AN: Thanks for the support, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 10: Making a plan

The next morning

While Nick, Grissom and Sara tried not to be sad in front of William, they couldn't hide how they truly felt, so during breakfast William asked softly, feeling the 'down' air around them, which he obviously had felt that most of the day yesterday. "What's wrong mommy and daddy?"

Sara and Grissom look at one another, silently acknowledging they needed to talk to him about what had happened before Sara took a breath and spoke to her young son. "Something happened yesterday, baby, and we are trying to work through it. You see a young girl had lost her mother unexpectedly."

William gets sad as he asked. "Like what happened to grandma?"

Grissom then spoke. "The unexpected part of it, yes." William nodded, not fully understanding, but knew them enough that they weren't going to say much more about that part, then Grissom continued. "So, before we head home, we are going to go visit her family and pay our respects, ok?"

William just nodded again before going back to eating, Sara and Grissom go back to eating a moment later.

About 5 minutes later, Nick gets up from the table and sets his plate on the counter before speaking to them after cleaning his throat. "I'll meet you at Rose's place at three."

They both nodded while Sara spoke. "See you at three, be safe."

"Thank you. Bye William."

"Bye Uncle Nick."

By the time the Grissom family and Nick made it to Rose's place a bunch of people were there, which was mostly the poker group that watched/help teach Hailey how to play through the years.

It was a somber time, but they tried not to dwell on it the whole time, just trying to smile and laugh about the good times they all had with her, and as it was coming to an end a few hours later, Rose asked to talk to Sara and Grissom in her study and they asked Nick if he would look after William before they followed the older woman.

They step into the room and Rose closed the door before slowly walking to her desk. "Please, take a seat."

After they were settled in Rose took a breath before speaking. "I wish I didn't have to bring this up now, this quickly. Well, if I'm being truly honest, I wish this conversation would never happen because Sadie's mom should be here."

Both Sara and Grissom nodded on that part as Grissom spoke. "We agree, her mother should be."

Rose sighed. "But seeing as she's not and my time is running out, faster than I would have liked, I need to make sure Sadie is going to be taken care of, I need her to be in a loving, stable household."

When the older woman paused, Grissom spoke again, taking that opening. "We also agree with that, and honestly we thought of it as well, but we didn't know how to bring it up, especially on a day like this."

Rose nodded with a known smile. "You are really fond of Sadie."

Both Sara and Grissom nodded once again while Sara talked this time. "We are, and our home is filled with so much love."

"I can sense that, I've noticed how you are to one another, and that's the type of home I want Sadie to be a part of, if it's something you are willing/able to do."

No hesitation since their minds were pretty much set in stone last night, Grissom spoke again sincerely. "We would be honored to have her in our home, we just want to make sure you can see it's the right place for her." He took a breath as he continued. "So, what I'm suggesting is that how about you and Sadie come stay with us for a few days, or however long you want/need, in the near future and see how it feels to you and go from there."

Rose felt a very sense of gratitude of meeting these two as she asked. "You really want that?"

Sara took Grissom's hand with a smile. "We would Rose, because from this point on, when it comes to Sadie, nothing is more important than making sure she is in a happy, healthy place." Sara took a moment before telling her something that not even most of the people she knew a lot longer than the woman in front of her knew, but felt it was necessary so Rose knew where she was coming from. "I know what's it like to go from home to home, and I, I mean we don't want that for her. Like you said, we all wish her mother was here to do give her that, but unfortunately she's not."

Rose nodded with a smile. "Alright, I accept your offer to me and Sadie visiting in the next few weeks." As they both nodded with smiles, she continued after clearing her throat. "Just please don't say anything to Sadie yet."

Grissom spoke this time after they nodded again. "You got it." He then asked. "We were wondering if we can take her for a little bit though, I know our dog Hank has been wanting to see her before we leave."

"If she's ok with it, then so am I, and thank you, not just for the offer of getting her out of the house for a bit "

As they stood up, Grissom spoke again. "You're welcome, and know this, no matter what happens next, she's a part of us now, and we'll find a way to be there for her, always, that's a promise."

