I can't thank those that have reviewed enough, they have all been awesome. Big thanks to Just Thinking for her excellent beta work. I want to mention that I might be tardy at updating the next chapter. Yes, she's here, thegreatbluespoon, and as I write this, she's four feet from me. But I'll still make an attempt to write another chapter.

Teens & Tribulations

Chapter 32

Dark clouds hung over, the breeze had a cool bite to it, the sky looked as though it could open up at any minute and pour down rain. A crowd of black was gathered in the garden of stone as they planted yet another. The mahogany casket was slowly lowered into the earth as rain of a different kind fell.

Grissom stood next to the lowering casket as Kassie pressed herself into his left leg, as his right arm rested across the back of his wife as she cradled their youngest to her chest. Sara let her tears flow freely down her face as her son was laid to rest. Kassie clutched Grissom's leg and was using it to quiet her sobs.

Behind them, the entire night shift and several detectives and officers stood lending their silent support. Lindsey was holding on to her mother as she silently cried. Warrick had his arm around Catherine giving her comfort as she made an attempt not to cry, but failed miserably. Nick, Greg, Brass, Al, David, and even Hodges, stood like stone. Other than the air they inhaled expanding their chests, they never moved as a stray tear or two would succumb to gravity and fall.

Slowly they dissipated. Sara stayed with Grissom as he was the last one standing over their son's grave. She picked up his damaged right hand, brought it to her lips, and placed a kiss over the wrapped knuckles. "Come on." It was a whisper, but she knew he heard her when he turned his head to face her. "Let's go home."

Sara gave a short tug and Grissom turned. Kassie raised her arms to him, and without hesitation Grissom bent down and scooped her up using his good arm. He took hold of Sara's hand and they walked to the truck surrounded by their silence.

Once home and through the front door, Grissom roughly pulled his tie from his neck as he moved to sit down on the couch. Sara carried Sydney and instructed Kassie to go upstairs and change her clothes. After she changed and fed Sydney, Sara placed her in her crib for her afternoon nap. She was exhausted as she changed her clothes as well. The morning had exhausted her, Jason's service started at nine, and the number of people there had surprised her. The back half of the church was solid with students from the high school. After only one year of attending, it was evident that he made an impression amongst his peers. The morning was extremely emotional. It had drained all of her energy and all she wanted to do was just lay down. The whole morning Grissom was silent. He never said a word and no one expected him to.

She just stripped out of her pant suit and into a comfy pair of pajamas and crawled into bed. The past few days were a nightmare, she only slept an average of a few hours a night. Kassie had spent every night sharing the bed with her and Grissom. Sara knew exactly how she felt. Her first night away from her mother, she wished she had someone to comfort her when she needed it. Memories began to flood her mind, and some not so nice. She curled into a ball on the top of the covers and tried to fend them off. Only the slowly opening of the door swept them away.

"Momma." Kassie pushed the door open, crawled into bed, and into Sara's waiting arms. "I'm sleepy."

"I am too sweetie. Just close your eyes and rest." She felt Kassie's body relax and soon was sound asleep in her arms.

As the weeks rolled by, Grissom slumped back into his usual routine at the lab. He was home for only a few hours during the day, and then it was to sleep. Sara stopped going back to the lab. After losing Jason, she just wanted to make sure the girls were safe. Every evening she set the table for three, but ninety percent of the time, only two and a baby were present. Kassie was far less talkative and when Sara brought up her going back to school, she threw a fit and retreated to her room. The war at home was more than what Sara wanted to deal with, but since Grissom was never at home, she was the only one to fight the battle.

Grissom had changed, and everyone just stayed clear of him. Greg never attempted to crack a joke, Nick and Warrick stayed serious, and Catherine wanted to say something to him, but decided it would be wise to give him more time. With Ecklie breathing down his neck to hire a replacement, the weight of loosing Jason still on his shoulders, Grissom looked as if at any given moment he would explode. And there wasn't a person in the lab that didn't try to stay clear of him in fear of being the one who set him off. The fourth of July had already come and gone, but soon the inevitable would come.

"Grissom." Catherine knocked as she called out his name. "A Cleve Jensen is waiting out front."

Without looking up, Grissom shot back, "Not now."

"Gil…" Catherine stepped further into his office. The door remained open, but she didn't care. She could tell by the tone of his voice that the shit was about to hit the fan. "Sara told me herself that she turned in her resignation letter that she wasn't coming back to work."

"I know." His voice warned Catherine.

"We're shorthanded. I haven't had a day off in over a week, Warrick's been pulling multiple doubles, Nick's complaining…"

Grissom looked up sharply. "Is all you people do is bitch?"

Catherine nearly took a step back. "Wha…what?"

"It seems to me that you're here to complain about everyone. Right now I don't have the time to conduct an interview, if you do, be my guest."

"Well if we weren't shorthanded around here, then I could." She leaned forward over his desk. "We all need a break, even you. When's the last time you were home for longer than a few hours?"

His head rose up slowly, his blue eyes staring her down over his glasses. "This isn't about me."

Another voice shot out into the office without warning. "It's about the lab." Grissom looked over Catherine as she turned to meet the glare from Ecklie. "Do the interview, I don't care who does it, just get it done." He turned and left, leaving Cleve standing by himself in the hall.

Catherine moved to the door. "Would you give us a minute?" Cleve nodded and she shut the door. She was going to lay it all on the table and she didn't care what he wanted to hear. "Look…it's been three weeks. I'm tired, you're tired, the guys are tired, I'm sure Sara would like to slap you right now…"

Grissom continued to stare at her, silently warning her not to push him too far.

