AN: Thanks for the reviews.

AN#2: I know I mostly post on Sundays, however I have something going on, which I might end up posting another chapter anyways, we'll see. But just to make sure you'll get at least one chapter this weekend, here you go.
Find out what happens next, how do they find out about William? And how will Grissom feel about it?

Chapter 10: Finding out

November 23, 2026

(Before school)

Per usual William was in the library, this time studying for a test, when the voice of Rick came up besides him, which William was thankful he didn't have anther hearing loss episode. "I think I figured out your secret."

William looked at him a little shocked, but hid it enough not to cause attention. "What uh... what secret is that?"

"You were abducted by Aliens and one of them switched bodies with you? Right."

William rolled his eyes and shook his head as he looked down at his chemistry book. "Don't be absurd."

"Well, what other explanation is there? You were this close to getting the girl of your dreams, then the next thing I know she's dating that..."

William cuts him off with a sighed. "Rick, please no insults, he's a good guy."

Rick shook his head, still not happy how Jason treated them. "A good guy doesn't turn his back on his friends and ignore us for two/three years."

"He grew out of what we were interested in, he made new friends, it happens, it's part of life." Before Rick could speak, William continued as he started packing his back. "Besides, why don't you look at yourself before you come at me."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" Rick looked confused and William sighed before he continue. "Elizabeth. You didn't have the guts to tell her how you feel about her, so someone else stepped in."

It was Jason's best friend, Tony.

Rick sighed and nodded. "Ok, fine, you're right. I didn't tell her how I felt and now I lost her, but that still doesn't explain..."

William cuts him off, now feeling irritable, as he stood up from his seat. "Rick, I said back off!"

Rick moved quickly, the chair falling on the floor, making a loud noise causing everybody, including the Librarian to 'shush' them before Rick spoke in a hard whisper. "Are you trying to push everybody away? Because if you are, you are doing a really good job of it. I feel that something is seriously wrong with you, man, and if there is, fix it before you end up alone." Then he walked away and stormed out of the library, making William sigh as he sat back down in the chair he was just sitting in and closed his eyes before rubbing his temples, trying to will out the headache that was coming on, not needing this right now.

(Lunch time)

At the Lab

After leaving her crime scene, Sara headed back to the lab so she could turn in her evidence to the triple dream team, Olivia Carter (Now wife of Luke's, Audio/Visual), Linda Malone (Now wife of Harry's, DNA), Kyle Caine (Ballistics)), and with her CSI team added in the mix, it made the day shift the best shift at the lab by a large margin.

When she was done turning in everything, she was getting weird smiles and looks her way as she walked down the hall towards her office, making her wonder why they were doing that, then when she got there and opened the door, she found out exactly why she was getting the looks and smiles, her office was filled with 18 red roses, and Grissom was standing in front of her desk with the 19th one in his hand.

He smirked with his blue eyes sparkling. "Joey sends his best."

Sara chuckled as she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. "Gilbert Grissom, you are crazy."

After their 12th wedding anniversary he started sending the flowers to the house, but this year he wanted to go back to the office, which he was sure it got a rise out of the other CSI's and lab rats, especially the new ones who didn't know what he did, but he didn't care, he loved this tradition.

He smiled as he walked up to her to hand her the rose. "Yeah, about you."

She took the rose from him, thanked him with a loving smile while wrapping her free arm around his neck and continued. "I mean it Griss. Now don't get me wrong, it has been very sweet, but you don't have to keep doing this every year, I know how much you love me."

He could see she was serious, so he nodded with a sigh, but then he asked with a hopeful look. "Ok, but give me one more year, let's end on an even 20."

Sara nodded with a smile, not able to stop his request when his eyes looked so hopeful. "Ok, one more year. Then from there on out, I just need one. One from my one true love."

He nodded with his blue eyes sparkling again. "You got it." After a hug, he asked. "You ready for lunch?"

Since the kids wanted to do something special for them tonight on their anniversary, Grissom wanted to take her out to lunch just the two of them.

Once she nodded, they headed out of the office, everybody wishing them a happy anniversary as they walked down the hall hand in hand with big smiles on their faces. They may have not been able to freely do this when they were in Vegas, but since being here, unless he was called into consult, they had no problem holding hands while they were in the lab.

