A/N: This chapter is from Grissom's POV. For the rest of the story, I think I might be changing POVs in each chapter, and I'll probably switch from first to third person narration a lot, but don't worry, I'll try to do it tastefully so it doesn't get confusing. Tell me what you think of the POV change, because I'm still not sure. If you're unhappy about the lack of action in this chapter, don't worry, it's coming back. I just had a flood of insight into Grissom's mind, and I got a request for Grissom's POV, so I had to fill a chapter with him. Sorry it's so short. Unfortuantely, fanfic isn't the only thing I have to do tonight =/ Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I've gotten the most reviews per chapter than I ever have for any story before, so I'm very happy.

I felt like I was on top of the world.

I don't know what had changed between us. In essence, nothing had. I still felt the same way for her that I had since I first laid eyes on her, and I knew she had always felt strongly for me. Even though the building itself hadn't changed, the way I looked at it had. She and I had always been close – always felt strongly for eachother, though we had kept our feelings at bay mostly because of our jobs. Okay, I was lying to myself. She had never held back the way I had. She had asked me out to dinner countless times, and I had always turned her down. She had talked to me, and confessed her feelings, but I had always kept her at arms length. It was something I had always feared would push her away into the arms of another. It was a miracle she had waited for me. I felt like the luckiest man alive, walking through a beautiful forest, though it couldn't hold a candle to the beauty of the woman who I had my arm around. She seemed content to walk along, her side pressed against mine, neither one of us speaking. That was good. It gave me time to think. Though I was somewhat ashamed that I felt the need to analyze what had just happened, I knew it was something I had always done to understand things.

I think that the principal turning point for our relationship was when we both decided to really open up. I had never told her how I really felt before. Sure, she knew I enjoyed her company, and I think she suspected that there was something more there, but I had always made it clear that we were colleagues, and therefore could never act otherwise. Now, though, in these magical realms, we weren't really colleagues anymore. If we were speaking in a sense of government, our current group situation would be a monarchy. She would be the leader, and we would be her subjects. We couldn't overrule her, like my team could to me if we were at work. Granted, all together we were a bigger number than just her – a solitary person – and physically speaking we could take her, but we all knew we had no choice but to follow her. She was helping us along, explaining the realm, about our powers, and keeping us all in line. Sure, she was small standing alone, but she was powerful. We would never dare cross her. When I stopped seeing her as my subordinate, I started seeing her as I wanted to see her – as a companion.

I figured that since there were no longer repercussions, I could explain to her how special she was. It was convenient that she needed someone to be there for her at the very moment I got my confidence back. It was also a miracle that she decided to take me as her companion, her partner, even though I had pushed her away more times than I cared to remember. I loved her, and I knew she loved me, and that was all that really mattered for us now. There weren't any ultimatums hanging over our head from Ecklie, there weren't any lab policies to follow…it was glorious, how I could take her into my arms any time I wanted and have her respond without having to care who saw or who they told. I believe that right then and there I was truly blissful.

As I continued to think about Sara, I thought about how she looked. Not in a shallow you're-a-size-6-and-I-want-a-size-2 sense, but in a more I-can't-believe-how-lucky-I-am-to-have-such-an-amazing-lover sense. I glanced down at her to find her looking up at me. I smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips, and then went back to thinking. She still looked like a vampire, which wasn't a bad thing. I loved how she looked before, but this was a whole new ball game. Never before had I seen someone so radiant, so…flawless. I had never judged based on beauty before; in fact, I thought it was a horrendous thing to do, but now I see how most men can look at someone and see only skin deep. Sara like this was even more desirable, though if I hadn't seen it I would have had trouble believing it.

She was moonlight pale, had strange dark red eyes and wore her dark hair layered. She had changed so much from the woman I thought I knew, but she still wasn't different, because even though I did enjoy her appearance, I saw more that skin deep. Her eyes, though that strange colour, were still like staring into a bottomless pit that led right into her soul. The intelligence was still there, the inquisitive characteristics that I liked so much. She was still strong and independent, though the air about her had changed, like it was fused with power. When I thought about power, that dragged me back to my memories of when I had first seen her as a true vampire, and even as far back to when I had seen her as a full mage.

If I had learned anything from Heather, it was that in any relationship there was a dominant and a submissive. I had always thought I would be wearing the pants in any relationship that I had, I guess a product of the responsibilities in my job. I was so used to being in charge that I couldn't see it any other way. However, when I had seen her in her powerful forms, charged with magic and strength, I knew I belonged beneath her, and strangely, I wanted to be beneath her.

