A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this one took so long, but the good news is that I should be getting my laptop back Friday:) YAY!!! But at least I can post before any of you have the chance to get out your pitch forks and torches.

I am not surprised by the response I had on the last chapter. I was pleased, however, that despite the fact that you all still hate O'Tool (which is more than understandable) some of you were understanding of his situation.

I owe a HUGE thank you to JellyBeanChiChi on this one. She was a great guide, as well as beta, and kept me on the right path.

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Chapter Thirty

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Reggie sat in the dance club and took a long drag off his cigarette. It was an off-the-strip dive that had few patrons and was owned by a seedy man named Allen. Reggie had done a great deal of business with Allen over the years and had provided him with many of his girls. Allen had granted Reggie free and open access to his club many years ago.

The stripper before him slid her body down the silver pole and leaned forward to tease Reggie with the possibility of grabbing her breasts. Reggie took another long drag off his cigarette and blew the smoke in her face.

"Asshole." The woman mumbled under her breath as she stood back up.

Despite the loud music, Reggie heard the insult and grabbed her ankle. He yanked on her leg and pulled her off the stage. She cried out in pain as he held her down on the table top. Her back pressed into the hard surface and his hand clenched around her throat. She whimpered as she held his wrist with her hands and struggled to breathe.

"What was that?" Reggie asked as he lowered his face until it almost touched hers. "You forget your place, you miserable, fucking, cunt?!"

She shook her head as her face grew red from lack of air, and tears welled in her eyes. He eased his grip but did not release her while his other hand slinked down her body and slid between her legs. The only thing that kept him from inserting his fingers into her was her panties, but that didn't stop him from rubbing her hard.

He laughed as she whimpered under his touch. He put his cigarette between his lips and used his free hand to rip open her bikini top. He took another long drag off his cigarette and again blew the smoke in her face. His eyes lowered to her nipple.

"You always did have nice tits." Reggie commented casually as he touched the red hot coal on the end of his cigarette to her nipple.

The young woman cried out in pain, but tried to muffle it by biting her bottom lip, as he pressed the ember harder against the tender bundle of cartilage and nerves. She had learned long ago not to fight Reggie, because he always won. And if she made any of the customers unhappy Allen would punish her severely. She had learned that the hard way when he had chained her up in the basement, at Reggie's prompt for not giving another seedy customer a blow job, and left her there for three days while he brought down his friends or paying customers and they all abused her.

Reggie threw her on the floor and laughed as she scurried away, holding her painful breast. He smiled wide when he saw the three men approaching him. "Raoul."

The tall, black man laughed heartily as he hugged Reggie. "How you doin', brother? You know Pick and Ramsey?"

Raoul motioned to his two associates and Reggie nodded. Reggie and Raoul sat at the table, and Raoul's associates stood behind him watching the stripper that had taken the previous girl's place.

"Reggie, man, I'm sorry to hear about Johnny Boy. That's one loss that can never be replaced." Reggie threw back his shot and looked away so as not to cry. "And I heard about Rubin too. I know you two were tight."

Reggie's head snapped back to look at his friend. "What about Rubin?"

"You didn't know, man? They iced Rubin at that warehouse."

Reggie's expression changed to one of rage. "I thought the pigs might have nabbed him, not fuckin' killed him!" Reggie paused as he forced himself to calm some. "I've been out of touch for a while. Had a lot of shit to sort through. I thought he was just laying low for a while. Who did it, Raoul? Who iced him? I wanna fuckin' know!"

"I don't know, man, word from my connections is that it was some ho."

"What?" Reggie didn't want to believe his ears. "Rubin got iced by some bitch?! Not fucking possible!"

"That's the word that's going around, man." Raoul leaned forward in his seat and Reggie did the same. "Word on the street is that you fucked up one of theirs, and they fucked up one of yours."

Reggie smiled at the image of Gil underneath him and rubbed his crotch with his hand. Raoul had no idea how much he had fucked up Grissom. "Yeah, I fucked up one of theirs, and I'm not done yet."

Raoul recognized the look in his friend's eyes and remembered seeing the same look in his eye when he punished one of his sex slaves, and felt a shiver running through his body. "What'd you call me here for, man?"

"I need to reopen my market. I sold off the rest of my slaves a few months ago and I need to get some more."

Raoul rubbed the whiskers on his chin as he thought about his friend's request. "I think I can get you some hos. There's this teen runaway center that's being condemned. A lot of them kids gonna be out on the street if they don't wind up being owned by the state."

