A/N: In this chapter, the gang will be going somewhere that I have never been but would love to go. In saying this, I apologize if anything I describe about the place is wrong. I'm only writing it from pictures and descriptions I've read from the website.
I apologize for any error or mistakes. This chapter was not edited a third time like most of the other chapters because it's too late at night. I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 12 – The Boy
4:14pm Thursday
Brennan had gone down for a nap at 1 and since then, the adults had sat around the TV room talking. Grissom had learned the heartbreaking story of why Celeste and Sara's meeting was so emotional and why Sara had thanked her.
"Celeste was the one that helped Shelly after what Rhory did to her. She stayed with her that night." Sara informed him to which he just looked over to Celeste with the deepest, most gratitude filled baby blues that nearly sent Celeste crying. To see that someone else cared so much for her friend was heartbreaking, in a good way.
Everything was going fine until Shelly excused herself to have a cigarette.
"You never smoked in Vegas." Grissom had stated angrily before shooting daggers in the direction of Sage and Celeste.
"Father," Shelly said patronizingly, "I'm old enough to have a smoke every now and then."
"No you're not. I'm sure you had one of these two go in and buy for you. You guys do realize it's illegal to do that right?"
"Dad, please. I bought it myself with my fake ID. Do you really want to report me? Come on, you're out of your jurisdiction and this is keeping me sane. Would you rather me do this or drink my heart away? Besides, I don't smoke in front or around Brenn at all." Shelly had a point, even though Grissom didn't agree one iota. Nothing he could do however, and realizing this, Grissom sat back on the couch and brooded.
It wasn't long before Grissom came out of brooding and paid attention again to the stories, only the good ones were told, of Shelly's past. Now, at 4:20 in the afternoon, Grissom couldn't wait to have Brennan awake again. For someone who didn't have much of anything to do with babies, unless they were already dead, he was surprised that he did so well with Brennan. I guess it's 'cause he's family, Grissom thought with a smile.
He jumped off the couch at the first whimper that came from the bedroom.
"Hey lil' buddy." He greeted softly as he walked into the room. "Let's go play some more before dinner." Grissom was a little disappointed at first when all the sleepy baby did was curl up into his chest. His disappointment was short lived however when he began to enjoy thewarmth of the baby boy in his arms.
He walked back to the TV room and sat down in the toy corner with him. Shelly brought him some more applesauce, which Grissom was beginning to see was one of the only things they could afford, and he began feeding him. It wasn't long before the boy was up and playing with Grissom, who was just as excited and boyish as Brennan.
"I guess he never gets to be like this at home." Shelly leaned in and whispered to Sara. She just shook her head and enjoyed watching Grissom, her new long awaited, but well worth it, lover, playing with his grandson.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10:31pm
Grissom and Sara had dropped Shelly off at the hospital after they had finished dinner with Celeste, Sage, and Brennan at the local family restaurant. Sage had taken Brennan back to their townhouse to be put to bed while Grissom and Sara said goodnight to Shelly and had went back to their hotel room; only after Shelly told them to take her luggage and cancel her room since she wouldn't be there at all. "Waste of money, sorry." She had apologized.
She had been standing outside Debbie's hospital room watching her sleep for a half an hour. It wasn't until Debbie started waking up that the doctor walked by and noticed Shelly.
"She is doing much, much better tonight." The doctor told her. "She passed the tests and now has the oxygen mask off. Her breathing is fine even though it sounds as if she is wheezing; that's just from the pain in her ribs. She's fine other then that. All injuries are healing well and she should be allowed to leave tomorrow afternoon if she passes her neurology exam tomorrow morning and if she has someone to help her."
Shelly smiled at the doctor and walked into the room. "Hey Deb, how's it going?"
"Great! Did you talk to Doctor Fine-Ass out there? Says I should be out of here tomorrow afternoon, which means I should be able to make Brennan's birthday party." Debbie smiled bright.
"Uhhh, Deb, there won't be a birthday party. We don't have anything set up. We were just planning a small cake and that's it. Can't really afford anything more."
"Pish-posh. From the little bit I heard from Celeste, your daddy got money. Use him."
"Debbie! I am not going to …" Shelly shook her head and laughed lightly. "You are a piece of work. Look, I didn't go looking for my dad for money and you know that. I went looking for him to find out about me and that's it. It just so happens that, so far, things are working out well and I'm not only learning about me, my dad, and what really happened but I'm also learning about family… biological family." She reiterated after seeing Debbie's hurt expression. "You'll always be family Deb and you know that."
