Chapter 04: Into the Fire

Sara was flipping through the pages of a Reader's Digest. 'Why don't they have any self help articles on the care & feeding of 2 bug-obsessed men?' She thought. When she noticed how much her son seemed to be fidgeting. Suddenly, she noticed he wasn't fidgeting; his jacket was fidgeting and undulating. "Aaron Alexander Grissom. What do you have in your pockets? Didn't I tell – no I told your father right? I didn't tell you?"

"Aaron how many cicadas do you have in your pockets?"

"I'm not sure mommy, a lot. My pockets are full of cicadas." As she spoke she noticed that a large thrumming sound was coming from his jacket. She opened his jacket pockets and cicadas began to fly all over the reception area. Small bodies began thudding against the walls, the chairs, the plants and finally the receptionist. She began to scream. The other patients in the waiting room began to cover their heads with magazines.

At the same time inside the dentist's office, Gil had just settled into the chair, been covered with the obligatory leather apron and Dr Irey was bringing the x-ray machine around when the screaming began to echo through the reception area. Startled, his hand violently shoved the machine just as the equally startled Grissom sat upright. It was Desert Palms birthing room all over again. X-ray machine meets the side of Gil Grissom's face and the top of Gil's head is driven into the overhead dental light. Result: Gil is out like a light…and 2 chipped molars, 3 cracked molars and slight hairline fracture of the jaw. And one hell of a black eye.

As Dr. Irey flung the door open, he sees little Aaron Grissom jumping up & down trying to help his mother Sara catch dozens of cicadas. His receptionist & wife of fifteen years was shooting dirty looks at him as she stomped out of the office followed by 5 of his patients. Unfortunately, one of his patients was a reporter for a local LV newspaper. He had whipped out a small pocket camcorder and was busy shooting digital video of the chaos in the reception area.

"Oh Dr. Irey I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say…Dr. Irey where is my husband?" Sara couldn't understand why Gil wasn't out here to witness the chaos his first born son had wrought. Sara repeated "Dr. Irey where is my husband?"

Leaving the news reporter and Aaron to deal with the cicadas, Sara rushed into the inner office. Gil was just starting to come around, making unintelligible noises. The side of his face was turning purple and beginning to swell. "Oh my poor Gil" Sara cried as she rushed forward. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry"…she muttered as she rained kisses on his poor bruised face.

Dr. Irey was the one wincing as he thought, 'My wife is going to sue me for divorce; I've lost at least 5 patients; my reception area is a breeding ground for cicadas; I've attacked a law enforcement officer with an X-ray machine.' "And his wife will definitely kill me…….." This last statement was muttered out loud. He felt a small tug on his lab coat. He looked down as Aaron Alexander Grissom whispered. "And no one will find you."