Sorry about the crazy long delays between chapters. Life, who'd of thought it could get so complicated.

Chapter 14

After their short trip to Vegas, Grissom was able to get his belongings stored away with Carlisle's help. Sara hung some of their pictures and what was left of Grissom's butterflies in their room. She made it to where they would truly feel at home.

At night Grissom would watch over her closely as her pregnancy progressed. He knew that Carlisle said everything was progressing normally, but this was his first child, he didn't know what to expect. Sara continuously told him that she felt fine, but he was never far from her, and jumped at every little muscle cramp she complained of.

Sara had finished eating dinner, and Grissom cleaned up her dishes. She curled up on the sofa and turned on the television. Grissom finished his task and quickly sat next to her. It was then she noticed his eyes. "Gil, you need to eat." He glanced at her. "Your eyes are nearly black."

"I'm not leaving you here alone." He spoke just as Esme walked in the door.

With a grin Sara responded, "I'm not alone."

Grissom shook his head at her playfulness. "Okay, smartass." He stood and leaned over her. "I'll be back in a few hours." His lips pressed against hers before he stepped out onto the porch and leapt off into the darkness.

Esme soon joined Sara in the living room. She sat quietly until Sara was asleep. Effortlessly Esme carried Sara up to her room and tucked her into bed. She sat in the nearby arm chair and watched the woman sleep before her. Her hand went to her flat abdomen as she longed for the opportunity to have a child once again.

As promised, several hours later Grissom returned. He ran to Sara's heart beat and entered the room quietly knowing she was sleeping. His nose knew Esme was there, but he never saw her as he kept his eyes trained on Sara's sleeping form.

Esme stood and approached him. "She's doing well. Take a shower so you won't reek of blood when she wakes up." She patted him on the shoulder and walked out of the room.

Grissom ran his hand softly over her hair before retreating to the bathroom.

Sara woke when she heard the water running. She took a deep breath and felt a sting in her back. Her hand tried to knead the muscle thinking it was a cramp, but when a sharp pain rippled through her abdomen she knew something was seriously wrong. "Gil!" She cried through clenched teeth.

His keen hearing heard her call his name in agony and Grissom was out of the shower and by her side in less than a second. "Sara!"

"It hurts." All she could do was hold her stomach and grit her teeth.

Esme was going over some new house plans in her husband's study when she heard Sara's painful cry. She rushed upstairs and entered the room. Ignoring Grissom's naked form next to the bed, she was at Sara's side. "Sara, does it feel like you're having contractions?"

"I don't know, it just hurts." Her eyes remained closed as she curled into the fetal position.

"Okay, we need to get you to the hospital. Gil, get dressed and get her down to the car. I'll let Carlisle know we're on our way in." Esme rushed from the room.

Grissom was reluctant to leave Sara's side, but dressed quickly in jeans and a sweater before carefully picking Sara up from the bed and rushing to the garage. Esme already had the car running and was on the phone with her husband as Grissom placed Sara into the back seat. He sat next to her and Esme sped off into the night.

Carlisle was waiting for them at the hospital entrance with several nurses and a gurney ready to attend to Sara. As the car pulled up and stopped, he opened the door and helped Grissom extract her. Sara was still groaning in pain as they placed her on the bed. Her first instinct was to curl up to aid in dulling the pain.

Esme followed as they took Sara straight to a private room. The nurses were quick to cut her pajama pants off and cover her with a paper drape. "Start a bag of LRS, give her a milligram of Ritodrine. Sara I need to check your cervix okay?" He saw her nod slightly through the pain she was dealing with. Carlisle felt inside her with a gloved hand. "You're about six centimeters dilated. Start her on betamethasone." He ordered his nurses before stepping over towards the monitors. One kept rhythm of Sara's heart, the other of her baby's.

After jotting some information down, he spoke silently to a nurse, Grissom heard it loud and clear. "Carlisle?"

He stepped back towards the bed. "Gil, it's okay. Sara, the medication is going to help slow your progressing labor so we can transport you to the hospital in Port Angeles. They have an excellent NICU." She was still feeling the pain, but the medications were beginning to take effect. "Your baby will need to be delivered. There's no stopping your labor completely."

Her eyes grew large as Carlisle spoke. Grissom was growing more and more frustrated. "But she's barely over 30 weeks!"

"She's closer to 32, so your baby's lungs are developed enough to breathe." A nurse stepped up next to them and informed Carlisle that the ambulance had arrived. "Okay, your ride's here. I'm going to call a colleague that specializes in pediatric care. Esme and I will follow you to the hospital."

Sara reached out and grabbed Carlisle's lab coat before he could step away. "I want you to deliver my baby." He smiled and nodded before stepping back and helping the EMT's move Sara onto their stretcher.

Grissom rode with Sara and as promised, Carlisle and Esme followed. It only took the ambulance forty minutes to reach the hospital in Port Angeles. The ambulance stopped and a tall man with black hair opened the door. Carlisle was next to his side as the EMT's removed Sara.

"Doctor Cullen, it's nice to see you again, just wish it was under better circumstances." The man shook Carlisle's hand.

"I agree. This is Sara, close to 32 weeks, premature labor, Ritodrine and betamethasone administered, dilated approximately six centimeters." Carlisle informed the other physician of Sara's conditions and medications as a team of nurses escorted Sara to a delivery room. Grissom was still close to her side.

"Sara, I'm Doctor Jon Tyler, we're going to continue to monitor your labor closely."

"It's too soon." She told him afraid of her baby's fate.

