AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.
Chapter 11: No Regrets
A tear slid down Grissom's cheek, and like his reply towards his son earlier, it was without hesitation. "I'll never regret our children." She wiped his tear away as tears came to her eyes, seeing the truth in his as he continued after clearing his throat from emotion even though there was still plenty there. "You and them mean everything to me, and to wish they never existed would be one of the worst nightmares I would ever have in my life." He sniffled as he finished. "I just wish that he didn't have to go through this, or that the girls have to worry this might happen to them in the future. I would go through with it again and lose my hearing if it meant my children would be ok."
Sara nodded in agreement as she moved closer to him, whispering. "Me too." She took a breath before finishing. "But we are here now, and like we've done for many years, we are in this together, we'll get through this as a family, you still with me?"
He took a breath and nodded. "Always." He then whispered. "I love you."
She smiled as her forehead touched his. "And I love you, always."
While they closed their eyes and held one another close, Katie, who was still inside, looking through the glass back door at her parents and never seen them that emotional before, said. "William?"
William, who was in the kitchen going through another hearing episode, so Bella tapped him on the shoulder and spelled out Katie's name and pointed towards the door.
She may have not known a lot about sign language but at least she knew the alphabet.
He nodded with a slight smile before walking out of the room, seeing his youngest sister at the glass door before looking at the same sight she did, their parents huddled close together while comforting one another, and knowing what that was all about, he took a breath and started to kneel down, running his hand down her back before she turned around, and when they were eye-level, he smiled and signed. 'Let's give them a little time before we call them in for dinner.'
Sara and Grissom made sure their kids knew sign language, not only as a precaution for what could happen in this family, but it was something they felt they should know anyways, you just never know when you might need to use it.
She nodded with a slight smile before signing back. 'Ears, right now?' After he nodded, she looked at him with sympathy. 'I'm sorry, brother.'
He gave her a smile and shook his head. 'It's ok, no matter what happens, I'm going to be ok.'
She nodded with another smile before signing. 'I love you, William.'
He smiled with his blue eyes shinning bright as he cupped his youngest sister's cheek before speaking this time. "And I love you, Katie bear." Katie giggled at her brother's nickname for her, making William smile again as he stood up and held out his hand. "Come on, you can help with the salad."
Katie nodded with one more smile before brother and sister headed back into the kitchen.
About 10 minutes later, Sara and Grissom came into the house then the kitchen and Sara asked with a smile. "Is dinner about ready?"
They nodded with a smile before William asked after clearing his throat. "You guys want to eat in here, dinning room, or outside on the deck?"
Sara and Grissom looked at one another before looking at the kids and speaking at the same time. "Deck."
They all chuckled before Katie smirked. "You guys always do that."
Sara and Grissom smiled while William started to speak for them. "What can you say..."
But his parents cut him off at the same time. "Great minds think alike."
Bella chuckled with a smile, loving their interaction, while Katie shook her head with a smile as she went to grab the plates and silverware so she could take them out on the deck. "Stop it, you guys are freaking me out."
After another round of chuckling, Grissom cleared his throat and asked. "Where is Isabella?"
William answered him. "I think she's still in her room."
His parents looked a little worried, and started walking out of the room, but before they could, William asked. "Can I go talk to her?"
After Sara and Grissom nodded in acceptance, William left the room so he could comfort his sister.
When William was out of the room, Bella looked at the two people she's admired, outside of her uncle, the most in her life, and smiled warmly. "I know I don't have to tell you this, but you have a wonderful son. And whatever happens next, won't change that, it won't change how I..." She stopped before she said too much and cleared her throat before shaking her head with a smile. "I'll get the glasses out there. Happy Anniversary."
Sara and Grissom nodded with a smile before Bella walked out of the room, and when they were alone, they looked at one another before Sara spoke. "Well, another thing got cleared up today, why he pushed her away. He took a page from his father's old handbook."
Grissom sighed, now everything making sense regarding his son's actions towards Bella, as he moved towards his wife and took her hand. "And it was one of the stupidest moves I made, I acknowledge that."
She couldn't help but smirk as she cupped his cheek so she could run her thumb up and down his ear. "Good, I'm glad we finally agree on that." He smiled a little, so she could see his sparkle a little more than it had been since before their lunch date. "And I'm glad he has someone else behind him."
