltzed into the room.
"Thanks, so do you!" Sara complimented as she sat down on the bed to pull on her black strappy heels.
Kelly did look rather pretty in a forest green satin gown. The halter dress showed off her hips, and had an attractive handkerchief hemline around her knees. She had her hair curled, left down, and clipped back on the sides. Her jewellery consisted of a diamond solitaire necklace, diamond earrings, and a diamond bracelet.
"Now, you're nervous aren't you?" Kelly asked, seeing Sara wring her hands slightly. She took a seat next to Sara.
"A little. Like with your parents, I guess I'm just worried about making a good impression."
"Well don't. My parents loved you- still love you as a matter of fact, I love you-sis," Kelly teased with a smile. "And most importantly, Greggo loves you. And you know, when you come down to it, that's really all that matters."
"Thank you, I needed that," Sara smiled, giving Kelly a hug.
"Hey, keep your hands off my wife," Greg said in mock jealously as he entered the room.
"Sure thing Greggo," Kelly pulled back from Sara. Standing up, she walked over to him and ruffled his hair. "You look nice. I'll see you downstairs.
"Thanks, you too," he grimaced as he tried to get his hair back into some semblance of order.
"Here, let me help," Sara laughed, walking over to him. His hands went to rest on her hips as she used her fingers to comb through his hair.
"You look stunning," he leaned in and kissed her.
"You look great too," she replied, looking him up and down. He had dressed up in black slacks, and a cream colored sweater. Very sedated compared to his usual clothes, and she said so.
"Yeah well, Mamma and Far like me to pretend I'm normal at least one night of the year," Greg laughed as he led her downstairs to where guests were just arriving.
The party went off without a hitch. Tekla stole Sara away to introduce her to friends, and she soon felt very much at ease. Greg, from where he was talking with friends, couldn't hide the look of pride and love for her. Neither could she. It was very obvious to everyone around them that they were perfect for each other.
The rest of their Christmas visit also went great. Christmas morning was nice and relaxing without and little kids running around at five in the morning, clamoring to open presents. Sara received some lovely gifts from her new family; mainly gift certificates, as they didn't know her well, but there were a few other things that were rather special, such as a lovely necklace that Tekla gave her that had been a family heirloom. Another rather fun gift was the scrapbook that was a joint gift for her and Greg.
When they finally headed out the day after, it was a tearful good-bye, with promises to get together soon. However, once they had picked up Duke from Warrick's, Sara's mind immediately began organizing and preparing for the New Year's party that they would be hosting for the nightshift- including techs, at Greg's request. Grissom, with the help of Catherine, had pulled several strings so that they could all have the night off. It was sure to be a blast!
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A/N: Okay, that's it. Sorry if it seems kinda rushed near the end, but honestly, I didn't really want to write out a party scene, Christmas, and their driving home. And to be honest, you probably wouldn't want to bother with such trivial details, right? Right. I like to keep things moving. Just to let you know, there's probably only going to be a couple more chapters. And by a couple, I mean about two or three. So it's winding down, and will soon be at an end. Kinda sad. This is my first baby, and it's just gone and grown up! Anyways, reviews please- I love 'em!