"I'm going to do a sonogram, but your baby is developed enough to survive. He'll just need some special attention right away." Doctor Tyler stood next to her as a nurse dobbed the gel on her belly and handed him the probe. Grissom and Sara watched the screen fearfully hoping everything was going to be alright. "Everything here looks good; heart rate is steady at 135. Right now I want you to rest, the calmer you are; the longer we can prolong your labor."

Carlisle shook Jon's hand as he left. The nurses finished getting Sara as comfortable as they could before leaving the two couples alone. Esme moved to stand next to Sara. She took a cool rag and dabbed the sweat beads on Sara's forehead. "Just breathe Sara." Esme was soothing Sara while Grissom was still slightly panicky.

Grissom rubbed her arm as Carlisle moved to stand beside him. He wanted to be there to comfort his friend in this time of need. Eventually Sara grew tired enough as the pain dulled to fall asleep. Carlisle sat down on the loveseat next to Esme. The three vampires watched as Sara slept. Esme's phone chimed and she checked the text message. She showed it to her husband, and he responded with a shrug.

As the night migrated into morning and morning into afternoon, Grissom had yet to move from Sara's side. Carlisle had been out in the hospital to speak to Jon, and Esme had been to the cafeteria to bring back beverages they didn't drink but lead everyone on as if they were normal people. While speaking to Doctor Tyler, Carlisle heard two nurses talking about Grissom's bedside vigil.

After finishing the conversation, Carlisle stood beside Grissom. "Gil, you need to act human. Get up and walk around, pretend to go to the bathroom, I don't care, but you have to move."

Grissom's gold eyes moved to lock onto Carlisle's. He nodded and stood. "I'll be right back Sara." He kissed her forehead before stepping out with Esme.

Carlisle sat down in Grissom's chair and looked over the monitors. So far everything was going good for both Sara and her baby. She remained asleep for another hour before waking suddenly.

Grissom stood up and Carlisle rushed to Sara's side. Her breathing intensified and her heart rate jumped. Carlisle slipped on a pair of gloves and reached between Sara's legs. Two nurses rushed in as the monitors chimed. "Her water broke and she's fully dilated. Page Doctor Tyler." Carlisle put on a paper gown as the remaining nurse helped prep Sara for delivery. "Your baby is sneaky, he's quietly dropped and ready to make a grand entrance."

It only took several minutes for the room to fill with five nurses and all the items needed to attend to the baby once born. Doctor Tyler had three nurses assisting him as they stood at the back of the room. Two nurses were helping Carlisle as he prepared to deliver the baby.

Nurses placed a drape over her abdomen. "Sara, when you feel the urge to push, I want you to push." Carlisle instructed her. Grissom was holding her right hand while Esme supported her left. Sara was squeezing them with all her might as she pushed. "Good."

After a few pushes Sara felt the burn of her body stretching to accommodate the baby's size. She gritted her teeth before gasping for air. "Breathe Sara." Esme mimicked a slow deep breathe in and out. Sara followed Esme's example and pushed again.

Carlisle didn't need the monitors, he could hear the baby's heart beat, and it slowed drastically. "Sara, push." Grissom heard the urgency in his voice and encouraged her to push as well. Sara did as they coached and the head emerged. Wasting no time Carlisle, used his fingers to help pry the head. "Push!" Sara was quick to tire and just cried at the pain her body was experiencing. She managed to push again at Carlisle's instructions, and he helped slip the baby out of her. "It's a boy."

The nurses were quick to cut the cord and take the infant to Doctor Tyler. Grissom kissed Sara's forehead and watched closely as his son was attended to. "Why isn't he crying?" Panic filled Sara's voice. "Carlisle? Gil?"

Grissom stepped over towards his son. He watched on as the nurses cleared his nose and mouth. Doctor Tyler was listening at the infant's chest, but Grissom could already hear the heart beating slowly. An oxygen mask was held over the face as the team encouraged him to breathe. Rage was building in Grissom as his son had yet to take a breath.

Carlisle remained with Sara continuing to attend to her. He occasionally glanced towards the baby while Esme watched from Sara's side.

It seemed the room was eerily quiet for a split second before the baby's shrill cry broke the silence. Sara breathed a sigh of relief, and Grissom felt his anger quickly subside. As the infant cried his heart rate returned to normal. The nurses finished drying him and wrapped him in a blanket. She passed him to Grissom.

He was holding the most precious thing he could ever cradle in his arms. Grissom looked down at the life he and Sara had created. His feet moved over towards Sara and he passed their son to her. Sara was crying tears of joy as she cuddled her baby. She only had what felt like seconds to bond before Doctor Tyler explained that they needed to take him to the NICU for further treatment. Grissom kissed Sara's forehead before following his son to the intensive care unit.

Carlisle finished with Sara, and a nurse cleaned her up before they changed the bedding and offered her a clean blanket. It was obvious Sara was exhausted from her birthing, and Esme continued to comfort her. "He's beautiful Sara." Carlisle wrapped his arms around her.

"I hope he's going to be okay." She continued to look towards the door hoping her baby would return.

"Let them check him out and I'm sure you'll be able to see him after a bit. You need to get your rest as well." Esme assured her.

Esme sat next to Sara keeping her company while Carlisle went to check up on Grissom. He could feel the man's agitation earlier and feared he might flare up again, but as he entered the NICU he saw Grissom sitting in a chair next to the bassinet his son was sleeping in. "He's a good lookin' lad."

Grissom smiled. "Thanks. I'm sure Sara is worried."

"She is, but knows that you're here with him." Carlisle looked at the monitor. "He's strong, and I'm sure if anything was to happen, Alice would have seen it by now and informed us."

With a smile, Grissom returned his attention to his son as he slept. Right now nothing else in the world mattered but the small boy sleeping next to him.

TDCSI