After Grissom nodded, they kissed softly before grabbing the meal so they could head out on the deck.
Five minutes after they had sat down at the table, both William and Isabella made it out there too, and Isabella went right to her father and gave him a hug, whispering. "I love you, daddy."
Grissom, although a little shocked at the action, smiled as he hugged his oldest daughter. "I love you too." She cleared her throat, and he finished. "Butterfly."
She nodded with a smile before she went to her mother and did the same action before sitting between William and her younger sister, then the kids started eating while Sara and Grissom watched them for a few moments before they started to enjoy their meal with them, happy to have a tense-less meal, or as tense-less as they could get, considering what's going on with their son.
Later that evening
After dinner, and once the dishes were in the dishwasher, they spent a little more time as a family in the living room, then after about an hour, Isabella and Katie went up their rooms, Sara and Grissom thought that a game of chess could be a nice distraction for a bit while William and Bella went out on the deck with Max, and after sitting down on the bottom step, William started to throw the ball so Max could go fetch it as Bella, who was sitting on the top step, watched the interaction with a smile and warmness in her heart, she could see the love and trust between them.
A few more times throws after that, Bella cleared her throat and asked. "Can we talk now?"
William nodded as he looked at Max and said. "Ok Max, this is the last time for a bit."
Once he threw the ball Max took off, while William turned to look at Bella, then after a moment, Bella cleared her throat again and spoke again. "Can I ask you a question?" William nodded again. "Is there a reason why this is happening to you?"
"Why I'm going deaf? Or I guess I should say could possibly go deaf?"
She knew about the surgery, and if it works, he shouldn't have another hearing problem again like his father, so far, so she nodded, and he explained to her that it was a genetic disorder passed down through his father's side of the family, and when he was done, she asked again, taking all the information in stride. "So, this happened to your father too?"
William nodded, trying to be truthful to her. "Yes."
William gave her time to process everything, and once she did, she asked softly, wanting to see if she was right in her thinking, which kind of surprised him with her question, but then again she was very smart so maybe not so surprised that she saw the whole picture. "And did your father push your mother away when he was going through it too?"
He frowned as he spoke softly. "Bella..."
But she cuts him off with tears. "Why William, why would you push me away when you were hurting?"
He cleared his throat and whispered. "I thought..(He shook his head)...no, I felt that if I became deaf that..." He started to place his hand on top of hers, but then he stopped his speech with his eyes wide, remembering something, and shook his head again as he stood up from the step he was sitting on and stepped on the grass and continued. "You're seeing Jason, it shouldn't matter why now. I mean I haven't been friends with the guy for years, but that doesn't mean I'm going to..."
Bella cuts him off as she stood up too and stepped down so she was in front of him. "Jason and I broke up." She sighed before continuing. "I mean if you really want to call it a 'break up', we weren't exactly dating. He took me to a couple of movies, but I said I wanted to be just friends, and he respected that."
He looked at her with wide-eyes. "Really?"
Bella nodded with a smile. "Really, and after he found out about what was going on with you, he understood why you said yes to him asking me out in the first place. You thought he was better than you."
William looked down at the grass while shaking his head. "Bella, he is a great guy, he could give you..."
She cuts him off as she took a step towards him and whispered. "So are you." When he looked into her eyes again, she continued with tears in them. "You know why I came back here?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You said you wanted to experience High School like other high-schoolers, you wanted to be near your friends, the ones you felt closest to."
"And while what I said was the truth, you're the main person I wanted to experience high school with, you're the one I wanted to be closer to." When he looked at her a little shocked, she continued with a nod. "Since I've been away from you, I felt like I've lost something, and trying to fill the void with various activities through the years wasn't working, so when I finally had a chance to convince my uncle to let me come back here, I had to at least see if that void would fill up, and the second I heard your voice, I knew it was you, you're the one that I felt like I lost." When William started chuckling, Bella got a little hurt and mad. "I'm trying to pour my heart out to you, and you're laughing at me?"
William shook his head before taking her hand and replied softly. "No, I'm laughing because I've felt the exact same thing." Both hearts were racing as he lifted his hand up and cupped her cheek, resisted on closing her eyes at his touch before he continued "I've missed you so much, and nothing I ever did seem to get you out of my mind, and the second I saw your face, you filled up that void in my life."
