AN: Thank you for the continued support, sorry this chapter was delayed I wasn't home last Sunday, then I decided to just post this on Christmas because this chapter is sort of Christmas themed, anyway, enjoy! Warning: A few questionable words and Implied/Suggestive adult behavior.
Chapter 12: It's Time
Christmas, 2000
The Grissom family was at his mom's house for the Christmas holiday, they had opened presents earlier that day. Well, all but one that is, and they had finished dinner not too long ago, now they were helping with the clean-up before Sara and Grissom were going to leave without Belle to go to the beach house so one, they could have some alone time, and two, Belle could spend the night with her grandma.
Before they had left the house though, Grissom had a moment with his daughter first. "Butterfly, are you sure you want to stay here with grandma tonight?"
It was actually Belle's idea that she will stay with her grandma tonight, knowing what her father has planned for him and her mother.
Belle nodded with a smile. "Yes, you're doing something romantic for mommy. I don't want to be in the way."
He shook his head with a slight frown. "Ok first off, you know you're never in the way, I hope you don't ever feel that way."
The little girl reassures her father. "I don't, I just know that sometimes mommies and daddies need their alone time, I get it. I'm not a baby anymore who needs your attention every minute."
He sighed at his growing girl in front of him, who looks more like Sara every day, before he continued. "You certainly are not. And secondly, if everything goes as planned, you'll be involved in every part of the planning."
"You really think so?"
He chuckled with a nod. "If I know your mom, especially when it's an important decision, she'll want all the opinions from her favorite person."
"Isn't that you daddy?"
He shook his head again with a smile this time as he cupped her cheek. "When it's between me and you, you win every time, and I can't say that I blame her, you are very special to us, you changed our life in the most magical way possible. I don't ever want to think what life would have been without you in it. You know how much I love you, right?"
She nodded with a smile as she hugged her father. "Yes, daddy I do, and I love you too." After they pulled back, she pushed at his shoulder lightly with a smirk. "Now quite stalling, it's time."
He chuckled one more time. "It really is, isn't it?"
She nodded with a chuckle of her own. "Yes." Then she gets a little more serious. "And daddy, I don't think you'll have to worry about an 'if' everything goes right tonight, she loves you more than anything. Well, almost more than anything."
He nodded as he gives his daughter one more hug. "That she does. Have a good night with your grandma and we'll see you in the morning."
"Ok."
After they pulled back from one another, they left Grissom's old childhood bedroom, which was the room Belle always stayed in when she visited her grandmother, and met Sara and Betty in the living room, where Sara shared a goodbye with her daughter while Grissom was sharing one with his mother before the two of them left the house and headed for the beach house.
When they made it to and in the house, Grissom asked Sara if she would get the champagne out of the fridge while he headed for the bedroom, needing a few minutes to set everything up.
Sara grabbed the bottle and glasses with a suspicious feeling that something was going on with her man, which if she was honest with herself, she's had that feeling for a few weeks now because he seemed a little more distracted than usual. Then when she got to the bedroom the door was closed, so she knocked and asked. "Hey Griss, can I come in?"
"Yes, honey, you can come in now."
She opened the door a moment later and whatever she was going to say next died on her lips when she noticed the room was lit with candlelight, she then looks at Grissom, who was standing at the end of the bed, suddenly feeling very emotional. "Griss, what's..."
He cuts her off softly. "Can you please set the champagne and glasses on the dresser and come here?"
She did what he had asked before taking his outstretched hand, then he turned them around and walked the very short distance to the end of the bed before helping her sit down at the end of it.
He took a breath before he started speaking. "There is something I want to ask you, that I've been wanting to ask for a bit now, I just needed to find the right time, the right moment, and I think I did." He sighed, trying to get the nerves out. "I hope I did anyway." Seeing how nervous he looked, Sara took his hand with a smile, which calmed him down almost instantly, then he took a breath and continued. "Before we left my mother's house tonight, I told our daughter that she changed my life in the most magical way possible, and that I don't ever want to think what life would have been without her in it, well the same could be said to you, because meeting you that night was the most magical moment of my life, it had changed everything for me, and I don't want to ever think how my life would have continued if I hadn't met you."
