A/N: I am SO excited! My first crossover fic! Okay, in this story universe, Sara and Gil are married, have 4yr old triplets, and run a body farm in Sedillo (45 minutes outside Albuquerque). Story is set after S4 of IPS, so baby Norah is here, Brandi did run out on her wedding, but Peter went after her (will be explained in this chapter). I binge watched IPS before starting to write this one - and for those of you who have never watched the show - check it out! It's streaming free on FreeVee TV.
"The hand that rocks the cradle usually is attached
To someone who isn't getting enough sleep."
-John Fiebig
"A mother understands what a child
Does not say."
-Jewish Proverb
PRESENT DAY (February 1, 2012)
Sedillo, New Mexico
"Mrs. Grissom?"
Sara turned to see the triplet's preschool teacher, Ms. Tyler, waving and approaching as she locked the minivan.
"Is something wrong? Did one of my kids fall or-"
"No, no, no, nothing like that! I just wanted to catch you alone before the mod squad caught sight of you-"
Sara's shoulders relaxed and she smiled. 'Mod squad' was the latest in a long line of nicknames for her brood – and actually, one of the kinder terms, if she was being honest. In private moments with Gil, she still referred to them as 'triple terrors' – a nickname she had coined when they were two years old – and it still fit. Her twin daughters, Eden and Emma, and their brother, Ethan, could be quite the destructive force of nature and she had been bracing herself for this conversation for months, ever since the trips had started preschool back in September.
She sighed. "Do we need to set up a parent-teacher conference? I realize that they are quite a handful, especially the girls, but I was hoping that given the time to settle in-"
Ms. Tyler held up a hand. "The three of them have actually settled in quite nicely – oh yes, the girls are a bit – energetic, but no more so than others their age."
Sara's right eyebrow rose. "Really?"
Ms. Tyler nodded. "My concern is with Ethan – I wanted to know if you have had his hearing tested lately?"
"Not since his three year old check-up last year – why?"
"I've noticed lately that Ethan seems to be ignoring instructions – that he doesn't seem to hear me or other children unless they are directly in front of him. He seems to respond when I call his name or talk to him on his left side – but if I'm on his right-"
Ms. Tyler was still talking but after 'he doesn't seem to hear me' – the words had become white noise in Sara's ears. Ethan was showing early signs of hearing loss. Why hadn't they picked up on it? Was she so excited to be back at work that she'd stopped paying attention to her babies? Her boy was suffering in silence and she had no idea. . ..
"Mrs. Grissom? Are you all right?"
Sara snapped back to focus on Ms. Tyler, who had stopped talking about Ethan and was now staring at her in concern.
"Thank you for telling me – I'll make an appointment with his pediatrician right away."
"It could be something as simple as fluid in his ears – I'm not a doctor, but I wanted to let you know what I've observed-"
"Thank you."
Fluid in his ears. Not likely with Gil's family history of osteosclerosis and hearing loss. If Ethan is going deaf-
"MOMMY!"
Sara braced herself as three small bodies attacked her, and she nodded at Ms. Tyler who walked away to rejoin the preschool class. She squatted and all three of her children tried to hug her at the same time. Laughter bubbled out of her as she listened to the girls' chatter, watching as Ethan pulled back and stared into her dark eyes.
"What's wrong, mommy?" he asked, his question silencing his sisters' jabbering. "Are you sad?"
Sara stood back up, reaching for their hands. Ethan claimed one, Edie and Emma grabbed each other's hand before Emma took her mother's other hand. The family started walking toward their van.
"I'm always sad when we're not together-"
Emma giggled. "You always say that!"
Sara squeezed her hand. "That's because it's true! You were home with me for the first three years of your life – and now we're apart during the day-"
"I would stay home with you, Mommy," Ethan said quietly.
Sara stopped walking and looked down at him, taking note of the fact that she was talking into his left ear. Would it make a difference if he was on the other side of me? Would he not be able to hear me if he was walking on-
"Mom? Can we?" Edie repeated.
