AN: Here is the next chapter, hope you are all still interested.

Chapter 30: Visiting Mrs. Grissom

Thursday, August 16

Grissom closes the trunk of the car then heads to the passenger side and opens the back door to ask the girls. "We are about ready to go, do you need anything? Do you need to use the bathroom because it will be a couple of hours before we stop anywhere."

They were starting to go on their driving trip to Santa Moncia, where they will be staying tonight and all-day Friday since it would be his birthday, before heading to Vegas on Saturday morning and staying there until Sunday afternoon then they'll drive back to San Francisco with as little stopping as possible to make it to work on Monday.

The girls had various things to keep them entertained for the drive, plus since they were leaving later in the evening, they might even fall asleep for most of it.

The girls shook their heads with smiles.

"No, daddy, I'm good."

"No Uncle Grissom, I'm good too."

Grissom smiled with a nod, and as he closed the door, he hears his wife's voice as she was walking towards the car. "Are you ready, babe?"

He nodded with another smile while he opened the passenger door. "Yes, dear."

One of the reasons they were leaving in the evening, besides the lack of traffic they will encounter, was because they were leaving right after Sara had finished shift.

It was decided that Nick would take over for Friday and Saturday's shift, which after Saturday's shift he would be getting on a plane with Ashley, Quinn and her plus one date for the wedding. Then for Sunday's shift, Latoya, who does have a little supervisor experience will take over, and they had asked Lizzie, who unlike Luke, didn't leave San Francisco to work in LA with Sam and is now on nightshift, to come assist her.

Sara was very appreciative for the group of people she worked with to allow her to do this because she didn't want to miss this trip, and she would have missed it if they weren't willing to help her out.

They smiled at one another as she got to the car door, both of them happy that she was able to come because it wouldn't have been the same if she hadn't, then after a quick peck on the lips, she slid in the passenger seat so he could close the door and walk to the driver's side, and once he was in and had closed the door, he started the vehicle and pulled out if the driveway so he could head to their first destination, and throughout the drive, Sara's hand would periodically rest on her husband's thigh or his shoulder, in his hair in the back and even a few times he would take one hand off the steering wheel and slip his hand into hers, both loving the contact of each other's hand.

By the time Grissom reached their final destination, which was the beach house in Santa Monica, all of them, which he wasn't surprised by, were sleeping, so he slowly woke up his wife, and when she was aware of her soundings, he spoke with a smile. "We are here honey, why don't you go inside and crawl into bed."

She nodded, but then asked. "The girls..."

He cuts her off. "It's ok, I'll carry them inside."

She nodded one more time before getting out of the vehicle so she could open the door and turn the alarm off in the house.

After Grissom had gotten the girls into one of the bedrooms, he grabbed their bags and placed them in the living room so he could shut/lock the door and set the alarm before heading upstairs to go get ready/go to sleep.

Once he was ready, he walked out of the bathroom, but before he turned off the light from that room, he stopped in his tacks as the light hit Sara, more specifically at her stomach, the blankets were covering just below it and her shirt was riding up a little so Grissom could see the slight roundness to her three month pregnant stomach, causing his heart to skip a beat.

He somehow still couldn't believe that he was going to be a father again, that he was even a father in the first place, that this was his life, that he was married to the most beautiful, smartest woman in the universe. He may have only been in his thirties when he first met her, but he knew he was already going down a lonely path, so she saved him more than she knew, more than he can really put into words.

Grissom took a silent sigh of content as he finally shut the light off before heading towards the bed, where he slowly slipped under the covers, then he brought the covers that was supposed to cover Sara and moved them up to her chest before he laid down on his side and slid his hand under the covers so he could place it on her stomach with a smile on his face, which the smile only grew when Sara moved in her sleep towards him so her back was against his chest, but he never removed his hand from her stomach.

He then kissed her temple and whispered. "Sweet dreams honey, and I'll never stop thanking you for saving me, I love you so much."

After one more kiss to her temple he closed his eyes with one more sigh before finally falling asleep.

August 17

Even before Grissom became fully aware of his surroundings, he knew he was in bed alone, so opening his eyes a few moments later only confirmed it for him, but he wasn't alone in the room very long.

