Title: Gemini
Author: IrishDachsie
Pairing:
Grissom/Sara
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: Same as always…they’re not mine…no
money...
A/N: Follow-up to Movie on a Night Off
Chapter Sixteen
Grissom dropped the phone to the floor as he
grabbed her arms. "Sara…stop."
She stared into his eyes as the tears
continued to roll down her cheeks. "Mikey…"
He fought back his own tears and choked out
two words. "Crime scene…"
Jerking her arm from his grasp, her eyes
darkened as she took a step back from him. "Crime scene? Our son…who
should be sleeping in his crib…is not here. And you have the gall…"
He grabbed her quickly and pulled her to his
chest as the tears spilled down his face.
"Grissom?"
His eyes darted in the direction of the groan.
"Greg…"
Something inside told him that he probably
should have felt bad when he realized that he had forgotten about the
unconscious young man lying on the floor. But, he didn’t. He felt bad that Greg
had been hurt, but his son was missing. His wife was upset. He was near
hysterics himself. No one would think badly of him for his forgetfulness this
time.
He didn’t care if they did.
Greg pushed himself up into a sitting
position, leaning his back against the couch as he gingerly rubbed the back of
his head. His eyes slowly focused on Grissom and Sara.
"What…happened?"
Grissom eased Sara towards the couch and
helped her sit down. "I…was kind of hoping…you could tell us…"
Greg’s eyes filled with concern as he looked
at Sara. "Sara?"
She collapsed into Grissom’s arms as he sat
down beside of her. This time, Grissom didn’t fight the tears.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Brass had arrived quickly. The paramedics had
checked Greg out, and suggested that he go to the hospital for testing. Greg
dismissed them quickly, announcing he would go later. Warrick
was busy printing the nursery. He sighed as he carefully picked up Rusty.
Grissom stood up from the couch suddenly and
walked towards the front door. He stopped, his hand inches from the doorknob.
He balled his hand into a fist and punched the wooden door.
"Gil…"
He turned his red-rimmed eyes towards his
wife. "I have to…I have to go look for him…"
Brass stood and carefully walked towards the
broken man. "Gil…the woman had a car…"
Grissom shifted his eyes and stared at the
detective as though he had just spoken some third-world language that only a
handful of people speak. "I…have to look for him."
He shook his hand as it began to tingle and
walked back to the couch. He knelt in front of Sara, taking her hands in his.
"He’s going to be alright, Sara."
He followed her gaze as she focused on Warrick. She bit her lip as their friend took a deep breath
and walked into the room. "No ransom note…"
Her hand squeezed Grissom’s forearm tightly.
"Gil…no note."
He swallowed the lump in his throat and met
his wife’s eyes. "It doesn’t always mean that there are no plans to return
a missing person…"
She cut him off quickly, digging her nails
into his skin. "Find him."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom ran to the house next door and quickly
rang the doorbell. He shifted his weight nervously as he waited for an answer.
The door swung open to reveal a young woman wearing a bright smile.
"Gil…how are…"
"Have you seen Mikey?"
The smile on her face faded quickly as she
heard the panicked tone in his voice. "What?"
He shook his head in frustration and turned to
run back down the steps as he realized by her facial expression that she had no
clue where his son was. He stopped on the third step as she said his name
quickly.
He spun around to face her, grabbing the
railing as he lost his balance. "Yes?"
"Let me get Jordy,
he’ll help you look."
Grissom nodded, his eyes darting around the neighborhood as she urgently called for her husband. Seeing
something sparkle in the road, he took off.
He was kneeling on the ground when Jordy caught up with him. "Gil, what happened?"
Grissom shook his head as he pulled his shirt
sleeve over his hand and carefully picked up the item. "I…don’t know. A
woman came by the house while we were out…asked to use the phone…" He
turned the bracelet over. "I think she took Weevil."
"Shit…" Jordy
glanced across the street as he tapped Grissom on the shoulder. "I’m going
to go get some people…we’ll help you look for him."
Grissom nodded absently as he stood and
searched up and down the street, the silver bracelet in his hand.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Sara…I’m sorry…" Greg took a deep
breath and closed his eyes. "I know that doesn’t help…not at all. But, I
never meant…"
She placed her hand on his arm to quieten him.
"I know…"
He looked into her eyes as his lip quivered
lightly. "If anything happens to him…"
He statement remained unfinished as he watched
her nod gently and wipe the back of her hand across her eyes. She turned
towards Warrick and reached out to take Rusty from
him.
"Did you find…anything?"
Warrick nodded slowly. "Prints…a lot of prints. A few
hairs." He looked at her thoughtfully as she lowered her eyes. He knelt in
front of her and stroked her arm softly. "The diaper bag is gone…"
Her eyes shot back up to him.
"What?"
He offered her a sad smile. "So are a few
toys, not many…but a couple are missing. And some clothes."
"What are you saying?" She sniffled
lightly.
Brass cast Warrick a
quick glance, silently warning him to be careful. Warrick
acknowledged Brass’ request with a half-nod.
"Well, Sara…there wasn’t a note and…some
of his belongings are missing. Maybe this woman who was in here isn’t planning
on hurting Mikey."
