Title: We're Going to Disneyland!

Rating: Teen

Author: Seattlecsifan

Pairing: Grissom/Sara

Spoilers: None. This is just Grissom & Sara living in a happy place somewhere in the future.

Beta: CSIGeekFan, thanks for helping me through my battles with grammar and punctuation. I couldn't do it without you. Well, actually I could, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun and the results wouldn't be nearly as good.

A/N: This was written for a pal of mine over at TalkCSI/CSIFiles. Happy birthday Bengali13, I hope you have a good one.

XXX

Sara was sitting on the couch in Grissom's office, thumbing through a forensics journal while she waited patiently for him to finish up some paperwork. She really liked this, just being able to spend time together doing nothing. Not having to worry about who would see them together or what conclusions they might draw.

She looked up when Grissom said, "Well I'll be damned."

"What's up, babe?" she asked, a frown marring her brow.

"Hmmm…Oh. The vic in Nick's Circus Circus case. I dated his sister when I was a senior in college. He was a freshman." Grissom looked up and shrugged his shoulders, "Just something for the 'It's a small world' file."

When Sara started to whistle the appropriate Disney tune, he winced and nearly shouted, "No, stop!"

Sara clamped her mouth shut and frowned, wondering what she had done. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him questioningly.

Grissom winced again, this time at his overreaction. "Sorry, honey. I just hate that song. And once it gets in my head it's stuck there for days," he finished, smiling wanly. "You see, my parents took me to Disneyland every year for my birthday, right up until my dad died. And I really loved it - everything but that damn Small World ride. Being stuck in there for fifteen minutes listening to that song over and over again, it seemed like a lifetime And then for days it would be stuck in my head."

He looked down at the palms of his hand for a moment, embarrassed by his outburst.

Looking up, he smiled sadly. "It was my mom's favorite ride. I suppose it was yours, too, huh?"

"No…Actually, I've never been to Disneyland." Sara could feel herself start to blush and ducked her head, suddenly bashful. "My parents couldn't be bothered, and none of my foster families could ever afford something like that."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts of childhood memories and missed opportunities. Suddenly Grissom sat up straight, a wide grin across his face.

"Sara. Would you like to go? To Disneyland, I mean. I haven't been since I was nine, and…well, I was thinking, maybe I could take you. What do you think? Come on, it'll be fun." He'd love to take her to Disneyland. It was easy for him to forget how hard her childhood had been. This was a chance to make up for one of those missing happy childhood memories.

Sara looked at Grissom. He had that boyish look of enthusiasm that he sometimes got when he thought he had come up with a good idea. His eyes were twinkling and she could see the tip of his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. How could she resist such a heartfelt invitation? It was kind of a kid thing, going to an amusement park, but maybe they'd have fun. If nothing else, they had roller coasters there, didn't they? Grissom would have a great time.

"Okay. Yeah. Sure, I'd love for you to take me to Disneyland, Gris." Sara couldn't help but grin when he immediately pulled the calendar up on his laptop and started looking for suitable dates.

After a few minutes of scrolling he looked up triumphantly. "Here's four days next month when neither of us has court. The third Wednesday through the Saturday. Whaddaya say?"

Sara raised her eyebrows, "Four days?"

"Yeah, why not. It'll be like a second honeymoon."

XXX

Sara was asleep, sprawled face down and naked on the bed. The sheet was tangled around her legs and she had her face nestled in the crook of her elbow, trying to block out the morning sunlight. Grissom knew she only slept on her stomach after particularly vigorous sessions of love making and felt a ridiculous surge of male pride in having satisfied his woman so well.

He was feeling unusually relaxed himself. Getting away from work and spending some time alone with his wife was definitely a tonic for the stress of his everyday life. Doing it in the plush bed of a very nice hotel was an added bonus.

Rolling over to glance at the bedside alarm clock, Grissom sighed in frustration, it was nearly nine o'clock. Turning back onto his side he stared at Sara, willing her to wake up.

