AN: Thanks for all the support, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 22: The Wedding Day
May 12, 2001
Sara was first woken up by a small hand shaking her shoulder, and when she was coming into a more conscious state, she heard her little girl's voice. "Mommy, wake up."
Sara blinked a few times then smiled when she saw her daughter standing in front of her on her side of the bed. "Morning, baby."
Belle smiled before speaking. "Morning, mommy. I made you breakfast."
Not surprised by the comment since Grissom had been teaching her more and more through the years, Sara smiled a little wider. "You did, huh?"
As Belle nodded, Sara heard Ashley's voice, who was standing at the end of the bed, so she was out of Sara's view for the moment. "She certainly did, but don't worry, your girls made sure she was safe."
Sara shook her head with a chuckle as she sat up. "I wasn't worried at all but thank you."
Belle knew what she can and can't do when she wasn't supervised in the kitchen so there was no worried bone in Sara's body.
Ashley smiled as she brought the tray to Sara's lap and sets it down, so Sara saw some scrambled eggs, vegetarian bacon, toast with strawberry jam and orange juice.
"You're welcome."
Belle watched her mom take her first bite of the eggs, then Sara smiled at her daughter. "It's very good, sweetheart. It tastes just like daddy's."
Belle smiled shyly, something both her parents would do for getting praised, before replying. "Thank you, mommy."
As Sara continued to eat, Ashley started speaking. "Now take your time, and don't worry about anything, we'll start setting up and the rest of our 'volunteers' should be here in an hour to help out."
Sara shook her head. "Ash, are you sure..."
Ashley cuts her friend off with a smile. "Hey, this is your day, we don't want you lifting a finger. You gave us your idea for your perfect wedding here, and that's exactly what you're going to get. The only thing you have to worry about is getting ready and marrying the guy. Now I'll see you in a bit." Ashley then looked at Belle. "Come on, sweetheart."
Belle and Sara shared a hug before Belle ran out of the room, then as Ashley was walking out, Sara stopped her. "Ashley." Ashley turned to look at Sara before she continued with a smile. "It's my wedding day."
Ashley nodded with a chuckle. "It certainly is, and we are going to make sure it is the best day of your life, no mishaps."
Sara just nodded with a smile before Ashley walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Sara took another bite of her food before she looked at the nightstand, seeing a picture of the man she loved staring back at her, then she smiled with a sigh, now she was down to hours until she became Mrs. Sara Grissom.
Because Grissom had been sleeping in the living room, he could smell breakfast being made, so that's what woke him up, and as he was getting up, he saw Catherine and Lindsey sitting at the dining room table eating breakfast.
Catherine smiled at him when she saw him sitting up. "Morning."
Grissom nodded with a smile in return while standing up. "Morning."
Just before he got to the dining room table, his mother walks out of the kitchen and smiles at him before setting the plate of food down on the table then signing. 'Here, eat.'
Grissom shook his head with a smile. 'Mom, I can make my own plate.'
'It's ok, just eat. Do you want coffee?'
'Yes, please, and thank you.'
Betty nodded with another smile before turning back towards the kitchen while Grissom sits down in the seat beside Catherine. He looked down at his plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon, his favorite breakfast growing up, causing him to lightly chuckle and shake his head, but instead of putting maple syrup on his pancakes, he used peanut butter.
Catherine watched him take his first bite before she spoke with a smirk. "I see you were an odd one."
Grissom smiled sadly. "This is how my dad used to eat pancakes."
She nodded in understanding, then after taking a sip of her coffee, she commented. "I see a lot of pictures of your dad still around the house, and I'm going to assume he died when you were very young."
She got that from not seeing his father in any of his graduation pictures, which his mom was in, or other family pictures past the age of at least 10 in her mind.
"I was nine, and losing my dad is something my mom still isn't over."
"They must have loved one another very much. I can now understand your 'forever' mentality on love."
He smiled. "What can I say, when us 'Grissoms' truly love someone, it is forever for us, and I can trace that back to my great-grandparents, which is surprisingly on both sides."
Catherine nodded with a smile while Betty Grissom walked back into the room and sets Grissom's coffee on the table before she sat down between her son and Lindsey with her own plate of food.
