A/N: This one is a little on the short side. I hope you like it.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I don't own CSI.

Talking It Out

Grissom's flight to Las Vegas left on New Year's Day. Still reeling from the idea that Sara was departing California and going even farther away from him, he was very reluctant to leave her. He held her hand tightly as they stood outside the security gates together, waiting until the last possible moment to say their goodbyes.

"I'm going to miss you," she said, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"I'll miss you, too," he replied.

Without another word, he dropped his hold on his carry-on luggage and pulled her into his arms. Sara blinked back tears as she clung to him.

"I love you," he said softly. "I love you so very much."

Sara pulled back far enough to look into his eyes, then leaned up to kiss him. Grissom was the one to break the kiss after several long moments; he pressed his lips to her forehead.

"You'll keep in touch, right?" he asked.

Sara nodded. "Of course."

He kissed her lips once more. "I have to go."

"I know."

"I love you."

She blinked rapidly again. "I love you, too."

Grissom smiled and touched her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, covering his hand with hers.

"Gil …"

"Yes?"

She opened her eyes and looked into his. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Grissom shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. We'll make it work."

She nodded, and leaned up for one last kiss. "Go, before you miss your plane."

He smiled. "Take care."

"You, too. Be safe."

With one last smile, Grissom released her, picked up his things, and entered the security checkpoint. Sara watched as he gave his license and ticket to the agent, then as he removed his shoes and jacket, and made his way through the metal detectors. Once he was on the other side, she lost sight of him.

Only then did she allow her tears to fall.

As promised, Catherine was waiting for Grissom in baggage claim at McCarran. She grinned when she saw him walking toward her.

"Welcome home!"

"Thanks," he said.

"Did you have a nice trip?" Catherine asked, leading him out to the car.

"I did."

"How's Sara?"

"Better," he replied, feeling that it was a very honest answer, but knowing that it would never be enough to satisfy Catherine's curiosity.

Catherine looked at him closely, but decided not to push too hard, too fast. "Well, you've moved up a few places on my hit list since you've been gone, just so you know."

"Why might that be?"

"Lindsey is absolutely in love with Hank, and has decided that we need a dog."

Grissom chuckled. "You should get her one."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "That's just what we need. Someone else for me to mother."

"Lindsey is a big girl now, Cath. She can be in charge of the dog."

She sighed. "I should have known that agreeing to take your dog for the week was a mistake. She's loved him since you got him."

"And, now that she's lived with him …"

"It's all over," Catherine said. "I liked it better when Hank was just this dog that she'd go visit at your place."

"Technically, he still is. You can't have my dog. You have to get your own."

Catherine smiled as they arrived at her car. "Well, now you're just being selfish."

Grissom smiled and shook his head. "What have I missed at the lab?"

Catherine's stories of the cases they had worked in his absence kept them occupied as she drove to Grissom's house. She had not yet finished speaking when they arrived.

"Do you want to come in?" Grissom offered.

"Sure," Catherine said.

He led her inside; they sat down in his living room. Catherine looked around, trying to be inconspicuous as she searched for signs of Sara in the house. She wondered if Grissom would have kept her things, or if she had taken them with her, or if he would have pictures of the two of them together, or –

"Would you like a drink?" Grissom asked.

"Sure," Catherine said smoothly.

"I have no idea what's here," Grissom said with a slightly apologetic note to his voice.

"Just water is fine," Catherine replied. "I'm not picky."

"Water it is."

Grissom disappeared down the steps to the kitchen, and reappeared a moment later with two glasses. "Have you spoken to Warrick?" he asked as he sat down with her again.

Catherine shook her head. "I wanted to keep my distance, to be honest. I thought that if I called him, it could look like I don't stand behind your decision to suspend him."

Grissom's eyebrows shot up. "You're right, of course."

"Nick's talked to him," she said. "He says he sounds better. Contrite. He wants to do the right thing, Gil."

"He always did," Grissom said. "I've never doubted that. It's just his methods that I've questioned recently."

"Yeah," Catherine agreed. She sighed. "So, are you going to tell me about your trip, or do I have to pull it out of you?"

"It was nice."

"Grissom …"

He sighed. "Sara's doing better," he said slowly.

"Yes, you said that. I guess I was hoping for a little more."