"Christ, Gris. What time is it anyway?" Sara mumbled, raising her head to blink at the too-bright sunlight streaming through the open drapes. She was sure she'd closed those last night.

"Honey, we've only got an hour to get dressed and get some breakfast. Come on, time to get moving. We're burnin' daylight," Grissom said with a laugh as he slapped her on the rump and jumped off the bed, heading for the shower. He was singing softly under his breath, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me…" as he turned on the water.

Shaking her head, Sara rolled onto her side, swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly sat up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and listened to Grissom's slightly off-key singing. She wasn't sure, but this might just be worse than Christmas morning when he had drug presents into the bedroom three hours before it was time to get up, rustling the wrapping paper until he'd woken her up. He was such a little boy sometimes.

Standing stiffly, Sara shuffled to the bathroom. "Jesus, Grissom, what did you do to me last night? My hips are killing me."

"You seemed to be enjoying it last night, hon." He pulled back the shower curtain and grinned at her. "You certainly weren't complaining. Come on in. The hot water will make you feel better. Loosen up those poor, abused muscles." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"What happened to being in a hurry?" Sara asked as she stepped in to join him.

"Hmmm… I guess Mickey'll just have to wait."

XXX



Two hours later Sara and Grissom walked hand in hand up Harbor Boulevard. It was a beautiful, sunny fall morning, with just a hint of crispness to the air. There were a few fluffy white clouds floating in a bright blue sky; it almost looks like a postcard, Sara thought to herself.

"Now, tell me again why we need four days to go to Disneyland," Sara said as she squeezed Grissom's hand.

"Well, we need one day for Disneyland, another for California Adventure. I thought we might go to the beach if the weather's nice enough. And then we'd have a day to see some museums. There's this great automotive museum up on Wilshire that I've never been to, the Petersen. And the La Brea Tar Pits are right there, too."

Turning left into the main entrance, Sara stopped and gasped. "Jesus, Gris. I didn't realize how big this place was."

"Yep. That's why we need a day at each park. Disneyland alone has four steel roller coasters, over fifty other attractions, and more than two dozen restaurants. There's plenty of vegetarian options, too. And California Adventure is nearly as big."

Sara wrapped an arm around Grissom's waist and hugged him. "You sure seem to know an awful lot about someplace you haven't been to in over forty years."

"Yeah, well I thought a little research was in order," Grissom said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Sara paused at the ticket kiosk. "Don't we have to buy tickets?" she asked.

Grabbing her hand, Grissom tugged her along with him, "Nope. I paid for the tickets to both parks online, and printed the tickets before we left home."

Sara grinned at him. "Aren't you just the little boy scout. Always prepared."

After passing through the turnstiles, they walked under the rail line and past Main Street Station. "Holy cow. It's a six foot tall Mickey Mouse," Sara said, laughing as she pointed.

There was actually a stylized version of an old-time small-town main street, with colorful buildings housing gift shops, and gorgeous flowers everywhere. And large Disney characters walked down the street, pausing to have their picture taken with hoards of children.

Grissom couldn't help but grin at her. He knew she hadn't been all that excited to be visiting Disneyland, but now that she was here he hoped she would have fun. The weather was cooperating, and he'd looked on the internet, checking everything he could think of; trying to ensure a smooth visit.

"Okay, Mister Online Research, where to first?" Sara asked with her tongue planted firmly in her cheek. She figured Grissom was sure to have a plan; he always did.

Unfolding the map of the park, Grissom pointed to the turquoise section on the lower right hand quadrant. "I figure we'll go counterclockwise. First stop Tomorrowland. And, we'll start out with a bang…Space Mountain."

Sara glanced at Grissom out of the corner of her eye, just to confirm her suspicion that his tongue would be poking out of the corner of his mouth. It was. He was so cute with his brilliant blue eyes and boyish smile. He was even wearing a Hawaiian print camp shirt. If it wasn't for the gray hair you'd think he was a man in his thirties.

"Okay, Gris, I'll bite. What is Space Mountain, and why are we going to get a bang out of it?" she asked, knowing he would have all the answers, and would be longing to share them.

