Thanks so much for the reviews! I really do appreciate it – and it's helpful to the writing process. In this chapter, Brass is mentioned – and he has a wife. I realize that he is divorced on the show, but I didn't remember that until just now. So, for the purpose of my story, he's happily married. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter – let me know what you think!
Chapter 10 Families, Friends, and Parties
The car ride was silent after Sara asked where they were going and he replied cryptically. He allowed only that it was surprise – one that wouldn't require too much energy. Sara smiled and laid her head against the seat; it was good their outing didn't require energy – she didn't have any. After a few minutes in the car, she was sleeping lightly, only to be woken when he stopped his car. "We're here," he said softly, opening his door and handing his keys to a man waiting outside. Sara looked around in confusion, having lost her sense of direction while sleeping.
"Where is here?" She asked as Grissom opened her door and helped her out into the night air. They were still near the strip – she could tell that they hadn't gone far and were not out of the city. Grissom didn't answer her; he simply too her hand and led her into the mostly dark building, pulling a key from his pocket. "Where are we?"
"You'll see." It was all he would say as he led Sara into the dim doorway and down a dark hall. It wasn't until they were inside the building that she noticed he was carrying something in his other hand. She didn't have time to ask before he stopped abruptly and asked her to close her eyes.
"Gil,' she said, somewhat frustrated.
"Just close your eyes," he insisted softly. She did, groaning a bit and shaking her head. It was dark; she couldn't see anyway. She heard a light switch on and then felt Grissom lead her through one more doorway. When she opened her eyes, tears sprang to them. Before them, sprawling for as far as she could see, was a beautiful and blossoming indoor garden.
"Where are we?" By the time she had finally gotten the question out, Grissom was leading her down a faux stone pathway, toward a little clearing, complete with grass and a perimeter of wild flowers.
"The largest non-commercial indoor garden in the country. I have a friend who owns the hotel. He used to bring his wife here while they were dating. Said that if I ever wanted it—" His voice became quieter as he tilted Sara's chin so that their eyes met. "This is the first time I've found someone I wanted to share this with." Sara's tears continued to fall and she shook her head, attempting to turn and wipe them away. Grissom held her close and used his thumbs to gently brush them aside.
"Don't cry. We don't have to stay—"
"No!" She said quickly, her voice shaking. "I love it. I'm just a little emotional."
"It's probably not fair to surprise you while you still have a fever," he admitted. She shook her head and leaned against him, already exhausted from the thoughts that were rushing through her head. This was really happening. Her relationship with Grissom was falling into place; just as she always had hoped it wood. But it seemed far too easy. Pushing the negative thoughts aside, she fought to concentrate on him as he moved away to do something. Before she knew it, there was a blanket spread on the grass and he was pulling things out of a picnic basket.
"When did you have time to plan this?" She sat down slowly, trying to remain as confident in her movements as possible; she didn't want Grissom to worry and hurry her home.
"I have my secrets." Sitting down next to her, he positioned her so that she could lean against him and save some of the precious energy she had exhausted while sick. They ate a quiet picnic dinner, talking of irrelevant things and filling each other in on their most recent reads.
"Do you remember how we met?" It was Sara who posed the possibly dangerous question. Luckily, Grissom could never have forgotten.
"I believe you almost ran me over before one of my seminars at Berkley," Grissom said with a smirk.
"You were in the way," Sara assured him. "And I had plenty of time to stop. Besides, I was running late."
"So was I. Hence the hurrying through the parking lot."
"Well, I'm glad I didn't hit you. You were the only speaker worth hearing that semester." They evening continued on quickly, the two mostly conversing about their past and avoiding the topic of their semi-chaotic present.
When they returned from their date, Sara and Grissom separated in the living room after speaking with Catherine, she going toward the bedroom and he staying to help Catherine get a sleeping Lindsay out to the car. Sara entered the bedroom and began to undress, pulling on a pair of pajamas before going into the bathroom. The lamp beside the bed was on, which was not strange considering Hannah didn't like going to sleep in the dark. When she crawled under the covers and opened her book, she realized for the first time that the little girl was not actually sleeping. "Hi there," Sara said softly, setting the book aside. "I know you're not sleeping," she said after Hannah didn't answer.
