AN: Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter.
Chapter 13: Birthday & Christmas surprises
December 11, 2026
Ever since that talk between Sara and Bella, things have been going very well in the household, or as well as it could with six people and a dog under one roof, and all though William's hearing was improving as the days go by, he still wasn't out of the woods of something not going right, so they were still a little cautious, but they all were beginning to talk a little more around him instead of signing.
Now today was a very special day, it was Bella's 16th birthday and her uncle and aunt arrived at the Grissom house a few hours ago, and while they were having a discussion with Sara and Grissom in the kitchen, Bella was sitting on the step of the back deck, tossing the ball for Max, making William smile as he walked out on the deck. "You know sometimes I think he likes you more than me."
She chuckled. "And do you have hard evidence to prove that statement, Mr. Grissom?"
He chuckled then cringed a little as he sat down so he was behind her and whispered in her ear with a smile. "Please, don't ever call me that again."
She chuckled again as she moved so she was sitting sideways and her back was against his leg before looking at him with her eyes sparkling. "What, sounds too much like your father?" After he nodded, she smirked. "Well, he's referred to as a doctor, so..."
She trials off and he chuckles before giving her a mock glare. "Yeah, well, he might not be the only doctor in this family."
They never really talked about college plans yet, so she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Really? So, your father's footsteps?"
"Yeah, I believe so." He took a breath before finishing. "Well, at least the teacher part, I can't become a..."
He trials off and looks down while Bella placed her hand on his hand. "Hey, it's ok, from what I know, CSI is not an easy career choice. I mean the things you have to see and deal with on a daily basis is rough, and it doesn't make you weak choosing a different path than your parents did, well before your father became a full time teacher that is."
William nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that's what my parents said."
He knew fairly early on that being a CSI wasn't going to be his life, and when he told his parents that, he thought he saw their faces look relieved that he choose a different career path than they did, not that they didn't think he could do it if he wanted to, they just, like Sara mentioned before, didn't want him to deal with death on a daily basis.
She just nodded as she removed her hand from his, then after a few moments, it looked like she zoned out a little, so he asked with concern. "Bella, you ok?"
She nodded again. "Yeah, sorry, this time of the year is really hard for me."
He took her hand and held it as he spoke softly. "I know, I'm so sorry."
She gave him a reassuring smile. "It wasn't your fault."
After one more nod, he replied. "If you ever need to talk about anything, and I mean anything, no topic is off limits, I'm here for you."
"I know that, and thank you."
He moved her hand up and kissed it before whispering. "You're welcome."
As he lowed his hand, but they kept them together, he spoke after clearing his throat. "There was a reason I did come out here for."
"Really?"
He smiled as he used his free hand and placed it in his light jacket pocket and pulled it out, revealing a necklace sized box as he spoke. "I know it's no car, but I thought you might still like it, so happy birthday, Bella."
Not only did her uncle and aunt show up at the Grissom house, but her uncle drove Bella's new vehicle over here.
She chuckled as she removed her hand from his so she could grab the box. "I think I'll love it, even if you didn't have to."
He chuckled while shaking his head. "Oh come on, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't get my girlfriend a gift, not only on her sixteenth birthday, but our first birthday as being a couple."
She smirked. "Well, I do remember getting a teddy bear once."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend then."
"Maybe not officially." She then shrugged with a shy smile. "But those feelings were still there, at least they were for me."
He nodded and held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, you win." Then he moved close in a whisper. "And you're right, they were there for me too."
She then smirked again. "Can I get both of those in writing? So I can mark this day down in history that William lost and was wrong about something."
He chuckled again while rolling his eyes, it wasn't like he was right all the time, they make it seem he gets 100% on every paper and test, and while it is close, that's not the case. "Will you open your gift already."
She nodded before her attention went to the box, and after opening the lid and pulling the bracelet out, she looked at in awe as she softly said. "It's beautiful, thank you William."
While he took the charm bracelet, which already had a book, star, and dolphin on it, out of her hands, he clipped it to her wrist before looking at her and whispering. "You're welcome."
As they looked deeply into each other's eyes, their hearts raced, then she cupped his cheek and brought him closer to her until their lips touched, and after that they went on instinct, then after they pulled back they placed their foreheads together and breathed out together. "Wow."
They chuckled and once they pulled back, she nodded with a smile. "Wow is right, not bad for our first kiss together."
With that 'Grissom' smile, he shook his head with a smirk. "Not bad at all, but I always heard that practice makes perfect."
She chuckled again and rolled her eyes before they shared another kiss, and after pulling back from that one, he kissed her forehead and pulled back before wrapping his arms around Bella's shoulders as they sighed in content.
