A/N: muah ha ha. Sorry I'm so evil with that cliffhanger. But I got the next chappie out pretty quick, didn't I? I hope you enjoy this last chapter. Please review!
Four sets of eyes fell on a worried and defeated-looking Mally Stokes, standing in the doorway of the waiting room. She just stopped at the entry-way, on the verge of tears. Catherine rushed over and took Mally in her arms and the other three stood up.
"Mally, sweetheart, what's going on? Is everything okay?" Catherine asked. The look on her face was just killing her. Something had gone wrong.
"N…no…." She sobbed, burying her face in Catherine's shoulder.
"Tell me what's going on." Catherine asked her, trying to sound as calm as possible, but inside she was freaking out.
"The first baby's out. He's okay. But the second…they had to do a C..C-section."
"Oh, sweetheart." Catherine hugged her closer. "I'm so sorry you had to witness that. That's hard." She just held her tight for the next few moments while the others came over and offered Mally hugs also.
"It'll be okay." Gil told her, trying to sound brave, but he was scared too. He knew Sara and the babies were in good hands, but horrible things sometimes happened. "But the first baby's just fine? A boy, you said?"
Mally smiled through her tears at the reminder she did have a healthy, baby brother in the next room. He was just fine.
"Yeah. He was screaming. He wasn't happy."
"They often aren't." Gil smiled and kissed Mally on the forehead, pulling her into a warm hug. They spent the next few minutes trying to focus on the new baby boy, instead of the other little one in trouble. Mally described how intense it had been and how small he was. Her mind was churning inside, thinking of how much fun having a baby brother around would be. Mally was thankful she had the Grissoms to comfort her in this difficult time.
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
The monitors were still beeping frantically in Sara's delivery room as the doctor made incisions in her body, trying to get to the distressed baby. Nick had Sara's hand and they just tried to concentrate on each other.
"We're gonna take our two precious babies home tomorrow, Sara. And we're gonna love them like no parents have ever loved two babies. We're gonna pamper them, and hold them, and just shower them with affection. And then we're gonna get married. Outside on a beautiful spring day. You'll be beautiful…like you always are. And afterwards we'll have our first dance to our song…"
"Shake That Ass For Me?" Sara asked him. Nick laughed out loud, amazed that Sara still had a sense of humor in a time like this. That's what he loved about her – she had such a positive outlook even though she'd been through so much.
"Oh, is that our song? Maybe you're thinking of your other boyfriend, because I know what our song is." Nick smiled down at her and raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to start singing.
"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart." Sara sang beautifully, her voice, however, laced in fear and worry, but with so much love for him and their children.
Nick joined in, crooning to each other.
"Without saying a word, you can light up the dark. Try as I may I could never explain what I hear when you don't say a thing."
The doctor pulled the baby from Sara's body. The umbilical cord had been caught around its neck, and he quickly relieved it. The baby coughed a little and soon started crying. Nick and Sara's eyes lit up at the beautiful, beautiful sound of their second born bawling her eyes out, sharing her anger with the world. Nick gave Sara a big kiss and then peered around the sheet to see his third child.
"You have a little girl!" The doctor said, and they couldn't be happier. Nick took in the sight of his beautiful, squealing, baby girl as she screamed her lungs out on the cart, the nurses tending to her. She was slightly smaller than her brother, but still a healthy size.
"She's gorgeous, Sara!" He smiled back at his love. He was standing halfway between his fiancée and daughter, holding Sara's hand and gazing at the newborn.
"Go to her." Sara whispered, squeezing his hand to let him know it was okay to leave her. She wanted her baby girl to have her daddy there with her through all this confusion. Nick kissed Sara's hand and then walked over to the cart. The nurses now had her wrapped up snugly in a pink blanket. The proud father marveled at the little tiny creation, with chubby cheeks and gorgeous chocolate eyes. He touched her cheek gently, stroking her tiny body to calm her down. The minute-old infant seemed to respond almost instantaneously to her father's touch, and he looked back proudly at Sara, who offered a small smile. The doctor was stitching her up no.
"Would you like to hold your daughter?" The nurse asked Nick.
"I would love to." Nick said. He reached down gently, nudging his large hands under her tiny form, supporting her head, and brought her into his arms for the first time. She cooed slightly and gazed up at Nick, all wrapped up. Nick couldn't take his eyes off of her as he slowly walked over to where Sara was laying.
