On Sunday morning Sara awoke feeling cold, tired and achy. Ignoring the sun peeking through a crack in the curtains, she rolled over and burrowed back into the bed, intent only on falling back asleep. Seemingly sharing her sentiment, Socks crawled under the quilt and snuggled against her back, her purr soothing against Sara's sore muscles. When Gil opened his eyes almost an hour later he glanced at the clock and sat up slowly. Looking at Sara he frowned in concern; she was unnaturally still and her skin was flushed a light pink. Resting his hand against her forehead he discovered she was feverish; she clutched the blankets tightly to herself, but the exposed skin of her neck and shoulder was covered with goose bumps. He got up carefully and dressed in slippers and sweats, tucking the covers tighter around his wife, before heading for the kitchen. He took his time with breakfast, feeding the animals, showering and the usual weekend morning chores before returning to the bedroom with a cup of tea.

"Sara," he murmured, stroking her hair gently. She whimpered slightly, but opened her eyes slowly and looked blearily up at him. "Hey honey," he soothed, "what's wrong?" She shivered and rested her cheek against his gentle hand.

"Sick," she muttered softly, her tone coloured with distaste.

"I brought you tea," he said, helping her sit up enough to take a sip. A muffled mew informed him of Socks' objections. He scooted up next to her and supported her with an arm behind her back, helping her finish the drink. "You have a fever," he noted, brushing her wildly untamed hair out of her face.

"Sore throat, headache, body aches, tired, cold," she ticked off, her voice a whisper but her expression getting more and more irritated with each word. Gil suppressed a smile as she finished the tea; there was no one who hated being sick as much as Sara, and no worse a patient than his wife.

"You stay here," he said gently, "I'll do the grocery shopping and run the errands. I'll leave Hank in the yard so he doesn't keep you awake, jumping on you." Normally Sara would protest at even the slightest hint that she needed to rest, but today she just nodded and leaned into his embrace. He kissed her temple tenderly, then tucked her in, smiling when Romeo and Juliet clambered onto the bed and snuggled up with her as well. She was asleep before he even made it out of the room. When he returned, almost three hours later, she was curled in a ball in the middle of the bed with Socks pressed against her chest, Romeo crammed against the back of her neck and shoulders and Juliet curled into the back of her knees.

...

Monday was not an improvement on its predecessor. Sara snuffled, sneezed and coughed through until one o'clock when Candy decided enough was enough and got Mary to send her home. Sara slept until Gil got in, then forced herself to get up, eat dinner, do some laundry and read for a while before giving in and going back to bed. Tuesday followed much the same regime. By Wednesday afternoon the coughing, sneezing and copious amounts of slime flowing from her nose were still present, but the aches, pains and tiredness were gone, along with the fever, headache and pressure behind her eyes. By Thursday evening she was down to the occasional sneeze and nose blow. Cuddling up with Gil on the sofa to watch a movie she sighed with pleasure, overjoyed to be feeling almost her normal self.

...

Friday morning dawned and the alarm went off, summoning Gil from slumber. Groaning he smacked the off button and sat up slowly, sure he had only just gone to sleep. Sara yawned, stretched and slid out of bed carefully, mindful of the three fur balls draped across her legs. Pulling on her robe she headed for the kitchen as Gil stumbled into the shower. Feeling wonderfully restored to health, Sara dug out the waffle maker she had found in the pantry and set to work chopping fruit. When Gil walked in, struggling with his tie, Sara was dishing up strawberries and blueberries on top of golden brown waffles. He stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"I feel wonderful," she sighed with pleasure, taking over for him and deftly securing his Windsor knot. Smiling at her enthusiasm, he sat down and sipped a mouthful of morning blend tea. Half an hour later, as he walked out the door he felt a scratch in the back of his throat. He dismissed the feeling, thinking about his morning plant biology class.

...

Having traded the day with Candy, Sara launched into the handful of chores that had gone undone over the last week while she had been sick and Gil had looked after her and dealt with an excess of grading that he had somehow managed to accrue. When Sara had joked that he wouldn't have so much student paperwork if he didn't give so many assignments, he had mock scowled at her and given her a stack of exams to correct. With the spare room ready for Greg and the cottage tidy, Sara ambled outside at around a quarter to twelve to play with Hank and Lucy, who had finally joined them the day before, infection free but still sporting a cast on her leg. Sara sat on the porch, watching the dogs chase each other around by the fence next to the garage, before being distracted by a bird sitting on the other side of the fence next to the car. Sara laughed as both dogs assumed identical watch positions, their attention locked on the pigeon, pecking at the ground by the tire. Lucy was still a puppy, and dwarfed by Hank because she was still undernourished from abuse, but even with a cast on her leg she was energetic and curious about everything. She had waltzed up to Hank and sniffed him all over before apparently deciding he would do and flopping down in his basket with him. Her introductions to her feline housemates had been more striking. Juliet did not take kindly to the sniff examination, and had smacked the puppy across the nose with her paw before stealing the squeaky toy Sara had brought home with Lucy. Socks had looked up from the couch and regarded the newcomer with an owlish expression before putting her head back down and resuming her nap, clearly not bothered by non-human intruders, and Romeo had been overjoyed to find a new wrestling partner. Within half an hour all five four legged members of the household were getting along happily and Sara had breathed a sigh of relief. Watching the dogs now, Sara was filled with a happy, warm sense of comfort. Resting her elbows on her drawn up knees, Sara leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. Despite her best intentions she must have nodded off, because the next thing she was aware of was a car door slamming and the cheerful yell of her best friend.

