This fic is a very very late (almost 4 months) birthday fic for my wonderful friend Maisy13. I was supposed to make you a birthday vid but with YouTube taking down heaps of my videos and the fact that I don't have the time to make any at the moment, my muse decided to retire for a while and take up writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or any of the characters. They still belong to CBS, but now that Grissom's gone maybe they'll sell him to me ;)

Spoiler Alert: If you don't want to be spoiled for One to Go then wait until you've watched it to read this. No spoilers were used, hell there were no spoilers period! This has got to be the best kept TV secret ever. But I did use the promos and sneak peaks for inspiration, so if you've seen them then no worries you already know everything. The sneak peak would be the Grissom/Nick moment.

A very special thanks to Jenlar for the beta and helping me get this up before One to Go. *hugs*

Also a special thanks to Chelles for reading through the beginning and telling me what she thought about it.

A/N: In the real crossword the clue for 19 down is Attacks and the answer is Storms.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

To Be With You

It was done. He'd just given Ecklie his month's notice which surprisingly, he was very reluctant to accept. Ecklie's immediate reaction was to offer him a very generous pay raise which Grissom declined telling him that it wasn't about the money...he just couldn't do this anymore.

Grissom had been thinking about retiring soon after Sara left him several months ago, he'd been having second thoughts, thinking about taking that trip with her, but he couldn't bring himself to letting the remainder of his team down and leaving them shorthanded. After Sara sent him a video telling him how happy she was and that she thought it was best they each go their separate ways, he put all thought of retiring aside. After all there was no reason to give up his career now that she'd left him for good. She was the reason he wanted to give up everything he'd worked for his whole life. The only solution now was to bury himself in his work, or that's what he thought, but it was easier said than done. He was beginning to slip, make mistakes in the lab, Hodges had caught him making his first one, and lately he didn't feel like getting out of bed and going to work. Paperwork was piling up on his desk and he was just passing most of the cases to his team, he didn't go out into the field on a new case anymore unless he was forced to. He just didn't have his heart in the job. His heart belonged to only one person and she was continents away, somewhere at sea.

If anyone had asked him when exactly he'd made this decision, Grissom would have told them it was when he was walking along the strip with Catherine talking about college and how science had taken the pot over love. It was at that moment he'd realized that history was repeating itself again and that he was doing exactly the same thing with Sara, putting science and his career ahead of her and his personal happiness. And as soon as he realized this, he went straight to Ecklie's office and gave him his resignation letter.

There was nothing left for Grissom to do now except to clear his case load, Ecklie was already looking for a new CSI to replace him, Catherine was going to be the new supervisor for Graveyard, and Greg had just been promoted to CSI level three. As for Nick, well he'd taught him all he could and knew that he'd be there for the rest of them whenever they needed him.

There was just one thing he had to do and it had nothing to do with work. He needed to contact Sara and beg her to forgive him for being a fool and letting her go. He wanted her to know how much he loved her and that his life was a living hell without her...he only hoped that he wasn't too late and that she'd forgive him and come back to him, or let him go to her wherever she was. Either way he didn't care, he would go to the ends of the earth just to be with her. Why did it take him so long to realize that he could never live without her?

First he needed to hand out assignments for the night before he could start begging for her forgiveness. Picking up the assignment slips from his desk, Grissom got up and started for the door when the crossword puzzle he was working on the night before caught his attention. He picked it up as he walked towards the door and read the final clue, 19 down: Attacks. It was simple and he knew the answer, but the answer brought back memories he didn't want to re-live, memories of Sara trapped under a car in the desert during a storm. This was just one more thing he'd lost interest in, what was the point anyway, he thought to himself as he threw the newspaper in the trash and headed for the break room.

Grissom started handing out the assignment slips the second he walked in. He needed to catch up on all the paperwork that was multiplying on his desk and send that email to Sara, so tonight each CSI got a case of their own. He started off with Riley, handing her the suspicious remains at the city dump. Greg got a recovered stolen vehicle at McCarran. Nick had a possible arson. Catherine got the 419 in Green Valley.

"Looks like the king gets to sit on the bench for now," teased Catherine as Grissom turned to leave. "Is that it?"

He stood there thinking for a few seconds as they all turned around to face him, they deserved to hear the news from him this time, not from Ecklie or in the form of lab gossip, which was how they found out about his sabbatical a few years ago, thanks to Hodges.

"No." He turned to face them. "I know this has been a tough year, for all of us and I've been thinking", he paused. "I mean more than usual. I've made a decision. I'm gonna leave CSI."

The looks on their faces were of genuine surprise. He went on to reassure them, "Catherine will become the new supervisor, so you'll be in good hands." He paused and looked at Catherine who already had tears in her eyes. "While I'm clearing my case load, Ecklie's preparing a list of candidates who are level one higher so you won't be short-handed."

He was interrupted by his phone and a new case. "And I guess I just came off the bench. 419 in Mt. Charleston." He looked around and smiled at his team. "Ok?" he asked, as he turned around and walked back towards his office. He sighed; it looked like the email to Sara would have to wait till after shift.