"Can't we just hire someone, and move on with our lives?"

The minute she said 'move on with our lives' Grissom's featured softened. As much as he hated to admit it, Catherine was right. He stood suddenly. "I'll be back."

"Uhhh…" Catherine was confused as she watched him open the door.

"Cleve right?" Grissom asked the young man waiting in the hall.

"Yes sir."

"Can you hold on like…half an hour?"

He gave a confused answer. "Yeah."

Grissom gave a half smile and headed out. Cleve looked at Catherine wondering where his potential boss was heading. She shrugged her shoulders. "Do you donate blood?"

The drive was short. Grissom headed to that one familiar place. He shined his flashlight in the darkness to highlight the marker that indicated where his son was laid to rest. The headstone stood proud surrounded by flowers; a black shiny marble with a baseball and bat engraved at the bottom. He kneeled next to Jason.

"I lost my temper again. I wish you were here to help set me straight." His eyes filled with tears as he spoke. "I didn't know how to handle the sudden change in my life when you and Kassie came along, but you kept telling me that I was doing just fine. And now I've lost you, and I'm lost." He sniffed back more tears. "I've fallen back into my old habits, always at work and never at home." The tears began to flow as he realized he was hanging on, hoping that Jason would come home.

With a few wipes to his face, his face was dry. He stood, his knees creaking as he rose. "Goodbye Jason, I love you."

Grissom returned to his truck and pointed it towards the lab. He flew low under the radar when he entered. From his office, he had a straight on view of the front desk, so when he rounded the corner, the first thing he saw was Catherine sitting in one of the chairs interviewing Cleve. She never noticed him until he entered and went to sit behind his desk. Cleve watched him even after he sat down, Grissom's eyes fell upon him, and he looked back to Catherine. He never asked a question, only listened intently as she spoke with Cleve for nearly an hour. Once he left, Catherine remained poised in her seat wanting to say something but couldn't bring herself to. She stood and left him with his paperwork.

By the time he arrived home, Sara and the girls were gone. After a quick meal and a shower, Grissom was off to bed.

For a mid morning the park was near empty. Lindsey was entertaining Kassie on the play ground, it was the first time since Jason's death that Sara had seen her smile so much. She wouldn't play with the friends she made in school, but only Lindsey as she was one of the few people her brother trusted.

Sara and Catherine sat on a nearby bench watching the two play, as Sydney slept in her stroller. She didn't know why she had ask to talk to Catherine, other than she needed to talk to somebody, and Grissom wasn't talking to her. "Thanks for meeting me Cath."

Catherine turned her head trying to get a read on Sara; she could immediately tell there was something bothering her. "It's no problem Sara. Lindsey's been sulking around the house as well. I had no idea how much this would affect her." She paused hoping Sara would get the courage to speak about what was clearly bothering her, and she did.

"Well…" Sara turned back to watch Lindsey and Kassie as she continued. "I don't know what to do anymore, Gil's never home and he won't talk since Jason died, and Kassie…" She released a heavy sigh. "…she's shutting herself out from the world, except for Lindsey. I don't expect her to just forget about Jason, nor do I want to her to, but she's going to have to move on sometime." Sara turned sharply to look at Catherine. "Did you know that since we buried Jason, Gil has been visiting his grave every day? Sometimes twice a day, I know this has been hard on him, but I don't know how to get him to talk about it."

"Sara, you know how he is about his feelings."

"I know but I just wish he would talk to me." A stray tear threatened to fall as she looked down at her sleeping baby.

Catherine felt her need to talk about her own feelings with Jason's death. "Sara, how are you taking things?"

She continued to look into the stroller. "Oh, I've been too busy to think about that, with the girls and trying to deal with Gil's absence. I just don't get it Cath; children are not supposed to die before their parents. And the fact that he was killed by a drunk driver just adds salt to the wound." She paused and looked into Catherine's eyes. "Did you read the file?"

Catherine nodded slowly.

"What exactly happened? What does the evidence say?" Sara asked boldly.

Catherine wasn't sure if Sara was ready to hear the details of that fateful night, so she paused long enough for Sara to ask again.

"Please, tell me."

With another sigh, Catherine started, "The Mustang was traveling west on Industrial, and the other car was heading south. There was no indication of either vehicle attempting to stop, the skid marks started as the cars impacted. Jason was sitting behind the passenger, and according to the first responders, no one was wearing a seat belt. The cars slid at an angle about seventy five feet down the street." She saw the look on Sara's face turn to shock.

"Seventy five feet?! How fast were they going?"

"It was estimated that the Mustang was going sixty, and the other car was going around fifty."

"So they were both speeding." Sara interrupted.

Catherine nodded. "As the cars slid down the road, the Mustang was pushed into a curb and flipped up and that's when it began to roll. The driver was ejected, which probably saved his live, the other boy and Jason were tossed about within the car before it came to rest on the roof." She paused and watched Sara's reaction, which she hid well.

With little emotion she asked, "What happened to the drunk driver that hit them?"

"A few cuts and bruises, he pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular manslaughter. Since he was driving on a suspended license for a DUI, the judge didn't go easy on him. He was sentenced to forty years."

Sara felt a few tears escape and was quick to wipe them away. Neither spoke as they let what Catherine revealed settle between them. They both continued to watch Kassie play with Lindsey. Both girls were having fun enjoying themselves. Catherine could tell there was something else bothering Sara, but knew she wouldn't have to wait long for it to be revealed as her attention turned back to Sydney.

Then Sara just blurted it out. "I think I'm pregnant."

Ah shit, I did it again. Sorry 'bout that. Please keep up the awesome reviews.

TDCSI