They started to smile then chuckle before Bella shook her head and said. "This is crazy, right?"
With his blue eyes shinning, he shook his head before sighing. "All I know is how feel about you, and if it's crazy to feel this way, then bring it on, I'm ready for it."
She nodded with her brown eyes shinning. "Me too." They stood there for several minutes just looking at one another with their eyes beaming and smiles on their faces, then something flashed in his eyes, and as he looked down, she shook her head and lifted his chin up before speaking with a determination in her tone. "It took me ten years to get back to you, do you think I can just turn my back on you now? No matter what happens post-surgery, I'm not going anywhere, we are in this together now." Then she finished with. "You trust me?"
Remembering those words from the first day she came back into his life, he started to smile again with a nod. "Yeah, I do."
She smiled as they placed their foreheads together and closed their eyes. "Good."
As they stood there with their foreheads together, Max started barking and wagging his tail, making the couple chuckle before Bella spoke again as they pulled apart from one another. "Well, it looks like someone is on board with us."
They knelt down to pet the excited dog while William smiled at her. "That makes two of us then."
She smiled brighter, haven't had this much happiness in a very long time. "How about three?"
"Works for me."
While they were continuing to give Max attention, Sara and Grissom, who had watched their interaction for several minutes from inside of the house, sighed before Sara smirked. "Well, if you haven't given him that talk before, you should definitely now."
He couldn't help but chuckle a little before he wrapped his arm around her waist with another sigh. "I think he has other things on his mind at the moment."
She sighed as she placed her hand on top of his. "Yeah, you're probably right."
He kissed her temple and whispered, trying to stay as positive as he could be. "He's going to pull through this."
She nodded as she turned around so she could see her husband and cupped his cheek. "I know, he's his father's son."
He smile warmly before. "Well, I happen to know his mother is no slouch, either."
She just smiled in return before wrapping one another in a hug, and after a moment, she spoke as they pulled back. "Let's give them a little more time to themselves."
"Ok, what do you want to do now?"
With love and trust in her eyes, she asked softly. "Can you just hold me? I know it's our anniversary, but..."
Grissom cuts her off with love and trust in his eyes. "Honey, you never have to ask that, I'm always open to just holding you. Besides, we can do our celebrating when all of this is over."
She nodded with one more smile. "Thank you."
He just kissed her on the forehead and took her hand before walking them upstairs so they could just hold one another, needing that comfort after the day they had.
One Week later
November 30, 2026
While the Grissom girl's ears were perfect, the doctor only confirmed what they already knew about William, so they set up for the surgery as soon as they could, which was the following Monday, and once the day arrived, they headed for the hospital, which even though it was a weekday they kept the girls, Bella, Rick and Elizabeth, who both had permission from their parents, out of school, so they could be there for William when he woke up.
Not long after the doctor took William into surgery, Elizabeth got up from her seat in the waiting room and headed towards the vending machine, and Rick watched her walk away until she was out of sight, making him sigh and causing Isabella to chuckle, so Rick looked over at William's sister, who was reading a book, and asked with a raised eyed. "Yes, can I help you?"
She lifted her head up and smile at her brother's best friend. "Why don't you ask her out already."
At first he looked at her wide-eyed. "How did you..." But then he shook his head with a chuckle, realizing who he was talking to. "You are certainly your brother's sister, aren't you?"
Taking that as the biggest compliment anyone could say to her, she smiled. "Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment."
He nodded with a smile. "Just as you should, because I meant that as one." She nodded with the smile still on her face, before he sighed again. "So, you really think I should too?"
Isabella nodded. "You'll always wonder 'what if' if you don't. Yeah, it will be a risk to put yourself out there, not knowing the outcome, but if you play it safe your whole life look what you could be missing out on." She nodded her head towards her parents, who, while looked worried about their son, they could see the true love between them as they held hands and talked quietly.
He watched them for several seconds, as they reminded him of his parents before he looked at Isabella again and smiled. "Well, I should learn by now to never go against you Grissoms, you're always right." She smirked before he took a breath and stood up. "Ok, here I go, wish me luck."
Before he started walking, not only did Isabella say it, but so did Bella, Katie, and Sara and Grissom, which when he looked at the parents, they were smirking at him.
