It was a small, private ceremony, with only their closest friends in attendance, and frankly, they wouldn't have had it any other way. The wedding wasn't fancy, it wasn't big, but it was everything they had hoped for. The two weeks following the wedding they took their honeymoon, relaxing on the beaches of a tropical island.
She was now early into the eighth month of her pregnancy, and was going to retract her statement about six months being uncomfortable, because eight months was much worse.
He was at work, eagerly spreading pictures in the evidence room, when the team appeared, at the door.
"Hey Griss, you called a meeting here?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, I got your page, what's up?" inquired Catherine.
"I wanted to show you guys this," he answered, smiling and pointing to the brightly lit evidence table.
Spread over it were pictures from his wife's latest ultrasound.
"I wanted to introduce you all to Baby Sidle-Grissom," he beamed.
Warrick chuckled and shuffled closer to the table to get a better look.
"I never would have guessed that one day you'd be fawning over baby pictures boss man," Greg laughed.
"Anything is possible Greg."
"Do you know the sex?" asked Catherine.
"No, we want it to be a surprise."
"Sara doing ok?" Nick questioned.
"Yes she is, and she said to say hi to everyone."
Late that night he snuck home, slipping silently through the front door. He didn't turn on any lights, but made his way in the darkness to their room. He gently opened the door to their room, to find the light still on.
"I heard your keys in the door," she said.
"What are you doing up?" he replied, crossing the room to kiss her.
"The baby keeps moving, and kicking me in the ribs. Not to mention the sporadic back pain. I couldn't sleep."
"Can I do anything for you?"
"Back rub?" she smiled, manoeuvring so her back was presented to him.
He sat down next to her and rubbed her back slowly, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the treat.
"That feels good," she murmured.
He kissed her neck, and she sighed contentedly.
"How does that feel?" he whispered slyly in her ear, then kissing it as well.
"Very good."
He continued what he was doing, adding more touching and feeling as he went, until she suddenly pulled away from him.
"What's the matter?"
"Baby's leaning on my bladder," she answered, heading towards the bathroom.
She pushed the door half closed to the bathroom, and bent down to pick up a towel that had fallen.
Pain. Sharp, hot pain shot through her entire lower back. She yelped, then felt the fluid. She sunk to the ground as her throbbing body was struck with another flash of spasms.
He was at her side in seconds.
"Sara what is it?" he panicked, holding her.
"The baby…o…my water…I think my…water broke," she moaned.
"Are you having contractions?"
"I don't know. It's too early for the baby to come," she cried, shuddering as the pain went through her again.
"Something is…something is wrong," she said, grasping his hand.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and dialled 911.
"Hang in there honey…please," he pleaded as he waited.
He hated emergency rooms. Hated everything that went along with them. Everyone here was in some kind of pain, either physically, or emotionally. He was almost running to keep up with her stretcher as they wheeled her down the hall to a trauma room. He didn't want them to be here again when it had been merely months earlier when he had found her in one.
He heard them calling out medical terms, ones he should know or at least recognize, but didn't really hear any of them, instead focusing only on her.
Her eyes reflected the pain she was in, and the helplessness of the situation.
He felt helpless, useless. He hated the fact that there was nothing he could do but hold her hand.
They threw questions at him left, right and centre. About her pregnancy, her health, what she had eaten or done that day. He answered as best he could, but even that didn't help.
"The baby's in distress! Heart rate is dropping!" he heard a nurse call out.
"What's going on!" she called out weakly, sweat pouring off her face.
"Do we have time for a C-section?" someone yelled, as another nurse pressed the ultrasound machine to her belly.
"No time!"
"Please tell me what's wrong!" she called again.
"Miss Sidle, on the next contraction you have to push."
"I can't," she cried, tears mixing with sweat.
"You need to tell us what's happening!" he suddenly demanded.
"The baby is in distress because of the early labour. The only way to help it is to deliver it, you have to push."
Her face contorted in anguish as another contraction rocked her body.
"Push!"
"I can't!"
"Come on Sara, you can do it," he tried to calm her.
"Again!"
"No…"
She arched her back digging her right hand into the bed and her left into his arm, crying out in pain.
"One more Sara…almost there!"
With her last ounce of strength she pushed, and then collapsed.
"Sara?"
Her eyes were closed, she was motionless on the bed. The doctors rushed around him, and he was vaguely aware of another team of specialists hovering over a NICU unit.
"Sara!" he breathed, rubbing her arm.
"Sir, you need to back up please, let us work on her," a nurse said, pushing him out of the way.
"No…Sara! Wake up Sara!"
He was backed out of the room, where he could see the doctors working on his wife and baby. His mouth hung open in shock as he took in the horrible nightmare that was being played out before him.
Then the NICU team was pushing past him, taking the unit holding their baby down the hall towards the elevators, the baby that he didn't even know the sex of. Then the doors burst open again as the stretcher she was on barrelled past him. He followed but was stopped at the elevators, and told to wait until a nurse came for him. He didn't remember sinking to the floor. He wasn't aware of the people asking him if he was alright, or of the doctor checking his pulse.
The next thing he was aware of was someone calling his name. He opened his eyes to the bright florescent lights of the hospital waiting room to find Catherine beside him, and to find himself wrapped in a blanket on a chair.
"Gil, are you ok?" she asked timidly, holding out a cup of coffee.
"Sara?" he muttered.
"Not out of surgery yet. You look awful. They said you went into shock."
He sipped at the hot liquid, and sighed.
"The baby?" he asked.
"Upstairs in the NICU. It's a boy Grissom. Congratulations."
He gave a half smile but realized the situations was very bittersweet.
"Is he alright?"
"They didn't tell me much, but they did say he is doing ok."
"Did you hear anything about Sara?"
"No."
He shut his eyes to fight back the tears, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Mr. Grissom?" a voice startled them both.
"Yes?" he said, instantly looking up at the doctor.
"I'm Doctor Allan, I worked on your wife."
"How is she?" he said, standing up.
"She had some pretty bad haemorrhaging, and lost a lot of blood. We were able to stop that though. The labour took a lot out of her as well. She's going to be pretty weak for awhile, but she's going to be fine."
He let out a breath that he had been holding.
"Thank you. When can I see her?"
"We'll let you know when she gets to the recovery room."
He sunk back down in his chair, breathing a sigh of relief. He had been through hell and back, but his wife and baby were going to be alright. He realized how precious life was at that moment.
More to come soon! Thanks for sticking with the story! Byes, L