Not long after they were done eating there was a knock on the door, so Grissom went to answer it, seeing it was Nick and Warrick before he moved to the side to let them in the house.
Lindsey greeted them with excitement before Mrs. Grissom walked in the dining room from the kitchen with Catherine, and Grissom smiled at his mom as he signed. 'Mom, you remember Nick?'
She's seen Nick a few times when she visited her son and granddaughter while he was staying at the house.
Betty smiled with a nod as she signed towards Nick. 'Yes, nice to see you again.'
And while it wasn't as smooth as if someone had been signing for years or even their whole life, Nick did get his point across when he signed with a smile in return. 'Nice to see you again too.'
Betty liked the effort and gave him his 'props'. 'Well done.'
This time Grissom interpreted for him. "My mom said well done."
Then Nick 'thanked' her in sign language before looking at Grissom. "And thank you for teaching me some things."
"You're welcome." Then he introduced his mom to Warrick. 'And mom this is Warrick, he is a co-worker I had when I was in Vegas. He is also dating Catherine.'
Betty smiled and signed at Warrick. 'Nice to meet you.'
Now everyone, except Catherine, got surprised when Warrick signed in return. 'You too.'
When Grissom looked at Warrick in shock, not knowing that he had that talent, Warrick chuckled while seeing the look and what he might be thinking. "My signing is actually very limited." He sighed before he continued, telling him how he even knew how to sign. "One of our cases dealt with a deaf school, so I studied a little to communicate better."
Pride was evident on Grissom's face that his ex-colleague would take the little extra time to study sign language for a case, even if it was limited.
Warrick gave him a short nod and smile, happy that he made Grissom proud, even though he no longer worked with him.
When Grissom turned his attention back to his mom, his mom signed while Grissom interpreted again, asking the guys if they wanted coffee, to which they agreed to just one cup so they could get to the beach house and help set up.
Once they got their coffee and was sitting around while Mrs. Grissom was in the kitchen, Grissom asked. "So, anything I should be aware of about last night?"
Catherine seemed to be intent on his answer as well, so Warrick chuckled with a head shake. "No, we were on our best behaviors."
When both of them were looking at him with skepticism, Warrick spoke to Nick. "Come on, man. Tell them."
Nick nodded his head with a smile. "It's true, even that Trevor guy, it was like he didn't want to do anything stupid because it could possibly get back to Quinn. It was just the guys having a few more drinks and blowing off some steam."
They seemed to believe that, then Grissom asked. "But no hangovers?" They both shook their heads no, and Grissom sighed in relief. "So, everyone is well enough to set up and not make a mess today."
After they nodded this time, which made Grissom happy, they spent a little more time drinking their coffee and just talking, then sometime later Catherine looked at her wrist watch and informed the guys and Lindsey that it was time to go to the beach house to start helping with the set up, so after Grissom told them not to worry about the coffee cups because he'll take care of them, he said see you soon to the guys since he was also barred like Sara from helping, they walked out of the house while the girls went to get their dresses and other accessories for the wedding, then they walked out of the house too before Grissom picked up the coffee cups and headed into the kitchen.
When Betty saw her son washing the coffee cups, she stopped him and tried to shoo him out of the room, but he shook his head with a smile. 'Mom, you cooked, the least I could do is help cl….'
But she cuts him off with a very stern look. 'It's ok, this is your time to rest and relax before your big moment, and I know resting isn't a common thing for you to do, but just do it, go watch one of those insect documentaries you love so much or read a book.'
He was really thinking about protesting, but the stern look his mother was giving him, despite his age, was very intimidating, so he nodded and signed. 'Yes, ma'am.' He then kissed her on the cheek and headed back into the living room, thinking of ways to pass the time until he finally becomes a married man, a title he's been wanting for years, but only because it was who he was going to marry.
As more time went by more people started arriving at the house, which meant more activity was going on downstairs and Sara wanted to see who had all arrived, but because she had strict rules to stay in the living room if she was downstairs so she wouldn't see the setup till it was completed, that's where she stayed as some of the guests came in to greet her, like Nick, Catherine and Warrick (Lindsey was already playing with Belle, so it was a more of a hi-bye kind of thing) then after a few more guest greetings, came the two people she was looking forward to seeing the most, obviously outside of seeing the man she loves standing at the 'alter', she smiled at the older man in his mid-50's first, a man that treated her like a daughter the moment they met, which was all thanks to her best friend Jo.
