Feasibility Study

Chapter 3: The Good, the Bad and the Sticky
Written by: Ms Maggs / Edited by: KJT

June 5, 2005 (Day 44)
5:10 p.m.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Sara applied mascara while breathing in the comforting scent of her Body Shop aromatherapy oils, a perfect mixture of papaya and exotic, and listening to the soothing chords of Debussy's Clair de lune drifting in from the bedroom.

After tossing her mascara tube on the counter, she adjusted her raspberry v-neck silk pintuck shell, a new purchase for the occasion and brushed a piece of lint off her black crop pants.

"Almost ready?" Grissom asked as he stepped into the tranquil room. They were expected at the Blake's in twenty minutes. "You look beautiful." He planted a kiss on her shoulder.

"Thank you." Smiling she eased against his body. "And you cleaned up very nicely." Prior to showering, he was in a white t-shirt covered in dirt from freshening up some tanks in the bug room. Now he was wearing black pants with one of his classic button-down short sleeve shirts, tonight's color choice…indigo.

From behind he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you feeling calmer?"

"The music helped."

In her ear he whispered, "We can always page each other if it goes badly."

"Nick would bust us." Taking a deep breath she announced, "We better go or we'll be late."

Releasing her, he walked out of the room. "I'll turn off the music and meet you in the entryway."

Sara bent over and blew out the tea light candle heating her aromatherapy jar just as the sonata stopped. For a moment the house was so silent she thought she could hear her heart beating in her chest and she savored the serenity. Then she heard Grissom's keys rattle. "Okay, I'm coming." When she got to the bedroom door, she flicked the lights off, leaving the ants to

Wendy yelled across the kitchen, "Ryan Patrick Blake, you give your brother back his dinosaur book right now or you'll lose TV privileges for a week!"

"Fine!" Ryan slid the book across the table to his twin brother Sean.

Sean immediately buried his head in the book and tuned out his brother's whining, his baby sister's rhythmic bang of a spoon on her highchair and the churn of the Kitchen Aid mixer in the background.

Although the boys were twins with golden hair and azure eyes, just like Wendy and her sister Samantha had opposing personalities, so did Ryan and Sean.

"Why did dad have to leave on his business trip a day early?" Ryan moaned. "It's Sunday. We always play football on Sunday!"

"Because his boss asked him to help out, sweetie." Wendy opened the oven to check the lasagna. "I'm sure Nick will toss your football with you if you asked. I think he played ball when he was in school."

"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" Four year-old McKenna Blake wailed as she tore into the room. "I can't find my blankie! It's gone!" Her thick mane of honey-colored curls flopped around as she jumped up and down at her mother's feet.

"Carrie!" Wendy, finally hitting saturation point, called into the living room. "Can you come in here, please?"

"What's up?" Carrie asked as she checked her lipstick in the stainless steel of the fridge. Just as she suspected, that last round of kisses had eliminated most of it.

"I've got a few things left to do here plus I'm trying to feed the baby so I can put her down. Can you please help McKenna find her blanket?"

"Sure." Taking her niece's hand, Carrie led her out of the kitchen. "Let's go ask Mr. Nick to help us. He works for the police department and knows all about following clues and finding things. He just finished his shift for the day but I bet he's not too tired to help."

"O…o…okay," McKenna replied while wiping away her tears.

"Nick, we have a serious problem." Carrie walked her niece over to the couch. "We need someone with experience to help us find a missing blankie."

Putting his bottle of beer on the coffee table, Nick sweetly asked, "Miss, can you remember the last place you saw your blankie?"

"The playroom."

Tapping the tip of her nose with his finger he smiled. "Then I think that's the first place we should check."

The ring of the front doorbell halted the investigation.

"That must be Grissom and Sara." Nick smirked as he stood up. "This is going to be fun. This place is a zoo and they live in a library."

"I know why you fit in so well here at the zoo." Carrie teased. "You're an animal."

Nick pulled her close and growled in her ear. "Now is it really appropriate to talk about our love life in front of the kid?"

McKenna had waited long enough. "Blankie! Blankie! Blankie!"

"Are you getting the door, Carrie?" Wendy shouted from the kitchen.

"Okay, okay!" Carrie slipped out of Nick's arms, scooped up McKenna and headed for the door with Nick right behind her.

When Carrie opened the door, McKenna took one look at the strangers on her front porch and released a blood curdling scream.

Grissom and Sara looked at each other wondering if it was too late to try the pager trick.

"McKenna!" Carrie chuckled as she covered the child's mouth momentarily. "These are the nice people from the police department who work with Mr. Nick. We called them here to help find your blankie. Sorry about that, guys. Welcome to the zoo. Come on in." She stepped back allowing the shell shocked couple to enter. "Love that top, Sara. Great color on you."

