A/N - The last scene in "Lover's Lanes" really made me want to write something. I haven't been inspired to write a post-ep fic in a long time, so I went with it. Thanks for reading!

"Your turn, Catherine," Nick said, after the team watched him make yet another strike. "I know I'm a tough act to follow."

Catherine snorted. "You haven't seen anything yet, Stokes." She swaggered up to the lane, threw the ball like she was trying to make a 3 point basket, and shrieked as only one pin fell down.

"Damn!" She shouted.

"Maybe you should stick with dancing," Greg said, ducking out of the way before she could inflict bodily harm.

Sara smiled as she watched her colleagues at the bowling alley; her friends that she knew so well. It was so nice to be back again, drinking a beer with the people who meant the most to her--with one exception, of course. It was times like this she missed the most when she was out of commission for the past few years. The constant death and heartache she didn't miss at all, but bonding with the team, that's what she counted on to get her through another grueling sometimes 16-hour day.

But something--or somebody--was missing, and it wasn't just nachos and popcorn.

Sara couldn't help but miss her husband terribly. Grissom always lived for moments like this; moments where his team was all together, having fun, enjoying themselves instead of being wrapped up in their daily doses of tragedy. She wondered what he was doing back in Paris at the moment. If she knew him at all, and she liked to think she did, he was either playing with bugs or doing research.

Along with trying to obtain a grant, he was also putting preliminary work into collecting information for a book he wanted to write on serial killers. Since both of them had been targets of serial killers in the past, his research frequently got a little too close for Sara's comfort. She didn't come back to Vegas to get away from her husband, but she was feeling too good and too healthy to get sucked into that world again. Grissom understood, like he always did. It wasn't forever. They'd have the rest of their lives to be together. Meanwhile, she could come back to their second home and make a little extra cash while she was at it. Not that they were broke, but they were trying to save up for future endeavors. Sara never saw herself as being a mother, but ever since she and Grissom got married, she envisioned a life of taking in foster kids and giving them the home she never had growing up. Even though Natalie Davis put her life in jeopardy, and even though she had no sympathy for someone who turned out to be a serial killer, she did take one thing from the experience: both she and Natalie had been in the system, but where she came out damaged, Natalie had been broken. Sara wanted to reach the children before the breaking point.

"What do you think?" Ray asked her, jolting her out of thoughts of foster kids and Grissom. "Did you miss all these strange people when you were gone?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe," Sara said, smiling. "I hated leaving everyone here, but things had gotten so intense. It wasn't the right environment for me anymore."

Ray nodded. "It's not for everybody, that's for sure."

She knew that if anyone understood, it would be him. It seemed like Ray had experienced a lot in his life and not all of it good. If she was back in Vegas for more than a few months, she'd want to maybe grab some Mexican food with the guy; share some beers and compare battle wounds. But what made coming back to Vegas so appealing was the fact that she would once again get to leave soon. Sara loved being back with her old friends and colleagues, but this wasn't her place anymore. Not that Paris wasn't her place anymore, either. She and Grissom were just trying to figure out what worked for them. Being together 24 hours a day hadn't worked like they'd hoped. Now they were finding that being apart for months at a time wasn't ideal, either. Sara had confidence that they'd find the answer. They were in it for the long haul.

Soon it was Ray's turn again, and he sprang up and took his place in the lane. Nick was winning by a huge margin, but nobody really seemed to care. They weren't there for the sport. They were there for the companionship--and a little friendly competition.

Ray didn't do so well, and then it was Wendy's turn. She and Hodges traded friendly banter before she got to the ball. Sara thought she heard something about bowling pins and Captain Kirk, but she wasn't sure about that. She hoped the two of them were able to find whatever it is they were looking for in each other. They really did make a cute pair.

Nick came over and sat next to Sara. They both shared a grin - a grin that said so much without any words at all. It was the look of two people who shared many stories together and came out the better for it. Even though Nick's kidnapping was four years ago, Sara knew without asking him that he still had nightmares about it. While she felt bad for him, there was some comfort in knowing her peers had all been through some kind of test and always managed to pass with flying colors.

"Do you think Grissom misses the team?" Nick asked Sara, taking a long sip of cold beer. "We haven't heard much from him lately."

"Yes, of course he does," she replied. "Just because he doesn't pick up the phone or get on a plane, that doesn't mean Gil doesn't care about you guys. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but he's a pretty insular guy." Nick scoffed. "Just because he isn't trying to contact you doesn't mean he isn't thinking about you. I learned that the hard way, believe me."

"I know, I know. I mean, I've been around the guy for a decade, I should know the way he is by now. He's an enigma. As much as I love Catherine, and as much as I enjoy being a supervisor, there was just something about Grissom's way of leading the team that made me want to work extra hard. I never wanted to let him down."

"I know, Nick. And he knows that, too. He talks about you all the time. Your fascination with Stevie amuses him to no end. He loves your Stevie emails."

"Yeah? Well, that's good to know," he said, and she could tell this news made his day.

"I know he misses Warrick a lot, too. I honestly had no idea the two of them were so close, but Warrick certainly did make an impact on Gil. He talks about him all the time."

Nick sighed. Sara knew it was still a sensitive subject. So she changed tacts.

"He was just telling me about that email you sent him about your supervisor position. He's so proud of you, Nicky."

Nick smiled. And then he laughed.

"What? Did I miss something?"

"I can't believe you married the boss. Way to be a teacher's pet!" Nick said, shaking his head. Sara laughed, pinched his arm and got up for her turn at the ball. She sucked at bowling but had fun attempting to knock some pins down anyway. The team cheered for her when she managed to knock down a good majority of them. She took a bow and returned to her seat.

Sara's cell phone vibrated--she had a new text. "Hank misses you," the text read. She smiled peacefully and missed her big, drooly dog and her big, non-drooly husband. She was dying to call him and tell him about the batshit crazy lady she helped to put in jail. Grissom always enjoyed hearing about her day.

As her friends took their turns, Sara thought back to when she showed up at the crime scene at the hotel nearly 10 years ago, before she even knew any of them. Grissom was, as usual, throwing dummies off the roof and doing things in his old-school way. She was in her late twenties and completely smitten with the man she met at the Forensics Academy Conference two years before, the man she never knew she would eventually marry.

Sara hadn't been under any illusions; she knew she wasn't coming to Vegas to bring truth and justice to a place that needed it so desperately. She wasn't that naive. A childhood like hers took away the option of naivety. However, 10 years of seeing death at every corner, going round after round with a man she refused to give up on, being targeted by a serial killer, and numerous points of no return, Sara was pretty sure she got everything out of Vegas that she needed. Even if she was once so close to complete breakdown that she erupted in tears in a taxi and told the driver her whole life story in the distance from the lab to the airport, she was going to be okay now. Vegas was only an option. Her other option, Gil Grissom, was currently waiting at their rented townhouse with Hank. If she wanted to, she could book a flight and be there by tomorrow. No one would blame her, but she made a commitment.

But for the moment, surrounded by the people who shaped the last 10 years of her life, she was happy. After going through hell and back over and over again, it was nice to be in the company of friends. If life in Vegas taught her anything, it wasn't that the desert heat sucked or how to pull a serial number off a breast implant. What she learned was essentially, no matter how many bad days she had, no matter how many victims she failed to speak for, no matter how many times she had to ask Grissom out before he finally said yes, at least she got through it and made it to the other side. At least she had friends to show for it.

It was Sara's turn again. She rose from her seat, grabbed a ball, took a deep breath and threw the ball. It didn't matter how many pins fell down, because at least they were there in the first place.