"Birthday, birthday, birthday!" Liz shrieked, running down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Today was her sixth birthday; The birthday she had waited for to see if her parents would buy her a puppy.
"Happy birthday, baby," Sara cooed, scooping the ecstatic little girl up in her arms. Liz wrapped her arms around Sara's neck and kissed her cheek.
"When are the girls getting here?" She asked, still clinging to Sara.
"Soon."
The girls Liz were referring to were a few classmates from school; They had warmed right up to Liz and ever since that first day 'the girls' were inseparable.
They took turns sleeping over at the other's houses and none of the mothers had a problem with that, as long as everyone behaved.
These girls were the only kids Liz wanted to come to her small party; Sara smiled as she thought "Having a few friends over isn't the only wish come true for Liz."
"Go get dressed," Sara smiled at Liz. A car engine in the driveway had told her the surprise was here.
Various noises filled the Grissom house; A small girl quietly preparing for her birthday party, an anxious mother awaiting conformation from her husband that the present had been purchased, and the husband, banging things around in the garage to hide the noise of Liz's surprise.
"Gil, get in here!" Sara ordered from the garage doorway. Then in a much lower tone she added "Did you get it?"
He nodded happily and the brunette sighed with relief.
"Well, her friends are going to be over soon so just make sure she doesn't find it okay?"
The doorbell ringing startled them both; Each looked at their watches and realized the guests had arrived.
Sara ran off to answer the door; She yanked it open and revealed four girls standing side by side, smiles ear to ear.
"Hi, Mrs. Grissom," Each girl greeted when it was their turn.
Sara opened the door wider and each girl stepped in; Each was holding a gift and looked around in awe at the interior of the house even though they had been there many times before.
"Hi, girls. Please, call me Sara. I've told you to ever since the first day of school but I guess it doesn't stick," She smiled and looked out at the street before closing the door. "Your mothers are parking their cars?"
Each girl nodded once again.
"I'll go get Liz right now. You all can go wait in the living room, okay?"
Sara set off up the stairs; She watched the girls chatting amongst themselves happily.
There was Sam, the tomboy; She often went out of her way to talk to Sara. And you never saw her without a ponytail.
Then Olivia, the queen of girly-girls. She was never seen without her purse and a tube of lip gloss. Sara really didn't think a six year old needed lip gloss, but she didn't say anything.
Rachel was the shyest; She frequently could be found in the library or with a book. Reading was her passion and she was very well read for a child of her age.
Last but not least was Natalie, N for short. She was a mixture of things; Tomboy at times, girly whenever, reader at other times. She liked a wide variety of things and never disobeyed anyone.
Sara reached Liz's bedroom with a grin.
"Liz, they're here."
The small girl emerged from under her bed, smiling at her mother.
"What were you doing under your bed?" Sara asked, walking down the stairs with her daughter.
"I was looking for that bracelet Uncle Warrick gave me; The blue one, you know? I think I might have lost it."
At the bottom of the stairs, the two turned left and entered the living room; The group of girls was seated on the couch, all waiting for Liz.
"Happy birthday!" All of them shouted, their voices caused Sara to jump. She hadn't been expecting them to be that loud.
They all greeted Liz with smiles; Olivia pulled Liz close to her and shared "I know this awesome face cream that removes wrinkles. It helps you age better."
Sara stifled her laughter as the doorbell rang again; She rushed off to answer it, leaving the girls to talk.
"Hey!" She greeted as each of the girl's mothers stepped in; The women had gotten together a few times to talk and have coffee and had become semi-good friends.
Kelly was N's mom; Both looked so similar it was frightening.
Carrie was Rachel's mom; They didn't looked alike but you could tell where Rachel got her shyness if you met her mother.
Sam was April's daughter but you couldn't tell that by looking at them; They looked totally different. Sam had black hair and April had a soft blonde shade.
And Colleen was Olivia's mother; The two were constantly sharing beauty tips and hair care products.
"How are you?" They all greeted one another.
"Let's go in the kitchen. I made coffee," Sara gestured for the women to go ahead; She had improved greatly on hosting, always having drinks and snacks ready for anyone that walked through the door.
The kitchen was quiet at first except for the sound of Sara pouring coffee; She handed each woman a mug and after pouring herself a cup, she joined them at the table.
"They grow up so fast don't they?" April smiled, sipping her drink.
All nodded in agreement as just as Sara was about to share what present she and Gil had bought Liz, all the girls ran into the kitchen, giggling joyfully.
"Can she open her presents, Mrs. Grissom?"
"Please? We got her something really cool!"
The girls attacked Sara with questions until she finally gave in.
"All right. To the living room!"
The girls ran ahead whilst the women slowly followed, chatting happily.
When they reached the living room, Liz was seated in the middle of the room with the other girls sitting closely around her.
The mothers stood, watching their daughters giggle and joke.
The presents were incredibly nice, but a little excessive: Five Barbies from Colleen and Olivia. A few books from Rachel and Carrie; Sara's favorite gift. She loved it whenever Liz read.
A mix of things from N and Kelly; A book, a doll, a ball with designs on it and a drawing pad.
Sam and April gave Liz a gift card to a clothing store in the mall.
Liz cheerfully thanked everyone several times then looked expectantly at Sara; She knew her mother and father had a present for her and she was waiting to see what it was.
"Hold on. Let me go find your dad." Sara stalked off knowing Gil was waiting for her to tell him to come out of hiding.
She knocked six times on the garage door then hurried back to the living room; Gil footfalls were soon heard entering from the garage.
He walked into the living room wearing a large bulky coat, his face red; Most likely because it was almost one hundred degrees outside and he had been hiding in the hot garage.
Liz's face lit up as he smiled at her.
"Liz, mommy and I got you something. You have to learn to take care of this gift with the help of us."
He unzipped his coat and pulled something out; A small wiggling creature yawned as it was released from the coat.
"Oh! A puppy!" Liz whispered, running over to her father; He gently helped her hold the puppy against her body so it wouldn't fall on the floor.
She sat down at her friends walked over and they all took turns petting it.
Sara, Gil and the mothers stood a few feet away, watching their daughters giggle and pet the tiny puppy, who was eager to receive all of their attention.
"Good one," Kelly whispered to Sara.
She nodded in agreement then happily kissed Gil.
"You did good, Bugman."