Growing Up

Part 9: Night time

Summary: Sara is experiencing a crisis.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Good to know I'm still touching base with reality. ;)

xxxxx

Grissom had been on his way back to the lab when his phone rang. He cursed, thinking it was already a new case or Ecklie trying to get him to speed things up.

When he saw the number on the display, he frowned, and then he remembered. It was Sara.

Amelia had probably been picked up, and she wanted to head to her apartment.

He took the call, a 'hello, honey' on his lips, but he never got a chance to speak.

"Grissom, you've got to help me."

He sat up straighter, his brain going into overdrive, making him pull over.

"I can't do this."

He tried to get a word in to ask what was wrong, but he couldn't. Various horror scenarios played out in his head: Sara hurt, robbed, assaulted, or Amelia hurt.

"Please come home."

It broke his heart to hear her like that. She sounded so scared.

"I don't know what to do."

Finally she stopped talking long enough for him to cut in, "Sara, stop."

He could hear her rapid breathing, and in the background he could make out that Amelia was crying.

"Take a deep breath. You need to tell me what happened." His voice was calm, although he was close to panicking as well.

It wouldn't help them at all if he increased Sara's distress by losing it.

"Sara, I don't care if you can't tell me exactly what happened on the phone, but tell me you are physically okay, that you were not attacked or something. Otherwise I can't drive without wrapping myself around a tree."

There was more silence on the other end.

Just as he was about to drive anyway, Sara spoke up. "She won't stop crying."

Again his mind supplied images he really didn't want to see.

"But I think she's not hurt or sick. She just won't stop."

He was under the impression that she was calmer now, but still frightened. Grissom looked at the passenger seat where two brown bags with evidence were resting and made a decision. "Stay calm, I'll be there in twenty. I have to hand over some evidence, but then I'll come home."

He started the car back up and was about to hang up when something else popped into his mind.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"You can do it." And then he hung up, hoping he was right.

xxxxx

He reached the lab in record time, hurrying through the halls to find someone who could do his timeline until he was back. He already had a certain someone in mind.

"Greg, good."

The younger man lifted his head from his microscope, looking more confident than he ever had in Grissom's presence. Ever since his birthday, he had worked harder and longer to prove that Grissom's trust was not misplaced.

"I need you to run a timeline for me."

When Greg was about to object, Grissom held up a hand to silence him. "I know you can do it. You've seen it often enough, and you can get Warrick to help you if you want."

He pushed the paper bags into Greg's arms; he looked still doubtful about the task. "You're not going to be here?"

"Family emergency. I have to leave. Greg, you can do it. You took so many notes that it really should be no problem. Warrick is not as good as you at entomological timelines, but if you have a question, just call him."

Greg nodded, his eyes shining with the desire to show Grissom he was worth it.

"Put that new notebook to work." With that Grissom hurried out of the lab again, his thoughts focusing on Sara.

xxxxx

On the outside, everything seemed quiet. No broken door or windows.

Grissom let some of the pressure flow from his lungs. Sara would not have been so careless to open the door to someone she did not deem safe.

When he neared the door, he could hear crying. Amelia was still going at it. What had happened? The thought of a desperate Sara propelled him forward.

Chaos greeted him when he stepped into his living room. Sara was rocking the crying child, softly talking to her. Actually, it was more like a plea to go to sleep, which seemed to fall on deaf ears. There was a cluster of things on the small couch table, making it look like a miniature battlefield. Obviously, Sara had tried to pacify her with everything she could think of: crackers, some fruits, juice, tea, toys, books, his classical CDs, even some of his showcase bugs.

He saw Sara glimpse at her watch and then at the door. It was in that moment that she saw him. Her movement stopped, increasing the volume of the cries. She shot him a few dark looks before grinding something out from between her clenched teeth. "Twenty minutes. You said twenty minutes."

He knew it was only a defense mechanism to lash out, but he involuntary took a step back. He wanted to say something, but that would be a mistake. She rushed over to him and thrust Amelia into his arms.

The reprieve when she quieted down was only short lived. As soon as she realized that it was again not who she wanted, she started wailing again.

Sara threw her hands up in desperation, but the knowledge that Grissom was not having much luck either lessened her feeling of incompetence. When she able to think again, she remembered the reason for her panic.

"Grissom!"

He was rocking Amelia, trying to calm her down, but looked up when she spoke. "Amelia's aunt called."

"When is she coming to pick her up?"

"Monday!"

His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped. "What!"

He stood still like a statue, staring at her, waiting for an explanation.

"She had an accident, fell and broke her leg."

As if that explained everything, Sara stopped.

"And? What about her parents?" His voice was suddenly not so calm anymore, matching the panic that was rising within him.

"She can't reach them. Phone's dead. And there is no one else available."

Her words left him stunned as the realization of what it meant settled in.

"They don't know us. For a few hours yes, but the whole weekend? We don't know what to do."

Sara started pacing, rambling on. "She has only broken her leg. It's not like she has a contagious disease."

She knew it was ridiculous, but she wanted to rationalize it away.

Grissom, on the other hand, was still not moving while his mind tried to catch up and formulate a plan. He felt the beginning of a headache from Amelia's never-ending cries and decided to make this priority, even if he didn't know what to do. What could get her to sleep that Sara hadn't already tried?

"Sara, have you tried driving around?"

She kept pacing, as if she hadn't hear him, but then the words made it to her brain, and she looked at Grissom. "Driving?"

"Well, it worked this afternoon."

She shook her head, daring to hope that the crying would finally stop. Without another word he took his keys, Amelia's blanket, and the chipmunk and went to his car. She was still crying when they buckled her in. They drove and drove, hoping she would think that they would take her home. It was a dirty trick, but right now, they were out of other options. The driving helped reduce the tears, but could not stop them altogether.

Finally, after forty minutes, they were sure that Amelia was asleep. She had cried herself to sleep.

Grissom stopped the car in his driveway and turned to Sara, ready to discuss what had happened. To his surprise, her eyes were closed and her head hung to the side. The fight with Amelia must have completely exhausted her.

He debated what to do now, but decided against waking her. This tired she would be cranky and irrational like the child in the back seat.

He had to smile at this thought and glanced back towards the sleeping child. Maybe he could get both in without waking them.

At first, he picked up Amelia, locking the car and carrying her inside. He was not going to take any chance, leaving a sleeping woman inside an unlocked car in the middle of the night, even if he was sure she knew how to defend herself.

He lay Amelia on his bed before going back to get the travel bed. He placed it in front of the bed because he did not want her to wake up alone in unfamiliar surroundings. After he had put her in her bed, he went out to get Sara.

She was not as heavy as he had thought, but heavy enough to consider starting working out. She snuggled into his chest, making him stand still, hoping she would remain asleep.

When he was about to place her on his bed and extricate himself from her grip on his shirt, she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer. He tumbled onto the bed and found himself in her embrace. "Hmmm, bear."

She placed a kiss on his neck, and he looked down. He did not think she was awake, and when he let his fingers weave through her hair, her only reaction was to snuggle even closer. She was definitely asleep.

All thought of returning to work fled him as he let sleep pull him down.

TBC