AN: I'm glad people are still on board with the story and want more! This one's basically a lot of domesticity, a little heart to heart, and some Catherine sass, hope you like
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to CSI
Chapter 33
They linger in bed for a while longer, but eventually get up, Grissom heading downstairs to put together something for them to eat while Sara takes a shower.
He scrutinizes the contents of his fridge and finally settles on a couple of omelets – they'll both have dinner before shift starts, so no need for anything too heavy. He's just placed two plates on the kitchen island and turned to get some water from the fridge when Sara appears at the bottom of the stairs.
"Omelets with bell peppers and onions OK?" he asks.
"Sounds good," she replies with a smile. "Anything I can do?"
"Sit," Grissom tells her. "Eat."
She rolls her eyes. "I think I can handle that." She doesn't sit, though, instead disappears into the hallway for a moment before returning with her phone in hand. "Just want to make sure I don't have any missed calls," she explains at his questioning look.
"The daycare has my home number," he reminds her, and she smiles.
"I know." She focuses on the phone for a moment while he pours them both some water, then snorts and holds the device out so he can see the screen.
"I know I'm not your mother but can you at least confirm you're not dead in a ditch somewhere," he reads out loud. "Catherine?"
"Yeah," she confirms, typing out a response. "She was already asleep when I left this morning, so I didn't exactly tell her I wasn't planning on coming back."
"Tell her to mind her own business," he suggests, making her laugh.
"And how well has that worked for you, historically speaking?" she asks with a smirk, spearing a piece of omelet on her fork and popping it in her mouth.
"Point taken." They eat in silence for a while, before he speaks again. "Do you want to go with me to pick Shelby up? Or you can just wait here until we get back, if you want."
Sara frowns. "I think it might be best if I head home, let Catherine get the inevitable teasing out of the way while Shelby's not there. Not that I think she would be too… crass with her around, but still."
"You might be right," he admits, though he doesn't really want her to leave. It was difficult enough before their relationship evolved, now he's sure it's going to be almost impossible to say goodbye.
"Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" she asks after another moment.
"Will Catherine be there?"
"She hasn't mentioned any plans and it is her house, so I would assume so," she says amusedly.
"Maybe I should skip tonight, then."
She turns a little to be able to look at him directly. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Grissom swallows the last of his food and turns to mirror her. "I've known Catherine for a long time," he explains. "Sometimes, it's better to let her… get used to an idea before confronting her."
"So, you'd rather see her at the lab tonight?" she asks innocently, a small smile on her face which widens when she sees the horror in his eyes. "That's what I thought. You know you won't be able to avoid her, and it's probably better to keep the confrontation out of the lab."
He sighs, knowing she has a point. "You're right. Might as well get it over with."
"That's the spirit."
He tries to glare at her but fails miserably when she bursts out laughing.
"I'm glad one of us is enjoying this."
Sara slides off the stool and steps closer to him, nudging his legs apart. "You might as well cut the grumpy old man routine," she tells him, wrapping her arms lightly around his neck. "Nobody's buying it."
He slides a hand around to the small of her back to pull her closer. "Who says it's an act?"
She just shakes her head, stepping out of his embrace to grab their empty plates before rounding the island to put them in the dishwasher.
"I'll head out so you can go pick Shelby up," she says as she closes it again, throwing a smile over her shoulder. "I know you're itching to."
It's true, of course, but he also wants to stay here, maybe lead her back up the stairs to the bedroom… but they'll have time for that too. Grissom's almost certain.
Still, he catches her by the hand before she can head for the door, pulling her close for one last kiss, which turns into two… and three… and four.
"Will you come over tomorrow?" he asks when they break apart and she smiles almost shyly.
"If you want me to."
He kisses her again. Just one more. "I want you here every single day."
"Good."
Catherine's car is not in the driveway when she gets to the house, but Sara's hope that it means that the other woman isn't home is dashed as soon as she opens the door and finds her just inside.
"Well, well, well." The older woman crosses her arms over her chest, a smirk on her face. "Walk of shame at this hour?"
Sara rolls her eyes but can't help but smile. "Funny."
"I thought so."
She ignores that and goes into her and Shelby's room to change. For a moment, she considers hanging out in there, but like she told Grissom, it's better to get it over with, let Catherine get everything out.
And, OK, maybe part of her wants to gush about her new boyfriend a little. A very small part.