"Hi. Thanks." Sara smiled as she walked through the door. "Wow it smells really good in here." Glancing around, Sara realized this home had all the familial warmth she dreamed about while in foster care and she wandered around taking in the details.

"Nice to see you again, Carrie." Grissom politely remarked while stepping into the living room.

Nick savored the tense expressions on the guests' faces. "Glad you guys could make it."

Always the observant one, Grissom remarked, "What shade of lipstick are you wearing, Nick?"

Carrie blushed. "That would be Burnt Sugar Shimmer." Reaching over she wiped the evidence of their exchange off Nick's face.

"Blankie! Blankie! Blankie!" McKenna bounced in Carrie's arms. "You said you would help!"

"If you'll excuse me for a minute." Carrie took McKenna to the playroom. "Let's go get that blankie."

Wendy came bounding out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a dishrag. "Gil and Sara thank you so much for coming."

"Thanks for having us," Grissom warmly replied before getting pulled away by Nick for a work consultation.

While Grissom and Nick were talking, Sara handed over a vase of cheerful cut flowers to Wendy. "These are for you, Wendy." There she was, face to face with the perfect mother figure. Every photo displayed in the living room pointed to one conclusion…Wendy was the modern day June Cleaver, the Tiffany pearls and chiffon dress replaced with a Cookie Lee choker and designer jeans.

"They're beautiful thank you." When she looked up she noticed Sara was staring at her. "Is something…"

"You have uh…I think it's food…stuck in your hair." If she had to guess she'd say it was peaches.

"Oh!" Wendy laughed as she picked out the scraps. "The baby just flung some diced peaches my way. You know…just one of many job hazards."

"Right." Sara nodded as if she knew first-hand what Wendy was referring to.

"You'll have to forgive me for things being a little behind around here. My husband got unexpectedly called away on business a day early."

Seeing an out, Sara pounced, "We wouldn't have been offended if you cancelled or if you still…"

"Are you kidding?" Wendy chuckled. "Then I'd be home alone with all four kids. Now I have four helpers. You can each take one kid and I can have the night off."

Apparently the experiment was going to be a little more 'hands-on' than Sara predicted. "I uh…I don't really have a lot of experience…"

"I was kidding, Sara." Taking her by the elbow she guided her to the couch. "You're my guest. Just have a seat and relax. Try the avocado dip."

Carrie re-entered the room brushing crumbs off her gold and pink lace shell top. "I solved the blankie mystery. Maybe I could be a CSI? Did you fill Nick's spot yet?" She turned to her sister. "McKenna has opted to stay in the playroom watching Barney and eating goldfish crackers."

Seated on the couch, Sara bent over and swooped a chip through the bowl of green mush. "This is perfect. Avocados are very high in Folic Acid and I need to up my intake of Folic Acid."

"I didn't know you were pregnant, Sara!" Wendy cheerily exclaimed.

A hush fell over the room except for the sound of Nick choking on his swig of beer.

"Congratulations!" Carrie beamed with delight.

Nick elbowed Grissom and whispered. "Way to go."

Finally dislodging the chip stuck in her throat, Sara corrected them. "I don't know why you think I…I'm not pregnant."

"Sorry." Wendy shook her head. "My fault. I assumed when you were concerned about Folic Acid that it meant you were pregnant because women are usually only concerned about their intake when they are pregnant or are trying to conceive. Now I feel really bad…you're probably trying and haven't…"

"No…I…"

Grissom came to her rescue. "Sara is like a walking encyclopedia. She spits out random facts all the time. She read about Folic Acid in article earlier today."

"Yes." Sara nodded. "I'm not pregnant or trying, I'm just a big nerd."

"That's not a nice word!" Ryan yelled from the kitchen doorway. "My brother gets called that all the time and we're not supposed to say it!"

Sara covered her mouth like a little girl in trouble. "Sorry."

He continued to scold the rude stranger. "And you can't say dork, loser or geek either!"

"Okay." Sara felt a fresh blush blossom on her face.

"Ryan that's enough!" Wendy motioned for her son to join her. "Ms. Sidle wasn't talking about your brother. She was referring to herself."

Ryan stood next to his mother and suspiciously eyed Sara. "And lady as long as you're under this roof you can't say ass, crap or shit either!"

Nick could no longer contain his laughter. "Yeah…remember that Sara."

Wendy covered her son's mouth with her palm. "Ryan brought home some new words from school last month and we obviously did a great job making him understand the rules." Removing her hand, she said, maybe this would be a good time to ask Nick to toss a football with you."

"I'd love to." Nick slapped Grissom on the back. "Come outside with us and I'll teach you how to throw a perfect spiral."

