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"What do you say we take a walk around?" Sara asked Maddie, as she had come to call the child. Madeline responded by waving her small arms in the air. "I'll take that as a 'yes, I want to go around'. Come on baby." Sara was starting to get the hang of picking Maddie up without worrying about hurting her every time she did.
"Hey, Sara, why aren't you in the office doing paperwork?" Nick teased as she passed one of the layout rooms.
"Because, my brain would have exploded if I had to look at another sheet again. And besides, it's been a week, and Maddie hasn't seen the rest of the lab," she replied.
Nick walked out and came face to face with Sara. "Hey Maddie," he cooed, "How are you today?" His answer came in the way of a punch to the nose by a tiny fist. "Okay, so you don't like me," Nick reasoned.
"No, she likes you. That's the way she shows affection: by inflicting bodily harm. She's done that to everyone who comes close enough to her to do that. She's even started pulling Warrick's hair, and won't let go whenever he carries her. Consider yourself lucky, Nicky."
"That explains why my man suddenly started avoiding Maddie," Nick realized.
"Yeah, he's hoping that she grows out of it soon, so he can carry her again."
"Good luck."
"I know. Come on Maddie, let's see what Greg is up to. Go back to work, Nick."
"Yes ma'am!" came the somewhat muffled reply from the now closed layout room.
Instead of going to Greg's lab, they were sidetracked by Catherine and Grissom, who were walking down the hall to meet them. "How's the little princess today?" Catherine asked as she made kissy faces at Maddie. The baby laughed with pleasure.
"She's doing well, although I'm worried about her sleeping habits," Sara replied.
"What do you mean?" Grissom asked.
"You know how babies start to normalize their sleeping patterns?" Sara began, "They usually end up sleeping more at the same time everyday, usually night, because that's what they see their parents doing."
"So what's the problem?"
"She's starting to normalize to my schedule. She sleeps during the day and is awake with me all night," Sara protested.
"There are worse things to have happen to a baby than to find out she's a night owl," Grissom reasoned.
"You're right," Sara answered, "Would you like to hold Maddie, Grissom?" So far he had been the only person who had not attempted that.
"What if I drop her?"
"You won't. Anyway, by the laws of nature, you're probably going to squeeze her to death before you drop her," Catherine replied, by way of comforting the nervous man.
"Okay, but don't blame me if something goes wrong," Grissom said as Sara gently transferred Maddie into his arms. Maddie squealed with delight and began tugging at Grissom's curly hair. A slow smile made its way onto his face.
"Well, the only thing that could go wrong now is that your hair falls out," Sara replied, with a huge grin on her face. "You would look great as a father, Grissom."
"Is that a hint?"
"No, just an observation."
Grissom opened his mouth to answer, but Maddie beat him to the punch. She began to wail. "What did I do?" Grissom demanded, as Sara gently pulled Maddie out of his arms.
"Nothing. She's probably wet, hungry, sleepy, or a combination of the above. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye." Catherine and Grissom called after her retreating form. "You know, she'd make an excellent mother," Catherine told Grissom.
"So I see. Just don't tell Sara that, she'd have a fit."
"Why would Sara have a fit?" Warrick asked as he rounded a corner.
"She doesn't think that she's fit to be a mother," Catherine replied.
"When did she tell you that?"
"A couple of days ago. She's worried that our line of work is harmful to Maddie's upbringing."
"Oh, yeah. Well, as long as Maddie stops pulling my hair, it should all be fine," Warrick replied, "She's just going through new mother syndrome or something."
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"Tell me again why you feel that you are not a good caregiver, Ms. Sidle," the state social worker asked with concern after Sara phoned her the day before. Sara fidgeted on the couch in her living room.
"Well, for one, Maddie's not sleeping at normal times."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I work nightshifts, you know, so I sleep during the day and Maddie imitates me."
"So she sleeps during the day too?" The social worker asked, documenting every response.
"Yes," Sara replied.
"Does that mean that you aren't aware of when she cries?"
"No, I hear her when she cries, but isn't it bad for a baby to get accustomed to sleeping during the day?"
"Not necessarily. You asked me to assess your fitness to be a mother to this child. As long as you are aware of her needs, it doesn't matter if she sleeps during the day," the social worker replied very calmly.
"But what about when she starts school? I work at night, and there's no way that I can transfer."
"She should naturally start sleeping at night by then. You have a friend who has a daughter who works the nightshift with you, too. Am I correct?"
"Yes."
"So what does she do?"
"She leaves her daughter with her sister at nights. She offered to have Maddie stay over with the same arrangement once she starts school."
