Of Decades and Train Whistles

A/N: The inside joke from last chapter was the 'Stella!' William Petersen played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Stratford Festival and yes, I am a theatre nerd.

Grissom sat in his office on the warm Friday afternoon, flipping through one of the online journal databases provided by the university when his supervisor walked in. The supervisor needed a lift to the train station it appeared, and since Grissom was the only one in office that day he'd been chosen. Since he now usually dropped Alex home after camp, they picked him up first and then headed off.

Alex sat in the front seat of Grissom's car, as per usual, but seemed to become alert when he noticed that they were not taking the normal route home. His supervisor sat behind Alex, revising his paperwork and checking for tickets, not paying much attention to the front seat passengers. However, both he and Grissom snapped to attention when Alex hooted. They'd just pulled into the train station parking lot and from his seat Alex could see the train. His hands fluttered against his lap, and he was making small whooping noises.

Grissom had seen Alex like this a few times, usually when he got excited about something. After asking if Alex was okay, the supervisor gathered his things and thanked Grissom, getting out to grab his bag from the trunk. Alex seemed to pay no attention to the door opening, though at the sound of the train whistle he hooted again and started clapping randomly. The supervisor waved goodbye, leaving Grissom more than a little worried with Alex. His stomach was unsettled, the feeling that this was a bad idea having crept into it with Alexander's first yell. He started humming though, a hum mixed in with some laughter, which calmed Grissom a little. This was more familiar territory, and though Alex seemed to be very restless, he didn't seem to be escalating any further.

Grissom reached into the little bucket under the stereo part of the car's dashboard, looking for the little train engine of Alex's that he knew was there, when he heard a clicking noise close to his ear. As Grissom instantly recognized the noise, something Rose had told him when he'd first met Alex ran through his mind.

When Alex wants something, he can move very fast.

Alexander's door flew open as he left the car, closely followed by a panicky Grissom. Grissom had the advantage of being slightly familiar with the layout of the train station, though there was no predicting what Alex would do, nor where he'd go. This didn't give Grissom any confidence though, and he felt his heart race as Alex headed towards the station doors. Unfortunately, a Friday afternoon in the summer meant a packed station, though Alex seemed to move pretty quickly through the crowds. Grissom followed as fast as he could, his eyes never losing sight of Alex, whose hands were still fluttering in excitement and frustration that he couldn't get to the train. Grissom's mind raced twice as fast as his feet carried him, trying to figure out what he'd do if Alex got onto the platform, how he'd explain to Sara if Alex got hurt, how on earth he'd get Alex back to the car. The whistle of another train that was leaving soon sounded and Alex stopped for a moment, clapping. Grissom jumped on the opportunity and yelled his name; knowing that though Alex probably wouldn't hear him, the people around him would and they might prevent him from moving further.

It was a rotating door that slowed him, and as Grissom approached he called Alex's name a few more times, wary of just grabbing him because that would either make Alex run or start screaming and kicking. Offering the train engine still in his hand, Grissom breathed a very small sign of relief that Alex seemed to be slightly interested in it. Grissom was edgy, would Alex decide to trust him and follow him? He was barely aware of the other people in the station now, the ones who probably thought that something was quite amiss with his parenting skills. But then, Grissom didn't care to explain to everyone why he couldn't calm Alex down, especially not when between claps he seemed to have a small hold on Alexander's attention.

After Grissom stood worriedly for a minute, very close to the doors leading right out to the platform, Alex decided to take the train from Grissom. This was only offered if Alex took Grissom's hand as well, and so they slowly made their way back to the car. Alex hummed the entire way back, his whoops less frequent and a little quieter. Grissom was relieved to see his supervisor standing with the car, who had returned to stand by the abandoned and unlocked car after noticing Alex take flight.

"Thanks," Grissom mumbled with a small smile as he helped Alex back into the front seat. He clicked the seatbelt firmly and locked the door before closing it, making a note to himself to check when he got back home if his backseat doors had the child lock on them.

Grissom waved a goodbye as his supervisor took off running for the platform, not late, but not wanting to be last in line to board.

