Child's Play
Chapter 4
By Dany
Summary: Is a party supposed to make you this nervous?
A/N: Thanks to Ace! And thanks to those of you who support me with your reviews. Keep them coming ;)
xxxxx
Sara stood in front of the mirror, smoothing down her clothes.
Grissom had said he would pick her up at three when she said goodbye after shift, and she had agreed, but now it seemed too soon.
Instead of not being able to sleep, she had done the opposite. The previous night had been long since they had all been called in at six and worked through the night until nine in the morning. Almost a double. Add that to the night before and the little sleep she had gotten yesterday because she had to be at court, and she was too tired to live up to her usual insomnia.
She never had to use an alarm clock, so when her body had claimed sleep, she had overslept.
At 2:10 she sat up straight in bed, cursing herself for forgetting to set the alarm clock. She only had about forty minutes to get ready.
Her movements were hurried as she took a quick shower and dressed as quickly as she could, picking the next best outfit, which was coincidentally her least favorite skirt with a plain blouse, but she hadn't had the time to contemplate her state of dress any further.
Now she was standing in front of the mirror, having just finished putting a bit of make-up on and struggling with her hair. Basically it did what it wanted, so she put it up with a hairclip.
She was thoroughly frustrated and contemplated calling Grissom to tell him to go alone, but then she reasoned that it was silly to freak out over something as trivial as wardrobe and hairdo. It was not that bad, and Grissom would panic if he had to go alone.
On cue, the doorbell rang, disrupting every plan to flee.
With one last look at the mirror, she left her bedroom to open the door.
"Hi, Griss…" She didn't get any further as she took in his appearance. The dark slacks and the gray shirt shaved off a couple of years and made him look even better in her eyes, especially since he had left the usual bulgy jacket at home.
His hair and beard were neatly trimmed, but the best feature was his eyes, and they were positively glowing.
"Hey," he returned, looking equally smitten. "You look nice." The words were out of his mouth before he was able to stop them.
Sara's head snapped up, amazed that Gil Grissom had just given her a compliment. "Thank you."
Unconsciously, She smoothed the imaginary wrinkles out of her skirt again. "You don't look so bad either."
Sara thought she saw him beginning to blush at her undivided attention, but he covered it quickly by looking back out into the hall. "Shall we go?" he asked, obviously more that a bit nervous now.
"Sure, just let me get my things, and then we can go." She hurried back into her apartment, picking up her purse and the bag with the present.
"You got your present?" She asked, starting a new topic to ease the tension.
He nodded, and when she had locked the door, they were on their way.
xxxxx
As they stood in front of the wildlife park waiting to be let in, they were both nervous. Sara toyed with her skirt again while Grissom fished for his glasses.
"Okay," Sara drew the word out, admitting that they were both far more nervous than they should have been.
She turned to Grissom, speaking again, "We're both adults, and this is just a birthday gathering for a two-year-old. We know how to carry a decent conversation, and we've got some presents. So…"
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves and continued, "This should be a piece of cake."
"Child's play," he retorted, not being able to rid himself of the uneasy feeling.
"A walk in the park."
"A cinch."
"No brainer."
"Easy peasy."
Sara burst out laughing. Everything was just too much; that she was 'going out' with Grissom – the awkwardness, the butterflies in her stomach – a social event like a child's birthday party, her own insecurities…and now this. 'Easy peasy' coming out of Gil Grissom's mouth just sent her over the edge.
But the best thing was that Grissom was laughing with her.
She couldn't even remember the last time he had done that. It was liberating to let go of any tension, and when they were interrupted by Mrs. Knightley, they still smiled when she asked them in.
For the first time, Grissom didn't feel the need to cover his emotions, and he decided to make the best of it while it lasted.
The 'party' was not as big as they had feared. Only a handful of couples were standing in a room for a special exhibition of plants where the party was held. It was colorfully decorated with paper streamers and balloons. Amelia and three other children were running around, chasing each other.
"I'm glad you decided to come," Patrick Knightley greeted them warmly, "Amelia talked about your visit for days."
As if to support the words, Grissom felt a tug at his pants, and when he looked down, he saw two big brown eyes staring up at him. He smiled and saw Sara smiling at the obvious affection before he felt the tug again.
