A/N: Sorry again for the delay. I got a new job (yes another one, lol) and it is demanding a lot of my time. The joys of being a Gastro chef huh? Bet you didn't know that :P Anyways, here we are with another chapter. Things may start to get a little rough soon on many fronts so you all need to will Evil hat away, tehehehe. Another chap of IAFU's should be up soon, too. Thanks for your patience.

Gracias to calim for the beta and to everyone who reviews and sends comments. Very much appreciated as always.

On we go….

Chapter 26.

Sara had a busy day ahead with her son, the twins and physio on her wrist.

She'd thoroughly enjoyed the hours she'd spent with Michael, listening to his excitement over the presents he'd received. He'd even regaled her with a play-by-play of his party ending with great excitement over the clown. She'd then watched him color in one of his new books until Claire came to pick him up.

Now it was time to visit the twins.

She was looking forward to trying breastfeeding although a little nervous. She couldn't deny that if the twins didn't take to it, she would be disappointed. What mother wouldn't be?

As Sara and Grissom entered the twin's room, they were greeted by Jane who put down the clipboard she'd been holding and approached them with a smile.

"Good morning," she said.

"Hi," Sara replied.

"How are you feeling today?" Jane asked.

"The usual, I guess," Sara answered. "How are the babies?"

"Really good," Jane said positively. "We did a heart test on Gabe this morning and he's ticking away just fine."

Sara smiled brightly. "Will he have to have more tests once he's left the hospital?" she asked as Grissom wheeled her further into the room.

"We'll go through all that properly soon, I promise," Jane replied. "You'll be given all the information you need to know."

"Why worry until you have to right?" Grissom said, faking a smile.

"Precisely," Jane agreed although she sensed a little anxiety on Grissom's part. Something she may bring up with at a better time. "Although you shouldn't have too much to worry about."

Grissom felt like saying 'easy for you to say,' but held his tongue.

"So," Jane continued, "who would you like to try first?"

Looking at each crib, Sara thought. "Let's try Gabe first as he seems to be the pickiest."

Smiling, Jane looked at Grissom. "Would you like to collect him while we get Sara comfortable?"

Grissom smiled back. "With pleasure."

As Grissom headed toward Gabe, Sara was moved to the side of the room.

"We have a curtain set up," Jane said, nodding towards it, "in case you would like a little more privacy."

Sara looked around and then shook her head. "Not needed. A mother should never have to hide when feeding her child."

Jane nodded. "Well said," she said proudly.

"I think he's hungry," Grissom said as he approached with Gabe in his arms. "His lips are already sucking thin air."

Snickering, Sara began unbuttoning her nightgown. "Then I'd better hurry up."

"I'll leave you to it," Jane said as Grissom sat beside Sara, making baby faces at his son. "Just call if you need anything."

"Are you looking at Daddy?" Grissom cooed as Gabe's eyes opened to meet his father's. "Are you?"

A tiny gargle came from Gabe prompting a glorious smile from Sara. "So nice to see him finding his voice as well as his belly."

"It sure is," Grissom agreed, tapping his son on the nose making Gabe wriggle. "And you are a fidget bum, too."

Sara's smile remained as she crooked a finger at Grissom. "Come on, pass him over before he loses his appetite."

Doing just that, he carefully placed Gabe in Sara's arms and watched as she positioned him so he could get to her breast.

"Come on, little one," Sara encouraged as Gabe kept his mouth closed.

"Try running your finger across his lips," Grissom suggested. Looking at him, Sara frowned. "Well, he tries to eat my finger all the time. It might help to get his mouth open."

"Hmmm," Sara mumbled.

Raising her hand, she softly ran her finger across Gabe's lips and, lo and behold, his mouth opened and tried to latch onto it. Smiling, Sara stroked the back of his head, urging him a little closer to her breast.

"That's it," she encouraged. "Come on."

Gabe let out a tiny whimper before his lips finally caught Sara's nipple and encased around it.

"There we go," she whispered, feeling the slightest of tugs, so light it was barely there but it brought a tear to her eye that he'd taken to feeding from her. Honestly, she'd been a little doubtful.

As she looked at Grissom, he could see the glassiness in her eyes but flashed her a smile before leaning close and laying a sweet kiss on her lips.

"I'll go and get the other monster," he said softly.

She nodded as he walked away, swiping at her cheek before returning her attention to Gabe. Hopefully, Hope would be just as receptive.

