New chapter! Hope everyone likes it! Special thanks to Grissomgal71 for her continued beta job!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Sara had thought that she would have a miserable time in the kitchen, but she didn't. Grissom's mother, although unable to hear, was able to crack jokes and make the whole cooking experience fun. Sara, with her kitchen skills extending only to the microwave and telephone, was set to work opening cans of vegetables. Grissom, meanwhile, watched her from where he leaned against the doorjamb.
Sara glanced up at him, feeling his gaze. "What?" she asked, still smiling as she poured a can of corn into a pot.
He shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Nothing. It's just…nice."
"Nice?" she asked, tossing her head to the side to remove a stray piece of hair. "How is this nice?"
He didn't answer, but the smile on his face deepened. He glanced down at the floor briefly to get away from Sara's intense stare, but looked up again a moment later. He glanced at Sara, going over to his mother. He tapped her on the shoulder, then began to sign. Mrs. Grissom watched him carefully, then smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry," she said.
Grissom nodded, and seemed to feel a little better. He smiled at Sara, then went to see what his uncle was shouting about in the next room.
Sara stared at the spot where he had disappeared for a moment, then went over to his mother. She got her attention. "What did he say to you?" she asked slowly.
Mrs. Grissom smiled and squeezed her forearm. "He told me you don't eat meat. So I'll fix something else for you."
Sara tried to say that she didn't have to, but was ignored as the older woman continued her cooking. After a while, there was nothing more Sara could really do, as the rest of the meal preparation was simply to let everything cook through. Mrs. Grissom dismissed Sara with a wave of her hand, and Sara made her way through the house, trying to find Grissom.
She found him in the living room, perched on the arm of the sofa as he watched Richard and Herb play a board game. Scrabble, Sara noted. She moved up next to him.
He glanced at her. "I've seen at least fifteen words they both could have made for big points, but neither of them took the chances."
Sara smiled. "Maybe you should jump in there, Grissom."
He shook his head, returning her smile. "Scrabble is a game of the mind. And I don't like to play against unarmed people."
She lightly smacked his arm, then moved to stand behind Richard, which made the man nervous. She smirked as she too noticed a big word that he could make, putting him way ahead of Herb in points. But he of course did not see it, instead opting to add an 'S' to the pre-existing 'DOG'.
She shook her head, trying to stifle a laugh. Then she moved over to where the Christmas tree was set up, gazing at the various decorations. Most of them were simply the traditional glass balls and candy canes, but one near the front caught her eye.
It was a paper snowman, meticulously colored and cut out. She turned it over in her hand, reading the faded writing on the back.
Gil Grissom. 2nd Grade. 1963.
Sara smiled to herself. Grissom's mother kept that for forty years?
She moved to a china cabinet pushed against the back wall, peering at the small golden tree positioned in the middle. On each branch was a small charm. Upon closer inspection, Sara realized that the charms were actually tiny picture frames, each with a member of the family in it. Literally, a family tree, Sara thought.
Her eyes went down the branches until she found one with an old photograph of Grissom's mother. She went one down, staring at the one with Grissom in it. He had probably been a high school senior in the photo. He was wearing a suit and tie, a small smile on his face as he stared into the camera, the intensity of his gaze apparent.
She glanced down, seeing empty charms below and next to Grissom's. Obviously for a wife and child. Ones he may never get, Sara thought sadly.
The sudden weight of a hand on her shoulder startled her. She whirled around to see Grissom standing behind her. He held up his hands, as if in surrender. "Whoa. I'm sorry, Sara. I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's all right, Grissom," she said, gathering her wits about her again. "What did you need?"
He jerked a thumb towards the kitchen. "My mother gave me a last minute shopping list for the grocery store down the road. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me." He smiled, casting a meaningful glance at Herb and Richard. "Unless, of course, you'd like to stay here."
Sara practically bounded past him. "Let me get my shoes! I'll meet you outside!"
* * * * * * It took Sara a moment to locate her shoes, having forgotten where she had taken them off . But she finally made it outside, stepping towards the Denali.
She paused, seeing that Grissom wasn't in it, nor had he even started the car. He was nowhere in sight. "Grissom!" she called, wondering if he'd finally been abducted and taken back to his home planet. "Over here!" she heard him say. She turned, seeing him hunkered down near a young oak tree to the right of the driveway. She trudged her way over to him. "What are you doing?"
