Thanks for still reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 14

The conference was both welcoming and intimidating. He had been attending these conferences for decades and this one sent shivers down his spine. He really didn't want to get his hopes up, but if he knew Sara, she wouldn't miss one of these events for anything.

It was really busy though, it is possible they both could attend and never meet at all…

After registering as present and confirming his schedule he was given a tour by an assistant who also would be helping him set up his lecture. His first lecture would not take place until noon so he had plenty time to visit the stalls and attend a lecture before his own. He smiled as he looked around the room and began to wonder where to start.

oOo

"Are you ready yet?!" Vicki entered the break room looking directly at her boss.

Allen, her boss, grabbed coffee and spoke "Yes, calm down. We don't need to be the first ones there."

Vicki was looking forward to this conference and not because of the science. It was to finally meet up with Grissom. She knew it would be busy, people would be asking lots of questions but she was determined to make sure they would get a chance to speak to each other.

"I just want to have good seats for the lectures. That's all." She smiled mischievously at her boss as they left the break room.

"Uhm. I'm glad you're showing a lot of enthusiasm. You sound like Sara." Allen raised one eyebrow as he tried to understand why Vicki was so excited about the conference.

"Well I'll take that as a compliment. Oh, and I'm driving." Vicki smiled as she almost skipped to the parking lot.

oOo

"Sara!"

Greg greeted Sara as she stood with Emma on her hips next to her car parked outside the local BART.

"GEEEG!" Emma squealed in delight as she noticed Greg coming towards them. Although nervous at first meeting him, through everyday Skypes they had definitely bonded. Sara wondered if it was due to the lack of male influence in Emma's life. Every detail that worried Sara about Emma always came back to Grissom. She sighed.

However, as her thoughts quickly drifted back to Gil, Greg had gotten closer and Sara began to smile again. She gave him a quick hug while Emma was still balancing on her hip.

"Let me get her settled in her car seat" Greg took Emma off Sara and gave her a long snuggle as he walked round to the side of her car and began to strap in Emma.

The ride back to their small townhouse was not that far. They lived right in the city and a small 3 bedrooms, three-floor townhouse. It belonged to Vicki, but Sara just paid half of the mortgage each month. It was very difficult to find an affordable place to live in the Bay Area and she was lucky to have one so close by the lab.

"So did you have a good birthday Emma?" Greg asked while turning around to face Emma in the back seat. She was playing with her toys that were attached to the car seat. She was intensely focusing on shapes and how they moved while bubbling away to herself.

Sara spoke for daughter " It was quiet. Just Vicki, Steve and Jake but we had lots of presents to open and she got to try cake!"

"I bet you enjoyed that Emma!" Greg smiled still staring at Emma.

Emma laughed at hearing her name being called. She just seemed so happy.

As they drove into the driveway, Greg thought now would be a suitable time to let Sara know about Grissom. He didn't want to hide anything from her.

"Sara. Before we go in. I have to tell you something you ought to know." He stopped before looking at her, "The reason I couldn't get the full three days off is because Grissom has a week off. He's attending the Forensic Academy Conference in town."

Sara took in a deep breath but didn't react other than an inaudible 'oh'.

"If you want to go and meet up now would be a good-"

Sara cut him off with a sharp "no".

"I'm just-''

"He told me to stay away and I'm doing just that. Leave it Greg." She paused and spoke softly, "Thanks for letting me know though. I appreciate it." She reached out to touch his hand before leaving the car, unstrapping Emma and heading for the house.

oOo

Vicki made sure they had front row seats for Grissom's lecture. She couldn't even tell you what the lecture was on never mind be interested. She couldn't wait to get to speak to him. She knew that as soon as she could talk to him she would know.

"Oh this lecture is by Dr Grissom, that's Sara's old boss back in Vegas" Allen noted while holding the pamphlet.

"Uh-huh. I hope we'll get a chance to chat after words. He was always fond of SFPD and our lab" Vicki noted.

Allen agreed. "Yes, it's a shame Sara isn't here...she would have loved to catch up with her old boss. He wrote her a wonderful recommendation."

As soon as Allen finished her eyes became diverted to the stage. A young man was talking, introducing Dr Gil Grissom to the audience. Once he finished there was applause as the one and only Grissom walked up the stairs. He looked older than she remembered. His hair was less silver and instead mostly white. She could still see his curls and he was clean-shaven. He wore glasses and dark slacks with a fresh checkered shirt. He looked relaxed and undeterred from the large audience that had turned up to hear him speak. He coughed before he began to speak. To Allen, it looked like Vicki was drinking in every word being said but in fact she couldn't take her eyes off him. This is Sara's love. This is Emma's father.

Before she knew it, the lecture was over. She imagined herself running up to the bottom of the stage to whisk him away however she was glued to the chair. The words she had prepared had lost her train of thought.

"Aren't you wanting to discuss the topic with Dr Grissom?" Allen stared intently at Vicki.

Vicki shook her head "I'll wait until this crowd has disappeared."

There was a crowd of around ten people waiting to speak with Dr Grissom. More than likely, the majority of people would be trying to find out if there were jobs going at the Las Vegas lab. Once one person is unsuccessful she knew the crowd would very quickly disperse to the next lecture.

Instead, Vicki wanted to see him alone, with no one waiting to steal his attention. She needed to get an uninterrupted conversation with him.

Within a few minutes the crowd began to dissipate and Grissom turned to begin to pack up his belongings. This was now her chance. Allen and Vicki walked over.

"Dr Grissom" Allen called as he walked closer.

Grissom turned around to begin to face both of them as they approached. His face was a mixture of recognition and sadness.

"Allen, pleasure seeing you here, I hope I didn't bore you." Grissom shook his hand.

Allen laughed, "I admit I didn't understand a lot of it but it was definitely interesting. That's why I brought Vicki along with me, do you remember Vicki?"

Grissom turned to now address Vicki, "I do. Hello" He said as he held out his hand towards Vicki.

She smiled softly at him and took his hand. "Great lecture, Dr Grissom".

"Thank you" He moved his hands to his pockets and it seemed as if he was nervous.

"So, how's your lab coping without Ms Sidle?"

Grissom's face immediately tightened. "She's certainly missed. "

"Well don't take it personally… I just think she missed the Bay too much. It's a lot better place to raise a kid than Las Vegas!"

Vicki's eyes became wide as she watched intently Grissom's reaction. His eyebrows raised in surprise as he replied, "That's true, but I don't think Sara is concerned about raising children."

Allen laughed, "I thought so too, before she introduced me to her daughter" Just as Allen replied his phone began to ring. He looked at the screen before speaking "Sorry it's the lab, I need to take this".

Grissom's face depicted his confusion. Vicki knew from his reaction that he was not aware of Sara being pregnant but through judging his reaction, he's definitely still interested in Sara's life. As Allen began to walk away Grissom turned his attention to Vicki.

"Well you asked Sara to move on, but I don't think you took this into consideration, Gil."

He ran his hands through his curls before moving his hand to chin. He was in utter shock.

"Move on? What are you talking about? Is that what she told you? She left ME." Grissom shook his head as his tone became angry.

Vicki knew he didn't know. Greg was right. Grissom had no idea. She knew that she would need more information off him to find out if he had sent that email. Judging by his reaction, she was sure Greg was right.

"Look, gather your stuff. Cancel whatever you have planned. We can talk about this somewhere more private." Vicki pointed towards his podium, which still held his laptop and papers.

Grissom nodded before numbly walking to collect his belongings.

What is going on?