Grissom calmly countered, "What makes you think I don't already know how?"

"I'm not falling for your bluff." Nick smirked. "Twenty bucks says you don't." He led the way to the kitchen.

Wendy made one last request. "Nick, make sure you get Sean to go outside with you. He doesn't have to play but I want him reading his book in the fresh air."

"Yes, ma'am."

Carrie feigned a Texas drawl. "While you men folk are outside being all manly-like I guess us women folk will stay inside and talk about baking pies and making babies."

At the kitchen door, Nick finally responded to Carrie's sarcasm. "Sweetie, you don't have to come outside because I already know you can throw a spiral…you've had me spinning since the day I met you."

"So smooth Stokes." Carrie swooned. "I'll thank you for that later but for now, get out of here so I can gossip with Sara and finally get some juicy details about you."

Grissom pushed Nick through the doorway. "You heard the boss."

When the guys were gone, Wendy said, "I have to check on the lasagna…and the bread…and the baby."

"We'll help you." Carrie headed for the kitchen. "Come on, Sara. I still want some dirt on Nick." On the way, she grabbed the chips and dip. "I've got your folic acid."

When Sara stood up, she noticed her black linen pants were covered in cracker crumbs. Brushing them off, she thought…another hazard of the job I suppose.

As the ladies walked into the kitchen, the men stepped onto the field…

"Okay Gridiron Grissom, let's see this perfect spiral." Nick stood at the end of the yard antagonizing his playmate. "You need me to move closer just say the words."

While getting a feel for the ball, Grissom answered Nick. "I have words for you, but I think young Ryan would find them unacceptable."

"You can say them!" Ryan snickered. "Cause we're not under my mom's roof anymore."

Sitting on the ground against a tree, Sean lifted his head out of his book. "Mom uses the roof figuratively. You're not supposed to say them ever."

Glaring at his brother, Ryan snapped, "She can't figure anything out if she's in the kitchen and we're out here!"

Nick, anxious to collect the easiest twenty dollars he ever made, yelled, "We're losing daylight here!"

A second later Grissom launched the perfect spiral and Nick caught it on the fly. "Damn!"

"I'll take my twenty bucks now." Grissom postured with his hand out.

Walking across the yard Nick shook his head and tossed the ball to Ryan. "Gris, I would have never guessed you played ball." He reached for his wallet and produced a twenty.

"Are you kidding?" He collected the money and stuffed it in his pocket. "The closest I ever came to playing football was running away from a linebacker who was trying to stuff me in a locker."

"Then how…"

"Researching the Conservation of Angular Momentum when I was in High School. I was walking by the football field one day and I noticed the same principles applied to throwing a perfect spiral. So I went home and tested my theory and the by-product was what just earned me your twenty bucks."

While Ryan took the football and punted it around the yard, Sean listened intently to the conversation.

Grissom explained, "When you snap your wrist to set the ball in motion…" He paused to demonstrate for Nick. "Like this…"

Sean decided the guy was taking far too long and blurted out the rest of the explanation. "You transfer energy to the ball and as the ball is spinning away, the compensatory energy shows up as the turning motion in your body."

"What he said." Grissom was suddenly intrigued by the boy. "You already know about Conservation of Angular Momentum?"

"Yeah." Sean rolled his eyes. "You didn't figure it out until High School?"

Nick confessed, "I only learned it now."

"I could care less!" Ryan announced. "Is someone ever going to play ball with me?"

Nick nodded at Grissom. "I think we both know who is hanging with who."

"Whom." Sean groaned. "Who is hanging with whom."

Ignoring the precocious child, Nick turned to Ryan. "Okay let's see what you've got, kiddo. I'm going long."

Grissom, pleased with the division of responsibility, leaned against the tree. "What else do you know about Conservation of Angular Momentum?"

With the ease of a typical boy explaining the plot of a Spongebob Squarepants episode, he replied, "Some background first. It is a product of inertia and velocity. Inertia means the tendency of something not to change and velocity means how fast it moves, while momentum means the tendency of an object in motion not to slow down. Am I going to fast for you?"

"How old are you?" Grissom was amazed by the boy's knowledge.

"10. How old are you?"

"48."

Moving on to other numbers, Sean confidently announced, "My IQ is 147, what's yours?"

"146."

"Are you a member of Mensa?"

"Nah." Grissom took a seat next to his intellectual superior. "I'm not much of a joiner."

"Me either." Sean closed his book. "I tried to do cub scouts with my brother but it didn't work out."

"Never did for me either."

With trepidation, Sean asked, "Think I'll get stuffed in a locker when I get to High School?"

He didn't sugar coat it. "If you keep correcting the grammar of guys who are bigger than you? Yes."

