AN: Thanks for all the continued support, here is the next chapter, enjoy! Warning: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior.
Chapter 11: Being Thankful
Since Catherine woke up her health has only improved and she was becoming herself more and more in the days that followed, and true to Grissom's word, he stayed by her side, only leaving it when he needed some real sleep, which she insisted he go to his hotel room to do that, and to use the restroom.
Now Catherine was ready to get out of the bed for a lot longer than a few minutes, but since she's been out of it periodically during the morning and earlier afternoon so she could do her walks around the room, she had to travel by wheelchair to go further, so she gladly got into one once her doctor approved when Grissom had asked if she could, which caused Grissom to smirk while putting his hands on the handles of the wheelchair to get ready to push her.
"I don't think I would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my two eyes that you were this happy to get into a wheelchair."
"Well, you try staying in a hospital bed for multiple days then being upgrade to only allowing to walk around the room, and see how you like it when you get the opportunity to finally get out of the room for a bit, even if it's in a wheelchair."
He winced at that thought. "Good point."
As he started pushing her chair, she asked. "So, where are you taking me anyways? I saw the look in your eyes when my doctor approved this little "trip."
"Nowhere in particular."
She smirked. "I don't really believe you Gilbert Grissom, remember I worked with you for almost 8 years, I think I can read you pretty well."
He smirked in return. "You've always been good at reading people."
This time she sighed as Grissom pushed her out of the room. "I guess not when it should have mattered the most."
Knowing what, or should he say, who she was talking about, Grissom cleared his throat before speaking softly. "Catherine, I'm sorry about you and Eddie, I can't believe he would do that to you."
She shook her head. "Not that I wasn't shocked, or pissed for that matter, when I found out." She then sighed. "But I guess a small part of me was kind of expecting it to happen eventually, we weren't happy for a long time, we stayed married way too long."
Grissom looked a little shocked. "You hid that one pretty well."
"Yeah, well, you know keeping your personal life outside of the lab, not needing any distractions while out in the field, trained me to for that one."
He stopped the wheelchair so he could move to the front of it and face her. "I really am sorry though. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me, I mean we are friends, right?"
She nodded with tears in her eyes, which seeing Catherine showing her emotions wasn't a common sight, so it sent him back a little, while she spoke softly. "We are, and I wanted to, but you were just starting a new life, you were happy, I didn't want to bring you down with my problems."
He kneeled down and placed his hand on hers while he spoke again. "I still would have liked to try and be there for you, that's what friends do, and besides Sara, I felt you were my best friend."
Catherine nodded with a smile as she placed her other hand on top of his. "I felt that too, and I'm sorry about the circumstances that brought you here, but I'm glad you are, and thank you for being here."
He gives her a smile. "You're welcome, I'm glad I could be here for you too." He then smirked. "But the next time you want me to visit you, try a different tactic, you didn't have to go this extreme route."
She shook her head with a chuckle. "I'll try, but you know me, it's go big or go home."
His face got a little sad, no longer in a joking mode. "Well, this big move scared me. In fact, it scared us all."
Catherine sighed, seeing the looks she got from everyone who visited her since she's been awake. "I know."
"So, the next time you are feeling tired, call a cab or let someone else take you home, don't let pride get in the way."
"I will ask for a ride, I promise."
He brightened up a little more. "Good."
After moments pause, while he was still kneeled down, she asked. "Anything else you need to talk about?"
He slowly smiled. "Well, now that you mentioned it, there was a certain ex co-worker of mine that was in the room almost as much as me, most of the time he would show up right after his shift was over and didn't leave for hours. "
Playing if off, she cleared her throat before replying. "I'm sure Lindsey was with him."
He nodded. "A lot of the time she was, but I have a feeling it was more than bringing Lindsey to see you." When she looked down at her hands and didn't say anything, he continued. "I know it's your personal life, and you don't have to say anything if you don't…"
She cuts him off softly. "It's new, we are still figuring things out. We just want to make sure we are the doing the right thing before fully crossing that boundary."
"Is that why no one else knows about it?"
"Yes, among other reasons." He nodded in understanding, but before he could reply, she continued. "But I mean, am I doing the right thing? Am I crazy to even try seriously with him? I'm over ten years older than him, you know."
He smirked. "Ok, if you're looking for me to tell you not to date someone because of an age gap, I would probably be the last person you would want for that one."
She chuckled with a nod. "I guess you're right about that." She then gets a little more serious. "Did you ever think about the age gap between you and Sara?"
He sighed with a nod. "Yes, it mostly came into my thoughts during our in-between visits."
"And how did you get past that hang-up?"
He smiled brightly. "Her love did that for me. I would see how happy she really was with me. I made her happy, just like she makes me happy. Now will the age gap be a problem in the future? I honestly don't know, I sure hope not where she is concerned. But I'm not worrying or dwelling about what could happen, I'm only living in the moment with her, and loving every minute of it."
