Disclaimer: Don't own them. Wish I did.
A/N: This chapter is full of what some might consider 'useless knowledge'. I think it's stuff Grissom would know. I think it's interesting. So…Closer still to the namesake….hang in there.
Three.
The number of the morning.
It was the number of days they'd been on this much needed time away. It was the number of times he'd woken in the night just to watch her. It was the number of times he'd kissed her nose to wake her. It was the number of times they'd enjoyed each other thus far this morning. It was the number of times she'd called his name. It was the number of times he'd said "I love you," and heard her respond in kind.
Three was a pretty good number in his book.
He let his mind wander thinking of all of the reasons three was important:
There are three types of galaxies.
Earth is the third planet our solar system.
Three is the atomic number of lithium (Lithium is also the 33rd most abundant element on Earth).
Atoms consist of three constituents: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
There are 3 types of molecular bonds: Covalent lonic Polar covalent.
There are 3 hydrocarbon chain types: Straight (Propane) Branched (Isobutane) Circular (Cyclopropane)
There are 3 basic chemical reaction substances: Acids Bases Salts.
There are 3 distinct Cytoskeleton components: Microtubules Intermediate Filament Actin Filaments
There are 3 primary cellular energy molecules: AMP ADP ATP
There are 3 main fatty acid categories: Saturated Monounsaturated Polyunsaturated
There are3 substances metabolized for energy needs: Carbohydrates Fats Proteins
The universe is perceived to have three spatial dimensions.
White light is composed of the mixture of the three additive primary hues: red, green, and blue.
In his later work, Freud proposed that the psyche was divided into three parts: Ego, super-ego, and id.
There are three basic planes: Above- Surfaced- Beneath
There are three basic divisions of the Earth: Core- Mantle- Crust.
There are three basic rock formations: Igneous- Metamorphic- Sedimentary.
There are 3 types of volcanoes: Cinder cones Shield volcano Composite volcano.
RNA has a triplet codon system.
DNA has a triplet codon system.
Proteins can have a single, double, or tertiary structure, with a composite of these called the quaternary.
Human chromosomes can present trisomy.
There are 3 basic life domains: Archaea- Bacteria- and Eucaryota
In mythology there were the 3 Greek Fates (Moirai, Moires): Clotho Lachesis Atropos (sometimes referredto as the 3 spinners), the 3 Roman Fates: Decima Nona (goddesses of birth) Morta (goddess of death), and the 3 Roman Graces- (in Greek mythology called the charities and according to theSpartans, Cleta was the third): Aglaia Euphrosyne Thalia.
There was the Evidence Trinity: victim, suspect, crime-scene.
There was the Holy Trinity in Christian doctrine; that is God both as a single being and three persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day.
The Wise Men who visited Jesus after His birth left Him three gifts.
Philosophy, he thought, is FILLED with threes.
Plato split the soul into three parts: the appetitive, the spirited, and the rational
Hegel's dialectic of Thesis + Antithesis Synthesis creates three-ness from two-ness.
St. Augustine's Philosophy: Memory Understanding Will
Hegel's 3 Spirits: Subjective Spirit Objective Spirit Absolute Spirit
Aristotle's 3 Unities: Unity of Action Unity of Time Unity of Place
Sir F. Bacon's 3 Tables: Presence Absence Degree
Thomas Hobbes's 3 Fields: Physics Moral Philosophy Civil Philosophy
Immanuel Kant's 3 Critiques: Pure Reason Practical Reason Judgment
Karl Marx's 3 isms: Communism Socialism Capitalism
Woodrow Wilson's 3 isms: Colonialism Racism Anti-Communism
Hippocrates's Mind Disorders: Mania Melancholia Phrenitis
Emile Durkeim's 3 Suicides: Egoistic Altruistic Anomic
D. Liesman's 3 Social Characters: Tradition-directed Inner-directed Other-directed Pythagoras's "fusion" idea: Monarchy Oligarchy Democracy (into harmonic whole) M.L. King Jr.'s "Middle Road": Acquiescence Nonviolence Violence
Kierkegaard's 3 Stages: Aesthetic Ethical Religious
St. Augustine's 3 Laws: Divine Law Natural Law Temporal, or positive Law
The Witness Stand truths: The Truth The whole Truth Nothing but the Truth
Titus Carus's 3 Ages: Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age
Feuerbach's 3 Thoughts: God, 1st Thought Reason, 2nd Man, 3rd
Max Weber's 3 Authorities: Traditional Charismatic Legal-rational
George Mead's 3 Distinctions: Self I Me
Thrasher's 3-group Gangs: Inner Circle Rank & File Fringers
Abe Lincoln's 3-For-All: Of the People By the People For the People
J. Bruner's 3 cognitive processing modes: Enactive Iconic Symbolic
Wilhelm Wundt's 3 mind elements: Sensations Images Feelings
Robert Sternberg's 3 love components: Passion Intimacy Commitment
Hm….that Sternberg really knew what he was talking about, he thought for a moment diverting from his thought process to look at Sara-who had once again fallen asleep and was cuddled into his chest, head tucked snug between his head and shoulder.