Debbie smiled and nodded, "I know. Now, how is my boy doing?"
"He's attaching very much to his grandfather." Shelly smiled. "I'm glad he is." She looked down at her feet and sighed before looking back up into Debbie's concerned eyes.
"What's wrong sweetheart?"
"It's just … I want to get to know my dad more … my family more. His mother, my grandmother is still alive and I'm going to go see her after we leave here. That leads me to the question that I really don't want to have to ask you."
"You're relieved."
"Huh?"
"I said you're relieved of duty. Look Shelly, I'm happy that you and Deryck took that vow because it shows how dedicated to family you two are. But I don't want you to miss out on your true family because of this stupid thing."
"It's not stupid. If I had seen Rhory there…"
"Shut up." Debbie said forcefully. "There will be no guilting around me."
Shelly chuckled. "Deb, guilting isn't even a word…"
"Shut up dear, you know what I'm tellin' you and you better listen."
"Yes ma'am."
"Like I was sayin', you are too important to me to see you miss this chance. None of the people I met and grew up around ever got a second chance with their families. You know I was a system child too. That's where I met my husband Roberto. Mind you, at the time I had no clue what kind of shit he was dragging me into with all those gangs and other shit but … I digress." Debbie took a painful breath and kept going.
"You need to move to Vegas and be with your father. Brennan is all yours; all you have to do is have five thousand dollars saved in your account, a good future plan, proof that you're home is safe with no substances that could be used and abused and then you just need to sign the papers and you can take him."
Shelly smiled. "That easy huh?"
"Oh no. It's not easy. You will have social workers poking into your privacy for at least the first few months of you taking him back. They know your past with gangs, Shelly, and they will make sure they have it in your file in Las Vegas. Going to school, saving money, having a part-time job, having a bright and supportive home will help you to get them off your back but it's going to be tough."
"It's very much worth it."
"And Sara and I'll be helping so it won't be that tough." Grissom said from the doorway, surprising both occupants in the room.
"What are you doing here?" Shelly asked.
"I'm here to bring you back to Sage's. I have your luggage in the trunk of the car."
"Why? And where is Sara?"
"Because I don't want you walking or taking a cab past 11 at night, plus I have your luggage. And Sara is back at the hotel room waiting for me."
Shelly nodded and looked back at Debbie, who she realized was staring intently at her father. Shelly smiled at the protectiveness of her long time friend. "Debbie, this is my father, Gil Grissom. Dad, this is Debbie, the woman who has been taking great care of Brennan."
"And you." Debbie pointed out, to which Shelly rolled her eyes while smiling.
Grissom reached out his left hand and shook Debbie's non-bandaged one. "Thank you very much for taking care of Shelly these past years. Sara and I are very grateful."
"Thank Sara for me for watchin' my lil' girl's back in your neck of the woods." Debbie was still unsure of him. She was on the hospital when Shelly met Grissom and therefore was not told the true story. She only knew what Shelly had told her about what her mother had told her; which was nothing good. Grissom understood and stepped back.
"Deb, my mother lied to me a lot. Everything I told you about my father was wrong, my mother was wrong. She was the one that was caught cheating right before my dad was going to propose." Grissom cringed. "He never even knew about me." Debbie looked up with sympathetic but still weary eyes.
"He is a good man Deb. Better then any man we've ever met. You know how you trust Sara?" Shelly tried changing tactics.
Debbie just nodded, keeping her eyes on Grissom.
"Well, she and my dad are dating now. If you trust her to take care of me then you can trust that she has good judgment right?" There was a little spark in Debbie's eyes but not much. "Okay, how about this… he is the shift supervisor of the crime lab. He is an entomologist, a doctor in science and is on the good side of the law."
Her eyes were warming to him but still very weary.
"Okay, how about … do you trust me?" That got Debbie's attention. "If you trust me then you can trust that I have good judgment. In fact, you know I do. So … you can trust him since I trust him." Debbie looked back to Grissom, who was smiling shyly under her gaze. This is like meeting the mother for the first time, Grissom thought uncertainly. How much will it take for her to trust me with my own daughter?