Catherine nodded with a smile. "I see that, you never looked so happy, and I'm happy for you."
"Thank you." He then cleared his throat before continuing. "Now as for you and Warrick, I guess the question is, does he make you happy? And do you see a real future with him?"
"I honestly don't know what's going to happen in the future, like I said this is new between us. But I do know I haven't been this happy with someone in a very long time, he makes me happy, really happy."
She said that last part brightly, and Grissom responded with a smile on his face. "Then that's all that matters right now."
But when his look changes to worry a moment later, like he just thought of something, Catherine asked with curiosity and a little worried herself. "What is it?"
He took a breath before speaking softly. "I don't know if this should be a warning or a heads up."
"About what?"
He cleared his throat this time. "I believe another young man may have been smitten towards you."
Catherine chuckled. "Are you kidding me? No..." She trails off when his look remained serious. "Really?"
"Yes, and I think he knows about you and Warrick." She looked down at her hands then sighed and he asked. "Should I have not said anything?"
She shook her head with a small smile as she looked into his eyes again. "I'm glad you did, I guess I'm just a little confused right now that I somehow attracted two of the most handsome men in the lab, I mean I'm not anything spe..."
Grissom cuts her off with a somewhat stern look. "Now listen, for me I'm saying this in the most platonic way possible, but there is something special about you, you have a lot to offer, and any man that you choose to have a life with better see that and treat you right."
Catherine smirked. "That sounds like what an older brother would say."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it does, you don't have a problem with that, do you?"
She shook her head with a smile. "None whatsoever."
"Good."
They took a moment to just look at one another, then she sighed. "I've really missed you, Gil."
"I've missed you too, Catherine."
After pulling back from a hug they just shared, he finally stood up. "Ok, I do have somewhere to take you so I better get you there before people will start to wonder where you are."
"Ha, I knew it. So, what do you have planned for me, Gilbert Grissom?"
As much as Catherine wanted to know where he was taking her, she didn't ask any questions, until they reached the cafeteria doors, which were closed, so she asked. "What are we doing at the cafeteria?"
Grissom smiled behind her. "Why don't you open the doors and find out."
She did a moment later, and when she did, she saw her team, her mom, daughter, Grissom's mom, Sara and Belle and they immediately said with bright smiles. "Happy Thanksgiving!"
Catherine looked at them in shock since she had lost track of the days, before turning her head to ask Grissom. "It's really Thanksgiving?"
"Yes, it is."
She then gets teary eyed. "And you're spending it here? I'm sor…"
He cuts her off. "You have nothing to apologize for, it was Sara's idea to bring everyone together."
"It was?"
He smiled as he looked at his girls. "Yes, she knew I wanted to stay at least until you got out of the hospital, so she decided to bring Thanksgiving to the both of us."
Feeling a little overwhelmed, but truly grateful, she replied. "You have yourself a good woman."
He moved closer to her ear. "I know I do."
As he was pulling back, Jim was walking up to them with a smile. "Ok, it's someone else's turn to push her around."
They all chuckled as Grissom stepped back with his hands up so Jim could get behind the wheelchair, then he started pushing her towards the team while Grissom headed over towards his girls.
They all smiled at him as they greeted him, and when Sara and Grissom hugged, they sighed in relief, happy to be back into each other's arms after almost two weeks apart.
Even though the first six years of their relationship was spent mostly apart, they hadn't been apart since he officially moved to San Franciso almost two years ago, so they got out of that habit from being separated, not that they were completely immune from it, they still missed one another when they were going through it on a regular basis.
Eventually they pull back and smile at one another again.
"Hi." He says.
She says it back. "Hi."
Then they kiss softly before he took his family over to the group, so Sara could officially meet everyone.
A few hours went by and they could tell it was time to take Catherine back to the room, so Warrick offered to take her back, and once she thanked everyone for coming, she said goodbye to her daughter and mom before she was wheeled out, then not too long after Catherine had left the room, everyone else started to leave as well, and since Lindsey and Belle bonded pretty well the last few hours the girls asked Sara and Grissom if they could spend the night together.
Grissom looked at Sara, and she gave him a nod and smile. "If it's ok with you."
Grissom turned his attention back to the girls and asked. "Did you ask Catherine's mom if it was ok?"
They both nodded before Lindsey spoke with a smile. "Grandma said it was ok, if it's ok with you guys."
"Ok, go have fun."
Belle smiled as she hugged her father. "Thank you, daddy."
"You're welcome, butterfly. I'll see you in the morning, I love you."
"I love you too."
When they pulled back, Belle said goodbye to her mother and grandmother then followed Lindsey to her grandmother, and after waves and good evenings/goodnights were exchanged, Catherine's mom and the girls left.
