Sometime in the middle of the night, the bed had gotten smaller. No, it hadn't actually shrunk but the amount of space that I was accustomed to had been halved. During my nightly trip to the bathroom, I realized that the girls had gotten into our bed - and there they lay snuggled together in a tight ball in the middle of the bed, Gil's arm wrapped protectively around them.
And now I'm trying to manage to get back into my own bed without waking anyone. Carefully sliding my hand under the pillow and lowering my body to the inviting bed, Gil's eyes peel open. Looking at him and then at the girls, he offers a whispered explanation - "Saylor thought she heard something outside and woke Finley up because she was scared. They both heard the noise again and then came in here." I give him a wink and curl up beside Finley, reaching my arm across the two tiny bodies pulling them close.
The alarm clock springs to life causing all of us to startle awake. Gil manages to reach across the nightstand and turn it off without too much effort - a definite practiced maneuver. The girls have managed to snuggle back into the warm cocoon of covers and I have to stop myself from following them. I watch as Gil slides out of the bed and begins to look for his clothes. "I'm going to get in the shower, why don't you lay there until I get out and then we can cook some breakfast, okay?" he asks - knowing that I really didn't want to get up just yet. I nod and slip back into the covers, my head already on the pillow. Almost asleep, I'm awakened by "Mommy, do you think that someone was trying to get into the house last night?" Saylor asks in a whisper. Opening my eyes, I'm met by identical stares from two obviously scared little girls. Unsure of what they had heard or if they maybe just imagined the whole event, I begin to ask them what exactly they heard. "Did you hear anything that made you think it was a person? Where did you hear it?"
Without thinking twice, Saylor said "I heard someone talking. It sounded like a woman. She might have been on the porch." Finley nodded in agreement with everything that her twin had said. "We got scared and came in here and asked Daddy if we could sleep in here. We told him we heard something outside." Finley added. Making a mental note to talk to Gil about this, I assure the girls that everything was okay and no one was trying to get into the house - trying to assure myself of the same thing. Several minutes later, the girls manage to drift off to sleep and I soon follow them.
I'm awakened by the smell of french toast and coffee. Opening my eyes, I realize the girls have already gotten up. Making my way to the bathroom, I take a quick shower. After dressing, I walk to the kitchen where Finley and Saylor are talking with Gil about what they had heard during the night, as they push the syrupy toast around on their plates. "Daddy, there WAS someone on the porch last night." Finley says emphatically. My eyes meet Gil's and he can read the uneasiness in mine. The rest of breakfast is fairly quiet, with no more mention of the previous night's event. The girls skip off from the kitchen and can be heard playing upstairs. As Gil cleans the last of the dishes, I begin to ask him about last night. "Did you hear anything before the girls came and got in bed with us?" Shaking his head, he replies - "The only thing that I heard was Bruno clopping down the stairs." My mind can't stop with the what-if's… I decide it's best to not mention anything else - I'm sure that I'm making much more out of this than it really is. Gil pours me a mug of steaming coffee, carefully putting in sugar and cream before passing it to me. "Any plans for today?" he asks while rifling through the paper for the crossword puzzle. "The girls have dance tonight, but other than that no plans, whatsoever. You have any?" I question, leaning over to glance at the puzzle. Watching him as he carefully fills in 5 across - Dodgers Stadium 12 letters… Chavez Ravine - he finally answers, "I have to drop off some files at the lab sometime, but nothing else."
We finish the crossword puzzle and head up the stairs to check on the girls. "I wonder if there are two little girls up here that would like to go to the park today?" Gil teases as he leans into their bedroom. This starts the uproar - Saylor and Finley both begin the choruses of "Me! Me! I want to go the park, Daddy. Please? Mommy can we please go to the park?" The park sounds like a wonderful welcome distraction for the day. "Of course! It's going to be too nice of a day to spend it indoors. But we can't go to the park still in pajamas. Change clothes and we'll go. That means you too, Daddy." I chide, grinning at him. Opening the closet, I find clothes for the girls and lay them on the bed and the girls' pajamas are quickly shed and into their hamper. Gil walks to change his clothes, as the echoes of "Hurry Daddy! We're ready to go." chase him to the bedroom. The girls and I head downstairs and pack a small cooler with water, juice and a light lunch for four. Still waiting for Gil to finish getting ready, I begin to braid Saylor's long brown hair into two French braids.
Finley waits patiently for me to finish before saying, "I don't want my hair braided. I just want a ponytail, please." Ever the polite child, I brush the curls, trying my best not to cause any 'head hurts' as she calls them. Just as I finish, Gil comes downstairs and Saylor runs towards him jumping into his outstretched arms. I pick up the cooler and open the door, closing it after everyone has went outside.
