5
"Gil?"
Gil looked up, seeing Diane Grad there. The woman looked exhausted. He went to her.
"Catherine?"
"She's going to be fine, Gil. It wasn't good. There was a lot of bleeding. She started hemorrhaging, so we had to do an emergency hysterectomy."
Gil closed his eyes. "But she's going to be okay?"
"She's going to be just fine. Exhausted, but fine."
Gil's eyes opened. "The baby?"
Diane smiled. "A boy. He looks like Catherine. He's very small but he's going to be okay. The nurse's are cleaning him up, and then they'll put him in PICU to keep an eye on him."
"Can I…can I see Catherine? And him?"
Diane nodded. "Catherine's going to be settled in her room, so why don't you come and meet your son?"
Gil sat next to the incubator, looking at the little boy. He was fussing, his little hand flailing around. He had Catherine's nose and eyes, and Gil could swear he saw his own chin.
"Hi, handsome," Gil said, sitting down. "I'm your Daddy." He studied the little man with intense interest. "You were certainly impatient, weren't you?"
Gil's hand ran over the name on the incubator. "Baby Grissom." He smiled. "You have a lot of people looking forward to meeting you. You have two big sisters and two big brothers. And the most amazing, wonderful mother."
The nurse stood behind him. "You can touch him, Dr. Grissom. He won't break."
Gil glanced at the woman for a moment, then turned back to his son. Taking a deep breath, he reached in and touched the soft skin of his little boy. He smiled as the baby turned his head to him. "Hi there. I knew you were listening to me."
"Gil?"
Gil turned to see Diane Grad was back. "Yeah?"
"Catherine's awake."
Gil practically burst into his wife's room, stopping only when he saw how pale and tired she looked. Her eyes were shut and she was hooked up to an IV. He tiptoed over to the bed, sitting on the chair next to it.
"Gil?"
He smiled, caressing her cheek. "Hi, beautiful."
Catherine's eyes opened, focusing on him. "Hi. The baby?"
"Is fine," Gil grinned at her. "It's a boy, Catherine. He's so handsome. I think he's going to look like you."
Catherine's face broke into a smile. "A boy. Matt and Jamie will be happy. Is he okay?"
"He's just fine. He's in an incubator to keep him healthy. He's so perfect, Catherine."
"I want to see him," she said, trying to get up.
Gil gently laid her back down. "You'll see him soon, I promise. But Catherine, listen to me. You need to take it easy." He sat closer to her. "It wasn't an easy birth, sweetheart."
"What happened?"
"You lost a lot of blood and you were hemorrhaging." Gil took a deep breath. "They had to do an emergency hysterectomy."
Catherine closed her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Don't you dare apologize," Gil told her, leaning down so that his head was beside hers. "Catherine…I thought I was going to lose you."
Her hand slowly rose and rested on his back. "I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, bugman."
Gil kissed her lips. "Promise?"
Catherine smiled. "Promise."
The next day, Gil herded three little children into the hospital, with the help of Lindsey. Lizzie had brought her teddy bear, Jamie had a toy truck, and Matt had his airplane. Gil proudly brought a bunch of flowers for his wife, while Lindsey brought up the rear with some baby boy balloons.
"Can we see Mom now?" Matt asked.
Lizzie's hand tugged on Gil's. "Mommy! Mommy!"
Gil stopped in front of Catherine's room, and knelt down in front of his children. "Now, guys, you have to remember what I said. Mommy's just had an operation, and she's very tired. So we have to be especially quiet and careful with her."
"Can we still hug her?"
"I think she'd be upset if you didn't," Gil assured Matthew. He stood up and peered around the door. "Just wait here with your sister for a minute."
Leaving the children with Lindsey, he went inside the room, smiling as he saw his wife sleeping on the bed. While she was still pale, he still thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
He carefully sat on the side of her bed, pressing a feather-light kiss to her cheek. She stirred at the touch, and woke to him tenderly stroking her hair.
"Hi there."
A smile slowly appeared on her face. "Hi back."
Their lips met in a soft kiss, with Gil still a little wary of hurting her.
"Missed snuggling with you last night," she told him, reaching a hand out to take his.
"Missed it too," Gil replied, squeezing her hand gently. "Have you seen Max yet?"
Catherine nodded. "Mhm. He's handsome. Just like his daddy."
Gil grinned and kissed her hand. "I brought you some visitors."
Her face lit up. "Really?"
Gil nodded and softly called Lindsey's name. The teen walked in, carrying Jamie and holding Lizzie tightly by the hand. Matt followed the group.
"Hey, guys," Catherine smiled.
"Hi, Mommy!" Lizzie whispered loudly.
Catherine chuckled, reaching out her arms as Lindsey and Gil helped the little ones onto the bed.
Jamie snuggled up to his mother. "Miss mommy."
"I've missed you guys too," Catherine said. "But you know what? There's a new baby brother who you have to meet."
"Daddy told us!" Matt said, grinning widely. "His name is Max!"
"That's right," she replied. "But he can't come home yet, because he's too small."
"He gonna break?" Lizzie asked.
Gil lifted Matt up onto the bed. "No, he's not going to break. But he has to get a bit bigger and stronger before he can come home."
"How big is he now?" Matt asked.
"He's only five pounds," Gil explained. "Which means he's very small."
"When can he come home?" Lindsey asked.
"At least another month, guys," Gil told them.
Lizzie's eyes were wide. "Mommy here?"
"No," Catherine said, smiling weakly at her daughter. "Mommy will be coming home."
Lindsey watched her mother with a careful gaze. "Are you going to be okay?"
Catherine looked up, and nodded. "Of course."
--
Gil and Lindsey took the children down to meet Max. They were only allowed to peek at him through the window of the NICU. The nurse explained to them that Max had just had something to eat, and was now having a sleep.
"He's so tiny," Lindsey murmured.
"Baby!" Lizzie pointed.
"That's Max," Gil said proudly.
As the younger children looked in awe at the little boy, Lindsey turned to her father.
"Is Mom really going to be okay?"
Gil sighed. "Physically, yes. But leaving Max here when she goes home? It's going to be hard for all of us."
Lindsey nodded and turned back to the baby. "You better come home soon, Max."
--
Later that afternoon, one of the nurses took Catherine down to see her son. She went into the NICU and smiled at the little boy. "Hi Max. Mommy's here."
Hearing the voice, the little baby turned his head toward her. Catherine's smile widened and she sat in the chair next to his crib. "Did you see your brothers and sisters this morning? They all thought you were very handsome."
Her hand reached in and touched his fingers. "You're so perfect. 10 fingers, 10 toes. Little button nose and mouth."
"Mrs. Grissom?"
Catherine looked up as a new nurse arrived. "Yes?"
"Would you like to hold him?"
Her eyes widened. "I can? I won't hurt him?"
"He may be tiny, but he's a strong, healthy little guy." The nurse picked Max up in her arms, smiling at the baby before settling him into Catherine's welcoming arms.
After a few moments of concern, Catherine relaxed into the chair, holding Max tenderly. "Well. Isn't this nice? Just you and me, little buddy."
She extended her little finger and watched as Max curled his fist around it. Catherine smiled contentedly, leaning back against the chair and whispering soft words of love to her son.
"I love you, Max," she told him. "More than anything. And I promise that everything is going to be okay."
The baby yawned and rested his little body in her arms. Catherine smiled and gently stroked his soft skin.
"Mommy's got you."
--