When he had to take a moment, Sara squeezes his hand lightly and started to speak. "Griss..."
But he cuts her off a moment later. "Please, let me get through this."
She nodded with a smile. "Ok but do it quickly before you give yourself a heart attack, it's ok."
He took a breath with a nod and smile. "It has been ok for a while now, hasn't it?"
She nodded again with another smile. "Yes, I say our transition to our new life, for the most part anyways, has gone rather smoothly."
"And the love we have for each other has only gotten stronger since we met, right?"
"I would wholeheartedly agree with that."
"And I'm still the only man you see in your future?"
Now with tears in her eyes, she nodded. "For the rest of my life it will always be only you."
He took one more breath before he finished while slipping his free hand in his pocket, then pulled out the ring box while going down on one knee, causing Sara to gasp while she took both hands up to her mouth, before he spoke as he opened the ring box. "Then I say it's time we make this more official. I love you Sara, I've loved you the moment our eyes met, you are the love of my life, and as far as I'm concerned my one and only now and forever, and nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you by my side as my amazing, beautiful, brilliant, talented wife, if you'll have me that is, so..."
Before he could actually ask 'that' certain question, Sara was already nodding with a smile as she removed her hands from her mouth. "Yes, I will, always."
He chuckled. "Honey, can I actually ask the question?"
She chuckled in return. "Yes, but my answer will be the same."
He smiled with bright eyes as he finally asked the question. "Sara Sidle, will you marry me?"
No hesitation whatsoever, she answered with nod and tears going down her cheek. "Hell yes, I will."
He took the ring out the box, took her left hand and slid the ring down her ring finger before they shared a sweet, but passionate kiss, and when they pulled back, they place their foreheads together and he whispered. "I hope everything was to your liking."
She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck while pulling back so they could have eye contact. "Griss, don't get me wrong, the setting and moment was perfect and beautiful, but the most important thing to me was that it was you proposing, that you were the man that was asking the question."
"So, I could have picked any moment, any setting and you would have been perfectly ok with that."
"Yes." She then looked around the room before her eyes connected with his again. "I got admit, while this was pretty amazing, I'm surprised Belle wasn't involved in it."
"It was her idea that the proposal stayed between us, besides I told her she'll be involved with the planning."
She chuckled with a nod. "That she will be, I'm certainly not leaving out my best girl for one of the most important moments of my life."
He nodded with a smile, and after a shared sweet kiss, she unwrapped her arms from his neck so he could get up, then he headed for the champagne as he continued to talk. "And I'm sure your other girls will be happy as well."
Sara smirked as she stood up from the end of the bed so she could walk towards him. "Are you kidding, I caught them looking at bridesmaids' dresses from a magazine after your first visit from San Francisco."
He raised an eyebrow as he handed her one of the champagne glasses. "Really? You've never said anything about that."
"Yeah, and scare you away for good, I don't think so." She then took a breath and continued before he could speak. "And honestly I was freaking out a little myself, things already felt like they were going at a speed that we could have crashed and burned anytime. I mean, yeah, we did say 'I love you' for the first time, but marriage was the last thing I wanted at the time. I'm just glad you didn't throw that out there so soon because it would have been an 'honorable' thing to do."
She was going to continue to reassure him, but he just smiled as he cupped her cheek. "I just knew how you felt about marriage back then, and while I would have done it to be honorable, I knew we both weren't ready for that step, we both needed to be on solid ground before marriage even came up. And honestly, I wanted you to feel comfortable enough for it."
She looked at him lovingly. "And that's why you waited until I brought it up?"
He nodded with another smile. "Yes, I always knew that if marriage was ever going to be on the table, I wanted to get the feeling from you that it would be ok to ask."