Reggie smiled at the idea. "Lots of tight ass and sweet pussy." Reggie leaned back in his chair as his cock twitched at the thought of being in control of business again. "If you can get your hands on a few of those little boy toys too, that would be good. You always knew what I liked."

Raoul chuckled. "Yeah, man, I know what you like. When do you want 'em?"

"I have some unfinished business to take care of first. But when I'm done… we're going to be in business."

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When Sara awoke she was nestled in Gil's arms. Her head rested on his chest and she gingerly lifted herself to look up at him. He had been watching her sleep and smiled when her eyes met his.

"Good morning," she smiled back at him. "How did you sleep?'

"Quite well," he said honestly.

"That's great, baby," Sara leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. "Happy birthday."

He quirked his eyebrow at her, and she smiled and nodded her head. He started to chuckle to himself. "I… didn't even realize it." He feared that she might have planned a big gathering for the event. And although he wanted to know, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "So… what's on the agenda… for today?"

"Don't worry. There is nothing big planned. I invited the team over for an early lunch and some cake. I have a couple of gifts for you." Sara grinned at him seductively before turning and grabbing a card out of the drawer in her nightstand.

His brow creased when she handed him the card, which he opened cautiously. Sara watched him as he read the front of the card aloud. "To the man who has my heart and soul, body and mind. There is only one thing left that I can give him."

Gil opened the card and froze at what he saw. Sara was confused by his expression and looked at the card to make sure the picture was where she placed it. "It's my very first sonogram picture." She looked back up at him and smiled. "It's our baby, Gil."

Gil sat up straight and stared at the photo. Sara might have swore his heart stopped because he didn't move a muscle. Then she saw his finger trace an outline of the womb on the photo.

"It kind of looks like a lizard."

Despite the serious, deadpan nature of his tone, a shy smile crept on his face. It was enough expression to allow Sara to blow out the breath she unconsciously held. She draped her arm around his shoulder and looked over his shoulder. She glanced from his face to the photo in his hand. "Gil. Is this OK?"

"I... You took this a few days ago," he said, pointing at the date on the photo. "How far long are you?"

Sara's arm left Gil's shoulder and she held her hands in her lap. "Before everything happened, I was a few weeks late, but I didn't think about it and then you were taken and I figured I might be late because I was so worried..."

Gil shot his head up. Sara could see tears forming in his eyes. "You're OK, right?"

"No. Honey. I'm fine. I'm about 11 weeks," Sara said. "And the baby's fine, too."

Gil swiped his eye. "You're already a good mom. You're thinking of the baby before I am. You're going to be a wonderful mother, Sara."

As he spoke those words, the hand not holding the photo gently caressed Sara's knee. Before he could pull it away, Sara grabbed it and held it in her lap. "Thank you, Gil. You know, you're going to be a wonderful father."

"You don't know that Sara. I... I never had a father. I don't know the first thing about children... And I... I don't even know if I can financially support you two."

Gil stood up and started to pace, but Sara followed suit and wrapped her arms around his waist. "We'll support each other."

As they stood in silence, Sara could feel Gil's tension and the erratic rhythm of his breathing. "Gil? You OK?"

"I'm scared."

"I am too."

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Neither do I."

At that Gil turned around in her arms to face her. He gently cradled her face with his hands. "You can do anything, Sara."

"So can you, Gil."

Her words broke him. He grabbed her in an embrace and closed his eyes tightly to keep his tears at bay.

"Gil, I believe in you," Sara whispered in his ear. "You are the most devoted man I know. You've shown me unconditional love and I know you will do the same for our child. You'll teach our child honor, integrity, discipline and strength."

"And bugs," came a muffled from Sara's shoulder.

Sara couldn't help but laugh, and they faced each other again. "Thank you, Sara."

"You're happy?"

Gil's face broke into a huge smile and he kissed her full on the mouth. Although she longed to deepen the kiss, he gently pulled away, undid the tie on her robe and brushed the garment off her shoulders. She stood in front of him in a short tank top and her panties. He kissed her neck and with a gossamer touch trailed his hands down the length of her bodice to her belly.

Sara closed her eyes for a moment as she savored his gentle touch. But the draw to watch this man worship her body was too great. She looked down upon him. Ignoring the pain in his knee, he knelt in front of her and reverently kissed her abdomen as his hands caressed her hips. One of Sara's hands braced upon his shoulder while the other wound itself in the curls of his hair.

They were silent as they lovingly stroked one another. Then, Gil playfully licked her bellybutton and blew upon it, causing her to let out a laugh. He stood up again and she reveled upon seeing the smile upon his face.