"I tried."
"Catherine put you to bed two hours ago. Why couldn't you sleep?"
"I had bad thoughts."
"What do you mean?"
"You were gone so long. I thought something bad happened."
"Baby, we told you we would be gone for a while. Sometimes we have to go places and you can't always come. But we'll always come back. You don't need to worry about that. Close your eyes," Sara said gently. "We're home now. Go to sleep." Hannah did close her eyes, but she never slept that night. Sara continued to read her book, but every once in a while she saw Hannah's eyes peak open. The little girl finally fell off to sleep some time around five in the morning and Sara went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee; it was going to be a long day.
Their day was spent working on Hannah's new room – it needed to be completely finished in time for the small party they were throwing in two weeks. Sara had convinced Grissom to host an "open room" to introduce the little girl to their friends. Although Hannah had been flourishing with the two of them, she was still painfully shy and reserved around other people. Sara thought that having her introduced to people in a setting where she was comfortable might help. They spent the next day finishing little details; Sarah painted sunflowers in various places around the room while Grissom hung the creamy yellow lace curtains and finished installing the light fixtures. Hannah 'helped' whenever possible. Sara finally decided to put her in one of Grissom's old t-shirts and let her paint a little table and chair set that they had found and put into the corner of the room. It was actually a very nice job for the artwork of a four year old.
On the day of the party, they slept fairly late, waking up just in time to start decorating and cooking for their guests. Although Sara normally chose not to cook, she was looking forward to making party food; Grissom had already promised to do the dishes. She was in the kitchen only for a moment when Hannah appeared, a concerned expression on her face. She had only been alone in her room for about five minutes when she realized that Sara had left. The expression of worry was quickly replaced by a smile when Sara told her she could help with the hors d'oeuvres. After everything in the kitchen and living room was ready, Sara went into the room to change for the party. She pulled a skirt and a blouse out of her bag only to turn around and find Hannah, standing directly behind her.
"Hannah, go pick out something to wear tonight. I'll be over in a minute." She went into the bathroom, expecting that the little girl would do as she was asked. Instead, Sara opened the door ten minutes later to find Hannah sitting on the floor outside the bathroom. "What's going on with you?" She posed the question as she stooped down and picked up the little girl, carrying her into the next bedroom, "are you my shadow today?" Hannah giggled, but Sara couldn't help but worry at the strange behavior. They decided on a lavender flowered chiffon skirt with a soft, lavender wrap sweater that was embroidered with little matching flowers at the neck. A pair of white lace-edged socks and white ballet flats later, Hannah was ready.
Greg was the first to arrive, carrying a large box that he apparently gift-wrapped himself. Sara invited him in and then scolded him for bringing a gift.
"Greg, you didn't have to do that."
"The way I figure it, I missed four birthdays. I'm just making up for lost time."
"That's really sweet," Sara said with a smile as she leaned over to peck him on the cheek.
"Cheating on me already? I'm hurt," Grissom said jokingly as he appeared in the hall, Hannah in his arms.
"She's gotten tired waiting for you, old man," Greg teased back. He turned his attention to the little girl and flashed her a friendly smile. "It's nice to see you again, Miss Hannah."
"Hannah, you remember Greg," Sara prompted gently. Hannah nodded shyly and tightened her hold around Grissom's neck, indicating that she wasn't getting down; she wasn't sure yet that she liked the idea of strangers in the house. "Let's go to the living room," Sara suggested, moving that way. "Hannah, Greg brought something for you." Greg indicated the box with a smile, sitting it on the floor next to the coffee table.
"For you, my lady," he said with an exaggerated bow. Hannah giggled and then wiggled a bit, a sign for Grissom to put her down.
