Here is our follow-up to A Trip to Las Vegas, all fluff. Finished in 3-4 chapters. Enjoy! Also at fanfiction.net.
?I have a packet of papers for you,? the lawyer said over the phone. ?We have final signatures for adoption.? Her voice sounded tentative, soft, unlike a courtroom lawyer. This woman specialized in adoptions, private ones, when a birth parent is involved in selecting adoptive parents for a child.
Months earlier Eli Brown had come to live with the Grissom?s for six months. Now, his birth mother, half-way around the globe, with another husband and a new baby was living a life that wanted no part of the son of Warrick Brown. Grissom had known from the day she left the child that she would not return.
?What?s the next step?? Gil Grissom was prone on the couch, a sleeping baby across his chest. The subject of the paperwork could be heard on the porch along with the quiet voice of Sara and the occasional high-pitched giggle of a two year old.
?The adoption judge reviews everything. It is pretty straight forward from this point. Depending on workload, plan to hear from his office in a week or ten days. You, Sara and Eli will need to appear in his chambers for the official signing. This guy likes to see the family group. And on that day, Eli officially becomes a Grissom.?
?Thanks so much. We?ll be there.?
It was difficult for him to fight the mixture of emotions he felt as he clicked the phone and dialed another number.
The baby he held, and her sister sleeping in the same room, were his own flesh and blood, planned and delivered into a welcoming, sunny world. Their mother bubbled with love even when both babies insisted on staying awake at two in the morning. Their two-year old sister, the one with the infectious giggle he heard, had been their introduction to parenthood?a gift, he believed, for waiting so long, for the fear and grief and darkness that invaded their lives and had metamorphosed into an intense love before their baby was born.
Little Bizzy had entered the world with a laugh instead of a cry and every day had been a delightful discovery for her ?older than usual? parents. The easy parenting with Bizzy made the two decide quickly to have a second child. On the day Sara learned she was pregnant with twins, Eli came to them. It was temporary, only six months, while his mother was out of the country.
Grissom knew?from the day of the request?Eli?s mother was giving the child to the man his father selected. He knew he had a son the day Eli took his hand without a glance back at his mother. The little boy was in their home less than a week when Sara became ?momma? to him. Several weeks later, in a children?s playground, Eli had pointed to another man with a boy, saying ?That?s his daddy.? He had looked up at Grissom asking, ?Will you be my daddy?? That day, all Grissom could do was nod his head.
Six months passed quickly and Grissom knew more than his heart would break if the boy left them. A letter arrived without notice, asking to extend temporary guardianship of Eli. Grissom and Sara decided to ask for permanent custody which led to an adoption attorney and a new direction. An exchange of money for signatures had paved the way in providing completed paperwork. In her favor, Tina did ask for an annual report and occasional contact with the son she was giving up. Sara laughed at the request; she had seen the interest, or lack of, taken in the child in six months.
Sara maintained that Eli was meant for them and would have eventually joined their family in some way. From the first day, she loved him as much as she loved her daughter?a gentle, quiet behavior of soothing words and physical contact, never clutching or demanding. She stayed calm, never raising her voice, and always smiling as she hugged a child for some mishap or tears.
The infant on his chest stirred as he left a message. He had promised to keep others who knew Eli?s father informed of their adoption progress. Everyone, it seemed, had held a breath, knowing a birth mother could change her mind.
Shadows, sounds, and activity appeared at the door. A small dark haired, blue-eyed girl, a little boy who looked much like the father he would never know, and a big brown dog appeared as Sara leaned against the doorframe while the two children tumbled and giggled to reach him. The dog waited patiently for a pat before curling on the floor.
?Let me take her,? Sara lifted the baby who snuggled and sighed at the familiar smell of her mother. The baby?s place was taken by Bizzy boosted up by Eli who scrambled to wedge himself beside Grissom with more giggles and chattering and scrambling.
Grissom made a loud grunt and both children laughed and toppled as he helped both find a place.
?Book. Read!? The two-year old waved her hand toward a stack beside the couch and Grissom picked a random book and held it up. Both children nodded.
?Sara, within two weeks?the lawyer called.? Grissom called to his wife as she disappeared out the door.
?The lawyer called.? Eli repeated.
?Yeah, buddy. We are going to add Grissom to your name. Remember when we talked about that?? Grissom said as the little boy nodded. Grissom was never sure how much a four-year old understood, but Eli seemed to know a lawyer had some special significance in his life.
Grissom read the caterpillar book?everyone?s favorite and every word already memorized by the two children. As he read the story, he heard Sara talking to the housekeeper who came for a few hours each day. He and Sara?s mother had insisted that household help would be needed with the addition of twins. Very reluctantly, Sara had agreed. It had worked out better than expected?like the mini-van.
He continued reading as one child?s breathing became the soft, regular breaths of sleep. Eli rubbed his eyes, knowing naptime was approaching and fighting to stay awake for a few more minutes. By the time the story ended, the boy was asleep. And because he was covered by two sleeping children, Grissom remained on the couch.
Quietness was rare in this house. A talkative four year old, learning new sentences every day, a two-year old who was just as talkative and stringing together words she heard from others, and the two babies, who slept a lot and cried some, kept the noise going at an almost constant level. Grissom closed his own eyes knowing the quietness would last about ten minutes.
He felt the presence of Sara. He always knew when she walked into the room; he had known this for years. He opened one eye.
?Hey,? he whispered.
She held one baby and sat down in the chair beside him. ?Annie wants to be fuzzy today. Maybe she?ll sleep for awhile.?
?You do a great job, Sara.?
Her hand reached to touch his face. ?Four kids, Gil, who would have thought we would have this?? Her fingers combed through his hair as she leaned over and kissed him. The baby grunted. ?I?ll move Bizzy to her bed.?
This time Grissom grunted. ?I?m fine. Go rest?you were up half the night. I?ve got these two.? He looked at the second sleeping baby. ?I?ve got three?go rest.?
