16

It took a few days, but things became oddly normal in the Grissom household. Ecklie had approved a four-week personal leave for him and Sara had turned in two weeks of vacation to help him get on his feet. He never could have done any of this without. They'd changed his guest room into a little girl's room in less than two days. Her clothes filled the closet and the new dresser. There was a toy chest full of toys, not to mention the ones that filled a set of shelves and were scattered around the living room. She had a bookshelf filled with Dr. Seuss, Mother Goose and every other book recommended at the bookstore and her walls were covered with pictures of every princess and fairy tale he'd ever heard of.

The trip to the grocery store was almost surreal to him. It almost felt like his own fairy tale as he pushed a cart full of food around with his daughter hanging on to the back of the cart. She'd jump off every few seconds to grab something she wanted off the shelves, which is what he'd told her to do. Sara balanced out the junk food he daughter chose, with healthier foods and snacks. From the outside looking in, they looked like the typical family.

Having two Sara's in his house was tough at first. Every time he tried to call one of them, the both answered or came running. For his own sanity, he continued calling his daughter by her name and switched to 'Hon' for Sara. She had basically moved in for the past week, but they hadn't talked about a future. It was something he was going to rectify tonight.

After they tucked Sara into bed, he made coffee while she jumped in the shower. When she came out, he was lounging in bed. "Tired?"

"No. I'd like to talk to you."

She walked over to the bed and took the coffee cup he was handing her, "Okay."

"I hope you know that I couldn't have done any of this without you. I'm not sure whether I tell you enough how much you mean to me. The last week has been so crazy and I've just taken for granted that you'd be here to take care of everything. I guess it hit me a little while ago that you could walk away any second."

"Gris, I'm not going anywhere. I have to admit that this is a whole lot crazier than I had planned, but hey, my life has been full of crazy!"

"You're just amazing. I don't know what other word to use. You've just stepped into my crazy world and took over during the worst crisis of my life and acted like it was run-of-the-mill."

"I love you."

"Yeah, well that's what I want to talk to you about. You know, when we went to the grocery store the other day, we walked around like we were a family. And you've been here for a week and we've spent every second together. Now, I don't know if I'm pushing my luck here, but…I want you to stay."

"Stay?"

"Yes. I, uh, can't say that I'm ready for marriage, because that's just too much for me right now. But I'd like to share my life with you. Sara obviously loves you, and she needs a mother. And I, well…I need you. You…you hold me together. Without you, I think I'll fall apart. You're the piece of me that I've been missing all these years. You complete me."

She looked into his eyes and saw past the sparkle and glaze. She could see worry and fear, but it was only faintly in the background. Was she saw brought a smile to her face and lifted the weight off her chest. It was the love she'd been searching for. His love for her twinkled in beautiful eyes. "One condition."

"Name it."

"Make love to me."

He smiled as the love in his eyes was mixed with a storm of passion, "Yes ma'am."