What they weren't aware of however was that Sara and Grissom were walking by the back door and saw the whole thing, so Sara cleared her throat and asked. "Uh Griss, did we just witness our son's first kiss?"
Grissom spoke as he headed towards the couch. "Well, at least his first kiss with her."
Sara started to nod before she looked at him with wide-eyes as she headed for the couch too. "Hold on, what do you mean 'his first kiss with her' There were others and you knew about it?"
Grissom shook his head with a chuckle. "No honey, I don't know, you think he would tell me if he has?"
She paused before she nodded. "You're probably right."
Like this father, he could be private when he wanted to be, so they wouldn't be surprised if he was keeping some secrets to himself.
Then she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest and whispered, or more like mumbled. "And I'm just going to pretend that my little boy would not be out there kissing some random girls."
Grissom couldn't help but smile before leaning over and asked. "You remember our first kiss together?"
She started to smile, which was his goal in asking the question. "Like it was yesterday, in fact it was the 20th of this month."
Then she turned her head to look at him as he replied. "The day of our last first kiss."
She raised an eyebrow. "And after 22 years?"
Grissom took her hand and kissed it before whispering. "It still feels like our first kiss every time."
She started to shyly smile when Bella's uncle and aunt came into the room from the kitchen while the back door opened and William, Bella and Max joined them in the room, then not before long the girls came downstairs to join the group, but Sara and Grissom were still looking at one another as they thought about the day that changed their relationship forever. They knew once they kissed, there was no going back, and honestly there was no going back before that kiss even happened because their path was already set when he asked her if they could 'start over', and they
haven't looked back since, unless they were imagining it of course.
Christmas, 2026
With the group/team getting married and having a few kids each, while the older 'kids', like Lindsey and Courtney having kids of their own, admittedly it was getting harder to fit everybody under one household roof, so when the holidays come, and everybody's schedule lined up, they usually go somewhere that had a big area so they could be together.
Of course that's not to say the Boldens, Browns and Grissoms don't have their own get-togethers from time to time when they're not working, after all they do live next to one another. However, their group gathering was going to be a little thin this Christmas with the Browns going to Miami so the Caines can visit with their grandchildren, and the others having other plans, so later they were going to spend it with the Boldens, which also included Courtney, Malcolm and the twins. But at the moment it was just the Grissoms, Bella, and her uncle and aunt, who had left them after celebrating Bella's birthday and went to New York for a few weeks before coming back here, gathered in the living room, laughing and talking, happy of the gifts they received.
After a few moments, there was a knock on the door, and knowing who it was, Grissom stood up with a smile as he headed for it, and after opening it, he shared a smile with Courtney, who smiled in return as she handed him the small pet carrier.
Grissom took and said. "Thank you, Courtney."
Courtney nodded with the smile still on her face. "You're welcome."
"So, how are the twins?"
She took a breath and started to get emotional. "As you know it started out as a bumpy ride, but so far so good." She then smiled brightly as she finished. "Best decision I ever made, becoming a mom."
Grissom chuckled with a nod. "You won't get an argument from me there, and I'm happy for you and Malcolm."
"Thank you. I'll let you get back to your Christmas holiday, I'll see you guys in a few hours."
"You got it, bye."
After one more nod, Courtney turned around and walked away while Grissom closed the door with his free hand, then turned around and asked. "William since this is your gift to the girls, you want to do the honors?"
William nodded with a smile while he walked towards his father as the girls were eyeing the pet carrier, but of course they knew what it was before William could get the pet out, because it started to 'meow', making Katie gasp. "Is that a kitten?"
A few more 'meows' was heard as William took the kitten, which was gray, black and a little white under its chin and paws, out of its carrier, making the girls not only get excited, but Max was not happy his 'master' was holding another animal, so he let him hear it with a few howls.
Everybody chuckled as he looked at his dog, who was now giving him a dirty look. "Oh Max, you know you're the only one for me, this little one is for the girls."
Katie asked as she stopped in front of her brother and asked softly. "Really?"
William knelt down as he handed her off to Katie. "Really, so I need you and Isabella to take very good care of her, can you do that?"
Katie nodded with a smile. "Yes, I promise, right, sissy."
Isabella nodded with a smile. "Of course. Thank you."
William nodded as he watched the girls take their new pet into the middle of the living room so the rest of them could get acquainted with her, except Max, he wasn't having any of it. He huffed as he headed right for William's temporary room and jumped on the bed, claiming his spot at the end of it, making William chuckle as he stood up, and after sharing a look and nod with his father, William headed towards his room to give his dog a talk.
About five minutes later, and to 'make it up' to Max, he put a leash on him and told everybody that he was going to give Max an extra long walk, which as he walked towards the door, Bella followed him and asked with a smile. "You want me to come?"
