Recap:("Does this baby have a name?" Brass asked)

"If she does, then Sara didn't tell me what it was. She said she didn't want anyone to visit until shift is over so that Gil can get some rest." Catherine told everyone within listening range.

"I will spread the news. Bye." Brass hung up at the same time as Catherine. It didn't take long for word to be spread. Catherine took a minute to text Ecklie of the news and resumed her previous tasks as well.

Meanwhile, Sara sat and rocked the baby and watched Gil sleep. She had started to fuss and that woke Gil.

"Hey." He called to her sleepily. He motioned with his hand to come over and sit with him.

"Hi. Sleep well?" She asked and sat carefully on the bed, making sure that Gil could see their daughter.

"For a bit. Can I hold her now?" He very slowly adjusted the bed to an upright position. Before Sara could hand her over, Dr. Metz knocked and entered.

"Oh good you're awake. I need to check your stitches, so lie that bed right back down. Sara, I brought the video tape you asked for." She nodded and he set the tape in the basinet while Gil reclined the bed. Dr. Metz was gentle with his prodding and poking. Gil only winced once or twice. Gil was covered and raised the bed again.

"It looks good. You are not to get out of that bed for any reason until I give you clearance. I will come back in a few hours to check again." Gil nodded and the doctor left. Sara placed the baby in her father's arms. Gil could only stare at the tiny being that he had carried in his body on hours ago. He felt a sense of loss and accomplishment at the same time. He wished that he had his journal nearby to pen his thoughts down. Instead, he settled for gazing into the blue eyes of this precious little girl. His little girl; his and Sara's. He was a family man now and that filled him with pride.

"She needs a name." Sara mentioned idly. Gil nodded and studied the tiny face that was gazing back. Sara took a picture and then settled carefully next to him on the bed.

"How about Erica or Eileen?" He suggested. Sara looked over his shoulder.

"Erica Grissom. I like it." She checked her watch to see how much time they had left. She knew that Catherine would be the first one in the room after shift ended.

"Visitors will be coming soon. Let me get a washcloth and see if I can make you a little more presentable. He nodded, never taking his eyes from Erica's face. Sara wiped his face to clear it of teardrop residue and declared him visitor ready. Sara almost bumped into Catherine when exiting the bathroom.

"Congratulations you two!" She hugged them both and then placed a small stuffed animal on the bed by Gil's feet. She held her hands out expectantly and took Erica away before either parent even had a chance to protest.

"Oh, she's so precious! Yes you are, yes you are. I am going to spoil you rotten." She had begun talking to the baby. Sara gestured that she would be back in ten minutes or so.

"So, what's her name?" Catherine diverted enough attention from Erica to ask the question.

"Erica." Grissom answered and the rest of the guys entered the room. They didn't try to take the baby from Catherine and instead looked over her shoulder. Each one of them had brought something for the baby.

"She's gonna break some hearts. You two better watch out." Warrick told them and then looked around the room.

"Where's Sara?" He asked and everyone else looked up.

"She went to the car to get our bags. She'll be back in a minute." Grissom answered.

"Catherine, let someone else have a turn or give her back to me." Sara smiled at her as she entered the room followed by the nurse then minutes later. Catherine reluctantly handed Erica over to Brass who had also begun cooing to the baby, thus showing a whole new side to him. Greg actually started to laugh and Nick soon joined him.

"What?" Brass asked, annoyed.

"I'm sorry man, It's just listening to you baby talk makes you less intimidating. It's a good thing you don't talk to suspects like that." Greg answered and continued to laugh. Gil smiled but everyone else chuckled with his explanation.

"There are too many people in here." Just as she had said this, Sophia came in. Sara stepped up.

"We'll make them leave if you can take a picture of all of us first." Karen looked at all of the law enforcement officers and agreed. After making sure that Sara was next to Gil holding Erica, the rest crowded around the new family. Three photos were taken before the nurse shooed half of them to the hallway. Even the, it had taken her ten minutes to do. She finally convinced them by reminding them about the germ factor and too many germs too soon would make her sick. Everyone had a chance to hold the baby and spend a few minutes talking before going home. Catherine captured the first picture of the new parents with Erica. The most surprising part of the day was Ecklie's visit and that he brought a gift for Erica. Sara was secretly amused that Erica didn't start to cry until she was placed in Ecklie's arms. She had enough sense to wait until she was alone to chuckle about it. They were finally alone, mostly due to visiting hours ending. They knew that everyone, particularly Catherine, would be back the next morning. Sara rested on Gil's shoulder as he fed Erica her bottle. She used one of her hands to touch all over her head and hands. She just couldn't seem to stop.

"She's so beautiful. I'm glad we did this." Gil told his wife as she was changing Erica's diaper. Sara looked over at him and smiled.

"Me too. I love you. Thank you for making me so happy." Sara had swaddled the baby and held her close to her chest.

"You have made me just as happy. I love you too." Gil said and Dr. Metz came in for a visit.

"Good evening, Grissom family." They nodded and Gil automatically lowered the bed. It was good timing because he was getting tired anyway. Dr. Metz poked and prodded at his handiwork before changing the bandage. He told Gil that he could only have water or ice chips until the morning when he would be back to check the bandages again, after that, they would talk about solid foods. Sara saw that he was falling asleep and acknowledged the instructions on his behalf. She was getting tired herself but didn't want to put the baby down. Dr. Metz spoke to her.