In the next few hours Grissom got to see some very interesting reactions to the news of his impending departure from all over the lab. Hodges seemed hurt and didn't want to talk to him. Wendy thanked him for all the support he'd given her the last 3 years. David cried after Grissom told him he'd miss him. Catherine surprised him when she told him she knew he was leaving before he did, and Doc Robbins knew him well enough to guess why he was leaving and to whom he was running. He'd heard him mumble something about never retiring on his way out of the morgue. Grissom shook his head and smiled, he remembered that he'd felt the same way about a little over a year ago and now all he wanted to do was hop on the next plane to be with Sara.

Hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks. Grissom's case load had finally been cleared and with Dr. Raymond Langston's help they were hot on the trail of the DJK's accomplice. They were running out of time and they needed to catch him in the next 48 hours before he murdered the couple he'd kidnapped. All they had to go by was a tape. They knew when the video was taken but didn't know where. Grissom was in his office trying to work it out using astronomy when Nick walked in. Grissom started explaining to him exactly what he was doing and how he was using astronomy to determine where the video was taken.

Out of the blue Nick said, "I will never forget the things you taught me."

Without taking his eyes off him, Grissom smiled and said, "You're the best student I ever had."

Nick was speechless and looked like he was tearing up. Before Grissom could have a repeat of what happened with David, he picked up the video. "Let's go figure this out," he said as they both got up and headed for the AV lab.

Greg was already there when Nick and Grissom walked in. They'd been looking at the video for over an hour and still hadn't been able to work out where it was taken. Brass called about a lead on the case and needed a CSI, so Nick volunteered to go.

Grissom and Greg were alone in the AV lab still watching the video when Greg suddenly turned around. "You changed my life," he said matter of factly. Grissom stared at him in surprise as Greg continued, "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be a lab rat, running DNA all day. You inspired me to become a CSI, to do more with my life."

"I can't take credit for that Greg, you worked hard to get where you are now," Grissom said.

"Well not hard enough for everything," Greg joked. "You got the girl."

"I did." Grissom said, a sad look in his eyes. "But I was foolish enough to let her go."

It was a tough couple of days but they finally caught the DJK's accomplice before he killed his next victims and he was safely behind bars. Grissom had officially solved his final case. It was time for him to go.

He'd already started packing up his office earlier that week and amazingly he was almost done. The shelves which held hundreds of specimen jars were now bare, as were the walls, and his desk held a mountain of boxes ready to be taken away and put into storage until he found a new place to call home. He still hadn't heard from Sara but he was determined to leave Las Vegas. The city held too many memories and ghosts, some good and some bad. He wondered if she'd read his email yet or if she were just ignoring it. He poured his heart and soul into it, begging her to forgive him for all the pain he'd put her through and telling her that he'd finally given his notice to Ecklie and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, if she'd have him back. He hoped it wasn't too late, that she hadn't moved on and found someone else to love instead of him.

As he continued to pack, Grissom picked up a piece of paper that was on his desk and turned it around. It was the eulogy from Warrick's funeral. His eyes misted as he remembered Warrick. He was his favorite CSI. He'd been his favorite since day one when he'd joined the team as CSI level one. Grissom had been his mentor, and taught him everything he'd known.

"I see you packed up your office all on your own, and you're almost done."

Grissom's head snapped up, at first he thought he was seeing things but there she was standing at the door, a huge grin on her face. "Sara?"

"It's me." She said as she started walking slowly towards him. Grissom stepped away from his desk and started walking towards her, still not believing she was really there, standing in front of him. They met halfway as Sara threw herself into his arms. He held onto her tightly as if she'd disappear into thin air if he let go of her for a second.

"When you didn't reply to my email I thought I'd never see or hear from you again." Grissom said into her hair.

Sara pulled away and looked into his eyes, "I tried to forget you, to move on, but I couldn't live without you. Every day I felt my heart break more and more. I regretted letting you go but I knew it was the right thing to do. I couldn't stay here and you weren't ready to leave." Sara paused, wiping away a tear that had escaped. "At first when I saw your email I couldn't bring myself to open it, I was afraid to read it, and find out that you've moved on, but when I did finally find the courage to open it, I knew I had to come back. There was no way I could say what I had to say in an email."

Grissom eyebrow went up, "And what did you want to say?"

"Gilbert Grissom, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Living without you these last few months were torture and I don't intend on repeating that experience ever again." She said with tears in her eyes, and this time she didn't try to wipe them away. She let them fall freely.

Grissom wiped away her tears gently with his thumbs, "I love you, too. Sara you are my heart and my soul, and while you were gone I felt like I was dead inside. Honey, I will never let you go again." he said as his tears started falling, too.

Sara hugged him tightly again, "I missed you so much, Gil." she sobbed.

"I missed you, too." Grissom whispered back.

It was the end of his final shift. Everything was packed and a lot of teary goodbyes were exchanged in the lab. Even Hodges had run off into trace with tears in his eyes, and Wendy had run after him to comfort him. Grissom had to admit he was probably going to miss Hodges and his quirkiness the most. Sara had already gone to the car ahead of him; she said she wanted him to take his time alone saying his goodbyes to the team. Nick hugged him again but this time Grissom allowed it because he was really leaving so he hugged him back. Catherine held onto him and didn't want to let him go, but it was time for him to move on.

As Grissom walked alone through the empty hallways towards the door he took a final look around the lab, taking in everything one last time. He was going to miss this all. He stepped outside and walked towards his car where Sara was waiting for him. She smiled up at him, "Ready?"

"Ready." he said as he took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

Yes, Grissom was ready to spend the rest of his life with the only woman he ever loved and ever would love.