"But you know how many men have hurt you? How many men you have let close enough only to piss on your innocence." Shelly glared at her. She had not disclosed the other three men who had raped her to her father yet and wasn't planning on it any time soon; but soon was the answer if she couldn't get Debbie to shut up.
"Look Deb, he's a good man and you can trust him. I do." She said firmly. Debbie nodded, still a little unsure but willing to give him a chance.
Grissom smiled back uncomfortably. "Shelly, Sara is waiting for me and I'd really like to get some sleep so that I'm refreshed for running after Brennan tomorrow."
"Why would you be running after Brennan tomorrow?"
"Because I'm taking you, him and your friends to Chicago's Navy Pier for Brennan's birthday. I read all about their children's museum and I really think that he would love it there." Shelly could see the youthful twinkle in Grissom's eyes.
She turned to Debbie and stage-whispered, "I think it's more for someone else." Which made Debbie smile and Grissom snort.
"Yeah, I'm hoping to enjoy it too but he seems like a very smart kid and I think he would enjoy it immensely. They have an Inventing Lab, a Dinosaur Expedition, an Artabounds Gallery, a Play Maze, a Bug Backyard, and a bunch of other stuff." When Grissom noticed the two women looking at him funny, he blushed and settled down. "Shelly, I'll meet you at the car. Debbie, it was very nice meeting you." And with that, he left the room but wasn't down the hall four steps before hearing the women laughing at him. He smiled and continued on.
"He seems very nice."
"He is Debbie, he is. I'll see you tomorrow. When we get back from the Pier, we'll swing by here and pick you up. Hopefully by then you're released."
"Trust me, if they don't release me as soon as my test comes back good, I'll shoot every one of them and break my way out."
Shelly laughed and leaned down to kiss Debbie's forehead. "Good night Deb. Love you."
"Love you too kid."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Shelly leaned over and kissed a surprised Grissom on the cheek. "Thank you for the ride dad, although it was unnecessary."
"It's no problem and yes, it was very necessary. I know what goes on after hours and I don't want anything…"
"Trust me, I know what goes on after hours too. Thank you again dad. Love you."
"Love you too baby-girl."
Shelly stepped out and smiled before walking with her luggage up to the door. She opened it, turned around and locked it, gave her friends a smile as she walked to the bedroom, dropped her luggage on the floor, closed the door, and laid down on the bed, pulling a sleeping Brennan onto her chest. She looked over to the clock, whispered, "Ten minutes until you're one year old," kissed the top of his head and whispered, "Good night my gorgeous Baby B." With the comfort of life and her son in her arms, her insomnia was all but forgotten as she fell into peaceful slumber.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:56am Friday, March 3rd
For the second morning in a row, Grissom was awoken by the unwelcome chirp of his cell phone. "Grissom." His voice was rough with sleep.
"Ake up."
"What?"
"Ake Ganp."
Grissom smiled bright. "Good morning Brennan."
"Onin'. Ake?"
"Yes, I'm awake. What are you doing?" Grissom smiled into the phone as he listened to Brennan babble incoherently. He jumped slightly when the still unfamiliar feeling of Sara's arm slid across his chest before she platted a kiss on his shoulder. His smile reached new lengths across his face as he leaned down to give Sara a gentle kiss.
He watched as she left for the washroom, starting the shower. He turned his attention back to the phone. "Really?" Brennan continued with another string of nonsense.
"Dad?"
"Morning Shelly. How's the morning going?" He asked when she took the phone from Brennan.
"As you can hear, the boy is awake and looking for you. He's never attached this quickly to anyone before. He's normally shy and quiet but get him near you and watch out." Shelly laughed as she picked up the toy she nearly tripped over.
Grissom joined in the laugher, his heart feeling even lighter then it did two minutes ago. "That's a great thing because I think I'm attached to him as well. I'm just going to jump into the shower now so we'll be over there in probably an hour."
"Bye dad and say hi to Sara for me."
"Will do. Bye." Grissom jumped out of the bed faster then he had ever before and raced into the washroom to see a naked, and very sexy Sara, waiting in the tub. She gave him another one of her 'come hither' looks and he melted his way into the shower with her. Too much more of this and they'll be phoning 911 'cause I'll behaving a heart attack.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10:12am
Grissom and Sara stepped into the townhouse. As they walked into the TV room where the others were, Grissom had to drop the shopping bag he was holding when Brennan came racing over to him and practically jumped into his arms.