After a few minutes of just lying there, waking himself up, he was thinking about getting up, but that thought went away when the bedroom door opened, and he saw Sara step into the room carrying a tray that had a plate of breakfast and his juice on it.

He smiled as he sat up in bed. "Now what is this?"

Usually, it was him making her a breakfast in bed tray.

Sara smiled wide while she walked to his side of the bed. "Your daughter wanted to make something special for her father on his special day."

He raised an eyebrow while she placed the tray over his lap. "Wonder what special day that is."

Sara smiled lovingly while cupping his clean-shaven cheek. "Babe, I know you're never big on celebrating your birthday, but your daughter is, I certainly am, and you know very well that your mother is, so just deal with the attention today."

Instead of scrawling, because of what the day meant, he gave her one of those smiles that lit up his eyes while he moved his left hand and slipped it under her shirt to feel her stomach. "Oh, you know I'm going to enjoy the day to the fullest."

She immediately shook her head with a smile. "Why do I have a feeling you are saying that for another reason."

He smirked. "Because you know me so well."

Yes, today is Gilbert Grissom's birthday, and yes it should be a special day, but there are reasons he doesn't like to acknowledge them year after year, especially as he gets older. But this time on his birthday is different, they are finally telling his mom she's going to be a grandma again, and he was definitely chomping at the bit to tell her because then it's just one more step closer for the whole world to know.

Sara couldn't help but smile at him as she slipped her hand under her shirt so she could put her hand on top of his. "I know how much you want your mother to know about this little one."

"And not just her, the whole world."

She chuckled. "Well, let's just take this one step at a time."

He took a breath with a nod. "Right, sorry."

She shook her head as she cupped his cheek with her free hand. "Hey, you have nothing to apologize for how you feel. I should be the luckiest woman in the world to have a man this excited about sharing news that he's going to be a father again, and you know I'm excited about this too, right? I'm just..."

He cuts her off with a loving look. "I know honey. I still get that your apprehensive, and I also respect your feelings on that, so if you want to wait to tell..."

She cuts him off while shaking her head. "No, I will not begrudge you on telling your mom. Besides I want her to know before anyone else since I probably got a few more weeks before I have to start changing my wardrobe, which that will get everyone talking, so it's best to do it while we are here now, plus I want to see her face when we tell her and not over the phone."

He was getting excited again, but he did ask. "You sure?"

"Yes, this was the original plan, and we are going to stick to it." She then smirked. "In fact, while the girls are with your mother later this afternoon why don't we go out and find a shirt or something to give her."

Since them having dinner was planned with his mother, Sara and Grissom were going to have a lunch date just the two of them later in the afternoon.

"It's my birthday and we are getting my mom a present?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Do you want a present too?"

He shook his head and spoke lovingly again while running his thumb up and down her stomach. "I don't need one, I already got it."

He could have been talking about the unborn child, or his family in general, or probably even both, and that's what she was going with, so she shook her head again with a shy smile this time while she leaned down so they could share a sweet kiss, and after they pulled back, she spoke softly. "Now eat up, your daughter put a lot of love into your food."

He nodded while finally removing his hand from her stomach, then he looked down at the omelet that his daughter had made and it was presented very nicely, like a professional chef, which he commented on that. "Our daughter is becoming quite the chef."

She smirked. "I wonder where she gets that from, certainly not me."

"Hey, you've gotten better in the kitchen."

"Maybe a little, but I'm no Gilbert Grissom with his fancy homemade dishes."

Grissom shyly replies as his wife was walking towards the bedroom door. "That's my mom's doing."

Sara stopped at the door and looked back at him with another smile. "And I'm so happy that it was, I do feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have you in my life. I love you, Happy Birthday, babe."

"I love you too and thank you."

After a nod, Sara finally turned and walked out of the room, leaving Grissom alone so he can enjoy his breakfast.

When Grissom was done eating, he got out of bed and took the tray that was holding, the now empty dishes, out of the room, down the hall then stairs before heading to the kitchen, seeing Lindsey sitting at the kitchen table while Sara and Belle were cleaning up, and Grissom smiled to his daughter. "Compliments to the chef."

Belle smiled and ran to her father while he placed the tray on the island. "Daddy!"

Grissom kneeled down so he could give his daughter a proper hug. "Hi butterfly."

As they were in the hug, she asked. "So, you really liked it?"