While his parents were eating lunch at one of their favorite restaurants, William was going to leave campus so he could enjoy his lunch somewhere else, and with him not having another class after lunch, his lunch break is longer than other students, but before he reached the parking lot, he had to walk through the courtyard, which happened to be where the 'popular/jocks' were hanging out, including Bella and Elizabeth, so when they saw him, both of the girls smiled as they said. "Hi William."

When he didn't reply as he walked by them, the girls looked at one another with curiosity before Elizabeth shook her head and shrugged her shoulders then continued on with the conversation she was having with anther girl, but Bella couldn't keep her eyes off him because something didn't feel right to her, which she's felt that way for months now because the William that she knew, or at least thought she knew, before these last few months happened, wouldn't completely ignore her, even if things were a little strained between them at the moment.

Her eyes then got a little wide as she saw a big delivery tuck coming his way, honking his horn and William wasn't slowing down his quick pace at all, so she gasped. "Jason!"
Jason looked at Bella in concern at the tone of her voice as she continued. "Something's wrong with William, he can't hear the truck horn."

Jason didn't even think twice when he saw/heard the same thing she did. He ran towards the other boy like he was running from the defense on the football field to score the winning touchdown, and before William knew it, he felt an arm wrap around his waist and brought him back before he stepped off the curb and the delivery truck slammed on his breaks.

With his heart racing, William looked shocked, at not only what was about to happen, but saw that Jason was the one that saved him, who was catching his breath, then he looked around and saw the other students that were around, looking at the scene also in shock.

When Jason finally got his breath back, he asked in a hard tone. "What's wrong with you, man? Didn't you hear the horn? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Finally hearing the last part of what Jason said, he shook his head. "No, of course I wasn't trying to kill myself."

"Then what were you doing?"

"Nothing...I uh...I got to go."

Jason shook his head and stepped in front of him before he moved. "No, not until you tell me what that was." There was a pause, and he remembered something about his family. 'Wait, you really couldn't hear that horn, could you? You're going deaf, aren't you?"

Before William could speak, Tony spoke in a teasing tone. "Oh is poor William losing his hearing?"

Every Jock, and those who followed them, started laughing, making Elizabeth look at them in disgust before rushing away from the group so she could find Rick and tell him what had happened, while Bella stood there in shock with tears in her eyes that he was going through something like that and never said a word to anyone, and Jason looked at them and shouted with a hard look, defending the boy he once called friend. "Knock it off guys, it's because of William half of you are still on any of the sports teams."

William became the go-to guy when the Jocks needed a tutor for improvement of their grades through the years.

When Jason looked at William again, William had his head down, feeling completely embarrassed about everything, so he placed his hand on his shoulder and said in comforting tone. "Come on, let's get you to the nurses office."

William nodded before they started heading towards the front office, but before they reached the door, William cleared his throat and said. "You don't have to do this, Jason."

Jason shook his head. "I turned my back on you before, but not this time, not when you need someone the most."

William smiled with a nod. "Thank you."

Jason smiled. "No problem."

While they were waiting on their meal, Grissom picked up his wine glass, which he just proud some in, and started to speak. "To my..."

But was cut off when Sara's phone rang, so she looked at him shyly. "Sorry, babe." He waved it off with a smile as he sets his glass down while she answered the phone. "Grissom." Her eyes got wide a second later as she was already standing up from her seat. "We'll be right there, thanks for calling, alright, bye." Grissom was looking at her with concern as Sara spoke to him. "It's William..."

At that point, with the way she was reacting, all it took was for her to say his name and Grissom was already up from his seat. Then after tossing some money on the table, including a big tip for their trouble, the Grissoms were out of the restaurant faster than anybody could blink, making the waitress, who was carrying their food to the table, look utterly confused on what just happened.

When they reached the school, they headed right for the front office then the nurses office, and not carrying who was in the room with him or bothering to even see who was in the room with him, both Sara and Grissom rushed towards their son, one on each side, and wrapped their arms around him.

They didn't fully understand what happened, but when Sara was told William was involved in an 'incident', they didn't even care if it was the smallest thing ever.

Once they finally pulled back, they could tell he was holding onto some pretty strong emotions, so Sara spoke softly as she cupped his cheek. "William, what's wrong, what happened?"