He smiled as he took her hand. "Of course, I want you to go everywhere I go." She chuckled, then he took a breath and continued. "But your uncle and aunt are only here for a few more hours, spend time with them. We can go on a walk later tonight if you want."
She nodded. "Ok."
He nodded in return before removing his hand from her, then he turned towards the door and walked out of the house, shutting the door behind him.
When he got halfway down the driveway, he heard Isabella's voice. "So, how did you do it?"
He stopped his feet and turned to look at his sister and ask with a raised eyebrow. "Do what?"
She stopped her feet when she was near him and continued. "You know how many years Katie and I have asked mom and dad if we could have another pet, and you know how many 'not yet' 'We'll think about it' 'Maybe when you get older' speeches we received when asking about getting another pet. So, how did you convince them to get one now, why is it suddenly ok?" Before he could speak, she looked down at Max, who was sitting down panting, waiting patiently for his 'make-up' walk, with tears in her eyes. "Is something wrong with him?"
William shook his head and lifted her chin up before replying while cupping her cheek. "No, nothing is wrong with him."
She could see the truth in his eyes, but understood why now. "But his age is against him."
William nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry, Isabella."
She sniffled. "It's ok, I understand." She cleared her throat before finishing. "So, you, mom and dad, thought you could soften the blow to us when the inevitable came."
Not going to lie to his sister, considering she would probably know he was lying if he did anyways, he nodded again. "That's what we are hoping for."
Which when William had brought up that discussion with his parents, they decided to ask Amy and Courtney, who were both vets, to keep an eye out on anyone who might be willing to give up a kitten, and when they found one, they thought Christmas would be the best day to give them that gift.
She nodded in understanding again before taking a breath and replying. "Thank you for being honest with me."
He smirked as he cupped his sister's cheek. "Like I could get anything past you anyways, sometimes I think you're too smart for your own good."
She smirked in return. "Hey, what can I say, I am part Grissom and Sidle after all."
William chuckled again with another nod. "That you are."
She smiled before kneeling down so she was eye level with Max before she held out her hand and said. "Shake."
He lifted his paw up and placed it in Isabella's hand so he could 'shake', then she smiled with tears in her eyes. "Good boy. I know I don't say it much these days, but I do love you, and I couldn't ask for a better dog than you." After hugging him and giving him a few pets, she cleared her throat and stood up, then looked at her brother and gave him a nod before she turned to walk back towards the front door, but before she go too far, William asked. "You want to walk with us?"
She turned around and asked. "I thought this was always your special time with him?"
He nodded with a smile. "It is, but how about this time it can be a special time with you too." He then smirked. "When was the last time it was just the three of us? Let alone just the two of us?"
She thought about it before she headed back towards her brother as she said. "I guess it's been awhile." She then smirked. "Especially after you getting a girlfriend now."
He chuckled, and as they started walking, much to Max's happiness, he wrapped his arm around his sister and replied. "I'll always have time for you, just say the word and you got it."
Isabella just nodded with a smile as they continued walking, happy to be spending time with her brother and their dog.
Later that night
Once the Grissoms, including their pets, and Bella had their dinner with the Boldens, they came back home, and while the kids were setting up Chinese checkers so all six of them could play together, Sara and Grissom were in the kitchen making some hot chocolate, and once it was done, they poured the liquid in the coffee mugs and sat them on the tray before Grissom picked it up, then they walked towards the door to the kitchen, but stopped for a moment in the doorway to watch their family laughing and talking, letting the sight and sound warm their hearts. However, before they moved again, Katie, who had looked over at their parents, smiled and said. "Oh, mommy and daddy are under the mistletoe, that means you have to kiss."
Sara and Grissom smiled at one another and shared a kiss, but it was a quick peck, making the kids 'boo' while William spoke with a smirk. "Come on you guys, we know you can do better than that."
They looked at their kids and Grissom raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want us to go there? That we won't embarrass you?"
William replied with another smirk. "Well, we didn't exactly say that, but..."
Isabella cuts him off with a smile. "We'll let it slide this time, so go on."
Sara and Grissom looked at one another, and Sara nodded with a smile, Grissom smiled in return, looked at the kids and replied. "OK, but you asked for it."
Husband and wife looked at one another again and kissed, this time they did put a little more into it, making the kids cheer, while Max did a little barking.
When they pulled back moments later, which by then the kids had stopped watching, they smiled brightly at one another, then after whispering 'Merry Christmas' to one another, he kissed her forehead before they headed towards the middle of the room so they could start their game, happy to have moments like this.
AN: More to come, and another turn for William. Find out what happens next. Thanks for reading, and please review.