"But it's so annoying."

"Take it from me; you need to work on keeping your mouth shut when you're in the presence of guys who can pummel you. You don't incite them then they'll forget you're there." Remembering the kid was only ten he amplified his point. "You ever go to the zoo?"

"Yes."

"Well the next time you go try this experiment. Nonchalantly walk past the gorilla's cage and see what he does. Then go back a second time and stop in front of his cage waving your arms and pointing out his intellectual inadequacies and see what he does." Watching Ryan and Nick he said, "If you can't get to the zoo you can substitute your brother or Nick for the gorilla."

Sean cracked his first smile of the evening. "You're much more fun to have around than Nick. Do you think you could date my Aunt Carrie instead of him?"

Chuckling, Grissom replied, "Thanks for the compliment but I think Nick would pummel me if I tried to take his girl and that beating wouldn't be half as bad as what my own girl would do to me."

"Too bad." Sean held up his book. "Do you like dinosaurs?"

He took the book and leafed through it. "As a kid I was intrigued by them but I got frustrated because there were no live ones to observe. Consequently, I switched to bugs."

"I haven't studied bugs yet."

The boys words were music to Grissom's ears. "Good. Now I have a way to impress you with my knowledge."

While the boys were busy outside, the girls were busy in the kitchen…

McKenna tossed an apron at Sara. "You can be the mommy and Aunt Carrie will be my twin sister."

"Um…Okay." Clutching the apron she smiled. "But I'm keeping my shoes on."

Wendy laughed. "Sara you can tell her no if you don't want to play house."

"It's fine." Sara tied the apron around her waist. After all, the hidden agenda of this visit was first hand experience with kids. "Okay so what do I do now?"

McKenna stared at her play-mother. "What do you mean? You're the mommy…you're suppose-tah know what to do. Didn't you play house when you weren't old?"

"Uh…sure." Searching her memory Sara finally found a relevant one. "Would you like to have a tea party?"

"Yay!" McKenna dashed out of the kitchen yelling, "I'll get my tea set!"

Carrie flashed a supportive smile. "Good call." She knew this couldn't be easy for Sara. Last week, when she approached her about becoming active in the backpack charity project, after citing her personal reasons for wanting to be involved, Sara briefly opened up about her own past.

"Tea party is the only thing I remember my mom playing with me." Sara sighed. "Of course at the time I didn't realize I was pouring vodka into my mom's tea cup." After the admission, she realized just how well therapy was working and that Dr. Myers is worth every penny Grissom is paying her.

Wanting to cheer her up, Carrie motioned for Sara to join her at the window. "Hey, check this out. Looks like the men are having fun being boys again."

When she got to the window she saw Grissom and Sean digging in the dirt with tiny buckets and plastic shovels. "Look at that." She knew they had to be on a bug hunt. "Are they…bonding?"

"Yeah." Blissfully sighing Carrie watched Nick and Ryan tossing the football. "He'll be a great dad one day."

"You think?" Sara asked with surprise in her voice.

"Definitely!" She couldn't take her eyes off Nick's smile. "Just look at how happy he is out there showing him what to do."

"He does look relaxed." Of course any time Grissom talked about bugs he was in his element but this was different, she had never seen him talking bugs with a child. Watching him digging holes and ferreting out insects with Sean, for the first time she could picture Grissom as a…dad. As if on cue, her primitive instincts kicked in and she swore she heard her clock tock a little louder.

"Got it!" McKenna skipped into the kitchen. Dripping with enthusiasm, she plopped down the case of tiny plastic dishes and cups. "I'll set the table."

Pulling herself away from the window, Sara returned to McKenna's side. "I'll fill the tea kettle."

While pulling out her lasagna, Wendy instructed, "There's some lemonade in the fridge, Sara." Finally remembering her manners, she said, "I never even offered you a drink. I know you're working later so wine is out. How about a Coke?"

"I'm trying to cut down on my caffeine intake so I'll just have some water." Sara replied as she opened the fridge to retrieve the lemonade.

Carrie and Wendy exchanged curious glances while Sara filled the tea kettle.

"Okay who is ready for some tea?" Smiling, Sara returned to the table.

"Me!" McKenna held out her cup. "And don't forget the cookies!"

"Right!" Sara got up to find some. "Where would the cookies be?"

"On the counter in the Cookie Monster jar." McKenna gleefully announced. "You're a good mommy, Sara."

"I am?" She was stunned by the compliment. If this little girl thought so highly of her after only a half hour maybe being a mother wouldn't be so hard after all. "What makes you say that?"

"You're letting me have cookies before dinner."

Her hand in the cookie jar, Sara realized her faux pas. "Oops."

"One cookie is fine." Wendy assured her.