He held up a small beetle in his hands, as if that answered everything. "Acylpea bituberosa," he said, placing the beetle back on the ground before standing up. "You ready?"
Sara nodded. "Let's go." She began walking towards the Denali, but soon noticed that Grissom wasn't behind her. She stopped and turned to see him still standing by the tree, a small smile on his face. "Well?"
"We're not taking the truck."
"What are we taking?"
"A walk." He then surprised her by laughing aloud at her expression. "C'mon, Sara. I used to walk to that grocery store all the time as a kid. And I think if I could do it at ten years of age, you can do it now!"
Sara mock-glared at him before joining him on the sidewalk. They walked in silence for a while, both lost in thought. The sun was beginning to set, sending a cool chill through the air. It wasn't terribly cold, but it was enough to make Sara, who had neglected to bring a jacket, shiver.
Grissom noticed her shaking and pulled his jacket off. "Here," he said, handing it to her.
She stared at the 'Forensics' windbreaker for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I'm fine, Grissom. Really."
He shook the jacket. "Take it or you can walk home to Vegas."
Sara looked up at him, shocked. He sounded so serious, yet a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. She smirked and yanked the jacket from his grasp, slipping into it easily. It was too big for her, but she did notice that it had that certain 'Grissom' smell to it. She smiled and snapped it up all the way. "Thanks," she said quietly.
He only smiled in return, still looking at the path in front of him.
After another few minutes of silence, Sara cleared her throat. "So…what does you mom need?"
"Oh," Grissom said, digging through his pants pockets. His search was futile, so he turned to Sara. "Check the pockets."
Sara did, and pulled out a small piece of notebook paper. "Olive oil, onions, Veggie burgers, sage, rosemary, soy cream, soy sauce, and organic eggs?" she read questioningly, looking up at Grissom.
He shrugged. "She knows you're a vegetarian, and she was making turkey. She didn't want you to feel left out."
Sara suddenly felt like running back to the house and throwing her arms around Grissom's mother. "Awww…That is so sweet of her!"
Grissom smiled. "That's always been her way. If everyone isn't pleased, then she's not." He nodded towards the paper. "Some kind of vegetarian roast."
"Sounds nice," Sara said, smiling up at Grissom.
Grissom only shrugged in return, tucking his hands into his pants pockets as they walked. They didn't talk anymore as they walked, falling into a comfortable silence. Sara was busy gazing at the various Christmas lights that were beginning to come to life on the houses they passed. Grissom was lost in his thoughts, as usual.
They made it to the grocery store, Grissom grabbing a little hand basket as they entered. Then they began to search out the ingredients to the 'roast', with a little difficulty. Organic eggs weren't something the owner of the small store was accustomed to having requested, and he finally admitted that he only had regular eggs. Grissom frowned and turned to Sara.
She smiled, grabbing a carton of eggs and putting it in the basket. "It's alright, Grissom. I'm a vegetarian, but not a vegan. I still eat things like eggs, milk, and cheese."
That seemed to make the trip a little easier, setting Grissom at ease. They were able to find most of the other things without difficulty, though Sara did catch Grissom making a face at the package of Veggie burgers. She laughed, but wouldn't tell him what she found so funny. The truth was, she found the whole experience funny. Grocery shopping with Grissom; no one back in Vegas would ever believe her.
They paid for the food, then began the walk back to the house. The sun had set already, and the chill in the air had worsened, enough so that Grissom began to shiver despite himself. Sara noticed this, and for a moment, felt bad. But she smiled to herself, thinking of doing something that she had secretly wanted to do for years.
She shifted closer to Grissom as they walked, moving the bags in her left hand to her right. Then she threw the other arm around Grissom's shoulders, with the intent of helping him stay warm. He stiffened slightly and his eyes flew up to hers, but he made no move or request to remove her hand.
She shrugged at his inquisitive glance. "You look cold."
He smiled, then turned his attention back to the path ahead of him. She had been right; he was cold. And the feel of her body pressed against his, as little as it really was, spread warmth through his own.
They didn't say another word until they reached the house, after which Grissom excused himself to deliver the groceries to his mother. Sara made her way back into the living room, seeing that Herb and Richard were still involved in a very boring game of Scrabble.