"I'm not just happy, I'm blessed," Gil said. And before she could reply, he passionately kissed her, deepening the kiss as she desired a just a short time before. He lifted her off the ground and walked the short distance to the bed. He broke their kiss only to place her on the bed, hover above her body and kiss her once more.

Their kiss was deep and passionate and the longer they kissed the more their need grew. Gil's hands worked to remove her scant clothing, and Sara made quick work of doing the same for her love. Their movements became more fervent as they felt skin upon skin. Gil gently squeezed her breast and Sara arched her back in response. Taking it into his mouth, his other hand rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

Sara arched herself until Gil rolled on his back. Sara straddled him and massaged his chest with one hand and his hardened cock in the other. Gil grabbed her hips to guide her upon his erection, which Sara did with pleasure. She felt so good on him. He panted for breath but suddenly felt awkward. Like they were being watched.

"Oh God, Gil," Sara said as she thrust herself on him. "God, I want you inside me."

Gil couldn't shake the feeling and when he opened his eyes he was looking into the familiar brown eyes of their boxer, Hank. Hank's head tilted to the side when Sara moaned and he wondered if his mom was okay. Gil tried to close his eyes and concentrate on the feel of Sara, but it wasn't going to work.

"Sara… we can't… do this." Gil panted as Sara began to pump his erection with her hand.

"Yes… we can. The guys won't be over… for a few hours."

"No, Sara… I can't do this. Not while the dog is watching."

She stopped and he grasped her chin with his hand and turned her head to face the pooch. She started laughing and dropped her forehead to his bare chest. He joined her laughter as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her to him. Sara raised her head looked at Hank.

"I'll take care of this."

They both moaned in disappointment as Sara left the bed to put Hank out of the room. But Gil's reaction to seeing her pert ass was immediate.

Then the phone rang. Gil left out a frustrated sigh as he rolled over to the cordless phone on the nightstand. "Brass."

"Go ahead and take it," Sara said as she she still held Hank next to the door. "Thanks a lot, boy. You see what you started?" she cooed. "And mommy was about to get laid."

Gil heard the comment and tried to conceal his chuckle as he answered the phone. "Hello Jim."

On the other line, Jim was caught off-guard by Gil's non-traditional phone greeting. "Gil? How you doing?"

"Oh great. It's my birthday."

Although Gil's tone was happy, Jim couldn't help but wince at the mention of the occasion. "Yeah. Yeah, buddy that's right. I'm surprised you remembered."

Gil looked across the room. His hungry, blue eyes meeting Sara's compassionate, loving brown eyes. "Sara reminded me, and in the most wonderful way."

"Well, I'm glad, buddy."

Gil was expecting some light-hearted teasing from his friend, but Jim seemed no-nonsense on the phone. "Jim, is everything OK?"

"Well... not really Gil. Catherine and I need to talk to you and Sara about the case," Jim said, stammering upon his words.

"My case?" The words caught Sara's attention and she retrieved her robe from the floor, put it on and went to sit near Gil on the bed. "What's going on, Jim?"

"Gil... ah hell... I'm not going to lie to you. We need to talk to you about something that I don't want to talk about over the phone. It's going to be tough to talk about, OK? You and Sara need to be prepared for that. It's going to be rough, Gil."

Gil stood up straight and when he saw Sara reach out to him with her hand, he took it. "Is this about Shelling?"

"No. O'Tool."

Grissom sighed. He didn't think he'd have to worry about that name. There was so much evidence against O'Tool, he hoped he wouldn't ever have to see his face again unless he watched him die from a lethal injection.

"But, Gil, please. I don't want to talk about it over the phone," Jim pleaded.

"I understand Jim," Gil said. "What about after the party today?"

"Gil, are you sure you want to talk about this today?"

Gil looked in Sara's eyes, but he found his gaze move to her abdomen. No, he didn't want to talk about O'Tool. But the tone of Jim's voice told him he had to. He had to show strength to the woman he loved and the child he loved.

"No, Jim. Today. We'll be ready to talk today."

They hung up. Gil sat down on the bed and embraced Sara. They both went to lie down, and Gil spooned behind Sara.

"What's going on, Gil?"

"Jim and Catherine need to talk to us about the case," Gil said.

"O'Tool?" Sara asked, she felt Gil's arm start to shake slightly as he held on to her tighter.

"Yes."

They both said nothing more for an hour before getting out of bed and preparing for the party.

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Gil sat upstairs on his side of the bed and looked at the picture in his hands. One could barely make out the features on the little life and Gil would have been overjoyed if his mind was not still filled with self-doubt. As he looked down at the image of what was to come he hoped that he could truly be all that Sara saw him. He let out a troubled sigh as he heard the doorbell ring, and Sara greet their company.