Sara walked up to the silver-haired, 6'0, fit, 55-year-old, brown-eyed man with a smile on her face. "Mr. Hudson!"
Jo's father chuckled as he wrapped his arms around the bride to be. "You know I think we are past that point."
Sara chuckled as they pulled back. "Ok, hi Mike." Mike nodded with a smile before Sara continued, this time with a little more emotion. "I'm glad you could make it."
Mike then smirked. "Well, I mean who else is going to officiate your wedding." Then he gets a little more serious and emotional himself. "And I wouldn't have missed this moment for the world, thanks again for asking me to be a part of it."
Sara wiped a tear off her cheek and shook her head. "And I couldn't think of any one better to marry me off to the man I love." As Mike nodded with another smile, Sara turned her attention to the teenager standing next to him, which it was Jo's 18-year-old brother who was almost as tall as his father, slim but has a few muscles since he plays basketball, the Hudson's brown eyes and brown spiked hair.
Sara smiles and shook her head. "No way this is MJ (Mike Junior)!"
He smiled with a nod. "Yes, Ma'am, it's me."
Sara cringed at that word before chuckling while bringing the young man into her arms for a hug. "None of that ma'am stuff." After another round of chuckling, they pull back and she smiled while speaking again. "You still playing basketball? You should also be finishing up your senior year, right?"
He nodded with another smile. "Right on both accounts. In fact, I have a couple of basketball scholarships, and one of them is actually from UCLA."
"Well, if you want a little more insight about UCLA before making your final decision you should talk to Grissom."
As he thanked her, Jo, who was now 4 months pregnant, walked in the room, causing Jo's father's eyes to light up like a proud father would.
"Hi sweetheart."
Jo smiled as she walked towards her father. "Hi, daddy."
After they embraced, Jo looks at Sara with a smile. "If you didn't already know you have an hour and a half."
Sara's eyes get wide with a smile. "Finally!"
Jo chuckled, then Mike released his daughter. "Alright, you girls do what you have to do, and I'll be waiting for you (looking at Sara) at the 'alter'."
Sara nodded with a smile. "Ok, see you there."
Father and daughter share a hug before Mike and Sara share a hug while MJ shares a hug with his sister, then MJ shares a hug with Sara before the guys headed for the kitchen then outside, and once they were out of the room, Sara looks at Jo and comments. "Your dad seems to be doing ok."
Jo nodded with tears in her eyes. "Yeah, I know he still misses mom, but he has the church, and he can't wait to be a grandpa."
Jo's mom died a few years ago, and while there had been talks between Josh and Jo moving to Florida to be closer to her father, her dad didn't want them to do that, he wanted his daughter to go down her own path, which ultimately led them to deciding to move to LA, knowing she got the full support from her father.
Jo smiled as she ran her hand down her stomach, and Sara smiled before bringing her in her arms for a hug.
"I bet, and I got to say motherhood already looks good on you."
Jo chuckled as she hugged her in return, then as they pulled back, Jo spoke. "Alright, you better get upstairs before your man sees you before the start of your wedding."
Sara nodded with a smile. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to get dressed."
"You got it."
They then went their separate ways with Sara going back upstairs to take a shower.
Before Sara knew it, after taking her shower, she was finally in her medium strap sized dress that went just below her knees with a tasteful neckline that Sara absolutely loved the minute she saw it. She also had on light makeup, which wasn't anything new there, and her hair was in an updo, which was away from her usual style, but it was her wedding day and she wanted it a little different than the usual.
Once Sara was fully ready, the girls stepped to the side before she got up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked to the full-length mirror, causing herself to lose her own breath while Ashley spoke with a smile. "I don't think Grissom will be able to resist you."
Sara smiled before looking back at her friends. "You know the great thing about Grissom? He can't resist me no matter what I am wearing or look like for that matter."
They chuckled before Jo smirked. "Yeah, but I would imagine things will be a little bit harder for him today."
After they all chuckled, Quinn replied. "I'm thinking early reception then."