"I didn't think one year olds could walk so fast." He said to Shelly, who shrugged as Sage informed him,
"This kid isn't a normal kid. He's got like super powers and shit." Shelly kicked him hard in the shin. "Sorry."
"How many times do I have to tell you? No swearing in front of the boy." Shelly kicked him again as she walked past him and into the kitchen to grab drinks for Grissom and Sara.
Grissom sat down by the toy corner again with Brennan in his lap. "Sara, could you pass me the bag?" Sara did and sat down beside them to watch. Shelly brought their drinks out, handing Sara hers and placing Grissom's on the table, then sat down with the others to watch.
Grissom handed Brennan the wrapped gift and smiled when Brennan tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrow in confusion. "He doesn't get much gifts. We can't really afford to buy any for him so he doesn't know what that is."
Grissom nodded sadly and made a vow to himself, when we get to Vegas, this kid is going to be very spoiled. He grabbed one corner of the wrapped box and started pulling gently at it. Brennan, taking the hint, started doing the same thing to the other corner. After one large rip, Brennan got the hang of it and very much enjoyed unwrapping his present.
"Bug! Bug!" He yelled excitedly when Grissom pulled the large, stuffed dragonfly from the box. "Bug mama, bug!" Shelly laughed.
"Yes babe, that's a bug."
"A dragon fly." Grissom told the boy.
"Fly? Fly!" Brennan jumped out of Grissom's lap and raced, as fast as his learning legscould take him,around the small TV room, holding his new stuffed animal over his head. "Fly mama!" They all laughed again.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:23pm
After Grissom had taken everyone out for brunch, they had headed straight to the Pier. After an hour and a half of walking around and going on rides, they were just now heading into the Children's Museum. They walked in in pairs, Celeste and Sage holding hands in the back, Sara and Shelly talking in the middle, and Grissom holding Brennan in his arms leading the way; Brennan and Grissom had been nearly inseparable since they entered the townhouse that morning.
They had walked through the inventory lab and the dinosaur exhibit, the last of which scared the crap out of Brennan … literally. He was fine up until Grissom walked with him up to a dinosaur sculpture. Overwhelmed with the crying child, Grissom had quickly handed the boy off to Shelly. Once the boy settled down however, Grissom picked up right where he left off and carried Brennan into the Atrabounds Gallery.
There, Grissom was able to show off his love of art, albeit it was all children's paintings. He didn't care as he talked to Brennan about different forms of art and colors.
During all the exhibits, Sara had been observing intensely as she walked and talked with Sage, Celeste and Shelly. She didn't care about the fact that it seemed Grissom was ignoring her because it wasn't just her. He was practically ignoring everyone but Brennan; which, for some reason, only made her love him more. It gave her a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. I've never really thought of having children before but now…
An hour later, they had finally reached the exhibit that Grissom had been waiting for, and apparently so had Brennan; the 'Bug Backyard.' As soon as the two walked in they had smiles on their faces. Grissom, with Brennan squirming in his arms, turned back to Sara with a boyish grin and twinkle in his eye that she hadn't seen before. Not even the bugs at a crime scene could make him this giddy. It's got to be something to do with the boy in his arms and the girl standing beside me, she thought. She smiled back at him and he took that as a sign to go ahead so, that he did.
He placed Brennan on the ground and held his hand as Brennan, as fast as his small, learning legs could take him, took off toward the nearest flying bug.
Shelly stood back and watched this with unwanted tears. When she felt Sage wrap his arm around her shoulders she sighed, "Damn it." She smiled up at him then to Celeste and Sara. "I never though I'd find him you know? Now, look at him. He's out there running around and smiling with my son, his grandson. It's just a lot to handle you know?" She sniffled as Sage pulled her into a brotherly hug.
"Of course it is. It's a huge change of pace to go from a group of friends who love you to a family that loves you just as much. It's going to be difficult Shells, but awesome, trust me." Shelly nodded and gave him a squeeze before letting go and walking towards Grissom and Brennan.
"I've never seen Grissom like this before." Sara, in awe, told the two still with her. "He's always happy to see bugs at a scene but never giddy over it."
"He gets happy bout going to scenes?"
Sara laughed but grew serious. "Nobody is ever happy to have to go to a scene." She lightened up again. "But to have bugs at a scene makes it a little better for him. I don't know what it is about bugs that gets him so excited. They're just creepy lil' crawlies in my eyes."
