Disclaimer: See chapter 20.
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24
As she stared into the toilet after another wave of nausea for the third time in four days, she knew it was time to take the next step. The first time, she'd honestly thought it was something she ate. The second, she told her self she might be coming down with something, but knew that really wasn't true. Now, with the third time, the only question she had was, 'Isn't morning sickness supposed to only happen in the morning?'
After a very quick shower and a cup of coffee in a to go mug Grissom had left on the counter with the directions, she headed for the nearest drug store. The quick trip back home seemed to take twice as long as it should have and now, standing in the bathroom, she was staring at the plastic test that would confirm her suspicions. When the plus sign appeared in the result window, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She was going to be a mother? Was this really happening? Her biggest question, though, was how would Grissom react? She replaced the plastic cap on the test and went into the kitchen to slip it into a Ziploc bag.
She drove to the crime scene at a faster speed than she should have, but she justified it by thinking that Grissom would be wondering where she was. When she arrived, he was luckily nowhere in sight and it was easy to slip the test into the cup holder in his center console. Hoping he wouldn't need anything from the car until after the scene was processed, she grabbed her kit and went inside.
The officer at the front door directed her upstairs where she found Grissom kneeling near a blood pool in the master bedroom. He looked up when she walked in and pointed toward the master bath. With a confused look, she walked in the direction he'd pointed and almost bumped into Doc Robbins as he came out. She looked back at Grissom, who she realized now was not telling her to go into the bathroom, but to not say anything because they weren't alone.
"Sara, when'd you get here?"
"Just now Doc. We all clear in there?"
"Yep. Just finished. T.O.D.'s the same for both vics; about three hours ago. Female's throat was slit in the bathroom and looks like she was beaten post mortem. Boyfriend was stabbed several times; once in the back and more times than I could count to the abdomen and groin area. Looks to be the same weapon. Don't know why you guys are here, though. Didn't I hear Jim say that the husband confessed?"
"Like I said, I just got here. You know more than I do."
"Okay, well, I've never doubted Gil before, so I'm not gonna start now. See you two back at the morgue."
"See ya, Doc." After his departure, "Gris?"
"Husband caught the wife in bed with her boyfriend. Said he walked right through the bedroom and into the bathroom and neither one of them noticed him. She walked into the bathroom like she did every time after sex. He hid in the shower and slit her throat when she turned to get the towel out of the closet. After that, he came in here and killed the boyfriend. Then he went back and beat his wife. He said he wanted to make sure she didn't look good for the funeral. I took blood and skin samples from his hands and bagged his clothes and the murder weapon. Jim already took him in."
He'd gone on and on, never took a breath and his voice never faltered off the monotone he'd started on. "Gris? What's wrong?"
"What took you so long?"
She new he'd realize she'd taken longer than needed. She didn't want to start lying now, "I was sick again."
For the first time, he looked up from his work, "What? Sara, you need to go to the doctor's."
"I know. I will."
He stood and walked toward her, "I was worried. I wanted to call you, but everyone was around. I…I can't do this."
She took a deep breath. This was it. This was his breaking point. It was over. "Okay. After I leave here I'll go by your place and move my things back out. I'll leave your key on the table."
Confusion filled his face, "What are you talking about?"
With wide eyes, "What are you talking about?"
"Sara, I'm saying that I'm done hiding. You're going to be my wife. I was really worried about you this morning. I thought you'd been hurt. I didn't call you because I was afraid someone would hear. I won't do that anymore. I love you."
A tear rolled down her cheek, "I love you, too. I thought you meant…"
"I know what you thought. Don't ever worry about that. Ever!"
"Okay."
He kissed her forehead and lifted her chin with his finger, "Why don't you take this stuff back to the lab and I'll finish getting the rest of these samples. I'll be there about half hour after you. We'll talk about this at home tonight after we get back from the doctor's, okay?"
"Tonight? Doctor's? We have to work."
"You're more important to me than work. We're leaving after we log in this evidence. It's an open and shut case anyway. I'll see you in a little while. Go."
"I'll make the appointment on the way back to the lab. I love you…for loving me."
"Good. Then you'll always have a reason to love me."
She left him, then, with a smile on her face. The words she never thought she'd hear just came from his mouth. He'd actually said that she was more important than his work. To any other woman, from any other man, that comment might have been run-of-the-mill. But for her, for them, it was huge.
After putting the evidence in her Denali, she snuck back into Grissom's Tahoe and took the test back out. She wanted to see the look on his face when he found out he was going to be a father. She figured the OB/GYN appointment later would be as good a time as any.