A/N: I already know this chapter sucks, so don't bother alerting me that it does; :). The next chap is going to be much more eventful...
"Sara, are you ready?" Gil called.
Gil and Sara were going to go back to work, together, tonight.
Their first night back as a couple since Liz's birth.
"Just a second!"
Gil, Liz and Catherine, who was going to babysit, all sat in the living room waiting for her to finish getting ready.
Liz clapped happily and began her normal talking routine, something everyone who visited was used to.
"You are so adorable!" Catherine cooed as she tickled the baby's feet.
"Yeah, and smart too. Watch. Liz? Two?"
Gil held up two fingers and after a moment, Liz copied him.
"Good job! We're working on the other numbers but two is the only one she seems to remember."
Catherine nodded.
"That's pretty good for a nine month old. God, Lindsay couldn't count until she was almost three!"
"How is she? I haven't seen her in almost a year!" Gil asked.
"She's still going to boarding school. I think she misses being home and I miss having her around but she was really getting out of hand. I hope that doesn't sound mean," Catherine bounced Liz gently on her knee.
"Okay, we can go. I'm so sorry, Catherine. Liz, be good," Sara hurriedly apologized as she kissed Liz on top of her head.
"Bye! Have fun."
Liz cooed while her parents waved as they exited the apartment.
"So Liz, what shall we do? You're too young for boys, so that's out of the question," Catherine joked to the infant.
She set Liz down on the quilt covering a small area of hardwood floor and walked over to the TV; She turned it on and grabbed the remote.
"You can help me choose."
Catherine handed Liz the remote and waited to see what would happen.
The infant pressed a number of buttons and looked up at the screen to see what had happened.
"You really don't want to watch CNN, do you? Let's find something better. Oh, look! Barney!" Liz gave a small cry upon seeing the purple dinosaur.
"Okay, how about Spongebob? Your mommy and daddy will kill me when they find out I let you watch this. But I'm not telling them and you can't talk so I think we're safe."
Liz watched the television in fascination; She seemed to enjoy watching the yellow sponge dancing across the screen.
"Yeah, you watch the sponge and I'm going to sit on the couch and watch you."
Catherine stood up and walked over to the couch; She watched the infant stare at the screen for twenty minutes, then it was time for Liz to go to bed.
Crime Scene
Sara and Gil silently processed their crime scene; A body was found just outside of town, far enough away that the casino lights passed it over but close enough for out-of-towners to notice.
"You okay?" Gil asked as he bagged a piece of ripped clothing material.
Sara sighed happily; She loved it when she got out of the house.
"Yeah, I'm loving it. The fresh air, the coolness. I just wish there wasn't a dead body here."
He nodded back and continued processing his end of the scene.
Two well-trained professionals such as themselves hardly ever needed another CSI to help process a scene.
Usually just an officer stayed with them until they were finished; This rule was being enforced even more after Nick Stokes had been kidnapped.
But since this was Sara's first time out in the field in well over a year, she had asked Gil to accompany, just to make sure she didn't miss anything.
"I take it you really missed work?" Gil inquired.
Sara bent down to collect another piece of evidence with a smile.
"I really did. I can't verbalize how much I missed this."
After grinning at each other, the couple went back to work.
The Apartment
Catherine was lying on the couch reading a copy of Science Monthly she had seen on the kitchen counter; So far it was a good read.
This month most of the content was geared toward fingerprints; Collecting them, revealing them, teaching others how to safely lift prints without destroying their ridges.
Just as she entered a paragraph about print powder colors other than the standard black and white colors, she heard Liz crying.
"Hold on, sweetie!" She called, jumping up and running to the bedroom.
She slid in the hallway but caught herself; She made a mental note to slow down next time.
"Liz my dear, what's wrong?"
Catherine scooped the infant up in her arms.
"Hungry? I think you are," She cooed, carrying Liz out to the living room.
"Dear, you've only been asleep for an hour! That's not nearly long enough! Don't slap me, I'm going as fast as I can!"
She prepared a bottle, precisely measuring the correct amount of formula and popping it into the microwave.
"Hold on," She softly said to the infant as she fussed. "There, it's done."
She knew Liz could feed herself but she didn't care; There was something calming about feeding a baby.
Catherine hummed quietly as she watched Liz drink the bottle.
When she was full, Liz pushed the bottle out of her mouth, spraying formula onto the floor.
She cooed happily before closing her eyes and falling asleep.