Grissom was dressed in jeans and a blue polo shirt an hour later and took Hank for a walk. When they both entered the house, they could tell something was different. Hank ran to the kitchen and didn’t come back. Grissom was puzzled, so, he headed toward the large kitchen that Sara loved. As he walked in the door, he saw her. Sara- “Gilbert, I’m home!” Sara ran to her husband, who was actually crying with joy. Grissom- “Honey, I didn’t think you would be here until tonight! How did you get here so fast?” Sara- “After I hung up last night, I tried to go to sleep, but I was just too excited to see you and I had to come on home. My sweet brother told me to bring you with me next visit. I am so sorry, honey, but so glad I went to see him.” Grissom- “Come on, let’s sit and you can tell me all about it.” Sara gave him a deep, long kiss that left him dizzy and said “Ok” They went into the den, where they had spent many times together, laughing and loving. Grissom sat in the large leather chair and Sara sat on the table in front of him. She took his hands in hers and spoke very softly. Sara- “ I feel terrible about leaving the way that I did, and I am so sorry that I scared you. I would never leave YOU, I couldn’t. I love you too much and have loved you too long to give up on us. I hope you know that.” Grissom- “ I do, I didn’t when I first read your note, I am not going to pretend that it didn’t hurt me. But, after I thought about it all, I realized that you were going through something that I couldn’t really help you with, even though I would do anything for you.” Sara- “ I know you would, but you are right, you wouldn’t have been able to help me with this. I am just so sorry that I left the way I did.” Grissom- “ So, tell me everything.” Sara- “ Well, you know that when I left, I went to San Fransico. I wasn’t ready to call you when I got there, so I waited until I found my Mother. I suppose I had to take my first step before I got in touch with you. Anyway, after our first talk on the phone, I went to actually speak with my Mom. She looked good, she really did. She was healthy and she had put on some weight. She even had a twinkle in her eye. That is something I don’t think I ever saw.” Grissom- “ So, did you really get to know her? Did she get to know you? Was she -----” Sara- “Hang on, babe! Ok, I don’t know if I got to know her well, but we are on the right road. She got out of prison, and moved back home. She is running a Bed and Breakfast again and business is good. She is happy there and has lots of good friends. Her past is still with her, but she has been in therapy for years. It’s really doing her good. She has always wanted to talk to me, but was afraid to try. Before I left her, she hugged me and told me that I did good.” Grissom- “ That’s wonderful, honey. Will you stay in touch with her?” Sara- “ Yes, and we have a standing invitation to stay at the B&B anytime we want. She can’t wait to meet you!” Grissom-” So, tell me more.” Sara- “ I asked Mom where James was. She told me that he has been living in a tiny town in New Mexico for about 10 years. He become a minister out of college and was happily married. Mom called him and asked him if I could visit. He was so thrilled because he didn’t know how to find me. I left after that.” Sara told her husband about the long drive to New Mexico and how she thought of the night that Grissom finally told her how he felt. Nick was in the hospital and the doctors said that he was doing very well for someone who had been buried alive and bitten all over by ants. He was going to be in the hospital for a few days and then, Warrick was going to stay with him. Sara was so tired. She was making some coffee in her kitchen after the long night rescuing of Nick. There was a knock on the door. She sighed and went to see who it was. She opened the door, and there stood a very tired Gilbert Grissom at her door. He looked at her with tears in his eyes and said.. “May I come in?” Sara- “ Ok, come on in. Can I get you something?” Grissom- “ I‘ll have some coffee with you, if you don’t mind.” Sara- “ Of course. Grissom, are you alright?” Grissom- “ No, Sara, I ‘m not. I need to talk to you and I am not sure how to .” Sara- “ Well, just do it. I’ll listen. Let’s go sit down and you can talk.” Grissom- “ Listen, I know that you are tired, and I am sorry to keep you awake-” Sara- “ I love to talk to you, now, what’s on your mind?” Grissom- “ You know that I am not good with people, Sara.” Sara- “Yeah, Griss, I have noticed that. “ Grissom- “ I just want you to know that you mean a lot to me. I miss talking to you, eating breakfast with you and the guys after shift. I miss you asking me a lot of questions. I miss being with you.” Sara- “Griss, I don’t understand. You see me everyday.” Grissom- “ I ‘ve known this for seven years, I just didn’t know if I could deal with it. I didn’t know what to do about it. “ Sara- “ About what, Griss?” Grissom- “ I love you, Sara.” Sara looked at him in shock. She had loved him since the first time she saw him at the Forensic Conference. Sara- “ I don’t understand. You love me?” Grissom- “Sara, I have loved you for a very long time, and tonight, with all that happened with Nick, I realized it could have been you in that box and I knew that I couldn’t let another day go by without telling you exactly how much you mean to me.” Sara was shocked, to say the least, and sat there with her mouth