Theirs was a truly unbreakable bond.
Time and distance had done nothing to diminish the immense depth of love that he felt for her.
If anything, he loved her even more with every passing day.
So then why was he alone on his boat, preparing to leave, his only companion his memories, mistakes and regrets?
If you love something, set it free.
He loved her more than anything else in the world…so if she wanted to be free of him, he would not hinder that.
He had resigned himself to live out the rest of his life alone, yearning for his best friend and love of his life, nursing a broken heart that would never heal.
So when he glanced up to see her on the dock strolling toward his boat, it didn't register in his mind at first that she was really there.
No, she was only a mirage. Just like all the other times.
And just like all the other times, he still stopped what he was doing to stare at her longingly until she vanished again.
As clichéd as it sounded, she took his breath away. Even when she wasn't really there.
The mirage smiled, and he blinked, and she was still there.
She was still there.
She was real.
She was real and she was there.
Snapping out of his stupor, he reached one hand out to her.
Real or not, he couldn't let her go this time.
By some miracle her taxi got her there before he was gone.
He was just finishing his preparations to cast off as she walked the dock, closing the distance between herself and him.
She hadn't even gone home to grab a spare set of clothes first — all she had with her was her laptop, cell phone, wallet and passport in the messenger bag she carried every day.
She didn't want to risk wasting time and him not being there when she arrived.
But he was still there.
Busily performing the necessary functions to ready his boat for sailing, he must have spied her movement in his peripheral vision because he looked up and straightened as she approached.
He froze, his eyes locked on hers as she came to a stop right beside his boat.
He looked stunned, confused.
But most of all he looked like the man who haunted her dreams every single night, the man who still made her heart skip a beat just with the memory of the sound of his voice.
There were so many things she wanted to say to him, but she got choked up so all she could do was offer him a trembly smile.
It seemed that was all he needed because he gave her his hand, he helped her climb aboard his boat.
And then they were in each other's arms, clinging so tightly, so desperately.
Tears spilled down her cheeks; he kissed them away.
His own breaths were ragged with emotion; he couldn't have gotten a word out if his life depended on it.
She was here, she was real, she was his.
Despite all the uncertainties in his life, there was one thing he knew with absolute, concrete, irrefutable certainty.
Gil Grissom would forever be in love with Sara Sidle.
If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's meant to be.
She had come back to him. They were together again, at long last.
And this time, they would be free.