Disclaimer: They're not mine
Rating: T or PG-13 for language and violence
Summary: It's 2am. The doorbell rings. A baby is crying. What are you going to do? W/S with GCR moments and a major case
Biology coursework is a bitch, isn't it, folks? Many apologies once again for this extra-late update. And after y'all brought me up to a mighty 300, which I am so very grateful for. Thanks, then, to Bizy, Kelly, icklebitodd (I'd reckon that Nate is not baptised or anything like that since Sara and Warrick don't strike me as very religious), JennCorinthos, Krys33 (Well, G/C makes most things better, let's face it!), topsy910, Aleja21, charmed1818, Megara1, MissyJane, Cherrydrops12, Malenkaya (thank you very much – characterisation is one of my biggest concerns), Nikita1506, Joyce3, Katiyana and Lizzy Sidle. And thanks to Review1234 for the chapter 22 review which momentarily crashed my computer – ha! And though you may be the World's Greatest Weenus, you're none of those other things on the list.
Alrighty then. These next two chapters are full of fluff and such. The previous chapter could be considered an ending for all those who stuck with the story for the case, and these next two will tie things up for the W/S-fluff lovers. (This is a warning to you, Sara – I know you're not the biggest fluff fan, so beware!). Anyway, many apologies for the lateness. Enjoy! Love LJ xXx
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Wake The Hope. Chapter Twenty-Four. Speak Out
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"Hope is the pillar that holds up the world..."
ARISTOTLE
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ONE YEAR ON (there or thereabouts)
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Leaning his elbows on the tabletop, Warrick clears his throat importantly and wonders where to begin.
"As I'm sure you already know," he starts. "The adoption was finalised last month and so I thought it would only be right if I talked to you about this first. I think you should know...wait, no, this is serious..."
Warrick rolls his eyes and fixes Nate with an exasperated look. Nate, eighteen months old and sitting in his highchair opposite Warrick, has grabbed hold of Warrick's lower lip and pulled it out with a delighted laugh.
"Excuse me, Nathaniel," Warrick attempts to speak despite his extended lip. "But I'm trying to say something very important here and I'd appreciate it if I could have my lip back."
Nate giggles and bangs on the table with his hands, freeing Warrick's lip.
"Thank you," Warrick nods courteously. "As I was saying – since this is concerning your Mommy, I wanted to tell you that I love her very much and will always take good care of her and you. So I wanted to ask you, if it's okay, could I ask her to marry me?"
Nate is silent for a while and stares curiously at Warrick. Unnerved by the silence, Warrick reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small jewellery box, holding it open to Nate.
"See, look? I've even bought her a ring," Warrick shows him. Nate gazes at the sparkling diamond and white-gold ring, holding both of his chubby hands out to the shiny object in the box with a beam on his face.
"So that's a yes?" Warrick asks him, scooping him up delightedly. "You'll let me ask her?" He spins Nate around in the air until the toddler starts laughing and then he stops, hearing a key rattle in the lock.
"Okay, that's her," Warrick tells Nate in a conspiring whisper. "Don't tell her anything about this, alright? You don't want to spoil the surprise, do you?"
Warrick smiles; he likes his late evening conversations with baby Nate before Sara comes back from work and they both put him to bed. Looking up now, he sees Sara come through the door and kick off her shoes at the entrance. She grins to see Warrick holding Nate and heads straight over to them both.
"Hey," she kisses Nate on the forehead and Warrick on the lips. "How are my two favourite boys?"
Nate gives her a long yawn and she laughs, taking him out of Warrick's arms.
"Tired, I guess," Warrick offers with a smile.
"You and me both, sweetie," she murmurs to little Nate. "And you didn't just work a swing shift."
Warrick strokes Nate's cheek lightly with a finger. "No, but we did have a very long and deep discussion."
Sara grins, carrying Nate off to his refurbished nursery upstairs with Warrick following behind. "About what?"
"Ah, now that would be telling," Warrick says mysteriously. He winds his arm around her waist as the pair of them stand by Nate's crib for a while. She stays silent for quite some time and Warrick looks at her with concern.
"Something up?" he asks. Sara smiles and sighs slightly.
"I was just wondering," she begins. "I was wondering, what do we tell him when he starts to ask questions?"
"Questions?" Warrick raises an eyebrow. Sara shrugs and slips both of her arms around him.
"Yeah, you know," she studies his face carefully. "Like why he doesn't look like you. Or why he doesn't look like his brothers and sisters."
Warrick's eyebrow arches further and a smile plays on his lips. "Brothers and sisters?"
"Yeah – one day?" she suggests. Warrick beams.
"That'd be..." he nods, looking for words. "That'd be great." It was such an understatement. He looks at the sleeping baby Nate and then back at Sara. "Well, then – I guess we'll tell him everything."
"Everything?" Sara looks dubious. "About the adoption?"
"Yes." Warrick answers resolutely.
"The suicide?" she furthers. Warrick weighs it up.
"When he's old enough..." he replies eventually. Sara pauses. Her lips begin to say something else but the sound doesn't come until later.
"The rape?" she says quietly. Warrick flinches and he doesn't meet her eyes. She knew it.
"Warrick," she sighs and brings her hands up to his face. "Warrick – do you want to talk about it?"
He still avoids her earnest stare. "I'm fine," he tells her flatly.
Sara rolls her eyes and turns his face directly at hers. "Warrick..." her voice is firm but gentle. "Baby – it's okay. I was raped. And sometimes, I guess, these things just...happen."
"It shouldn't have happened," he blurts. "Not to you."
"Why not me?" she objects.
"Because I should've been there." he insists. "You thought it was me so you opened the door. It wasn't. But it should've been." She shakes her head.
"No, Warrick – it was not your responsibility. I'm not your responsibility," she says softly. "It was a long time ago."
Warrick stares at her for a moment and is surprised find himself swallowing a lump in his throat. "It feels like yesterday," he croaks.
"Yes. It does." Sara answered bluntly.
She smiles optimistically at him and leads him out of the room back down to the kitchen where she pours them both some coffee from the jug and sits down at the table. He takes the chair opposite her and waits for her to speak again.
"You know what's strange," she muses out loud. "That apartment was meant to be just a short-term thing. When I rented it years ago, I figured I'd just be keeping it until I got settled. But you know how it is with work and stuff – you get caught up in the motions and you don't exactly find the time to house-hunt. I had always told myself – next month. Next month I'd find somewhere proper to live and start to take more responsibility for my life. But I never did."
Warrick glances at her when she takes a sip of coffee and then asks, "Do you wish you did?" Then he replays the question in his head and rolls his eyes at himself. "Of course you do – sorry," he mutters. "Stupid question."
Sara shakes her head and shrugs. "No, it's not a stupid question actually," she assures him. "And the answer is no. No, I don't wish I'd moved. Even after the attack. If I'd moved, I wouldn't have Nate, would I? And I wouldn't have you."
He chuckles slightly. "You always had me," he says and she smiles.
Warrick pauses, steadying his jumpy nerves. "Hang on, I need to just get something, Sara..."
He gets up and moves towards his jacket hanging by the door. Warrick slips his hand into the pocket and pulls out the small black velvet jewellery box. He checks the ring is still inside and a smile lights his face as he returns to where she's waiting.
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