Rose nodded with a smile, trying to keep her emotions intact before Sara and Grissom turned to walk out of the study, then that's when Rose finally broke down for the first time since losing Hailey so she could be strong in front of Sadie.

When Sadie agreed to go with them, they headed to Nick's place, and the minute Hank was let back inside he couldn't contain his excitement on seeing her, so his tail was wagging so much it was practically making his whole body move and he 'talked' to her so much it was almost to the point he was howling at her, in a friendly way, causing them to all chuckle and smile. They have never seen Hank act like this before.

Once they finally had Hank calm, they headed outside so her and William could play with him before they went down to the beach about thirty minutes later.

2 hours later, and as much as Sara and Grissom wanted to stay longer, they knew they had to start heading home, so after they told Sadie it was time to take her home, Nick asked after cleaning his throat. "I could take her home if it's ok."

It would give them a chance to finish packing, so Grissom asked. "You sure?"

Nick nodded while they looked at Sadie, and she nodded. "That's ok with me."

They both nodded before Nick excused himself so they could say their goodbyes to the little girl.

After Sara gave her a hug and William said his goodbyes, even thanking her for playing with him, Grissom kneeled down to her level and gave her a smile. "It was so nice to see you again, and I am truly sorry about your mother, I wish…"

She cuts him off with a sniffle while giving him a hug. "I know, and it was nice to see you too, I've missed you and Hank."

"We've missed you too, and I promise that this will not be the last time we see one another."

She pulled back looking sad and skeptical. "You said that before you left Paris."

"I know, and I'm sorry we never got a chance to see one another again until now, but this time it will be different, because for one, we live a lot closer to you now than we did before."

She nodded with a small smile, feeling a little more optimistic. "That is true."

"And two, I still have a promise to keep that I made to you at the hospital, you remember it?"

"Yeah, but I thought you had forgotten."

He shook his head with a smile. "Never. From this point on, nothing is more important than finding you a loving, caring and happy home, and we won't stop until we find it. You just got to trust us."

He wasn't lying, he won't stop until he found her the perfect home, even though he already knew his home was the perfect one, but he made a promise to Rose to not say anything to her. He just wanted her to try to keep her spirits up as much as she could in this situation.

She nodded as she hugged him again. "I do, bye Grissom."

He sighed as he held her again. "Bye Sadie, I know you are having a hard time right now, but know there are people who care for you, so hold strong, and if you ever need to talk to us or 'see' Hank, your aunt has our Video chat ID and phone numbers, ok."

"Ok."

After they pulled back, Sadie said bye to Hank before they headed inside, and when Nick saw her coming into the living room, he gets up from the couch. "You ready?" She nodded, and he looked at Sara and Grissom. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

They nodded before Nick and Sadie left the house.

Three weeks later

Late July, 2015

As Grissom stood in the in the middle of the living room, checking to make sure everything is neat and tidy, Sara wrapped her arm around his shoulders with a smile. "Everything looks good, babe."

What a lot of people don't know about Grissom is he likes to clean and tidy up when he's nervous, and when they found out Sadie and Rose were planning on their trip to come see them, he started cleaning about two weeks ago, so to say it was driving her a little crazy was an understatement.

Now she enjoyed a clean house, don't get her wrong, but when he did it, he could pass a military inspection.

He sighed, knowing he was driving them both crazy at this point, so he looked at her with a shy smile. "Sorry, I know…"

She cuts him off with love in her eyes. "It's ok." She then smirked with love still in her eyes. "But it's not like she's going to come here wearing a white glove."

As she chuckled, and he shook his head with a smile, William ran into the room from playing outside, Hank following close by.

"Somebody is here." Before they could tell him who that should be, William was looking out the window when he exclaimed excitedly. "It's Uncle Nick with Mrs. Tucker and Sadie."

Sara and Grissom looked at one another when he had said Nick because neither one knew Nick would be the one to drive them up.

When Rose informed them on when they be up here, they did ask her if she needed a driver, but she declined because she said she had it covered, so this was a surprise.