Sara was startled out of her thoughts. "Can we what?"
"Stop at the farm on the way home and see Dad?"
She shook her head. "It's going to be dark soon – Dad might beat us home as it is-"
"We're late because you talked to Ms. Tyler-" Edie pouted.
"Yeah – how come? Are we in trouble?" Emma chimed in.
"No, no one's in trouble. She just wanted to talk to me about something. Let's see if we can beat Dad home."
Albuquerque, New Mexico
"Marshall, this was absolutely delicious!" Jinx gushed as she sopped up the last bit of Bolognese sauce with her garlic bread. "I can't believe that Abigail hasn't put a ring on you yet!"
"Mom!" Mary exclaimed, rolling her eyes in disgust as she fed Norah another spoonful of pureed peaches.
"What?" Jinx shrugged as Marshall laughed. "A man who can cook like this. If I was a few years younger, I'd-"
"Ugh, mom, please don't finish that sentence," Mary gagged as she stood and moved to the sink to rinse out the jar and set the spoon to soak in warm water. "I'd really like to keep down my dinner."
"I'm glad you enjoyed the meal, Jinx."
"Enjoyed it? I don't remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal! And spaghetti Bolognese with salad and garlic bread- you're spoiling us, Marshall."
He grinned. "Well, I've still got to eat – and with Abigail out of town visiting her family, I thought I'd whip something up for all of us."
"Whip something up-" Mary muttered under her breath.
Marshall ignored her. "I just dumped everything in the slow cooker when I left for work this morning and when I came home – voila, Bolognese sauce." He sipped his wine before continuing. "Did you know that in Italy, this dish isn't eaten with spaghetti?"
"God, here we go," Mary slammed her head against a cabinet door.
"Why not?" Jinx asked.
"Don't encourage him!" Mary cried but Marshall continued.
"The Italians use a thicker pasta like tagliatelle because the meat sauce tends to fall off a thin pasta, like spagh-mmph-" he choked as Mary stuffed a piece of garlic bread in his open mouth.
"Shut your hole," she begged, but her tone was less acerbic than usual and his eyes twinkled at her over the bread sticking out of his mouth.
"Mary! Don't be rude- he was just answering my question," Jinx exclaimed.
"Believe me, there would have been no end to-"
The doorbell chimed, which set off Norah, and Mary groaned.
"Who the hell could that be?"
"Mary, language. Norah could-"
"Fuck, mom, she's not talking yet-"
Jinx pursed her lips together and said nothing more as she scooped up her granddaughter. "I'll go clean her up – you see who's at the door. Don't shoot them."
Marshall bit back a smile and took another sip of wine, stretching out his legs under the table, as she stomped over to the front door and yanked it open.
"Surprise!" Peter and Brandi cried, her sister waiting two seconds before throwing herself into Mary's arms.
"We weren't expecting you for another couple of days-" Mary managed to wheeze the words out as Brandi squeezed her tighter. Behind her, she heard Marshall's footsteps, and then she felt his hand on her lower back.
"Well, well, the prodigals have returned – Brandi, release your sister – she's turning an interesting shade of purple-"
"Oh!"
Brandi let go so quickly that Mary stumbled back, catching herself in Marshall's steadying arm. She glared up at him and moved away, not wanting him or her sister to see what being so close to him did to her.
"So, where's my niece?"
Jinx reappeared from the nursery, without Norah. "I thought I heard - Brandi!"
"Here we go-" Mary muttered as she stepped further back just as Jinx rushed forward to wrap her baby in her arms. The two Shannon women were crying, laughing, and talking over each other, but it didn't seem to matter. Once both women's emotions had reduced to sniffles, Peter led them over to the couch and they continued their tearful reunion.