They pull back and he responded with a smile. "I did very much, thank you. You are becoming quite the cook."

She smiled that shy 'Sara' smile before replying with pride. "I learned from you."

Sara smirked while she grabbed the empty dishes from the tray so she could take them to the sink. "See, told you."

They chuckled before Belle spoke again. "And Happy Birthday daddy."

Grissom cups his daughter's cheek. "Thank you."

After one more hug, they pull back completely, and Lindsey spoke with a smile. "Yeah, Happy Birthday Uncle Grissom."

Grissom stood up and nodded with a smile towards the little girl. "Thank you, Linds."

Belle then gets his attention again. "Can we go down to the beach today?"

Grissom thought they were 'beached' out since they live on one at home, but he did ask. "Is that what you really want to do before you go to Grandma's?"

Both girls nodded, and Grissom responded. "Ok, then that's what we'll do."

When they walked back inside the house a few hours later they changed clothes, the girls grabbed their packed bags since they'll be spending the night at Mrs. Grissom's, so not only does she get to visit with her granddaughter but it will also give Sara and Grissom a chance to have the evening alone, then they all walked back out of the house, this time to the vehicle so they could head over to his childhood home to see his mom.

Just as Grissom pulled into the driveway to his mom's house, the front door opened and out came Betty with a smile on her face, and Grissom barely had time to stop the vehicle before Belle was opening the back door, getting out and running to her grandma. "Grandma!"

It may have been only a few months since they've seen one another, and despite being a distance between their houses, they were really close, and she definitely got her artistic side from her grandma.

By the time they pulled back, Grissom was coming closer to his mom with a smile on his face. 'Hi, mom.'

Belle stepped to the side so her grandma can greet her family, and she did with a smile on her face.

'Hi, baby.'

Mother and son hugged, then Betty cupped her son's cheek with happy tears in her eyes before removing her hand from his face.

'Happy Birthday!'

Grissom nodded with a smile. 'Thanks, mom.'

They embrace one more time before Betty greets Sara.

'Sara!'

Sara nodded with a smile as she signed in return. 'Hi mom.'

To Sara it still felt a little foreign to sign 'mom' to her, but every time she does, she loves it a little more.

After they finished greeting one another, Mrs. Grissom greeted Lindsey before they all went inside, where Sara and Grissom stayed for about two hours before Sara was the one that kind of ushed him along, so when they were at the vehicle, Grissom spoke with a raised eyebrow. "You are acting like we have a reservation to be somewhere."

Sara smiled with a nod. "We do, and I'm actually going to have to be the driver for this one."

Grissom pulls the vehicle keys out of his pocket and hands them to her, which she takes them, kisses his cheek before heading towards the driver's side while he got into the passenger side, wondering what his wife had planned for them.

When Sara pulled into the parking lot of one of the newest Italian restaurants, Grissom looked a little surprised at her. "Honey?"

She smiled as she replied. "I know how much you've wanted to try the food here since your mother 'mentioned' how good it was the last time you two 'talked', and I know how much you value her opinion, especially when it comes to food, so I made a reservation here a few weeks ago for our lunch date."

He smiled as he placed his hand on hers. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, babe. Now let's go eat."

"Yes, ma'am."

They get out of the vehicle then head to the entrance of the building and walked in, the Maître d' was right in front, so Sara smiled as she spoke. "Excuse me, there should be a reservation for 2 under the name 'Grissom'."

The mid-20's female looked in the reservation book before smiling at the couple while grabbing two menus. "Yes, right this way."

They both nodded before following the young woman to a table by the window, then once they sat down, she gave them their menus before telling them their waiter will be with them shortly, so they thanked her and she left, leaving them to look over the menu, and while they were, Grissom asked his wife. "So, any plans to visit Jo while we are here?"

Sara immediately shook her head. "Nope, I mean I did think about it. But it's your day, and we should do whatever you want, I..."

Grissom cuts her off with a smile as he placed his hand on hers. "Honey, we can go visit your friend. I don't mind."

She paused for a second before asking. "You sure? Because you know how the time just flies when we are together."

Grissom nodded with another smile. "Yes, I'm sure, and as long as we are at my mother's before dinner starts, we are good."

She really did want to see Jo, but like she said, this was her husband's day, and they were in his old stomping grounds so he might have wanted to go on a reminisce 'trip'.

