Growing Up

Part 13: Step forward

Summary: A visit to the hospital.

A/N: I tried to get it up sooner, but then the net striked and I had to postpone everything. I think the next part will be done much sooner.

xxxxx

Grissom was watching Sara. She sat on the floor playing with Amelia.

They had found a small soft ball in one of the bags, but they had only given it to her now because they feared it could shatter some of the glass items in Grissom's house. Now, with Sara watching Amelia closely, participating in the game, they had allowed the girl to play with it.

Grissom had remained on the couch, preferring to watch the two and sort through his thoughts.

It was unbelievable what he had just confessed to Sara. How did he get that all out? And Sara…she had taken it in without commenting, just listening calmly.

She had not said anything about her wishes and dreams, but he had not asked. They could talk about that another time. Not that she wasn't important, but they had had enough for today.

For now, he would concentrate on building a solid foundation for their relationship, and more immediately, getting through this weekend.

"Grissom, are you still here?"

He had not noticed that Sara had stopped her play with Amelia and had looked at him. "Yes, sorry."

Her smirk told him she didn't fall for his fib. "Sure. I said we could get ready to go and see Amelia's aunt."

Getting off of the couch, Grissom nodded and walked over to them. To her great surprise, he picked Amelia up and headed to the bathroom to change her.

She loved it when he took the initiative and showed more self-confidence. She didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he could also be hiding after his revelation. Later, she vowed, she would show him that she appreciated the trust he had placed in her.

xxxxx

They knocked hesitantly, not really knowing what to expect. It was likely that they had already seen the aunt at Amelia's birthday party, but the only ones with whom they had talked had been Amelia's grandparents.

What would the woman think of them?

They had only talked on the phone, and that had been brief. She must have doubts to let her niece stay with strangers and was probably blaming herself for their dilemma. She sounded friendly and open on the phone, but you never knew.

"Come in!"

Sara opened the door and carried Amelia in. Grissom was following her.

There were two beds, but only one was occupied. The woman was about Sara's age, and they realized they had indeed seen her at the party, but other than a short greeting, there had been no chance to talk to her. They had not stayed long enough and had concentrated mostly on Amelia.

"Hi Ammi." The woman held her arms out, and Amelia mimicked her until Sara placed her on the bed beside her aunt.

"Dr. Grissom, Ms. Sidle. Nice to meet you. I'm Grace, Alex's sister. But you already know that."

She held out her hand, greeting them, but soon returned to holding her niece.

"Is everything okay? Is she eating enough? How did she sleep last night? Is she giving you much trouble?"

She was clearly worried, just as they had predicted and almost didn't give them the chance to reply. When she took the time to examine Amelia's face, searching for some answers, maybe even signs of neglect, Grissom took the chance and jumped in.

"She's fine. We got a list with instructions from your sister. Although she hadn't planned on Amelia staying with us for quite so long, it has really helped us. She was a little homesick yesterday, but we managed."

Amelia was fiddling with the cables of the control for the bed, unimpressed by the hospital surroundings.

"I feel so bad that I can't take care of her. I'm being released today, but I don't know if I could keep up with her." She patted the cast on her left leg, which was propped up with a pillow.

Amelia noticed her aunt's move and turned in her arms so that she could look at the cast. She seemed fascinated with it. One tiny hand reached out and touched the cast, patting it like Grace had done herself. However, after the first few gentle pats, they got a little too forceful and she tried to remove the child from her leg. The limited range of motion and Amelia's weight were making it impossible.

Sara took the matter into her own hands and picked Amelia up.

"We, uh, have reached the hotel, but your sister and her husband were out. They took a day trip and will be back late, but we left a message."

Sara was clearly nervous, the unusual situation stressing her more than she wanted to admit, especially in front of Amelia's aunt, but Grissom noticed it. His hand moved behind her back, exerting soft pressure on the small of her back. The touch seemed to calm her. It was proof that she was not alone in this.