Five months ago, Brandi had run out on her wedding – but when Mary had broken the news to Peter, he had set off in hot pursuit, catching up with her at the airport. He'd told her that they didn't have to get married, that they could have any kind of life together she wanted, but he wasn't going to let her go. The two lovebirds had set off on a road trip across the country, spending a couple months in Florida with their half-siblings Lauren and Scott, and then Brandi had taken Peter up to New Jersey to see where she'd grown up. They'd sent text messages and postcards to Jinx and Mary, letting them know what was going on, where they were, and that they were happy. A week ago they'd sent a text saying they were on their way back to Albuquerque – but they must have been eager to get home because here they were, two days ahead of schedule.
Mary heard Norah fussing and she made eye contact with Marshall, who nodded at her. She wasn't surprised when he followed her from the living room and into Norah's nursery, a room that had once been Jinx's bedroom, and mostly recently a junk room. Norah stopped fussing as soon as Mary bent over the crib and picked her up. She turned to see Marshall lounging in the open doorway.
"You've gotten good at that – you don't hold her like a football anymore."
Mary snorted as she moved to the rocker and sat down. "You know I never wanted this – never wanted her, Marshall."
"I remember – you said your job was to protect and relocate." He shut the door so their conversation wouldn't be overheard. "But somewhere along the way, she changed your mind, didn't she?"
"She was so tiny when she was born – tiny and helpless – and that was my fault – what was I doing – eight months pregnant – running around – shooting people- getting shot at-"
"Hey," he interrupted her, coming to squat beside the rocking chair. "You protected her with every fiber of your being while she was inside you – and look at her now – healthy and strong – just like her mama. I know you kept her because – you felt like no one could protect her like you could – and that's probably true. But - it's okay to love her too, Mer."
Mary lifted a hand and traced Norah's eyebrow, her ear, her nose. Her daughter had fallen asleep in her arms, no longer fussy now that was back in her mama's arms.
"I do love you," she whispered softly.
Marshall pressed a kiss to Mary's forehead and then kissed Norah's nose before standing up straight. "I should be heading for home-"
She frowned. "Do you – I mean, you're going to leave me here alone with them?" she nodded her head in the direction of the living room.
"You're going to have to face them sometime, Sunshine. I'll let them know that Norah's asleep – that should buy you a bit of alone time."
"And allow them to eat up all the leftovers."
"I already put a casserole dish in the freezer – all you have to do is put it in the oven and heat it up whenever you want it."
"Can I hire you to be my personal chef?"
He grinned. "I already have a job-"
"Don't gloat – I can't wait to get back to work."
"One more week and you'll be back at it-"
There was a crash from the living room, followed by shushing sounds and smothered laughter. Mary gritted her teeth.
"And not a moment too soon."
"Sara? You awake?"
There was silence on her side of the bed, but Gil knew his wife wasn't sleeping. Years of sharing a bed with the love of his life and he knew when she was asleep and merely resting – and when she was restless. He studied the rise and fall of her shoulders in the dim light of their bedroom, trying to ascertain if she was also crying.
"Honey?" he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
The shoulder shook under his touch, and he pulled her towards him, even as she rolled over and buried her face in his chest, gasping into the bare skin. It wasn't long after they started sleeping together that they began sharing a pair of his pajamas at night – she wore the top and he wore the bottoms. Even after the triplets made their appearance, the two of them continued to share pajamas as his shirts were long on her and hid her body whenever one or more of their kids decided to join them in bed.
"What is it?" he whispered against the top of her head, his heart breaking as he felt her tears hit his skin. "Is it Ethan-?"
She shook harder against him. "I failed him-"
"What are you talking about?"
"I didn't see the signs! What kind of mother doesn't notice her own son is going deaf? I was so wrapped up finally getting back to work with you that-"
He pushed her away so that their eyes locked. "Stop it, Sara – right now! We don't know that anything's wrong-"
She sniffled. "You conducted your own experiments after dinner tonight – I saw you with him – I saw-" she stopped and stared at him, waiting for him to deny it.
