Disclaimer: I do not own CSI

WARNING: THIS FIC DEALS WITH THE HAPPENINGS OF EPISODE 624, THE CSI SEASON FINALE! IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN SPOILER FREE PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER!

AN: Thousand thanks to Rhee for beta reading, you are the best, seriously. Also thanks to Lisa, Rebecca and Myra.

Summary: Do not read when you want to stay spoiler free for the season 6 finale!

While experiencing the fulfillment of his dreams a call disrupts the perfection of the moment...

(I only used the information of Brass getting hurt and Grissom being with one of his team members in the end of the episode, everything else is only speculation;I did not know about the new spoilers when I finished this piece on Wednesday, sadly... would have been so much cooler to write with the new information... anyways)

Warning #2: CD! (Brass)

Comfort

He tightened his embrace around her body, pressing her closer to his chest. He deeply inhaled the scent of her hair and then placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. He still couldn't believe that he had really woken up with Sara in his arms. Sara, the woman whom he had not allowed himself to love for so many years. Feeling her this close to him now was the fulfillment of his dreams.

But the sound of his ringing cell-phone disrupted this dream. Hesitatingly he opened his eyes, not willing to pull away from her. Then the memory of Jim being at the hospital came back to his mind and he swallowed hard, he knew whomever the caller was, he would have news about Jim. Carefully he released Sara's body from his embrace and turned his body to the other side, he sat up and answered the call.

Sara woke up, missing the warmth of the body which had embraced her. She opened her eyes and blinked, trying to get used to the light. The afternoon sun was shining brightly through the windows of his bedroom. She spotted him sitting on the edge of his bed, a cell-phone pressed against his ear. He did not speak with whomever was on the other end of the phone, he just listened. Then he hung up.

He was shaking. Sara sensed what the call had been about. She sat up and skid over to him, leaned her head on his shoulder and slipped her arms around him. He turned to her and almost harshly pulled her into his arms.

He clung on to her as if she was the only thing that prevented his fall into a deep, black hole. He sucked in a deep breath and leaned his head on her shoulder. He fought back the tears with all the power he had but nevertheless tears escaped from his eyes.

For a couple of minutes which felt like an eternity they just held each other. Sara tried to be strong for him, she knew that he needed her now. She ran her hands over his back and pressed her lips against his neck.

She sent him more comfort than anyone else ever could. He was close to a break down, closer than he had ever been before. He had lost his best friend; had lost him forever. He took a deep breath and then released her from his embrace. He looked at her for a moment and he could see how hard it was for her to remain strong. He knew that she was doing this for him, he wished that she wouldn't have to do it but he appreciated it more than words could express.

"I need to drive to the hospital." He said with an almost soundless voice. "They need me to sign some papers and…" He couldn't continue to speak.

"I will take you there." She told him softly but determinately. The sheets slipped off her body and revealed the silky skin that he had been kissing last night, last night when he had still thought that Jim would be okay.

He had to swallow the tears again. He watched how Sara got dressed for a moment before he found the strength to stand up and put on his own clothes. Even though he had started after her, he finished clothing when she was still searching for her shirt. She eventually found it but her shoes and socks remained missing. She didn't care. He told her that he could drive to the hospital on his own and that she shouldn't drive without her shoes, but she did not even let him finish his sentence. She wouldn't let him drive there, he knew that she was worried that something might happen to him.

They did not speak with each other during the drive. He found comfort in her presence, she didn't need to speak to comfort him, she just needed to be present.

When she pulled into the parking lot it took him a moment until he managed to leave the car. She walked over to him and stopped right before her body met his. She reached out for his cheek and he leaned his head into her touch. His eyes were closed and he swallowed the tears once again.

"Do you want me to come in there with you?" She asked after a moment and he nodded.

Yes, he wanted her to come in there with him. He needed her to come in there with him. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and together they entered the hospital.

