Notes: This chapter picks up when Sara and Nora return home from their grocery shopping trip. Enjoy!
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Grissom met Sara and Nora at the door when they arrived home and helped bring the groceries in. As they began to unpack the bags, Nora realized she didn't know where many of the items belonged, so she stepped back and leaned against a countertop, intent on observing so she could help next time. As she leaned back and tried to blend into the countertop as much as possible so as to be out of the way, her elbow bumped against the terrarium of cockroaches. "Oops." She figured banging the glass probably irritated the little critters.
Grissom heard Nora's "oops," glanced her way and said as he closed a cabinet door, "Admiring my little beauties, huh?"
Nora pulled a disgusted face, staring right at Grissom with her nose crinkled and her lip curled up in a snarl, too intent on being grossed out to realize that she just made eye contact with him for the first time, and declared, "Admiring? More like hoping I don't die from a disease I catch from one of these things."
"A disease?" Grissom was promising his roaches in his head that he'd fly them to Madagascar and set them free in their natural homeland as a thank you for causing Nora to finally look him in the eye as he answered, carefully keeping his distance from her, even though he had been seized with an urge to pull her into a bear hug. "I can assure you that these particular specimens are disease-free. They were born in captivity and sadly for them, I've set up strict sanitation rules and have expressly forbidden them from choosing fecal matter for dinner. They all go through a bit of a rebellious phase when they pupate, but try as they might, not a one of them has managed escape to find one of Hank's bombs in the backyard."
Sara had been standing, frozen in place with a box of cereal suspended in the air in her hand, mesmerized by the interaction she was witnessing. Grissom had been waiting, patiently and yet desperately, for Nora to make eye contact with him, to not be terrified to see his face, and it was happening. She marveled at how perfect it was for Gil and Nora to bond over bugs, and laughed out loud as she watched Nora smile after Grissom described his "rebellious teenage bugs."
Nora was clearly trying hard to maintain her disgusted expression, but was failing. Is this guy for real? Rebellious roaches? Fecal matter? Pupate? What the heck is pupate? A reluctant, small smile suddenly adorned Nora's youthful, unblemished face when Sara laughed. Her eyes, one half-hidden by a tendril of auburn hair, met Grissom's again, very purposefully. The beautiful hazel eyes Grissom was staring at were clearly expressing fear and concern, desire and hope.
"So, can these 'particular specimens' also talk or read?" Nora drew air quotes as she repeated Grissom's words to him. She continued, "Cuz I really want to know how exactly you establish and enforce rules with a bunch of nasty little bugs." Her tone was light and even happy as she teased Grissom. Sara dropped the box of cereal on a countertop, ignored the fact that the frozen vegetables were surely thawing, and simply stared at the scene unfolding in front of her. She's actually teasing him! Sara could not suppress a huge grin as she enjoyed the interaction between Grissom and Nora.
Grissom clasped his hands over his heart in mock indignation. "Nasty little bugs? You're killing me here! You might not like cockroaches, but you have to like some insects. Butterflies?" Grissom gestured to the preserved specimens on the soffits above the cabinets as he queried.
"Sure. Butterflies are pretty. Ladybugs and fireflies are fine, too. Even dragonflies are okay. But roaches. Eww. Just eww." Nore crinkled her nose up again as she glanced back at the offending insects in the terrarium. She did not look back at Grissom, and he accepted the end of their conversation. He and Sara went back to unpacking the groceries. Nora put the milk in the fridge because she did, of course, know that it had to go on the one and only shelf it fit on in the fridge, and then she slipped off to the privacy of her bedroom.
After hearing the faint click of Nora's bedroom door shutting, Sara grinned at Grissom as she practically skipped over to him to give him a hug. She was elated. She squealed, "She looked at you! On purpose and everything!"
Grissom was glad to return the hug and contentedly sighed and buried his face in Sara's hair. Sara had a hard time hearing his muffled, "Oh, Sara, you have no idea how glad I am right now," but that didn't matter. She knew how happy he was.
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Later that evening, long after lunch and dinner had been made and enjoyed, long after Nora had headed back to her room for the night, and shortly after the culmination of the 11:00 news, Grissom padded softly into the kitchen to put his and Sara's half-full glasses of water into the sink before they went to bed. He glanced over at his cockroaches, silently thanking them yet again for making Nora forget how scared of him she was, and he noticed something on the wall of the terrarium that certainly wasn't there before. Curious, he lifted the lid and found a yellow Post-it stuck on the wall, very near the top. He peeled it off the glass. In printing that wasn't Sara's, he read, "Rules: 1. No eating poop. 2. Wash all six of your creepy legs before dinner. 3. No escaping."
Clearly, Nora had been terrified of sticking her little Post-it into the tank due to its position, but Grissom appreciated the humor and the sentiment of it. In fact, he realized he appreciated the gesture more than he would have anticipated when he felt the slightest bit of stinging moisture in his eyes.
Minutes later, Sara realized Grissom hadn't come to their bedroom yet. Wondering how putting dishes in the sink could take so long, she wandered down to the kitchen. She found her husband standing stock still in front of his roaches, and holding a very small piece of paper. When Sara caught his attention and cocked her head sideways with her brows furrowed, asking a silent question, Grissom handed her the Post-it in response.
"So, Dr. Grissom, is this another piece of evidence in the argument that Nora will be okay here?"
"Yes, my dear, I believe it is."
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Notes: So, are you all as excited as I am that Nora finally looked at Gil? She was killing me! Thanks for reading!