"Then just out of curiosity, if I had never brought it up?"
He smiled one more time while running his thumb up and down her cheek. "You still would be stuck with me for the rest of our lives." She smiled brightly as he continued. "Of course, I'm sure my mom might have eventually said something about that, but nothing would have changed for me." He brings her closer to him and finished with a whisper. "I would still love you, honor you and cherish you until my last breath."
She whispered in return. "Me too."
She then took his champagne glass and set them both back on the dresser before taking his hand and walking them towards the bed, causing him to ask. "No toasting to a new beginning?"
"We can do that later. I'm interested in the more intimate celebration right now."
He just nodded with a smile and let her take control of the evening, and take control is what she did for most of the night, then eventually, while they were sitting up in bed with her wearing just his shirt and him in his boxers, they were enjoying a light snack with their champagne as she really looked at the new ring on her finger.
She asked him almost immediately. "This is a family ring, isn't it?"
He was in the middle of a sip so he replied after he swallowed. "Yes, I hope it's..."
She cuts him off with a smile. "It's perfect, it just looked a little older than the modern cuts you see nowadays."
He nods as he continued. "Story has it that my grandpa waited a little longer than most couples did during their time to ask her to marry him so he could afford to get the best engagement ring possible. They actually almost broke up because she felt he was waiting too long, but when he presented her with that ring with his heartfelt explanation on why the wait was so long, she was putty in his hands, according to my mom."
She smiled with a nod. "I can definitely believe that." She then cleared her throat before asking. "And is there a story on how your mom got it?"
"According to my dad, when my mom took him to visit her parents for the first time, he got that ring from my grandma before they left the house that night."
Sara looked a little shocked. "The first meeting?"
He nodded, now feeling a little emotional, thinking about his dad. "My grandma could see how he treated her daughter, the way he looked at her, how bright his smile was towards her, and while his signing was still raw, least he was trying and asking for help when he needed it. She could tell he was already in love with her and couldn't think of any one better for her daughter."
She took a breath. "It sounds like this ring has been through two amazing love stories."
"Yes." He then cupped her cheek and moved her head to the side as he continued with a smile. "And now it will see through a third one, but remember it's just a ring."
"Yeah, with a huge history behind it."
"True, but I don't want you to feel like you have to prove anything to anybody, it will still be us, nothing will change how we are to one another."
She took the last sip of her drink and sets the glass on the nightstand before moving her body so she was straddling his waist as she spoke with a smile while taking his hand in hers. "You know, something will change once we get married."
He raised an eyebrow as he asked. "Oh, and what would that be?"
She smiled brighter as she replied. "I'll finally become Mrs. Sara Grissom." She felt him shudder under her and she continued with a smirk. "Yeah, I knew you would like that."
He sets his champagne glass down on the nightstand before surprising her when he rolled them over so now she was on her back and he was above her. "I'll admit it does have a nice ring to it, and I can't lie and say I never thought of wanting to call you that, but are you sure that is what you want?"
She nodded with one more smile. "Definitely, I want nothing more than to become Mrs. Sara Grissom."
He smiled as he lowered himself down to her. "Then your wish is my command, future Mrs. Grissom."
This time she shuddered just when their lips touched again, and it was once again just the two of them, getting lost in one another.
December 28, 2000
Sara and Grissom were in their room getting ready for work, when Sara stopped at the dresser and looked down at her engagement with a smile before she sighed sadly while slipping it off her finger, because while his mother and their daughter knew about the engagement, they wanted to tell everyone else after they told Sara's best friends, which that won't happen until Jo, who still lived in Boston, comes for a visit for New Years.
Grissom wrapped his arms around her waist while she placed the ring back in its case that was sitting on top of the dresser. "It doesn't feel right taking the ring off."
"I know honey, but we both agreed that your friends were the next to know, and frankly I wouldn't want to be in the same room if you told them everybody else knew about our engagement before them."
She nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah, they would be pretty upset." As she closed the case, she continued. "You know I'm actually surprised they didn't know before me that you were going to propose."
He shook his head with a chuckle. "No offense to your friends, but I think they wouldn't have kept quiet about it."
Sara chuckled again as she turned around in his arms. "You're probably right about that. I love my friends, but keeping a secret is not their strong suit, especially when all three of them know something."
For the next few minutes, they just stared at one another lovingly, then she sighed in content as she spoke again. "I love you so much, I can't wait to become your wife."
"And speaking of that, how long do you think our engagement should be?"
"Well, if it was up to my friends, they'll probably want a year to plan everything." When they both cringed at that long wait, she continued with a smile. "But seeing as this is my day, well technically, our day, I should be the one to pick the time and place."
He smirks. "Which let's face it, it really means your day."
She chuckled before she spoke again. "I was thinking a spring wedding."
"Spring?" After she nodded, he nodded with a smile. "Ok, I love it."
"You sure? It's not too long a wait for you?"
He shook his head as he replied with love in his eyes and a smile on his face. "Honey, I know while a wedding wasn't part of your dreams growing up, it is now, and I want you to have everything you are now desiring when it comes to your wedding day, you just let me know the time and the place and I'll be there, no matter how long the wait is."
She nodded before smiling. "Well, if I knew it wasn't going to piss off a bunch of people, I would consider it in a few days." He chuckled in agreement before she became more serious. "But seeing as this is the only wedding I'm planning on being involved in, as a bride that is, I do want to have the people I care about the most there for me, meaning it will probably take them a little time to plan for the occasion, like Jo, I need her there by my side, so I stand by with what I said in the first place, spring sounds good to me."
He nodded as he brings her closer to her. "Perfect."
After sharing a few kisses, they pull back then she gets out of his arms completely, knowing they don't have time for anything more or else they would be late getting to work.
After dropping Belle off at a daycare center for older kids, they were now in the locker room at the lab when Sara's phone goes off, so she unclips it and looks at the text message while Grissom's phone goes off next.
"I'm being summoned by the boss, so I guess I'll see you..."
He cuts her off before she could finish. "Uh, me too."
They looked at one another with curiosity before taking things in and out of their lockers, closing them, then walking out of the room and down the hall until they reached their supervisor's office door, where Sara knocked before they waited for the command to come in.
After they hear their supervisor, Peter Hart, say come in, Sara opens the door and the two of them walk in the room.
Peter Hart, who is a caucasian with short brown hair, brown eyes, athletic, a little over average height and has been the San Francisco supervisor for almost 10 years, despite being only five years older than Sara, but like Sara, he was dedicated to his job so he showed the higher ups what a true asset he was to the lab.
He smiled at the couple as they walked further into the room. "Morning you two, I hope it's been a good one."
They both said morning in reply before Sara spoke. "And we can't complain."
"That's good to hear. Listen, I asked you both in here because I want to talk to you two about something."
They started to get worried, and Sara spoke. "Sir, I hope we haven't done anything for you to question us working together."
Before Sara could continue, Peter moved his hand up to stop her. "Easy Sara, you two have shown that you can work together in a professional manner since he's been here, so I'm not splitting you two up. I wouldn't even dream splitting you two up, you're like a dream team around here." They both looked visibly relieved and maybe a little embarrassed of the praise before he continued. "No, this meeting has something to do with the personnel, I've got a potential transfer coming in for an interview today."
Grissom asked the next question in confusion. "If this is about a new hire, I don't see why I'm involved in this meeting then."
Peter picked up the transfer papers and handed it to Grissom as he replied with a smile. "It's the person who is seeking the transfer, according to his resume you've worked with him for about a year in Vegas, the name is Nicholas Stokes."
AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. I hope you all have a Happy Christmas/Holidays, be safe and enjoy the time with your loved ones, and until next time, GSR4ever!
