A/N: A new chapter! Thank you for reading!

A Beautiful Enchantment

Chapter 10

Gil Grissom was unaware of the surprise that awaited him at the top of the crater. His climbing ability was nowhere near that of a recreational amateur and he did not think he'd ever climbed a mountain except on a well-beaten trail. Getting out of this crater with sixty to seventy pounds of tortoises was a strenuous task. And, while he would have difficulty identifying a piton from a carabineer, today, on the last upward climb, he accepted the offer of a rappelling rope and wrapped it as directed under his thighs, across his body, and over his shoulder.

The last thirty feet, with the rope secured on something over the edge of the crest, freed his body of some of the exertion and helped to clear his mind of exhaustion, and, it seemed, he gained strength knowing the end was near.

Hands reached to help him, relieving him of the weight he carried, and he took a deep breath. His clothes were so wet it was impossible to tell where swear left off and the damp from the mist began. And from the looks of others, his face was covered in a layer of dust and muck. As soon as he cleared the top, someone handed him a water bottle and a towel, hands patted his back as welcoming words reached his ears. He managed to step out of the harness and to wipe his face before a warm tortilla filled with beans, corn, and meat was thrust into his hand. At that moment, he realized the rescue had turned into a celebration.

Several grills had been set up and people were cooking and serving food. A truck filled with water bottles was backed next to the rescue trucks. And every time a tortoise was handed up and placed into another truck, the crowd cheered. As soon as attention turned from him to the next person coming up, he headed into the throng. He knew Sara and Edie had come with the rescue squad; he was certain she was still there.

…Jim Brass, even as he hugged Sara, was still a bit awed that he had found his way on such a trip, an adventure, with Greg Sanders. They had admitted at some point that a search for stolen tortoises was more exciting than looking at another dead body in an alley or another mid-western gambler at a poker table—both needed a vacation.

With a little help from his friends, Jim had tracked down dozens of stores selling high-price duffel bags and then called manufacturers. A needle in a haystack until he'd found a company in the USA that made waxed duffel bags, who had a manager who was an environmentalist, and had company stores that kept good records.

Twenty-four bags had been sold to one individual from one store in one day—for cash—and the store was in San Diego. Jim called Nick Stokes who was more than happy to visit the store where he'd found two women who remembered the man. Their description of him matched millions of others—white, well-dressed, rich, with an accent similar to Nick's.

Now, Brass held the daughter of his long-time friends and made funny faces just to hear her laugh. In the baby's laugh, he heard the lilt and inflections of her mother's voice. To Edie, he was her 'Poppy'.

In a brief moment, he remembered the young woman who had appeared in Vegas. They—he and Sara—had not liked each other at first. So many years ago when he'd been angry at the world for reasons he no longer remembered. Gradually, he had changed his mind; Sara had made him laugh. Her quick wit, her astonishing intelligence, her uncompromising compassion added to his growing admiration for the young woman. And when he learned of her tragic childhood, watched as she struggled through personal difficulties—some of them caused by the man he considered a friend—he became her friend. Over time, he grew to love her as a daughter.

When Gil Grissom had left the lab, Brass knew he had gone to find Sara. His reaction to their marriage had been one of approval, knowing his friends had a beautiful future ahead. They traveled, bought a house when Sara returned to work in the lab, and Grissom began a bewildering wanderlust pursuit of far-flung travels. And then Grissom seemed to disappear. Not completely—Jim knew Gil Grissom was an independent character with a lonely nature that came from a lengthy and chosen solitary life. One day, he had left Vegas on a scientific study in South America; months later, Brass had learned of their divorce in a disturbing conversation with Sara. He'd kept quiet knowing she would eventually open-up about what had happened but she had never mentioned it again as a degree of sadness seemed to settle over her life.

Lifting Edie over his head as the child laughed, his eyes found Sara engaged in an animated conversation with Greg. What a different and joyous life she had today, he thought as he realized how happy it made him to see her.

…Sara was absolutely astonished to discover Greg and Jim at the crater—never in her dreams did she think they would be anywhere within a thousand miles of these islands; she expected no friends to visit them during their stay on the Galapagos Islands.

