Child's Play
By Dany
Summary: Even when you're tired there's something more important than sleep…a promise and books. Get your head out of the gutter, this is not a nc-17 fic:o)
xxxxx
They left the store with a shopping bag, satisfied that their effort had paid off. Hopefully, the little girl would like her birthday presents.
Arriving back at his car, Sara wondered if she should remind him of the trip he had promised her. This was her chance to spend more time with him, even if she was dead tired. Actually, she gladly sacrificed the rest of her sleep for 'Grissom time'.
"Grissom?"
He looked over the car at her.
"Will you…" her courage left her for a second before she swallowed hard around the lump in her throat, and she squeezed out the rest of her question, "take me to the bookstore?"
His worried expression eased as she spit out the end of the sentence. At first he had been worried, because she always came up with these strange requests, and her face and hesitance had let him to believe the worst. He was relieved that it was only about books. That he could deal with.
"You're not tired yet?" he still had to ask, not knowing if he was doing so for his comfort or hers.
He knew that the job was wearing her down, and she needed her sleep. But, would she sleep if she were home? With Sara, he never knew.
"Yes," that answer surprised him, "but I wouldn't sleep even if I were home."
Once the words were out, she realized how selfish she was. She didn't want to go home and spend more time with him when he was probably dead on his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you must be tired. You can just drop me off at my car and then…"
He held up his hand to stop her rambling. "Sara, it's okay. Stop."
She did and looked up, trying to figure out where this was going, but as usual, Grissom was hard to read.
"Get in." His simple order left her standing there, mouth agape, while he had already started the car.
The buzz of the window being levered roused her from her frozen position, and she got into the car.
When she looked at Grissom, she saw the question in his eyes, whether he should really drive to the bookstore or drive her home.
She gave him a smile and settled in. "Drive."
xxxxx
The store was out of the way, but as soon as Sara stepped in she knew it was worth it.
Different from the overcrowded stores in the mall, this one was smaller and full of corners, but also full of an atmosphere. There were books everywhere you looked, not only new ones, but also older editions that made you want to touch them to feel eras long past.
Like Grissom, she could probably spent hours here.
They loved books, it was as simple as that. And yet, she felt like Grissom was sharing something big with her.
She looked up, feeling the urge to thank him for bringing her to this place, but suddenly the words left her, seeing him wandering deeper into the store, completely in his element. This was not a place for spoken words, only the written ones were important so she decided to follow his lead and slip into another world.
Sara went through the shelves methodically, picking out a few books here and there. This was heaven.
Sometimes she could see Grissom doing the same, although his stack grew slower than hers. A few times he looked over at her, giving her a smile, looking like a kid in a candy store.
When they reached the exit and the register again, Grissom was certainly happy to see Sara so carefree, excitedly thumbing through her choices.
"Hey, you could put half of this stack back," he commented after taking a closer look at the ten or so books that Sara had put on the counter.
Startled, she looked up, wondering if she had crossed a line somewhere. Did she seem too overeager – like the kid in the candy store?
Her deteriorating mood went unnoticed by Grissom for he was still focused on the books. "I have them at home, and if you want…"
Only now did he lift his head, and when his eyes fell on Sara he realized that he must have said something wrong.
Their emotional high after the toy store had dissipated and only left doubts behind.
"I didn't mean to… all I wanted was to let you know that you could borrow those books from me so you wouldn't have to buy them."
Sara was relieved that she had just misinterpreted his words and decided to let him off the hook by giving him a small smile, trying not to let this ruin their time together. "Which ones?"
He seemed to be a bit confused at her question, so she clarified, "Which books do you have?"
He returned the smile and sorted her books into two stacks.
"Let me guess," she tried to joke, "this one," she pointed to the left pile, "can be found in your bookshelf?"
This little incident was not going to ruin her day. And if they wanted to rebuild their relationship – and maybe even more – than she would have to stop taking everything he said so seriously.
For how verbally versatile he was, he often had trouble expressing himself.
"Why did you pick the two entomology books," he asked, and this time she could tell he didn't mean anything by it. He was just curious.
"Well, I wanted to read up on the new friends you made at the park. Get to know them a little better."
Sara couldn't keep the mischievous tone from her voice, knowing he would approve of her thirst for knowledge, but also feel a bit uncomfortable at the attention she directed at his diversion.
However, they had to get over these awkward moments, and nothing was better than trying again and again.
He tensed for a second before making the conscious effort to relax and revel in her obvious excitement over newly won knowledge.
"I can lend them to you." He thought about how much he was willing to offer and decided to take another step forward. After all, teaching her had always been something he was comfortable with.
"And if you have questions, you can ask me."
Her smile grew even wider at his tentative offer.
A store clerk chose that moment to appear from somewhere within the shop. "Mr. Grissom, it's nice to see you again. And you brought another avid reader, I see."
Grissom reached out and shook the other man's hand in greeting. "It's nice to see you again too, and this place is definitely worth sharing."
"Completing your collection?" The clerk motioned towards one book, also not at all affronted by the lack of introductions.
"Yes, but also showing a friend of mine where to complete her collections." Grissom was surprised how easy that came out this time, but after he had stumbled in Mr. Knightley's office, he had vowed to do it right the next time.
"Sara Sidle, this is Henry Singer, and this is his store," he now introduced them properly.
Sara was surprised at this, and by the look on his face, so was the clerk. It was so unusual for him to be that straightforward and relaxed at the same time.
Soon the shock wore off, though, and she was able to concentrate on the here and now again. She was just as taken as he was by the little shop and wanted to go here more often. She held out her hand, and the shop owner shook it with a smile.
"These are your selections, I presume?"
Henry took a closer look at the two remaining stacks. "Hm…are these going back?"
Picking up the books Grissom had set aside, he looked over at Sara before turning to Grissom when he saw her chewing her lip, obviously still thinking.
"If I remember correctly, you already have them."
Grissom answered with a nod, waiting for Sara to make a decision. If she didn't want to borrow his books, or wanted to have her own volumes, he would respect that, and he swore to himself not to overanalyze the implications.
Sara didn't know what was keeping her back. There was a perfect chance to spend more time with Grissom and now she was hesitating. Was she stupid?
"Yes, should I put them back?" She reached out to take the books, but Henry shook his head and placed them on a shelf behind him.
"No need, I'll just do it later. Now, let's ring these up so you can enjoy the rest of the day."
They quickly paid for their books and left with a promise to return.
"Thanks," Sara said when they were back in his car.
Grissom, still in his own world, happy that they were slowly moving forward, looked at her surprised, not really knowing what she was thanking him for.
"For taking me to one of your spots."
He nodded, but all the while, as he drove her back to her car, he kept pondering those words,
Why did she feel the need to thank him? What did she mean, 'your spot'?
He never shared this part of his life; he never let anyone in. These 'spots' were special, but so was Sara.
He sighed, wondering why this was such a fight for him when he wanted it to be easy.
They reached the parking lot in record time, but Grissom had been so deep in thoughts that he had driven on autopilot and was surprised when Sara reached over and laid her hand on his arm. "I had fun, thank you."
For a moment he was scared she might try to kiss him – like an inexperienced schoolboy – but she just smiled at him and got out of the car.
"See you tonight." And then she was gone.
'I had fun too,' he thought smiling, although he could only admit it to himself – for now.
TBC
A/N: Please let me know what you think.