"Thank you," she said shyly as she moved toward the box. She looked up at Grissom and then Sara for permission. They both nodded, smiling widely as she began to rip open the paper. Grissom leaned close to Greg and said,
"You do realize, if this is a dog, I'm firing you." Greg gulped, but smiled when he saw Hannah's face as she opened the new toy. It was a beautiful set of little hand carved wooden dolls and a few sets of perfectly sized doll furniture.
"Good choice," Grissom whispered.
"Thank you!" Hannah said with a bright smile. Sara sat down next to her and carefully examined the well-made pieces.
"Greg," she asked with a growing smile, "did you make these?"
"I had help," he said with a shrug.
"They're beautiful," she said meaningfully. Hannah jumped up and said,
"They can live in my new room!" With that, she took the dolls and furniture and sped off to her room, leaving the three adults laughing and smiling happily after her.
"The kid's cute," Greg complimented. "She really likes you guys." There was a pause. "Are you sure she's normal?"
"Funny," Sara said dryly, smacking him lightly. She stood up and walked toward Hannah's room, the two men following her.
"Wow." That was all Greg could say when he saw the magnificent room that had been pulled together in such a short time. Hannah was sitting at the desk, arranging the furniture into a type of house for the dolls. Sara sat on the bed to watch while Grissom proudly explained the room to Greg; apparently he was very happy with his newfound carpentry skills. Not long after, the doorbell rang again. The party moved into the living room and everyone was snacking and talking while Hannah sat close to Sara, her fingers latched around the belt of the older woman's black skirt.
The next time the doorbell rang; it was Nick, David, and Warrick, having quite the difficult time maneuvering into the door of the house. Sara stood up and swung Hannah onto her hip before going into the hall to observe what was happening. "What did you do?" She posed the rhetorical question with a laugh as she watched them try to fit a humungous dollhouse through the front door.
"Hannah, this is for you," Warrick said with a smile.
"Yeah, we thought a new room deserved a new dollhouse," Nick added with a smile.
"Well, take it straight there. Because I don't think there's enough room in here," Grissom told them. Warrick and Nick maneuvered it into the little girl's room and set it on the floor in an empty corner. Hannah shyly thanked them all, and Greg again. She was excited and wanted to play with it, but not until Sara came with her. She pulled the older woman along and worriedly looked around when Sara stood up again. The evening went quickly and toward the end of it, they were all tired, especially Sara. Her hip ached from carrying Hannah around everywhere; the little girl had been more clingy than usual. The little girl did go to Catherine for a while, giving Sara time to talk to some of the other party guests. Jim Brass approached her and surprised her by hugging her and giving her a peck of the cheek.
"You look good, Sara."
"Thank you," she said, her smile causing her eyes to sparkle. "I broke out the dressy clothes. Even a skirt," she said as she fingered the hem, "I don't wear them often."
"Well, if I weren't married, I'd tell you that you should."
"Why thank you, Brass."
"You seem comfortable here. I'm glad. I'm happy that you and Grissom finally got some common sense."
"We're not that serious," Sara claimed.
"Sara, I haven't seen either one of you this happy—ever. And that little girl, her smile can light up a room. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was actually yours."
"I'll take that as a compliment," she said warmly. "And thank you, for your support. I don't know where this relationship is going, but I really want it to work."
"Then it will. And it couldn't have happened to two better people. You both deserve to be happy."
"About work—"
"Don't even think about it. You have more vacation accrued than anyone in the department. Or the city, actually," he added with a laugh, "so use it."
"I was actually talking about me and Grissom," she said slowly.
"Ah," Brass said, nodding as he realized what she was getting at. "Don't worry about that either. I'll talk to Catherine. You and Warrick can switch teams, then Gil won't be your immediate supervisor. Otherwise, there are no problems."
"Thank you, Brass. You're a good friend." She hugged him again and they talked for a few more minutes before Hannah tracked her down, almost frantic from the few minutes she had lost sight of both Gil and Sara.