Changed ch 4

Sara gasped, and he continued. "I've thought about this, and I believe I could make you happy. You know I'd never cheat on you, or mistreat you, or ignore you, or push you away. And Katie would be yours - your baby girl. We could have other children - if you wanted; I wouldn't push, but I'd like to. I'd be very good to you, Sara. I think in your heart you know that." He paused for a moment. "From a practical standpoint, I have a pretty good resume. I cook very well, clean, do laundry, change diapers, and give GREAT backrubs, all in addition to leaving the toilet seat in the 'down' position each and every time I use the facilities. You have stated in the past that I can be a real pain in the ass, and while that's at times true I'm basically a pretty nice guy. You've known me for five years, so there would be no ugly surprises. I love you, Sara, and I would do anything in my power to make you happy."

Sara just sat silently for at least ten minutes. "We'd need a bigger place," she said slowly. "Preferably a house with a yard."

Greg grinned. "A house. Yeah, that'd be perfect for us." He paused. "Was that a yes?"

She smiled shyly. "Yeah, I've probably lost my mind, but that's a yes."

Greg squatted down in front of her and put one hand on her cheek. "I will do my best to make sure you never regret this." He lowered his lips to hers, and his kiss was soft and tender. "We have to figure out where and when."

"As far as I'm concerned, a big wedding is a waste of money, especially since we have a child to provide for."

"I agree with you, but I would like to have a few friends and close family with us for it."

"If you want. I don't have any family left. We could go to one of those wedding chapels."

"Yeah, that would work." He chewed his lips. "Maybe next week? We could take some vacation, add a few days to our usual time off..."

She raised her eyebrow. "In a hurry, Greg? " He chuckled and looked her up and down.

"Yes, I am. Seriously, I just don't see any really good reason to wait, but if you want to that's fine."

Sara chuckled. "No, next week's days off is good."

Greg kissed her again, and this time she responded, though a bit tentatively. "I need to call my parents," he whispered against her mouth.

"And we need to call Nick."

"Yeah, he'll be hurt if he's not the first to know."

She paused. "They're all going to freak, you know that, don't you? They're going to tell us we're crazy, and I'm not entirely sure they'll be wrong."

"After Warrick's bombshell, I think they'll handle it okay."

Gil Grissom's face was pinched and gray. "You're WHAT!" He shook his head and removed his glasses, looked at them, then put them back on again. "Sara, you can't do this. I know you love the baby, but this is Greg Hojem Sanders you're talking about. You cannot MARRY him! It's bad enough they left him in charge of a helpless child, but this is... this is..." He shook his head, evidently unable to come up with an adequate adjective. "Impossible. You can't do it, Sara. Please don't do it."

Sara sighed. "I'm not here to ask your permission, Grissom, and as far as Greg goes he's one of the finest men I've ever met. You don't see him as he is now. You have this image of the happy-go-lucky kid he used to be six years ago burned into your mind, and it's like that image will never change for you. Let me tell you something, Grissom. Even before his sister died Greg was a serious, professional MAN, not an irresponsible kid. He had lost most of his joy in life, but he took both life and his job VERY seriously. He still does, but Katie has given him back happiness. And do you know what, Grissom? The two of them have done the same thing for me. Now you may see this as inappropriate, but I'm happy for the first time in fifteen years, and I'm going for it." She stood. "I'm just sorry you can't be happy for us. " She slammed the office door behind her.

Catherine followed Greg into the locker room. "So where are you two going on your honeymoon?"

"I found us a nice little cabin at the lake. We'll only have a few days, but my parents are going to babysit Katie, so at least we'll have a little bit of time. The place is really pretty. I hope Sara likes it."

"I'm happy for you. I just hope you two are doing the right thing. Marriage is no easy thing. Believe me, I know."

"I know it's not, but I will do absolutely anything to make it work. This is not just for Katie, Catherine. Never think that it is."

Catherine sighed. "I know it's not, Greg; for you I know it's not."

"This is a joke, right?" Warrick Brown was not a man easily surprised, but this concept was just astonishing. "I mean, she wouldn't even go out with him; now they're getting MARRIED?"

Nick shook his head. "I know, man, I know. I told Greg I wasn't surprised he'd marry her; it was her willingness to marry HIM that threw me for a loop."

Warrick laughed. "You got that right. How the hell did he get her to say yes, now?"

Nick chuckled. "Not sure, but she's been over at his place every single day since his sister died."

Warrick grinned. Now he got it. "The dog! He seduced her into it."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "Warrick. This is Greg Sanders and Sara Sidle we're talking about. Get real."

Warrick shook his head. "I don't know WHAT the world is coming to. If this could happen, I guess we need to be taking a good, hard look at the whole Area 51 thing 'cause reality ain't what we thought it was."

"No lie, man. No lie."

Al Robbins smiled to himself as he shut the morgue drawer. Young love was blossoming all around him - David and Hannah were getting married in two weeks, and now Greg and Sara were making their plans as well. It cheered his heart to see romance blooming all around him. It also inspired him to plans of his own. He nodded gruffly and pushed his glasses up. He was going to get his wife some flowers and a box of chocolates on the way home, get a little romance warming up on his own home fires. He smiled as he remembered how, ah, sentimental Jan could be. Yes, he might be missing out on a bit of sleep today, but it was going to be well worth it. Single guys might think they had it made, but being married definitely had some absolutely wonderful fringe benefits.

Sophia Curtis smiled as she glanced at Sara Sidle in the bathroom mirror. "I heard the news."

Sara lifted an eyebrow at her. "What, Grissom's recruited you to try to talk me out of it? Don't bother. My mind's made up."

Sophia laughed. "Whoa, there. I didn't hear about it from Grissom, and even if he had tried to get me to talk you out of it I wouldn't. You're a grown woman, Sara, and Greg's an attractive guy. You've been really close for quite a while. I'm actually not all that surprised. I just wanted to congratulate you."

Sara shook her head. This was not what she'd been expecting to hear. "Wow, I'm... thanks for that."

Sophie smiled warmly. "Not a problem. Greg's my friend, and you make him happy. That's good enough for me." With that, Sophia slipped out of the restroom.

Archie glanced up at David Hodges. "You are late."

He nodded at the pizza boxes on the counter. "The rest is yours."

SuperDave, who sat beside Archie, nodded at Hodges. "Did you hear? "

"Hear about what?"

"About Greg and Sara."

Hodges put two slices of pizza on his plate. "No. What, did Ecklie finally wise up and fire them both?"

Archie laughed "No, man, they're getting married."

Hodges put his plate down. "Married? Both of them?"

Archie nodded. "Yes, both of them."

"To each other," chimed in SuperDave.

Hodges raised his hands. "Greg Sanders is getting married. To Sara Sidle."

"Yes." Archie and SuperDave spoke in unison.

Hodges shook his head and put the pizza back in the box. "I'm not eating this. The mushrooms must be the funny kind, because you two are out of your damned minds."