Interesting discussion! Here's the next chapter---Two more to go until the conclusion. Enjoy
By the time the two returned home, two older nuns, good-natured, laughing women, had fed, bathed, and read to four little children. Grissom brought ice cream as a treat before bedtime. Sara settled on the sofa and related the physician?s explanation of her condition to the women while children chattered and ate with their dad.
?I don?t know that I am capable of making a decision,? she said.
The older nun came to her side. ?Yes, you can. Do what is necessary for your own health, Sara. Your baby is fine. We will be here to take care of everything else.? She combed Sara?s hair away from her face. ?We?ll get the kids to sleep; you and Grissom go to the porch.?
The porch bed had proven to be a creative place for children and adults. Sara had spent hours on it as she watched her children play. They had returned to their happy, playful temperaments, rarely disagreeing with each other, never straying far from the porch. It was easy for one to crawl onto the bed and snuggle next to Sara, and after one came, the second one arrived, and all four would end up beside her. Even Grissom joined them on the swaying bed, letting the giggling gang crawl over him as he pretended to nap.
If truth were known, Grissom?s favorite time on this specially designed bed was when he could be alone with Sara. They would tuck children into beds?Sara saved her last upright time for bedtime, touching each child in the few minutes before sleep came. Grissom knew this was important to her.
Tonight, their neighbors, whose presence in the house was almost constant now, would cuddle and rock and read to the children until sleep closed their eyes. The women would quietly leave by the back door so they would not disturb the couple on the porch.
?We have good neighbors,? Sara said quietly as she laid her head on Gil?s chest.
He was propped on multiple pillows one arm behind his head. ?Have you thought about what to do?? He had worried for weeks; he did not want to make this decision.
?I?ve read everything about this, Gil. It?s?the safest way to do this is to have the uterus taken out.? She lifted her head. ?It sounds like an amazing procedure?just wish it was not me.? She sighed. ?I?ll have my little Will, Eli gets a brother.?
Grissom?s lips touched her hair. ?I love you, Sara.?
?She set a date, talked with her doctor, made plans with her neighbors. She called one good friend. For a change, time passed swiftly.
?Greg is coming.?
Grissom smiled. He had already gotten an email from Greg.
?You knew! Did he tell you I asked him to come??
He nodded. ?I knew you would invite him. The kids love him and he can drive Eli to school. Show and tell with Greg?that should keep everyone entertained.?
Grissom still thought of Greg as a smart young kid in the lab and often forgot how many years had passed since that time.
Sara rolled to her side. ?You know Greg is almost the same age as you were when we met.? She watched as his eyes grew wide. ?Yes, he is.?
A gruff grunt came from Grissom. ?He needs to settle down, start a family.?
She snickered. ?Yeah, like someone else we know so well.? She poked a finger into his ribs to make sure he understood who she was talking about.
?Greg Sanders entering the Grissom home created a minor tsunami as this tidal wave of his laughter and squeals of delight from four children rolled from the porch throughout the house. Sara heard it begin from the bedroom.
With Greg came entertainment as he relived childhood jokes, toys, and stories; the uncle every child needs as he pulled presents from his bag and candy from his pockets?not the little pieces of candy their parent let them have, but huge candy bars and giant packages of sweet stuff. He put a pink glitter jeweled crown on Eli?s head and acted confused as the girls laughed at his mistake.
?That?s for a girl!? Bizzy said between giggles.
Greg reached into his bag. ?Does this mean Eli gets this?? He tossed a large bag of marshmallows in the air catching it before it landed.
The questioning looks on four faces became more confused as he pulled another object out?a long clear hollow tube with an assortment of odd attachments. The children were silent, round mouths and wide eyes watching as he opened the bag of colored marshmallows and dropped one into the tube.
?Watch this,? he said right before his mouth covered an opening and he blew. The small marshmallow was lost as it flew across the room amid the ensuing excitement of not one, but four identical shooters were passed into little hands.
Annie ate the first handful as her attempts to blow into the tube turned the small sweet confections into slobbery, spit covered blobs of sticky goo. Greg wiped her mouth and her shooter as he was pelted with flying marshmallows from three others. With shouts of glee, he scooted behind a chair with Annie and they tossed the soft puffed sweets back to the shooters.
?I don?t even want to know what?s going on,? Sara said from her bed.
?Neither do I.? Grissom said. He had picked Greg up at the airport and given him a detailed account of Sara?s condition. He had not needed to include his own agonizing fear.
Greg had also read all he could on Sara?s condition. ?What?s she going to do?? He asked.
?Caesarean hysterectomy. She decided it was the safest procedure?less bleeding, less chance of a lot of things.?
?I read where this happens and no one knows until delivery?blood loss can be tremendous, the mother can die...? he stopped in mid-sentence as he suddenly realized the implications of what he said. ?Sorry.?
?I?ve read it all, Greg.? He chuckled in an unfunny way. ?Sara thinks it will be an interesting procedure to watch. They will actually remove the uterus with the baby inside, then make the incision to take the baby.?
?You going in??
?Yeah.?
Nothing else was said about the event scheduled for two days.
Sara, her housekeeper, and two neighbors had made lists for everything. Greg was there for distraction?he knew his job?amuse four young children with enough activity so they did not miss their parents. Much.
