After shift, and after Sara picked up her son, she arrived to the apartment to see flowers on her doorstep. She picked them up and read the card while entering the apartment at the same time.

Sara,

It is time we get passed the arguing. I'm coming by later to talk, and this time I mean talk, not yell and yell, but to end the war that I have started. I'm sorry. Please, give me a chance.

Yours only,

Grissom

Sara placed the flowers in water and turned on the T.V. for her son. Together, they watched some mindless cartoons before Grissom came and Jake had to go to school. Sara left to start breakfast when the knock came. Taking in multiple deep breaths, she made sure Jake was occupied and she wasn't going to kill the man before she opened the door.

"Hey." She said, trying to keep in a calm state. "Come on in."

Leading her ex…lover inside the apartment she knew he had memorized the layout to, she offered him a place to sit. She gave up on cooking something, and turned to prepare cereal for her favorite boy, when she noticed Grissom was talking to him. Curious, she stood silent and unnoticed during the conversation.

"You're the man from dinner." Jake said, studying his face.

"Yes, I am. My name is Grissom."

"Grissom." The boy repeated, staring into the man's eyes. "You have the same eyes as me."

"That's because I'm your father." Grissom said to Sara's horror.

"I don't have a dad."

"Yes you do, everyone does."

"Mom didn't. She says a dad is someone who cares for them and loves them. My dad left her and me. He didn't love us." Jake told the man who claimed to be his father. There wasn't a tear in his eye, and that was because Sara had been through this with him and Jake and her got along fine without a father in their lives.

"Jake, time to eat." Sara said from behind the couch, turning her back to a gaping Grissom.

Sara ignored Grissom's presence until Jake was out of the house and off to the bus stop that was right outside the apartment complex. After kissing her son goodbye and closing the door, she turned to the man whom she considered a traitor.

"Talk" she ordered, no wasting anytime.

"Sara, I came to apologize. I thought you were with Greg, and when you said that Jake was the son of a man I didn't know, I thought…"

"You thought I slept around after you left. Threw you away, and had a blast while you were gone. No, that's what you did to me."

"No Sara, I didn't. I have a confession…"

The room was silent while Grissom gathered his courage to tell Sara the truth, Sara waited, not moving from her place in front of him.

"I didn't leave to get away from you. Sara, you have to believe me, I love you. But I left because I was going downhill. I needed to escape for awhile. And I needed to go alone for a little bit, and then when I was ready for you to join me. I sent you a letter, trying to explain everything six months in. And when you never replied, I figured you didn't want me."

"Grissom, I did. I sent many letters begging you to come back. I sent multiple letters to you, not just one. I never even got your first letter. It's not enough Grissom. It's not enough to send only on ray of hope."

"Sara, please, you have to understand. I left to escape going insane. I wanted you to join me too, and when you never replied to the letter, I stayed. I stayed because when I thought about you not wanting me and moving on, I went back to rolling downhill."

"And you'll keep rolling. It took me a long time to get over you. You broke my heart, and my trust, and I've finally moved on. Why come back after all these years Grissom, why now?"

"I missed you. Even though I thought you had forgotten about me, I never could forget you. I came back so I could at least work with you, if not have you."

"You got your wish, you're working with me."

"Sara, if you would, I would like you to move back in with me…"

"No. Jake and I are happy here."

"Sara, please. I love you."

"It's not enough to reach for love unless you care enough to give it."

This statement left Grissom confused. He was willing to love, so what did she mean by that?

"Grissom, love's a two way street. And you may have half of it, but not the other half."

"Sara, please, give me a chance. If not for me, then for your son."

"My son?"

"Your son. You may have made it without a real father, but you always wanted one. I know it. And now you have one. You have Brass, and you need him. You need him more than your realize. Give me the chance to do the same to my son. Please."

He was right. Brass had been there for her in more ways than she could count. And in all truthfulness, she knew that without his support, she wouldn't have made it the first few months of her pregnancy. She had to wait years to finally find a father. Her son had one, an ass of one of course, but still, he wasn't too bad and he was willing to love. Love. Something her real father never gave her.

"You win."

"You'll come back?"

"No. But…I'll let Jake spend some time with you."

It was a step forward, and for that, Grissom was happy. He accepted that, knowing not to push further. At least, not yet.

"Thank you. And Sara?"

She looked up, acknowledging that she heard him.

"I love you. I really do. I'll prove it to you, just give me a chance."

As the door closed, Sara lay on the couch, face buried into a pillow.

"I know, and that's what I'm afraid of." She whispered through tears.

Grissom. The man who broke her heart. And the man she could love over and over again, no matter what the hell he put her through. And it was because of him her heart shattered in the first place. And she of all people knew that the heart is the only broken instrument that works*. And sometimes, it's the broken heart that makes the decisions for us. Because even though it's broken, it still beats, and it still controls everything in our body, physical and emotional, internal and external.

*T.E. Kalen's quote

A/N Don't forget to review! And yes, I love quotes.