All I Want Is You
Disclaimer: All of us know that I don't own CSI by now, don't we?
Chapter Seven: Dinner With Laura
Sara and Grissom took a nap together and then Sara remembered her mother's dinner invitation. They took turns showering and got dressed before heading out to their rental car. Grissom drove them to Laura's apartment. When they got to the door, they could smell dinner cooking.
"Smells good," Grissom said.
"Well let's get inside so we can eat instead of just standing out here," Sara knocked on the door.
"Sara, Dr. Grissom," Laura greeted them.
"Please, call me Gil, Mrs. Sidle," Grissom said.
"Only if you call me Laura," Laura smiled.
"Sounds like a fair trade," Grissom returned the smile.
"What's for dinner?" Sara asked.
"Well, a little birdie told me that you were a vegetarian, dear, so I made some vegetarian dishes for us," Laura explained.
"I told her after we ordered the other night at the restaurant, you went to the bathroom and she thought it was funny that you only ordered a salad," Grissom added.
"You two take a seat at the table, I'll bring the food over," Laura instructed, "what can I get you to drink?"
"Whatever kind of soda you have is fine," Grissom replied.
"Same for me," Sara added.
"Okay, I'll be back in a moment," Laura headed into the kitchen, grabbed a couple cans of pop and the pot of vegetarian soup she had made.
There was already bread, butter and dishes set out on the table. Once everyone got situated with their food and drinks they began to talk about lots of different things and invariably ended up talking about Sara's childhood.
"Sara was a very smart little girl," Laura said.
"I can imagine," Grissom winked at Sara.
"I always knew that she was going to be very smart. When she was younger, she spent all her free time at the library instead of hanging out with other kids her age. Her father and I worried for a while that she wasn't spending enough time with people her age, but Sara was much more at home reading books," Laura told them.
"The other kids wanted to run around and play tag, I was more interested in learning," Sara defended.
"Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure if you meet my mother, she'll tell you all sorts of strange things that I did as a child," Grissom said.
"What sort of things?" Sara was curious. She had never really heard him mention his childhood before.
"Like when I was a kid, I'd go to the beach and find a dead seagull or possibly a dead stray pet and I'd drag it home to perform autopsies," Grissom shook his head.
"Now that is a strange thing for a child to do," Laura raised her eyebrows.
"Oh that's not all," Grissom smiled, "when I got older, the local police would bring me in to help them with animal autopsies. I was the local expert, I guess."
"And I thought my Sara was weird creating business models for our bed and breakfast," Laura laughed.
"I thought that if they only made a few management changes, they could easily turn one bed and breakfast into a chain. Mom and dad were not really interested in that. They just enjoyed running the one place," Sara explained.
"You were nine years old Sara!" Laura exclaimed.
"You were creating business models as a nine year old?" Grissom chuckled.
"Yes, like I said, I spent a lot of time reading as a kid," Sara said.
"I remember one time, you must have been about five years old, Sara. Your father and I wanted to take you to the zoo, we thought it would be so fun. Then when we were in the big cat house, you just disappeared. We freaked out and thought you were gone, someone had kidnapped you or something. We spent a good half hour looking for you. Do you remember where we found you?" Laura asked.
"No, I don't remember this at all," Sara shook her head.
Laura laughed, "You spotted the monkeys on their little outdoor island and you wandered over to them. It was maybe 20 feet away from the entrance to the big cat exhibit. I guess we didn't see you walk away. One of the monkeys was sitting on the edge of the island with some food in his hand. He was staring right back at you and I guess you were mesmerized by him. I was never more relieved than when we found you. We were about to call the police, we were so worried."
"Sounds like you were a little trouble-maker," Grissom grinned at Sara.
"I don't even remember this," Sara laughed, "I guess I was fascinated by the monkeys. You know if something catches your attention just right, you can suddenly forget all your surroundings."
"Scientists have a way of losing themselves in whatever they're studying," Grissom said knowingly.
"Anyone need more soup?" Laura asked.
"No thanks, I'm fine," Grissom replied.
"It was delicious, mom, but I'm full," Sara agreed.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Laura smiled.
"I forgot how good of a cook you are," Sara said.
"Thank you," Laura stood to collect their dishes.
When the dishes were cleared, they sat back down and talked for a little while longer.
"When are you two heading back to Las Vegas?" Laura inquired.
"Friday morning," Sara said.
"That soon?" Laura asked.
"I wasn't sure if I'd want to stay here," Sara admitted, "I thought just in case things went bad, I didn't want to be stuck here for too long."
"Oh. Well maybe I'll come see you in Vegas in a few weeks," Laura suggested.
"That might be fun," Sara said, "you're more than welcome to come stay with me."
"When you come out, you can come visit our lab too," Grissom added, "we can give you a tour, show you some of what Sara does."
"I'd like that, and I'd love to meet some of your other friends," Laura said.
"Just let me know when you want to come," Sara said.
"Well, it's getting late and I'm sure you two want to be heading back to your hotel," Laura checked her watch, "maybe we can go do something tomorrow."
"Thanks for dinner, Laura, it was wonderful," Grissom said.
"Yeah mom, thanks a lot," Sara hugged her mom.
"Have a nice night," Laura waved to them as they left.
A/N: Expect one or two more chapters. I'm not sure yet if the ending is long enough for one or two chapters.