A fresh round of tears made their way down her
slightly blotchy face. Brass leaned forward quickly, his notepad dropping to
the floor as Sara wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"Sara?"
She grimaced in obvious pain as she sucked in
a sharp breath. Forgetting his headache, Greg lurched towards Sara. Warrick fell backwards as the scream erupted from Sara’s
mouth.
Jim’s eyes scanned Sara’s form quickly.
"Shit…" He moved to the cushion beside of her and wrapped his arm
around her. "Sara…"
He bit back a groan as her fingers dug into
his thigh. "Hospital…"
"Oh, God…" Warrick
moaned as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
Brass motioned to Greg as he helped Sara
stand. "You’re coming with us…"
Pressing the heel of his hand against his
temple in an attempt to push back the pain, he nodded gently.
Warrick helped them as best he could as he waited for
Grissom to answer the phone. Hearing his supervisor’s sad voice on the line, he
took a deep breath.
"Griss…"
"Warrick! What
have you found?"
"Where are you?" Warrick
shoved the bags of evidence into his field kit.
"Jordy
McClellan organized a search-party of sorts…I found a bracelet in the street
near where Greg said the car was parked…"
"Where are you?"
Grissom stopped walking as he heard the tone
in Warrick’s voice. "Three streets over…Warrick? What’s wrong?"
"Grissom, man…I think Sara’s going into labor…"
"What?" He tried to control his
breathing as his eyes frantically searched the surrounding area. "Where is
she?"
"Brass and Greg are taking her to the
hospital…"
He nodded silently as he closed his phone and
slipped it into his jacket pocket.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Okay…think, Gil. What should you do?
Your son is missing. He was taken from your
home after Greg was knocked out. He’s only a year old. He’s your son. You need
to keep searching.
Your wife is in labor.
Two months early. With twins. She needs you. Are you really prepared to lose
your entire family in one night?
Brass and Greg will get her to the hospital.
Dr. Herrero will be there waiting on them. She’s a
wonderful doctor. Sara and the boys will be okay…right? Weevil has no one right
now. He’s been taken from his family. He needs me.
He needs his family.
Sara needs her husband.
Alex and Ant need their father.
Dear God…what the hell am I supposed to do?
He sank down on the sidewalk and stared
blindly at the large group of people searching for his young son. His trembling
hand pulled the phone back out of his pocket. He wiped his tears on his sleeve
as he dialled the number.
Please forgive me…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She glanced at the name displayed on the
screen as she picked her phone up. Taking a deep breath, she flipped it open.
"Gil…is everything…"
"Catherine, I need you to come to my
house. Help Warrick finish processing…run the prints.
I have a bracelet that I’ll leave with him."
"Grissom? Have you found him?"
"No…but…I have to go."
"Go? Why? What’s wrong?"
"Sara’s in labor.
I have to get to the hospital. Please, Catherine…please help me…" His
voice trailed off as he tried to choke back the fresh onslaught of tears.
"I’m on my way."
He muttered a soft "thank you" as he
disconnected the line. He sprinted up the street and grabbed his neighbor’s arm.
"Jordy…I have
to go. My co-workers will be at my house. If you could have people stop by
there and update them, I would…appreciate it."
Jordy nodded quickly. "No problem, Gil. I’ll call
Angie and ask her to go stay with Sara, if you’d like…"
Grissom shook his head as he released
McClellan’s arm. "She’s not there…labor. I have
to go…"
He didn’t wait for an answer before he turned
and ran back towards his home.
"Mommy!"
Marie Bitterman ran
through her small house to the bedroom to find the young boy standing up in the
crib. She had placed the fourth-hand crib beside her bed to keep him safe.
"It’s okay…Mommy’s here…"
Mikey furrowed his brow and looked towards the door.
"Wear?"
Marie’s eyes widened as she approached the
crib. "What?"
"Wearz Mommy? I
wan’ my Mommy!"
She shook her head, wondering if her
medication was playing tricks on her again. "I’m Mommy…I’m right
here."
Mikey narrowed his eyes and shook his head furiously.
"Oo not Mommy!"
She carefully lifted the boy from the crib and
sat down on her bed, cradling him against her chest. "It’s okay,
Stevie…calm down."
"I not Deewee,
I Weebul Mike!"
"Shh, Stevie…you just had a nightmare.
Mommy will rock you to sleep."
"Weebul
Mike!"
She sighed heavily as she carried him into the
living room and placed him in the playpen she had dug out of the attic.
"I’ll get you a bottle."
She smiled brightly at Mikey.
Her smile was not returned.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom stared at his keys, his mind racing to
figure out which one started the Tahoe. He jumped in fright when Warrick leaned into the open window slightly.
"Damn!"
"Griss?"
He fumbled through the key ring once more as a
tear slid down his cheek. "Which one?"
"What?" Warrick
stared at his supervisor, his concern clearly etched on his face.
"Which fucking key is it?"
"Hey…Griss?
Maybe I should drive you to…"
Grissom glared at Warrick.
"NO! I’m fine. I just can’t find the key…"
Warrick nodded slowly as he reached through the window and
plucked the key ring from Grissom’s shaking hands. He flipped through them
quickly and held it out to Grissom. "This one…but…really, Griss…I don’t think you should be driving right now. Let
me…"
"Warrick…I have
to go. You have to process the evidence. Catherine will be here…to…to help. I
have to go."