Looking back down, he saw Amelia lifting her little arms in a clear gesture to be picked up. Grissom followed her request and soon she was in his arms.
"Happy Birthday," Sara said, smoothing a stray curl from the girl's forehead.
The girl grinned and lifted her hands, pulling her fingers down so that only two remained upward.
"Happy Birthday," Grissom echoed Sara's sentiment, "now you're two years old."
He wriggled his fingers, causing her to giggle.
"We've got presents for her," Sara looked at the parents, waiting for their assent, but Amelia taught her that that would have better been discussed without her.
"Pwesentz," she called out, her eyes lighting up.
"Amelia," her father's stern voice made the girl look up, "it is not nice to want too much."
The girl seemed to understand what her father wanted from her, and she looked a bit like a sad little puppy. Then her face brightened, and she giggled, "Pwesentz, pleaz."
It was hard to resist her charms, and while Amelia's parent were able to keep a straight face, Sara and Grissom couldn't help themselves and smiled at her childish logic.
Mrs. Knightley put a hand on her husband's arm, "It's her birthday, and she's two."
He nodded and then smiled at his daughter. "Okay Ammi, you can have your presents."
Sara reached into her bag and pulled out her present, handing it to Amelia.
"Tank you," she squeaked and began ripping the paper off.
"Ship-monk!" She let go of everything but the animal and cuddled it to her chest. "Crk, Crk."
She smiled at Sara and clacked with her teeth.
Sara started laughing, and Grissom looked highly amused while the girl's parents were a bit confused.
"May I hold her?" Sara reached over and took Amelia from Grissom's arms.
"Will you show it to the other chipmunks?" She asked her and was rewarded with a nod and a big toothy smile.
"When we took her through the park, she had lots of fun at the chipmunk area," Grissom explained to the parents who were still a bit confused.
"She's a little animal lover – or big animal lover is more like it. She can watch them for hours." Mr. Knightley's pride was obvious. He was probably hoping that one day his little girl would follow in his footsteps.
"So we noticed." Grissom pulled out his present for her.
The girl eyed the present, but then looked back at her stuffed toy. She pressed it harder against her, moving it under her arm, not willing to relinquish her hold on it.
Grissom held the present closer to Amelia, but didn't hand it over. In this position, Amelia couldn't hold it, and he didn't want it to tumble to the ground when it slipped through her fingers.
Amelia leaned forward, and Sara had to correct her stance, her center of gravity moving with the child.
The more she held the girl, the more she got used to the feeling of someone really close to her. She was slowly changing her mind about children. Maybe…
Sara looked at Grissom, and his words came back to her. 'She reminds me of you', that's what he had said. Was there something behind this statement? A wish?
She shook her head to push the thoughts back. Now was not the time to think about that.
She focused on Amelia again and saw her little hands gripping the paper and pulling it away, making it tear. As she ripped the rest off, she giggled, taking pleasure in the act of destruction. When her present was uncovered, she sat back in Sara's arms and stared at the wooden board.
Grissom was afraid he had picked the wrong thing and the girl didn't like it, but then Amelia clapped her hands and started bouncing, almost dropping the stuffed toy.
"Bug, she called, making Grissom and Sara smile. "Fy, baddafy, beet, bugz," her voice reached a screeching level at 'bugz', which made the adults cringe. She reached for the board with one arm and pulled the ladybug out, studying it with a grin.
"Amelia, put it back so we don't lose it. And, what do you say?" Mrs. Knightley watched her daughter put the piece back with a pout. "You can play with it later, baby," she assured her, smoothing the baby hair at her daughter's cheek, making her smile.
"Tank you," the girl replied dutifully, receiving appreciative nods from her parents.
Grissom was glad she seemed to like her presents, "You're welcome."
"Would you like some cake?" Patrick Knightley asked the two CSIs, motioning to one of the tables where three plates of cake were resting.
Before answering, Grissom looked at Sara, remembering her comment that they didn't have to stay. When he saw her playing with Amelia and the chipmunk, he turned back to the Knightleys, hoping she wouldn't be mad at him for making the decision on both of their behalves. "That would be nice."
Sara looked up, but there was no sign of anger, so he relaxed.
They were staying.
TBC
