Note from the author: Thank you all for the feedback on this, as well as my other stories. I'm sorry it has taken so long to get a post up, but due to an unfortunate accident (my brother and cousin pushed me off of the 4-wheeler my brother got for Christmas) I broke my wrist and my typing has slowed down a great deal. Luckily, I was almost finished with this chapter, and I'm about 3/4 through with updates on my other stories, so I should have updates relatively soon.

Jenna

Four:

Catherine wasn't aware of getting into her car, turning the key, or backing out of her driveway, much less arriving at Grissom's office. It wasn't until the first tear spilled onto her cheek that she realized her boss/close friend was leading her into his office and shutting the door behind her.

"She told you."

"You knew?" Catherine asked sharply, angrily wiping tears from her cheeks, "She told you before she told me?"

Grissom held up his hand, "You're jumping the gun, here, Cath. She didn't tell me, I figured it out on my own...of course, when you have your hand on her abdomen and something kicks, you, it's a pretty safe bet."

"You felt it move?" Catherine asked, astonished, "She's that far along."

Grissom gave her a skeptical look, "She's a very faithful person, Cath, and you two have been together for just over 3 months now. Assuming you two didn't start dating the minute her cop boyfriend left town...you do the math."

"I don't know what to do, Gil." Catherine sighed, falling back onto a chair and letting her arms fall to her sides, "A baby? I don't know if I'm ready for that. We've never even talked about it."

Grissom raised an eyebrow, "Yet, you aren't talking to her about it now, when it needs to be discussed?" he paused, carefully choosing his words, "Cath, look, I'm not the right person to give you relationship advice, but I have known both you and Sara for a long time, so let me try."

"No quotes? No science? Just advice? Gil, I'm honored and impressed."

Grissom frowned, leaning forward, "You love Sara. Sara loves you. You've got a daughter, and when Sara entered your personal life, she had none, so to speak. Finding out she's pregnant is a big shock to you, I can't even begin to fathom how you feel, I don't want to. You are both very stubborn and headstrong women, and if you two don't work together on this, you won't last. Whatever you feel right now, don't you think Sara's feeling ten times worse?"

"She kept it a secret from me. She didn't even tell me she suspected."

Grissom raised his eyebrow again, leaning back in his chair, "Ever consider she didn't tell you right away because she was anticipating this reaction from you?"

"That's..." Catherine began, angrily, before losing her steam and sighing, "A definite possibility."

"Do you love Sara any less now that she's carrying a child? Have your feelings for her changed, or are you just worried about how much strain this will put on your lifestyle?"

Catherine sighed, leaning forward and putting her elbows on Grissom's desk, "I already struggle to find time for Lindsey, Sara and I don't have any way to balance out our careers, I can't ask my Mom or sister to babysit a baby as well as Lindsey, I can't see how we'll be able to afford a new baby in the house, or if I even remember how to take care of a new baby. When Lindsey was a baby, I had Eddie to pick up the slack whenever I really needed him to...most of the time...but now Sara and I are on the same schedule. How will we ever see the baby? How can we afford day care? 5 months! How can someone not know they're pregnant for five entire months?"

"I'm not good with this sort of advice, so I'll tell you once and then I've got to get some of this paperwork done." Grissom said softly, "Sara's going to have this baby, whether or not you're there to help. If she comes home from the hospital to you and Lindsey, or to an empty apartment, she's still coming home with a baby. To leave her just because she's pregnant is stupid. She needs someone right now. If this goes deeper than the pregnancy, then you need to address those issues. If it's just the pregnancy, that is insane. Maybe, you should be wondering why she's suddenly so sick and weak instead of wondering why she didn't know sooner. Sometimes people just don't know, sometimes they're too stubborn to see the early signs, and it takes it hitting them across the head for them to realize what it is. You need to decide how you feel and what you want to do, and you need to do it soon, because the woman waiting for you at home is not just your girlfriend, she's your girlfriend who is pregnant and should be avoiding stress."

