The voice of a very agitated Catherine Grissom was heard throughout the house. "Gilbert Grissom...kitchen, NOW!"

Understanding that his life was forfeit if he didn't hurry, the owner of the name bolted from his chair and hustled to the appointed place. The scene was horrifying. She was standing next to the fridge, arms folded and the 'somebody's going to die' expression firmly entrenched on her face. In the middle of the floor sat a very confused looking three year old, covered in flour and surrounded by every piece of plasticware they owned. Adding to the scened were two eggs, neatly cracked and sitting sunnyside up in the middle of the flour and a puddle of what appeared to be syrup. Knowing his duty, Gil quickly grabbed a towel and headed to his son. "Okay Mommy, you want me to get him to the tub or clean up the mess first?"

Exasperated, she threw her arms into the air. "I don't care. Take your pick. But when this is cleaned up, we're looking for an East coast military school that takes three year olds."

Good, thought Gil. Her humor is coming back already.

As if she were reading his mind she spoke, "You think I'm kidding. They exist, you know. And I am going to find one of them!"

"Come on, Mattie. Let's get you cleaned up so you can get fitted for a uniform,' he chuckled. Scooping the boy up, they headed to the bathroom. "Oh, and Hon...why don't you go have a drink on the patio. I'll clean up the kitchen after I get him settled." Nice touch he thought to himself. You're getting good at this, after all. His confidence waned, however, as he heard her mumble something under her breath and a cabinet door slammed.

Later, after the military school recruit was in bed and they were both assured that he really was asleep, they sat down to talk. "Gil, I know it was my idea to stay home with him after he was born, but he really is too much. Or maybe I'm just getting older...I don't know. But I can't keep doing this all day, everyday."

Alarms went off in his head. She was actually admitting to 'getting older.' This was not good...not good at all. "Well, Hon, we do need to get some help, then. But don't you think military school is a little drastic?" He was fingering her hair as he spoke. He knew she liked that and it relaxed her.

Sighing deeply, she answered, "I suppose...for now anyway." She was beginng to lighten up. "But we need to figure something out. I need a few hours that are my own."

"Oh, I definatly want you to have a few hours that belong to you. I remember what that was like." He ws grinning now. "Because then you always had a few special hours to give to me..."

Swating his arm, she laughed. "Well, those days are over, mister. At least until he's in college."

Gil did some quick math in his head and scowled. "Hey wait, I'll be too old to enjoy it then."

Seductivly she remarked, "Oh, I'll be sure that you enjoy it...just maybe not as often. Might have to cut back to once a day when you're that old."

He smiled at her. Warmth flooded into his heart and his soul. He loved this woman so completely...there just were no words for how he felt. She sensed his mood and cuddled next to him. As awesome as the sexual side of their maraige was, it was times like these that she savored the most.

The next day at work, Gil noticed a business near the crime scene. It was a school of some sort. The thing that caught his attention was the size of the children. They all appeared to be about Mattie's age. Jim Brass, noticing Gil's attention to the place, asked his friend,"You and Catherine looking at preschools?"

Gil glanced back at the detective. "We need to so something. Mattie is quite a handful and Catherine needs to have some time of her own. We had said no to the idea when he was born...you hear so many horror stories. But she was threatening to send him to military school yesterday, so maybe she's changed her mind."

Jim laughed. "Yeah...Mattie is something else, alright. You two created quite a package there."

Pride filtered over Gil's features. "He is a neat kid. He's just so..."

"He's you Gil, with that sense of discovery and experimentation and piercing intelligence. And he's Catherine...no fear and never looks back. Full of vitality and ready to take on the world. A dangerous combination in a three year old."

"Yeah...he's killing us." Gil was smiling when he said it though.

"Hey, Hon..." Grissom called as he walked through the door that evening. He found his love sprawled out on the couch, relaxing while Mattie watched a video. "I swore I'd never use that as a babysitter," she said, "but I needed a break."

He smiled and scooped her head up as he slipped onto the couch, resting her head in his lap.

"Ummm, nice pillow," she murmered.

"I think I have an idea about that...the babysitting, I mean. I always have ideas about the other..."

"Really...what?"

"I saw a school today while I was working a scene. All the children seemed to be about Mattie's age."

"Gil...not daycare!"

"No, I went online when I got back to the office. It's a school...an academic program...sort of. It's a Montessori school. I don't understand it all yet but it seems to be an educational alternative. A different way of approaching learning. Anyway, I made an appointment for us to go look at it tomorrow morning, if you want to?"

"A school...he's too young for a school."

"I don't think it's like what you are thinking. But...if it is, we just won't do it. Let's jsut take a look and see. Maybe it will help...I mean, maybe it will give him an outlet for all that curiousity."

She sighed..."Yeah, maybe you're right. We can go look anyway."

After dinner, Gil volunteerd to get Mattie bathed and settle down for the night while Catherine cleaned the kitchen and took a few minutes for herself. She had settled onto the couch and was reading a magazine when she heard her husband yelp from the back of the house. Sneaking down the hall, she looked to see what had happened. Mattie was sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor, clapping. His father was crawling around on hands and knees looking for something. Her curiosity got the best of her and so she asked, "What's going on, guys?"

Mattie looked up and smiled. Gil groaned as he looked at her. "Where did you say that military school is?"

Laughing, she walked into the room. "Why, Daddy...did Mattie have another adventure?"

"He set me up!"

"What?"

"Your son apparently thought the tarantula needed a bath. So he put it in the toilet and closed the lid. After I read a story to Mattie, I came in to ...well, take care of business and when I opened the lid, he jumped out at me."

Catherine was trying, really trying not to laugh but she couldn't hold it in. She laughed so hard she slid to the floor. Mattie started laughing too, leaving Gil looking frustrated and perplexed. "Cath." he moaned, "Don't I get any sympathy?"

When she was finally able to speak, she simply said..."welcome to my world."

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Hope you enjoyed!