Thanks to everyone that's reviewed so far, I hope you like this chapter and remember, reviews are good, they feed me J
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Chapter Three
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It had been another hour until Grissom and Sara, along with baby Jamie, had been allowed out of the airport. Half an hour before that Adelaide and Jack had been led away, thankfully the younger man had grown quieter, realizing that no amount of cursing and yelling was going to help matters. Both the CSI's had been checked out and the police had seen them fit to look after the baby, also promising to update them on what was going on, until then the child needed to be looked after and Grissom had a phone call to make.
They were only a few minutes from the hotel, and Gil and Sara were quiet in the car that had waited patiently for them at the airport. Luckily for them he wasn't a chatty driver and so there was no need to make idle conversation, though from the curious looks he was giving them form the rearview mirror; he was wondering why they seemed so restless and frustrated in his wonderful home city of Paris.
It was by now pitch black outside and lampposts lit up the streets, illuminating cafes and shops as they sped past them, a set of blue and brown eyes both turned to look up at the Arc de Triomphe, trying to crane their necks to see the very top. Even at the late hour cars shot past them, darting in and out, never stopping or slowing down in a seemingly dangerous pattern.
"These drivers are crazy" Sara observed as a cab pulled in front of another car without warning and received angry shouts and a blast on the horn from the driver he narrowly missed.
Griss nodded, watching as the cab continued on its way without slowing down and apparently oblivious to the other drivers' angry tirade. "Order out of chaos" he answered with a raised eyebrow. Both turned around again and the car they were in drove on, moving away from the landmark until it was out of sight.
The car came to a stop outside the hotel and the driver popped the boot and began to take the suitcases out to then put them on the pavement outside the entrance, Grissom took out the pram and made to unfold it until Sara stopped him. "With all the steps inside it'll be easier for me to carry Jamie" she moved past him and stood on the step in front of the double doors. She looked backwards at Grissom with a smile that lit up her face "I can't wait to check this place out."
He watched her, her enthusiasm making him happy, glad that she was enjoying this and it hadn't even properly started yet. The car drove away, leaving Sara, Grissom and the baby alone outside "well this part wasn't planned" he said with an amused smirk, nodding towards the baby.
"Sometimes they aren't" she quipped before pushing open the door and stepping inside. The porter walked towards her with a friendly smile then continued on outside where he picked up the two suitcases, leaving Grissom with the folded pram. As the Entomologist entered the building he thought what a surreal experience this was turning out to be. They got the keys to their rooms and after briefly explaining why there was now a baby when originally there was no third member in the booking, although they would not have needed to pay extra for a baby anyway, they were given a crib for Jamie. "Its lucky I hardly sleep anyway, it shouldn't be a problem getting woken up in the middle of the night" the female CSI mentioned, offering in her innocent statement that she could have the kid in her room.
The porter deposited their cases on the floor by the wall in between the two doors to their room and left the three of them alone, handing the two keys to Grissom before he did so. Thanking the man Gil then opened the door for Sara and pushed it open whilst speaking "we can both take turns. It isn't fair that you be the one that gets woken numerous times in the night to take care of her" he indicated the currently sleeping child. "Neither of us has very much experience with children, especially not a baby, so between us we should be able to work something out. We're scientists, we work various crime scenes for a living, how hard can it be to look after one infant?" he chuckled as he carried Sara's suitcase into her room and set it on the bed.
*
A wailing broke the silence in the night and no matter how hard Grissom pressed the silky pillow to his ear he couldn't block out the sound of baby Jamie crying in the room next door. He opened first one eye and then the other and waited a few seconds for his vision to adjust to the near pitch blackness of his room, he swiveled around on the bed to read the time on the radio clock on the bedside table to the left of him. 0234 it read. It was hard enough to try and sleep at a time when he would usually be working but the sound next door made it impossible.
0236 he could have been mistaken but he thought the cries were becoming quieter and less frequent but instead of trying to find sleep again, Grissom got out of the comfortable double bed and made his way to the oak doors that separated his room from Sara's.
*
0232. Sara hadn't really been asleep much anyway and the babies sudden and unexpected crying gave her a good excuse to stay awake. She slipped on the dark blue satin robe as she got out of bed; the room was chilly but the thin material provided enough warmth to counteract the cold air. She reached into the crib that had been put to the right of the bed, near the window, and brought out the baby, rocking her back and forth while she wondered what Jamie was even crying for anyway.
"You know it's not nice to wake the friendly investigator," she gently chided. The kid blinked her small green eyes and opened her mouth wide as a yawn escaped "you're tired? Me too, and I'm telling you crying is not a good way to try and get some sleep" she whispered. Looking behind her at the clock that was beside the black phone on the desk Sara noticed the time, 0236. "So, do you wake your mom up at this time too?" Jamie's cries were becoming softer, as though Sara's quiet voice was slowly lulling her to sleep.
