It's A Long Way Home

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I just like to write stuff with them.

Summary: Another post-ep for the finale. Still a few questions that I think need to be answered before Grissom and Sara can get on to their happily ever after.

Rating: K+

Genre: Angst, hurt/comfort, romance!

xxx

When Grissom left the lab to return to San Diego, he didn't think he'd ever be back in Vegas. In fact, his plan was to get as far away from it as possible.

He still couldn't quite believe that less than twenty-four hours later, he was returning to Vegas, hand in hand with Sara.

As much as everyone loved a good fairy tale ending, that wasn't how real life worked. Eventually, the spell had to break. They still had so much to talk about, so much to organise. At least, though, they were both on the same page this time. Their relationship was now the most important thing. It wasn't going to take a back seat to careers, or anything else. They had to be each other's number one focus. They had to communicate.

That had been their biggest downfall, and it always had been. From the moment they met each other, and still, over fifteen years later, they were trying to work out their lines of communication.

He had always known that Sara was the only person he could ever love. From the moment he met her, that was obvious to him. It terrified him. He never imagined himself meeting someone and falling in love. That wasn't what he had planned for in his life. He planned to work and be the best investigator he could be and give victims the justice they deserved.

Then Sara came along and everything changed. He suddenly felt like his purpose had shifted. He knew he would be consumed by her if he allowed himself, and so he pushed her away. He built up walls and shut her down; again and again.

Everything was different now. He now knew what it was like to love her and be loved in return. He had a taste of how good life with Sara Sidle was. He let it slip out of his reach once, but he wouldn't let it happen again.

He paid for the cab when it pulled up outside their home and followed Sara up to the front door. Not much had changed since he had last been here, almost three years ago. The one thing he noticed was the security cameras that had been added to the house. One was looking right down onto the porch at the front door, and he spotted another aimed down the driveway.

The alarm was disabled by scanning her fingerprint. It was definitely an upgrade from the last one they had.

"I see there have been a few changes to the security. Trying to keep me out?" He said with a small laugh, as she busied herself switching on the lights.

"Well, not you, but someone," She said softly. After everything that had happened with Basderic, the whole house got a complete security update.

She knew when he raised his eyebrow that he was questioning what exactly she meant. "I'll tell you about it later," She promised. "Right now, I need to take a shower."

Grissom watched her carefully as she moved through the house, so at ease. He felt a little unsure, should he follow her, or was that too much too soon?

He wandered through the living room, noticing the little differences since he had been here last. The one thing that stood out to him was the framed photos of them together that had been dotted throughout the room were no longer there.

"Are you planning on joining me at all, or are you just going to stand there?" Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, eyes drifting up to look at her.

His mouth went dry, and he clenched his fists. He noticed her little smirk as she watched his reaction and that only made it worse. She stood before him, with her favourite silk robe on her, one he had gotten for her as a birthday present. If someone asked him to define beauty, this would be what he would describe.

"God, I've missed you, Sara." His voice was huskier than before, eyes dark as he drank in the sight of those long, long legs.

She raised an eyebrow, lips pursed in amusement. "Well, why don't you prove it, then?"

xxx

Hours later sated and happy, Sara lay with her head on Grissom's chest. His hand was resting on the small of her back, underneath the loose t-shirt she was wearing.

He had changed too, into his favourite Harvard t-shirt, and a pair of comfortable sweats. The fact that Sara had kept all of his clothes and belongings spoke volumes about how she had felt about him even after the divorce. Too painful to keep in direct proximity, she moved everything into the guest bedroom, which she never touched.

Sara shifted, pulling herself up into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard so she could look at him.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her, afraid that if he looked away for too long, she might somehow disappear. This was almost too good to be true.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked her, watching how the gears seemed to grind in her mind.

There is so much that they needed to talk about, to sort out before they could work on this new life together. She didn't know where to start. "I don't even know where to begin, Gil."

He was willing to sit here and talk for as long as was needed, to make sure things worked out. He moved his hand to rest on her knee, gently caressing her skin with his thumb. "Why don't we start with the need for the security upgrade?"

She had a feeling this would be one of the first topics up for discussion. He had been a CSI a lot longer than she had, and he was a much better one. He knew when there was a story to be told.

"It's a long story," She warned.

