Chapter 2: The Day of The Birthday Surprise

A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers. Your reviews made me happy, so keep reviewing. I shall respond to your reviews in my livejournal…my username is p3charmer. Some information in this story will contradict what has been said on the show, but that's just cause that particular information doesn't go with my story.

Today was the 17th of August. For Gil Grissom, this was the most special day of the year. Today was his 7th birthday. He spent all day for dinner time to role around. Dinner was when it would be his birthday party. That's when all of the other boys would come and play with him. They didn't usually play with him at school, so today would be extra special. He would have so much fun, he was sure of it. All he had to do was wait for his friends to arrive.

At about four o'clock, Gil was growing antsy. He had abandoned his toy bugs, and he was sitting on the sofa near the window. Marybeth tried to discourage her son from waiting, knowing that time would go more slowly. He wouldn't listen to a word she said and he insisted on waiting for his friend. However, when 5:00 rolled around, Mrs. Grissom too was waiting.

One minute passed, the five, the ten. Before Marybeth and Gil knew it, it was 5:30 p.m. Still, no guests had arrived. Still, Gil was waiting. He hadn't moved from his widow seat. Mrs. Grissom wrung her hands in worry. She was worried for her son. He just sat there, petting that horrible insect of his. She knew that Gil was different than the other boys. She still wished the other boys weren't so cruel to him.

Without a word, Gil got up, still holding his bug, and walked upstairs to his room. He slammed the door, and Marybeth knew her son well enough to know that he was crying. Sure enough, she heard the sound of quiet sobs coming from Gil's room. Gil held his emotions in sometimes. Marybeth knew that that wasn't good for him.

She knocked on the door three times in quick succession. A small voice replied, " Go away!" Gil could be so difficult sometimes. She was about to try again, when the key turned into the lock of the front door. Her husband came bursting through the door.

"How's my little birthday boy?" Fredrick Grissom asked cheerfully.

"He's very upset because nobody showed up", Marybeth Grissom whispered somberly to her husband. Mr. Grissom walked right up to his son's door and opened it. He wasn't to be bothered with knocking. He found Gil lying down on his bed, looking at the ceiling.

"Go away", Gil mumbled, not even looking at his father.

"We're going outside", Mr. Grissom said firmly. Gil followed his father begrudgingly out the back door. They stopped in the center of the garden. Normally, the garden was a place that Gil loved to go. Now, however, he could only think of the boys that he though were his friends.

Mr. Grissom knelt beside a small plant, and Gil followed suit. " This is what I do. This is my job, Gilly", Mr. Grissom explained. The little boys eyes went wide. Every morning like clockwork, his father disappeared to his mysterious work. He would come back every evening. Gil often wondered where he went and what he did.

Gil's father handed him a shovel, and told him to start digging. He gestured to several baby plants, all in a row, still in their packaging. "You're going to help me plant these", said his father. Gils' eyes lit up with pride. He loved to halp his daddy, and cherished every chance he had to do so.

Father and son happily worked, digging and planting. It didn't seem like work to either of them. Fredrick Grissom was just happy that his son was finally talking to him. Gil was just happy that his father was listening. The conversation flowed so easily from school, to plants, to bugs. It was as if they were best friends, instead of 7 year old son, and thrity-something year old father.

Neither knew how long they had been in the garden. It was getting dark, so it must have been hours at least. Gil looked up to see his mother, standing just outside of the house. She wasn't standing alone.

"Georgie!" Gil yelled his voice full of excitement. He ran to meet the friend that he hadn't seen in what seemed to him, forever. Taking little notice of his mother, Gil grabbed Goergie's hand, and began showing him the garden. All the while they were chattering excitedly.

Marybeth and Fredrick watched their son and his friend running around the garden. They caught snatches of conversation. It seemed like Georgie shared Gil's unusual passion for bugs. The two friends were chatting animatedly about centipedes or millipedes, or something of the sort.

All week, Mrs. Grissom was so worried that her son wouldn't have a happy birthday. To see him smiling and laughing like this; it was all she had wanted.

"We did a good job", Mrs. Grissom said to her husband.

"It was a great party", Mr. Grissom said laughing. His wife looked at him indignantly. "That's not what I meant", he quickly amended.

"It did make Gil happy", said Marybeth. Gil was happier than she had ever seen him before. She decided it was time to give Gil his present. In a perfect world, she had planed to let Gil open the presents after the cake. They hadn't even eaten any of the cake she had made.

"Do you have Gil's present?" Marybeth asked her husband. She had been very reluctant to buy Gil that particular present. She knew that Gil would have loved it. That didn't stop his present from terrifying her.

It was her husband who had talked her into buying it. He had assured her that it was no longer dangerous. He had told her that Gil was a smart boy that he could take care of it. It wasn't like she doubted those words, but she was still apprehensive. Even though it was no longer poisonous, it still terrified her.

Fredrick pulled a plain box out of his coat pocket. There was nothing strange about the box, save for the three small holes on the top. It was so what was in the box could breath. She backed away from the box. Eve though she knew the box was firmly closed, Marybeth was still frightened.

"Gil, come here a second", she called. Gil came running, as did his little friend Georgie.

"What's that?" Gil asked pointing at the box.

"That's your present dear", she said kindly. She handed him the box, and he quickly took it. Ever so slowly, he undid the bright red bow tied around the box. He was always such a careful child. When he finally took the ribbon off the box, he gasped in delight.

She shuddered, and took a step backwards. From the box came a thin hairy leg. Seven more quickly followed. A large hairy spider had managed to push himself out of the box. It turned, and seemed to look at Gil with its eight shinning eyes. The tarantula slowly crawled onto Gil's hand. Then it went up his arm and rested on his shoulder.

Marybeth let out a strangled cry of horror. She had to keep reminding herself that the spider wasn't dangerous anymore; a special vet had seen to that. That didn't stop her from worrying. Gil was her only child, her baby, and that made her very protective of him.

Gil, on the contrary, wasn't afraid at all. He was petting the tarantula's furry head. He looked at it lovingly, talking softly to it. Georgie wasn't as loving towards Gil's new pet. He was looking at the tarantula in awe. His deep brown eyes looked at it admiringly. Gil's friend sure was something else, just like Gil himself.

Gil studied the tarantula thoughtfully. Marybeth was still keeping a respectable distance. Fredrick stood slightly closer, although even he was keeping his distance. Gil looked up at his father and smiled. There was a gap where his front teeth once were. It gave him an adorable appearance that neither Marybeth nor Fredrick could ever resist.

"Mommy, Daddy", he said sweetly, "can I keep my new pet in my room?"

He was so adorable that Marybeth wanted to give him everything he wanted. She desperately tried to master the impulse. She opened her mouth to say something to protest Gil's idea, but her husband stopped her.

"I think Gil's room would make a fine place to keep his pet", said Fredrick jovially. Gil beamed, and Marybeth scowled at her husband.

"I'm going to name him…daddy!" Gil exclaimed excitedly. His father smiled at him. They began to speak excitedly about their plans with "daddy". Georgie joined right in. She watched her boys, Gil and Fredrick, as her lips slowly curved into a small smile.

Gil was a strange boy all right. But then again, so was his father. It was like they always said, like father, like son…

TBC…