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Sara was beaming.

Both Gabe and Hope had taken to breastfeeding and she couldn't be happier. Hope didn't care less what she was sucking on as long as food came out the other end. Still the picky one, Gabe had pulled away a few times but, eventually, he'd settled then fell asleep still clinging onto her nipple. That had truly made her giggle.

She would ask about the pump later. Even though they were still in the hospital, she wanted to start storing milk now to provide as much nutrition for her children as she could. When they went home without her, she wanted to be there in some form. Why not with breast milk?

"You feeling all right?" Grissom asked as he walked beside her, Christine pushing her wheelchair.

Looking up at him she smiled and reached out for his hand. "Only one more thing would top this day off nicely," she said as he entwined his fingers with hers.

"And what's that?" he asked.

"A nice candlelit dinner with my husband and an early night."

Grissom's eyebrows soared as it was barely lunchtime and he looked at Christine who smirked at him.

"And what would be on the menu?" he inquired, playing along to keep the happy mood going.

"Hmmm," Sara mumbled in thought. "Maybe a nice piece of sea bass, some sweet potato, broccoli and a bottle of white wine."

Grissom nodded. "Nice," he agreed. "I could go for that."

"Ahhhh," she sighed. "If only."

"We're here," Christine announced cutting their discussion short.

They both looked up to see they'd arrived at the Physiotherapy unit.

"I guess I'll have to take a raincheck on dinner then," Sara said to Grissom who rolled his eyes and sat beside her wheelchair.

Snorting, Christine nodded to the desk. "I'll see if they are ready for you, honey. Be back in a second."

Sara nodded as she walked away.

Grissom took her hand again. "Are you nervous?" he asked.

Sara's head tipped from side to side. "A little bit but not too much. I think when it comes to my legs I may feel a little differently."

"Yeah," he whispered knowing that was a whole different ball game.

Sighing, Sara looked at her legs. "I can't stop thinking about it, you know," she said quietly. "Whether I'll walk or not." Feeling a soft pressure on her hand she looked back at him.

"I have faith," he replied softly. "It's going to take time, but I know you can do it."

"I hope so," she breathed.

He smiled, giving her hand another gentle squeeze. He hoped so, too, or things would be so very, very tough.

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Grissom sat by Sara's bedside watching as she slept and sighed. Her first physio session hadn't gone quite as planned.

Janice, the physiotherapist, had introduced herself, explained the procedure and made them feel comfortable. She started with Sara's fingers first, nice and gentle, before moving onto loosening and rotating her wrist.

And that's when everything fell apart.

For some reason, still to be discovered, Sara became very dizzy and nauseous and nearly passed out. Completely unexpected to both Janice and Grissom, the session was immediately stopped, and Sara had been returned to her room to rest.

Hearing voices, Grissom looked toward the doorway to see Steven step in with Maggie, the doctor flashing him a smile as he approached.

"Hey, Gil," he greeted.

Nodding, Grissom got up. "Hi," he said back, his fingers doing their usual little nervous clench.

"Blood pressure again, please," Steven said to Maggie who nodded and approached the patient.

Folding his arms, Grissom let out a quiet sigh. "Any idea what's wrong?" he asked.

As Maggie applied the cuff to Sara's arm, she stirred.

"Maybe," Steven answered, watching his patient as her eyes flickered and she woke up. "How are you feeling, Sara?"

"Hummmmmmmmmmm," Sara mumbled. "A little floaty."

Frowning, Grissom drew closer to the bed as Steven took a penlight from his pocket.

"Just going to check your eyes, okay?" he said.

"Sure," Sara whispered, blindly seeking Grissom's hand who reached out to her as she watched the doctor.

"How's your vision?" he asked. "Still feeling dizzy?"

"Vision's okay," she said. "Just feel a bit light headed."

Nodding, he pulled back and put the light away. "Blood pressure?" he asked Maggie.

"80/50," Maggie told him. Grissom's eyebrows soared.

"That's pretty low, Sara," Steven warned. "How much fluid have you been drinking?"

Scrunching her eyes tightly, Sara tried to sit up a bit so Maggie quickly helped her.

"Just the normal, I guess," she said unsurely.

"And what about eating?" he asked.

Now Sara's eyes sprung to Grissom and he nipped on his lip. He'd known this would start to become a problem. She'd lost way too much weight.

"She hasn't been eating a great deal," Maggie answered for her. "Despite of our persistence."