"I've got all the time in the world, Sara," He assured her, giving her knee a gentle squeeze. This was it, this was the beginning of getting things right again.

So, Sara told him everything. She told him all about Ronald Basderic. How he had been stalking Edie, and how she tried everything she could to help Edie get a restraining order against him. It didn't surprise him that she would get that invested, she always went above and beyond to try and victims in any way she could.

He could tell she still felt guilty over Edie's death. Maybe if she had gotten her that restraining order, she would have left the diner that night. She wouldn't have stayed just because she was afraid of Ronald.

She continued her story, how after the divorce she reverted to some of her old ways. Her drinking became an issue again, and that's when she met Taylor Wynard. She could see the hurt in his eyes as she told him about Taylor. He knew he didn't have a reason to be jealous, he had just ended their marriage, and he knew exactly what had led her to that point.

She could feel her eyes burn as she told him about the night of her birthday. How she sat and waited, hoping and praying that he would show up. But he didn't. Taylor did. She told him about going to his hotel room, drinking more, talking, then getting his text, and she left. She went back to her room, took some sleeping pills and went to bed.

She didn't miss the look of concern when her reckless behaviour of drinking and taking sleeping pills registered with him. "I'm over that now, back on the horse," She assured him.

She hadn't talked about what happened with anyone, really. Once it was over, she locked it all up and tried to forget about it. She had done a good job of it, for a while.

Grissom listened intently to her words, sure that he would never forget them. Ronald Basderic had stalked her, framed her for murder, and ultimately, set it up so he could get away with killing her.

Silence fell over them as she let him process everything she had just said. It was a lot to take in, and probably the last thing he had expected her to say.

He could feel his anger bubbling; his pulse was definitely at one hundred. If he had been there with her, that would have never happened. He couldn't believe everything she had been through. While struggling with the divorce that he had put her through, she also had to deal with that. No wonder she had gone a little overboard on the security.

"I just couldn't settle here, for a long time afterwards. I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He had been in my home, read my emails, changed my pills. I would stay awake for hours, torturing myself with all the other things he could have done."

"I just can't believe I didn't know any of this," Grissom said after a few moments.

"We were divorced, Gil. You asked for a divorce. I'm not blaming you, but then, I didn't feel like you would want to know what was going on. That your life was much easier without me there to complicate it and add drama." She had wanted nothing more than to call him and tell him everything. She had almost broken on more than one occasion. She knew deep down that if she had told him, he would have come back to Vegas for her. But would it have been for the wrong reasons?

"You have to know Sara, I never stopped loving you. Not once. I would have been on the first flight out."

"That's easy to see now, but at the time, there was so much going on, I couldn't think straight. It was easier to deal with what Ronald had done, and not try and think about you. I could handle one at a time, but trying to deal with both… I would have spiralled." Her hand had found his, entwining their fingers, seeking comfort.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that on your own." What he wouldn't give to go back, and to change what had happened.

She gave a soft laugh, which surprised him. "Oh, I definitely wasn't alone, not after that." The bewildered look on his face caused her to laugh even more before she continued to explain. "Do you really think Nick or Greg let me out of their sight? Even Brass was more protective than usual. I must have had at least one of them over for dinner every night for the best part of two months after that."

That was exactly the reason why Grissom could never have asked her to leave Vegas to come back to him then. This was where her family was, and he had never been so thankful to the men in her life. They were always there for her, even when he couldn't be.

"It was a long time ago now, Gil. Over two and a half years ago. I've got through it."

"If there's one thing I never doubt about you, it's your ability to survive, Sara. You're far too stubborn to let something get the better of you." He teased, relaxing when she rewarded him with a smile.

He pressed his lips to her forehead in a soft kiss. Such a simple gesture did wonders to soothe the tension in her body, as she relaxed against him.

She felt better already, having talked about that. This was definitely a step in the right direction for them.

"Okay, what's next on our agenda?" Grissom asked, excited that they seemed to be making progress.

He should have anticipated her words. He knew it wasn't a subject that could be avoided. His heart seemed to slow a little as panic set in, afraid that if he couldn't explain himself articulately, he could just make this situation so much worse.

She didn't hesitate, and despite everything over the last twenty-four hours, the uncertainty still showed in her voice.

"Why were you still in contact with Lady Heather?"