Everything we wanted, was everything we had
"You know Heather Kessler, Betty?" Jim asked, having heard Betty whisper Heather's name when Hodges confirmed the initials. Betty turned to Sara and flashed out a message, her daughter-in-law nodding as she translated.
"Betty volunteers at the Deaf School, Heather's been bringing her granddaughter in for classes after Allison was rendered deaf in the same automobile accident that killed her grandfather, Jerome Kessler. Betty and Heather grew friendly, and I sometimes joined them for coffee on my off days." As Sara spoke, she quickly composed a text, alerting the rest of the investigators and lab technicians that there were pastries and coffee available near the marquee.
Sara poured herself a coffee from one of the urn's and sipped at it while raising her eyebrow at the Sheriff, who'd walked over from the command tent, and was now standing next to Betty and close enough for William to make grabby hands at the Danish the man held in his hand. "Um, Conrad…"
"Whoa there, little fella!" Just as Sara was about to warn Conrad that William was about to lunge for the pastry, the Sheriff found himself with an armful of chortling baby, his hands automatically shifting up to secure the boy against his side. "I didn't know we'd started recruiting them this young, he's changed a bit since I last saw him."
"You knew about Sara's kid?" Greg asked, leaning over to snag another pastry and a cup of coffee, watching the Sheriff giving the side of his nose a tap and offering a knowing nod, "ah, of course you did. Sara's mom provided the breakfast…thanks mom." Greg waved his pastry in thanks, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as Betty turned confused eyes towards her daughter-in-law, while Conrad chuckled and shook his head at Greg's lack of understanding.
-Greg thinks your my 'mom', mom, and said 'thanks for the breakfast, mom'- Sara signed quickly, and Betty nodded, having heard tales of how the staff of Days looked up to Sara as their leader, and would naturally see Betty as an extension of that. Turning to Greg, Sara filled in the gaps in his knowledge. "Betty's my mother-in-law, not my birth mom; my mom's in a facility out in California and isn't really part of our lives…"
"Uh, Sara…is William allowed?" Conrad was trying to prise the pastry out of William's fingers but wasn't having much luck.
"Sure, he'll just gum it to death, you can set him down Conrad, he's not going anywhere," Sara replied, chuckling when Conrad just shifted William to his hip and picked up another pastry.
"I think I'll keep hold of him for now…a little security when I tell you what I've just learnt," Conrad bit into the pastry and swallowed before looking over at Sara and Betty. "I just from an old friend in San Diego that Grissom was picked up late last night by harbour patrol…"
"San Diego? Let me guess, Nick Stokes?" Sara glanced over at Betty, who nodded in confirmation, splaying her hands out wide as she shrugged.
"Yeah, Nick was on the horn as soon as he heard about the explosion; he was on his way over to the airport with a few of his team, when he got a call from harbour patrol saying that they'd picked someone up for trespassing on a fishing vessel. Apparently, Grissom now works for an ocean rescue group and was tracking poachers who were bringing in shark fins…minus the sharks," Conrad had now finished his pastry, much to William's displeasure, and was now searching around for something to wipe down their sticky fingers. Sara reached into the back of her Denali and pulled out some wet wipes, passing them over to the Sheriff who swiftly cleaned William up with the dexterity of someone experienced with childcare. "You guys really didn't know that Grissom was back in the country? What about alimony payments? Don't they show where they're coming from?"
"We agreed to no alimony…Gil signed over the townhouse and I sold that when we moved," Sara confirmed, exchanging another sad glance with Betty before looking over at Conrad, "neither of us have heard from Gil in nearly a year; he had the divorce papers sent by courier, with instructions to return them direct to his lawyer; no return address…"
"Well, you'll need to prepare yourself…"," Conrad said softly, glancing over Sara's shoulder to see two familiar figures heading toward them, running his hand over William's curly hair before handing the happy infant back to his grandmother, "he insisted on coming over to help and I couldn't very well turn him away."
"We're all adults, Conrad, I'm sure we can manage civility until this all blows over," Sara replied in an even tone, sucking in a breath when she smelt a familiar combination of lemongrass shower gel and hair gel coming from behind her.
"I hope that after all these years we can manage slightly more than a little civility," Grissom's smooth baritone had Sara turning slowly around, "hello, Sara."