"Ok, thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, I get it, you only get to see her on special occasions, but you see me every day." She was about to respond to that, but Grissom continued with a smirk this time, before she could. "Which I bet sometimes more than you want."

She chuckled slightly before responding. "Oh, that is so not true."

Grissom raises an eyebrow with that boyish look on his face. "You sure about that?"

She gives him a genuine smile as she slipped her fingers through his. "I value our time together, no matter where or how we are spending it."

Grissom smiles as he brings their hands up to his lips after he leans forward so he could kiss her hand, and just as they release each other's hand, their waiter came and took their drink and food orders before walking away, leaving them alone again and they just chitchatted while they waited for their food.

After they ate their meal, and the bill was on the table, Grissom was going to reach for it, but Sara was quicker. "I don't think so, babe. This is my treat to you."

Not that he had a problem with his wife paying the bill, him reaching for it was just habit because he mostly did, through her protests of course.

He nodded with a smile before he speaks. "Ok, dear. I'm going to head to the restroom, then we can go if you're ready."

She nodded in return with a smile while he stands up. "I'll be in the lobby."

After another nod, Grissom heads to the restroom while Sara gets up with the bill in her hand and headed for the register, and after she paid for their meal, she ordered desert for later, and while she was waiting, she heard a familiar guy's voice at the bar so she peaked around the corner and smiled when he was in view, along with another guy she recognized, surrounded by two more she didn't.

"To Luke, congratulations on becoming a supervisor for the swing shift."

As the men were sipping their drinks, Sara spoke as she walked towards the men. "I guess congratulations are in order, then."

Two of the men who knew Sara looked a little shocked that she was there before Sam sets his drink on the bar and walks up to her. "Sara!"

Sara smiled as they shared a hug. "Hi, Sam."

While they pulled back, he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"We are in town visiting Grissom's mom." While he nodded in understanding, Sara makes eye contact with Luke. "I do mean it, congratulations."

Luke gave her a small smile and nod. "Thanks Sara, I hope everything is ok in San Francisco."

Sara nodded with a smile. "It is, thanks for asking, although I do know you are missed around there."

After another short nod, he takes another sip of his drink while Sam smirked at Sara. "I can't believe you let him go."

Still looking at Luke, Sara replied. "It wasn't my decision." Luke looked away from her before Sara looked at Sam with a smile. "But I don't see why you would complain about that, San Francisco's loss is Los Angeles's gain."

While Sara hated how her and Luke's friendship/partnership had ended, she couldn't deny that the lab did lose a very good CSI, and it was Los Angeles's gain for sure.

"Very true."

A second later they hear Grissom's voice. "Honey?"

Sara turned to see her husband standing a few feet from them with a medium sized to-go box in his hand, and she nodded with a smile. "I'll be right there."

As Grissom nodded, Sam waved a hello at Grissom, which he waved back, before Sam looked at Sara again. "Say Hi to the munchkin for me, will you?"

"I will, it was nice seeing you."

"You too."

After they shared another hug, she looked over at Luke again. "It was nice seeing you again too, and please don't be a stranger."

Luke nodded and cleared his throat. "I'll try not to be, and Sara, be safe."

"You too, congratulations again, and good luck."

He nodded one more time before Sara turned and headed back towards her husband, then once she was near him, they walked out of the restaurant together, and when they were in the vehicle, but before she started it up, she took a deep calming breath, so he asked with concern. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I guess it just still stings a little on how Luke and I's friendship had ended, it felt like all those years just went down the drain in one moment." She then shook her head and started the vehicle. "But what's done is done, he made his choice, and today is about you, so..." She then looked at him with love in her eyes. "Are you sure you don't mind going over to Jo's?"

He shook his head, happy to see the sparkle back in her eyes. "No, I don't mind. Besides I think you need this visit more than ever right now." She gave him a grateful smile while shifting the vehicle into reverse, and while she was getting them out of the parking lot, he finally asked, holding up the to-go box. "So, do you mind telling me what you got?"

Sara smirked. "For me to know, and for you to find out later."

Grissom just shook his head with a smile, now there was more than one reason he couldn't wait for later.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review. Hope you are all having a wonderful/safe weekend. More to come, and until next time always remember, GSR4ever!