"So you have a way of keeping Madeline safe at nights."
"Yes."
"Let me ask you another question," the other woman began, "You are a crime scene investigator. Correct?"
"Correct."
"I know that you bring the baby with you to work, because you are afraid to leave her with someone else. What do you do when she is with you at work?"
"I do paper work, and she's on the floor in a collapsible playpen beside me. If I absolutely have to go out to a crime scene because to one else can, I ask Archie, our computer tech, to watch her."
"Why do you ask this specific person?"
"Well, he's works in the quietest labs most of the time and he rarely has to work on something, unless it's some online fraud thing, and there aren't any harmful chemicals around in there, so I find it to be one of the safest places in the building. And I know that Archie has eight nieces and nephews ranging from newborn to three years old, so I know he knows how to handle a baby."
"Alright, Miss Sidle-" the social worker was interrupted by Sara.
"Can you excuse me for a moment Mrs. Delmont?"
"May I ask why?"
"Maddie's woken up."
"I don't hear any crying. How do you know that she's woken up?"
"I just get this feeling," Sara responded walking across the living room to the closed door at the end. Just as she got to her bedroom door, crying was heard.
'Amazing,' the social worker thought, 'This is probably the first time I have seen anyone so connected to their baby. And this isn't even her biological daughter.'
"Sorry about that," Sara said as she walked back into the living room with a groggy Maddie in her arms.
"That's perfectly alright. Can I ask another question?"
"Uh huh."
"Do you plan on finding a father for this child?"
"I don't know. I mean, I'm financially capable of raising her on my own, but if I find the right person, who loves Maddie, I might, just so that she can have a father figure."
"I see," the woman responded as she jotted down more notes. "Well, Miss Sidle. You asked me to assess your ability to be a mother."
"And. . ." Sara asked.
"You are fit to be a mother. If only every child had a mother like you, the world would be a better place."
"Oh. So you mean what I'm doing is acceptable?"
"More than acceptable, Sara, extraordinary."
"Oh. Thank you," Sara replied as she held out her hand for a handshake.
"You are more than welcome. Feel free to call me again," Mrs. Delmont said with a warm smile.
"Okay, Maddie," Sara said to the calm little person in her arms, "It looks like we're supposed to be a family after all."
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"What do you say we take a walk around?" Sara asked Maddie, as she had come to call the child. Madeline responded by waving her small arms in the air. "I'll take that as a 'yes, I want to go around'. Come on baby." Sara was starting to get the hang of picking Maddie up without worrying about hurting her every time she did.
"Hey, Sara, why aren't you in the office doing paperwork?" Nick teased as she passed one of the layout rooms.
"Because, my brain would have exploded if I had to look at another sheet again. And besides, it's been a week, and Maddie hasn't seen the rest of the lab," she replied.
Nick walked out and came face to face with Sara. "Hey Maddie," he cooed, "How are you today?" His answer came in the way of a punch to the nose by a tiny fist. "Okay, so you don't like me," Nick reasoned.
"No, she likes you. That's the way she shows affection: by inflicting bodily harm. She's done that to everyone who comes close enough to her to do that. She's even started pulling Warrick's hair, and won't let go whenever he carries her. Consider yourself lucky, Nicky."
"That explains why my man suddenly started avoiding Maddie," Nick realized.
"Yeah, he's hoping that she grows out of it soon, so he can carry her again."
"Good luck."
"I know. Come on Maddie, let's see what Greg is up to. Go back to work, Nick."
"Yes ma'am!" came the somewhat muffled reply from the now closed layout room.
Instead of going to Greg's lab, they were sidetracked by Catherine and Grissom, who were walking down the hall to meet them. "How's the little princess today?" Catherine asked as she made kissy faces at Maddie. The baby laughed with pleasure.
"She's doing well, although I'm worried about her sleeping habits," Sara replied.
"What do you mean?" Grissom asked.
"You know how babies start to normalize their sleeping patterns?" Sara began, "They usually end up sleeping more at the same time everyday, usually night, because that's what they see their parents doing."
"So what's the problem?"
"She's starting to normalize to my schedule. She sleeps during the day and is awake with me all night," Sara protested.
"There are worse things to have happen to a baby than to find out she's a night owl," Grissom reasoned.
"You're right," Sara answered, "Would you like to hold Maddie, Grissom?" So far he had been the only person who had not attempted that.
"What if I drop her?"
"You won't. Anyway, by the laws of nature, you're probably going to squeeze her to death before you drop her," Catherine replied, by way of comforting the nervous man.
