Baby teeth
By Dany
Summary: The next enclosure holds some surprises for Grissom
A/N: I wrote this before the reviews of the last chapter came in, so sorry that I can't come up with an old couple, but this is my poor attempt at a supstitute. And on that note, thanks for the feedback, keep it coming.
xxxxx
Their good mood continued as they left the aviary, wandering to the next little world.
Grissom was still carrying Amelia while Sara was pushing the stroller, admiring the view. He seemed like a completely different person. The tension that usually accompanied him, stemming from his stressful position as supervisor, had lessened to a degree she hadn't seen in a while. Not since before Vegas.
He told her he had a diversion, but seeing him today she began to doubt that. Maybe his diversion was not as good as he believed.
Reaching the next area, she shook herself out of her thoughts and hurried to catch up with Amelia and Grissom.
"Inside or outside," he asked her, wondering where they would get more to see since there were some smaller outer areas and a big house for the rodents.
"Let's go in." He agreed with a nod and opened the door for her.
The inside was a bit darker than the outside, but not so much that she would bump into anyone with the stroller.
"Sara, would you mind if we switched. My arms are getting tired and if we put her in the stroller she won't be able to see everything." Grissom was one of the few men who were not wounded in their pride by admitting they couldn't do everything or carry on indefinitely. That's not to say he didn't have his moments. Everyone had them – She did.
She held out her arms waiting for him to place the little girl in them, suddenly feeling a bit apprehensive. What if she started to fuss, or even worse, to cry? Maybe Amelia didn't want to be held by her. Maybe…
And then she felt the weight in her arms and her eyes shifted downward to make sure the girl was ok. She was not making any noise and there was no trace of tears. Instead, she seemed to settle comfortably into Sara's arms and then looked over to the first glass window.
A short glance at Grissom told her that he had been oblivious to her predicament, staring at the same window Amelia was looking at. So she made her way over to see what animal was behind it.
'Lodgepole Chipmunk' the sign declared, which she read aloud for the girl, before actually looking through the glass.
At first there was only an empty enclosure, but when she remained unmoving a little nose appeared from one of the holes in a tree trunk. The nose was moving up and down, feeling the air with its whiskers. Carefully one of the little fellows eased out of the hole and hopped over to a bowl of fresh food that sat close to the window.
So as not to startle the chipmunk, Sara moved closer to the window, bending down to make sure Amelia got a good look at the chipmunk.
Surprisingly, the small animal only looked up for a moment, before going back to the bowl and picking up a nut. The little teeth became visible when it started to nibble on it.
Amelia started giggling and bared her own big front teeth, turning to look at Sara.
When the shell was cracked open, the chipmunk took the nut out and turned back to the bowl, dropping the shell and picking up a berry, stuffing it also into its mouth.
"Crk, Crk!" Amelia imitated the animal and coupled with her facial motions, the teeth biting on an imaginary nut was so funny that it made Sara laugh.
"Oh why, you're a little chipmunk. Aren't you," she teased, bouncing the girl on her hip.
The movement caused the little rodent to turn and scurry back into its hole.
"Crk, Crk!"
All the while, Grissom was standing a bit behind them, deciding to watch Sara interact with the child. Although she always claimed to be uncomfortable with children, she seemed to have lost her shyness right now.
"They really are a picture. How old is your little one?" The voice startled him and as he looked up, he saw an elderly man standing beside him. He looked friendly enough, but due to his profession Grissom was always weary.
"She's almost two," he said curtly, a bit angry with himself that he couldn't remember her exact age from the file.
The man nodded and they both kept watching Sara and Amelia. Just when the stranger was about to speak again, Sara turned and called Grissom over to them again, stating she wanted to see the other animals.
He followed the two around the house, but his thoughts always wandered back to where the man was still standing, looking straight ahead into the chipmunks' area. What had made him answer without correcting him?
"Griss, you're ok?" Sara asked, looking a bit worried. She had noticed his absent mindedness and wondered if she had done anything to make him uncomfortable again.
"I'm fine." The look on her face told him that she didn't quite believe him, but she let it go.
"Let's put her back in the stroller and continue on."
TBC