"Sara," shouted Greg, blowing through the gate and hurrying over to her. She got to her feet just as he threw his arms around her. "Wow," he gasped, letting go of her and stepping back to stare.

"Yeah," she smiled self-consciously. Her maternity jeans and dark green shirt clearly showcased the fact that she was now twenty-three weeks pregnant.

"Wow, no way," gaped Greg, his mouth hanging open like a guppy.

"Yes way," she said wryly. Greg tried to find something to say, failed, and gave up, hugging her again. Greg fetched his bag and they moved inside after he took a few moments to greet the over excited dogs. Sara put the kettle on to make tea while Greg went to the bathroom and freshened up. They settled in the living room with tea and pita bread stuffed with stir-fried vegetables.

"So how are you?" she asked, curling her legs to the side and balancing her plate on her legs. Socks, never far away in her nervous nature, curled up on her feet. Both Romeo and Juliet sat on the arm of the chair, watching Greg as he ate, waiting for him to finish and give them his attention.

"Fine," he said, watching the twin kittens out of the corner of his eye, a little weirded out by their identical poses and expressions. "My publisher is interested another book. I have a meeting with them next month."

"That's great," grinned Sara, her lips twitching with amusement at the expression on his face as Romeo and Juliet continued to watch him. "They'll wait for you to finish eating," she said, laughing. "They know they're not allowed human food, but they're ridiculously obsessive when they want something."

"You're animals are picking up your OCD?" asked Greg, snorting. Sara gave him a dirty look. "So what are they waiting for?" Sara rolled her eyes.

"You're attention."

"And she isn't?" he asked, pointing to Socks. Sara smiled and gently tickled the soft black fur behind Socks' ears.

"Socks is very shy, and very attached to me," she said softly. They finished eating over a discussion of how the team was doing and then put their plates aside. Shifting so her legs were stretched out on the couch, Sara settled Socks in her lap and looked at Greg, expectantly. He didn't disappoint. Despite the fact that the moment he put his plate on top of hers on the coffee table Romeo and Juliet pounced on him, Greg fixed his eyes on her pointedly.

"Are you going to make me wait any longer?" he demanded, "I think I've been patient enough in the wake of such earth shattering news." Sara giggled as Socks stretched lazily on her legs, despite Greg's voice rising steadily through several decibels. "When are you due?" he asked.

"November seventeenth," said Sara. "I'm twenty-three weeks today."

"Wow, I can't believe this," said Greg, trying to appease both kittens at once. "I cannot picture Grissom having kids. Or you, for that matter."

"Thanks Greg," scowled Sara. She smirked when Romeo abandoned her friend and leapt over to the couch to join Socks on Sara's legs.

"Sorry, that kind of came out wrong. I just insanely surprised. I never imagined you two would be parents." He looked at her, really looked, and noticed that she had never looked healthier. Her skin and hair were radiant, her demeanour relaxed and happy, her expressions and aura positively glowing. "I'm excited for you though," he grinned. "I'm going to be an uncle." Sara smiled at him, thrilled at his enthusiasm.

"We're both pretty excited too," she said softly, resting her hand on her stomach as she felt the baby kick her.

"Do you know what it is yet?" he asked, his eyes bright.

"Yeah, she's a girl," smiled Sara.

"Cool," Greg practically squealed, upsetting Juliet. She swiped a paw across his hand. Sara could already see the wheels turning in his mind.

"No pink," she warned. "And no hair dye until she's at least thirteen."

"Have you got a name yet?"

"Nothing concrete."

"Are you going to share?"

"No." Greg pulled a face at her. Then a massive grin lit up his face.

"Catherine is going to freak out. Oh, I bet Betty loves you now huh?" His eyes danced with laughter as he thought about Sara's mother-in-law and the tough relationship barriers she had put in place.

"Betty doesn't know," said Sara quietly, stopping him before his imagination could run away with him.

"What? Why? This is like relationship gold for you two."

"Greg, no one knows. Just my boss, a couple of co-workers who only found out in the last couple of weeks and my doctors."

"Why?"

"Risks," said Sara simply. Concern flashed across Greg's face.

"Are you ok? Are you in danger?" he asked, worried. Sara smiled softly at him. He was her best friend; surely she could share with him.

"I'm fine," she promised. "But I've had two miscarriages before this pregnancy, so we've been very concerned."

"What happened? When?" Greg's expression was a mixture of sadness, confusion, worry and thoughtfulness, as though he was trying to figure out the missing pieces in a puzzle.

"We were in France the second time," she said quietly, "and there were complications. The doctor's thought it would be next to impossible for me to conceive again so we gave up. And now we're here," she smiled.

"So you're not telling anyone?" he asked, wondering how they were keeping something so huge a secret, before reminding himself that it had been years before anyone had known that Sara and Griss were even a couple.

"No," Sara was firm in her decision.

"Why me?" he asked, curious.

"You're my best friend. I wanted to see you, and I trust you to keep your mouth shut," she grinned at him, and he laughed at her, pantomiming looking his lips and throwing away the key.

"Will you keep me updated?" he asked, all serious now, hints of worry in his expression. Sara nodded.

"Of course. Everything looks fine so far though," she sighed stretching out along the length of the couch. They lapsed into contented chatter, covering all of their usual topics, catching up and generally laughing with each other. Greg was poring over the sonogram pictures when Sara's phone buzzed and she picked it up to retrieve a text message. Greg couldn't help but marvel over the changes in her. He watched her face light up when she saw who the text was from, and then saw concern shadow across her features and she read. Finally, her lips twitching with amusement, she turned to him.

"How would you like to go to Gil's entomology lecture tonight?" she asked.

...

...

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