Part 5.
Title: All I Need..
Author: Mini_Catherine
Ship: GSR & Sara/Cath friendship.
Summary: Finally, after 7 years, our favorite couple has done it – They’re married. This section outlines Sara & Gil’s life together with their two children, Isabella Hope and Catherine Faith Grissom. Set in season 7.
Rating: T for sexual content.
He kissed her softly on the cheek. She stirred, not yet aware of where she was. Until she opened her eyes, she thought she was at home. The setting and warm breeze brought her back to reality. She had forgotten in her sleeping bliss that she was on her honeymoon in Bermuda. And at the present moment, she was lounging on a hammock with her husband’s arm wrapped around her. She laid her head on his chest and sighed, smiling gently.
Mrs. Gil Grissom raised her head just enough to be looking into Mr. Gil Grissom’s blue eyes. On the very last day of their 7-day honeymoon, Sara didn’t want to leave the serenity of the sandy beaches and turquoise waters to return to the stony buildings and smoggy skies of Vegas. The one thing, well, two things, that were tugging at her heart for thinking of this were her two 8-month-old babies, Isabella and Catherine, who were at home waiting for her. It almost made her cry thinking of them at home for so long without her. She shook the feeling and grinned at Gil, because it was their last day of rest and relaxation.
“What are we going to do today,” Sara questioned, watching a gull fly over her head.
Grissom thought for a moment, and sighed. “Want to go for a walk on the beach?”
“No, we did that yesterday.” Sara pondered over the things that a couple could do on a vacation, and decided they’d done it all. “Let’s go for a swim.”
Grissom sat up, nearly falling out of the hammock. Sara went flying into the sand face first. She spit the little rocks out of her mouth and brushed off her bikini top. She sat back on her feet as Grissom peered over the side of the hammock, shocked. She stood up.
“What was that all about,” she seethed.
“Sorry,” Grissom grasped for an explanation, “I got bitten?”
“By what,” Sara stood up, “An elephant?”
Sara walked down to the water, tore off her beach wrap and started to wade into the water. By the time she got to her knees, Grissom was there at the water’s edge.
“I’m afraid of the water,” he called after her.
“You’re what?” She turned around, amazed.
“Afraid of the water.” Grissom flushed pinker than his sunburn. Sara giggled childishly and lunged back up to him. She kicked a little water at his bare legs, and he smirked.
“Come in,” Sara whined, “please baby!”
She stepped closer to him and took his hand, dragging him slowly in. He protested, but not much, as Sara led him into the warm ocean water. The wind started to pick up a little, causing small waves to break close to shore. Grissom pulled back, wanting to go back in. Sara called over the sound of the ocean, coaxing him back out.
After a few minutes, they were both out to their waists. Sara grinned happily, the almost set sun dancing off her hair, making her luminous. Grissom smiled despite his immense fear of the water, and Sara ran towards him, laughing. She flew into his arms, wrapping her legs around his hips. He spun around, his fear disappearing with the sun.
“I’m a bird,” Sara cried, remembering her favorite movie, the Notebook. “I’m a bird! Can I fly, Gil?”
“Yes, you can fly, baby,” Grissom kissed her nose.
“Are you a bird, Gil? I’m a bird!” Sara smiled happily.
“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird,” Grissom recited. She laughed again.
“Let’s swim,” Sara said, releasing her hold on his waist. The water had cooled down, but their body temperatures were warm. Sara backstroked farther out into the water, leaving Grissom to come out with her. He strode out awkwardly, tripping in a dip in the sandy bottom and going under. He came back up, sputtering and laughing. Sara swam back and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his chest glowing in the moonlight.
--
The airport was cool, and Sara wrapped her blue cotton sweatshirt around her arms tighter. Grissom grabbed their last piece of luggage, and they headed for the doors. Sara’s eyes filled with tears when she saw Greg with Cathy on his shoulders, holding her securely, and Catherine with Bella swaddled in her baby blanket, dozing away. The rest of them, Nick, Warrick, Brass, Wendy and Sofia, were all waiting with balloons and signs, welcoming the couple home. Sara ran for Greg, who handed Cathy over with pride.
“She’s beautiful, Sara,” he said, smiling.
“Thanks,” Sara said, smothering Cathy’s face with kisses. She hugged the infant close and pulled softly on her curls. Cathy gurgled happily and opened her mouth wide. Sara wiped a small amount of saliva off the corner of the baby’s lip and wiped it in her shirt. “I’m so happy to be home!”
--
A/N: I’m skipping ahead 2 years, so the girls are almost 3 (2 years and 8 months.) Sorry for the giant leap and very little detail of the first 2 years, but I don’t want to be writing this for 6 years 
“Catherine Faith,” Sara called, frustrated, “Stop pulling on the plants!”
Sara threw her dishtowel back on the counter top and walked briskly to the corner of the living room, scooping Cathy up into her arms. Cathy pouted, squirming and flailing her arms.
“Stop that,” Sara scolded sternly. “Catherine, would you behave yourself?”
“No,” she protested, “No, no, no!”
Sara sighed, “Do you want another time-out?”
“No,” Catherine cried, screaming at the top of her lungs, “No Momma! No!”
