Title : How In The World ...?
Summary : Being in an unusual situation makes Grissom ponder over some things.
Disclaimer : Not my characters.
Grissom wondered how in the world, had he come to be sitting in a beautifully furnished living, which belonged to of one of the lab technicians, watching the rest of his team members coo over a new-born baby. His whole team had gathered around the new mother and her baby and were apparently very engrossed with the week-old baby, or so he had been told. The baby would never remember this, Grissom knew.
In actual fact, only Catherine and her daughter Lindsey were cooing at the infant. Nick and Warrick were smiling and admiring the baby, between conversing with the mother. Sara was not cooing or admiring the baby, but she was there with a rather curious expression and was watching the baby and her mother quite intently. Greg was talking gibberish and making all sorts of funny faces, the unfortunate thing was that the baby was way too young to respond yet. Even Brass was there, but he was standing over the group and looking at the baby with a slightly tormented expression in his eyes, though he was smiling broadly.
The proud young mother was delighted with the attention showered on her infant daughter by her workmates. The whole team was obviously on very good terms with her, but Grissom had to rack his brains to figure out what her name was. It took him at least half an hour, from the time that they had arrived to correctly place her. Her name, he had found out earlier was Cleo. Cleo was quite new to him, probably been working there for not more than a year. Unless, the techs were especially outstanding or problematic, Grissom took some time to familiarize himself with the new ones, at least a year or two if not more. Ordinary people around him were just ordinary. If not for Catherine, he probably wouldn't be familiar with over half the lab-techs around, some did come and go. But Catherine had made it a point to make sure that he learned the names of at those who had worked there for at least a year. That's right, Catherine, was the one who had dragged him to this baby-worship session after shift, when all he had wanted to do was have some breakfast and get some sleep. Funny, how she was usually the main cause of a lot of things in his life.
Mentally, Grissom ran his mind over the events that had brought him here. He had gone for breakfast with the team at Catherine's urging. She had met them at the diner after going home to pick up Lindsey, as it was a Saturday.
Lindsey had been very excited because after breakfast, she would be going to see Cleo's new baby. Grissom had not understood very much, until Catherine, who was beside him, whispered that Cleo was a lab- tech, who sometimes babysat Lindsey. The eight-year-old talked non- stop to her attentive audience. Lindsey had always been petted and adored by most of his team.
Nick had nieces and nephews and adored children. Warrick was not so fortunate, but it was obvious that he adored the little girl, whose mother he admired. Greg acted younger than Lindsey and connected very well with the child. Brass was fond of her too. Sara was a bit wary of Lindsey but with so much attention from the guys, Lindsey never noticed the fact.
Grissom himself paid a lot of attention to Lindsey and if asked, would freely admit that he adored the little blonde. What may not come up so easily, was the fact that he loved her like she was his own. Sometimes, he wished that she was, even though as a general rule, he didn't like children that much.
Lindsey had been thrilled with the attention and come up with a brilliant idea. She had asked the whole team to come with her and her mother to visit the new baby. Amazingly, the team had agreed, even though it was a Saturday and it had been a somewhat difficult shift. After a phone call to check with Cleo, the whole team had gone to the house.
Sara had made a very feeble attempt to get away by saying that she had some groceries to buy. Lindsey had countered her statement by saying that the shops weren't open yet. And she told Sara that it would be really fun to see the baby. Grissom was quite surprised when Sara had shrugged and agreed to come along.
Grissom had opened his mouth to give his excuse. But then he had caught Catherine's eye. She knew exactly what he was about to do, so she indicated her happy daughter with her eyes. Nick and Warrick were swinging her between them and she was giggling with delight.
Catherine's eyes said, "Do you want to disappoint her?"
Grissom shut his mouth. He had been specifically included in the invitation for this outing after all. Lindsey had named each of the team by name, when calling Cleo to tell her of the additional guests.
So here he was, watching the members of his team pay homage to a tiny infant. It wasn't really that he disliked infants in general, he had just never been to visit someone who had just given birth before.
He had held a new-born before. Just seconds after the infant had emerged in loud protest. She had been the most beautiful creature in the world, the tiny baby in his hands covered with blood and gore. It had not been a visit because he had been there from the beginning of the pregnancy, the entire birthing process and was just naturally there for the events after. That had not been a simple visit to a friend.
With stunning clarity, Grissom remembered the feeling of awe that engulfed him as he held a completely new life in his hands. He had vowed to the baby girl that he would protect her forever. It had been pure uncomplicated love at first sight. Even though, the baby girl had not been his. That fact was so inconsequential.
He spent some time reliving one of the most emotionally charged memories of his life, in his mind. He was so caught up in the memory that he had not realized that the group had shifted.
"Hey," said a voice.
There was a hand on his shoulder.
Grissom blinked into focus. Catherine had touched him and she was holding the baby. She kneeled down to his level and brought the tiny bundle close to him.
"You wanna take a turn holding her, Gil?" asked Catherine, with a radiant smile.
Lindsey was standing beside her mother and nodding her head enthusiastically.
Grissom could never refuse Catherine or the little life that he had sworn to protect forever. He obediently held out his arms and Catherine carefully placed the infant in them.
Grissom was slightly surprised that he remembered the proper way to cradle a new-born. Instinctively, he had supported the fragile head in the crook of his arm. Looking up, he saw the faint look of relief on Cleo's face. It must have been a minor nightmare to trust her precious little baby to him, Gruesome Grissom.
The younger members of the team were stunned. They had expected him to reject the offer or at least have an awkward time trying to cradle the infant. Grissom handled the baby like a pro. Sara had rejected the offer and no one had tried to make her hold the baby.
Brass grinned at the looks on their faces. He had known that Grissom would not have any problems handling the infant. But he couldn't blame Cleo for worrying. It would be another intriguing fact about their enigmatic supervisor, he wondered if they would ever try to figure it out.
Grissom again experienced the sensation of awe, as he cradled the little baby against his body. It wasn't as great as the first time and he suddenly realized that it was what he wanted. He wanted a child.
Looking at the blue eyes of the woman, so close to him, he knew that he wanted a child with her. A child that was really his, not only a child of his heart, though she would always remain his first-born. Watching the woman beside him glance tenderly at the tiny face, cradled in his arms, Grissom again started wondering. How in the world do I tell her?
The End