Sara sighed. "Hard to eat when I'm not hungry," she grumbled. "I don't want to eat."

Steven folded his arms. "I think this is our issue. And we should have done something about this before now. Not enough food or fluids in your body. And not eating will make you less hungry and it will also make you sick as we've seen."

"Can't help it," Sara complained.

"I understand," Steven said softly. "Believe me, I do. But this dizzy spell and your low blood pressure means your body is begging for nutrition. And to prevent you from shutting down we need to sort it out pretty quickly or you'll be in a whole world of trouble."

Licking her lips, Sara shrugged. "So, what do you suggest?"

"First we'll get you weighed and then decide which way to go. We can give you some supplements and you can eat and drink more." Sara opened her mouth to argue but Steven stopped her. "If you can't then we will have to put you back on a saline IV. It's up to you which way we do it. If we don't get you sorted you are going to become too weak to do anything and that certainly won't help your recovery. Normally you wouldn't be given an option and you'd be straight back onto the IV so…"

"I don't want to go back on the IV," Sara moaned, cutting him short. "I hate that thing. Please."

"Then we put you on a diet plan and you must stick to it. Okay? There is no room to negotiate on this one."

Sighing again, Sara looked at Grissom.

"She will," Grissom said confidently. "I'll help you," he reassured. "You can do it."

Slowly, she nodded even if unconvincingly.

"Good," Steven returned. "And we can start by having some food sent in."

"Goody," Sara mocked. "Got any sea bass?"

Frowning with confusion, Steven looked at Grissom who smiled.

"I think tuna is the best we have, honey," Maggie said.

Sara's eyes flicked to her. "Then I guess that will have to do."

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Sara was nearly 20/lbs lighter than when she'd been admitted. Grissom chided himself for not saying anything even as the nutritionist instructed them that regular eating was necessary, but supplement pills would also be needed to get her body back on track.

Agreeing with everything she'd said Grissom now sat and watched Sara fiddle with the last bit of her tuna sandwich.

"Come on, honey," he encouraged. "You're almost there."

Her eyes flicked to him as she popped the last bit into her mouth and he smiled. It wasn't a big sandwich, but it was a start.

"First time you've finished anything," he said.

"Yippee," she mocked.

"The more you eat the better you'll feel," he countered. "And the more strength you'll have. You need that strength to start walking around, remember?"

Snorting, she dabbed her mouth with a paper napkin. "Yes, Mom."

Playfully narrowing his eyes, he glanced at the door as Maggie returned, the nurse looking pleased when she saw Sara's empty plate.

"Feel a little better?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sara breathed. "I guess I do."

"Good, let's make sure we keep it up."

"What happens about my physio?" Sara asked, looking at her wrist.

"Rest today," Maggie said, picking up the empty plate. "And we'll get you started again tomorrow."

"Can't I go back later?" Sara complained. "I am feeling a little better already."

Maggie thought for a second. "I'll have to speak with Doctor Sharp to see if he will allow it. If he says it's okay, I'll check with Janice to see if she has any free slots later. But you must feel strong enough and we need to get that blood pressure back up. We don't want you passing out on us."

Sara nodded. "Well I've eaten what more can I do?"

"Drink plenty of water," Maggie advised. "And for now, just rest."

"All I ever seem to do," Sara grumbled.

Grissom felt his throat becoming dry. Sara's boredom was understandable. Apart from seeing the twins she rarely left her room. But he wasn't entirely sure how to change that.

"For now, it's all you can do, honey," Maggie countered. "I know it's frustrating, but things will change, I promise."

"Sure," Sara whispered unenthusiastically and dropped her head back to the pillow.

Maggie looked at Grissom. "Give me a shout if you need anything," she said.

He nodded and moved closer to Sara as Maggie left, running fingers through Sara's hair.

"Why don't you take another nap?" he suggested. "And then maybe you'll be all refreshed and more likely to have the doctor agree to you trying physio again."

"And what are you going to do?" she asked.

Sitting down he picked up a book from beside the bed and held it up. "Entertain my brain."

Her eyebrows rose. "I forgot how much Shakespeare turns you on."

Smirking, he leaned close and kissed her. "But not as much as you."

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After a long nap, Sara felt much stronger. Her blood pressure even rose a little. But it was enough for Steven to let her try physio again. If nothing else, it gave her something to do.

