The Days in the Life of Gilbert Grissom
Chapter 1: The Day of the Hand Language
A/N: Hi everybody! This story will deal with the life of the most interesting of the CSIs, Gil Grissom. It starts when he is five, and ends when he is about twenty five. So far, there are about 8 chapters. Each chapter is set about 2-5 years apart. I don't own CSI. Enjoy the fic. If you read/review, I promise I'll update faster.
"Gil, where are you?" Marybeth Grissom called through the house. There was a sound of running footsteps, and a small boy of five ran in front of her. His dark brown hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. There was a somewhat guilty expression behind his light blue eyes. It may or may not have had something to do with the open jar in his hand. In that jar sat a very large insect.
"Gil, it's time to -" Mrs. Grissom started. She stopped abruptly when he saw the jar. She flashed the little boy a stern glare. It was clear that something of the sort had happened many times before.
"Gilbert Xavier Grissom, what have I told you", she said in warning.
Young Gil Grissom shrugged his shoulders. "Her name is Millie, and she's a centipede", he said brightly. He flashed his mother a wide smile that made her heart melt. She could never stay mad at Gil for long. He was such a good boy. He had a peculiar fascination with insects, but he had always been a very good boy.
"Just don't bring it in the house", she whispered. She ruffled his already messy hair and shooed him out of the way. Gil opened his mouth to reply smartly, as he usually did, but Marybeth heard none of it. It was just as she had always feared, ever since she had been about twenty. It was what the doctors had warned her might happen.
Marybeth Grissom suffered from a gradual hearing loss that had begun in early adulthood. Her mother had had it, as had her grandfather. It was genetic. She hoped Gil didn't get it. It had not yet become sever. She had only ever heard a couple of words less clearly. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Lately, however, it had slowly been getting worse. She had yet to admit it, not even to her husband, but recently there have been times when she had missed entire sentences. She had resolved to learn to live with it…but with Gil…hearing was essential so that she would be able to understand Gil.
Gil was about to take his centipede Millie outside, but Marybeth stopped him. "I need to talk to you about something very important", she said to her son. She sat down on the sofa, and Gil sat down next to her. He looked up at her, his big blue eyes filled with curiosity. Gil had always loved learning. He had always loved discovering things…
Marybeth thought for a moment, trying to find a way to phrase this situation so that a five year old would understand. Then again, Gil wasn't exactly the most normal of five year olds. She decided to just go for it.
"You know how everyone has 5 senses, right?" she asked. He nodded his head vigorously, as if to say that was a stupid question to ask.
She continued, "Well…one day, probably very soon, I'm going to lose my hearing." Gil gasped, and his eyes went wide.
"You mean you won't be able to talk to me anymore?" Gil asked sadly. He was so sad, and so sincere. Mrs. Grissom was quick to allay his fears.
"I'll still be able to talk to you, but it'll be a different way of talking, sort of like a secret language." Young Gilbert looked intrigued. She knew that a prospect of a secret language would by exciting him. Gil loved to learn and discover new things.
"How do you speak this language?" Gil asked excitedly. It sounded as though he couldn't wait to start learning.
"I'll teach you how to speak it", Marybeth said matter-of-factly.
Teach him is just what she did. She knew that this day was coming. She remembered when her own mother had begun loosing her hearing. She was about Gil's age when that happened. Her mother began to teach her sign language as soon as that happened. Both her older brother, and herself had to learn it. That was how she had become fluent in sign language, just as she knew Gil must. She hoped he never lost his hearing.
Gil's eyes lit up as his mother taught him word after word. This lesson reinforced his belief that his mommy knew everything. When Gil grew up, he wanted to be just as smart as his mommy and his daddy. That's the reason he practiced his reading and his math every afternoon after he got home from kindergarten. His teacher, Mrs. McGreevy said that he was a smart little boy. Gil wanted to know everything.
He copied his mothers hand movements thoughtfully and very carefully. He wanted to get it exactly right. He would giggle in delight every time he signed a word correctly. This wasn't as hard as he thought. This was so easy! When his daddy got home, he would show his daddy this cool new language. He would show his daddy how smart he was.
"This secret language is just between you and me, Gil", his mother said kindly.
Gil nodded eagerly. All he wanted was for his mommy to teach him more of this cool new language. Maybe he could teach some of the kids in his class. They were sure to like that. They would think this cool language was nifty.
Gil was eager to show the other boys in his class. He knew that they would love to see that. The other boys didn't really like to play with him when it was playtime. He heard the other boys taking, and they said he wasn't cool enough to play. Davey McScarf would call him bug boy. This cool secret language was sure to make them want to play with him.
He didn't want to break his promise to his mommy. This was a problem for Gil. His mommy was great, but he didn't like to play alone at playtimes. Georgie Smith used to play with him, but then he moved really far away…to Canada. Maybe his mommy wouldn't mind that much…
Gil heard the sound of a car in the driveway that stopped his lesson. Fredrick Grissom had come home from work. Marybeth didn't hear the car, but she could tell that her husband was home because of the look on Gil's face. Often, he waited all day, just for his father to arrive. The two were truly like two peas in a pod.
"Daddy!" Gil yelled, running to the man in the doorway. Fredrick was a tall man with graying hair, and his glasses were the identical to those of his son. He was a professor of botany at the local university. In Gil's opinion, that was the coolest job in the world.
"How was your day dear?" Marybeth asked her husband gently. She was sincerely interested in how his day was. As his father told his mother about his day at work, Gil became impatient. He wanted to tell his daddy about his day. It was a very interesting day, honest and truly. He tugged on his father's suit leg, causing the older man to bend down and look at him.
"I'm sorry for ignoring you, my smart little guy", Mr. Grissom said with a small chuckle. "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?" Gil smiled. His daddy was really the coolest daddy ever.
"Mommy taught me something really cool!" Gil said, excitement shining in his eyes. He looked down at his little hands, and moved them exactly as his mother had shown him. His small face was screwed up in concentration, and when he was finished, his face broke out in a wide grin. "That means my name is Gil", Gil said smiling.
"That's great Gil", his father said slowly. It looked as though he was slowly digesting this new information. It was impossible to tell how he felt. Gil thought that he was sad, because he was frowning a little.
"Why are you sad daddy?" Gil asked sadly. His father's smile returned, and he ruffled Gil's messy brown hair. He only did that when he was happy.
"I'm not sad at all, just a little surprised", Fredrick Grissom said earnestly. That was really how he felt, for he had never, nor would he ever, lie to his son.
Marybeth shot her husband a look which meant; we need to talk. Fredrick followed his wife into the kitchen. Gil tried to follow, but his mother stopped him.
"Your father and I need to have a grown-up conversation" said Marybeth. She went into the kitchen and closed the door, locking Gil out.
Gil scowled. He hated being left out of things. He wasn't a baby. He was five whole years old. That was a lot; a whole hand. He tried to listen at the door but he couldn't hear them. At least they weren't yelling. He would be able to hear if they were yelling. Maybe mommy was teaching daddy the hand language. It could be the secret language of their whole family.
That would be so cool!