Growing Up

Part 20: Sleep

Summary: It is time to say goodbye.

A/N: I'm not quite sure what to do with this story now. I have continued writing this, but I don't know whether to continue 'Growing Up' or start a new story for a new leave in their relationship. So there WILL be a continuation.

xxxxx

Click!

The camera made a soft sound as she took a shot.

Sara was standing in the entrance of the bedroom, admiring the sight in front of her. It had been irresistible, and she had fetched her camera to take a few shots.

Grissom lay on the bed curled up around Amelia. His right arm was thrown over her protectively and his left arm cushioned her head. Amelia was snuggled up to his chest.

As Sara watched them, that feeling rose again. Her imagination took flight as she pictured a scene very similar to this. She shook her head to clear it but stored the picture away, not willing to let it go completely.

Maybe some day.

Sara hesitated for a second, her desire to join them warring with the one to let him get his much needed sleep. The night had probably been hard on him. In the end she decided to leave them alone and went to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

They only had today until they both had to back at work and she wanted to make the most of it.

She finished breakfast in silence, but then her ears picked up a sound. It was a muffled giggle coming from the bedroom.

She left the tray on the kitchen counter and tiptoed towards the bedroom, again with the camera in her hand.

The door was open just wide enough for her to look through, and she saw Grissom lying on his side, facing away from her, while Amelia was not to be seen at first sight.

Suddenly, the covers were thrown off and a smiling Amelia emerged. "Da!"

They were playing.

Grissom had relaxed to her being here, but the way he had turned his back to the door told her he didn't think she was here yet.

Amelia giggled again and pulled the covers over her to hide.

Sara took her camera and brought it into position. If there were more cute snapshots to be made, she was ready.

At that moment, Grissom spoke up. "Where are you?"

The girl giggled again and pulled the sheet off of herself. "Boo!"

Then she lunged at Grissom, and Sara took the opportunity to take a few photos of them fooling around.

When they took the time to breathe normally again, Grissom must have heard the clicks of the camera and looked over to the door. "Sara?"

He frowned but then it turned to a smile. "That's twice now. Don't let that turn into a habit." He tried to sound stern, but they both knew it lacked conviction.

When he stretched out her hand for her, Sara shook her head. "I have breakfast waiting. Should I get it, or will you two come out?"

xxxxx

Although Sara was tired, they had taken a walk after breakfast. Amelia would not be with them for much longer, but staying in and waiting seemed out of the question. The girl was far too active this morning.

They still had two hours until her parents arrived. With Amelia chasing them around the playground the remaining time elapsed quickly, and Grissom was surprised when he noticed that it was shortly after ten.

Amelia didn't want to go and threw a fit when Sara simply picked her up and walked away. On her third day, Sara was much calmer and secure in such a situation. Amelia could not make her lose her cool with the fit, and Sara let her work through her frustration. She kept talking softly to her until the girl had quieted down.

Grissom, who had remained in the background, was impressed and happy that she was adapting to the situation much better than on their first day. The strength she showed had always been something that fascinated him. Sara grew with every task and this was proof again.

Now, if they could both grow in their relationship, then his hopes and dreams for a future could come true sooner than he thought.

xxxxx

They had just pulled their shoes off when they heard a car pulling up outside.

When Grissom opened the door, he could tell that the Knightleys hadn't gotten much sleep. They looked more than tired and worn out, ready to drop any second. Their weekend hadn't gone as they had planned, obviously.

Grissom could not imagine what it would be like to be thrown into such a situation. On the weekend where you are supposed to relax and have some fun, you get a call telling you that a relative was in the hospital and your child had to stay with strangers because of that.

"Come in." He knew that greetings wouldn't help much; they wanted to see their daughter.

As soon as Amelia saw her parents, she was off into their arms.

"Oh, Ammi!" Her mother picked her up, cradling her in her arms and showering her with kisses.

Patrick Knightley had one arm around his wife and child and the other was wandering over the little form as if to check if she was really alright.

Tears had sprung up in their eyes, happy that it all went over well.

"Thank you." Mr. Knightley was the first to recover and looked over at the two CSIs. "I can't tell you how much this means to us that you were ready to take care of our baby."

Sara blushed a little under all this attention and gratitude, and she knew Grissom was also not far from it, although he remained stoically calm, at least on the outside.

"Again, we were glad we could help. It was an unfortunate accident with your sister, but we enjoyed having Amelia with us."

Sara had to suppress a smile at that, knowing it was not completely true. The nights had been strenuous, but they were not about to tell that to the parents.

Finally, Alex Knightley spoke up. "It's not an adequate compensation for your lost weekend, but we would like to invite you both to dinner some time."

Sara was a bit speechless, but Grissom had apparently anticipated something like that and replied, "That's not necessary, but it would be nice. Thank you."

Their new acquaintances were truly training their social competence. This was a whole new experience, and despite a few uncomfortable moments, he was beginning to like it.

"We have to get going. We need to go and see Grace."

Grissom nodded and moved to the back of his house to fetch Amelia's things from the bedroom. Together with Patrick Knightley, he loaded everything into the car.

Sara took the time to say goodbye to Amelia. It felt weird after three days. She couldn't believe how hard it was.

Amelia hugged her and waved when her mother carried her out.

When Grissom took his turn to say goodbye, she remained respectfully in the background. He was so gentle with the girl and her heart warmed. As she watched Grissom hug the girl, looking more open than with any other person, she realized just how much Amelia had helped them.

Without her, Grissom might have never found the courage to open up to her as well.

It was not the Knightleys who should be grateful, she should be.

She vowed to show Amelia her appreciation, even if she never knew why.

Sara waved to the girl as the car drove off, leaving her and Grissom alone again.

When the car was out of sight, she felt his arm wrap around her waist, hugging her to him. He drew comfort from her and hoped to return the favor.

"So…what are we going to do now?"

Sara leaned further into Grissom, soaking up his warmth. "Bed?"

"Sounds heavenly."

The End?