Warrick didn’t have time to reply as Grissom shoved the key
into the ignition, bringing the black Tahoe to life.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara was ushered through the emergency room
quickly. The Triage nurse held Brass back.
"How far along is your wife?"
Brass stared at the woman in confusion.
"She’s…she’s not my wife…"
"Oh…well, your…"
Brass cut her off quickly. "She’s
my…she’s my best friend’s wife. He’ll be here in a minute. I…"
"Seven months."
The nurse quickly shifted her eyes towards the
young man holding the back of his head. "Excuse me?"
Greg took a deep breath and willed the pain to
go away. It didn’t work. "She’s seven months."
"And you are?"
"Greg…Greg Sanders. A friend of the
family."
The nurse nodded quickly and wrote something
down on the clipboard. "Okay…she’ll be taken care of. She’ll be
fine…"
Brass closed his eyes in a silent prayer.
Greg groaned in pain as a blinding light
flashed behind his eyes.
The nurse quickly stood up. "Sir? Are you
okay?"
"I…"
Brass caught him before he hit the floor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Mikey stared at the woman holding a bottle of milk
towards him.
"Come on, Stevie. A bottle always helps
you after a nightmare…"
"Don’ wike boddle!"
She lifted him from the playpen and sat down
on her small tattered couch with him on her lap. He quickly wiggled his way
from her and slid to the floor. His small feet carried him towards the bag he
recognized as his.
He rifled through the contents, becoming
increasingly agitated. "Wearz Wus?"
"What?" Her mouth opened in surprise
as she watched the little boy.
"Wearz Wus? Need Wus!"
"What is ‘Wus’?"
She attempted to pick Mikey up to try to calm him.
"Stevie, calm down."
He pushed her hands away from him and stared
up at her. "WUS! An’ I Weebul Mike!" He
took a step away from Marie. "I wan’ Daddy!"
"Daddy’s gone, honey…" She shook her
head slowly. This child looked
young…but, she hadn’t expected him to be so communicative.
"Wearz
Daddy?" He took another step away from the woman.
"Gone, Stevie."
Mikey’s eyes darkened. "I NOT DEEWEE!"
He smacked the bottle from her hand, sending
it rolling across the thin carpet.
Marie lightly smacked Mikey’s
hand. "Bad boy!"
Mikey recoiled, tucking his hand under his arm. "Bad
oo!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom raced through the emergency room doors
and tripped over an empty wheelchair. Hearing the commotion, Brass stopped his
pacing and turned around. Recognizing the source of the noise, he ran towards
Grissom.
"Gil…"
"Where’s Sara?"
"Upstairs…"
Grissom didn’t wait for Brass to finish as he
sprinted towards the elevators. Brass followed him into the elevator as Grissom
hit the button under the hieroglyphic for ‘close door’. "Which
floor?"
Brass fought to catch his breath as he pressed
the button beside the number five.
Grissom paced back and forth as he watched the
display showing which floor they were on. He cursed under his breath as the
elevator stopped on the third floor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Mr. Sanders? How many fingers am I
holding up?"
Greg squinted as took a deep breath in an
attempt to quell the nausea. "More than one…"
The doctor lowered his hand and looked into
Greg’s eyes. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Tired…I’m so tired…"
"I know, Mr. Sanders. But…you can’t go to
sleep."
"You’re evil."
The doctor chuckled lightly. "I’ve been
told that before. Now…what happened?"
"Was hit…"
"Where?"
"At Grissom’s house…" Greg fought to
keep his eyes open. "Light’s too bright, doc…"
"Where were you hit?" He ignored the
comment about the brightness.
"In the living room, with…a blunt
object." Greg winced as he chuckled. "Never was good at Clue…"
"Mm-hm." The doctor stuck his head
out and motioned for a nurse to join him.
"The movie was good though…" Greg
draped his arm over his eyes to block the light. "Too bright in
here…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom gripped the counter at the nurses’
station as he caught the young woman’s eye. "Sidle…Sara Sidle."
"Grissom…"
He turned to look at the detective breathing
hard beside of him. "What?"
"Not Sidle…Grissom."
"That’s what I said. Sara Grissom."
He turned back to the nurse. "She’s my wife. She’s pregnant. She’s in labor. She shouldn’t be. She still has a couple of months.
Where is she?"
"Mr. Grissom…"
"What?"
"Take a deep breath for me, okay?"
"Why? Where is she?"
He turned his head to see Dr. Herrero swiftly pushing a gurney down the hall. Grissom
pushed off of the counter and ran down the hall.
"Sara?"
Sara’s dark brown eyes glistened with tears as
she looked up at her husband. "Gil…did you find him?"
"We’re going to find him."
She grimaced as another contraction hit her.
Dr. Herrero placed her hand on Grissom’s arm.
"Dr. Grissom…we have to go now."
He quickly followed them as they began to make
their way down the hall. "What’s…what’s happening?"
"The twins are in distress. We have to
take them now."
"Can…I…can I come?" He reached out
and brushed his fingers across Sara’s tearstained cheek.
"Not enough time, Dr. Grissom."
