Disclaimer: I do not own nor have any rights to CSI.
Spoilers for 9x10 One To Go
"Nick, none of the evidence points to a connection between the two victims," Catherine stated firmly as she walked into her office with Nick close on her heels. She tossed a stack of files onto the desk sighing wearily when she saw all the new mail stacked on her desk.
"I have to disagree, Catherine," Nick argued. "Both women were killed by an unidentified blunt object within a couple of days of each other and antiques from both of her homes suddenly showed up in the same pawn shop clear across town. What are the chances that both women suddenly decided to get rid of antiques that they had for years and at a pawn shop well outside their comfort zone? And why a pawn shop? They would have been more likely to go to an antiques dealer or an auction house."
"Right now, it's all circumstantial. There is no physical evidence to link the two and the owner of the pawn shop was certain it was two different sellers," she replied as she started to flip through the mail.
"Yeah, well, that's what he would say if he was in on the murders."
Coming across a postcard, she suddenly paused, no longer paying any attention to Nick. Picking it out of the stack, she slowly flipped it over.
Seeing first the slow smile spread across her face and then a wet sheen glazing her eyes, he stopped arguing realizing that he had lost her. She looked happy and, well, pleased.
"Something interesting there, boss?"
She didn't say anything for several seconds. Then holding out the postcard, she said, "See for yourself."
His eyebrows scrunched in curiosity. Taking it from her, the first things he saw were the words 'Costa Rica' splashed across the top of a picture of a beautiful forest landscape.
As Catherine had, he flipped it over and immediately smiled upon seeing the familiar script.
One journey has ended and another has begun. As Martin Buber stated, "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." I am just beginning to discover those secrets. The time was right for me to leave. I knew I was leaving the lab in very capable hands. You have all made me very proud over the years and I am glad to call you my friends.
Grissom
P.S. Sara sends her love.
Nick's eyes flew up to meet Catherine's and for several seconds they just grinned at each other like a couple of silly teenagers with the world's biggest secret.
He broke the silence with, "I never expected to hear from him ever again."
"Neither did I," she replied with a slow shake of her head.
He glanced down re-reading the postscript. "He did it," he stated looking up again. "He went after her. I never expected that either."
"I did," Catherine said quietly with the total confidence of knowing someone for nearly two decades.
He held out the postcard to Catherine but instead of taking it, she pointed outside her door.
"Why don't you hang that up on the bulletin board? I think the others would like to see it."
"Yeah. Yeah, they would."
They shared one last grin knowing that their old boss, their mentor, their friend had finally found his happiness at the end of a long journey.
That day, the postcard was taken down dozens of times as it was read and re-read by CSIs and police officers, lab rats and coroners alike and the picture was gazed at longingly, everyone envious of the man who had finally taken a chance on life.
A/N: I tried to pinpoint a specific location in Costa Rica for this little story but the country at the top of Grissom's GPS unit doesn't match up with the coordinates given at the bottom. Those coordinates took me to somewhere in Colombia.