A/N: Thank you for all your lovely reviews! Hope this clarifies some things for you all! :o)
Let me know what you think! Charli xx
Sara opened the door wide, ushering Greg and Robyn in with a smile. They both stood awkwardly in the space by the door as Grissom approached them, drying off his wet hands with the towel.
"The entertainments here" Greg smiled, shaking the bottle of wine he held in his hand.
Sara rolled her eyes, taking the wine and guiding them further into the space. Greg was minding his manners, it amused her an immense amount as she watched him politely stand with Robyn instead of throwing himself on the sofa like he normally would when he visited.
"Robyn, this is my husband Gil Grissom" She explained, gesturing towards Grissom with her spare hand.
Grissom stretched his hand out towards her, his eyes scanning her features carefully. He had never seen this woman before and yet there was a familiarity around her he couldn't quite place.
"Nice to finally meet you, Sir" Robyn smiled.
Grissom shook her hand carefully, his eyes scrutinising her the entire time.
"Please, call me Gil" He smiled, helping her out of her jacket and steering her into the living area. Greg loitered behind with Sara, gazing after them with a frown.
"Can I call you Gil?" He questioned with a sideways glance at Sara as she playfully slapped his arm.
"No Greg" was his only answer, a smirk crossing his lips as they kept walking down the stair case to the vast living space.
"Harsh" Greg mumbled under his breath.
"I'll let you call me Gil if you'll stop grumbling" Sara smirked with an elbow to his ribs.
"Oh god no, I think one Gil is more than enough" He smiled rubbing a hand over his wounded area.
They congregated in a small seating area by the huge patio doors, the cool night air waved in like a breath of fresh air. The setting sun casting its golden glow over the polished dark wood floor.
"Something smells good" Robyn remarked, taking a deep breath.
"Thank you" Nodded Grissom very proud with his efforts, he wandered into the kitchen and opened the oven door wide. "We're having roasted tomato soup to start, then goats cheese and carmellised onion tart and a banoffee pie to finish"
Robyn peered inside the oven and turned to Grissom with a bright smile. The tart was beginning to brown nicely, the smell of the melted cheese surrounding the kitchen.
"I'm impressed!" She exclaimed as Sara moved to join them in the kitchen area. She slipped onto a stool by the breakfast bar and leaned on the counter.
"Yeah... I don't cook" she explained.
"It's in everyone's best interests" Greg teased by her side wincing as Sara slapped his bare arm.
"You'll be eating on your own tonight Greg!" Sara warned with a half-smile.
Greg playfully swung his arm around Robyn's shoulders, pressing a small kiss to her forehead. Robyn settled in his arms looking like there was nowhere in the world she'd rather be.
"Robyn would eat with me" He declared, very certain of himself as he grinned at the two women.
"I don't know" Robyn began , drawing a gentle hand across his chest and smiling at him "It does smell really good"
"There is a serious lack of love in this house" Greg huffed as they moved back to the seating area and took their seats on the sofa's. Grissom hovered around the drinks cabinet, bottles chiming off each other as he rooted around.
"White ok for everyone?" He asked, already removing the top of a large bottle of Chardonnay. he took four glasses and the bottle to the table, placing them on the surface before filling each glass and turning his attention back to Robyn. "So, Robyn... what do you do?"
Robyn startled, taking the glass from her lips and placing it back on the table.
"I teach" She stated quietly " I'm a kindergarten teacher. Its... a lot of fun"
"Robyn's a pro at finger painting" Greg piped up, tilting his glass in her direction with a wink. Grissom could tell she didn't appreciate his words, he didn't mean to belittle her career of course. it just came out that way. He could also tell it was a discussion they had indulged in many times before.
"Actually Kindergarten is an essential part of the education system. They learn to read, write, count, socialize, problem solve... children become an individual in kindergarten" Grissom explained.
"You sound just like her!" Greg smiled, throwing a playful air kiss in her direction.
"A class full of 5 year olds is my worst nightmare" Sara mused from her armchair.
"It's not so bad" Robyn shrugged "You'll never find anyone less judgemental than a child. My class is so full of honesty and purity... its refreshing when you find the opposite everywhere else"
"Well I'm in town for the next week or so. If you wanted a lesson on bugs then I'm your guy" Grissom offered with a friendly smile.