He stood still and watched his wife disappear
behind the door that he wasn’t allowed to walk through. A tear slipped from his
eye as he slumped against the wall.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Warrick?"
Catherine stood in the living room of the
Grissom home and took a deep breath.
"In Weevil’s room, Cath."
Catherine gasped softly as she entered the
nursery, now covered in fingerprint powder. "This is…"
Warrick nodded slowly as Catherine’s voice trailed off.
"I know. I’m not liking this case at all, Cath. That much I can tell you."
"What can I do?"
"I was getting ready to print Grissom and
Sara’s bedroom door…figure the kidnapper might’ve opened it first."
Catherine nodded and moved into the hall to
get to work. "How was Grissom?"
Warrick sighed heavily. "Devastated…scared. I’ve never
seen him scared before. Not like that."
"Yeah. ‘Scared’ takes on a whole new
meaning when your child is involved…"
"And with Sara going into labor…" Warrick placed
another fiber into a bindle and slipped it into his
vest pocket after carefully labelling it. "How much is one man supposed to
be able to take at one time?"
Catherine lifted three prints from the door.
"Grissom is strong…"
"Yeah…Grissom’s strong. But…this is his
family, Catherine."
Warrick gave the blonde a hard glare before walking back to
the living room.
Brass placed his hand on Grissom’s shoulder.
He closed his eyes as he felt his friend’s body jerk as he fought to hold back
his sobs.
"Gil?"
Grissom turned his watery eyes towards Brass
as he pushed himself from the wall. "They…they’re taking the boys.
Distress. I…we…could lose them."
Brass tilted his head and motioned down the
hall. "C’mon…"
Grissom stole another glance towards the door
and wiped his eyes. "I…I don’t know, Jim. Maybe I should stay here…"
"In the hall outside of the operating
rooms? I don’t think so. We’ll go down to the waiting room…I’ll get us some
coffee…and…we’ll talk. Okay?"
He thought about it for a moment before his
feet began shuffling back down the hall. "Have you heard anything from Warrick?"
Brass shook his head sadly. "No…but, it
hasn’t been that long. We’re going to find Mikey,
Grissom."
"Alive?"
Jim stopped walking and stared at Grissom.
"What kind of question is that?"
Another tear rolled down his cheek as he met
Jim’s stare. "A valid one."
Brass fought to keep his emotions in check as
he watched his best friend break down once more.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey…"
Warrick looked up from his kneeling position behind the
front door. "Hey. Found some prints here. And…what I think was used to
disable Greg."
Catherine nodded as he bagged the small wooden
sculpture. "Grissom bought that for Sara while they were dating…"
Warrick chuckled softly. "I know…I helped him pick it
out." Warrick leaned back and smiled at the
memory. "He was so nervous. ‘What if she doesn’t like it?’ I kept telling
him that it had Sara’s name written all over it. He eventually bought it…"
"And…she loved it." Catherine
smiled. "Warrick?"
"Yeah?"
"I didn’t mean to
sound…cold…earlier."
"I know." He offered her a contrite
smile. "I didn’t mean to…snap at you. It’s just that this case is
emotionally draining."
"That, it is." She nodded in
agreement.
"You do know that Conrad will try to pull
this out from under us…"
With a final glance around the living room,
Catherine’s eyes darkened. "Let the bastard try it."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Come on, Stevie…go back to sleep for
Mommy. I’m tired."
Mikey stared at the woman, his hazel eyes narrowed.
"I wan’ Wus!"
Marie groaned loudly. "I don’t know what
the hell a ‘Wus’ is!"
A tear fell from Mikey’s
eye. "I wan’ Mommy. Not oo. An’ Daddy."
Marie stood up and grabbed her prescription
bottle. Shaking out two capsules, she swallowed them quickly. "Of all the
kids for me to choose from…"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Excuse me?"
Catherine looked up and quickly held her hands
up to stop the man from entering the house. "Whoa…this is a crime
scene…"
The man nodded quickly and took a step
backwards. "Uh…my name is Jordy McClellan. I’m
Gil’s next door neighbor. We’ve been helping him
search the neighborhood for Mikey."
Warrick stepped out of the kitchen and gave Catherine a
brief nod before smiling at Jordy. "Hey, Mr.
McClellan. We really appreciate your help. Did you find anything?"
Jordy shook his head sadly. "No…we’ve scoured the
entire area…nothing."
"Do you know where Grissom found the bracelet?"
Jordy thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeah…come on, I’ll show you."
Warrick followed the man down the sidewalk, just a short
distance from the house. Jordy stopped and pointed
towards the ground. "Right there. Well, at least that’s where Gil was when
he showed it to me."
Warrick noted a fresh mark on the pavement. "Looks
like someone was in a hurry to get out of here…"
"Mister…"
Warrick glanced up and smiled. "Brown. Warrick Brown."
"Mr. Brown…Gil said that Sara had gone
into labor."
Warrick inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"Yeah…she did."
Jordy sighed as he scanned his surroundings.
"Look…there’s nothing I can do except for look for Mikey.
So…that’s what I’m going to do."
"Mr. McClellan…you’ve done much more than
a lot of people would…"
"Well, I know if it were my son who was
missing…"
Warrick nodded in understanding as Jordy’s
voice trailed off. He pulled a card out of his vest pocket and handed it to the
man. "If you find anything…anything at all…call me at this number."
