Grissom walked back into the house, whistling. He heard the water running in the shower and smiled as he walked down the hallway. Giggling was coming from the bathroom and he heard Sara singing to Laredo in the shower. He walked down further to the room across from Laredo's as he assumed it was Sara's bedroom, opened the door and turned on the light. At first glance he was a little startled at the furnishings but then chastised himself. Even though he had never been in any of Sara's apartments before, it still never occurred to him that she had a flair for decorating. He looked at the four-poster bed and the gauze that was hanging from the top of the rails down to the floor all around the bed. There were some pictures on the wall of what appeared to be the Mediterranean. As he glanced toward the far wall, he saw French doors leading out onto a patio at the back of the house. It was quite an arrangement. Very romantic even. He thought as he placed his bag in the closet on the floor and closed the door. Then he took one last look around the room. Very nice.
He stepped out as he closed the door again behind him and then made his way back to the living room. After he took a seat on the sofa, he heard Sara and Laredo walk into her bedroom.
Sara, as Laredo watched and bounced on her bed, dressed in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top and then put her wet hair up in a clip. Then she tied back the gauze around the bed to the four posts. She quickly grabbed Laredo and laid her on her back and blew a raspberry on her tummy, which sent Laredo into a giggle fit again. "Okay, little cricket, you go get a book and I'll read it to you in the living room." She picked her up and put her on the floor and Laredo took off in search of a book from her room.
Sara slowly walked down the hall way to the living room and found Grissom sitting and resting his head on the back of the sofa. She made her way over to him and sat down close enough so that their bodies touched. He picked his head up and found that their faces were now just inches apart. She gave him a smile while she reached up and rubbed his cheek softly with the back of her fingers.
Laredo chose at that moment to run into the living room with a book and ran right to them.
"Laredo, did you find a book you wanted me to read?" Sara asked her after tearing her gaze away from Grissom. But Laredo had other plans. She handed the book to Grissom and said, "I want Daddy to read me a story." Grissom smiled at her and took the book out of her grasp then picked her up and placed her between him and Sara. Laredo put her thumb in her mouth as Grissom began to read in a soft and gentle tone about a very hungry caterpillar that ate his way through the days of the week until he became a butterfly.
As Grissom read the book, he took note of how many times Laredo would point to the correct pictures on the book every time he said a word that described one of the pictures. Laredo had certainly received her parents' intellect and maybe more so. I just hope she didn't inherit something else. He thought to himself as he looked down at the now sleeping princess who had fallen asleep against his side.
Sara had also dozed off after she laid her head on Laredo's lap so Laredo could play with her hair. Grissom smiled at the two and realized how much he had missed out on. Why did everything have to be so hard for him and Sara? He sat there awhile and watched them until Sara finally stirred.
Sara slowly sat up, stretched and yawned. Then at that point, she found Grissom staring at her. She grinned and looked at him and Laredo curled together. She made a move to stand and pick Laredo up but Grissom stopped her with a movement of his hand. He whispered, "Let me hold her awhile." Sara smiled and nodded in agreement. Then she moved toward the television and looked for a movie. She spied the one she wanted and popped it into the VCR. As she walked back over to the sofa, she switched off the one lamp that was on and grabbed the remote and turned on the television as she took a seat on the other side of Grissom.
Grissom liked this arrangement. He had one arm around his daughter and then reached around with the other to cradle Sara as she leaned into him and curled her legs under her and against the arm of the sofa. She reached around him and laid her arm against his chest as she curled next to him. Yes, Grissom was enjoying this very much.
The movie was one Grissom had never seen before. He recognized the actress as Sandra Bullock and the actor was from a cop and lawyer show that Catherine always liked to watch. He did find it pretty funny and the fact didn't escape him of how much he chuckled at it and it had nothing to do with the fact that every time he did, Sara would snuggle closer and would… well it just had nothing to do with that at all.
When the movie was over, Sara turned the sound down a little more and then walked around the coffee table to get a better angle for picking Laredo up so she could put her to bed. After she returned and positioned herself in the place that Laredo had previously occupied. Grissom asked, "Does Laredo always sleep this much?"
"Do you really think she does with me as her mother?" Sara laughed softly. "We had an energetic morning at the zoo and then we went shopping for groceries. She practically wore herself out running around and playing. Plus she didn't get to bed too early last night because she was too excited about going to the zoo."
Grissom smiled. She made such a lovely mother. "You've only had what, three or four times, that you have had two days in a row off since you moved to Vegas? That had to be hard Sara."