He sniffled and looked down before Jason finally spoke after clearing his throat. "William, please tell your parents."

At the sound of his voice, Grissom and Sara finally looked to see who was in the room (Jason & Bella), and to say they were surprised about Jason being there was an understatement.

"Jason, it's been awhile."

Jason nodded with a smile at Sara. "Yes it has, Mrs. Grissom, too long."

Before anymore words were said, Rick, who was followed closely by Elizabeth, came running into the room, also not paying attention to who was in there and asked with shock. "Man is it true, are you going deaf?" Everybody could hear a pen drop, and when he realized Sara and Grissom was there, he looked at them a little shyly. "Oh, hi Aunt Sara and Uncle Gil."

But their attention was already back on their son as Grissom spoke softly. "Son, is that true? Are you going deaf?"

William's eyes started to fill up with tears as he nodded, not able to keep it hidden any longer. "Yeah, I think so, dad."

Sara gasped as she placed a hand up to her mouth while Bella spoke after clearing her throat. "Why don't we give them some privacy."

Once everybody was out of the room, leaving Sara, Grissom and William, Grissom cupped his son's cheek and spoke with more emotion now. "Oh William, I am so sor..."

But William cuts his father off, who he could already see blaming himself for what was happening to him. "Don't do that dad. I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself." Grissom was about to speak again, but William continued with emotion as he took his father's hand in his. "I still standby with what I've been saying, you're the best father I could have had, and this changes nothing, at least for me. Does it for you, do you regret having me?"

There was no hesitation in Grissom's response as his eyes watered. "Not for a second, you and your sisters are the best thing that ever happened in my life, outside of your mom."

He nodded, seeing that in his father's eyes before looking at his mother with the same look, and she shook her head with a smile as she wiped a few tears off his cheek with one hand while cupping his other cheek with her other one. "I 1,000% agree with your father, you three are the light of our lives and there isn't a day that goes by that we don't feel blessed, I wouldn't trade you guys for the world."

William nodded with tears before looking at his father and finishing. "I know you feel guilty right now, but you don't have to be, I rather lose my hearing than not have you as a father."

Grissom held back a sob as he shook his head with a small smile. "My brave, wonderful son, you know how much I love you?"

William nodded as a few tears went down his cheek. "I do dad, I love you too, and I'm sorry that..."

His father cuts him off as he brings him in his arms and hugs him tight again, thankfully he's alright. "The important thing is that you're ok and we know now. Now we can deal with what comes next together, as a family." William nodded as he hugged his father tight and closed his eyes, feeling safe and comforted for the first time since this ordeal started.

Their family moment lasted a few moments longer before there was knock on the door.

Father and son pulled back from one another, and after all traces of tears where off everybody's cheeks, Sara cleared her throat and said. "Yeah, come in."

The door opened and the principle, which happened to be Mrs. Davidson, William's kindergarten teacher who saw the potential in him on his first day of school, smiled at the Grissom family, feeling honored that she not only saw William's potential, but the Grissom girls as well before being promoted to the High School principle two years ago, and asked. "I just wanted to check if everything is ok in here?"

Sara nodded with a polite smile. "Yes, thank you Mrs. Davidson. But we do need to talk to you."

Mrs. Davidson nodded with another smile. "Of course."

Grissom looked at his son. "We'll be right back."

After he nodded with a smile, both of his parent left the room, following Principle Davidson to her office.

A few seconds later, Rick, Elizabeth, Bella, and Jason walked back into the room, and after a moment of silence. Rick cleared his throat and started to say. "I'm sorry man, if I knew what you were going through I wouldn't have..."

William cuts him off as he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We hadn't fought since we've known one another, it was bound to happen at some point."

Elizabeth then smirked as she shook her head. "Did Mr. Memory bank forget a certain incident with the marble challenge?"

In middle school there was a voluntary challenge that students could guess how many marbles where in a jar and the top prize a was a new shiny bike.

William, Rick and Jason started laughing with a nod while Bella asked with curiosity. "Marble Challenge?"

Once Elizabeth explained what she meant, Rick shook his head with a smirk. "Yeah, and I would have totally won it, if Mr. Genius over there wouldn't have guessed the correct number perfectly."