Grissom walked to the door the moment they heard a knock, then after opening it, Nick smiled while saying. "Surprise. I hope it's ok I'm here."

Grissom waved it off as they shared a hug. "Of course, you are always welcome here."

After they pulled back, Grissom moved to the side to let them in the house, then as everyone was greeting one another, Nick continued to explain. "I just thought since Rose needed a driver and I hadn't been here since I was passing through before I settled in San Diego it was a win-win situation."

They smiled while Sara spoke while giving him another hug. "This is good, we are always happy to see you."

While they pulled back from the hug, Grissom and Sadie were pulling back from their hug before he spoke with a smile to them. "Welcome to our home, I know it isn't as big as what you are…"

Rose cuts him off with a smile of her own. "It's very nice. You said this was your parents' place?"

Grissom nodded. "They designed it themselves. It was my father's wedding present to my mom. Of course, we added to it a little more for our growing family." As Rose nodded while she looked around the living room, Grissom continued. "Here let me show you around."

William cuts in with a smile on his face. "And they could see my room."

They chuckled while Sara agreed before her and Grissom showed them around.

When they finally made it outside, William practically dragged Sadie and Nick towards his play structure while Sara, Grissom and Rose sat at the table that was under the covered porch.

They were watching them at the play structure in silence for a bit before Grissom cleared his throat and asked Rose. "How are you doing? How's Sadie?'

Rose gave Grissom a small smile. "All things considering, not that bad. I mean it could be a lot worse." Rose then looked towards her great-niece and finished. "In fact, I believe Nick's presence has helped out a lot, especially for her. He gave her his phone number so she could talk or vent, even cry without any judgement. He takes her out of the house, he even offers to drive me anywhere I want. I don't know where we would be without him really, he's a very good young man."

Both Sara and Grissom nodded while Grissom replied with a proud smile on his face. "He really is."

Rose takes a drink of her iced tea before looking at Sara and Grissom again, then she cleared her throat and asked. "Now that the dust had settled somewhat, what we talked about when you were in San Diego, does the offer still stand?"

Sara and Grissom looked at one another for a moment, then she slipped her hand into her husband's before they looked at Rose again, and Grissom spoke with sincerity. "Nothing has changed on how we feel, we still believe our home will be a good one for Sadie."

She nodded with a smile. "I do sense that, I see the strong bond and love you two have for one another and your growing family. I guess my next question is can you love her? Because she needs more than a good home."

There was no hesitation from Grissom. "Yes, we can, we can love her like she's our own, we give you our word."

Rose nodded while picking up her glass of tea and took another sip before she spoke again. "I believe you, and I'll see how this weekend goes, and depending how it does, I'll have my lawyer draw up papers that will make you Sadie's legal guardian after I pass."

They nodded before Grissom spoke again. "And we will be happy to sign them, but we want to be upfront with Sadie before we do, I don't want to blindside her any more than she already feels at this point."

Rose nodded with a sigh, sad that her great-niece's life will once again be altered, but there was nothing else she could do about it, her days are numbered and she wanted to make sure she will be in a good home before she goes, that's her number 1 priority right now, which she feels in her heart and soul that the Grissom family was, and that they came into their lives for a reason.

"I know, and I hope we can do that before leave here."

They both nodded again before Sara spoke this time. "That's ok, we'll see if Nick will take William to the beach so we it can be just us when you are ready to talk to her."

She nodded with a smile before taking another sip of her tea while she looked at the kids playing with one another, feeling more confident about this decision each second she's around them.

Sara and Grissom watched them as well for a moment or two before they looked at one another, then they nodded before he kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her shoulders before they go back to watching the kids again.

The morning Nick, Rose and Sadie were going to leave, Grissom cooked everyone breakfast, then Sara, after having talked to Nick about it the night before, told William that he was going to the beach with Nick, which made him very excited, so after they were ready, Sara and Grissom hugged and kissed their son goodbye before Nick took him out of the house.

When they heard the front door shut, Sadie was the first one to speak. "Why do I feel like we are about to have a serious discussion?"

Rose sighed before placing her hand on her niece's. "Because we are sweetheart."