"Okay…" He studied the number before
he looked up into the dark eyes of the investigator standing in front of him.
"When you talk to Gil…"
Not really knowing what else to say, Jordy just shrugged the last of his request. Warrick offered him a smile as Jordy
McClellan turned and walked into the darkness to search for Michael Grissom
again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Exhaustion had lulled Mikey
into a restless sleep on the living room floor. Marie watched the young boy
carefully.
He really is a beautiful child.
Not as beautiful as Stevie.
There will never be another child as beautiful
as Stevie. But…this little boy…he can take the place of my Stevie.
You’re going to get caught. Las Vegas may be
big, but…people are going to be looking for him.
Marie chuckled as she shook her head and
glanced at the corner filled with empty boxes.
That’s why I’m moving. You think I’m stupid or
something?
She silenced the voice as she grabbed one of
the boxes and quickly began filling it with her precious belongings kept on the
mantle.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"I should be looking for Weevil…"
Brass took another sip of his coffee before
placing the cup on the table in front of them. "Gil…you have the best
CSI’s working this…"
"They shouldn’t be…" He stared into
his untouched cup of coffee. "They’re too close…they shouldn’t be working
this."
Grissom placed his cup on the table beside of
Brass’ half-empty one. "And…what am I doing? Nothing…absolutely
nothing…"
"Gil…you are doing everything you
can…"
"Which, in the end, turns out to
be…nothing."
"You’re here for Sara and the
twins…"
"And Weevil is alone. He has NO
ONE!"
The nurse looked up and briefly considered
asking the man to keep his voice down. The detective caught her gaze and
silently asked her to reconsider. The nurse pursed her lips and then turned
back to the computer screen in front of her.
"Weevil has us…his extended family. We’re
not going to stop until we find him. I promise you that." He waited for
Grissom to look at him. He remained still, staring at his coffee cup.
"Sara, she needs you right now. Alex and Ant…they need you too."
"Then…why am I out here? Instead of being
in there with them? That’s where I should be."
Understanding that they were beginning to talk
in circles, Brass opened his mouth to say something…anything to calm his
friend. His mouth closed and he gently tapped Grissom’s arm as he saw Dr. Herrero walk through the waiting room doors.
Grissom looked up and quickly followed Jim’s
gaze. Standing up, he bumped into the table and knocked over both cups of
coffee. Not caring, he moved around the table and stood there. He took an
anxious breath as Dr. Herrero walked up to him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Greg sat up quickly, groaning as the sudden
movement caused the room to start spinning wildly.
"Whoa there, young man. You need to keep
still…"
He opened his eyes, trying to see the person
attached to the voice. He let his head fall back onto the pillows as his vision
failed to focus properly.
"Have to go…have to find Mikey."
The nurse smiled sadly at him as she wrote a few
words on the medical chart in her hand. "You’re not going anywhere, Mr.
Sanders. At least not for a few days."
"I…have to…" He moved his hands to
push himself back up. His movement stopped as she pressed her palm against his
chest.
"You have a nasty bump…and a concussion
to go along with it. You’re lucky the damage isn’t more severe…"
"Grissom always said I had a hard
head…"
The nurse chuckled softly as he eased back
down onto the hospital bed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Dr. Grissom…"
"How are they? Is Sara okay? The
boys…"
"Everyone is going to be just fine, Dr.
Grissom." Dr. Herrero offered the obviously
distraught man a gentle smile.
"What…what happened?"
"I had to perform an emergency cesarean. With the stress Sara was under, the twins went
into distress. I had no choice."
"But…they’re okay?"
The doctor nodded slowly. "They’re
underweight…and they’re in an incubator. But, yes."
"And…Sara?"
"She’s resting. She’ll be in quite a bit
of pain, but…"
"Can I see her? And my boys? Can I see
them?"
"Of course. You won’t be able to hold
your sons right now. But, I’ll take you to them."
He nodded silently and looked at Brass. Jim’s
eyes glistened as he gave Grissom an encouraging smile. "Go…I’m going to
check on Greg…"
Grissom took a deep breath and followed Dr. Herrero down the hall towards the Pediatric
Intensive Care Unit.
"Congratulations, Mr. Grissom." The
nurse smiled at him as she attached the laminated identification bracelet to
his right wrist.
He gave her a small smile as he nodded slowly.
"Thank you…"
He glanced down at the bracelet and took a
deep breath. The nurse touched his arm and motioned towards the door with her
head.
"Are you ready to see your sons?"
There’s one missing. "Yes, I am."
He followed her into the room and blinked back
the tears as he saw the two incubating units. He made his way to the chair
beside of them and sat down. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at the
tiny infants.
He placed a hand on each incubator and exhaled
softly. "Daddy’s here…"
The nurse smiled happily at the scene in front
of her and moved across the room to give the father the privacy he needed.
Grissom quickly read the identification card
located a few inches under his right hand.
"Baby Boy Grissom One. Three pounds, one
ounce. Seventeen point two-five inches. Date of birth…October 29. Time of
birth…11:57 pm." He smiled as he ran his finger over the card. "Hi,
Alex." He turned his head to read the one next to his left hand.