I wanted her to tell me what to do, and I wanted to obey even the most ridiculous order. If she had told me to kneel on the ground and bark like I dog I would have, because the image of her and I together like this wasn't complete unless she was above me. I knew I couldn't begin to explain my feelings even to myself, in my head. I just saw her, as powerful as she was, and something inside me tingled. It knew that she was naturally powerful – I think a part of me always knew that there was something more to her than what met the eye – and I couldn't imagine taking that away from her. It just added so much to the overall image of her. Strong, powerful, completely in control…it fit her.

Until I saw her like this, I had thought she was complete. At least to me, she used to be the complete image of a woman. Now that I saw her other side – her hidden one – I knew how much of that image I had been missing. I sighed. She was never meant to be a follower, never meant to be a subordinate. She was meant to lead, like she was now.

I never truly understood how much was missing from her life; I don't even think she did. Like this, she thrived. She was amazing and powerful and beautiful and completely in her element. I knew we all saw it; how she was at work versus how she was here. Everyone noticed the difference, but I was the only one really thinking about it. I'd have to do something about her. Maybe I'd promote her as high as I could alone. No…that wouldn't be enough. I mentally struggled, trying to dig up some position that would be good enough for her. The only one I could think of was president, but that job wasn't open. I realized sadly that this was what she was best at. Not being a CSI, not being my girlfriend, but this.

Being the leader of a group of magical beings was her calling, and it was the only thing that would ever be worthy of her. I felt like a child again. Finding something wonderful that was just for you, but realizing that it didn't last. I even sounded like a child. My thoughts were never like this. Never this disjointed, never this…cynical, and certainly never this juvenile sounding. She truly was getting to me. I wondered briefly how I would do without her, how I would fare when she made the choice to stay here.

I would stay with her, but I knew I wouldn't be happy, and neither would she. We were meant to exist separately. She was meant to stay here, being magical and powerful and extraordinary, whereas I was meant to live in the mortal realms, where everything had an explanation, and every question had an answer. I couldn't stay here, miserable, and make her miserable. Just like that, I had made the decision. It was like flipping a switch inside my brain. I would spend what little time we had here together, and then when she chose to stay, I would go and let her live happily.

Even if I couldn't be with her, making her happy myself, I would always have that little spot of my heart that would be forever warm and fuzzy knowing that she was happy and where she needed to be. That, at least, would keep me sane. I sighed again, not sure how I would manage to justify leaving her. Even what I had now was a weak reason. It wouldn't keep me away for long.

"Are you alright?" she asked me softly. I hadn't realized that my eyes were closed and that we weren't moving until I had to snap them open

"I'm fine." I assured her, smiling warmly and genuinely "Just thinking."

"You're always thinking." She teased, pouting comically.

"I have to think to stay two steps ahead of you all the time." I joked back. God, I was never this cavalier at home.

"You know, you could just stop thinking and let me take over." That was tempting. It was almost as if she could read my mind. Wait…she was everything, wasn't she? Oh good lord, what if she heard me?

"Are you a mind reader?" I blurted out. She looked confused at the direction the conversation had suddenly taken, but took it in stride

"No, I'm not."

"I thought you said if I could name it, you could become it."

"Physically, I can become anything. Mind reading is purely mental. It's a skill you have to be born with, or given by an extremely powerful goddess. It can't be learned like sword fighting or magic. Some people have it, some people don't."

"Ah." I relaxed. It would have been quite embarrassing if she had heard my thoughts, or seen the things I had been seeing in my mind.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just thinking about you."

"What a coincidence, I was thinking about you as well." God, I was lucky. Here I was with the perfect woman who loved me as I loved her, and I didn't even deserve it.

"Really? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about how much I enjoy this, us being together." She twined our fingers together as if to illustrate her point "How about letting me into that mind of yours?"

"I was thinking much the same as you were."

"Oh come on. You were quiet for fifteen minutes. You had to be thinking about more than just that."

"No, that's it." I continued walking, pulling her gently with me.

"There had to be something else." She looked at me with those big eyes of hers and gave me one of her signature smiles

"Well, I was also thinking about just how deeply I am in love with you." I smiled down at her and kissed her again, marveling once more at the beautiful creature with whom I was unconditionally in love. I was getting a handle on my powers, the rebellion as going smoothly, and my heart belonged to the most amazing woman in the world. It seemed as if, now, everything was perfect.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. Ignore any mistakes, I didn't have time to re-read it for in depth editing, but I had to post it. So, yeah, please R&R and tell me how you think I wrote Grissom's thoughts. Any constructive criticism is welcome.