She smiled as a thought occurred to her, and she stood behind Herb. She had decided, that out of those two, she liked him a bit more. She peered at his tiles, then pointed to three of them. "Put those before that word right there," she whispered, pointing to a jumble of tiles on the board.
He glanced at the tiles, then at the board, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Cheater!" Richard proclaimed when Herb managed to rack up a good amount of points. Sara just shrugged and moved back over to the Christmas tree. She sank into the chair near it and let herself be mesmerized by the blinking lights. Then something beneath the tree caught her attention. It was a gift, one of many. But this one was very familiar.
It took her a moment to realize that it was the gift she had given Grissom. She frowned, wondering why he hadn't already opened it. She was still staring at it when he suddenly appeared in front of her, holding out a cup of coffee.
He smirked. "You seem to be a little impatient when it comes to presents. I'll bet you were the kind of kid who would sneak into the living room at midnight to see what was there."
Sara raised an eyebrow at him, accepting the coffee. "Not really." She nodded towards his gift. "I was just wondering why you hadn't opened that already."
He looked down at it, casually taking a sip of his coffee. He shook his head. "It's silly."
She grinned. "Tell me."
He gave her a small smile. "As a kid, we would always save the special presents for the family gathering. Anything I bought my mother would be opened only on Christmas Eve with the rest of the family there, whenever they came."
"And you thought my present was special," Sara supplied.
He nodded. "Silly, right?"
She shook her head. "No, not really. It's actually…kind of sweet. That you think my gift was special enough to open with your family."
He smiled. "I'm sweet?" She nodded, and he shook his head, still smiling. "You tell that to anyone at work and they'll have you committed to an institution."
Sara laughed. "Yeah, more than likely." She glanced at him. "But they wouldn't have to if you'd just show them every now and then."
"And what? Lose my reputation as a grumpy robot? Never," he quipped, shaking his head.
* * * * * *
Mary came in about two hours later, announcing that dinner was finally ready. She also made a point to mention that it would have been done earlier, had Mrs. Grissom not insisted on making some special 'vegetarian roast'. This only seemed to upset Herb, Richard, and Mary. Grissom seemed nonplussed. He just stood up from the couch where he and Sara had been watching as Richard and Herb switched to Monopoly. He held out a hand and helped pull her to her feet before heading off into the kitchen.
When she stepped in a few minutes later, Grissom was pulling plates from the cupboard as his mother carried various dishes to the dining room on the other side of the kitchen. Sara noticed that the others had already made their way to the table, leaving the two Grissoms to do the work. Sara frowned at them, then stepped up next to Grissom, grabbing some smaller plates.
He turned to her, thanking her silently with a smile. Together, they managed to take most of the work away from Mrs. Grissom, with them carrying the dining plates and the holiday dishes to the table. Mrs. Grissom tried to intervene once, but Grissom had grasped her arm and signed something to her, and after that she sat down at the table with the others.
Finally, Sara and Grissom managed to bring out everything that was needed. They took their seats; Grissom at one head of the table, with his mother and Sara on either side. Richard said a grace, while Grissom deftly translated it. After that, it was a free-for-all.
Grissom took a moment to simply watch as his aunt, cousins, and uncle practically fought for each dish. He did notice, however, that the vegetarian roast remained untouched. He managed to get some food for himself, then noticed that Sara was on the losing side. She had barely managed to get anything so far.
He reached his arm down the table, scooping up the dish with the roast in it and handing it to her. She smiled, then helped herself.
After the initial rush for food, everyone began to eat. Conversation ensued between Elisa and Sara, with Elisa wondering what kind of work Sara did. That conversation, however, died quickly after Sara said that she was a CSI.
Grissom's mother struck up a conversation with her son, which was awkward due to the fact that both were trying to eat. Sometimes it seemed Grissom would just stick his fork in his mouth as he signed, something Sara found hilarious. Mrs. Grissom signed something to him and he burst out laughing, casting a glance Sara's way.
Sara chose to mostly watch the family as they ate. Herb and Richard got into a little argument over board games. Grissom and his mother were still involved in their silent conversation, while Elisa and her mother talked about their recent vacations.
She smiled to herself, poking at her own food. Christmas with her family hadn't been like this. With her family, the food was set out in the kitchen and everyone ate as they wanted to. There was no sitting around the table. It was nice, even if she did feel like an intruder. She felt as if this was a secret life Grissom had hidden away, one he had chosen to reveal to her. And she felt privileged.