"Sara, why don't you put her in the nursery, get something to eat and then rest. You will need your energy in the next few weeks. Gil won't be able to do much and won't have the energy to do it anyway." Sara reluctantly nodded and paged the nurse. Karen came in and it was clear her shift was just about up. Sara asked her to take Emily back to the nursery for a few hours and that she wanted to be woken at feeding time. Karen nodded and checked the bracelets. Sara kissed Gil on the forehead and followed Karen to make sure Erica got to the nursery safely before leaving for food. She stopped by the lab to check on a few things and also gathered the gifts and cards littering Gil's desk. Catherine stopped her.

"Why are you here?"

"I had to check on a few things and get my car. Don't worry. I'm leaving now to get some food and go back to the hospital. Gil isn't allowed to eat yet and I didn't want to eat in front of him." Catherine nodded and walked Sara to her car. She took the keys as a last minute decision.

"Put your stuff in your car and then come with me. I'm taking you to get food and coffee and then you can go back to Gil." Sara was too tired to argue and did as she was told. Catherine drover her to Starbucks for strong coffee and a sandwich. Sara looked like she had enough energy to get back to the hospital safely. Having indeed made it back safely, Sara collapsed in the pull out bed in Gil's room.

Two days later, the Grissom family arrived at home. While Gil slept, Sara spent her time bonding with the baby. When Ecklie had come to visit, his gift to the parents was time off for Sara. She now had two whole weeks at home to let Gil maximize his recuperation rest. She was also saddled with all of the housework because he wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than the baby anyway. Every day one of the team, usually Catherine, came over to the house to help out or let Sara rest too. It wasn't always pleasant because Gil was suffering a drastic hormone shift again. The team was witness to some extremely un-Grissom like behavior. Nick heard him scream at Sara for something that was Greg's fault. It made his outbursts at the lab look like whispering. Sara took it all in stride and somehow maintained calmness about her. She reminded him not to yell and startle the baby and that always worked to subdue him.

The female hormones that Grissom had been injecting himself with for the last year had taken up residence quickly, but were refusing to leave. Dr. Metz noticed this at Gil's two week post natal check up. The incision was healing nicely and Gil was promoted to being able to start driving and taking walks for up to an hour. He also put the man on a low dose testosterone shot to jump start his own hormones again. Within a week, there had been a noticeable change; especially in his libido. It had come back full force and Sara occasionally shot him down. She had realized far too late that Gil wasn't using any contraceptives. The plus side is that he was more pleasant to be around and the emotional tirades were at least limited to things that Sara was due the outburst. They had worked out a new routine so that Sara could go back to work. Grissom was spending lots of time with Erica and taking her on short errands. It shocked him one day, three months later, to see that Sara had written 'buy a home pregnancy test' on the grocery list. He smiled and told Erica how much he loved her mommy. Erica only smiled and swung her arms up and down from her car seat.

It took six months for Gil's hormone levels to balance out to what they were before the pregnancy. Dr. Metz was knee deep in data and starting to write his paper for the medical journal he published articles in. Erica was a healthy happy six month old that loved to cuddle with her daddy. She was sitting up on her own and Sara now spent lots of time avoiding food at all costs. Her diet consisted mainly of rice cakes and other bland tasting food. Her morning sickness was also in the afternoon, evening, and overnight as well. Gil took charge and sent her away when it came time for either him or Erica to eat. Sara usually took her food to the bathroom to save time and energy since most of it came back up within ten minutes.

(Prologue)

One night Sara walked in the break room with Gil right behind her. She was shocked to see Warrick and Nick on the couch crying.

"What's wrong guys?" She asked. Her concern for her friends outweighing her own good news. She and Gil had kept their secret for three months and now felt the need to share it with the team.

"That commercial was so sad." Nick choked out as Catherine and Greg entered the room. Both men were wiping their tears away with Kleenex. Sara cast a suspicious look at Grissom.

"Gentlemen, is there something we should know?" He asked them.

"You both called Dr. Metz, didn't you?" Sara voiced her hypothesis before either one them could answer. They nodded and wiped their faces.

"Who are your donors?" Greg asked.

"Tina." Warrick stated the obvious. Catherine turned bright red when Nick looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"You're kidding, right?" Greg asked in disbelief. She shook her head.

"He talked me into it. Lindsey is very excited to be a big sister."

"How far along are you two?" Grissom asked them.

"Twelve and a half weeks." Warrick told the group.

"Eleven weeks." Nick said proudly. All in the room smiled. Sara left Grissom's side and headed to the couch.

"Well I guess that makes three of us. We're fouteen weeks." She sat down between the two men. Jaws dropped in shock all around her. Greg groaned at the thought of three hormonal parents-to-be around here and the mood swings (Sara's in particular as they had just come back from a short belated honeymoon) would cause for a working environment. He did not anticipate a good next year. Congratulations were extended around the room just before Gil handed out assignments. Everyone made sure they carried extra carefully labeled syringes and crackers for Nick and Warrick knowing they would be needed.

The three investigators blossomed slowly under the support of the other three. Nick, Warrick and Sara all delivered boys within a week of each other. The crime lab family grew happily. Sara and Grissom decided they were done having children and made sure that they had plenty of protection on hand at home until Sara's birth control patch had time to take effect. Erica had just celebrated her first birthday when Sara delivered Anthony. Tina eventually gave birth to a daughter just over two years after their son Jacob was born. Nick married Catherine soon after Jonathan's birth and adopted Lindsey. They bought a new, larger house together near Gil and Sara's place. Greg was happy to be a surrogate uncle to all six children. He eventually found love and became a father himself though never experienced pregnancy first hand. For many years, the group would gather for a mass barbeque.

The End.

(3-20-07) revised (9-28-08)

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A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! The votes are in and my new pen name is Twisted Puppy. Thank you to Wanda for your excellent betaing and suggestions! I have begun a new story and will hopefully begin posting by the end of the week. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you. Without your reviews, I would not have the courage to keep posting!