Suddenly the baby started to wail.

"Hey Carrie, can you change the baby's diaper and put her down while I finish the salad."

"Is she…"

"No, I wouldn't have asked if she was poopy." Wendy found it hard to believe that Carrie could hear and see the most grisly details of child abuse without emotion but was incapacitated by bad smells. "Really…you need to get over the smell thing. Especially since you want a big family of your own one day."

"Everyone has their fatal flaw! Even Superman couldn't handle Kryptonite!" Seeing an opportunity, Carrie snickered. "Sara's the mommy. She should change the diaper. Right, McKenna?"

"That's right."

Sara admitted the shocking truth. "I've never changed a diaper in my life." The pitch of the baby's shriek vibrated in her eardrum. "Really."

"Ever?" Carrie found that hard to believe.

"No." She felt compelled to explain. "I didn't have any siblings. There were never any babies in any of my foster homes. I never babysat for anyone…not even a cat."

Wendy plucked the raging baby out of the highchair and handed her to Carrie. "You can't ask a guest to change a diaper."

Bobbing little eleven month-old Ashley in her arms, Carrie attempted to yell over her niece's screaming. "Okay but considering Sara's dire need for more Folic Acid and less caffeine, I think she should observe and learn how."

Sara realized Carrie and Wendy were on to her but admitted nothing. "I'm just a nerdy health nut." And even though she was sure the maniacal baby was about to spin her head around and curse them in tongues, in the true spirit of the study, Sara decided to take Carrie up on her offer. "But I'll be glad to help."

McKenna darted out of the room. "I'll get the new diaper ready!"

After the girls left the kitchen, the boys entered through the back door…

Ryan ran right to the stove. "I'm starving! When's dinner!"

"Five minutes so go wash up." Turning around she saw Grissom and Sean covered in dirt. "That goes for the two of you also."

"Mom…" Sean walked over smiling. "When Ryan's hamster eventually dies can you save the corpse for me?"

"What?"

Nick stared at Grissom. "This has to be your doing."

Sean eagerly bestowed his new knowledge on his mother. "Mr. Grissom told me nothing attracts bugs better than a rotting corpse. So can you mom, please?"

Grissom shrugged. "What? It's true."

And while Wendy contemplated the disgusting idea, Carrie dealt with a disgusting surprise…

"Damn it!" Dropping the baby's sticky outfit on the floor, she jumped back covering her mouth and fighting her overly sensitive gag reflex. "She pooped on the way to the nursery!"

McKenna, standing on her stool next to the changing table, was quick to remind her aunt. "Mommy always says the baby can't be left alone on the changing table 'cause she could roll off, break open her head and die!"

Sara rushed to the baby's side. "We wouldn't want that to happen!" The study would definitely be a failure if grievous injury occurred to one of the creatures she was observing. "You really can't handle this smell?" Sara chuckled. "I think you can forget about your CSI career, Carrie."

In the corner of the room with a teddy bear covering her nose and mouth, she replied through the safety of the stuffed animal's fur. "My whole family makes fun of me over this but I can't help it." Heading for the door, she muttered, "I'm getting Wendy."

McKenna glanced up at Sara. "I can tell you how."

"Um…" The baby was much calmer…almost cute actually. "Well…"

Like a nurse assisting a surgeon she handed over the right tools. "First you use the wipes."

With trembling hands, Sara accepted the challenge. "I'm uh…used to clean up bodies just uh…not moving ones."

The baby emitted a series of confusing sounds.

"Why is she…"

"'Cause the wipes are cold."

"Oh right." Sara set the dirty diaper and the used wipes on the lower shelf of the table. "That wasn't so bad."

McKenna prepped for the next step. "Some cornstarch powder."

"Okay." Sara gave the carton a hearty squeeze.

"Too much!" McKenna giggled as she waved away the cloud of powder.

"Is she going to choke?" Sara panicked as she brushed away the excess from the baby's body.

Little Ashley giggled from the funny lady's touch.

"You made her laugh." McKenna held up the fresh diaper.

"I did?" Sara breathed a sigh of relief. "Which way does this…."

"Tabs in back."

"Thanks." With a little more confidence, Sara fastened the new diaper on the baby.

"Now pick her up and say something sweet."

"Um." With shaky hands she lifted the babbling baby into her arms. "You smell better now."

McKenna jumped down from her stool. "I'll pick out her jammies."

A smile eased over Sara's lips as she gazed at the baby in her arms. "Now all I smell are the peaches stuck in your hair and the cracker crumbs stuck to you little face."

The idyllic moment came to an abrupt end when Ashley grabbed a clump of Sara's hair. "Ow! Ow!"

"She's a hair puller." McKenna groaned. Having a full head of curls she knew it all too well. "Just yell no."