Another round of chuckling happened before Sara shook her head with a smile. "I promise a few hours with the people we love before we run everyone off."
As they all smiled there was a knock on the door, so Jo asked. "Who is it?"
"It's Nick."
They look at Sara, and she spoke with a smile. "Come in."
The door opened a second later, and Nick, who was dressed up in a tux, practically stopped dead in his tracks. "Wow, look at the bride to be, Grissom is one lucky man."
Sara smiled shyly as Nick walked into the room to share a hug with her. "Thank you, Nick."
After they pulled back, Nick smiled wider at the woman he loved. "But I got to say as lucky as he is, I just might be a little bit luckier than him."
Ashley also gives him a shy smile before they share a kiss and hug, then once they pulled back, Sara asked. "Speaking of Grissom, how is he doing?"
"Oh, I would say he's almost in a pacing mode right about now."
"Aw, poor baby. Are you saying he's waiting on me?"
"Well, you know he wouldn't want to rush you on your wedding day, but yeah, I would say he's ready when you are."
Sara looked at the mirror one more time, then turned to her girls and smiled. "Well, then let's not keep my groom waiting any longer, let's get this started."
Her girl's nodded, each gave her a hug and light kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room so now there was just Nick and Sara, which Nick was going to walk with her until they reached the sliding glass door.
Once Sara got the bouquet of flowers from the end of the bed, she slipped her arm through Nick's, and as they were walking out of the room, Sara spoke. "Thank you, Nick."
Nick nodded with a smile. "Of course, Sara. I was honored when you asked me."
Even though he wasn't walking her all the way to the 'alter' and giving her 'away', he was still honored to be a part of her wedding.
Sara shook her head with a smile. "I meant, thank you for loving one of my best friends."
He chuckled as they headed downstairs. "This is your day you know?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I don't get to share the happiness and love with the people I love and care about."
"I guess you got a point there, then I want to thank you for loving Grissom like you do. I might have never known him before he met you, but the way he described his life and what I've heard from other people who have known him before you, it sounds like you saved him from a lifetime of solitude. I honestly don't think that this day would have been possible for him if it wasn't for you coming into his life. It had to take a special woman to see past the unique and quirkiness of that man."
Sara chuckled with a nod before she spoke with love in her eyes. "That's why I love him, he isn't like any man I have ever known, and looking past that unique, quirkiness, and even awkwardness at times, lies a man with a big heart and lots of love to give. I just happen to be the lucky woman he's choosing to give that love to for the rest of his life."
Nick nodded with a smile as they stopped at the sliding glass door, which was covered with blinds. "That you are, and I wish you both a lifetime and beyond of love and happiness."
After thanking him one more time, they share a hug and Nick kissed her on the cheek, then he moved from her side and headed to the blinds while asking. "You ready?"
Sara nodded with tears in her eyes. "I'm more than ready."
Nick nodded with a smile as he slid the blinds to the side so she could see the deck, which had five medium sized round tables that had white table clothes on them, a small flower centerpiece and disposal cameras in the middle the table, another small round table for the few kids that were there, two more rectangle tables for the food and drinks and another table for the bride and groom. Then at the end of the deck, just before going down the stairs there were two flower stands on each side and a long white carpet going from the back door straight down to the last step of the deck, where Grissom was waiting for her a couple feet from there.
Nick looked back at her again one more time, and after she gave him another nod, he finally opened the door and Sara took a step out on the deck to see how everything was setup and it was like she was walking straight out of a dream, it may have been a simple setup, but she loved it, then she looked to the right of her and saw her daughter standing there with a smile in a beautiful dress and braided hair.
"You ready mommy?"
Sara nodded with a smile, and while she was now holding the bouquet of flowers with one hand, she took her daughter's hand with her other and they started walking on the carpet towards the stairs, and when they were at start of them to go down, the bride's and groom's eyes connected for the first time since yesterday afternoon, and to say for that split second their hearts skipped a beat and they lost their breathes would have been an understatement.
AN: Thanks for reading and please review. You don't want to miss the next chapter, I'm sure it's the moment you all have been waiting for. I hope you all had a safe/wonderful weekend, and until next time, always remember, GSR4ever!