I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews – I really do appreciate it. I'm always trying to improve my writing and my plot lines, and so I'm always open for suggestions and constructive criticism. It's always nice to know that others are enjoying a story that I'm working on – so please keep up the reviews.

Chapter 8 A Date on the Horizon

The next two days passed quickly for Grissom since he spent most of it taking care of his two very sick girls. He was forced to call off work for both himself and Sara in order to stay home with the two ladies. To make matters more complicated, the painters and the carpet layers showed up and he had no idea what to do with them; he was terrified that they would make too much noise and wake Sara and Hannah. But by the end of the week, the bedroom looked like a little girl's dreamscape and his two girls were sitting on the sofa, watching a Peter Pan marathon. Peter Pan, Hook, and Finding Neverland. If Grissom never heard of another boy named Peter, it would be too soon. But Hannah was enchanted with the stories and Sara seemed happy too, not fidgeting nearly as much as usual.

Grissom was giving Hannah her bath and Sara was nodding off on the sofa when the telephone rang. She picked it up wearily and answered.

"Sara?"

"Hi Catherine. How are you?"

"Better than you, I hear."

"Eh, just a little flu bug. I feel much better today."

"You're an awful liar. What can I do?"

"I need to get out of this house." She wasn't sure why she said it; she still didn't feel great, but she was also growing increasingly restless. She hadn't been in a situation before where she was made to rest while sick; usually she kept going until it got bad enough that she simply collapsed and slept off the cold or flu.

"Done."

"What? No, Cath, I can't go anywhere—"

"Yes, you can. Lindsay and I are coming over to stay with Hannah and you and Grissom are going out. We'll be there in half an hour." Before Sara could argue further, Catherine had disconnected their call.

"Gil! Gilbert! Gilbert Grissom!"

"Yes, Sara?" He appeared in the living room, drying his hands on a towel, and not looking terribly pleased at being bellowed for.

"Sorry. But I'm tired," she said pitifully.

"I know, sweetheart," he said as his expression softened a bit, "what is it?"

"Catherine has this crazy idea that we need to get out. So she's coming over to stay with Hannah."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Uh, nowhere," Sara said with a shake of her head and a shrug of her shoulders.

"She's right. You need to get out. Get dressed," he said as he tugged the fleece blanket away from her.

"Hey! I don't want to go."

"Sara Jane Sidle, get dressed. We're going out."

"You did not just use my middle name," she said, astonished, her eyes narrowing in disbelief.

"And I'll use it again. Now get dressed and be ready in twenty minutes."

"I don't like you," she whined as she stood up and made her way to the bathroom.

"Well, I love you. I suppose that will be enough." His words were accompanied by an amused laugh as Sara locked herself into the bathroom. She appeared, exactly thirty minutes later, to a living room full of onlookers. Grissom smiled when he saw her trademark smirk as she waltzed in, looking better than she had in days. She was dressed in a simple ensemble of well-fitted jeans, black boots, and a thin, dark pink sweater, and she had complemented the outfit with just the right amount of jewelry to make it look incredibly classy. He also appreciated the fact that she had decided to allow her curls to dry into their natural, loose locks.

"Hi Sara," Catherine said with a smile and a playful wink.

"Hey, Cath, Lindsey. How are you guys?"

"Good," Lindsay chirped, not looking up from her video game.

"Excuse her, she was raised in a strip club," Catherine added sarcastically.

"I answered," Lindsay remarked snidely.

"Yeah, I guess you did. Well, where are you guys going tonight?"

"It's a surprise," Grissom said before Sara could answer.

"Why are you here?" Hannah's question wasn't rude, simply curious. She made her way across the room to Sara and slipped her hand into the older woman's. Catherine tried not to laugh; this kid was going to be a handful – she knew how to use her cuteness all too well.

Grissom gave the honest explanation a shot but when he was finished speaking, Hannah was convinced that they were leaving her and had started crying. Sara knelt down next to her and hugged her, assuring the little girl that they would never do such a thing. "Hannah, sweetie, we'll be here when you wake up in the morning. We're just going to do some grownup things, so you're going to stay here with Catherine and Lindsay."

"You'll be back?"

"We'll be back," Sara assured her. "And tomorrow—"

"We get to finish my room," Hannah said with an excited smile.

"We're going to finish your room," Sarah agreed with a nod. "But tonight, you can have fun with Catherine and Lindsay and then we'll be here when you wake up."

"Do you have to go?" Sara didn't answer right away and Catherine could tell she was wavering. Therefore, she was making wild gestures behind Hannah, indicating that they needed to go.

"Yeah, we do," Sara finally answered. "But I promise. We'll be back."

"Promise?"

"Promise," she repeated, hugging the little girl and then dropping a kiss on her cheek.

"You too?" Hannah looked up at Grissom as she posed the question, who in turn picked her up into a hug.

"I promise too. We'll be back before you know it." He kissed her as well, setting down next to Lindsay. "You be good for Catherine." Hannah nodded solemnly and watched the three adults walk toward the door. Sara kept looking back at the two little girls, squinting her eyes in thought.

"If you don't go now, you won't have a life until she goes to college," Catherine whispered softly. "Go, enjoy yourself. Make Gil work for this beautiful newfound family of his."

"I'll see what I can do," Sara said, smiling a bit. "Thanks Cath."

"Anytime. Now go," she said, shooing them both out and locking the doors afterward before going back up to the living room.

Thanks to the following people for reviews of the last few chapters – I really appreciate and enjoy your feedback!

kendra is cheese, MissJorja17, heartcat, Christiangirl, saskia2, ToMyGrave, Natasha, Lin, Mooch, Ms. Elizabeth Granger, palephoenix, Magick, jtbwriter, LadyBelle84, smrozier, The Pink Lemming, eac-dudette, freakytiki05, djkittycat, forensicsgirl, Mandy, diamond-girl-9, wanda57, Augusta, csibugman, Chicklit, Stephenie, wp1fan, SpectralLady, Elizabeth Kelly, candaceFABULOUS, Buzzy, csi-ds9, Sam, kk, Denese25, dew2adidas, Ladybug07