Sara laid her head down on his chest and put her arm around him. "It has been hard. But Shannon brought her up a couple of times too." She felt Grissom tense at her last statement and it caused her to sit back up abruptly. She caught a glint of something in Grissom's eyes when she looked at him. "I'm sorry Gris…"
"When were those times, Sara?" Grissom asked in a tight voice.
"Well the most recent time was when I was at the vineyard and I was late answering your page."
"She was with you and Hank at the vineyard?" His pulse began to climb.
Sara stood up and stepped away from him. She turned around and counted to ten before she answered. "Grissom, did you think I lied to you when I said that Hank and I are just friends?" She whipped around and nearly lost her balance. Grissom had stood and was directly behind her. He didn't know what to say in response to her question because, yes, he thought she was involved with Hank. "I don't know Sara, I guess, yes, I did think you and Hank were actually involved."
"God Gris, how can you think that I would be with someone else when I have such strong feelings for you?" Sara felt like her dream that seemed to be coming true was now fading out of sight.
"Sara, are you saying you aren't involved with Hank?" Grissom was confused. He wanted not just his daughter in his life but also her mother. But he may have ruined that chance with that last question.
"I don't believe you, Gris. How many ways can I say it? Hank and I are just friends and no, he wasn't with us at the vineyard and he doesn't even know about Laredo." She put both of her hands on his face as she looked deep into his eyes and said, "I would never ever do that to you. I know how you feel about Hank. I saw it every time he was mentioned or that you saw him. Even Catherine, Warrick and Nick noticed it. He isn't apart of Laredo's life. He is just someone I can spend time with without worrying about getting emotionally tied to." She stopped her rant and took her hands off of his face and placed them in his hands. "Hank is in love with Krista from Brass' department. He's just afraid of asking her out because well, she's ten years older than him and he thinks that she thinks he's too young for her. Kind of like how you feel about me and don't say I'm wrong about that."
Grissom wasn't sure what to think. He hadn't thought he let his feelings show that much. What am I supposed to say to that? He thought as he looked in her eyes and saw she meant every word. "I'm sorry Sara, I guess you're not the only one who is confused. I really thought you were seeing Hank and so I backed away."
Sara leaned forward and let her head rest on his chest. "Can't you see how much I want to be with you?" Grissom slowly let go of her hands as she raised them to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on top of her head. "Sara, why is this so hard for us? We have a beautiful little girl in the other room that was conceived out of love but we can't seem to ever communicate our feelings to each other. Why?"
"Maybe, we're both scared." She said in a muffled tone as her face lay against his chest.
"Scared of what?" Grissom asked as he considered several possibilities of what she might mean.
"Scared of losing." Sara said a little clearer after moving her face to the side.
"Losing what?" He considered it. She probably meant their friendship.
"Our friendship." She whispered it softly, as something she cherished of great value.
He reached under her chin and raised her head so he could look into her eyes. "Sara, we will always be friends, because we were friends first."
Sara was an inch away from Grissom's face. She slowly closed that inch and pressed her lips to his. His response was soft but with inquisitiveness. Four years was a long time but she tasted just as sweet as she did then. The kiss deepened and she lifted her arms up and around Grissom's neck. She ran her fingers through his curls as he lowered his hands to her waist. They stood their kissing for several minutes when Sara pulled away. He slowly opened his eyes to see the uncertainty in hers. "Sara, we don't have to do anything. We have a lot to think about and say before we go there again."
"There is still so much I don't know about you, Gris."
"Likewise, Sara."
At that, she looked up at him and smiled then took his hand in hers and tugged on it as she said, "Sleep with me. Just sleep."
Grissom nodded. They walked down the hallway toward the bedroom but as they got closer they saw a movement in Laredo's room from the shine of the night-light. Sara turned toward Grissom and motioned that she would take care of Laredo and that he should go in to her bedroom. Sara then quietly walked into Laredo's room.
Grissom moved off to Sara's bedroom. He noticed that the gauze that had been hanging around the bed was now tied back to each of the four posts of the bed. He undressed accept for his t-shirt and boxers and then climbed into the bed. Moments later, Sara walked in and moved to the other side of the bed and got under the covers. Grissom moved slightly so she could curl up to him and he would be able to wrap his arm around her. She laid her arm across his chest and soon found that the warmth of him caressed her into a deep slumber. Grissom quickly followed close behind.