Disclaimer: I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I certainly don't profit from them
Author's Note: Admittedly I have been absent from the CSI world for a while, but this idea has been tapping itself on my shoulder and so I decided to just go with it. I have no idea how many chapters this will be, and I can't guarantee how often it will be updated, but I will try and make it as regular as possible given my penchant for writing Bones fictions these days. This is for all of my regular readers in the CSI fandom.
Ten years seemed like a long time, but in reality it hadn't been long enough as Nick Stokes stood there with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket, the lines near his eyes a little deeper and his hair showing a smattering a gray that wasn't there ten years before. He glanced down, wishing for the countless time that he had been standing in line for a baseball game with his friend Warrick Brown instead of standing above his grave paying respects on the anniversary of his death.
Nick let out a frustrated sigh, "We got him, bro. You'd have been proud you know. Catherine was the one that figured it out and she wasn't about to let the bastard get away with it. She testified like she was on fire." He had suspected for a long time who had been responsible, but it had taken time for the evidence to surface; it hadn't been without more casualties though.
Six and a half years after Warrick had been shot point blank as he sat in his car in an alley right next to the diner that they frequented with every other cop in that part of Vegas, Gil Grissom had gotten a little too close to the evidence and had paid the ultimate price too. Of course the one thing that Under-Sheriff McKean hadn't counted on was that Grissom had been on a call with Catherine discussing a case and he'd set his phone down to answer the door. She'd heard the entire conversation that had preceded the shooting and if that hadn't been enough, Grissom had lived long enough to give Brass a statement.
Losing Warrick had been hell, and then losing Grissom as well had nearly sucked the life right out of all of them, but it had also given them a single-minded purpose and that they were finally going to get justice for their friends no matter how long it took. And it had taken a while; McKean had tried using every connection he had to delay the trial, but that had only worked for a while and no judge would let him out of jail because of the overwhelming evidence against him. The trial itself had gone on for quite a while, but in the end it was well worth the effort. It wasn't until Nick heard that familiar voice that he realized he wasn't the only one who had thought of coming to the cemetery.
"It's still hard to believe that they're gone," Sara Sidle stopped next to Nick. These last few years had been tumultuous. She and Grissom had never married and other than the stolen week here or there, they had continued their relationship long distance because she hadn't wanted to return to Vegas and he couldn't bring himself to leave. Strangely, it was his death that had brought her back; not to work as a CSI because she had carved out a career writing novels about the hellish things she'd seen, but because she wanted to make sure that both he and Warrick got justice.
"Yeah, I know," Nick glanced over at her, offering a teary smile. There were very few people that understood how he was feeling, but he knew without a doubt that Sara did. He took comfort from that, not because he wished for anyone to understand how he felt but that they could be there for each other and for Catherine, Greg and Brass.
"It's over, Nick," Sara slid her arms around him and pulled him into a hug and just stood there resting her head against his shoulder. In the midst of everything that had happened one thing that she could count on was Nick's friendship. She felt like they had walked through hell together and had come out the other side somehow stronger for it.
"Thank God," Nick held onto her; not for the first time did he consider that he wished that it had been him that had been lucky enough to have Sara's love the way Grissom had, but he hadn't even allowed himself to go there for a long time. Maybe now because enough time had passed or because there was finally closure in the murders of his two friends those feelings he'd made a profession out of shoving down had begun to resurface and for the first time in over ten years he felt like maybe it was ok to do something about it. As he released her he stepped back and gestured towards the parking lot, "Catherine said she was going to put some steaks on the grill...she could probably be convinced to throw a veggie burger on for you too."
"I'd like that," Sara knew that Catherine had made it her personal mission to make sure Under Sheriff McKean went down; she'd been the one that heard Gil get shot and she'd been the one that had called paramedics. If it hadn't been for her, they still might not know who was responsible. A celebration of sorts seemed appropriate on a day like today.
"I'll meet you there, then. I told her I'd stop and pick up some champagne," Nick explained wondering if Sara even knew how he'd been feeling about her and how she'd react when she found out. He wasn't going to shy away this time; life was too damn short and they had both had way too many reminders of that.
"I'm just going to go visit Gil's grave and I'll be there," Sara was glad that she was being included; the truth was after she'd left Vegas she wondered if her friendships with the others would remain intact, but she needn't have worried. When she'd come back, she'd been welcomed with open arms; arms that she had desperately needed to be able to move on after Grissom's death. They had all grown and maybe gotten a bit harder around the edges, but they all shared a bond that couldn't be broken and despite the tragedy, this was the only family she had now.
Nick impulsively leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek; a gesture he'd certainly made before; his voice was thick with emotion as he pulled back, "Tell him that we got the bastard. Tell him that the evidence didn't let him down. He'd be glad about that." He would do right by Grissom and he would treat Sara right if he ever had the chance to know what it was like to be loved by her.
"I will," Sara's eyes shone brightly with unshed tears as she offered a smile and stepped purposefully toward the marker where Gil Grissom lay. It was strange as she finally stood in front of his grave. As much as she missed him and missed what they had together, she felt like her heart had finally healed and she had moved on. A soft smile stole over her face as she began to tell Grissom about the verdict in the trial and how they had fought for him and Warrick by using the evidence to tell the story. She stood there a few moments longer and then let out a sigh as she began to have a heart to heart; she knew that he would have wanted her to be happy; she knew that he would have wanted her to move on. She hoped that he would be pleased with where her heart seemed to be leading.
To be continued...