The doctor was already waiting for Grissom to arrive. While Sara was told to wait outside his office, Grissom was lead into it. She had told Grissom that she would call the others, she knew that he couldn't manage to do that now. He had managed to bear down his feelings until then, but after last night she knew how he felt, she knew how devastated he was. He had revealed it all to her last night, he had never been this unemotional person that she had expected him to be.

Making the calls had probably been the most difficult thing she had ever had to do in her whole life. The first two calls had been 'easier' if you could call it like that, but the third call had been Greg and from then on the calls got harder and harder to make.

It took more than half an hour until all of them had arrived, except for Catherine; Sara hadn't called her yet; Cath had other problems to deal with at the moment. Greg and Warrick were sitting on the ground, looking down at their hands or staring at the wall in-front of them. Nick was sitting on the seat next to her, absentmindedly playing with his ring; Sophia had sat down on the third seat, she hadn't said much so far, actually none of them had really spoken more than a word yet.

But after a while Warrick broke the silence. "Did Grissom tell you how long he will be in there?"

Sara shook her head. She did not really know what to tell them, she was glad that no-one had asked yet why she had been there before them or why she wasn't wearing shoes or why she knew more than they did. It was probably the last thing that Grissom cared about at the moment, but still, she reminded herself of what he had said years ago, he risked everything he had ever worked for by being with her. She did not know the office politics when it came to relationships between supervisor and subordinate but she was pretty sure that it would not be good for either of them if anyone would find out about it.

"How's he takin' it?" Greg asked, lifting his head up.

"I guess he's taking it like Grissom." Warrick answered before Sara could make up her mind about what to reply.

"Probably. He's like a robot when it comes to feelings." Nick said with a slightly depreciative tone in his voice.

Sara swallowed hard, she didn't know how long she could bear ignoring these comments.

"He seems to not have any feelings at all." Sophia added and that was enough for Sara.

"Can't you just shut up?" her anger blurted out of her. "Jim is dead and all you can talk about is how insensible Grissom is! He's not a robot, he does have feelings. He's, he is not like that."

Four pairs of eyes stared at her, surprise and guilt reflected in their expressions. Sara sighed and left her seat. She wanted to be with Grissom now. She knew how horrible it must be for him to have to sign all the papers in there.

After another ten minutes that were spent in silence the door finally opened and Grissom entered the hallway. Sara stared at him, not knowing whether or not he wanted her to walk over to him. She didn't have to think about it for too long, because he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.

Without caring about the others he buried his face into her shirt, he pressed her close against him as if he would not survive being without her any longer. He needed her now and he didn't give a damn about what the others were thinking.

Sara felt the stares of the others on her but since Grissom did not care she told herself to ignore it as well. She needed to be there for him now and only for him. He was shaking and she could feel how his tears moistened her shirt.

He actually did not want to cry but he just couldn't hold back the tears anymore. With Sara holding him like this he had been able to let go. It did not bother him to be crying in-front of her, he had done it before last night. With her he felt safe. And crying helped him, he felt so helpless because he couldn't do anything for Jim anymore but the crying helped to release his frustration and slowly it helped him to calm down.

She held him in her arms for a long time. He sobbed and cried and at some point she even thought that he would start hyperventilating. She felt helpless because she didn't know if she'd be able to calm him down.

Finally he did calm down, he slowly released her from his embrace. Their gazes met and the helpless expression in his eyes almost broke her heart. He leaned his forehead against hers and now she could not bear down her own pain anymore. The tears ran down her cheeks and she started to shake. Now he held her in his arms and tried to comfort her.

So this is what it's like to be in a relationship, he thought by himself. Being there for each other. Comforting each other as best as possible. Sending each other strength. Crying together. Keeping each other grounded. He was so thankful that he had her on his side while going through this, he knew he wouldn't be able to stand all this without her. He needed her and she needed him. They needed each other and they would be there for each other. And this, this was what comforted him more than anything else ever could.

THE END

Thank you very much for taking the time to read. I'd love to know what you think about this fic, so don't hesitate to tell me ;)