Yay, new chapter (yeah, very short)! My beta seems to be disappeared, so I'll post it anyways and I'll fix it later. Enjoy!
A HOUSE FOR FOUR... AND A HALF
When Sara first stepped inside the mansion she immediately realized how much of herself Calleigh had put in it: the hall was very large and bright, with pale orange walls and rustic tiles on the floor. The wooden furniture was simple and yet very classy and the paintings on the walls showed beautiful landscapes.
“Calleigh’s mother made them.” Horatio explained, closing the door behind himself and throwing the keys of the car on a small table.
“She’s really talented.” Grissom commented, admiring them.
“Yeah, they’re beautiful.” Agreed Sara, fixing the bag on her shoulder. Grissom had forbidden her to carry anything else. She was still a little weak and the wound would take weeks to heal completely, but she felt much better now that she was out of the hospital.
“Hey, you’re here!”
Calleigh had just come out of another room and she was now wearing one of her brightest smiles while approaching them, climbing a couple of steps that separated the huge living room from the hall. She was wearing a pink shirt under denim overalls, which underlined the gentle curve of her abdomen, and her hair was tied in as ponytail. She looked like a teenager and Sara wondered for the first time how old she was. She didn’t seem to be older than thirty.
“Sara! I’m so glad you accepted our invitation!” she exclaimed hugging her. Sara returned the hug with a smile.
“I hope we can find a cheap hotel as soon as possible.” Said Sara. “I don’t want to bother you for more than the necessary.”
“Don’t be silly, we’re happy to have you here,” Horatio intervened. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have suggested.”
Calleigh nodded laughing.
“You see? The boss has spoken.”
Sara felt comfortable and relaxed like she had never been. There was something in that atmosphere, in that house, in those people, that made her feel at home.
“Now, I guess you’re all tired and hungry,” Calleigh went on. “I’ll show you your rooms, so you can rest for a while, while I finish preparing the dinner.”
“I’ll go and feed the cats in the meantime.” Horatio announced, heading to the door on the opposite side of the living room.
“You have cats?” Sara asked, following Calleigh up to the stairs with Grissom.
“Yes,” Calleigh answered. “We have a male and a female, Bob and Bullet. Horatio gave them to me for our first six months of marriage. He thought he had the most surprising present, but I won.”
“What did you give him?” Grissom asked.
“My pregnancy test.” Said Calleigh with a grin.
A shocked look appeared on Grissom’s face.
“That’s more or less the same expression Horatio had that day.” Calleigh commented, stopping in front of a door. “Gil, this is your room. I’m sorry if it’s a little bare, but I haven’t had the time to think about it yet.”
When she opened the door, Sara thought it was a perfect guestroom, cosy and large, but it was clear that there wasn’t Calleigh’s southern touch in it.
“It’s even better than my own room.” Gil observed, entering and giving Calleigh a kind smile. “Thank you.”
“Make yourself comfortable.” Calleigh replied. “I’ll show Sara her room.”
Sara cast Grissom an enthusiastic glance, which he returned with a faint smile.
“Here you are.”
Sara turned and saw Calleigh standing in front of another door and reached her.
“This is going to be the baby’s room.” Calleigh explained, opening the door. “But for the next two weeks it will be yours.”
As Sara’s eyes explored the room. She wondered what it would look like once finished. It wasn’t the typical american nursery: the light green on the walls created a peaceful atmosphere and the white curtains of the big window were transparent enough to let some of the light of the sunset come to lie on the large bed right under it.
“Calleigh, it’s beautiful!” she breathed, looking around.
“It will be better when it’ll be finished, but it’s not that bad even now.” Calleigh said, going to the bed and flatting the already perfect coverlet. “I’m sure you’ll be fine in here.”
Sara nodded.
“I am, too.”
She could almost sense Calleigh’s feelings towards that room, and she wondered what it felt like to be waiting for you child to come and be a part of your life, to be carrying it inside you and dreaming of what it’ll look like. For the second time since she had arrived in Miami, Sara found herself envious of Calleigh.
“If everything’s alright, I’ll go and lay the table for dinner.” Calleigh said. “When you and Gil are ready you can come down and join me and Horatio in the back porch.”
“I’ll just wash my hands and get changed, then I’ll come and give you a hand.” Said Sara, taking her jacket off and throwing it on the bed.
“No, you won’t!” Calleigh admonished her, folding her arms. “You’re a guest, a
convalescent guest, and I won’t let you lift a single finger.”
“Fine,” said Horatio, who had appeared on the doorstep. “So you’ll have company while
I finish laying the table.”
Calleigh turned to him, an exasperated look on her face.
“Honey, you’re taking a ridiculous line on this.” She protested. “I’m not handicapped, I’m pregnant!”
“Whatever,” he replied in his calmest tone. “But I still won’t let you make efforts.”
“But laying the table is
not an effort!”
Horatio smirked, blinking to her.
“If it is for Sara, it is also for you.”
“But-“
Horatio ignored Calleigh’s complaints and walked away, leaving her speechless with her jaw dropped.
A small laugh escaped from Sara’s lips, causing her wound to ache, but she just ignored the pain.
“He really loves you.”
Calleigh smiled, looking down at the floor.
“I know.” She said in a whisper, the she looked up again, still smiling. “Well, I’ll go downstairs and watch him laying the table. You take it easy.”
When Calleigh was gone, Sara closed the door and got undressed. There was a soft scent of flowers in the air. She decided she had the time to have a quick shower, so she opened her travel bag to take her towel, but when she looked inside it she saw it was full of man clothing.
“What the hell-?”
Then she realized that her bag had probably been confused with a similar one at the hotel, so she checked the label and read ‘Peter Monroe’. Definitely that was not hers.
She was about to call the hotel, when someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.” she said, sighing.
Calleigh’s blond head appeared from behind the door.
“Sorry for disturbing, I forgot to put the towels in your bathroom.”
“I think I’m going to need more than a towel.” She said, pointing at the open bag. Calleigh went next to her and peeked inside the bag, then looked up at her with a confused look.
“Let me guess,” she said. “The hotel messed with your luggage.”
“Yes.” Sara sighed. “All my clothes are who knows where.”
“I can lend you something,” Calleigh offered. “I have a lot of things I can’t wear anymore” and she pointed at her stomach. “But I’m sure they would look great on you.”
Sara seriously doubted that anything of Calleigh’s would look decent on her. Calleigh was petite and sexy, while she was a clumsy tall ordinary brunette. There was no way she could ever not look ridiculous in Calleigh’s clothes, but she had no alternative.
“Thank you.” She said at last.
Ten minutes later Sara was staring at herself in the mirror of Calleigh and Horatio’s bedroom. She wore a short green dress, since Calleigh’s trousers were too short for her, which perfectly fit her body, sinuously embracing her curves. On her feet there were a pair sandals that Calleigh had persuaded her to wear to match the dress.
“What did I tell you?” Calleigh exclaimed, admiring her. “You look perfect! Green is definitely your colour!”
In spite of herself, Sara had to admit she was right: the colour and the cut of the dress somehow made her look younger and her eyes looked brighter. She thought Calleigh had operated some kind of miracle on her.
“Let’s go downstairs now,” Calleigh said at last. “I think there’s someone who really deserves to see you.”
At that sentence, Sara felt her heart jump in her chest. What would Grissom think of her when he would see her like that?
Calleigh grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out of the room with a mischievous expression on her face.
“Come on, we shouldn’t let our men wait any longer.”
Whatever was about to happen, Sara would soon find out.
TBC...