"It's a steel roller coaster. It was just rebuilt a few years ago. It's three thousand thirty five feet long, with a top speed of thirty miles an hour. The biggest drop is fifteen feet. But the best part is, since it's all indoors, and it's supposed to be in space….it's in the dark. Cool, huh?"

Sara felt her palms start to sweat and rubbed them against her jeans. "Yeah, cool."

Jesus, she thought to herself, a roller coaster in the dark. Who in God's name would've even thought of such a thing? What have I gotten myself into? she wondered as Grissom pulled her along.

Luckily, the line was moving pretty quickly and she didn't have very much time to worry about it. Before she could talk herself out of the whole thing she was sitting, strapped into a car with Grissom, being catapulted into space.

They flew through the darkness, dodging asteroids and swooping past planets. Sara screamed, first in joy and then in terror as she clutched Grissom's arm hard enough to leave five distinct fingerprint-sized bruises.

When it was over she didn't know whether to laugh, cry, beat up Grissom for taking her on the damn thing, or puke.

Walking unsteadily out into the sunlight, Sara headed for a bench and collapsed.

Grissom stood in front of her, face flushed, eyes gleaming. He had a huge grin plastered on his face.

"That was great! Can we go again, Sara?" he wondered aloud before he noticed the slightly pasty tinge to her skin. "Hey, are you alright, honey?" he asked as he sat beside her and traced a gentle circle with his fingers on her back.

"Umm…Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little…unsettled," Sara said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm her queasy stomach. " I Just need to sit still for five minutes. That was pretty….intense. Yeah, intense."

"Sara, honey. You need to get away from the fumes from these go carts. Why don't you go sit up there by the submarine and I'll get you a Seven Up to settle your stomach." Grissom watched her nod in agreement and guided her towards the Finding Nemo ride, peeling off when they passed a snack bar.

He hoped Sara would be alright. He should've had more sense than to take her on one or the big rides first.

"Hi, can I get a small Seven Up, please? Oh, and a package of saltines. My wife's a little unsteady after going on Space Mountain." Grissom smiled at the teenager behind the counter, hoping he wouldn't have to buy a cup of soup to get the crackers.

"Sure thing, sir. Space Mountain has that effect on a lot of people," the teen replied as she tossed a package of crackers onto the counter next to the soda. "Hope your wife feels better."

Grissom nodded his thanks as he gathered his home remedy for nausea and made his way back to Sara. Her color was a little better, so maybe the day wouldn't be a bust after all.

"Here you go, honey. Do you feel any better?" Grissom sat on the bench and patted Sara's thigh.

"Umm…Yeah." She took a sip of soda and ripped open the packet of crackers, nibbling on one. "I'm not too bad. I just think that last cup of coffee with breakfast was ill advised."

Sara leaned back against the bench and stretched her legs out in front of her, tilting her face to the sun and absorbing its comforting warmth.

"We'll go on this submarine ride next. It'll probably seem pretty silly now, but when I was a kid I loved that ride." Grissom frowned in concentration, "I can't for the life of me remember what it used to be called."

"Gil," Sara said, seriously. "How come you decided to come back here after so much time?" She shifted on the bench, turning to face him.

Grissom sat silent for several minutes. It had taken Sara years to realize that he wasn't unwilling to answer serious questions about his inner-most feelings; it just took some time for him to formulate the answers he wanted to give. She reached up and lightly caressed the back of his neck. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why he found this relaxing instead of annoying. She'd stopped wondering about it years ago.

"Well, I guess I just had too many special memories of coming here with my parents," he finally answered, gazing at the families walking by. "After my dad died my mother never brought me back. On my birthday we started going to museums instead. And when I was old enough to come here with my friends, or alone, it just seemed wrong somehow. I wanted to hold onto those special memories, I guess"

Turning to face Sara, he smiled at her crookedly and leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the mouth before continuing, "Coming back now, after all these years, just seemed right. You're my family now, Sara. It's time we made our own memories."

XXX