Once the food was taken care of with the kitchen staff, which they had donated what was left to any families who were there and needed meals, the Grissom family left and headed for the hotel.
After they got there, and out of the elevator, the three of them walked to his hotel room first and he opened the door for Sara before they continued down the hall so they could get to Betty's room a few doors down.
She opened the door and they walked into the room, then Grissom started to sign. 'If you need anything...'
Betty cuts her son off with a smile. 'Sweetheart, I've been taking care of myself long before you came along. I know what to do.'
He nodded with a sigh. 'I know.'
Betty moved closer to her son and asked with worry on her face. 'Are you ok?'
'I'm fine mom, just with what happened to Catherine, it's causing me to think about things, which honestly the things I've been thinking about was brought up before I left to come here.'
Betty seemed to understand exactly what he was talking about because next thing he knew, she was pulling something out of her purse and was handing it to him.
He looked at the ring box in shock. 'Is this...'
He trails off as he took it from his mother while she nodded before signing. 'Yes.' He opens the ring box to see a ring that's been in the family since his grandpa proposed to his grandma with it, and for it being an older ring it didn't look 'outdated', he could see Sara loving and wearing this ring, which made his heart race a little at the thought.
When he looked at his mother a moment later, she had a smirk look on her face. 'Now this time you can propose to someone with more than an excuse than she likes bugs.'
He smiled shyly as she brought up an incident that happened when he was very young. He had taken this very nice ring to school and gave it to a little girl because she liked bugs, but when his mother had found out what had happened to the ring, she wanted him to get it back, which when he did, the little girl never spoke to him again.
He then smiled proudly. 'Well, should I tell you Sara also likes my bugs?'
'But she loves so much more than just your bugs, you picked a good woman.'
He shook his head with another smile. 'Actually, mom, she picked me.' While Betty knew they met at a bar, she didn't know the exact story on that. He then looked at the ring one more time before closing the case and looking at her again. 'And are you sure?'
'Yes. it's always been my dream to give you this ring in the right circumstance, when I knew you would be really ready for it.'
He nodded in understanding before bringing his mother into his arms.
After they pulled back, they signed 'I love you' to one another, wished the other goodnight before he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
He walked the short distance to his room with the ring case still in his hand, then he slid the keycard in the slot and opened the door, saying her name as he walked in the room.
"Sara?"
With the bed not being in view right away, he hears Sara's voice first. "Yeah, on the bed."
He shuts the door and walks further into the room, now seeing Sara sitting at the end of the bed in nothing but a shirt of his with a smile on her face.
He smiled in return while he secretly slid the ring case in his pants pocket. "Hi."
She chuckled as she stood up. "Is that all you have to say to me?"
He shook his head as he cupped her cheek with a sigh. "No, there is so much more I want to say to you, especially I love you and I've missed you."
She nodded with tears in her eyes. "I've missed you too. I know this was not the first time we've been apart, and I probably should have been use to it by now, but this time was harder than the others because of the reason we were apart."
He nodded in agreement. "She really could have died." She nodded while he continued. "And as much as I wanted to be here for her, a large part of me wanted to stay with you, hold you and never let go, knowing how precious our life together is." Now both feeling emotional, he ran his thumb up and down her cheek. "Because it is you know, I cherish..."
She cuts him off while placing finger to his lips. "Let's not speak anymore right now." She then moved her finger down to his shirt buttons and undid them while their eyes remained on one another.
Once his shirt was off, the rest of his clothes, except his boxers, followed and before they knew it they were kissing passionately as they headed for the bed.
Eventually they did make it under the covers with nothing on, but before they continued even further, there was a pause as they looked into each other's eyes to see if they were still on the same page, and with a smile and that special look in their eyes, they knew they were, they wanted more than anything to expand their family.
Sometime later
Afterwards, as their heartbeats and themselves were calming down, she was laying on her front while he was laying on his side, running his thumb up and down her bare back, she then asked while he looked like he was thinking about something important. "Babe, you ok?"
He looked at her with love in his eyes. "I'm ok, everything is the way it should be, and I believe we have a bright future ahead of us."
Loving his optimism, she smiled. "You really believe so?"
He nodded with a smile. "Very much, because as long as I have you and our daughter, I know life is going to be pretty amazing."
She smiled as she reached for his hand so she could bring it to her lips and kiss it. "Yeah, it will be." She then took a breath and moved a little so she could place her hand on her stomach. "And I hope we get a new little one to love as well."
He nodded as he moved in bed so he could hold her. "Me too, but in the meantime, let's just take that one step at a time."
"I know. I love you."
"I love you too, honey."
They kiss softly and just laid there, enjoying each other's presences while thinking about the future ahead of them.
AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. Hope you all had a safe and wonderful weekend, until next time, GSR4ever!