The rest of the ride to Sara's house was much less eventful: Alex didn't try to leave the car again, though Grissom's hand hovered above the automatic lock button for most of the trip anyway. Instead he sat in his seat, rocking back and forth while he hummed, laughing once in a while. Grissom found that rather than calming down, his mind instead was becoming more active, thinking of what could have happened had Alex reached the platform, and the disaster that could have resulted. Alex clapped loudly again and Grissom jumped, hitting the all lock button. He glanced at the smiling boy beside him, who seemed to be quite pleased, and realized that he didn't trust himself enough to watch over an eight year old.

Rose was puttering around in the garden when they pulled in and noticed the bizarre mood as soon as the car doors opened and Alex hollered. Grissom looked a little unsettled as he got out the car, but Alex seemed to be quite happy as he ambled up the porch stairs, knocked on the door eight times, and then entered.

"You didn't give him any diet pop, did you? The aspartame sets him off."

"No," Grissom shook his head. "Is Sara home?"

"Yes, cooking dinner." Rose decided not to prod further and instead watched him shuffle inside after her grandson, something weighing on his mind.

The kitchen smelled of spices and pasta cooking, Sara swaying a little to music being softly played on the radio.

"Hey Griss! We're having pasta, you staying for dinner?" Jovial and light toned; Sara was in a good mood and looking forward to the weekend. Before Grissom could answer they heard the sound of the toilet flushing, tap running, and then Alex walked into the room to sit at the table.

"No thanks," Grissom answered, his tone out of place with hers. They watched Alex get his train schedule book out and flip through it rapidly, mumbling to himself and rocking back and forth on the chair.

"Uh…what happened today?" Sara asked, pointing her ladle at her son.

"I had to drop my boss off at the train station…" Grissom trailed off, feeling a little guilty for taking Alex there, like he should have known what would have happened.

But Sara didn't seem to be too annoyed, as she only sighed. "He over-stimulated."

"You could say that," Grissom admitted, still speaking softly. "He ran out of the car and towards the station, trying to get to the platform. I didn't realize he could run that fast."

"He doesn't, normally. He's not an exit-seeker, and he normally moves pretty slowly." She continued stirring the pot of spaghetti sauce, noticing how quiet Grissom was. "But it happens Griss, and Alex didn't get hurt."

"No, he didn't." Alex finished his book and flipped it over, turning through the pages again. "I can't drive Alex home from camp next week."

"Because of today? It doesn't happen often Grissom, you know that."

"I know. But I can't be responsible for him solely, when I don't trust myself to be."

And Grissom left it at that, not wanting to add further because he felt he'd explained himself sufficiently. Sara was a little frustrated, because she at first thought Grissom was being rather childish, acting as if his tail was between his legs. But she could remember the fear from not being control of the situation when something similar had happened to her, and then being nervous of it happening again. His reluctance was justified, though she thought he would have been more open to the solution of not running away from the so-called problem.

"So this means you'll disappear for a week?" she asked, voice laced with a small amount of accusation.

Rose came inside as Grissom sulked out, moody and staring at his shoes. He mumbled a bye to Rose before getting into his car and pulling out of the driveway. She entered the kitchen and surveyed the scene.

"What's wrong with grumpy?"

Sara still stood at the stove, test tasting her creation.

"Grissom or Alex?"

"Grissom. He looks like he just got caught doing something bad."

Sara chuckled softly, shaking her head.

"He's distancing himself for a while. His choice."

"And you're okay with that?" Rose asked gently, setting the table and telling Alex to put his schedules away so he could help make salad.

"I'm not dating him." Sara replied evenly, letting Rose know that she didn't wish to talk about it. She served the dinner onto plates and brought them to the table, mussing up Alexander's hair before sitting down.

"Alex comes first, always."

A/N 2: An exit-seeker is one who is constantly looking to leave, seeking to escape, but not necessarily because they hate what they're currently doing. Also, I tried to explain this chapter well, however I am not completely pleased with it. This was my best description of Alex and his reaction that I could write.