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Five Months Later

Sara stood in the kitchen of their townhouse washing the dishes. A grin was plastered on her face as she tried to scrub egg off of the plate in her hand. The smile had been caused by her daughters, which was almost an everyday occurrence.

Grace and Liz were in the living room. Grace was sitting up, a Barbie doll clenched tightly in her right hand. Now eight months old, she wanted to be wherever her big sister was. She was surrounded by pillows to cushion her fall if she were to topple over.

Liz had offered to entertain her baby sister while Sara finished the few chores left to do. Liz's seventh birthday was only four days away and Sara had noticed the little girl's sudden need to prove that she could help out with Grace.

Sara listened intently to the happy giggles of her daughters. She wished Gil was home to hear them, but he was working a double shift at the lab. Grace's coos became more audible, bringing an even bigger smile to her face.

Sara realized that most other mothers would not leave their six year old alone in another room with their six month old baby. But she could hear everything that was going on in the next room, and Liz was smart enough to know when something was wrong with Grace. So she okay with her decision.

"Mommy! Come see what Grace can do!" Liz's excited voice called from the living room.

Sara gently dropped the dish rag back into the sudsy water and dried her hands off on her jeans whilst walking to the living room. Liz's hysterical giggles could be heard, echoing off of the walls. This intrigued Sara even more to see the newest thing Grace had learned to do.

"You won't believe it!" Liz clapped as Sara entered the room. She smiled at both of the girls sitting on the floor.

Grace cooed and held her arms up, signaling she wanted picked up. Sara bent down, picked her youngest daughter up and smiled.

"Okay. What can she do?"

Liz jumped up from the floor, a proud smile spread on her face. She took a deep breath, then pointed at her mother. "Grace. Who's that?"

Grace looked from her sister to her mother. She gurgled for a moment then shouted "Ma!"

Sara inhaled sharply. Grace's first word had been spoken, and had Liz had taught her to say it.

"Oh, you said 'Ma'!" She hugged Grace. Liz giggled happily as she watched the interactions between her mother and sister.

"Isn't it cool? I pointed to a picture of you, the one hanging on the wall, and she said it!"

"You are a very good big sister," Sara bent down to give Liz a hug. "Wait until daddy gets home and sees how big his girls are getting."

As if that sentence was his cue, Gil entered the house. He slammed the door hard and Sara heard him cursing rather profusely. She hoped the girls hadn't heard anything he had said. She kissed Grace on the cheek, put her back into the center of the mound of pillows, and went to tell Gil there was something he needed to hear.

"Hey, bad day at work?" She inquired as she walked to her husband.

"Yes. Goddamn Ecklie. How was everything here?"

"Well, come with me into the living room. Grace has something to tell you," Sara smiled. She took Gil's hand and led him to the living room.

As they strode into the room, Grace cooed loudly upon seeing her parents.

"Lizzie, what'd you do today?" Gil asked as he picked her up to give her a kiss. She giggled as his beard tickled her cheek. Sara smiled as she remembered Liz being two or three years old and referring to her father's beard as 'Daddy's Whiskers'.

"Grace and I played Barbies. Wanna hear what she can say?"

Gil nodded. Sara noticed the confused look on his face, that famous 'Grissom' look. The one he used when deep in concentration. The look made her giggle quietly.

"Mommy, can you pick Grace up?"

Sara bent down again and picked up her infant daughter. Grace cooed and gurgled at the same time, emitting a horrible sound that made the people older than her in the room laugh.

"Shh!" Liz ordered with a smile on her face. When the silence had resumed, Liz pointed at Sara as she had earlier. "Grace, who's that?"

"Ma!" Grace shrieked without hesitation.

Gil's jaw dropped several inches and a dumbstruck look appeared. "Who taught her that?"

"Me!" Liz proudly beamed.

Sara gently tickled Grace's belly as Gil's gaze shifted from his daughters to his wife.

"I believe this is worth celebrating," He announced with a grin.

Liz nodded in agreement, a big grin still present on her face. "Yeah! Let's go to Bob Evans! I want pancakes."

Gil set her down on the floor. She looked up at Sara. All she had to do was convince her mother. "Please, mommy?"

It sounded like the perfect idea to Sara. "Okay. Go get ready."

Liz sprinted from the room. Grace outstretched her arms toward her father. He accepted the wiggling baby into his arms and Sara moved closer to the two. Gil wrapped his arm around Sara's shoulders.

"Our girls are growing up," He said aloud, both happiness and a bit of sadness were present in his voice. No parent wants their children to grow up, but eventually they do. Then the parents get to be proud of their children who have become adults.

It was a nice thing to look forward to, but at that moment, Sara and Gil just wanted to go out to dinner with their little girls.