"No!"

Little Ashley burst into a fit of tears and Sara panicked. "You told me to yell."

Happy to be playing the grown up, McKenna continued her advisory role. "Bounce her and sing Twinkle Twinkle."

Desperate to get the baby happy again, Sara did as she was told. "Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are. Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are. Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are."

"Don't you know the rest of the song?" McKenna asked somewhat shocked.

Sara slightly cowered. "There's more to it?" Then she realized it didn't matter because the baby had quieted. "It worked…you're all better now."

Ashley giggled and put her fingers in Sara's mouth.

In the doorway, Grissom stood quietly watching the tender moment. It wasn't her sticky mussed up hair or the fact she was covered in baby powder but the blissful look on her face that made him for the first time, picture Sara as a…mom. Not wanting to disturb the peaceful bonding moment he continued down the hall.

Finally feeling comfortable, Sara spoke softly to the baby, "You really are kind of sweet, huh?"

In response, Ashley lifted her index finger and forcefully poked Sara in the eye.

"Ow!" She was certain the stealthy creature gave her a retinal tear. "Oh my god!"

McKenna sighed. "Shoulda warned ya…she's an eye poker too."

Wendy rushed into the room. "Sorry Carrie stranded you here." She noticed Sara covering her eye. "Did she poke you?"

"It's okay." Sara gladly let the baby be taken from her arms. "I just need to flush it out and I'll be fine."

As she walked out of the room and down the hall, her eye tearing uncontrollably, she bumped into Grissom.

"Oh honey." He took her in his arms. "Holding the baby really got to you."

"What?" While fighting the searing pain in her eye she couldn't focus on his words.

"I saw you holding her and singing." Gently he wiped her tears away. "I can't believe you're so overcome with emotion."

"No." She snipped. "My eye is tearing because that little demon in disguise tried to rip it out with her talons."

"Oh." Reaching up he delicately inspected her injury.

Her tone lightened as she playfully asked, "Were you spying on me?"

"I was observing." Grinning, he released her eyelid. "Obviously I walked away before you were assaulted. Do you want to press charges? If so I should swab your face for demon epithelials."

"From what I've heard she's a repeat-offender so maybe a night in County lock-up would teach her a lesson."

As they laughed, Wendy came down the hall holding McKenna's hand. "I take it your eye is okay, Sara?"

Pulling herself together she replied, "I'll be fine." Although the truth was it hurt like hell.

"Let's head to the dining room and eat, shall we?" Wendy led the way.

But Nick and Carrie were already there…

Placing a basket overflowing with fresh baked rolls on the table, Carrie caught Nick watching her. "Is this fulfilling some kind of domestic fantasy of yours? Because it's not my fantasy. Although I want kids, I have no plans to sit home and bake bread and play house all day. I'll always be a career woman."

Chuckling he informed her, "Actually I was checking out your ass, which by the way looks mighty fine in those jeans. Is that less offensive to your feminist sensibilities?"

Laughing she replied, "Much less."

"Are you testing the waters here, baby?" Nick grabbed her hand and winked. "Doing a little fishing? Am I supposed to take the bait and tell you that one day I'd like kids too and I wouldn't expect my wife to stay home, that I'd support her decision to maintain her career. Maybe even qualify my point by saying my mom had seven kids and rumor has it she gave birth while reading legal briefs?"

Wrapping her arms around Nick's waist, Carrie replied, "Like your opinion of my ass in these jeans…that

information is nice to hear."

Falling into a passionate kiss, the lovebirds didn't hear the boys enter the room.

"AH! My eyes! My eyes!" Ryan exclaimed upon seeing the lip lock. "AHHHHHH!"

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Wendy asked as she tore around the corner.

"Nick was trying to suck Aunt Carrie's face off!"

Patting her son on the head, she told him, "They were getting a little romantic, that's all."

"I'm glad you and dad never do that." He plopped down at the table and grabbed a roll. "Let's eat!"

Nick released Carrie and pulled out a chair for her before taking one himself.

Sean pulled out a chair too. "Sit next to me, Mr. Grissom."

"You have a fan," Sara whispered.

Wendy flashed a warning glance as she dished out the vegetable lasagna. "No talk of bug infested corpses at the dinner table."

Sara pinched Grissom's arm as they sat down. "I thought we discussed this before we left home. Normal small talk, remember?"

Grissom shrugged. "I got excited and forgot."

"Sorry." Sara glanced toward Wendy as she took a seat. "You can take the geeks out of the lab but…"

"Bad word!" Ryan yelled while bits of roll flew out of his mouth, through the air and onto Sara's forearm.

"You got me…literally." Picking up her napkin she wiped away the DNA laced bread crumbs.

