Unending thanks to the beta who is always there for me, no matter what. Karla, you rock.
I'm not quite sure where this ficlet came from, but I just sat down and wrote until I was done. Post 'Good Bye and Good Luck'.
A/N: Sorry for any factual mistakes. I'm no Entomologist.
Butterfly fly away, oh fly away from me
One as beautiful as you wasn't meant for captivity
Break out of your cocoon, set yourself free
Butterfly fly away, oh fly away from me
-Lyneva Starbuck
It was because it had reminded him so much of her, Grissom remembered. The Celastrina Neglecta butterfly was a pale azure color with black freckles dotting its wings, and when he'd picked it out, he had hoped Sara would like it too.
"When I saw it, I thought of you," Grissom had said when she'd asked about the butterfly after it had hatched from its cocoon. At her confused look, he elaborated. "It's not overpowering, but it makes you notice it. It's calm nature and silent aura are what you observe first, but once you look deeper into its depths…" he had paused and took the butterfly from its perch on Sara's index finger, then gently pried its wings apart, revealing a deep blue set with a thin silver lining, "you see what it truly is. Beautiful, and so complex."
Now that same butterfly was all he had left of Sara. That, and a few stray socks and the various gifts she had given him over the years. All of her was still in his heart, though, and Grissom knew she would always be there – whether she was off "finding herself" or not.
He had wondered briefly why Sara hadn't taken the small butterfly when she had left, but he knew the answer was that she simply couldn't. It had been a symbol of them; of the transformation being made and of their own metamorphosis into something better.
So here he stood, on the rocky shores of Lake Mead, wondering where his life had gone wrong, wondering what he had to live for anymore. He held in his hands a small glass box, and as he looked down at it and at the magnificent creature it held, he sighed sadly.
The end of something great.
Grissom lifted the small glass box to the sky and slid open the lid. The beautiful azure-colored butterfly that fluttered up to perch on the edge of the box unfolded its wings and gazed at Grissom, as if giving him a last goodbye.
"I love you," he breathed, "but I set you free."