"And freak them all out with your 'collection'?" Sara teased, gesturing across the room to the collection of tanks and boxes covering every available space. Robyn's eyes danced over the eclectic collection with some interest.
"You collect bugs?" she asked as she stood from her chair and crossed the room to peer at the curiosities properly.
Grissom followed, watching the intrigue lighting her eyes as she took in his tank full of cockroaches. The feeling that he knew her from somewhere was only piqued by her curiosity.
"Among other things" He shrugged "These are African Hissing cockroaches"
He tapped the glass inciting a symphony of hissing from the insects. Robyn smiled and moved on to the next tank, a Praying Mantis he named Marty and his ant farm. She frowned at the next one, initially failing to spot his stick insect as he raised the glass top of his favourite pet; his tarantula George.
"That's a stick insect" He explained "Sometimes its near impossible to find him"
Robyn nodded as she examined the contents of the tank carefully.
"I think the kids would love a minibeast project" She finally admitted.
Grissom let George walk onto his hand before slowly raising him out of the tank. One of his favourite ways to judge a person's character was by introducing them to his many pets.
"Kids usually do. they're normally very open-minded. you may even have a budding entomologist in your class" He smiled.
Sara looked over, rolling her eyes at his need to show off his bugs to every guest they had.
"Gil, we're supposed to be having dinner. George wasnt invited" She smiled, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"I'll wash my hands before dinner...she doesn't mind" He defended with a smile.
Robyn's eyes were firmly fixed on the spider in his hand. She studied it carefully, almost as if she'd never seen one before.
"May I?" She asked, reaching out a delicate hand towards George's hairy legs.
Grissom nodded kindly. She looked nervous, her hand trembling slightly as it met the body of the spider. She drew back, gasping a breath and fixing her smile. Grissom couldn't seem to shake off the feeling that he knew her from somewhere. He studied her facial expressions, analysed the tone of her eyes and the spattering of freckles that dotted around her nose.
"Are you a Vegas native Robyn?" He asked quietly, gently cradling her hand and moving George into her palm.
"Yeah" She responded, not daring to move too much "I grew up on the outskirts. Me and my dad moved downtown when I was a teenager"
Her hand trembled as George settled into position. Her eyes were fixed on the body of the spider and she barely let out a breath as she stood there transfixed.
"What did your dad do?" Grissom continued, detecting her discomfort and removing George from her hand. With a grateful smile she returned to Greg's side and sipped her wine as he draped his arm around her shoulders.
"He was a chiropractor. Had a practice on East Tropicana" She explained, leaning back and settling into Greg's arms.
Grissom wondered if he had ever visited Robyn's father for anything. East Tropicana was a frequent haunt of his when he worked at CSI, given it was only around the corner from the police department and a favourite playground of criminals.
"Did you go to UNLV?" He asked, sitting beside Sara and taking his wine from the table.
Sara's frown burned into his skin, making him shrug a shoulder in her direction. He was aware he was asking a lot of questions, he made a mental note to reign his curiosity in slightly.
"Robyn's a Coyote" Greg grinned with a nod of approval "Cal State's finest. She was even a Delta Pi"
Robyn shrugged slightly but nodded in agreement. Grissom's mind began whirring again, knowing he had never been a student or lecturer at California State.
"Didn't you go to Cal State, Greg?" Grissom frowned.
"Hell No! I'm a Stanford Graduate, the Coyote's were never a patch on us Cardinal's" He Grinned.
"Greg you know nothing about sports!" Sara argued.
"Hey, I know enough to know the coyote's sucked" He smiled playfully.
The Oven timer chimed in and Grissom excused himself from the conversation. Sara and Robyn were regalling Greg with tales of the other regulars at their gym class. Within a few minutes he had served up the food and they were all seated around the table.
"So, I take it there's no burgers?" Greg smiled with a wink towards Sara across the table.
"You can serve burgers when you host Greg" Sara smirked with narrowed eyes.
"Good Idea - are you free next Julember?" He scooped some of the steaming hot soup into his mouth and gasped in surprise when it burnt him.