His shoulders slumped. "Okay, okay. I was waiting to talk to you about this in the morning, but I can see that you're too upset to wait. Yes, I did some simple experiments with Ethan tonight. There does seem to be some loss on his right side – but I'm not a medical doctor, Sara. We need to get him in to see his doctor right away – and if there is some hearing loss – well, we have to remember that the medical field has made more discoveries and advancements in the years since I had my surgery. It's going to be all right, Sara."
She sank back to his chest, wrapping herself around him. "I hope so – I just feel so guilty for not seeing the signs myself."
He stroked his hands up and down her back, feeling her relax into his body. "The important thing is that we know now – and we'll get him all the help he needs."
Sara surged up and fused their mouths together, winding her fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair. "I love you," she panted against his cheek, her fingers toying with the waistband of his pajama pants. "Are you sleepy?"
He knocked her hands aside and slid his own long fingers up under the silk shirt, caressing her skin.
"Not particularly."
Grace's eyes opened and for a moment she stared at the ceiling, wondering what it was that had awakened her in the middle of the night. Her eyes were just about to close again when she heard the fussy sounds coming from the corner and she pushed back her comforter, her feet hitting the cold hardwood floor, to cross the room to bend over and pick up Bowen.
"Now what's – oh."
Bowen was an incredibly good sleeper – hardly ever waking up at night unless, like now, he had soaked through his diaper and his onesie got wet. His eyes were screwed shut in unhappiness but even so, he hardly made a sound. Grace could count on one hand the number of times he had cried loud enough to disturb her neighbors and for this she was grateful. Living in an apartment building, she had been quite concerned about her baby waking her neighbors at all hours of the day and night, having noise complaints filed against her, and having to find another place to live. Her apartment was perfectly situated between the campus of UNM and her part time job at Albuquerque Savings and Loan – it would have been a great hardship to move. Bowen had been her good luck charm in so many ways – for the first time in her young life, things were looking up – and had been looking up – ever since his arrival eight months ago.
"Yes, my good luck charm. My Bo-Bo," she crooned softly as she snapped the fresh onesie closed and picked up her son, cuddling him close. "You are the best thing in my life, the one thing I got right."
She jumped as the phone on her nightstand vibrated with an incoming call. She shifted Bowen to her hip and picked up the phone, frowning when she saw it was Bowen's sitter, Lisbeth.
"Hello, Lisbeth. Is something wrong? It's late for you to call-"
"Oh Grace, I'm so sorry-"there was some shuffling noise on the line. "I've been up all night with a fever – throwing up –" more background noise. "I don't know if I ate something or if it's the flu but I don't want to get Bowen sick-"
Understanding dawned on Grace. "You can't watch him today."
"I'm so sorry! I know you have that field trip-" there was a gagging sound. "I have to go-"
The line went dead as the call dropped and Grace hung up her phone.
She looked down into her son's face and he looked up at her with dark, soulful eyes. What was she going to do? She could ask her neighbor, Mrs. Silverback, but the woman volunteered at several places in the community and might not be available on such short notice.
She could call Mary.
Grace's finger hovered over speed dial number three, but she hesitated as she remembered that Mary was still on maternity leave and would be busy with her own baby. Could she really call and ask her to watch two babies while she went on a day trip for school?
Grace shook her head and smiled at Bowen. "How would you like to come with me on a little trip tomorrow? It will be educational – your first school field trip."
Bowen was such a good, easy-going baby. He wouldn't be any bother or make trouble on the bus or distract her during the tour. Surely her teacher and fellow students wouldn't mind if she brought him along. For just a few moments, she thought about calling and asking if it was all right that she bring Bowen, but then she decided not to. She would keep it a surprise. If she simply showed up with him and explained the situation, she wouldn't be turned away.
After all, what was that saying Mary had taught her? Oh yes, it is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
A/N: We're just getting started, folks! Three mothers, lots of kids! Next is Grace's backstory. Drop me a line in reviews!