"Hello, Gil…" Sara quirked an eyebrow expressively at the sight of the rugged beard, blue windbreaker and peaked cap, "or is it Capt. Ahab now?"
"Well, my boat is called 'Ishmael'," Grissom replied with a slight grin, "it's good to see you again, Sara…I just wish it were under better circumstances." Betty came out of the marquee holding William in her arms, and Grissom sucked in a breath at the sight of his mother looking down at a young child, and talking! As far as he could remember, Betty had preferred signing over using her voice, and yet here she was talking to an infant. "Mother?"
-Mom, Gil's here…Let me take William and I'll let the two of you catch up- Sara tapped Betty on the arm to catch her attention, and Grissom couldn't help but see the caring look the two women shared as they both looked down at the child, before Betty carefully transferred him over to Sara's gentle hold, and Sara heading in the direction of the mobile labs. Grissom was so intently gazing at his former wife's interaction with the infant that he missed his mother walking over to him, and blinked rapidly when Betty finally gave him a firm pinch on his arm.
"Ouch! Okay, I'm paying attention…Hello, mother," Grissom spoke and signed in unison, his signing faltering a little as it had been some time since he'd last used the knowledge. "You're using your voice again?"
"Sometimes," Betty replied slowly, "it's difficult to know whether I'm speaking too loud or too quickly, but it's important to Sara, so I try…"
"We drove past the house on our way over but there must be something happening in the street as we couldn't get close," Grissom held up his hand when Betty's fingers started moving at a rapid pace, "a little slower, please mom, I'm a bit out of practice."
-Another bomb was sent to the townhouse-
"Mom?" Grissom started to shake a little at the news that his Sara had been that close to danger, but calmed a little when Betty shook her head, and signed an emphatic – NO
-Sara sold the house last year, we live near Summerlin now, more room better for all-
"Sara sold our old place? Wait, you said 'we'? You live with Sara? All these years I've been asked you to move out nearer to me, and the moment I leave town you move out here? What's going on, mom?"
-Couldn't let another Grissom abandon Sara, met her in California, visit to mother didn't go well, came back with her and look after her and William-
"Will Am? Sorry, mom, you're going to have to fingerspell that for me…"
- –
"Sara had a baby? With the man she was meeting for her birthday dinner?" Grissom felt his heart breaking at the fact that it was well and truly over for him and Sara if she'd loved another man enough to bear his child.
-Man, what man? The only night out that Sara's had was a meal out with me the night she went into labour with William. She never cancelled the booking that she'd made for the three of us-
"What?" Grissom was truly shocked, he'd been sent a series of photographs showing Sara sitting down sharing a meal with another man, and exchanging a kiss across the table. "Mom, did you have chocolate cake for dessert?"
-It was a cupcake with a single candle, Sara hadn't been feeling well that day so I called ahead and cancelled the original cake that I'd ordered, the restaurant used the cake for another dinner taking place over the other side-
"I've been such an idiot…"
-You divorced Sara, of course you're an idiot- Betty replied bluntly, -what's going on, son? -
"Someone emailed me photographs of Sara having dinner with another man, kissing him across the table while they shared a chocolate birthday cake; we'd been having some communication issues and that was the straw that broke the camel's back, rather than coming back to Vegas as I'd planned, I sent the divorce papers through and signed on with the ocean protection league as soon as I'd finished the dig in Peru…Mom, what have I done? Mom?"
Rather than telling her son exactly what she thought of his inexcusable behaviour, Betty simply dug a hand into her purse and pulled out a small photo album, shoving it against Grissom's chest and tapping it hard before making a universal gesture with her fingers that had Grissom blinking in amazement before she stomped away in the direction of the mobile lab and Sara. Grissom watched his mother storming off before turning his gaze to the small album, flipping open the front cover and turning the pages slowly. Smiling sadly as the pictures first showed a beaming Sara cradling her growing bump, then a tiny infant proudly cradled in Betty's arms, and then a series of pictures taken over a period of time where Grissom could see the changes in the child, the tiny cleft appearing in the centre of a chin, wispy hair developing into blond curls and then the startling blue eyes that were a perfect match to the ones he saw in the mirror every day. "I have a son…our son…" Grissom whispered, those same blue eyes clouding over as he felt tears forming and running down his cheeks. "God, I'm such a fool…how will she ever forgive me…"