"Baby Boy Grissom Two. Three pounds.
Seventeen inches. Date of birth…October 30. Time of birth…12:01 am." He
pressed his palm against the plexiglass, his smile widening. "Hi,
Ant."
And then it hit him.
He glanced back and forth between the two
cards. "Different birthdays?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Warrick loaded the evidence onto the table, rolling his
eyes as Hodges stared at him. "Shouldn’t Greg be doing this?"
"Well…Greg would be doing this, if Greg…"
Hodges cut him off quickly as he grabbed one
of the bags. "If Greg actually decided to come to work?"
Warrick leaned against the table and glared at the
obnoxious man. "Actually, what I was going to say, before I was so rudely
interrupted…"
Hodges smirked as he emptied the bag.
"Greg would be doing this, if Greg hadn’t
been admitted to the hospital…so, get to work."
Hodges smirk faded as he watched Warrick storm out of the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Greg opened his eyes and smiled groggily at
the detective standing by the bed. "More questions?"
"Yeah…one." Brass smiled at the
lab-rat as he took a seat in the chair. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got bashed in the back of the
head with a blunt object…"
"Nice…" Brass chuckled softly.
"How’s Sara?"
Jim nodded and offered Greg a reassuring
smile. "She’s fine. The twins are here…and according to the doctor,
they’re going to be okay…"
"Mikey?"
Jim’s smile faded. "No word, yet…"
Greg sighed heavily and closed his eyes.
"How’s Grissom?"
"Confused. I think he’s disappointed in
himself because he doesn’t know what to do…"
"What do you mean?" Greg turned his
dark eyes towards the detective.
"He had to stop looking for Weevil to
come to the hospital…"
"But, Warrick
and Catherine are helping, right?"
"Oh yeah…" Brass forced a smile to
his lips. "Everything is going to be okay…you…you need to rest."
A tear slid from Greg’s eye as his lids
closed. "Tell Grissom I’m sorry…"
Brass exhaled deeply as Greg drifted towards
sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey…"
Sara gave her husband a tired smile.
"Hey…"
Seeing the odd look in Grissom’s eyes, she
tried to push herself to a sitting position. Grissom stopped her quickly.
"Hey…lay back down…you just had surgery,
you know."
"Alex and Ant…are they okay?"
Grissom smiled softly. "Yes…they’re fine.
They’re in an incubator though. Just a precaution. Their lungs weren’t fully
developed. But, they’re going to be just fine."
"What…what do they look like?"
"Tiny, bald versions of Weevil…very tiny
versions…"
"Weevil?"
Grissom’s smile left quickly as he shook his
head. "Haven’t heard anything yet…everyone is still searching
though." He took hold of his wife’s hand as the tears threatened to fall once
more. "We’re going to find him, Sara. I promise."
She sniffled lightly as he placed a tender
kiss on her lips.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marie snatched the phone between the first and
second rings. It had taken a couple of hours for the boy to fall back
asleep…she didn’t want to take the chance of having to go through it again
tonight.
"Hello?"
"Did I wake you?"
Marie chuckled into the phone. "No,
Stevie’s been up and down tonight…"
"So…are you two still coming next
week?"
She smiled as she ran her hand through her
hair. "Of course, Tim. Why wouldn’t we?"
Tim sighed heavily. "Well, it is the
first time that I’ve seen him since he was two months old. I bet he’s changed a
lot, hasn’t he?"
"Oh yeah…he really has."
"You don’t think…well, bringing him to a
prison isn’t going to scare him, is it?"
"Tim…you’re his father. You deserve to
see him."
"I just…I…"
She heard a gruff voice in the background.
"Tim?"
"I…have to go, Marie. There are other
people waiting to use the phone…"
"Oh…okay."
"I’ll see you soon though."
Marie’s face broke out into a bright smile.
"Yes, you will."
"Bye…"
She whispered a goodbye as she heard the line
disconnect.
Her smile faded as her eyes scanned the room,
landing on a photograph of a small baby. "Stevie…"
She picked up the photo, staring into the
brown eyes looking back at her. Her fingers traced the small face as her
teardrops landed on the glass of the frame.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Word travelled quickly through the lab that
the young Grissom was missing. Warrick stepped out of
the lab Hodges was working in and glanced up to see Robert Cavallo
round the corner.
"Shit…" He muttered under his breath
as he tucked the casefile under his arm.
"Brown!"
Warrick took a deep breath as Cavallo
approached him. "Yeah?"
Cavallo’s eyes bored a hole into the investigator as he stood
in front of him. "Would you like to explain what the hell is going
on?"
Warrick narrowed his eyes. "Well, we’re investigating
a kidnapping…"
"Grissom’s son?"
Warrick continued to stare at the man as he nodded quickly.
"Michael O’Brien Grissom. Yes."
"You can’t investigate this case. I’m
handing it off to Ecklie’s crew."
"Like hell you are! Conrad and his people
won’t be here for 5 more hours. We’re processing evidence now."
"Graveyard is too close. All of you have
bonded with this child…"
"This child has been missing for
five and a half hours…and we are going to find this child." Warrick took a step to his right and glared at the man.
"Excuse me…"
"Brown…"
"I have work to do." Warrick moved his feet, storming past the man staring at
him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Catherine looked up from the computer screen
in time to see Warrick rush by the door.