"So, where's the birthday boy?" Greg said enthusiastically, as he held up a colorfully wrapped package.

"Hey, everyone." Gil greeted as he carefully made his way down the stairs.

They all said happy birthday together and he blushed a little as he thanked them. Sara wanted to tell them their news but was unsure if Gil was ready to reveal it yet and decided to leave it up to him. An awkward silence seemed to fall over them. As the last time they were all together like this had been the day that he'd had his worst seizure yet and everyone was a little nervous at causing the same reaction again.

"Sara gave me an early gift." Gil said, finally breaking the silence. "W-Want to see our first baby picture?"

"Your what?!" Catherine screamed excitedly causing Jim, who stood beside her, to cringe.

Gil's smile couldn't be beat as the others gathered around him to get their first look at the coming Grissom baby. All the men patted Gil on the back and Catherine gave him a gentle, but short, hug. Gil felt a little uncomfortable by their contact but he reminded himself that they were family and that he was safe. He remembered Sara's words that none of them would hurt him. They all hugged Sara before she summoned them to eat.

They had all gathered on the patio and Nick fired up the grill while Jim grabbed the meat from the fridge. Warrick came out of the house, after going in for drinks, and pointed to Al who followed him.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" He pointed at the older man behind him as he laughed.

"You won't be laughing, Mister Brown, when I wrap my cane around that big head of yours." Al replied playfully then turned to Gil. "A little birdie told me that someone is yet another year older today."

Gil grinned. "Yes, but I'll never be as old as you. You w-want to see the gift that Sara gave to me?"

"I don't know, do I?" Al asked with mock wariness.

"AL!" Sara laughed as she stared, open-mouthed at the coroner.

Gil handed the sonogram picture to Al and the older man put his glasses on to get a better look. His demeanor changed as he looked back up at his friends and his smile was genuine. "I can't tell you how happy I am for the both of you."



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The party had gone a little longer than everyone thought, and Gil found himself anxious for everyone to leave. There was still unpleasant business to experience.

But it wasn't just Grissom who felt tense. Jim and Catherine had taken things in while the others said their goodbyes and left. Catherine saw the troubled look on her friend's face and gently squeezed his arm.

"Some birthday," Jim shook his head sadly. "Happy birthday, Gil, oh and by the way…"

He sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment and lowered his head. When they had gathered themselves they went into the living room where Gil and Sara sat alone. They were laughing at the gag gift that Al had given him and stopped when they looked up to see Jim and Catherine walk in. It was the expressions that their friend's wore that quieted them and they remembered Jim's call earlier. They sat down in front of the couple.

"Ecklie approached us this morning before we left the lab…" Catherine began. "Michael O'Tool is pushing for his right for a speedy trial."

"Why would he do that?" Sara asked warily.

"He's claiming…" Jim let out a troubled sigh as he struggled to explain. "O'Tool is claiming that he's a victim… and not an assailant."

"What?!" Sara asked as she sat up straight and looked back and forth between her friends. "How can he claim that?"

"He's saying that…" Jim looked at Catherine for a moment but couldn't continue.

"He's claiming that you and he are actually… gay… lovers." Catherine picked up and Gil looked up at her. The horror that flashed in his eyes was quickly replaced by anger. "And that the tape he made of himself forcing you to… do things, was actually a hardcore porno that you asked him to make with you before the kidnapping."

Gil was shocked. He thought that this was finally getting behind him, but to have these false claims be brought up made the memories rush back at him and their voices returned to haunt him. Sara was not so quiet as she jumped up from her seat.

"How can they even make that claim?! What about his injuries?! Surely those will show that he didn't do this willingly. And what about the time stamp from the video? That should corroborate with the other videos."

Catherine let out a troubled sigh. "O'Tool's lawyer is saying that the injuries were made during the making of the film, as it was supposed to be a BDSM film, and that those scenes were cut during editing. He claims that O'Tool took the video to Rubin Denalgio to produce it. He says that Denalgio wanted more and when O'Tool said that Gil wouldn't want to do more Denalgio got upset and forced O'Tool to take him to Gil. They got to the scene that Gil supposedly told O'Tool he would be working on but he was already gone and they used Greg to get to him."

"As for the time stamp," Jim picked up. "The chip was damaged when the camera was busted. Archie can't get a clear time and date off the chip. What's worse… is that O'Tool's lawyer is invoking his right to face his accuser."