Sternberg's Triarchic Intelligence: Analytic Creative Practical
Paul D. Maclean's Triune Brain: R-System (Reptilian) Limbic System Neocortex
The 3-monkey Philosophy: Hear no Evil See no Evil Speak no Evil
Aristotle's 3 in 1 idea: Mind Self-knowledge Self-love
Galton's 3 genius traits: Intellect Zeal Power of working
Gregor Mendel "laws": Independent Unit Characters Segregation Dominance
The Darwinian essentials of Evolution: Variation Heredity Struggle for existence.
Oh yeah. Chock full of threes.
There were threes in nearly any aspect of anything.
In music, any diatonic chord prograssion's key signature is made obvious with any 3 different triads, as opposed to potential key ambiguities with any 2 chords.
And in baseball, 3 is the number of strikes before the batter is out and the number of outs per side per inning. The number 3 position in the batting order is generally occupied by the team's best hitter. In high school and college, 3 is the ounze drop from length on a legal bat. Babe Ruth wore the number 3, Garry Scheffield and Ken Griffey Jr. wear the number three.
Sara stirred beneath his head as his mind came in for a landing.
"What are you thinking?" she asked sleepily.
"I love you."
Four wasn't a bad number either.
The day went by faster than they'd hoped, and they decided to spend the evening in their suite to prepare for their first seminar the next morning.
Grissom was going to do most of the talking.
He knew Sara was still hesitant to talk about her experience-she'd only just opened up to him about it and he could imagine that a crowd of gawking strangers would be much less comfortable for her. He was only planning to have her answer a few unobtrusive questions and fill in if she wanted to. He didn't want her to stress out if he could help it., but he also didn't want her to see him as overbearing. She was a big girl, but he couldn't help worrying.
The seminar at Harvard went better than expected.
It was well attended-there was standing room only toward the back of the auditorium that was used for the presentation. As planned, Grissom did most of the talking and Sara answered a few questions at the end of the session.
To ensure a smooth winding down at the end of the day, Grissom had cleared the evening and bought tickets to another show along with making dinner reservations at an upscale restaurant pre-concert.
Upstairs on the Square was a restaurant unlike any Sara had ever been in. The décor, for starters was very….pink. She was about to ask Grissom why he'd chosen it when he saw her look and answered, "It's closest to where we're going and it got good reviews. Trust me on this one, I didn't pick it because of the atmosphere."
That was her man, efficient.
She flashed him one of the smiles he was getting more used to: the kind that made his heart melt, his palms sweat, his knees weak and his tongue stop working.
He tried to swallow. He hoped his mouth would be in working order before their food arrived.
The meal was superb. They started off with an appetizer of Watermelon Gazpacho. For her entrée Sara chose the Poached Spring Vegetables in Herbed Mushroom Broth. Grissom had the Gently Poached Halibut with Cerignola olives, Green Garlic, and Lemon-Lavender Potatoes.
For dessert they decided to try the Chocolate Sea Salt & Pistachio Cake. It was decadent and entirely satisfying.
Sara was delighted to find that the name of the building they were going to was called the "Sanders Theatre."
"I'll have to give Greggo a call and let him know we thought about him."
Grissom shrugged. "You thought about him. I have no control over where they decide to put on these things." He sounded serious but she could see the smile in his eyes before it reached his lips. He was only kidding.
The concert was called "Ginastera, Korde, and Musorgsky" and was being presented by the Boston Philharmonic. It would be a great way to unwind after the day they'd had, Sara thought as she settled into her seat next to Grissom.
He was pouring over the program as the lights went down in the house.
It was beautiful really. As the curtain came down Grissom closed his eyes until the applause died down. He was totally relaxed and hoped the music had had the same magic with Sara. He turned his head as a sound came from her direction.
He reached for her hand and gently squeezed. "Sara, Honey?"
"Mmmm?"
"Baby you fell asleep…"
"Did I? I'm sorry. I must've been more tired than I thought."
He smiled reassuringly. "It's ok. I guess the music just had a lulling affect on you. Are you ready to go?"
She grasped his forearms as she stood to help her keep her balance.
"I'm ready. Let's go."