A/N: And I'm back (again).

This story has just been sitting around my computer for almost a year. It is my first story in the CSI fandom so I hope that the characters don't seem ooc.

Disclaimer: If I owned CSI, Grissom and Sara would have never divorced, Greg and Morgan would be together and Wendy would have never left. Plus, Brown would not have died. So no, I don't own a thing.

Also, I apologise in advance for any mistakes I've made because 1. English is not my first or even second language and 2. I haven't watched CSI in a long time and some facts might be wrong.

Enjoy!

4 years. It has been 4 whole years since Wendy Sims accepted a job in Portland, Oregon.

3 years since she quit her old job in Las VEGAS, Nevada. 3 years that she hasn't talked to anyone from the lab. Well, except for Catherine whom she's seen during a joint FBI-Portland Police Department case. That meeting brought up some old memories including the one of her resignation.

"Come in," Catherine said when she heard the knock on the door.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Wendy asked nervously.

"Sure. Is there a problem?" she asked removing her glasses.

Wendy didn't respond immediately. Instead, she took a seat and kept staring at floor.

"Hey, you know that you can talk to me," Catherine said while making her way from behind her desk to the vacant sit opposite Wendy's.

Wendy raised her hand, her eyes full of tears threatening to fall any second. "I was offered a new job."

"You did? Congratulations. Where?"

"At the crime lab in Portland."

"With your sister?"

Wendy nodded in response.

"Have you accepted yet?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to tell you first so that you could find a replacement. I would not like to leave you short-handed."

"You wouldn't. Does Hodges know?"

Wendy's head snapped. "No, why would he? You're the first person to find out."

"Ok, ok. Don't bite. I just asked because I know that you two are close, that's all. So, when do you leave?" asked Catherine standing up.

Next week, probably. I don't know yet," she said copying Catherine's actions.

"Let me know," she said pulling her into a hug. "And talk to Hodges. The guy is in love with you, he has the right to know."

"I... I don't know," replied Wendy pulling away and walking out of the office.

David Hodges. A big part of her life and probably the most important one.

If you asked them what was their relationship, they would say that there was no relationship, just friendship.

From Wendy's part, it was not.

She had feelings for him. The kind of feelings that gave her butterflies in her stomach every time he smiled at her or a jolt of electricity when his glove-dresses fingers accidentally brushed against hers.

She did give into her feelings once.

It was more of a subconscious move but a desirable one nonetheless.

It was the day she and Henry were supposed to go out on a date and she pulled every prank that she could think of on him so that he would cancel the date because she had only accepted his offer to make Hodges jealous.

Not only wasn't he jealous but he also took the blame for the pranks without asking anything from Wendy in return.

That was the moment she realised that her feelings towards him went beyond friendly, so she kissed him.

It didn't last long but it was long enough for her to get a taste of him and make her want more of him, of the kiss, of them together.

Denying it would be the understatement of the century. Maybe of the past three centuries.

She definitely wanted more, but at the same time she wanted more from her job .

Her dream was not to remain a lab tech for the rest of her career. She wanted to work on the field, to become a CSI. Her job in Las Vegas did not offer her that opportunity, the job in Portland did.

So she had to make a choice. Be a lab tech in Vegas next to Hodges or be a CSI in Portland with her sister. As much as she liked sunny Vegas and the people who lived there, she was first and foremost an ambitious person, who wanted to further her career. She had goals and the time had come to achieve them.

And that is why she decided to accept the job. She told everyone except for Hodges. She kept him in dark until the last possible moment because if she had told him earlier he would have tried to talk her into staying and she couldn't. Chances like that one in Portland came once in a lifetime and she was smart enough to grab it even if that meant that her heart would suffer. She didn't care. She wanted to make her dream come true with any cost.

And then came the farewell. Catherine knew some people in the Portland lab and some phone calls, Henry gave her some tips and advice. There were a few tears from Mandy and a couple more female techs she was friends with, a lot of hugs and wishes. Until she told David. That was the worst part. She had considered many times to leave without saying goodbye to him but there was something inside her that wanted to see him one last time, to stare into those icy-blue eyes that haunted her dreams, just once more.

Those were the worst ten minutes of her entire life. His eyes betrayed all of his feelings: confusion, desperation and hurt. It was all there for her to see, to make her doubt her decision. Which is why she hadn't allowed him to hug her. She had known that if she had let herself to surrender to his warm embrace, she would have given into his pleas. So she pushed his hands away and ran out the lab and into her car as fast as her legs would carry her.

The first half a dozen months in Portland were a series of training classes and by the end she had become really good at using a gun. She succeeded in her job too, quickly gaining the respect of the other CSI's and so she concentrated on her job. That was until she met a guy, Steve.

Steve was everything a woman would ever want from a man. He was handsome, funny, a gentleman always complimenting her and a great lover. But he ruined everything when he proposed. You know the whole cliché watching the sunset and the bending on one knee .

She lost it. She was in love with him but didn't love him. There is an enormous different between those two phrases. One she realised too late. So she denied because in the end they would end up miserable and none of them deserved that. So she politely declined and explained to him that even though he was an amazing guy and anyone would be lucky to have him, he wasn't the one for her. He responded better than she expected him to and they broke up in a very civilised way and as it turned out, Steve became her best friend and they spend a lot of time together.

Her life at the lab became a dull and boring routine. Case after case, murder after murder she felt that something was missing, something that she just couldn't put a finger on it until she got a phone call that made everything clear to her.

"Hello?" she greeted.

"Wendy Sims?" asked a familiar voice over the other end of the line.

"I'm DB Russell, from the Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"Russell. Yes, I remember you. Where do I owe this pleasure?"

"I've decided to retire, which means that my team needs a new member. I didn't want to bring a stranger so I thought about you. I'm offering you a job as a CSI."

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to rejoin the lab as a CSI this time?"

"Yes I am."

"Then yes I accept," she replied immediately.

"Good. I expect you to be here in two weeks. We will be in touch. Enjoy your afternoon," he said and hung up.

Only when the line went dead did she come back to reality.

"What did you just do?" a voice in her hand asked.

"You accepted a job in Las Vegas," replied another voice that sounded much like Hodges.

"Oh my God, David. I'm going to see David again. I can't do this. I can't," she said out loud.

"Yes you can," said the Hodges-like voice. "This is what has been missing from your life and you know it. You miss me."

The voice was right. She did miss him. A lot. There was no reason to deny it. The fact the she was going to meet him again made her feel over the moon, on cloud nine and any other expression used to describe happiness. Then she thought about her sister Vera who would be really devastated by her decision to go back to Las Vegas.

But frankly, Wendy didn't give a damn. They would still talk on the phone on a daily basis much like they did before she moved to Portland. Also, she hated the rainy and cold weather and craved for Nevada's warmth. She immediately called her sister who was, as she had predicted, sad to learn that her sister was leaving but she understood and accepted her decision. Next, she went to the lab and handed in her resignation to her superior, Mark Johnson.

The next couple of weeks passed really quickly. She didn't realise when she booked the ticket, packed her stuff or said goodbye to her colleagues. Next thing she knew, Vera was dropping her off at the airport and she was boarding the plane for good old Vegas...

TBC...

So what do you think?

Until next time

~F