“Then stop it,” Sara set the toddler on her feet, and she skipped back off to the livingroom, grabbing her plush caterpillar from the floor.
Isabella sat quietly, scribbling on a piece of white paper with a pink crayon. She stuck her tongue between her teeth and lips, concentrating hard on what she was drawing. Setting the pink crayon down, she rummaged through her box, retrieving an orange crayon and setting back to work. With a final stroke or colour, she stood up, gathered her paper in her pudgy hands, and toddled to her mother’s hip.
“Momma,” she questioned softly, “Momma, look!” She tugged on Sara’s waistband eagerly. Sara stooped down to her daughter’s level and straightened her baby fine wavy hair on her shoulders.
“What, my sweetheart?”
Bella held her paper up to Sara’s face. Sara gasped, reading what it said. In bold pink and orange letters, it clearly read “Bella”. Sara gently took the paper from Bella’s hand and stuck it on the fridge proudly.
“That’s amazing! Where did you learn to do that?” Sara picked up the small girl and placed her on the island, holding on to her hips securely. Bella smiled.
“Daddy show me,” she beamed proudly. “Only two times.” She held up two fingers to emphasize the point. Sara beamed back at the older twin and helped her down off the table. She looked at her watch; it read 2:30.
“Are you girls hungry,” she called across the room to Cathy, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, pulling a loose string off of her knit sweater. “Cathy, please don’t do that.”
Cathy’s head whipped around, her face flushing bright red. Sara knew that expression. Little Catherine was embarrassed about something.
“Cathy, come here to Mom,” Sara said gently, her eyes sympathetic. She had a hunch.
“No, Momma, I can.” Cathy shook her head.
“You can’t, you mean,” Sara corrected, “And yes you can. Come here, honey.”
“No.” Cathy’s eyes welled with tears and she pulled at the part of her pants between her legs. Sara stepped into the livingroom, leaving Bella to sit down by the fridge and lean against it. She watched with interest, her bright eyes following her mother’s every move.
Sara approached the toddler, who scooted away from her, never standing up. Normally, Cathy would have made a game out of this encounter. But at the moment, she didn’t find it amusing. Sara picked Cathy up, patting her pamper-clad bottom gently. Her hunch was correct – Cathy had wet herself.
About two months ago, Sara, Isabella, Cathy and Gil had started the process of potty training the twins. Bella had grasped the concept within a week and a half, and was graduated to “big girl underwear”. Cathy, on the other hand, had a difficult time with it. After two months, she was still in diapers.
Sara knew her daughters well enough to realize that Catherine idolized her sister and wanted to be just like her. Sara had tried to explain to Cathy in the simplest terms that she didn’t have to be just like her sister. However, the toddler was extremely embarrassed that her sister could go on the toilet and she couldn’t. Cathy tried to hide this embarrassment as best as she could, but Sara saw past the stubbornness.
“Cathy,” Sara whispered softly, “Did you go pee in your diaper?”
Cathy nodded solemnly. Isabella stood up and followed Sara to the nursery. Each girl made up the two 3-year-old sized beds that had replaced the cribs sloppily that morning, and their teddy bears and other paraphernalia sat atop the mess. Sara smirked at their attempt to keep their room clean. She sat Cathy on her bed, and Bella sat across from her on the other.
Sara stripped Cathy’s bottom half of pants and her diaper and pulled her to her feet.
“Go get another, sweetheart,” Sara said, exasperated, and slapped Cathy’s bare bottom playfully as she ran modestly to the toddler sized chest of drawers. She pulled out a thick diaper and a pair of black stretch pants. Cathy held both possessions in her hands and ran back to Sara, her bottom bouncing.
Sara helped the embarrassed, humbled little girl into her change of clothes. Isabella sat watching on her own bed, snickering at her sister. Cathy looked over Sara’s shoulder to her sister, and the tears came again. She wrapped her arms around Sara’s neck, sobbing into her shoulder. Sara lifted her into her arms, and the shaking almost 3-year-old slid her legs around Sara’s mid section.
“Isabella,” Sara spoke sharply but softly, “Don’t laugh at your sister’s mistake. Because you don’t wet your pants doesn’t mean you’re allowed to make fun of Cathy for it. It makes her very uncomfortable. Do I make myself clear?”
Bella’s lip quivered and she hung her head. Sara mentally slapped herself for being so harsh with the mousy shy Grissom. Isabella certainly was out of character making fun of her sister, but Sara’s mood shouldn’t have affected the way she spoke to her daughter.
“I’m sorry, darling,” Sara said, sitting next to Bella on the small bed.
Bella started to sniffle, and the tears dripped from her cheeks onto her lap. She adjusted Cathy and moved her to one hip, and scooped Bella into her arms as well. She carried both twins into her and Gil’s bedroom and laid them both on the bed. She crawled on top of the bed herself, positioning herself between Bella and Cathy.
Sara cradled one sobbing twin in each arm, both small faces lying on her shoulder. She got a quick glance of the blaring red 2:51 of her alarm clock before closing her eyes and falling asleep out of pure exhaustion. She wasn’t sure, but the girls had probably tuckered themselves out from crying and drifted off briefly after she had.