The other two shrugged and followed Sara as they walked toward the other three, happily playing with a mechanical, oversized butterfly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6:32pm
By 4:00 Brennan had started getting cranky, since he skipped his normal naptime, so Sage and Celeste headed back to the townhouse to put him down while Grissom, Sara, and Shelly drove to the hospital to pick up Debbie.
When they walked in, they heard Debbie yelling from her room, "It's about god damn time you let me go. I'm perfectly damn fine you bunch of buzzards. Let me leave."
Shelly walked in and she instantly brightened. "Shelly! I'm leaving!"
"I know!" Shelly stage yelled. She walked over to Debbie and bent down to give her an awkward hug since the wheelchair was in the way.
"God damn contraption is going to be the death of me. Did you know that I have to have this stupid piece of…"
"Debbie," Shelly interrupted her rant which she knew could go on for hours. "I'd like you to meet someone." Sara walked in front of the wheelchair and Debbie instantly recognized her from the picture Shelly sent over the cell phones.
"Oh my sweet Jesus." Debbie reached out her arms and Sara was in them in a heartbeat. "Thank you so much for takin' care of my baby girl."
"It wasn't a problem. I enjoy having her around." Sara stepped out of the embrace and smiled, "I'd like to thank you though, for everything you helped her with." Debbie nodded solemnly and finally noticed Grissom standing by the door. She glared at him for a second before relaxing slightly.
"Mr. Grissom."
"Please, just Gil."
"All right, Just Gil." She turned her attention to Shelly. "How is my baby doing?"
Shelly smiled. "He's at Sage's sleeping now but he's had a great birthday so far. Dad took us all out to the Pier and Brenn absolutely loved the bug garden there."
"Great, great. Now, I signed my damn papers so get me the hell out of here so I can see him."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
They had swung by the old neighbor lady's house to pick up Quinston and Lukas for dinner. The moment they saw each, Shelly and the boys raced toward each other, catching in a bear hug that could sever a person's spine. When they pulled away, all three had tears swimming in their eyes. "I've missed you boys so much." She kissed Lukas on the top of his head, but knew not to do the same to Quinston since he was 'too old'.
"We've missed you too." Quinston spoke for both.
Grissom stood leaning against the car, with Sara leaning into his side, and noticed with a hint of concern that Lukas, although showing emotions, was as silent as a burning candle. Sara noticed this too and leaned into him more to whisper, "If he keeps quiet like that for too long then he may explode one day. From what Shelly told me, he's never really been one for talking or showing emotions except when it came to her." Grissom nodded and watched the reunion.
Shelly leaned down to Lukas' height, all 4'2" of it. "How's it going?" Lukas just smiled and gave her a hug. "You feeling good?" He nodded. "You better start talking before I tickle you to death and my dad has to arrest me for it." Lukas looked slightly alarmed as Shelly tackled him to the grass and he laughed as she started tickling him. His nine-year-old body writhed on the ground, shaking with tears of laughter.
Shelly stood up out of breath. "I really shouldn't have bought that pack of smokes." She mumbled.
Grissom heard and yelled, "Duh!"
Shelly just shook her head and picked the still laughing Lukas from the ground. She turned around to see Quinston hugging his mother fiercely, both with tears in their eyes; tears of joy that she was still alive and tears of mourning for the brother and son that they both lost. Shelly gave them a moment to gather themselves and then yelled happily, "Let's go eat!"
They had arrived at the townhouse to a yelling Brennan, "Ganp! Mama! Ser!" So Grissom swept him up into his arms and declared, "It's food time. Celeste, Sage, let's go. I'm buying." Now they stood just inside the restaurant with Brennan, of course, circled in Grissom's arms. They had been seated with Brennan, of course, sitting beside Grissom.
It had been an interesting dinner with many different conversations going at once. Debbie had chosen to sit beside Grissom to get to know him better. Grissom must have been doing something right because Debbie was near singing his praises when their dinner was done.
"Roberto, the only reason I stayed with that loof after the shit," she ignored Shelly's glare, "he did was because under that stupid 'gang exterior' he was a very well put together man. The stuff he did though, the man should have been in jail long before he was killed. The things you do, your job, very noble."
"Thank you Mrs. Darwin." Grissom said softly, slightly taken aback by her 180-degree turn about since the hospital.