She took the second attempt in stride, gritting her teeth through all the movement Janice made upon her hand and fingers. Although it hurt, she found she could move it more afterwards. That alone made her feel like she'd actually achieved something for once.

After her session, they'd stopped by to see the twins and Sara had given them another feed before returning to her room for dinner – plenty of vegetables and pasta. She would need every bit of food and nutrition she could cram into her body because the day was fast approaching when her leg casts would come off and the rehab work would really begin.

But, Grissom was still worried as he watched Sara eating. She was halfway through and struggling. The look on her face told him she wasn't really enjoying it but pushing herself as hard as she could. He'd already finished his although he was also not enjoying the food so much anymore either. Hospital food was, well, dull. Generally it was under seasoned and most of the time very repetitive. And hospitals were certainly not the best caterers for vegetarians although they did what they could.

With a quiet sigh, Sara dropped the fork and looked at him. Surprisingly to her, he smiled.

"Finished?" he asked tenderly.

"Am I allowed to be finished?" she challenged, lips pursing.

Reaching for the tray, he picked up the plate and placed it out of the way. "You've done better than you have for weeks and I know there is only so much food you can eat right now."

"What, before I throw up?"

Playfully narrowing his eyes, he pointed to the yogurt on the tray. "Eat your yogurt."

Taking the yogurt in hand, Sara held it up to him. "Put it aside. I'll have it later."

"Promise?"

Rolling her eyes, she nodded. "Scout's honor."

Smirking, he picked up the yogurt just before Christine entered. Sara noticed she had a breast pump in her hand and her gaze narrowed in on the implement.

"For you," Christine announced placing it down next to Sara. "But not to be used until tomorrow when you have recouped a bit of what you've given out today." Nodding, Sara picked up the pump and inspected it. "Have you used one before?" Christine asked.

"No," Sara admitted.

"Here let me show you," Christine said as Sara passed her the pump back.

Grissom watched as the nurse explained to his wife how the pump worked. Pretty simple really although he wasn't sure why he found himself looking down at his own chest and imagining how it would feel.

"Sounds easy enough," Sara said once Christine had finished. "Do I just fill up the one bottle?" she asked, noticing there was only the one attached to the pump and no others.

"I'll bring some more tomorrow. Remember to let the nurse know once you've filled it so she can pop it into the refrigerator. Most women have more milk first thing in the morning so pump then. After that pump between breastfeeding, either 30 to 60 minutes after nursing or at least one hour before breastfeeding. That timing should leave plenty of milk for your babies if you continue to pump regularly."

"Until they go home anyway," Sara sighed.

"Just think about the positive," Christine countered. "Now you can provide for them wherever they are."

Biting on her lip, Sara looked at Grissom who was looking at his chest again.

"Planning on helping out?" she asked.

His head shot up. "Um," he said, frowning. "Does that thing make you sore?"

Sara's eyebrows rose. "You really are putting some thought into it, aren't you?"

His eyes flicked to a grinning Christine and he cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks burning.

"Just curious," he whispered.

Sara smiled to herself because she knew exactly how curious he was about her breasts.

"The pump is actually easier on the breast than physical feeding," Christine told him. "Sometimes if a baby feeds a lot it can crack the skin around the nipple or even the nipple itself and that can be very sore."

Grissom winced, his eyes finding Sara. "Ouch."

She snorted. "Indeed," she agreed. "Thankfully, I didn't have that issue with Michael but with two mouths to feed, using a pump may be helpful to avoid such issues."

"I hope so," Grissom agreed, pretty sure that cracked nipples would be no fun for Sara at all.

Putting the pump down, Christine picked up Sara's tray. "You've done well," she commended.

"Thanks," Sara breathed. "Saving yogurt for later."

Christine nodded. "I need to do your blood pressure one more time before bed, so I'll be back in in about half an hour. Okay?"

Sara nodded at Christine as she left then looked back at Grissom. "Little help to the bathroom?" she asked.

Smiling, Grissom got up and carefully scooped her into his arms. "You know if you put too much weight on I won't be able to lift you like this anymore."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Sara gaped at him. "How much weight do you think I'm going to gain? Not quite sure I'm going to turn into an elephant, you know. Besides, a big strapping man like you should have no issues in lifting a tiny thing like me."

"Ah, you have such a way with words, Mrs Grissom," he teased.

"My only way with words will be I've just pee'd myself if you don't get a move on."

He laughed. "Yes, Ma'am."

A/N: Awww, I love it when they are fluffy :)