"You're very good with her" came Grissom's voice from the door; he was leaning against the frame and had watched her quietly for the last few seconds, not wanting to interrupt. He felt as though he was intruding on some beautiful scene.
Sara started, hadn't even heard the door opening. "You surprised me," she answered back quickly, though that was evident from how she had hurriedly turned around upon hearing him speak. Her voice was louder as she spoke and Jamie stirred in her arms.
He didn't move from the door, not knowing whether he should go back into his room or walk further into hers so he waited. From her tone of voice when talking to him to the one she had used with the baby he wasn't sure if she was going to be mad at him for interrupting her, she had believed she was alone in the room. Sara looked at him and Grissom continued to wait quietly until the silence was becoming slightly uncomfortable "sorry" he apologised softly "for surprising you" he elaborated upon seeing her questioning look.
Sara shrugged, letting him know she wasn't annoyed at his intrusion. "I'd offer you coffee but that would defy the point of trying to sleep" she looked down at the baby and heard Grissom walking into the room and over to where she was standing, not needing to let him know verbally that it was okay to enter. He came to a halt beside her and she could feel his warm breath on her neck as he spoke "sorry" she muttered "for waking you up."
His eyebrow rose and a quirky smile appeared. "Now was it you that started wailing in the early morning?" he questioned.
Grissom saw he familiar grin as she turned to watch him. "No, but we can hardly blame a six month old baby" she responded "it wouldn't be fair when she can't answer back to defend herself." Sara looked back at the baby and gently put her back in the crib "I babble when I'm tired."
"I noticed" he chuckled and looked down at the now sleeping Jamie. "For someone who claims they aren't very good with children, you're doing a very good job" Grissom commented admiringly.
She shrugged as though it was nothing when in reality she was a little pleased at herself that she had managed to quieten down a baby that she had only known for a few short hours. It was no small feat for her when she usually froze up, almost afraid that she would drop something so frail. "Well I didn't really have a choice, I didn't calm her down then she would've woken up the whole hotel," Sara replied. She stepped away from the crib and her eyes went to the small table upon which was a travel kettle, mini milk tubs and butter packets, sachets of brown and white sugar, and a small basket of little wrapped baguettes and two croissants. "Want an early continental breakfast?" Sara offered even as she made her way over to the food and drink to make something up.
At first Grissom was going to decline but realised he wasn't going to find sleep yet anyway and so answered yes to her proposal, he came to a stop beside her as she knelt in front of the little table, taking a croissant out of its plastic wrapping. He put his hand on her, halting her actions and causing her to look up at him questioningly. "I'll prepare the food, you get the coffee," he instructed. It was simple contact but it made her pause, she blinked and nodded wordlessly, standing up again she picked up the kettle to fill it with water in the bathroom. While he was gone he looked around her room, wishing he could make it a bit more comfortable. They couldn't lie across the bed and eat, nor could they sit at the small table as it was filled with things and was too low to sit at anyway. Grissom looked around, contemplating when he noticed the desk.
Minutes later he had taken the brochures and information pamphlets off the desk and set them neatly on the floor besides the wardrobe. "What are you doing?" Sara was stood at the bathroom door, kettle in hand and watching him with eyes filled with curiosity.
He looked at her briefly. "Work with me here" he answered before returning to the desk and pulling it away from its place against the wall and positioning it by the window. "We can't eat on the floor so I'm giving us another option" Griss added innocently. He pushed open the thick navy drapes and tied them back, allowing moonlight to illuminate a small part of the room, casting it in an ethereal glow. Walking back to the small table he picked up the breadbasket and set it in the middle of the desk and then put on one side the chair that accompanied it. "There's another in my room," he mentioned.
Sara hadn't moved while he worked, he set about sorting out a place for them to eat with a similar intensity that he would give to recreating a crime scene. While the Entomologist went back into his own room to bring back another chair the younger CSI set the kettle on boil and made up coffee for them. How is it that he can do something so innocent yet make it seem like so much more? She wondered to herself as she waited for him to return. He came back momentarily and put down the chair across the desk from the other. After looking at his handiwork Grissom turned away to meet her gaze, he smiled though he seemed tired too. Maybe he thinks he's still asleep and dreaming? And that thought disappointed her a little bit because if he thought this wasn't real and then he later slept and woke up in the morning, this thoughtful little act of his would be forgotten.
"It's not dinner but I think this should do for now" Griss said to her, his voice quiet and warm.
Sara gave a small smile. If he woke up in the morning and thought this whole thing was just a creation of his tired mind then she would deal with it then, but for now she would take each precious moment as it came. She was used to that. But then again, maybe I'm the one that's dreaming she thought before taking the few short steps to where Grissom was standing, the moonlight illuminating the spot where he was standing.