Grissom woke to the smell of something cooking. Whatever it is it smells delicious. He considered momentarily about checking on what was happening in the kitchen, but chose instead to jump in the shower and dress for work. A half hour later, he walked out to his kitchen to find Sara working on something at the counter and then when he looked down, Laredo was on the floor in front of the island, crawling around, watching the spider slowly make it's way across the floor. He stood in the doorway and watched them for several minutes. It was certainly an interesting sight, one that he never thought he would ever see. He had a family, maybe not in name, but definitely a family. It then dawned on him that he would have to tell his mother about them. Sara might feel awkward though since we don't have a commitment and she wouldn't be able to communicate directly with Mom. He made a quick decision. "Sara?"
She spun around quickly at the sound of his voice. "You're up. I was just getting ready to set the table for dinner and then I was going to wake you." She stepped over to him and hugged him.
"What are you making?" he asked as he sniffed the air. "It certainly smells good."
"Just a little something. It's meatless, I hope you don't mind." Sara grinned up at him as she remembered his reaction to the vegetarian lasagna. He really loved it, but was surprised when he realized it was absent the meat.
"I don't mind at all. If I want meat in my diet, I'll make it myself so you don't have to worry about it." He kissed her on her forehead and then asked, "I was wondering. Would you want to meet my mother sometime soon? I know she'd really love to meet you and Laredo."
Sara's eyes grew very large at the thought of what he proposed. "I, umm, well, yes I would, but would you interpret for us?"
"Well one, she can read lips, and two, I thought maybe I could start teaching you ASL, maybe even Laredo too." Grissom saw the smile light up Sara's face as she nodded while he spoke. Her expression was reminiscent of their daughter.
She wanted to learn and she really wanted to meet his mother. "I'd like that. I think Laredo would too. She just seems to soak up everything."
"Daddy, Daddy, don't move." Laredo yelled at him. Grissom looked down and saw that the spider had made its way over to his shoe and was tentatively feeling his foot to climb up on it. Laredo quickly came over and scooped him up. She stood there staring up at her Daddy with a look of dismay on her face. He squatted down to her eye level but before he could say anything Laredo quickly said, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to lose him. I was watching you and Mommy talkin' and then I forgot him. I'm sorry."
He could see she was almost ready to cry as the tears started to build up in her tiny blue eyes. But he knew he couldn't just let it slide. As a father, he would have to let her know that there were consequences to her actions. "Laredo, something bad could have happened to the spider. I think we should put him back in his home and then we need to make a deal that you can't take him out by yourself anymore." As he spoke, a tiny tear escaped her eye, he cupped her little face with his large hand and gently wiped the tear away. "From now on, Cricket, I need to be with you if you take him out. Okay? And maybe he should just get used to his home for the next few days. No taking him out until I say, okay?"
Laredo, still holding onto the spider, looked over at it in her hand and then glanced back up at her daddy and asked, "You're not takin' him away? I can still keep him?"
"Yes, you can, but only if you do as I say." He felt his heart breaking as he tried to give Laredo her punishment. But he was soon revived when he saw the smile light up her face.
"Thank you, Daddy and I promise I won't. I'm sorry, Daddy." She beamed once again as she pulled away from him and then headed down to her bedroom to put the spider in its home.
He stood back up and met Sara's eyes. She had started to cry too. "Sara, what's wrong? Did I handle that wrong?"
"No, you were perfect. You couldn't have done better." She hugged him close and then stepped away when Laredo came running back.
"He's home now, Daddy. Just like you said." She smiled up at her Daddy and he leaned down to pick her up.
"Dinner is ready, so why don't you two set the table and I'll get dinner on." Sara turned and wiped the tears from her eyes as she walked back to the counter.
Later that night after Grissom left for work, Sara pulled out her outfit for her night with Grissom. "So Cricket," She held up the dress to her for Laredo to look at. "You think Daddy will like this dress?" Laredo, with her mouth full of her thumb, smiled and nodded at her Mommy and then started to giggle as Sara twirled with the dress pressed up against her. She pulled it away as she looked at it again then smiled and hung it up in the closet.
"Okay, cricket, let's go get some popcorn and we'll watch that video we got today." Laredo bounced on the bed until her Mommy picked her up and they headed down to watch the video about big Tarantula spiders.