Everyone looked at Gil. When he looked at Jim, Gil mistook Jim's reserved nature as accusation. Jim's eyes met Gil's and for a brief moment he realized what Gil was thinking.

"Is that what you think too, Jim? You think that I'm a faggot?!"

Jim was taken aback. "God, Gil, no. I know you're not what those men said you were." Jim scooted forward in his seat as Gil's question gave him more clarity and courage. "Those fucking animals are trying to control you beyond their grasp. The things that you heard them say must keep haunting you over and over." Gil nodded. "I know you, Gil. You're my best friend… hell… you're like a brother to me. And I don't believe a goddamn word that O'Tool has to say about you, because I know you… I know who you are…." Jim felt tears sting his eyes.

"We all know who you are, Gil," Catherine added. "This is just a ploy, Gil. It's inhumane and it's fucking wrong. We love you, Gil. You've got to believe that."

"And more importantly… we know you love Sara and that baby on the way," Jim added.

Sara forced herself to sit back down, but her body was tense and her hands were clenched into tight fists. Catherine continued. "They say that they'll not push for you to testify if the DA will cut a deal. If the DA will take the murder of the police officer, which O'Tool claims he didn't do, the two counts of kidnapping and the two counts of rape off the table, and leave O'Tool with the DUI and time served they will not push for you to testify and… your relationship with O'Tool will not be revealed."

"And the judge won't help us because of some stupid remark he made in a similar case last year and the media came down hard on him for gay bashing." Jim said bitterly. "So the only thing that will keep that animal locked in a cage where he belongs is… your testimony, Gil."

The thought of having to share what happened to him with anyone made him anxious. But the thought of telling it to a whole crowd of people made him begin to have panic attack. His began to struggle for breath as he furiously rubbed his thighs with his hands and began to rock back and forth. His friends became worried as they watched him.

"Gil, baby," Sara turned to him and cupped his face with her hands. "You have to calm down."

Gil's panic and anxiety were quickly replaced with anger and rage. He pushed away Sara's hands and jumped up from the couch. His face grew red as he paced back and forth and Jim and Catherine stood up and became protective of Sara. Sara tried to push them aside and get to Gil, but they made her stay back.

Gil came to a stop, facing the wall, and was instantly consumed by his rage which demanded release. He punched the wall as hard as he could, striking his fist against a sturdy, wooden stud. His rage filled scream startled them all and when he whirled around Jim took a step forward, prepared to take down his friend if he lost control.

"W-Why can't I just be l-left the fuck alone?! W-Why can't I just have m-my l-life back?!" Gil took another step forward, but made no threatening gesture towards his friends. "W-What did I d-do to deserve this?!" Gil looked down at the floor as he began to calm again. "I'm not testifying. I w-won't do it. I… I c-can't."

Gil sat back down on the couch and became lost in his thoughts and memories. He closed his eyes and nervously rubbed his forehead as the vivid memories of O'Tool torturing him returned. Without even realizing it he protectively covered his crotch with his free hand as he tried to control his labored breathing.

"Please... stop!" Gil begged.

"The pain will stop when you suck my dick." The look in O'Tool's eyes was horrifying and Gil broke.

Jim motioned for the two women to join him in the kitchen. "I don't think it's good idea for Gil to testify." Neither women said aword as their friend struggled to hold back his emotions. "Just seeing him like this... if Vladimir gets him on the stand..."

Sara saw the tears in Jim's eyes and realized how bad he felt at even proposing the idea to Gil and pulled him into a hug. Jim hugged her back, thankfully, and allowed a few of his tears to fall. After a minute Sara let go of him and pulled back a little. She smiled at him as she offered him a tissue.

"It's okay, Jim, it's not your fault that it set him off. He's not mad at any of us." Jim nodded and she swallowed back her own tears. "Gil will... Gil Grissom is still Gil Grissom. And once he has had time to think and rationalize he'll know what he needs to do."

They all turned to face the doorway when Gil cleared his throat. His face reddened a little as he looked at each of his friends and then took a deep breath. "I... I couldn't stop O'Tool once. But I can this time." They began to see the old Gil shining through, as he shifted uneasily, and their spirits were lifted. "I'll testify."

Sara didn't miss the look in Gil's eyes. The blue orbs looked haunted and scared, but he never backed down or wavered. She hugged him tightly and he welcomed the embrace as he wrapped his arms protectively around her midsection and held her close as he buried his face in her shoulder.

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A/N: This W.I.T.C.A. meeting is here-by called to order. Hit the green button below to log in:D Now, is everyone pushing each other's buttons? Good! In the words of the late, great Moe Howard... "Stroke, stroke, stroke, stroke..."