hanging open. She blinked a few times and then spoke with a very quiet voice… Sara- “ Griss, I heard everything you said to Dr. Lurie that night, I knew after hearing you talk to him, how you felt about me. I saw Debbie Marlin. I know she looked like me. I knew that’s why you never left the crime scene and why you kinda went nuts on us. The only thing I understood was that you had feelings for me that you were not willing to do anything with. I wasn’t worth the risk. It hurt me, Griss, I won’t lie.” Grissom- “Sara. I have been fighting this since we met. I am over fifteen years older than you , I am your boss, I am bad with people, and I have never had a serious relationship. I was scared as hell and didn’t know what to do. After that case, I was scared that I would turn into a Dr. Lurie. I couldn’t let you in my life and have you leave me. I wouldn’t have survived it, because I knew how I felt about you. My feelings were never a question, Sara.” Sara- “Grissom, I asked you that night, after the lab blew up, I asked you to dinner to see what could happen. You told me no. I was hurt, you know.” Grissom looked at his hands that were in his lap. He didn’t think he could convince her, he had to . He loved her more than he thought another person could ever love someone. Grissom- “ I was scared. Let me tell you about my Mother and what was happening then.Ok?” So, Grissom told her everything, about his Mother, about his hearing, his surgery, everything. For once in his life, he said all the right things at the right time and he wasn’t at the lab or in a classroom. Sara looked at him and for the first time, really and truly understood the man that she had been in love with for years. She was also flabbergasted at what to do. Should she just go for it? Should she let him make the first move? She chose to play it safe and see what the very nervous man in front of her would do. She found out. And was very happy. Grissom touched her cheek. He told her again how he loved her, how she was the world to him. He went on to tell her that it was against policy to have a relationship with a member of the same team, but he wanted to do it anyway. He couldn’t loose her. Then, he touched her lips with his fingers and traced their shape. She always looked to him as if she was ready for a passionate kiss, her lips so full and beautiful. He moved to kiss her then, and they didn’t stop kissing until very early the next morning. Grissom laughed. Sara did too. Now that they were married and back together, it was almost funny to think how hard it was to get together. They laughed at how no one knew or ever suspected. Only once did anything come up. Cath and Nick later told the couple after Sara’s rescue, that they spoke of Grissom having a girlfriend. They all had a good laugh, though Catherine was still pissed that she didn’t figure it out first. Sara then added…. Sara- “Gil, there’s more. My brother and I really talked. A lot. He was my therapist, of sorts. I feel like I may believe in God now. I suppose I should since I lived through what I have. I am like you, though, I don’t see myself going to church, but I would like to read more and talk with you about it.” Grissom- “ Of course, honey. Anything. I love to learn and study with you, you know that. So, your brother helped you? Did he ever have a hard time with the past?” Sara_ “When he was a young teen, he was into drugs, but that was mainly to deal with it all. We lived with so much, honey. He went to college and the seminary and then met Rose and they moved to New Mexico, they live just outside of Taos and he became the minister of the non denominational church there. He and Rose stared their family. He got lots of therapy in the seminary. He loves it in New Mexico and he loves the history of the place. I found it all fascinating. I would love to go back soon and let you check it out.” Grissom- “ You know I would love that. I am so glad that James turned out so well. His family sounds great. So, you got close with the kids?” Sara- “ I did. They are so smart. You, know, another thing that seemed to worry me when I left was the possibility of creating another genius like Hannah if we ever had a child. I learned from spending time with my brilliant niece and nephew, that just because a child is advanced, doesn’t mean they could be a killer. Hannah was disturbed. You’ll love the kids, honey. They are so cute. I just loved them right away.” Sara was smiling. He was thrilled to see it. She still had a look of hurt to her, but it’s fading and she is coming back little by little. And she was home. She came home to him. She loved him. She was married to HIM. He didn’t loose her. He kissed her again and held her close. Hank ran to her and she hugged him and kissed the top of his head. Sara- “ Gil, ?” Grissom- “ Yes, dear.” Sara- “ I believe you mentioned something about spending a lot of time in our room?” Grissom- “So I did. “ Sara- “ Come on, Bugman.” The Grissoms went to their bedroom and really reunited.They had three months of passion to catch up on and they knew it. Grissom had dreamed every night of their first night together, their first vacation, their first night living together and their wedding night. All of his dreams became reality once again in the hours that followed. When they were finally so exhausted that they had to stop, they fell asleep wrapped in each other and slept peacefully for the first time in months.