The next morning, Grissom called to let them know he was going to be late and would have to meet them at her apartment. Sara and Laredo then headed off without him and awaited the truck to arrive. It was a good thing they got there when they did because the movers arrived early. So, by the time Grissom and Catherine arrived, most of the movers' duties were done which just left the unpacking. Grissom took charge of Laredo and went to get something for everyone to eat while Sara, with Catherine's help dug into unpacking and arranging the furniture in Laredo's bedroom.
They stopped when Grissom and Laredo came back. After quickly eating, they continued unpacking and since there really wasn't all that much, they were done by the end of the afternoon. Sara went into her bedroom to find Grissom and Laredo curled up fast asleep. Catherine stepped in behind her and saw the scene as well.
Quietly shutting the door behind them, they walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa and fell into a discussion about the night ahead. She told her about the outfit she picked up. "Do you think maybe you could help me with my hair? I was thinking of putting it up with some curls, you know, something a bit more feminine, to go with the dress." As she spoke, she drew up her hair to help Catherine visualize it.
Catherine didn't need the help. She knew exactly what the look was that Sara wanted to achieve. They just needed to get started on it. "Why don't you head over to Grissom's and I'll meet you there when they wake up? That way you can get showered and so forth then when we get there, all you'll have left to do is your hair." Sara jumped up, grabbed her keys and was about to leave when Catherine reminded her that they would need the car seat. They both left the apartment and got the car seat exchanged into Grissom's Tahoe then Sara left.
An hour later, Grissom woke to find Laredo staring at him as she lay facing him with her thumb in her mouth. He hadn't meant to sleep, just to get Laredo down for a nap. They both got up and walked out into the living room to find Catherine on the couch, reading. She looked up and said, "I was just about to wake you both."
"Where's Sara?" Grissom looked around and in the kitchen for her.
"She's getting ready for your date tonight at your place. We're supposed to head over there as soon as you two woke up, so let's get going." Catherine put the magazine down, grabbed her purse and led the way out of the apartment.
Sara was just finishing her make-up when they walked into the house. Grissom headed down to the bedroom and immediately started to fish around for something to wear when he spotted her dress hanging in the closet. He smiled then went to the bathroom to take his shower and shave. Catherine and Laredo found Sara in Laredo's bedroom as she finished putting on her lipstick. Sara turned to both of them and smiled as she sighed in desperation. "How do I look?"
Catherine smiled at her apprehension. "Nothing like a first date, huh? Your make-up is great, so we just need to do your hair now." Catherine saw that the curling iron was already on and that all she needed to do was to prepare Sara's hair then blow-dry it. They set to work and after about a half hour they were done. Her hair was pulled up with pins holding the curls in place allowing the ringlets to fall haphazardly down the back of her head. Catherine finished and pronounced her done with a quick spray of hairspray.
Sara turned back and forth as she smiled. "This looks great, Catherine. Thank you. For everything." It was then that she heard Grissom rummaging around in his drawers. She looked over at Catherine. "I don't want him to see me until I'm dressed completely. Would you mind getting my dress from his closet?"
Catherine knocked on the bedroom door. Grissom opened the door but didn't get to say anything when Catherine asked for Sara's dress in the closet. He got but asked, "Is she almost ready then?"
"Yep, so hurry up bug man." Catherine snickered and then entered Laredo's bedroom.
Sara quickly donned the dress and then stepped into her heels. She turned around for Catherine to comment on it. "What do you think?"
Catherine smiled. "It's perfect. You two will actually match tonight."
Sara looked at her stunned. "You're joking right?"
"Nope. Grissom probably saw the dress when he decided on what to wear." Catherine couldn't help but keep the smile on her face.
Sara bit her bottom lip as she thought about that. "Well, okay, I'm ready. I told Laredo that you are going to stay with her until we get home."
Laredo looked up at her Mommy and smiled then held onto Aunt Catrin's hand. "Aunt Catrin is going to baby-sit me."
"Yes, I am and we are going to have some fun." She picked her up as she spoke. "Ready Sara?"
Sara was visibly nervous. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's go." She opened the door then stepped out into the hallway with her daughter and friend following behind.