Sadie nodded before speaking sadly. "This is about you dying, isn't it?"

If Rose was surprised that she knew, she didn't act like it, she just continued on with the subject. "Yes, and what's going to happen after, but know the most important thing I want is for you to be in a loving, safe home, ok?" Sadie nodded, trying to keep her emotions down, before Rose spoke again after cleaning her throat. "And I feel in my heart that I found you one."

Softly, Sadie asked. "Where?"

Rose looked at Grissom and gave him a short nod, telling him it was ok for him to say something, so he did just that after cleaning his throat. "Sara and I talked about this, and we want nothing more than for you to come live with us, if that's what you want?"

There was a pause as the young girl processed what he had said, then she asked with a little excitement. "Really?"

They both nodded before he continued. "Yes. We really want you to become a part of our family. Is that something you…."

Sadie cuts him off while rushing off the chair and right into Grissom's arms. "Yes, please."

They all smiled while Grissom hugged the young girl.

Then a moment later she started to sniffle. "Are you sure this it what you want?"

Grissom cleared his throat as they pulled back, then he cupped her cheek with a smile. "Yes, nothing would make us happier."

Feeling/seeing it in Grissom's eyes, she nodded with a smile. "Ok, I'll be happy to join your family." They smiled wider as Grissom removed his hand from her cheek, then she asked. "Can we visit one another before that happens?"

They all nodded before Sara was the one to reply. "Absolutely, sweetheart, we want you to feel as comfortable as possible for when that happens, so we can set up times for when you come over and we can come to you."

She nodded with another smile. "Ok, that sounds good."

Then after deciding to head to the beach to meet up with Nick and William, they left the house with Hank.

They spent a few more hours together at the beach, even having a meal, before Nick, Sadie and Rose said their goodbyes and left, so the Grissom family headed back home.

Later that evening, after tucking their son in bed and reading to him until he fell asleep, they met in the bedroom, got ready for bed themselves and laid down once they were.

Sara watched her husband for a minute or two in silence, then she cupped his cheek and asked. "What is going in that head of yours? You've been quiet since they left. Are you having second thoughts about this?"

He looked concerned as he asked. "Are you?"

She gave him a little smile and shake of her head. "I asked you first?"

He shook his head. "No, I haven't changed my mind, but honestly I'm torn. There is a part of me that is very excited about this, about raising Sadie as our own, but then I feel bad because I know she's going to lose someone else in order for her to be here."

She nodded and looked at him with sympathy and love. "I know babe, I feel the same way. But we can't change the circumstances, no matter how much we want, we can only make the situation be as bearable as possible, and you saw her when we told her, it looks like she's a little excited too, and I'm sure she's feeling exactly the same thing we are."

He nodded with a sigh. "Yeah."

She ran her thumb up and down his cheek. "You are not a bad person to feel this way, you just want what's best for Sadie when the inevitable happens."

She leans down to give him a soft kiss on the lips before pulling back slightly and whispering. "And that act makes me love you even more than I already do."

He kisses her this time, this one a little more passionate, then after pulling back, he cups her cheek and whispered. "When I got this idea, I thought of you, I saw this scared little girl who wasn't sure were her life was going to go, and since I felt we were in the position to help, I had to take it."

Sara nodded with a smile. "See, you are amazing."

He moved up so their lips were near one another again and he whispered. "I love you too, and you are amazing as well, you didn't have to agree to do this."

She shook her head with a sniffle, so Grissom ran his thumb up and down her cheek. "I thought of me as well, and I knew we had to do something for her, give her the best life possible."

When they kissed again, she brings them down so he was above her, then he pulls back, asking with his eyes, and she nodded with a smile. "I want my husband tonight."

He nodded with a smile before he lowered himself back down to her, both giving and receiving the love they have for one another.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. I do have two more chapters planned, but there is no guarantee that one will be up next Sunday, it all depends on how much time I will have during the week, so we'll see. Hope you all had a safe/happy weekend, and those of you who celebrate the 4th enjoy your time with your family and friends, and until next time, always remember GSR4ever.