Disclaimer: Not mine. None of it. I swear.
A/N: This was written in response to the December Picture Challenge at 1hour2write. I used picture #14. The pictures can be found at .. I borrowed the song from Guns 'N' Roses. And, last but not least, I want to thank mingsmommy and losingintranslation for all their help.
Skin. She had the softest skin. He never tired of testing that hypothesis, running his hand over her belly, tracing a finger over her arms, even tickling her feet, though that often ended with noisy laughter that bounced from room to room, against plastered walls painted vibrant hues and hardwood floors polished in honeyed tones.
The house in Anacortes, Washington, was open and airy, the rooms flowing from one to another. After months of living in a hut the approximate size of a closet, the sheer amount of space overwhelmed them. But once their furniture arrived and Hank was there, it didn't take long to settle in.
The eighteen months since Grissom's retirement had been the best time of his life. The nine months spent living and working in the rain forest of Costa Rica was a scientist's dream. The fact that he got to experience it with Sara made the entire time even more amazing. Working side by side with her, laughing and arguing and discovering and making love, allowed him to become the man Sara knew he could be. And that's really how he thought of his transformation. Every day, in some small way, he came closer to being the person Sara saw when she looked into his eyes.
Their lives changed again when Jessica Olivia Grissom was born.
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Grissom was stretched out on the bed with his head propped up on one hand, watching the tiny person next to him. Observing Jess was an activity he never tired of. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes she fascinated him. Each expression, every sound captivated him. He never expected to feel the depth of love he felt for her. But, from the moment she drew her first shuddering breath, she held his heart in the palm of her hand.
When Sara discovered she was pregnant, they decided it was time to leave the jungle and return to civilization. Although they toyed with the idea of returning to their work after the baby was born, neither of them wanted their story to become the basis for a movie of the week. Sara's outlandish suggestions for the title had sealed their fate.
"How about 'Geeks in the Mist'? Sara giggled, her eyes sparkling from across the table. "Or 'Survivor: Geek Island'?
"What are you trying to say?" Grissom chuckled.
"I'm saying I don't want our child's life to be the thing of legend." Sara shoved her hair off her forehead and grinned. "Maybe they could call it 'And the Geek Shall Inherit the Jungle'. There would be this little sexless child running barefoot in the jungle, wearing leaves instead of clothes and eating those crazy tri-colored grasshoppers you love so much."
Knowing he would miss the way her skin looked in the light of the lantern, Grissom agreed that it was time to go back to the real world.
They both gave notice that their time as volunteers would be coming to an end and began making plans to return to the states. Deciding where to live was a problem. They still owned the townhouse in Vegas but neither wanted to live there. The city held too many memories for both of them. And raising a child there wasn't something either of them wanted to contemplate. They decided on trying to find a place near San Francisco when Sara was offered a permanent position with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. So they changed their focus to the area around Friday Harbor, Washington.
When he heard the water stop running in the bathroom, he whispered, "Mommy's done with her bath. She'll be here in just a few minutes."
She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry
"My mother would've loved getting to know her." Grissom glanced up at Sara as she exited the bathroom on a cloud of lavender scented steam. Giving Sara's body a lingering glance, he dropped his gaze and grinned down at the infant, chuckling when she gurgled and gave him a gummy smile. "You agree, huh?"
Sara stood beside the bed running a comb through her damp hair while watching her husband and daughter. Love was shining from her eyes. "She agrees with everything you say."
"Maybe you can teach your mom a thing or two, Jess." Grissom's laugh was lighthearted under Sara's playful glare. For a moment he simply smiled at Sara then his eyes dropped back to the baby. "She's so beautiful," he whispered.
Sinking down on the other side of the bed, Sara gave him a soft smile and ran a hand over Jess' hair. "Yeah, she is. Takes after her father."
Grissom merely shook his head. "I want to teach her so many things." With surprising strength, the baby grabbed at his finger, closing her hand around it and waving it back and forth.
Leaning over, Sara placed a gentle kiss on Grissom's cheek. "Like?"
For a while he was quiet, his eyes resting on his daughter but his gaze far away. Then, jerking himself back to the present, he sighed. "I want to teach her how to play. I remember playing when I was a kid." He looked at his wife through the tears blurring his vision, his smile embarrassed. "I don't know when that stopped. I don't know when I forgot how to have fun."
Sliding her hand over his cheek, Sara threaded her fingers in his hair and tugged him toward her. Her lips barely brushed his when she said, "You didn't forget how. You're just rusty." Then she kissed him, their mouths merging in a kiss filled with the bittersweet taste of the past and the future, meeting in the tiny person they created together.
She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me by
Pulling her lips from Grissom's, Sara's gaze turned pensive. "I…," her voice cracked and she gulped back the tears clogging her throat. She let her eyes settle on Jessica, taking in the sky blue eyes and the soft brown curls. Tears slid down her cheeks unheeded as she catalogued each perfect feature.
"Sara?" Grissom dipped his head in an effort to catch her gaze. "Honey? What is it? What's wrong?"
Using a single finger, she traced Jess' cheeks and her chin, the barely there eyebrows. "She's so innocent, Gil. I don't remember ever being that innocent."
Grissom glanced down at the baby who had fallen asleep under her mother's gentle touch. Her arms were flung over her head and her mouth pursed into a sweet bow. "You were, Sara."
Shaking her head, she pushed her still damp hair behind her ear. "I don't have anything to teach her. Not about being a kid." With a shrug she added, "I never had a chance to be one."
Grissom was silent, but Sara could see his thoughts whirling behind his eyes. Finally, he spoke. "Then you can teach her about overcoming adversity." He reached out and took Sara's hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "We won't always be able to protect her. She's going to need to know how to rise above the things life throws at her."
For a moment Sara simply stared at him. Finally, a tiny smile replaced her tears. "Thank you."
Grissom cocked his head, his eyebrow rising in a silent 'why'.
"For not believing we were over." She looked down at the perfect blend of the two of them.
"That's the past and the past is behind us." Grissom let his eyes move from his wife to his daughter and back. "The future is right here with us."