"It's Debbie, Gil, and it's nothing to be humble about. It's awesome how you catch the men and women who are stupid enough to break the law... idiots." She mumbled. Sara smiled as Grissom blushed from the attention and gripped his hand across the table. He smiled back and turned to Debbie.
"It's our pleasure to protect and serve." He shrugged and quickly looked over to Brennan when he threw his spoon across the table.
Brennan looked at the adults and smiled. "Uh oh."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9:32pm
They arrived back at Sage's townhouse in time for Brennan to get cranky again. Shelly was about to put him to bed when Grissom stopped her. "I want to do it." The pleading in his eyes stopped her immediately.
Grissom picked up Brennan and his nighttime bottle and walked into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and smiled down at the already half sleeping child in his arms as he sucked on his bottle. "Do you know how stupid I've been my entire life? At least my adult life?" He whispered to the boy who just kept sucking away. "I've been a jerk to too many people. When we get back to Vegas I'm going to do a little rearranging in my life. Shelly and you first, then Sara, then the rest of the gang." He leaned down and kissed Brennan's head.
"I've already phoned my real estate agent who helped me sell my last home, what, fifteen years ago. God, that was a while ago. Just how old am I?" He shook his head and looked back down to the boy, whispering again, "She's looking for a house for us. It's going to be our home Brenn. It's going to be big and nice so that you have room to grow. I want room for my kid too.
Up until I met you, the thought of having kids scared me; just look at your mother. I ruined that and I never even met her before. Thankfully now though, everything is looking good. But you, you're precious. Now, with Sara in my future, I'm hoping for another. I can't believe I just admitted that, even just to you." He shook his head again and looked down at the now deep sleeping boy, his bottle falling from his grasp. "You won't have to worry about losing your mommy or money or anything like that again. We'll all be there and with the huge chunk in my savings, the only worrying you'll have is over which girl to ask to the dance in high school."
As Grissom took the bottle from him and laid him down gently on the bed, Sara wiped at the tears forming in her eyes as she stood just outside the bedroom door. "Oh Griss," she whispered, "I've never been more sure about anything."
When he stepped out of the room, Sara wrapped him in her arms and whispered, "I love you." He whispered the sentiment back and held her tight to him.
"You heard me?" She nodded her head. "I'm going to ask Shelly to move in with me and hopefully there are some papers we can sign to get Brennan to come back to Vegas with us very soon."
"Shelly was already telling me Debbie gave her a list of things she needed to do and then B was all hers."
"I overheard the ending of that conversation I think." Grissom replied while still holding Sara tight to his body. "We'll just have to make sure that her list is complete in the very close future." Sara nodded.
Grissom took in a shaky breath and reached his hand out to gently caress Sara's cheek. "So you heard me in there?" She nodded. "Every last thing I said?" She nodded again, tears pooling in her eyes. "Then, this may seem fast but … I want you Sara. I want you with me, with Shelly, with Brennan. I want it all … I'm very selfish." Sara laughed. He leaned in and placed the most loving kiss on her lips that she had ever felt. "Sara Marie Sidle, would you want to move in with Shelly and me when we find a house big enough?"
Sara thought about it a second, …too soon? … "Of course I would love to." Grissom smiled and kissed her again before pulling her into a crushing hug.
"Did I miss something?" Shelly asked from the entrance to the hall.
"Yep, Sara is moving in with us."
"Us?" Shelly asked wearily.
"Yes," Grissom nodded emphatically. "I would love it if you stayed with me Shelly. And when you can, we'll bring Brennan and he'll live with us too."
"You actually want me to move to Vegas? Move in with you?" She asked still disbelieving.
Grissom released Sara from his arms and walked over to Shelly, wrapping her in a hug. "Of course. You're my kid … my family, and I wouldn't want anything more in this world then to have you, Brennan, and Sara … my family, living under the same roof as me."
Sara piped up from behind him, "Who are you and what have you done with the enigmatic and anti-person Gil Grissom from Las Vegas?"
Grissom just smirked, grabbed Sara's hand, kissed Shelly on the cheek goodnight, and walked to the door with Sara in tow.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:54am Saturday
At least he was getting used to it. "Grissom."
"Ake?"
"Yes, I'm awake Brennan."
"Ganp ake?"
"Yes, grandpa's awake." Not really but the boy won't know the difference.