Grace nodded, showing some relief that they had at least made progress in reaching her sister. Things were looking up. "Thank you."

As Sara was about to wave it off, she continued, "No, thank you for being there for Amelia. Twice, actually."

This time Sara just nodded and smiled, not really being comfortable with the attention but not wanting to dismiss the woman's words rudely.

"We were glad to help. Amelia is really a special child."

Grace reached out to the girl and smoothed a lock that had fallen onto her forehead out of the way. "That she is. So, she's going to stay with you until Alex and Patrick return?"

"If you want."

"I would really like to take her, but I can't. Still, I feel bad because I have to put the responsibility on you."

Sara swallowed, knowing Grace was trying to give them an out, but was that right? They should be able to handle the child for a little longer. "It's alright. Her parents will probably be back as soon as they hear what happened."

She was sure of her decision and hoped that Grissom would go along with it. "We know that having a child around while being restricted by a cast would be too much for anyone to handle. It's not like we are talking about weeks. We would really like to help you."

Amelia's aunt looked down on the cast and frowned. "I'm being released."

It was a last effort to test their readiness, although everyone knew that this was the best solution.

"You can call any time and we will call you when we hear from your sister."

Grissom did not seem to have any objections, and Sara wondered if he remembered that she was scheduled for work tonight. If Amelia's parents didn't show, which was very likely, he would be alone with the child. She would have to talk about that with him later on.

"We can take you home, maybe get the things you'll need," Grissom offered, showing his capacity to really care about people. Why had she ever doubted him? Why did the others? They should all know better.

"That would be really nice. But only if it isn't too much trouble." Grace pushed the call button for the nurse to ask how long it would take to get the discharge papers ready.

"There are some medications I need. Other than that I should be fine. If there's really something I need, I'm sure one of my neighbors will help me out."

Within twenty minutes, they were out of the hospital.

xxxxx

Both Grissom and Sara were glad to be back in the sheltered silence of Grissom's town house, although it didn't stay quiet for long.

Amelia loudly voiced her discomfort when Grissom set her down. She started huffing and making gurgling sounds that soon turned into a few soft cries. Before it could escalate, Sara picked her up again and carried her to the bathroom while Grissom made for the kitchen area. A new diaper would not be the only thing the girl needed.

As he stood there warming up some of the carrot leftovers from last night, this time with rice, his thoughts started wandering.

This was getting easier. After only one day, they were really getting the hang of it. There had been no big discussion, no endless debate about what needed to be done. That was the way he liked it and it showed that he and Sara were really on the road of recovery. Their silent communication was improving again.

If it would only stay that way, but the fear of messing up was still present.

Things were looking up so much that he had even revealed his biggest secrets to Sara. He had to hold onto that trust. He had to trust himself and her.

Dimly, he heard the blubbering of the boiling rice water and remembered the pot just in time to prevent it from boiling over. He turned the heat down and looked in the direction of the bathroom, wondering what was taking so long.

The rice was not done, but suddenly he felt the need to see her.

This was real.

It was not long until Sara did emerge from the bathroom.

"Sorry, took a bit longer. I, uhm, had to wash her." She didn't need to elaborate for Grissom to understand.

"Food's not done anyway."

Sara tried to keep Amelia busy while waiting for lunch to be ready. He tried to speed the process up, but then decided that charred rice at the bottom of the pot would not be a contribution to anyone's health. Instead, he took the time to watch Sara and Amelia.

She was reading to her again, but Amelia didn't seem interested. She was getting really cranky. The stress and excitement of the morning were probably catching up with her. A nap was definitely in order when she was done eating. Hopefully a full stomach would make her sleep better.

Lunch was uneventful and soon they had retired to the bedroom, finishing the chapter of the book and Sara singing to her. They didn't have to drive around this time. Amelia was so tired that she dropped off to sleep without much fuss.

TBC