McKenna, deciding she wasn't getting enough attention took a handful of peas and with a quick flick of her wrist, flung them at Ryan.

"Did you see that, Mr. Grissom?" Sean grinned. "That was Conservation of Angular Momentum in action."

Sara's ears perked up. "That's part of my thesis."

Sean leaned in to ask his new friend, "Is she smart too?"

He whispered back. "I don't know, maybe you should ask her for her IQ score." It's something he always wondered but wouldn't ask.

Leaning forward, Sean asked, "Ms. Sidle what's your IQ?"

Surprised by the question she stammered. "It's uh…not something I really…I was always encouraged not to share that information."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Oh come on just cough it up. It's not like he's asking you for your age which we all know is thirty-four or your weight which is one-fifteen."

Resisting the urge to fling a handful of peas at her pseudo-sibling, Sara answered the question. "148 which is about one hundred points higher than Nick's."

Grissom's mouth fell open.

"What?" Sara asked, as she cut into her lasagna.

Sean answered her question. "I think he's surprised that you beat him by two points."

Nick cracked up while buttering a roll. "I bet someone is going to ask for a retest."

Carrie suddenly dropped her fork. "What's that smell?"

"What smell?" Wendy rolled her eyes. "Nick, are you sure you want to date her? She has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder of the nose."

"I smell…"

"POOP!" Ryan screamed as the family cocker spaniel jumped on his lap with Ashley's poopy diaper, which Sara had left out ripe for the picking, hanging from his mouth.

Unfortunately, Ryan, like Carrie had a squeamish streak and even more unfortunately he had gulped down two rolls and a full helping of lasagna right before getting squeamish.

"Oh god!" Carrie shrieked as her nephew vomited next to her. "I've got to…" She ran from the table with her hands pressed to her mouth and Nick chasing after her.

Mocking Carrie, McKenna ran from the room shrieking.

Wendy jumped up. "I am SO sorry!" She grabbed Ryan. "Let's get you in the tub, sweetie."

Grissom and Sara sat shell shocked while Sean continued eating.

Finally the boy realized they were staring at him.

"Who cares about the smell? I never get to eat dinner in peace and quiet." With that he opened his dinosaur book and continued to savor his meal.

Grissom, once again thoroughly impressed, turned to Sara and asked, "Do you think Brass would let me hire Sean as Nick's replacement?"

Before Sara could answer she was distracted by the sound of a dog energetically lapping up vomit. Shielding her eyes, one of which was still throbbing, she said, "We uh…we definitely need to stop at Walgreen's on the way home."

Meanwhile in the bathroom…

Nick held Carrie's hair as she got sick for the third time. "That should do it."

"Oh god." Bringing her hands to her face she struggled to make the room stop spinning. "That was horrifying."

Nick stood up, grabbed a hand towel and ran some cold water over it. "Here you go." He sat beside her.

"Thanks." She dabbed the cool rag on her blood drained face. "You held my hair while I puked. That was so sweet."

He tucked her hair behind her ear. "And they say chivalry is dead."

Smiling brightly, she said, "I think I can safely say I've fallen completely, totally in love with you."

"It's about damn time you caught up." Thrilled by the revelation, he leaned in and then stopped. "They say love knows no bounds but even though I love you, sweetie, I'm not sealing this moment with a kiss until you brush your teeth."

7:35 p.m.

In the Walgreen's parking lot, Sara sat in the passenger's seat reviewing the stains on her new silk shirt while waiting for Grissom to return with her prescription.

To pass the time, she decided to look in the shopping bag Wendy had given them. Inside she found four loaves of banana bread with instructions for freezing and thawing, a Tupperware container full of cookies with a note that said, 'To share with your team' and a rather tattered notebook.

Intrigued by the last item, she pulled it out and set the shopping bag on the floor.

When she opened the notebook a note tumbled onto her lap.

Sara, I know you are a walking encyclopedia but I wasn't sure if you already had this information so from one vegetarian to another, I'm sharing my notes. Tonight was crazy but not typical. Don't get discouraged. Walking into a house full of kids is not the same as starting out with one of your own. Also, please know that lots of women don't enjoy other people's children but love their own! I should know because I'm one of those women. Call me anytime. Hugs, Wendy

Smiling, Sara flipped through the pages of Wendy's handwritten pregnancy cookbook filled with vegetarian recipes high in folic acid and protein.

When the car door opened, she tucked the notebook back in the shopping bag. "That didn't take long."

"Doc called it in and they filled it right away." Pulling the prescription out of the plastic shopping bag he said, "Tilt your head and I'll put them in."

She did as instructed while he opened the eye dropper.