"Ser ake?"
Brennan was bugging him about Sara, now he knew Shelly was close by. "Is mommy standing behind you?" He asked in a childish tone in which Brennan replied with a bunch of nonsense.
Sara was jerked awake by Grissom's laughter. She hit him in the ribs, making him oomph as she scowled playfully. 'You woke me up.' She mouthed. Grissom shrugged and took another elbow before finally finding peace and safety in the 'living area' of their hotel room.
"Yes Brennan." He encouraged as he got breakfast ready for him and Sara. He was getting used to waking up with someone, whether curled up beside him or talking nonsense to him on his phone, and he found it surprising that he enjoyed it.
"Of course … Really? … No way! … Exciting … A bug? Really?" Grissom was having a ball talking to Brennan on the phone, so much so that he forgot about the toasts in the toaster. Sara came rushing out when she smelt something burning. She popped the very chard bread out of the toaster and scolded Grissom,
"Why weren't you paying attention? You could have lit the place on fire Gil!" Grissom looked down sheepishly but forgot about Sara standing there a second later when Brennan made a funny noise, presumably falling down and oomphing much the way his grandfather did that morning, and laughed. He took his well-deserved slap over the back of his head and watched as Sara walked back into the bedroom to get dressed. Grissom looked down at himself and noticed only his boxers were on so he too walked into the room to get changed.
"Dad?"
"Shelly, hey, I was having fun listening to Brennan."
"Everyone does. Listen, I know tonight we have a plane to catch to go to LA so we need to do something very important this morning."
"Like what?"
"My last duty as Deryck's keeper. I need you to come pick us up, we'll use Sage's van since there's more room, and you need to take us to Debbie's house. She'll be waiting for us."
"Sure thing. We'll be there very soon."
"I love you daddy."
Grissom's heart nearly broke at the strain and pain that was stretching Shelly's voice as she fought not to cry. "I love you too baby-girl." Grissom closed his eyes before getting up and finishing packing his bags quickly.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11:34am
When they arrived at Debbie's house, they saw the small family, Deb, Quinston, and Lukas all waiting for them in the doorway. Debbie smiled at Shelly before Quinston wheeled her back through the house and into the backyard. Lukas jumped into Shelly's arms, his small frame not too heavy for her, and they walked to the backyard as well. Sage and Celeste followed with Grissom, holding Sara's hand with one hand and Brennan in his other arm followed through the house.
The backyard, although it was sunny out, had four candles placed around an already dug up hole near the back fence. There was a glass of alcohol, looks like Whisky, Grissom thought, sitting beside the hole on a table.
Shelly pulled out the hat that Grissom had been aloud to sign out of evidence for her. She placed it next to the glass on the table and knelt in front of Debbie. She clasped Deb's hands in hers, their tears not making a sound as they traveled down their cheeks and dropping to the dirt below.
"I know you said that I was released from duty but before I can take that release, I needed to do this for you, for Deryck, for all of us that knew D." Shelly took in a ragged breath and exhaled slowly. "He was a great kid. Never into any trouble, always looking after his family, for his friends, for the ones he cared about and he thought had potential even through their rough patches."
Debbie released one of Shelly's hands and placed her palm against the right side of Shelly's face. "I know you also said that I should not feel guilty for his death but if I had…" Debbie went to interrupt her but Shelly placed her hand over Deb's mouth. "If I had only seen Rhory standing there by that tree then this would not have happened. You would still have your oldest boy and you," She looked to Quinston, "would still have your big brother." Quinston knelt down beside Shelly and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Grissom and Sara exchanged glances and Grissom noticed the tears in her eyes. He reached up with his free hand, the other still holding Brennan, and wiped the tears from her eyes. He leaned in and planted a supported kiss on her lips before straightening and watching the 'ceremony' in front of him.
"I don't think blame you Shelly."
"But I blame myself Deb. And that blame is not going to go away. I can't do anything to bring him back and it kills me to think about how you have to cope without him. It literally kills me." Shelly whispered. She placed her head in Deb's lap, mindful of her fractured leg, and they all stood in silence for a minute.
Shelly stood back up and walked back to the table. She picked up Deryck's hat and brought it to Deb. Debbie brought it up to her nose and sniffed, still smelling her son. She smiled as she closed her eyes and pictured her first-born baby standing and smiling in front of her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the smiling face of Shelly, which comforted her for reasons unknown.