So, she leaves the bedroom and finds Catherine in the kitchen where a pot of coffee is brewing.
"Need some caffeine?"
"I never say no to coffee, but I wouldn't say I need it," she replies, grabbing mugs from the cupboard.
"Really? I figured you probably didn't get much sleep…"
She waits until she's turned around to roll her eyes, wanting Catherine to see. "We're not teenagers with no self-control," she points out, pouring coffee into a mug and handing it over before getting herself some. "Besides, six hours of non-stop sex might sound fun in theory, but trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be."
She bites back a smile as Catherine chokes a little on her coffee.
"I'll take your word for it," she gets out after a moment, coughing.
Taking a sip of her own coffee, Sara sits down at the table. "OK, have at it."
"Have at what?" Catherine asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I know you're dying to say you told me so or whatever, so go ahead."
"I did tell you so," she says with a smirk. "But I'm saving the real 'I told you so' for the boys – I win."
That makes Sara frown. "Win what?"
"Our bet."
"You were betting on us?"
Catherine smirks. "This is Vegas, baby."
"I can't believe this." Sara shakes her head. "No, actually, I can. Who was in on it? Greg, for sure. Nick?"
"And Warrick, Jim, Archie, and Al."
"I am going to kill them. They are so dead."
"Relax, it was just some fun," Catherine argues in an amused tone.
"Oh, really?" She tilts her head to the side, narrows her eyes a little. "What would you say if people were betting on your love life?"
She shrugs. "I'd say 'have fun'."
"You would, wouldn't you? Just… don't do it again, please?"
"No promises."
Sara considers pushing the issue, but she knows there's no point.
"Sooo…" Catherine continues after a moment, dragging the word out.
"Sooo… what?" Sara frowns. "You want details?"
The other woman wrinkles her nose. "God no. Well, not of the physical kind. Did you… talk?"
They didn't, of course. But she doesn't really feel like they need to. They're on the same page. And sure, they should hash out everything that happened between them before, but they have time for that.
"Not really."
"I wonder why. All teasing aside, though, this… it's not just…"
It takes her a moment to realize what Catherine means, and when she does, she frowns. "No. Of course not."
"Good." Catherine offers a smile. "Because considering his reaction when you left town, I don't even want to think about what that might do to him."
Sara was already not questioning Grissom's feelings, but it's still kind of nice to get outside confirmation. Especially from Catherine, who's always seemed to be one of few people to understand him.
"He, uh…" She pauses, considers for a moment, but she doesn't think Catherine will abuse the information, or that Grissom would mind. "He told me he loved me."
"Well, duh. I could have told you that. Are you surprised?"
She can't help but laugh at Catherine's tone of voice. "Maybe not that he does, but definitely that he just… came out and said it, you know?"
"Yeah… maybe he finally decided to seize the moment."
"Maybe."
"And did you reciprocate?"
Sara frowns. "Not in so many words."
"Why not?" Catherine sounds almost offended, making her smile again.
"It's not that I don't, I just…" She sighs. "Those words aren't easy for me. I've only ever said them to Shelby."
"Oh."
She doesn't ask why, but Sara can practically feel the self-restraint it's taking her not to.
For some reason, it makes her want to talk about it. Catherine's been so amazing since she got back, helping with everything she can. They were never very close before Sara left, butted heads more than once, and they still do at work, occasionally, but now… Sara's never really had any close girlfriends, but this is how she thinks it should be, having someone she feels she can actually talk to without getting judged.
So she takes a breath.
"I, uh… ended up in foster care when I was twelve," she starts, looking down at her coffee. She can still feel Catherine's eyes on her. "My dad was an abusive alcoholic and my mom's schizophrenic. She… snapped, I guess. Stabbed him to death right in front of me. So she went to prison, and I went to my first foster home. I didn't stay long, I was angry, acting out, and nobody really knew how to deal with me, so I bounced around a lot the first couple of years… finally got emancipated when I graduated high school early and got into Harvard on a scholarship, and never looked back, basically."
She gulps down some coffee before sucking in a deep breath and letting it out. A moment later, Catherine's hand covers hers on the table.
"Thank you. For telling me. And I'm sorry."
Sara lifts her eyes from the coffee with great effort, seeing nothing but compassion and understanding in Catherine's.
"Thanks."
After Sara leaves, Grissom takes a quick shower and then calls Conrad.