"Warrick!"
He stopped, taking a deep breath to calm
himself, and turned around. Seeing her smiling through the glass wall, he
nodded and walked through the door.
"What’s wrong?"
"Cavallo…"
Warrick shook his head. "What do you have
there?"
"Prints…that aren’t Grissom’s, Sara’s, or
any one of us…"
"Nice!" Warrick’s
smile resurfaced.
Catherine glanced at the table and grabbed her
phone, which had begun vibrating across the surface. Reading the message, a
bright smile appeared on her face.
"What is it?"
‘Boys here. Alex @ 1157. Ant @ 1201. Everyone
well. G’
Catherine quickly punched in a reply as Warrick read over her shoulder.
‘Congrats! Will be by after shift. Found
prints.’
A few minutes later, he responded. ‘Whose?’
‘Don’t know. Running them.’
Warrick sighed as he sat down. "Why don’t you just
call him?"
"Because…he’s probably in the room with
Sara…" She rolled her eyes at him as he stood up.
Chuckling softly, Warrick
made his way down the hall to check on the progress of the evidence they had
collected.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara opened her eyes and focused on her
husband sitting in the chair beside of her bed. She yawned and grimaced at the
pain in her abdomen.
"What are you doing?"
Grissom shrugged his shoulders, offering her a
half-smile. "Letting Catherine know that the twins and you are okay…"
"Any news on Mikey?"
He sighed lightly. "They found some
prints that don’t belong to us…so, they’re running them."
Sara stared out the window. "I told you
we shouldn’t have gone out…"
"Sara…"
"Why did you insist we go? Why couldn’t
we have just stayed home?"
He opened his mouth to speak, the words dying
in his throat as she turned her eyes towards him.
"If…if you…hadn’t been so…persistent…our
son would be safe. And…we wouldn’t be here right now…and…"
Her voice trailed off as her eyes flooded with
tears. He reached out his hand to wipe the fresh moisture from her skin. She
turned her head towards the window, not allowing him to touch her.
"Sara, I…"
"It’s your fault…" She muttered
under her breath.
He drew his hand back as if he had been
burned. He inhaled sharply as his brain registered her words.
He didn’t bother trying to stop the tears that
spilled down his face.
Grissom stared at his wife’s turned head and
took a shallow breath. His voice was soft as he spoke to her.
"Do you think that I don’t blame myself
for this, Sara?" He raised a trembling hand and wiped his face.
"Because…I do. I do blame myself. You’re right. If I hadn’t insisted that
we have an evening out, then none of this would’ve happened. I wouldn’t have
had to watch Hank leering at you. I would’ve been there when some woman came to
our front door. Greg wouldn’t be in the hospital right now. Weevil would still
be at home, sleeping soundly. I would be at work right now, doing my job.
But…because I wanted to spend an evening with the woman I love…none of that
happened, did it?"
He stood up slowly and exhaled slowly. "I
love you, Sara. More than you can possibly imagine. You and our children are my
life. I know this is my fault. I…I really don’t need you telling me what I
already know…"
He leaned over the edge of the bed and brushed
her hair back from her face. Placing a gentle kiss on her temple, a warm tear
dropped from his cheek and landed on her skin.
"I love you, Sara."
He didn’t wait for a reply before he turned
and quickly walked from the room. She turned her head in time to see the door
close behind him. She lifted her hand to her face, touching her fingers to the
tear that had landed on her cheek.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He walked numbly down the hall towards Pediatrics. Stopping at the nurses’ station, he turned his
red-rimmed eyes to the young woman behind the counter.
"I know that it’s late…but…I’m getting
ready to go to work. I was wondering…if I could quickly tell my sons goodnight
before I leave…"
The woman took in Grissom’s appearance and
offered him a kind smile. Knowing it was against the regulations, she decided
to make an exception. She quickly checked the bracelet circling his right wrist
and nodded.
"Follow me, Mr. Grissom…"
As they entered the PICU, the nurse moved the
incubators into a v-shape and placed a chair for the father in between them.
She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder as he sat down and took a deep
breath.
"They’re doing well…"
He nodded lightly as he placed his hands into
the gloves attached to the holes in the sides of each unit. "Thank
you…"
She backed away from them as he lightly
stroked Alex’s arm and Ant’s chest. His eyes darted between the infants as he
watched them sleep.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Marie sat down on the couch with a photo album
in her hand. Just a quick look before I pack it away…
She flipped through the pages slowly, a sad
smile plastered on her face.
Stevie was such a beautiful baby. I still find
it so hard to believe he’s gone. Six months is too short. Tim never had the
chance to know his only son.
She tilted her head as she heard the soft
whimper from the young boy sleeping in her bed.
Until now…thanks to that little boy in there.
He has hazel eyes though. My first Stevie had brown. But…kids’ eyes lighten
sometimes, don’t they?
She groaned and closed the album as the boy
down the hall woke from his sleep.
"Daddy!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Catherine looked up from Hodges’ report on the
bracelet to find Grissom standing in the doorway. She stood up quickly,
grabbing Warrick’s attention as well.
"Gil?"
"Hey…did you find anything from
the…uh…the prints?" He quickly diverted his red eyes.