Everyone's attention turned to the first arriving tortoises; the crowd congregated around the trucks that had been backed into place near the path. Smoke rose from the grills and mixed with the afternoon mist as a cheer rose from the crowd. Sara did not expect Grissom to be among the first to reach the top so she did not rush into the crowd. Instead, she moved in the opposite direction where she could see the trail and the line of grime-covered rescuers struggling up the rough path.

For the next half-hour or so, their conversation was something akin to the Elefun game Edie enjoyed—butterflies blown from a plastic elephant's trunk and caught with a net. They covered everyone they knew, changes at the lab and in Vegas, her pregnancy, Gil's work all while being entertained and interrupted by the gleeful antics of Edie. In the bantering way of close friends, their talk skipped and repeated and circled back to a dozen topics before Sara saw her husband being helped to the top.

He disappeared quickly into the crowd as she walked toward him; Edie riding on her arm. Several minutes passed before he walked out of the throng of people only a few yards to her left.

"Gil!"

For Gil Grissom, love was strange. How it went every which way and doubled back on itself. Sara loved him; he had almost lost her—not her love—but physically lost her. Today, as she came toward him, he knew she did not care that his clothes were soaked and covered with muck. When she locked her arm around his neck and kissed him, he was no longer exhausted—not exactly revived—but he instantly felt better.

Taking Edie from her mother, Grissom heard Sara's animated words tumbling out in her fast-paced one-sided conversation about the tortoises, the search for evidence and closing the case as his daughter babbled about her own excited day. Half-way listening to their rapid chatter, he heard Sara mention waxed bags and photographs before she said, "We have a surprise for you."

Edie said, very clearly, "Poppy here." Not once but several times. His tired mind responded with an affirmative reply more to appease than recognizing the meaning of her words.

When Sara stopped walking, he lifted his eyes and, in this manner, he found himself looking into the smiling face of Jim Brass. A moment later, with his mouth dropped open in astonishment, he saw Greg Sanders standing a few feet away. It took a few minutes for the swirling words he'd heard to fall into place.

The two men had brought their discoveries to him—traveling over four thousand miles to hand him information they thought would solve the case of stolen tortoises. Much later, their findings would be spread on the dining table, but upon seeing the two men, Gil Grissom did something he rarely did. He hugged both men, none caring about dirt, sweat, and green stains transferring from one to the other, squeezing Edie between them until Sara lifted her from Gil's hold. Then, surprising Jim and Greg, Grissom hugged them again.

Back in Vegas, the two men would describe a speechless Gil Grissom to Catherine but standing on the gravel path, the three stumbled over words, repeated the same questions and gave the same answers as they had given Sara, as Grissom kept interjecting his state of astonishment that they had traveled so far.

Somehow, Greg located the correct taxi—another white truck with double seats—and they all piled into the vehicle after Grissom passed messages to the others to come to their house as soon as possible.

After leaving the visitors at their hotel with directions to their house, Grissom, shaking his head for the umpteenth time in an hour, laughed as he said, "I cannot believe those two arrived today—of all days—out of the blue!"

Fatigue had covered Sara like a weighted blanket on the ride back to town. Her head was on his shoulder, eyes closed. Edie had fallen asleep in her dad's lap. She said, "Are you sure we aren't dreaming? Greg and Jim—here—for two weeks!"

Grissom said, "I can't wait to see what they've discovered—it has to be good. And does it really solve this case."

A weary sigh came from Sara. "We have about a few hours before everyone descends on us."

As the taxi came to a stop in front of their house, Grissom said, "Take the first shower. I'll put Edie in her bed and maybe you'll have time for a nap."

Laughing, Sara said, "I think I'm too excited for a nap. I want to hear every word of this."

Grissom helped her out of the truck, shaking his head again. He said, "It's only mid-afternoon—and we've had quite a day, dear."

Sara made a mumbling groan, saying, "Yeah, and I left the stroller at the cafe." She gave him a withering look as she said, "You aged me a decade when you got in that red truck! A thousand things could have happened to you."

"Awww, Sara." Grissom chuckled. "He was harmless—and he said the right things. There is no real crime here other than a stolen bicycle—no criminals live here and no one has a gun." He kissed her forehead. "Get in the shower before Edie wakes up."

She'd forgive him for being reckless, he thought, as he grinned and added, "I'll get the stroller after I soap you up."

A/N: The 'soap-up' should do it! Thank you for reading; thanks for your comments! Help us keep GSR alive in fanfiction!