"There's your momma." He said gently, turning his daughter to see her mother. Nick could tell Sara was exhausted, but through the tiredness, shone a beauty and pride he had never seen before. Her own flesh and blood was staring back at her, and she finally felt totally needed by one perfect little person. Well, two. Sara reached out and gently stroked the baby's arm. She once worried that she wouldn't be a good mother, but I sense of peace and unconditional love for these two lives had overcome her, and she knew she'd be okay.
"Hi, baby girl. I'm your mom."
Though she was weak, Sara reached out her arms, asking for her second born, and Nick carefully cradled her in his arms and passed her over to her waiting mother. The look in Sara's eyes overwhelmed Nick as he saw her maternal instincts take over, acting like a pro. He started crying softly at the beauty of the mother and child.
"You hurt me bad." She told the little child, smiling, instantly forgiving her for all the pain she'd been through. Just then, the nurse bought their son back in, fresh from being cleaned properly, and wheeled him over to Nick. He picked up his son and cradled him, sitting down next to Sara. Together, they held the two new lives they'd created.
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
"We haven't heard anything for a long time. Maybe we should go check." Catherine contemplated. The Grissoms and Mally had been nervously awaiting any news of Sara and the second baby and it had been almost half an hour.
"Give it another five minutes and you can go to her room." Gil reasoned. The five were all sitting around in the chairs. Natalie had her arm maternally around Mally, who was looking fearful. Both were snuggled up next to Grissom, whereas Lindsey had changed parents and held her mother. The nineteen year old had never felt so close to her family, or realized how quickly life could change. They didn't know if the second baby had survived. She'd spent most of her life arguing with her little sister, and Mally may never get the chance to know her sibling.
Just then, Nick came down the hall, carrying two newborns in either arm. All five faces took on relief, and they all beamed with happiness and joy.
"Daddy!" Mally was the first off her face, running to him. She stopped, looking down at her two siblings, noticing the pink blanket. "It's a girl?" She asked excitedly.
"Yes, it's a girl. And a boy." He motioned with the other arm, holding a sleeping baby in a blue blanket. "Do you want to hold her?"
Mally nodded excitedly, anxious to hold her sibling and reached to take her from Nick's arms. Nick stopped her gently and lead her to sit back on the chairs. There, he carefully handed over the infant, taking in the sight of his oldest holding his youngest, less than an hour old. When he saw that his daughters were okay, he turned his attention to the others.
"Who wants to hold the baby boy?" He asked, his tone going up at the end. All three other females jumped at the offer, but he chose Catherine to hold him next. He handed over his son to the woman who'd helped him through the early years with Mally, and countless other times throughout her life.
"Aren't you precious?" Catherine cooed at the little boy. Who didn't love a newborn?
"How's Sara doing?" Gil asked his friend as he watched his wife practically melt at the new life. He bet she'd want one of her own now, too. Heh.
"She's just fine. They had to go in and get this little culprit," He rubbed the side of her chin, "But everything's alright now. The cord was wrapped around her neck. Might've been helped out by that little devil over there." He motioned to his son with his head. "Do you want to go see her? She's resting."
"Yeah, sure." They all said. The entourage walked down the hallway, Nick taking his daughter back for the trip, and Catherine still holding the little boy. They reached Sara's room to find her eyes shining back at the group of family and friends.
"Hi guys!" She smiled weakly, holding out her arm to give Mally a hug. Mally felt so connected to Sara now, and realized she didn't feel uneasy at all about showing affection towards her. Catherine came over and handed her son over to Sara, who again gazed down at the now sleeping newborn. Nick stood next to her, beaming with pride.
"Have you thought of names yet?" Natalie piped up. Nick and Sara exchanged knowing glancing.
"Yes we have, upon Mally's approval." Sara told them. "This handsome young man is Aidan Nicholas Stokes."
Everyone awed at the name, making the parents smile.
"And this beauty is Bailey Catherine Stokes." Nick told them, placing a kiss to her head. "Is that okay with you, Mal?"
"Sounds perfect." She said without missing a beat. They'd all debated months now over what the names would be, and those were actually a couple of her favorites.
"Welcome to the world, Bailey and Aidan." She said as Nick put an arm around her, kissing her head. The group of friends all smiled as they gazed at the two new sleeping lives in the room, knowing now more than ever the beauty and importance of family.
THE END!
I do plan to write a sequel to this. Please let me know if you have any ideas about when it should start back up and what drama should happen (cuz you just gotta have drama)! Thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers – you kept me going! You rock!