Growing Up

Part 14: Sweet surprise

Summary: Relaxation and planning at Grissom's.

xxxxx

They used the down time during Amelia's nap separately. Even though they liked being together, it was needed distance. Neither wanted to freak and back away.

Sara used the time to take a nap herself. Her body clock was really screwed up with the sleep changes of the last two days, and she had to go to work tonight.

It took a while to get to sleep, so long that she really doubted it would happen. She thought about Grissom and how wonderful he had been. For a moment, she wished he would have been so open and understanding when she first arrived in Vegas, but then she admonished herself for wanting something that was long passed. She should be thankful for what she had and wish for a perfect future, not the past.

She had this Grissom…and with this thought, she fell asleep.

All the while Grissom was outside in the living area, cleaning up a bit, trying to resist the temptation to call Greg about the bugs. The risk was too great that his lie to Catherine was discovered, so he cleaned.

It was amazing how much mess an additional person and a child could create. Not that he really minded.

The way his home had come alive tempted his imagination to take flight into waters that were still a little too dangerous. He had to stick to the here and now.

Amelia would be gone soon, and then he was back to concentrating on Sara.

Suddenly, an idea shot through his mind. Wasn't it possible to concentrate on Sara today? She had to go to work tonight, but a nice dinner should be doable.

He tiptoed to the bedroom and took a peek in. The two 'ladies' seemed fast asleep. He quickly wrote a note telling Sara he would be back soon and placed it on the breakfast bar.

Hopefully, she would find it if she woke before he was back.

xxxxx

When he returned, he had to smile, seeing that Sara and Amelia were still sleeping. Luck seemed to be with him.

It was funny that a person who almost never slept had no problem sleeping here, in his house. Should he assign a deeper meaning to this? Dangerous waters, his mind warned, and he concentrated back on his plan.

He had to get Sara out of the house so that he could get everything ready for the evening. As luck, or rather, a genius mind, would have it, he already had a plan.

To get new clothes, she had to go to her apartment. That should get him enough to time to at least get dinner into the oven before she returned. His plan depended on her leaving.

That sounded strange. He did not want her to 'leave', but she had to, only for an hour or two.

He wanted it to be perfect. Even if he knew that it would be most likely not be perfect, he at least wanted to try and make this evening special for her.

While there was no reaction from the bedroom, Grissom busied himself with some more cleaning, and he was able to finish an article that was long overdue.

A quick look at his watch told him that it was shortly before four. The girls had been sleeping for almost two hours now. Amelia should not sleep much longer if he wanted any chance of her going to bed tonight.

Now he had a dilemma: wake her up and make her cranky now or let her sleep and have her up half the night.

He decided to bite the bullet and wake her. Tonight he would be alone and the sooner she went to bed, the better. However, there was another problem: how did he wake up the girl without waking Sara?

She could definitely use some more sleep.

It would probably be easiest to take her out of the bedroom, and if she hadn't woken from the movement, he could lay her down on the blanket and wake her then.

When he entered the bedroom, he could see Sara still lying fast asleep in his bed. He was so focused on her form that he almost didn't notice that someone else was already awake.

Only some huffing and rustling alerted him to the girl who was trying to stand up in her bed, but her foot was caught in the blanket. This situation required his immediate attention because he didn't want her to start crying out of frustration.

He tore his gaze away from Sara and went to pick up Amelia. As soon as she saw him approaching in the dark, she held up her arms.

He was relieved when he made it out of the room without waking Sara. What's more, Amelia seemed to be in a good mood. She was smiling and bouncing in his arms. "Da!"

Her little fingers played over his beard and she started giggling when it prickled her skin.

"Well, I see you are in a good mood and not sleepy at all. You have been up for a while, haven't you?"

She giggled some more when he poked her tummy and started tickling her. "Da!"

"We can't do anything really loud because Sara is still sleeping. But we can play on your blanket."

The little girl laid her head on her shoulder as if she was thinking hard about something, looking very serious. "Out?"

She pointed to the door, but when Grissom shook his head, she pouted for a few seconds, making Grissom almost melt.

"Sara is sleeping; we can't leave her here alone."

As fast as the pout had come, it vanished again and was replaced with a smile. Amelia pointed to her blanket and said, "Down? Pway?"

This time Grissom nodded and set her down carefully before he knelt to join her.

xxxxx

Sara could see the light filtered through the blinds when she woke up. Still a little bit confused after waking in Grissom's bed, she took a deep breath and let his residue smell from the sheets fill the blanks in her memory.

She was really sleeping better here with Grissom or at least in his bed. She just felt so calm, relaxed and warm. She didn't want to get up, but she knew she had to.

The clock told her that it was four-thirty. Three hours, that was good, considering she had slept last night.

Another glance around the room told her that she was alone. Amelia was not in her bed. Grissom had probably taken her out of the bedroom when she had woken, but why hadn't she heard anything? Was she really sleeping good enough to transform her light sleep into a normal slumber?

This had to be tested more often, and she had nothing against being a test subject in this particular experiment. Wouldn't that be something?

Grissom would probably freak if he knew how far her thoughts were jumping ahead. Time to divert her thoughts.

She was curious what Grissom was doing to keep Amelia busy, so she slid out of bed and made her way to the living room.

She hid behind a pillar, not wanting to interrupt them. Without being seen, she was able to observe a Grissom that she would never forget, like most of this weekend.

Amelia was sitting on her blanket facing Grissom. She was waving her plush ladybug in the air. Grissom was on the floor, lying on his side, his head propped up with one hand.

At first it seemed as if he was only watching the girl, but when the ladybug landed, his free hand moved. He held the chipmunk, moving it up and down. This gave the impression that the chipmunk was hopping towards Amelia.

"Have you got something for me to eat? I'm hungry." His voice was all funny, but Amelia delighted in the play. "Can you fly and find something for me?"

The girl nodded and the ladybug was lifted into the air again. She stood up and looked around. Then she seemed to spot something and ran over to the counter. "Upper."

She looked at Grissom and stretched her hands even further.

Sara retreated a bit when she saw Grissom get up, hoping that he wouldn't see or feel her presence. He didn't seem to notice her, though, as he picked Amelia up.

She grinned and took the box of cookies that Grissom had bought on his shopping trip and had left on the bar.

"Ah, so you've seen them. Alright."

Grissom carried the girl, the ladybug and the cookies back to the blanket.

Amelia shook the box, still grinning.

"Does the ladybug need some help to open the huge cookie home?"

Sara had to suppress her laughter and 'awwww' at Grissom's behavior. This was amazing.

He opened the box and Amelia took a cookie. She held it out for the chipmunk, and as her hand moved closer, Grissom asked, "How does it sound when he eats the cookie?"

"Crk." Amelia imitated the sound.

Suddenly, startling Grissom, another sound echoed from behind him. It was a snicker followed by "Crk, Crk."

TBC