Catherine frowned as she stepped closer to her
friend. "What are you doing here?"
"I…work here."
She glanced towards Warrick
and silently requested for him to leave the room. He answered with a quick nod
and stood. After assuring Grissom that they were making progress in Mikey’s case, he walked by his supervisor and slid out of
the door.
"Gil?"
Grissom twisted his wedding ring, a motion
that Catherine didn’t fail to notice. Lifting his eyes, he moved further into
the room and focused his eyes on the computer monitor. "No matches
yet?"
"No…not yet…" She watched him
carefully, moving over towards him when she saw his shoulders slump in defeat.
"Hey…we’re going to find him…"
"It’s…my fault…"
Grabbing his shoulder, she easily turned him
around to face her. "What? No…no, it’s not your fault. Don’t say
that…"
"I…made Sara go out…she didn’t want to.
I…"
"Gil, I’m not sure what happened…but,
this isn’t your fault. What would Sara say if…"
He finally met her eyes as he twisted his ring
once more. "What would Sara say? ‘It’s your fault.’ That’s what Sara said." He glanced down at his ring, which now
seemed dull. "I know I can’t help on this case…where’s Nick?"
Catherine’s mouth dropped open slightly.
"Sara said that?"
"Where’s Nick?"
"Gil…you know she didn’t mean it. She’s
under a lot of stress right now…"
"So am I. Where’s Nick?"
"Her son is missing…she just gave birth
to twins two months early…"
Grissom’s eyes darkened, his stare turned
cold. "MY son is missing as well…MY two boys were born two months
prematurely…MY wife had to have an emergency caesarean…I’m under a lot of
stress right now too, Catherine. Where is Nick?"
She took a step backwards. "Gil…"
"Where the fuck is Nick?!"
She fished her keys out of her pocket.
"B&E…other side of town."
She held her keyring
out towards him.
He glanced down at her hand, then raised his
eyebrow at her.
"My keys…"
His eyes narrowed. "I can see that. Why
would I want them?"
She took a deep breath. "Your house is
still a crime scene. I have a spare bedroom…"
He turned quickly from her. "I’m
fine…"
"No…you’re not. And…" She held her
hand up as Grissom spun back around to face her. "Do not argue with me,
Grissom. You’re not going out in the field in the shape you’re in. You can
either go to my house and rest, or you can stay here and go through the stack
of paperwork on your desk."
He opened his mouth to protest. He stared into
her eyes as she took two steps forward into his personal space. "And…I
know you’re going through hell right now. But, don’t you ever speak to me in
that tone again."
She threw her keys onto the table beside of
him and stormed out of the room.
Grissom sank into the chair, his head dropping
to his hands as his elbows rested on his thighs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Catherine pulled her cell phone from her belt
and flipped it open quickly. "Willows."
"Catherine…"
"Sara! How are you?"
Sara smiled lightly and brushed her hand
across her eyes. "Gil left his phone here…I…I can’t get hold of him…"
"Are you okay?" Catherine stood up
quickly and walked back down the hall.
"No…no, I’m not. I said
something…I…uh…"
"Can you hold on for just a second?"
"I…yeah…"
She walked into the lab to find Grissom
staring out the window, his fingers lightly covering her keys. She tapped his
shoulder, offering him a gentle smile as he turned his eyes towards her. She
held the phone out to him.
"It’s important."
He sighed heavily as he took the phone and
held it to his ear. "Grissom."
"Gil?"
"Sara…"
"What are you doing there?"
"Nothing…"
"Why…"
He cut her off quickly. "I didn’t know
what else to do…"
"I didn’t mean what I said."
"It’s okay…" He closed his eyes.
"No…no, it’s not." She took a deep
breath and closed her eyes. "Gil…I haven’t seen Alex and Ant yet…"
His eyes snapped open. "They won’t let
you see them?"
She smiled gently. "They will…"
He tilted his head in confusion.
"So…"
"I don’t want to go alone." Not
hearing a response, she blinked back the tears and tried again. "Will you
take me to see our boys?"
For the first time all night, a smile slowly
crept to his face. "Give me ten minutes?"
"Gil?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
Catherine smiled as the tear rolled down
Grissom’s cheek.
"I love you, too."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"I told you, Stevie. Daddy’s not here
right now. But, we’re going to see him next week, okay?"
Mikey’s brow furrowed as he shook his head. "NOW! Wan’
my Daddy NOW!"
"Stevie…please…"
"Weebul! Weebul Mike!"
"Okay, okay…Weebul…"
"Not Weebul!
WEEBUL!"
She rolled her eyes in frustration and picked
him up. "Come on…I’ll get you something to eat. What do you want?"
Mikey slid out of her arms and followed her down the
hall. He stopped his movement, tears spilling down his cheeks as he watched her
stomp the bug in her path.
"NO!"
She turned around quickly to look at him.
"What’s wrong now?"
"Oo mabe it ded!"
"What?"
He pushed her gently and pointed to the floor.
"Oo stebbed on it! Oo not do dat!"
"Stevie…it was
just a bug…"
Mikey’s eyes darkened as he sat down in the hall. "Not
jus’ a bug. Oo is bad!"
She sighed as she looked at the young boy at
her feet. What an odd child…