"Doc wants you to see him first thing when you go to work. If the pain gets worse he'll call in something for that too." Carefully he squeezed in two drops. "Go ahead and blink." He re-capped the bottle. "You have to continue twice a day for five days."

"What else do you have in that bag, stud?"

Handing her the bag he sadly said, "Too bad you're feeling under the weather because here we are parked with a box full of prophylactics."

"You have some kind of high school memory you're looking to recapture?"

Starting the car he laughed. "I had a car in high school but the only action the back seat ever saw was the time when my beetles got loose on the way to the state science fair."

"Really? With a back seat full of beetles it surprises me to hear you didn't get much action in high school." Chuckling, she patted him on the knee. "Don't feel bad. I spent my prom night studying for my AP Physics exam."

Still a little irritated by the news he was two points below her, he grumbled, "With an IQ of 148 I'm shocked you even had to study."

Reclining her seat she closed her eyes while a smirk settled across her lips. "When we get home, I'm going to find my old IQ test report and hang it on the fridge next to your Urology results."

Carrie sat in the car waiting for Nick to return from the store.

Even though she brushed her teeth twice, gargled with Scope and chewed two pieces of gum, she decided to retrieve her case of Altoids from her purse and chomp a few mints for good measure.

Before she could finish the mints in her mouth, she saw Nick returning with a dozen red roses and when he opened the car door, she grinned uncontrollably.

Extending the flowers he sweetly said, "I wanted you to have something pleasant fill your nose for the rest of the night."

"They're beautiful." She took the biggest sniff she could muster. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Wrinkling her nose she asked, "So even though you know my fatal flaw you still want to keep me around?"

"Trust me." He chuckled. "I can handle a double share of any bad smells that come our way."

"And what can I handle for the both of us?" She coyly asked while knowing the obvious answer.

Lacing his fingers through her hair he pulled her closer. "I'm sure one day down the road we'll think of something but for right now how about sharing that kiss we had to call off earlier." He paused to gaze into her eyes. "I love you, Carrie."

"I love you, Nick." Her eyes sparkled.

And finally, in the tranquility of a rose scented car interior, they sealed their affirmation with an overdue and incredibly minty kiss.

8:37 p.m.

Rid of her sticky clothes and dressed for work, Sara walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the library.

At the door she paused to watch Grissom pull books from the Entomology section of the shelf. "What are you doing?" She curiously asked.

He jumped at her words. "You startled me. After an evening of noise I was lulled into a false sense of security by our quiet house."

"I know what you mean. I never realized how quietly we live until tonight." She stepped into the room and went to the biographical section to scan for the book she needed.

"To answer your question..." He dropped one more book onto the stack he was making. "I promised Sean I would loan him some reading material. I'm going to leave it in Nick's office tonight."

"You know, I did some observing of my own tonight." After plucking a biography of Albert Einstein off the shelf she turned to Grissom. "You and Sean really hit it off…especially when you were digging up Wendy's garden. It was fun to watch you in such a new situation."

"I want to get him excited about Entomology because I think it would be nice to have another generation of Entomologists." Knowing she didn't gel as successfully with Ashley or McKenna, he downplayed his success. "Besides it's easy to get along with someone when they're a mini version of yourself."

Clutching her book she crossed the room to join him. "If A equals B and B equals C then A equals C."

"The Transitive Postulate." He leaned against the shelves. "Things equal to the same or equal things are equal to each other."

"Not too shabby considering your IQ." Smiling she finished her analysis. You are an Entomologist. It would be nice to have another generation of Entomologists. It would be nice to have another generation of you." Stopping in front of him, she said, "You've entertained the idea but tonight it was tangible and you liked how it felt when you tried it on for size."

Rubbing his hand across his mouth he searched for the right words. "Sometimes it's still hard for me to believe or maybe even accept that you know me so well."

Reaching out she caressed his cheek. "But I do."

Now her earlier decision made sense. "Am I the reason you changed your mind about refilling your birth control prescription on the way to the pharmacy?"

Wrapping her arms around his waist she whispered, "Yes."

"Sara, this isn't only about one of us."

"Exactly. That's why the study goes on." She covered his lips in a kiss. "Now onto other matters." Extending her book, she grinned. "You remember my filing system, right?"

Taking the Einstein biography in his hands it hit him. "Einstein…genius…your IQ test results."

Ready to face the music, he opened the cover and pulled out the score sheet. "Wait a minute!" He exclaimed in a shocked tone. "This says 146."

"I knew your score so when I answered Sean's question I tacked a couple of points onto mine just to watch your reaction. Thanks for not disappointing me." Her smile grew. "Sometimes I'm ahead of you. Sometimes you're ahead of me.

"And sometimes…" Matching the intensity of her smile, he waved the test results. "…we're even."