(Part 4 of the Baby series)
By Dany
Summary: Grissom and Sara actually do make it to the park, but something unexpected is waiting for them.
A/N: I decided to put the rest of the story in one site, but the first two parts remain seperate, since they were originally written for an Unbound Challenge.
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Grissom picked up Sara at three on the dot.
Sara was already waiting and pacing the floor to control her impatience. When the door bell rang she was relieved that he had not changed his mind.
Opening the door she saw Grissom take a step back and look at her. It felt good to know that he was not unaffected by her appearance. She had chosen to wear casual clothes, but they were a little more revealing than what she usually preferred. And… it seemed like she had accomplished her goal – to draw Grissom out from behind his wall, at least a bit.
The drive was mostly spent in silence, punctuated only by two or three attempts of casual conversation. Sara couldn't tell if he was really that uncomfortable or if it was something else. Shyness perhaps?
The office building of the park was situated just outside the entrance of the park, so they went in there first. Grissom told her that he had talked to Patrick Knightley briefly on the phone. The impression he had gotten was very favorable. He had, like his wife, expressed his gratitude to Grissom for being an important part in the recovery of their daughter. And he had talked about his park. It seemed to be a passion for him, not just an investment, which impressed Grissom. He had not voiced this feeling, but Sara could tell by the recognizing inflection in his voice.
Having heard about the phone call as they mounted the steps to the second floor where the office was located, she really wanted to meet the man as well.
Knocking on the office door that simply read 'Patrick Knightley', they were called in. There was no secretary or outer office, only the man behind his desk.
"Patrick Knightley," he greeted them. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for coming, Dr. Grissom." He stepped from behind the desk and first shook Grissom's hand before holding out the hand for Sara.
"Sara Sidle," she smiled at him before looking at Grissom for an introduction.
"I told you about the friend I would bring along," Grissom said, keeping his eyes on Mr. Knightley, seemingly unaware of what he had done.
Sara, though, was standing rooted in place, eyes wide, staring at Grissom. A friend… he hadn't called her that since she had arrived in Las Vegas. First his unusual offer, the once-over and now this. What did that mean?
The two men carried on their conversation as if nothing happened while Sara just stood there, struck mute. She vaguely remembered hearing something about them having to go through the park alone because of a business meeting, but the rest of the conversation was lost to her.
When they were about to leave the office, the door opened suddenly and Alexandra Knightley breezed in with Amelia in a stroller. "Oh, I'm sorry," she stammered, looking flustered that she had barged in on a meeting. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Alex, I thought you had a course?" Her husband walked over to her, lifting their daughter out of her seat.
"I do, but the babysitter just called in sick and I haven't been able to reach you."
Grissom and Sara felt visibly uncomfortable to be witnesses to a private conversation and decided to leave the room quietly. But as they passed the young couple, Amelia looked up straight at Grissom before breaking out into a grin. Her hand reached out and gripped one of his jacket lapels.
"I can't take her Alex. I have an investors meeting in 20 minutes." Patrick Knightley looked at his wife pleadingly, willing her to understand his dilemma.
Grissom, held in place by the little girl, still looked every bit as uncomfortable as he probably felt, but the Amelia didn't seem to care. She tightened her grip and pulled herself closer, leaning over to Grissom, squirming in her father's arms.
When he was thrown slightly off-balance by his daughter's movements he looked down on her and saw that she was trying to leave his arms.
Sara watched the whole scene from the door with interest, wondering where this might be leading.
"I know," Alexandra Knightley sighed. "But I can't drop the course again. And your parents are out of town."
Her husband moved away, wanting to go to his desk, but Amelia's grip was tight. "Ammi, let go." When she didn't he looked apologetically at Grissom. "Could you…?"
Grissom nodded and Amelia was passed to him.
Mr. Knightley made a quick phone call, but not with the desired results. He had tried to rearrange the meeting, but to no avail. "Alex…"
"Why don't we take your daughter with us to see the park?" Sara gaped at Grissom, wondering where the man was she worked with every night. But he seemed just as surprised by what he had offered.
The Knightleys looked at each other, carrying on a silent communication, discussing what they should do. It was crazy, everyone knew that. They barely knew each other and they couldn't know whether the two CSIs were able to take care of Amelia.
Hell, Sara didn't know if they could.
But the couple seemed to trust them. Amelia had shown no fear so far, instead being more open towards the scientist than she usually was and that seemed enough.
"I'll be gone at least two hours. More like two and a half," Mrs. Knightley seemed to have made her decision.
"The meeting should not take more than two hours, but you never know." Since both parents agreed to leave their child to the CSIs, it was up to Sara to make the final decision. She had remained quiet so far and now everyone was looking at her.
But she had only eyes for Grissom, admiring the view of him handling the child so carefully – again. Maybe this was her chance.
He seemed so different around this little girl. The hard shell seemed to crack and he was able to leave 'Grissom, CSI-supervisor and stone wall' behind.
"I'll give you my cell phone number," she smiled at Grissom, willing to go and see what would happen.
TBC