Baby powder
By Dany
Summary: Grissom falls in love.
A/N: Response to this weeks Unbound Improve Challenge. Pure mushiness. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or its characters.
xxxxx
"Where did you say you found her?" Asked Brass.
The showgirl pointed to the corner of her dressing room where a paper box stood, filled with various pieces of cloth. "In there. She must have been there for a while, because I locked the door when I left. Quiet little thing. I only heard her when I got back from the second show."
Brass looked over to one of his officers who held a crying little girl in his arms. She could not be older than two. She had dark curly hair tied into a pony tail, chocolate eyes with long lashes and freckles. Cute – if only she would stop crying. No one could calm her down; she just kept crying. The problem was, neither child services nor any medical personnel had arrived yet.
"Finding you was really easy today. Just follow the siren," Nick commented entering the room, followed closely by Grissom. The young man wandered over to the crying child, trying his luck.
Grissom, on the other hand, moved straight towards the box Jim had wordlessly pointed at and went to work. He was so focused on his task that he didn't notice Nick coming closer, still with the girl in his arms. Only when the crying suddenly quieted down to a whimper, he became aware of the proximity to Nick and the girl.
"Nick, get the kid to child services. She needs to be checked out and IDed." He waved them away and turned back to the box.
But soon the crying grew louder and when he looked up again, he saw all eyes turned to him. It was very uncomfortable and he unconsciously lowered his head to escape the focus of their attention. Not that it helped. This time he could feel Nick getting closer, before he heard the girl quieting down. Damn.
"Gil, it won't kill you to at least try holding her. It doesn't look like she's going to bite." Brass tried to encourage his friend, thinking about the relief for his ears. "And don't you dare say she's evidence," he added, knowing Grissom only too well.
With a sigh Grissom stood up and held out his arms. He knew when he was defeated.
Nick placed the little girl in his supervisor's arms. Her whimpering turned into sniffling and then she was quiet, staring at Grissom with big round eyes.
None of those present dared to say anything or smirk at the usually grumpy scientist holding such a delicate person. If he felt any more uncomfortable he would hand her back and the crying would start again.
They watched with surprise, as a little hand moved up to Grissom's face and patted him on the bristles of his beard. "Da!" The girl cooed and smiled... and Grissom smiled back.
The rest of the room just stared on, not believing what they saw. After a while, Grissom became aware of their scrutiny again so he carefully schooled his features to neutrality and looked back at Nick. "Finish the scene. I'll be outside."
On his way out he picked a bright pink vial up from one of the dressing tables and handed it to the girl to give her something to play with. Outside, he sat down on the stairs, setting the girl on her feet in between his legs. He didn't want her to fall. Contrary to popular belief he was able to handle a child. Normally he just chose not to get too close. That's what Catherine was for.
But now that he looked at the little treasure smiling at nothing in particular, twisting and turning the vial in her tiny hands, watching curiously as the contents shifted, he felt his heart melting.
Who was she? Where were her parents? How could anyone just leave her alone?
"Gah," she gurgled happily and twisted the tube again. Something popped and pink powder flowed all over Grissom's hands. The girl looked up and gave him a wide toothy smile. Two big white teeth became visible on her upper gums and he felt a tug on his heart.
How could one not fall in love with her?
"Dr. Grissom?"
He looked up and saw a woman in her forties, standing in front of him, looking very official. "Yes?"
"Miranda Carter, from child services." She held out a hand, but he just shrugged, showing her his pink hands. "And I think this is Amelia Knightley. She was kidnapped this morning in a park. Her parents are waiting at the police station."
Quietly he watched as the woman picked the little girl up and cooed to her. The girl whimpered a bit, but did not start to cry again.
Brass came up behind Grissom and spoke as they watched the woman strap the girl into a car seat. "The call just came in. I'm gonna head to the station with her. Process and follow?"
Grissom nodded and stood up. He cast one last glance at the car.
There she was, looking at him, winking with her small hands. He looked after her until the car was out of sight.
Shaking his head, Grissom blew the pink glitter out of his hand.
The End