| Bad Habits - by kyrdwyn |
| Rated: G Spoilers: None Synopsis: Grissom falls back into his old work habits |
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| CSI, Gil Grissom and company, and places and etc are all property of Anthony Zuiker, Alliance Atlantis, CBS, and other companies. They did not condone this fic, and I am not getting paid for it. I write because I want to. All other characters not appearing on CSI in any way, shape, or form that appear in this story are my property. If you have any comments - good or bad, feel free to e-mail me at: toxicrev@yahoo.com |
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| The sunlight streaming through the curtains of her window woke Gillian. She turned over in her bed, listening to the quiet house. Picking up her LVPD teddy bear, she tossed back her covers and slipped out of bed, padding to the doorway. She pushed open the door and stopped, surprised to see Mandy sitting on the couch, reading. Gillian walked into the room and turned, seeing the door to her father's room still open, his bed still made. She looked back at Mandy. "Daddy's not home yet?" The brunette UNLV student looked up and shook her head at Gillian. "Not yet. Would you like some breakfast?" Gillian slowly nodded, but she wasn't thinking about breakfast. She was worried. This was the first time since she'd come to live with him that Daddy hadn't come home in the morning. She sat down at the table, watching Mandy as the young woman opened the fridge, grimacing at the petrie dishes and insect jars. Mandy finally found something for breakfast and began cooking. "Did Daddy call?" Mandy shook her head. "No, but I'm sure he will." Gillian clutched her teddy bear, a gift from Daddy's friend Jim, tighter. Mandy set an omelet in front of the girl and sat back down on the couch to read. Gillian ate slowly, not really tasting her food. The young girl was worried. Six months ago, she'd woken up to find her mother hadn't come home from work the night before, and it had been afternoon before she'd found out why - her mother had been killed at work. That's when Gillian had been told she was going to live with her father in Las Vegas. She had been scared - she had never met her father before, had only seen his picture. But he'd been there at the airport, hugging her when she realized that she wasn't going to see her mother again. She been amazed to discover that he'd been just as scared about meeting her, but like most grown ups, he felt he had to hide it from her. Gillian got up and put her dishes in the sink. She went back into her room and opened her curtains, staring out the window at the driveway, chewing on her lip. She knew that Daddy always came home right after his shift was over, like Mommy had. Tears welled in Gillian's eyes, and she buried her face in the fur of her bear. She was worried that Daddy might not come home. She would not get to hear him call her 'sweetheart' again, not wake up early in the morning to find him watching her while she slept, not get to take trips down to his office to see his spider and the other weird things he kept there. Gillian left her window and went back into the living room. Mandy was still reading. Gillian slipped into her father's room and curled up on his bed. "Please let my daddy come home," she whispered into the pillow as tears fell from her eyes. * * * * * * * * Gil Grissom frowned as he turned onto his street late that morning. There was an unfamiliar compact sitting in his driveway. The last thing he wanted was to deal with people after last night - the case he and Warrick had worked had been grueling, involving a domestic double murder. As he pulled into the driveway, he noticed that the curtains in his second bedroom were open. He stared at the window and then cursed out loud, running a hand over his eyes. He'd forgotten all about Gillian. Oh god, the poor girl was probably frightened by now. Gil turned off the car and practically ran into the house. Mandy had heard him pull up and was waiting by the door. Gil quickly paid her and watched her walk to her car. He locked the door and hurried into Gillian's room. She wasn't there, and Gil got worried, wondering if she was hiding somewhere. He checked in her closet, calling out her name. He stood in the center of her room, wondering where she was. Maybe…. He hurried into his room and there she was, curled up on his bed, still in her pajamas. Her face was buried in his pillow. His heart broke, seeing her look so small. He crossed the floor to sit on the edge of the bed by her, stroking her hair. "Hey, sweetheart, I'm home." Gillian looked up and Gil saw traces of tears on her cheeks. He berated himself for forgetting to call home and let her know that he would be late. He still wasn't used to having someone worry about his whereabouts. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." "You came home!" Gillian scrambled into Gil's arms, tears falling again. Gil held her close, feeling his own tears fall. He should have remembered that Gillian's mother hadn't come home one morning, and Gillian had never seen her again. "I was so worried." Her tiny voice trembled. "I know. I forgot to call. I'm sorry." He held her as she cried, feeling guilty for forgetting about her as he got lost in the case. Before, it had never mattered how long he spent working - there was nothing waiting for him at home except the television or a crossword puzzle. Somehow he'd slipped back into that mindset, and hurt the one person who meant the world to him by doing so. He sat there, holding his daughter and whispering his apologies to her as she cried out her grief for her mother and her worry about him. He let her cry herself out, still holding her. He didn't know what else to do, but he knew that Gillian needed to be held right now, needed to know that he was still here. Finally she looked up at him, and Gil's heart broke at the expression her green eyes - the eyes that always reminded him of her mother. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Forgive me?" She nodded solemnly. "Tell you what, next time I forget to call, you can send me to my room, how about that?" He smiled as she giggled at being able to punish him like she was the parent. Suddenly she smiled, one that lit up her face and always brightened his mood. She leaned up to whisper in his ear, and he grinned in return. "All right." An hour later he was lowering the harness of the roller coaster down over Gillian's head. Gillian grabbed his hand and the two grinned at each other as the coaster took off. |
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