"That's Karma right there" Sara laughed.
"Its Tomato... not Karma" Greg retaliated.
"Actually Karma has nothing to do with punishment or payback. Its simply the understanding that all our actions have consequences" Grissom piped up, completely missing the playful nature of their conversation.
"You're a buddhist too?" Robyn smiled, unsure what to make of Grissom's ever analytical viewpoint.
"No, just well read" He clarified with a nod.
Conversation turned to religion, a debate that never grew tired in their home. The wine glasses were emptied and refilled as the food disappeared and the conversation kept flowing. By the time they had finished eating they had covered many conversational topics from the weather to the state of the economy and world peace.
Grissom had collated a vast amount of knowledge in a short time about Robyn. Her religious views and upbringing, the demise of her parents and a plethora of information on her young son. He connected it all in his mind finally beginning to make a whole picture out of the puzzle in his mind. he was beginning to draw an unlikely conclusion, a theory that was just so absurd it could be entirely sunset had been replaced by the silvery glow of moonlight and the fresh breeze filled the house with little effort. Sara began clearing the plates as Grissom closed the patio doors as a cold chill settled over the room.
"Can I get everyone a coffee?" She asked with a smile.
Robyn stood and helped clear the table, Greg and Grissom returning to the soft sofa's and letting the two women chatter in the kitchen.
"She's nice..." Stated Grissom carefully. Throughout dinner he had watched Robyn converse with his wife and slowly come to a conclusion he wasn't sure he could be sharing with anyone else. It was in her eyes and that slightly crooked smile, he knew he had seen it before and when he realised where he also realised just how obvious it was.
"Yeah she is" Greg grinned, taking a sip of the whiskey Grissom handed him.
"She's a pretty girl too" Grissom continued, studying Greg's expression to find out if he had already drawn the same conclusion.
"I know" He nodded.
"She... doesn't remind you of anyone?" Grissom pressed.
Greg frowned immediately, looking at Grissom and searching his expression for answers.
"What? who?" Greg stumbled as he tried to catch up with Grissom's thought process. Grissom raised an eyebrow as the sound of the women laughing filled the air and Greg's eyes grew wide "What? No. No she can't be..."
"Is she adopted Greg?" Grissom questioned.
Greg instantly found himself shaking his head and wondering how Grissom could possibly know that from spending just a few hours with her. He swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to face him.
"Yes" Was the only answer his dry mouth could manage.
"Does Sara know?" Grissom spoke quietly to ensure she didn't hear, his concern for her was evident it his soft expression. Greg shook his head, his mind reeling as the women's voices came closer and closer.
Greg's eyes shot to Sara and Robyn strolling back towards them side by side. There were undeniable similarities between them; the auburn tone in their hair, their slim frame and the amber highlights in their eyes but those traits could be attached to any number of people in the general population. It didn't necessarily mean they were related.
Still, a seed of doubt had been implanted in his mind and his brain echoed with Robyn's confessions that night when they had searched for Amy. She took the space beside him, coffee slowly cooling in her hands and Greg wondered how much she knew about her real family. If she had tracked them down she would know whether her name had been Amy and whether they shared a date of birth but he had never shared those details with her and it had never occurred to him to ask. Greg absent mindedly draped his arm around her slender shoulders phasing out the conversation surrounding him. He was busy building the puzzle in his mind, working out a theory.
"Greg? are you with us Greg?" Sara's voice penetrated his daydream forcing him to turn his attention back to the party. She waved her hand in front of his eyes as everyone stared at him and a blush coloured his cheeks.
"Sorry, I'm... tired I guess" He shrugged, turning to Robyn for a second "Is it ok if we head home?"
He hadn't told Sara but he had always intended to continue researching the whereabout of her sister after she'd told him to stop. He knew Sara better than most people and while she may be saying she didn't want to know he could see the conflict in her eyes.
Now he had a theory to work on he was itching to get back on the trail.
He just had to make sure Robyn was oblivious, she had made it clear she had no interest in her family. If Grissom was right this could cause all sorts of problems, there was no telling how Sara would react. Not to mention Robyn.
He had a headache already.