Shelly then brought the hat over to Quinston, who brought it to his nose and smelt his older brother standing in front of him. "God I'm going to miss you bro." He whispered hoarsely. Shelly gave him a hug and took the hat back. She stood over it's 'grave' and brought it to her own nose.
She looked up and smiled. "You were like my brother D. I loved you and nothing will ever change that. You know I will do everything in my power for justice against Rhory, not for me but for all the other girls he violated and for most importantly, you. Too soon babe … too soon." She mumbled before gently placing the hat in the hole. She picked up the glass of whisky and brought it over to Debbie, who took a sip. She then brought it to Sage and Celeste who also took sips. She walked over to Grissom and Sara, who respectfully took their sips.
She stood in front of Quinston and looked him down, glass still in her hands. "It's your job now." She took a small sip, cringing at the taste, and passed the glass to Quinston. He walked it to the hole and brought it to his lips. With the glass just barely touching his lips, he mumbled, "I love you bro," and took his small sip. He too cringed at the taste before holding the glass above the 'grave'.
"Your final toast bro. I loved you in life, I love you in death." He poured the tiny bit left in the glass onto the hat and kicked the dirt, covering it up just a little. Shelly walked over and kicked a bit of dirt as well before gathering Quinston into her arms. Lukas came over nonchalantly, thinking it was no big deal, and kicked the rest of the dirt onto the hat playfully.
Everyone looked on with a smile. They all saw it, the comparison, from wicked death, to playful youth. It was a stark reminder of what life had to offer and they all vowed silently to themselves then that they would do everything in their power to live life to the fullest.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:45pm
Debbie and Shelly were standing by the van saying their goodbyes. "You better come back soon."
"I promise. I'll try to come back so often that you'll be begging me to stay away." Shelly smiled.
"Never happen." Debbie leaned as far out of the chair as she could and pulled Shelly into her arms. "I'm going to miss you kid … again."
Shelly chuckled. "I'm going to miss you too."
"Did you at least say goodbye to the boys?"
"Of course I did." Shelly said as she pulled away reluctantly. She looked over to the house and saw Grissom saying goodbye to Brennan. "I'm going to miss him so much."
"But you'll be taking him back to Vegas in no time and in the mean time, you know he's safe with me and the boys." Shelly nodded and they continued watching as Grissom held Brennan very close to his chest. Brennan's arms were wrapped around his neck as tight as a little one year old's could be. When he finally pulled Brennan back enough to looked into the boys eyes, he smiled bright and kissed him gently on the forehead. Grissom and Sara then walked towards the other two. Grissom handed Brennan off to Shelly, who walked a distance away, as Sara said goodbye to Deb.
"I can't say how grateful Gil and I are for you taking care of Shelly all these years."
Debbie laughed. "Girl, you talk like you're her mother." Sara blushed and looked down smiling. Grissom grabbed her hand.
"She's close enough to it." He stated. "She's great with her and I'm very glad that Shelly found Sara that night." He refused to mention that Shelly was actually a case that night. He chose to keep in his mind that it was just a random encounter; it seemed safer for the guy in jail if he did that.
Shelly kissed Brennan's head for the tenth time in ten seconds. "I'm going to miss you so much baby." Brennan held on tight to Shelly's neck, sensing that something was wrong with his mother and she needed his comfort. "This is the last goodbye I'm ever going to say to you because the next time I see you, you're coming back with me. That's not just a promise but a guarantee. Understand?" Brennan smiled at her. She hugged and kissed him one last time before handing him over to Quinston, who gave her a surprising kiss on the cheek before walking back to the house.
Shelly waved goodbye to Debbie as the van drove away from the house and back to Sage's townhouse so that she could pack her things to leave to LA. One meeting down, one more to go, she thought. And this one could be the death of me.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A/N: Thank you all very, very much for your great reviews; you are awesome. And thanks for hanging on so long. I can't even believe how long this has gotten and I'm the one that is writing it.
Next Chapter: Second to last, for sure this time, with only an epilogue to follow. It's the meeting that Shelly has been dreading, the grandmother. Will Grandma G resent her for being the product of the woman who broke her son's heart? Or will Grandma G be too excited about the fact that her son has a daughter, that she has a granddaughter. And will she go crazy when she finds out … she has a GREAT grandson? (Dun dun dun!) :)