Bella started chuckling, totally seeing that, as William shrugged his shoulder, like it was no big deal he got it. "What, you take the height of the jar, then you..."

Rick cuts him off with another smirk, while the rest of them started chuckling. "Ok, I don't need another math lesson, I already had that class today."

After another round of laughing, William spoke with a smirk. "Besides, I believe you used the bike more than me anyways."

Rick nodded with a smile. "I think you are right." He then cleared his throat and held out his hand. "So, we good?"

William nodded with a smile as he took his best friend's hand with a shake. "We are."

Once they release hands, Rick turned and held out his hand towards Jason. "Thank you, man, for protecting my best friend."

Jason nodded as he took the other boy's hand. "You're welcome."

As they release hands, the bell rung for the start of class, so Rick turned to his best friend and asked. "Talk to you later?"

William nodded before Rick left the room, and after Elizabeth gave her best friend a hug with a look of concern, William smiled at her and replied. "I'll be ok, Lizzie."

She smirked. "You better be, I can't handle him alone."

They all chuckled again before Elizabeth left the room after one more hug, then Bella cleared her throat and took his hand, Jason watching the scene, before she spoke softly. "Can we talk later, too?"

William nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I would really like that."

After a nod, she removed her hand, and after sharing a smile between the guys, she walked out of the room, then William cleared his throat as he held out his hand towards Jason again. "Thanks again, man."

Jason moved towards him and took his hand as he replied with a smile, still seeing the generous boy he's known since they were younger. "You would have done the same for me if the roles were reversed."

"You're probably right."

Once they release hands, Jason turned to walk out of the room, and once William was alone, he closed his eyes as the bell become muffled until it stopped completely, hoping there is still a chance they can fix this.

He meant everything he said to his father, but he wasn't ready to lose his hearing, not that anybody would ever be ready for that, but being in this family he knew there was a chance he would, he just wasn't ready for his whole life to change, to never again hear the cheer of his father when they are watching the baseball game together, the sound of his mother's voice when she is reading to him, his sisters voices when they tried to explain, or convince him was more like it, to him why Math was so much better and cooler, than Science. And the thing he would miss the most, was the sound of Bella's laugh, it was the first sound he ever heard her make, the day that made him change how he looked at girls, even though he denied it, saying they all still had 'cooties', for years. That's what got him through this difficult time.

About 10 minutes later Sara and Grissom finished talking with Mrs. Davidson about what could happen next, and she was very accommodating when it came to his recovery, which that's all providing everything is successful, and if not, they'll cross that bridge if/when they get there.

After they left the school with William, which Sara drove her son's vehicle, and went home so he could rest, Sara and Grissom headed back to the lab so she could get her vehicle and tell Carly and Warrick they were in charge for the next few days before she went home, while Grissom went back to the college to make arrangements there too before he got the girls from the middle school and headed home too, so they could have a family meeting and discuss what was going on.

Later that evening, while the Grissom kids and Bella, were cooking dinner for their parents on their anniversary, Sara and Grissom were out on the deck as Sara was finishing her phone call. "Thank you Dr. Phillips, yes, bye." She hung up, placed her phone on the glass deck table before walking over towards Grissom, who was sitting on the top step of the deck, and sat down next to him. "He said he could fit the kids in tomorrow morning at eight."

Once they found out about William, Grissom was adamant on getting the girl's ears checked, even though they hadn't reported anything going on with them, but he didn't care, he rather be safe than sorry, he didn't want to be caught off guard again.

Grissom nodded as he replied with a sigh. "Thank you for making the call."

She nodded, then as she saw him look down, she placed a hand on top of his and started speaking in a comforting tone. "Griss, I know you still feel guilty about what's going on with our son, but you heard him, he doesn't blame you." She then cupped his cheek with her other hand and moved his head up so they were looking into each other's eye as she continued with tears in hers. "And neither do I." When Grissom started to have tears in his, she continued with a smile. "Despite knowing full well that his could happen to our children, it never gave me doubts or second thoughts about wanting them with you, and even if we could go back in time, knowing what is going on now, I would still make the same decision." She then cleared her throat and finished softly. "So, I guess the only question remains, is what you told our son the truth? Do you not regret him, our girls?"

AN: Find out what happens next. Thanks for reading, and please review.