Growing Up

Part 16: Learning Domesticity

Summary: Will Sara like her surprise?

A/N: I know I'm still in the big pile of fluff, but I'll try to get some action into later chapters again. Enjoy!

xxxx

"No, Amelia!" Grissom's voice boomed through the kitchen, startling both the child and him.

Her face was scrunched up, already showing the onset of tears. Quickly, he put the potholders away and scooped the girl up into his arms.

"Hey, hey, little bug. I didn't mean to yell at you."

The tears were pooling in her eyes and Grissom held her tighter, whispering soft words into her hair.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get so loud. It's just, you could have burnt yourself."

He had caught her just as she was about to touch the open oven. She had stretched and reached out, trying to see what he was doing. His attention had been on the hot form, wanting to see if the food was done. He had underestimated her and would not have thought that she could reach that far up. How could he have been so negligent? First, he had let her out of his sight, and then he had left the hot oven standing open.

He looked down at her and was glad to see that her eyes had cleared. She was staring up at him, watching his every move, but the doubts seemed to be gone.

"I'm sorry."

He gave her a light kiss on top of her head. "Look, this is hot."

To show her what he meant, he reached out as if to touch the oven and then at the last moment he pulled his hand away. "Ouch! Hot!"

"Hot?" Amelia cocked her head to one side, pointing to the offensive kitchen tool.

"Yes, the oven is hot because I made dinner in there."

She nodded and Grissom hoped that she really understood it this time.

"Now, I have to put the food back in so that it stays warm until Sara comes back, okay?"

Again he got a nod and he put her down. He kept her in his sight until he had closed the oven.

"Come on, we have to finish setting the table."

He dug deep in one of the drawers, searching for something he knew had to be there.

Although Catherine would never believe it, he had the equipment for a nice romantic dinner. His mother had always gotten him stuff like candles and deco lights. Until now, he had never used them, not even at the previous dinners with Sara.

Finally, he found what he had been looking for. It looked like a candle, but there was a small LED lamp inside. He didn't even know why he kept it, but now it came in handy.

There were only a few places where he could put some real candles, and the table was definitely out. He didn't want Amelia getting too close to the fire. He could light some on the counter and up on the shelf. This one would do nicely on the table. Safety first.

Grissom bent down to face Amelia and held the fake candle out for her to take. "Can you put that on the table?"

Without giving him a reply she trotted away. Even if she didn't put it on the table, there was not much that could go wrong. As a plus, he had her out of the kitchen area for a short time. Every open cupboard was a potential danger zone. His kitchen was simply not childproof.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Amelia returning to the kitchen without the candle. He hoped she hadn't hidden it somewhere.

This time he handed her the napkins and he followed her out of the kitchen with the dishes. As soon as she put the napkins down, she fingered the fake candle again.

With a smile, he set the dishes down and took the candle from her. He switched it on, which made her eyes go wide. "Hot?"

Grissom shook his head. "No, not this one. If the candle is lit up here," he pointed to the wick, "then it's hot."

"Not hot?"

Tentatively, she reached out and touched it at the bottom. "Not hot."

A toothy smile appeared on her face, making him smile in return.

He let her play with the fake candle while he set the rest of the table.

xxxxx

"Grissom?"

When she encountered mostly darkness upon entering the townhouse, Sara called out for Grissom. It was not likely that he had put Amelia down already.

Suddenly, she felt something hit her legs, and when she looked down, she saw Amelia smiling up at her. "Hey!"

Amelia held her little arms up in the already familiar plea to be picked up.

Sara put her bag to the side and indulged the girl by doing as she wished. "Where is Grissom? Can you tell me where he is?"

The girl made a thinking face and then pointed down the hall.

"Okay, then let's check that out." Sara carried Amelia to the kitchen area. She stopped short as she rounded the corner. Her eyes moved around the room before they settled on Grissom, meeting his eyes.

He was standing beside the set table, looking incredibly adorable. His face showed some doubt, probably wondering if she liked it.

She was tempted to let him stew by not reacting just to tease him, but this was too important to him. She was not going to test the waters just yet, so she decided to reward him.

Once she put Amelia down, setting her on the couch, she walked over to Grissom and wove her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

His reward was meant to show him how much she appreciated his efforts, but the kiss evolved into something more. Passion and love transpired between them in this moment, making them forget about dinner for a while.

When they finally separated, there was a quite different hunger burning in them. Sara would have loved nothing better than to still this hunger, but reason won out and she focused on reality again. "Later," she whispered, not able to resist teasing him with her breath on his neck.

Grissom growled but stepped back, trying to regain some control.

The teasing glint in her eyes told him she was perfectly aware of the effect she had on him. "So…dinner?"

She extricated herself and plopped down on the couch next to Amelia, who had been looking at the butterflies again.

Grissom shook his head, finding the situation slightly surreal but amusing. "Right, dinner. But you're sitting in the wrong place."

He motioned for the pillow landscape around the couch table. "My knees will hate me, but right now this is the best I can do."

Sara huffed but took Amelia and slid down onto the pillows. The picture the two ladies presented was unique. They sat side by side, smiling at him expectantly.

"Who wants some food?"

The smile grew into a grin, showing off the gaps between the teeth. "I guess that answers my question."

He took two of the dishes and brought them to the kitchen.

Sara tried to see what he was doing, still not knowing what he had prepared, but the bar and his broad back prevented her from seeing anything.

Only when he placed it in front of her, she saw that he had made lasagna. With spinach, to be exact.

She looked at Amelia's plate and noticed that it appeared to be the same food. Did kids this age already eat that?

"Grissom?" she called, but he was too busy preparing his own plate. He didn't even seem to notice her.

"Grissom, should she eat that?"

When he returned, he just smiled at her. "No salt, no onions. The question is not whether she should eat it but if she will."

"And how do you know this?"

Now she was really curious how he knew what to cook for a child. She had heard that you should be careful with salt, but otherwise she would have been at a loss as to what to do.

"I have my sources."

He had that look again, that 'I won't tell you because you have to figure it out on your own' look. It made her want to slug him and kiss him at the same time. Irritating and charming, that's what he was.

How did he know about the food?

A smile lit up her face as the pieces fell into place. "You called her aunt."

He tipped his index finger against his nose and smirked at her knowingly.

If he ever gave this battle of minds that raged between them up, she would have to kick his cute behind. It gave her a thrill that was associated only with Grissom, and she never wanted to miss that feeling. She loved the challenge, but she knew he did as well.

"Alright, then let's see if your cooking passes the gourmet test."

TBC