"Thanks." Catherine replied, standing and moving towards the door, "You've been surprisingly helpful."

"Oh, Cath-" Grissom said as she opened the door. She turned back to look at him, and he said firmly, "Whatever happens between the two of you...that stays at home, do not bring it to my lab if either of you value your jobs."

With a nod, Catherine quietly walked out of his office and back to her car. She definitely had a lot to consider, and not much time to do it.

Catherine walked into the house, nervousness nipping a the bottom of her stomach. Lindsey was next door, at least, she would be led to believe so by her daughter's bike on their lawn, and judging by the time, Lindsey was probably planning on spending the night.

She brushed away the slight irritation that no one had called to verify with her that it was okay for Lindsey to go, although she knew she had entrusted Sara to make those decisions before. Tonight, however, she just felt extra unreasonable.

Seeing that the lights were all turned off, she assumed Sara was in bed, and decided she needed to wake her lover up to have this conversation. This was definitely something that couldn't wait until morning.

What she didn't expect to find, however, was a half-packed suitcase laying across their bed, with no Sara to be found. Knowing that she hadn't seen Sara in the kitchen, living room, or backyard, she decided to check the next logical place. It was on the bathroom floor that she found her girlfriend, curled up in a ball, asleep, using a towel as a pillow for her pale, tear stained head.

"Sara, honey, wake up." Catherine whispered, brushing her hand against Sara's cheek, "You can't just sleep here."

Sara moaned, stretching tiredly and rubbing her eyes. Seeing Catherine's own worn appearance, the events of the past few hours came rushing back to her and tears immediately filled her eyes. "You came back."

"I live here, silly, of course I came back. It's going to take more than a few heated words to get rid of me. Besides, you and your little one seem like you need some assistance." Catherine whispered, pulling Sara to her feet and leading her to the bedroom, "What's this about?" she asked, motioning to the suitcases.

Sara looked down, unsure of how to handle Catherine's support after her apparent anger earlier, "I just assumed you'd want me gone. You didn't bargain on this," she motioned to her stomach, "When you asked me to move in. I understand, really, don't feel obligated--"

"Sara, I love you. I love you almost as much as I love Lindsey. I love you more than I have ever loved another person in my entire life. This baby is a part of you, I'm not going to kick you to the curb just because you're having a baby. I was being unfair. You took Lindsey on as your own, no questions asked, and it would be hypocritical and unjust for me to do the same." She pulled the brunette in for a hug, "There's so much we have to do. Get some rest and I'll make a list."

"A list of what?" Sara asked sleepily, still slightly dazed from sleep and eager to get back to her nap, wherever it had to be taken.

Catherine pulled the suitcase off of the bed and pulled down the covers, "Get in. You need a doctor's appointment, they'll probably do an ultrasound. We need baby clothes, furniture, accessories. We'll need to clean out the spare bedroom/office and set that up, unless we move Lindsey to that room, since we'd want the baby close by. We need to start looking for a babysitter, we can use Lindsey's pediatrician...You'll need prenatal vitamins and we definitely need to start you on a healthier diet, oh, and maternity clothes..."

"Catherine, calm down, you're getting all...OCD on me. Right now, I only want to think about a nice long nap, then a warm soothing bath. Anything else can wait." Sara replied, closing her eyes, "Lay down with me, I missed you today."

"I missed you too baby, I'm sorry I freaked out on you. I was just so surprised, I never imagined this happening. I know you would never cheat on me, and I know you wouldn't keep it a secret from me, but my mind just wasn't processing clearly. I just needed some time to get my head on straight. Do you forgive me?"

Silence.

"Sara?"

Once again, she was met with silence. She looked down at the brunette, smiling softly as she heard her soft, even breathing. A few moments later, Sara's hand relaxed and fell from Catherine's grasp as she was completely asleep. Wrapping an arm around her younger girlfriend, Catherine snuggled close to her and let her own eyes close. There would be plenty of time for worrying tomorrow, tonight they would be able to sleep uninterrupted.