"Okay, but don't blame me if something goes wrong," Grissom said as Sara gently transferred Maddie into his arms. Maddie squealed with delight and began tugging at Grissom's curly hair. A slow smile made its way onto his face.
"Well, the only thing that could go wrong now is that your hair falls out," Sara replied, with a huge grin on her face. "You would look great as a father, Grissom."
"Is that a hint?"
"No, just an observation."
Grissom opened his mouth to answer, but Maddie beat him to the punch. She began to wail. "What did I do?" Grissom demanded, as Sara gently pulled Maddie out of his arms.
"Nothing. She's probably wet, hungry, sleepy, or a combination of the above. I'll see you guys later."
"Bye." Catherine and Grissom called after her retreating form. "You know, she'd make an excellent mother," Catherine told Grissom.
"So I see. Just don't tell Sara that, she'd have a fit."
"Why would Sara have a fit?" Warrick asked as he rounded a corner.
"She doesn't think that she's fit to be a mother," Catherine replied.
"When did she tell you that?"
"A couple of days ago. She's worried that our line of work is harmful to Maddie's upbringing."
"Oh, yeah. Well, as long as Maddie stops pulling my hair, it should all be fine," Warrick replied, "She's just going through new mother syndrome or something."
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"Tell me again why you feel that you are not a good caregiver, Ms. Sidle," the state social worker asked with concern after Sara phoned her the day before. Sara fidgeted on the couch in her living room.
"Well, for one, Maddie's not sleeping at normal times."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I work nightshifts, you know, so I sleep during the day and Maddie imitates me."
"So she sleeps during the day too?" The social worker asked, documenting every response.
"Yes," Sara replied.
"Does that mean that you aren't aware of when she cries?"
"No, I hear her when she cries, but isn't it bad for a baby to get accustomed to sleeping during the day?"
"Not necessarily. You asked me to assess your fitness to be a mother to this child. As long as you are aware of her needs, it doesn't matter if she sleeps during the day," the social worker replied very calmly.
"But what about when she starts school? I work at night, and there's no way that I can transfer."
"She should naturally start sleeping at night by then. You have a friend who has a daughter who works the nightshift with you, too. Am I correct?"
"Yes."
"So what does she do?"
"She leaves her daughter with her sister at nights. She offered to have Maddie stay over with the same arrangement once she starts school."
"So you have a way of keeping Madeline safe at nights."
"Yes."
"Let me ask you another question," the other woman began, "You are a crime scene investigator. Correct?"
"Correct."
"I know that you bring the baby with you to work, because you are afraid to leave her with someone else. What do you do when she is with you at work?"
"I do paper work, and she's on the floor in a collapsible playpen beside me. If I absolutely have to go out to a crime scene because to one else can, I ask Archie, our computer tech, to watch her."
"Why do you ask this specific person?"
"Well, he's works in the quietest labs most of the time and he rarely has to work on something, unless it's some online fraud thing, and there aren't any harmful chemicals around in there, so I find it to be one of the safest places in the building. And I know that Archie has eight nieces and nephews ranging from newborn to three years old, so I know he knows how to handle a baby."
"Alright, Miss Sidle-" the social worker was interrupted by Sara.
"Can you excuse me for a moment Mrs. Delmont?"
"May I ask why?"
"Maddie's woken up."
"I don't hear any crying. How do you know that she's woken up?"
"I just get this feeling," Sara responded walking across the living room to the closed door at the end. Just as she got to her bedroom door, crying was heard.
'Amazing,' the social worker thought, 'This is probably the first time I have seen anyone so connected to their baby. And this isn't even her biological daughter.'
"Sorry about that," Sara said as she walked back into the living room with a groggy Maddie in her arms.
"That's perfectly alright. Can I ask another question?"
"Uh huh."
"Do you plan on finding a father for this child?"
"I don't know. I mean, I'm financially capable of raising her on my own, but if I find the right person, who loves Maddie, I might, just so that she can have a father figure."
"I see," the woman responded as she jotted down more notes. "Well, Miss Sidle. You asked me to assess your ability to be a mother."
"And. . ." Sara asked.
"You are fit to be a mother. If only every child had a mother like you, the world would be a better place."
"Oh. So you mean what I'm doing is acceptable?"
"More than acceptable, Sara, extraordinary."
"Oh. Thank you," Sara replied as she held out her hand for a handshake.
"You are more than welcome. Feel free to call me again," Mrs. Delmont said with a warm smile.
"Okay, Maddie," Sara said to the calm little person in her arms, "It looks like we're supposed to be a family after all."
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