A second later he chuckled as he shook his head while walking in the direction of the vending machines, he should have known they knew how he felt, which meant probably his parents did as well, you could barely get anything past a CSI, particularly the veteran ones, and no one could be more veteran when you're talking about the years those four can add up on being a CSI.
When he finally caught up with her, she was just getting the bag of chips out, and he spoke after taking another breath. "Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth turned around after standing up straight and smiled at Rick. "Hey, do you want anything?"
He shook his head and stopped in front of her. "No, thank you, um, can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure."
They stepped off to the side so they wouldn't be standing in front of the machine, then he took a breath and started speaking while placing his hand on the back of his neck. "We've been friends for a long time."
Elizabeth nodded with a smile. "Yes we have, about 12 years."
He nodded in return. "And outside of William, I see you as my best friend."
"Me too."
"That's why what about I'm about to say is so difficult, because if something were to happen, I..."
Elizabeth cuts him off with a smile as she stepped towards him. "Oh for goodness-sakes." Then before he could respond, she cupped his cheek and kissed him on the lips.
His eyes got wide for a second before he closed them and kissed her back, even cupping her cheek with one hand and placing the other on her waist, and while it wasn't the most passionate kiss either one thought they would share for their first one together, they felt it down to their toes.
When they pulled back slowly, they opened their eyes and looked at one another before they started to smile, then he cleared his throat and asked. "What was that?"
She chuckled as she ran her thumb up and down his cheek. "If you didn't know what that was, then we are in trouble."
He chuckled before shaking his head and replying with a more serious tone. "No, I know what that was, but you kissed me first, and from what I gathered from it, you've been wanting to do that for awhile?"
She nodded a little shyly. "For a few years now."
His eyes got wide again before he smiled. "Really?"
She smiled in return. "Really."
He then frowned a little. "Then what was with that Tony thing? Where you trying to test me?"
She sighed. "I was testing us both, I needed to know if what I felt for you was real, at least real/strong enough for me to take a risk on this." She now had tears in her eyes. "Because if I'm risking one of the best friendships I ever had, I had to be sure it would be worth it."
He ran his thumb up and down her cheek to wipe his tears away as he whispered. "And the verdict?"
There was still tears in her eyes but she was smiling bright as she replied. "It 100% is." She then sniffled before finishing. "But that doesn't make it any less scary."
He took a breath a nodded. "I know, I feel the same because if I ever lost you, I don't know what I would do. But not doing anything only made me more miserable." After she nodded in return, he continued after one more sigh. "I guess the question is now, do we try to make this work while not letting that fear get in the way of how great we can be? Or step away now and always wonder 'what if?'"
No hesitation on her part since she already made that decision when she kissed him, she smiled again. "I saw we try to make this work, because I can't walk away now."
He smiled in return. "I can't either."
They chuckled before wrapping their arms around one another in a hug, happy they were on the same page.
When they pulled back, they looked at one another for several more seconds, then she cleared her throat and placed her blond hair behind her ear and asked. "So, should we go back into that waiting room holding hands, or act like nothing just happened?"
Rick chuckled before replying with a smirk. "Even if we don't go in there hand in hand, I think they'll know something happened, I don't think I'll be able to keep this smile off my face even if I tried."
She chuckled with a nod, feeling the same way, as she slipped her hand into his. "Well, we might as well go all in then."
After he nodded with a smile they started walking, then about halfway down the hall, Elizabeth stopped her feet, making him look at her with concern. "Elisabeth? You already changed your mind?"
She shook her heard with a slight smile before asking with worry. "Is it ok to be this happy right now, considering the reason we are..."
He cuts her before cupping her cheek again. "For one, William is going to pull out of this like a champ, and two, I have no doubt he'll be happy for us, he'll probably say and sign 'Finally!'
She chuckled before she asked. "So, he knew how you felt?" He gave her a look that said 'How many years have you known the guy?', which was actually longer than she knew Rick, since her and William knew each other since they were babies, and she nodded with a another chuckle. "Of course he did, this is William we are talking about."
After he nodded with one more chuckle, she smiled one more time before they started walking back into the waiting room, where the Grissom family and Bella were smiling at them, happy they finally told one another how they felt after years of hiding and or denying it.
AN: Find out what happens next. Thanks for reading, and please review.