"Ecklie."
"Conrad, it's Gil. There's something I need to discuss with you, how late will you be at the office today?"
"At the rate the papers in my inbox are stacking up? Midnight, if I'm lucky."
"Then I can stop by before shift starts? Ten thirty or so?"
Conrad sighs. "Sure, I'll probably need a bit of a break at that point."
"Great. See you then."
He hangs up, grabs his car keys and heads to the daycare center, trying to ignore the pinch of guilt at leaving Shelby there for an hour longer than normal. He knows she's fine – she never wants to leave when he picks her up, so she'll probably be thrilled at getting to spend more time there, and he knows that she used to have longer days in San Francisco, but still.
As always, she greets him with an excited 'hi Daddy!' when she spots him, but then insists she has to finish building a lego tower before they can leave.
"I take it she didn't mind the extra hour?" he asks Alison, who let him in.
She laughs. "She didn't even notice. No offense."
"No, no, I'm glad." He offers her a slightly sheepish smile. "Eases the guilt a little."
He assumes she's used to parents' feeling guilty over their kids' hours, because she smiles back.
"No need for any guilt, she's happy as a clam here. Oh, just a heads up – she napped later than usual, so she might be a bit hyper the rest of the afternoon."
"Thanks for the warning."
Sure enough, Shelby keeps up an endless tirade during the drive, telling him every little thing that happened during her day. When they get home, he fixes her a snack while she bounces around the kitchen and living room, so after she's eaten, he decides it's probably a good idea to let her release some excess energy. He packs a couple of water bottles in a backpack, and they head for the park a block away, where Shelby exhausts herself on the swings and slide for the next hour and a half.
She's mostly quiet on the drive to Catherine's, playing with her stuffed lion in the backseat, and he congratulates himself on tiring her out at least a little. Hopefully she'll have no trouble falling asleep tonight.
Catherine opens the door when he knocks, and as usual, Shelby disappears into the house before he can even say hello.
"Don't worry, Sara made me promise to not give you too hard a time," Catherine tells him with a smirk. "So I'm just going to say this – about time, and please, try not to screw this up."
He snorts. "That must have been actually painful for you."
Her eyes narrow, but he can see a smile tugging at her mouth. "Watch it, or I might change my mind."
"I'll play nice," he assures her. "What's for dinner?"
"Sara's cooking, go ask her."
"I'll do that."
She's at the counter, chopping up garlic, when he enters the kitchen. She looks up at the sound, pushing some hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand, a smile blooming on her face. "Hey."
He can't help but smile himself. "Hi."
"Oh my God," Catherine exclaims behind him, apparently having followed him into the room. "I thought you two couldn't get any worse, but clearly I was wrong."
He ignores her. "Anything I can do?"
Sara nods at some cheese on the counter. "You can grate that."
"Will do." He grabs the cheese and grater and gets to work. "What are we having?"
"Vegetarian enchiladas, one of Shelby's favorites," she tells him.
"Sounds good."
"I assume you two have everything in hand, so I'll leave you to it," Catherine says, and as he glances over his shoulder, she leaves the kitchen for the living room.
The food is delicious, which isn't a surprise – he's learned by now that Sara's gotten good at cooking over the last few years – and after dinner, she and Shelby disappear for their bedtime routine.
"You going home or hanging around?" Catherine asks as they load up the dishwasher.
"I brought my kit, so I don't need to go home before shift," he replies, glancing at his watch. "I'm going in a little early to talk to Conrad, so if you don't mind, I'll stay until I need to leave."
"That sounds like fun," she notes. "You think he's going to give you trouble?"
"I hope not," he says with a shrug. "If he does, well… I'd be happy to remind him of our solve rate, and that I have plenty of options. Good results and a happy sheriff are his main concerns, after all."
"True." She closes the dishwasher and pushes the button to start it. "So I guess I'll be taking over Sara's evaluations?"
"I assume so," he agrees. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Nope, no problem at all. I'm always doing your paperwork anyway, maybe now I can get something for it."
He shakes his head. "I'll be sure to mention that to Conrad."
"You do that. Come on, let's relax for a while before work."
They settle in the living room, Discovery Channel on the TV, where Sara finds them ten minutes later. She hesitates for a brief moment, but then sits down right next to him, and he slides an arm around her to pull her closer. Catherine snorts, but doesn't comment.