The drive to the park is relatively short, traffic isn't too bad from Summerlin - especially in the late morning during the week. Arriving at the park, the girls can hardly wait to get out of the car. Gil opens my door before getting the girls out. Taking them by the hand, we make our way across the park to the playground and picnic area. The girls run towards the slide and swings, with Gil and I only a few steps behind. Gil and I agree that maybe the ever-imaginative minds of two four year olds conjured up the noises from the night before. The weather is wonderful for a day at the park - and my mind is at ease. "Push me on the swings, Mommy" Finley pleads as Saylor begs the same to Gil. Obediently, we follow the twins to the swings and begin pushing them, higher and higher. After several hours of running, swinging, sliding and jumping all done with the infectious laughter and energy of toddlers- Gil and I are exhausted and the girls are hungry. Making our way past the playground equipment, we find a picnic table in the shade and begin to unpack the cooler. Just as we all sit down and begin to eat, Gil's phone rings. Standing up from the table, he answers - "Grissom." There are several long pauses dotted with a yes or no, before he finally is able to say - "Yes, I understand. I'll be there within the hour."
Walking back to the table, his head hangs in disappointment. "That was Jim. Seems dayshift is short because of the conference and he can't get in touch with anyone else from swing or nights. There's a 419 at the campus of UNLV. Hopefully, it won't take too long and I can meet you for dinner while the girls are at dance. I'm sorry I have to cut this short." he says, eyes still focusing on the ground. Taking his hand, "Gil, I understand. This has been our life for how many years now? Don't feel like it's your fault. I'm pretty sure the girls need to go rest until dance anyway." I begin - "And I will take you up on your offer for dinner tonight." I finish, standing a little taller to kiss him softly on the lips. I can feel the smile creeping up on his lips before I pull away.
We all pile back into the Tahoe and before we can even get out of the early afternoon traffic, Finley and Saylor are both asleep. Arriving in front of the house, Gil manages to get both girls out of their booster seats and carries them in without waking them. Once inside, I take Finley and the four of us make our way to the girl's bedroom. Carefully laying them down in the bed and tucking the covers around them, Gil places a kiss atop both girl's forehead before quietly pulling the door almost closed. Walking down the stairs, he pulls me into a tight embrace as I stand on the bottom stair, almost even in height with him. "Sara, I better get started towards the lab, if you need anything just call. And if I'm not finished by the time you take the girls to dance, I'll go ahead and take a lunch anyway. I love you." he says quietly, fumbling with the keys in his pocket. Turning to go, he opens the door and steps out, checking to make sure that I've locked the door after he leaves. I curl up on the sofa with a book and begin to read. Time passes and I've managed to get lost in the book - only realizing what time it is when my phone rings. Looking at the caller id, I pick up the phone - "Hey baby. How's the case going? That's good. I totally forgot. I guess I should get the girls up and ready so we can swing by the lab and pick it up. Thank you! I love you." Gil had remembered that he had picked the girls up from dance last week and their ballet shoes were in their dance bag in his office.
Running up the stairs, I push open the bedroom door and smile at the sight - Finley and Saylor cuddled up together, sound asleep. I walk to the edge of the bed and tickle the tiny feet that are sticking out from the covers. This results in two sleepy eyed girls jerking their feet under the covers and two identical sets of eyes glaring in my direction, as I begin… "Girls, it's time to get up. We've got to stop by your Daddy's office before dance." This statement is met with some low rumblings of groans, but their feet quickly hit the floor. I open the closet, filled with far too many clothes for two little girls, and pull out the required black leotards and pink tights, tossing them onto the bed. I watch as the girls begin to get dressed, reminding Finley that the tights go under the leotard and Saylor that she has the leotard on backwards. I have to laugh to myself, these two girls are extremely smart for their age, but tights and leotards usually get the best of them. Walking across the hall, I find a hairbrush, several ponytail holders and two matching pink ribbons. I sit down on the end of the bed and begin to form a 'ballerina bun' from the unruly mass of brown curls that both Finley and Saylor have inherited.
Just as I finish tying the pink ribbon into Saylor's bun, I am startled by Hank's growling bark. I quietly walk to the top of the stairs and open the closet, retrieving my service weapon. Sticking it into the waistband of my jeans, I walk back to the girls' room and tell them to go to Mommy and Daddy's bedroom and close the door. I creep to the top of the stairs and peer down between the railing to see what Hank is growling about. I can't see anything, so I take a couple of steps down the stairs. I am holding my breath in anticipation and fear. I make it down to the bottom of the stairs and look towards the foyer, noticing that the front door is partly open and Hank is standing there snarling. With one hand on the gun and the other with my cell phone, I walk towards the dog - quietly talking to him, hoping not to startle him. Just as I make it to the door, I notice an unfamiliar car sitting across the street - a woman in the driver's seat. Just as I see her, she sees me and quickly speeds off. I manage to take a deep breath and call Gil.