A/N: Thank you for following the story, guys! Now we go to the main plot…

To ninthwardgurl05, the answer to your question is in this chapter.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: They're not mine. If they were, GSR would have taken a better route than what was in the series.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sara woke up to a dreamless sleep, making her feel energized and satiated. This was the first time in days that she had not woken up with a pounding in her chest or in cold sweat. The last thing she wanted to happen was a nightmare waking not only her, but also Grissom, that would eventually lead to a series of questions she doesn't like to answer at the moment. Or ever.

The days passed with Grissom and Sara spending their time refurnishing the house with their own touches. They bought additional furniture, put up photos of them and their framed collection of butterflies around the house, worked the lawn, and planted shrubs and small plants that attracted different kinds of insects and butterflies. You would think that after working a few years in the ocean around magnificent sea creatures that Grissom's fascination about insects would waver. But no, Sara found it amusing that he still loved his bugs.

He introduced her to Mike and Christine, a young couple also working for Oceanpeace, who were based in the West Coast and currently residing in San Francisco. They were the ones who helped Grissom maintain the house while he was away and provided the rental car that waited for them at the docks on their first day at the city. The couple were eventually invited for dinner at their home as a sign of their gratitude and, at the same time, bond as friends who share the same advocacy.

Of course, being workaholics even before, Grissom and Sara were still active in their organization even on land. They helped intercept those shipping vessels and illegal operations, providing useful information to their team members who are currently active at sea. In addition, they were given the task to help Mike and Christine gather data regarding different marine sanctuaries situated in California. These took most of their time but did not really bother them at all since they loved what they do.

Sara was really happy and content. Even the nightmares that have been bothering her had ceased and she was really grateful.

Or so she thought.

A week after they settled into their new home, the bad dreams started again. Every now and then, Sara would wake up in cold sweat, her breathing erratic, with constricting pain in her chest. And worse, Grissom has been noticing it, too. They even got into a minor argument about it.

One time as they finished their lunch, Sara stood up and gathered the used dishes and cutlery, placed the utensils on the sink, with Grissom following behind her. She washed the dishes while he wiped them dry as she passed them to him before putting it on the dish rack.

Grissom took this opportunity to confront her about her recurring unpleasant dreams.

"Honey, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Sara answered, surprised by his question. "Why would I not be?"

"Well, you seem to be having frequent nightmares these past few weeks."

'Weeks?' she thought. 'Then he must have noticed it back then.'

"I thought maybe something is bothering you," he continued.

She answered him, concentrating on her task, "It's nothing. Just the usual cases that bothered me every now and then."

He looked at her. "But they're not your usual bad dreams, Sara. This happens almost every night."

She was starting to get pissed at him. She stopped in the middle of her chore and looked at him sharply. "And what do you know about my usual dreams, Gil?" she challenged him.

His look softened. "It's just… you're always mumbling something while you're asleep. You're always shaking and on the verge of tears every time I wake you up. I just…" He bowed his head and stared at the cloth on his hand. "I didn't want that to happen again."

Sara finally understood his worries. He was thinking of her dark days when they were still in Vegas several years ago. She had the same kind of bad dreams every night, the ghosts of her past coming back to haunt her. But he was not there to comfort her when that happened since they worked in different shifts. She refused to open up to him before and kept it all bottled up inside. Afraid that he might witness her breakdown and come to despise her for it, she left.

Now Grissom is afraid that history will repeat itself just because they find themselves in the same circumstances at the moment. But to Sara, this was different. He was here.

Sara turned off the tap, wiped her hands on the dishcloth, and turned to him. She put a hand on his cheek, the other on his arm, and shifted him to face her.

"Honey," she said, gently caressing his cheek, "I'm really fine."

He looked up at her, worry etched in his face.

"I buried those ghosts along with the pain a long time ago," she prodded. "I won't leave."

His smile was languid but seemed to drop the subject. Grissom wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him, but saying nothing. Sara melted into his body, welcoming the warmth emanating from his body and the assuring silence that clothed them.

That night, after a bout of lovemaking and a quick shower, they were on their sides facing each other on the bed. As Grissom had expected, Sara had a nightmare again. She was mumbling incoherent words as she usually did. He decided not to wake her this time, letting the bad dream pass. He watched a frown forming on her face and her lips parting, still murmuring softly in her deep sleep. He sighed deeply and gently stroked her arm.

"Nthin hpend…"

Grissom's eyes widened in surprise. His caresses stopped and he stared at Sara's sleeping form.

"Nutin hapend…"

The creases in her frown deepened as she continued muttering words in her sleep.

"Ts you… Rn-ngh—"

Grissom moved closer, trying to decipher Sara's words.

"Its Bast-hnng… You're sik… Rold—…"

Sara's eyes were squeezed shut and Grissom felt the muscles in her arm tense.

"Ronald Bst-hmm… Doit already."

Suddenly, Sara's whole body jerked, waking her up. She was severely shaking and tears started running down her face. Grissom's instant reaction was to wrap his arms around her and whispered soothing words to comfort her. He immediately felt regret that he had not woken her up before the scenes in her dreams had gotten worse. But if he did, he would not have any clues as to what was plaguing her every night during her sleep.

"Ronald," he kept the name in mind.

It was a while before her breathing returned to normal and for her tremor to finally subside. It took a little while longer before her breathing became deep and regular suggesting she was again asleep. Grissom shifted a little, finding his chest and shoulder damp with her tears but ignored it. He continued to stroke Sara's hair and held her close as he then drifted to sleep shortly afterward.