5
The morning of Gil Grissom's fiftieth birthday dawned fine and clear, much to Catherine's relief as she had planned for the party to take place outside. She glanced over at her husband and smiled at his sleeping form. Her fingers trailed up his chest and gently caressed his cheek. Leaning down, she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and watched his eyes open.
"Happy Birthday, honey."
He smiled at her, pressing his lips to hers in a deep kiss. "I like that wakeup call."
"And with all the kids in the house just itching to wish you happy birthday, that's the only wakeup call you can expect today."
Gil pulled her body closer to his so they lay pressed against one another. "Maybe they don't know we're awake yet."
She lifted an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't count on it." They shared a long kiss. "But I can assure you there will be you and me time later."
He grinned. "I like the sound of that."
Catherine kissed him once more, and then tenderly moved her body upwards so that she could get up. Gil watched her bandaged hand.
"How's it feeling this morning?"
"A lot better," Catherine replied. "It'll definitely be up to our activities later."
He chuckled. "As wonderful as that sounds, I was more concerned because I love you."
She looked over at him as she stood up. "I know."
There came a great thumping at the door.
"IS HE UP YET?" came Max's unmistakable voice. "JUST CAUSE HE'S OLD NOW DOESN'T MEAN HE CAN SLEEP IN, YOU KNOW!"
Catherine chuckled and turned to her husband. "Told you they knew we'd be awake."
Gil rolled his eyes and got out of bed, putting a shirt and his glasses on. "You know, sometimes it scares me that he's turning into Greg Sanders."
"You're only sometimes scared by that possibility?" Catherine went and opened the door. "Morning, demons."
"Hi, mom," came Max's quick answer. He then ran into the room and bounced on the bed. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!"
"I didn't give him any sugar, I swear," Lizzie explained.
Catherine chuckled and let the rest of the children in. Then she came and sat beside her husband.
"This is from me, Dad," Lizzie said, handing over her present. "I thought I'd better give you something sane, because I make no apologies about how weird the rest of the family's presents are going to be."
There were several protestations of "hey" and "you're so insulting" as Gil chuckled and unwrapped his present. He smiled as he took out the shirt.
"It's perfect, Lizzie."
Jamie placed his present on his father's lap next. "It may still have a few kinks, so be careful."
Gil glanced at his wife out of the corner of his eye. She shrugged and moved back slightly from the present as he started to open it.
"It's an automatic bug feeder," Jamie explained. "But like I said, it still has a few kinks. So…uh…maybe stand away from it a bit when you use it."
Gil and Catherine shared alarmed looks and Lindsey decided to break the awkward moment by handing over her present.
"Happy Birthday, dad. This is from me and Simon."
Gil looked curiously at his wife, who mouthed 'boyfriend'. He nodded and smiled at Lindsey. "That's wonderful, darling. Thank you."
He opened the present to reveal a cocktail mixing set. His eyes lit up. "I love it, Lindsey!"
Lindsey grinned at him. "Good. You can tell Simon when you see him. He was the one that suggested it."
Gil bit his lip and was about to retort when Matt handed over a gift.
"Happy Birthday, Dad," he smiled.
Gil wondered why Lizzie's eyes were lighting up, but he said nothing, positive that there was nothing too dangerous in the present. He opened it up and grinned as he saw the Swiss Army knife.
"I figured that you might need it sometimes," Matt explained.
"Thanks, Matt. It's perfect."
"MY TURN!"
Everyone in the room turned to Max, who still looked quite comical while his eyebrows grew back. The youngest Grissom crawled over to his father and gave him a huge hug.
"Happy Birthday, Dad."
Gil opened the present and looked at the videotape inside.
"It's a documentary about you," Max said. "Everyone helped, including Grandma Grissom. She sent videos and stuff. I figured since you're half a century and all that, it might be helpful."
"This is wonderful, Max. Thank you," Gil hugged his son. "I can't wait to watch it."
"I even filmed a short scene of Mom's butt for you," Max informed him. "It was gross, but I loved you enough to do it."
Catherine's eyebrows shot up and Gil sent her an amused glance.
"I appreciate the thought, Max."
"Hey, Mom, tell Dad what you got him," Lindsey urged her.
Gil looked curiously at his wife, who had a wide grin on her face. He narrowed his eyes. "Cath…you're not pregnant again, are you?"
She glared at him. "Don't make me hit you on your birthday, Gil Grissom."
He chuckled. "Okay, sweetheart. I'm being serious now."
"First of all, I want you to have this." Catherine handed him over a small parcel and Gil opened it carefully. Inside laid nestled two crystal scotch glass Gil smiled at the inscription on one of them. 'To you. From me'. He looked up at his wife. "Catherine, they're perfect."
She smiled softly at him. "Also, there's going to be a special guest at your birthday party this afternoon. You'll have to come to the airport with me to get her."
He looked thoughtful. "Cath…"
Catherine moved closer to him on the bed, kissing his lips tenderly. "Your mother is coming."
Gil's eyes lit up and he held his wife tight against him. "Catherine…"
"Happy birthday, darling," she whispered, kissing him again.
Lizzie wrinkled her nose. "Are you guys going to be kissing like that when there are other people in the house?"
Gil caressed Catherine's cheek. "I hope so."
"Gross."
--
Catherine glanced at her husband, an amused look on her face as she watched him fidgeting while waiting for his mother's plane.
"Gil. Stop it."
He quickly stuck his hands in his pockets. "Stop what?"
"Fidgeting."
Gil frowned. "I don't fidget."
"You keep telling yourself that, darling."
When the announcement came that the plane had landed, Catherine tried to smother a giggle as she watched Gil begin to fidget again. He glanced at her and she straightened her face.
"You're laughing at me."
With a smile on her face, Catherine moved closer to her husband, holding him tight against her. "No, I'm not. I actually think you're adorable."
"Adorable?"
Catherine leant up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "Adorable."
--
Jamie looked thoughtful. "We should ask Grandma if Dad ever set anything on fire like Max does. Grandma Lily said that Mom never set things on fire."
"Our family is weird," Lizzie muttered. "Everyone at school thinks I come from a family of insane people."
Max grinned. "Cool! I'm Max…the insane one!" He paused. "Hey, I could have multiple personalities! Like Fang Man, Max and Max the Insane one. And Bad Max! And…"
"Please stop," Matt begged. "I don't think we can take more than one Max personality."
The youngest Grissom pouted. "You have no sense of adventure."
The sound of the car arriving in their driveway broke the jesting time. Max held onto Greg's collar and Lindsey in turn held onto Max's collar. Both Max and Greg struggled against their captors, but both were unsuccessful.
Soon the front door opened and Rose Grissom smiled as she saw the children waiting to meet her. Gil walked in behind his mother, carrying her bag as Catherine closed the door behind them.
"Can I let Greg go now?" Max asked. "I wanna say hi to Grandma!"
"Let me get Grandma sitting down first," Catherine explained. "You and Greg are a tad exuberant."
Gil, Rose and Catherine went into the living room while Max craned around to look at his siblings.
"What's exuberant?"
"You on a sugar high," Matt told him.
The youngest Grissom grinned. "Cool!"
--
