A/N: This is for the Summer Ficathon at Geekfiction. Please, try not to drown in all of the fluff:)

If I had to list all of the holidays in order of how much I care about them, the Fourth of July would probably be near the bottom, right around Columbus Day. Don't get me wrong. I love that I live in the US. I could give you a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is that there are so many places in the world where I could not do what I do. Here, I can get a college degree, live alone, drive a car, and really do anything a man can do. So that's not the reason. There are really two reasons. First, Vegas in July can only be described as hot, with a capital H. This year, for example, it's supposed to be over 100 degrees. How can anyone enjoy themselves when it's so hot? I guess after all these years, there's still a lot of San Francisco in me. Secondly, the holiday falls in such a random way. Tuesday? Who wants to have a holiday on a Tuesday? So, I usually just work my way through the holiday. I get paid double time, and someone else gets to go eat charred hamburgers and hot dogs. Everyone's happy.

This year was different, however. It all started last Friday. Grissom and I were out having dinner at Mesa Grill, and he began asking me about my plans for the Fourth. I couldn't believe he didn't remember that I've worked every holiday since I moved here and told him so. He had the good grace to blush which pacified me. Then, he had the audacity to tell me he'd given me the holiday off! I was appalled.

"Where do you get off changing my schedule?" I asked angrily. Grissom sighed softly, and I immediately regretted my words. "Sorry," I said as I reached out to grasp his hand. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. Can we chalk it up to temporary insanity?"

He smiled at me, and I knew I was forgiven. I love how he is always so patient with me when I have these moments. I've been independent and on my own for so long that I sometimes forget that there are someone else's needs and emotions I need to care about.

"I just wanted to do something special, you know, with just the two of us."

I rolled my eyes. "Grissom, it's always just the two of us. No one else knows that there is 'the two of us' yet."

"Would you like to change that?"

Now, I was stunned. "What exactly are you saying?" I gasped out. We had kept this under wraps for over a year. Now he wanted to just spill our private lives to everyone?

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought that it was time to stop sneaking around."

"What about Ecklie?" I asked. I could already imagine his reaction, and I knew it would somehow involve me polishing up my resume.

Grissom was unfazed. "What about him?"

Sometimes the man could be so dense. "Grissom, he's been looking for a reason to fire me. You don't think he's just going to be OK with the fact that you and I are an item?"

"Look, Sara, we've been together long enough that even if he gets upset, we can prove that there is no problem with us being together. We'll be fine." He paused, "but if you don't want us to 'come out' as it were, I won't say anything. I do still want to get together with you on the Fourth. It'll be fun."

I was still unconvinced about his whole "Fun Fourth" idea, but so far every other idea he'd come up with had been fine with me, so I was willing to cut him a little slack.

The whole weekend, he never said a word about the holiday, and I was so busy I forgot about it. We had three murders that occurred over a 36 hour period plus a B and E. By the time Tuesday morning came, I was ready to sleep for at least a day. So, I wasn't very happy when I got home from work around mid – morning to see Grissom getting ready to leave.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He immediately stopped what he was doing. "You forgot, didn't you?" he said softly.

Suddenly, it all came back to me. "I am so sorry!" I cried, "I did forget. It's just been so crazy around here that everything's just been blanked out. What do you have planned?"

Quite a lot, apparently. First, we visited the Liberace Museum, since Grissom thought it was a crime that I had lived in Vegas for six years and hadn't been there yet. He loves all those kitschy little places. I like to think of myself as more refined, but may after I've been in Vegas for a few more years I'll be like him. I don't look forward to it. Then, we went on the Manhattan Express at New York New York. Finally, we drove over to Hill Park in Summerlin to watch the Philharmonic and see the fireworks. I thought we'd sit on the hill to watch, but he had other ideas. He'd gotten us VIP tickets that offered a full buffet and wine. I was thoroughly enjoying myself by the time the concert started. I leaned back against Grissom and whispered, "You know, you always have the best ideas."

He simply smiled back.

It was during the fireworks show that I got the greatest surprise. I was watching the colorful lights above me when Grissom shifted against me. I looked down to see what the matter was when I noticed the glimmer in his hand. He was holding a ring. A diamond to be exact. My mouth dropped open as I stared at him. And that's when I discovered something. I knew he loved me, but as I looked deep into the yearning in his eyes, I realized just how much he needed me. And I realized how much I needed him. My life was complete with him.

I don't know if he actually asked me anything, and I don't recall if I said anything. All I remember is throwing my arms around him and starting to cry as the fireworks thundered above us. There could not have been a more perfect moment.

And so, I'm going to get married. We're planning on telling everyone tomorrow. Ecklie will blow a gasket, Catherine's eyes will pop, Nick and Warrick will probably exchange money in some sort of bet, and Greg will try to ask me out one last time. I already know I want Brass to walk me down the aisle, so we're going to wait until he's completely recovered.

You know, like every girl I dreamed of my wedding. But with my life, I never thought it would actually happen. Now, I can start dreaming again. And my dreams will forever include the one person that I love more than any other. I think our life together will be perfect.