"Being with her mother has helped her," he said, still carefully choosing his words. "You can see it just by looking at her. Her eyes don't have the same dead look they did before … before she left."

"This is good," Catherine said, nodding encouragingly. "Did she say anything about when she'll be home?"

"No." Grissom practically had to force the word out. It seemed so impossible, but, once he had spoken that first word aloud, the rest seemed to tumble out of him. "She wants to go to Pittsburgh to visit her father's family. She's … She says she's not ready to come home." He shook his head. "She didn't say it, but, Cath, I'm terrified that she doesn't see Vegas as home anymore."

"But, she didn't say that?"

"No."

"Then, don't think it. Sara doesn't say things she doesn't mean, Gil. And, where you're concerned, she's always been very open. I don't think she would think that or that she would make that kind of decision and not tell you."

"I guess you're right," Grissom said slowly.

"And, even though it's not exactly next door, I think it's healthy for her to go to Pittsburgh."

Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"She's rediscovering herself," Catherine said gently. "She's seen her mom. Now, it's time to see her dad."

"His family," Grissom corrected. "Her father … died when she was younger."

"His family, then," Catherine said. "This is probably more important to her than seeing her mom. She can reconnect with her father this way."

Grissom nodded.

"Gil," Catherine said, leaning forward, "if she wanted to end it with you, you'd know. Believe me. Sara would make that very clear."

"You're right," Grissom said with a sudden feeling of relief. "She would."

Catherine smiled and patted his knee. "Don't worry about the things you can't control, okay? Just … support her and love her. It'll all work out in the end. You'll see."

Grissom nodded and smiled at her. "Thanks, Cath."

"You're welcome." She stood up. "Now, I'm going to go home, wrestle you dog away from Lindsey, and bring him back here for you."

"Don't do all that," Grissom said. "I'll come to pick him up."

"You're sure? You're not too tired to drive?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay," Catherine agreed. "I'm sure Lindsey will be excited to see you." She chuckled. "Or, maybe not. I doubt she'll want you to take Hank away from her."

Grissom smiled. "Get her a dog, Catherine. Please."

Sara sat in the living room with her laptop balanced on her knees. Her fingers hesitated only a moment before clicking the "reserve" button. She exhaled as her transaction was completed.

"Hi, princess," Laura said as she came in.

"Hi, Mom," Sara replied. "How was work?"

"Good." Laura joined her in the living room, sitting in the armchair across from Sara's. "One of our little girls who has been with us for over a month was released today."

"Oh, that is a good day," Sara said, smiling at her.

"How was your day?" Laura smiled slightly. "It seems so quiet with Gil gone."

"I know," Sara said quietly. She cleared her throat. "Um, Mom … I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Laura said slowly.

"I … I'm planning a trip."

"With Gil?" Laura asked. She smiled. "Where are you going?"

"No, Mom, not with Gil," Sara said. "I … I'm going to go to Pittsburgh, to visit Dad's family."

Laura's eyes opened wide. "To Pittsburgh?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Sweetie, couldn't Gil get more time off? If you want, I'll take my vacation time and go with you. I've got three weeks coming, and since the year just started, I haven't taken any of it yet."

"No, Mom, don't do that," Sara said. "I … Look, it's not that Grissom doesn't have the vacation time. The way it accumulates with CSI, he's probably got enough to take off the next three years. I know he'd come with me in a heartbeat. He offered to come here with me when I first left. It's just … I really need to do this on my own. I guess I need to heal myself, you know?"

"And, this – going to Pittsburgh – will be healing for you?"

"Yes." Sara looked down then up again. "We've spent weeks rehashing everything that happened to us. You've told me secrets that you've kept since you married Dad. I guess … I just want to go back there, and to see my grandparents and my aunts and uncles through new eyes. I want to see them as the people who made Dad what he was, rather than just as the people who loved me because I was his daughter."

"Sara, that's the same thing," Laura said. "The family who made him the man he was is the same family who loves you because you are a part of it."

"On some level, I know that," Sara said. "But, on another … I just really need to see them again."

"Okay," Laura said. "If this is what you need to do, then I think you should do it."

Sara's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Really."

"Just like that?"

Laura smiled. "Honey, I am the last person to give advice about what you should do before a catastrophic break. But, I can certainly tell you that it'll be far easier if you do what you need to do before you crumble the way that I did. An ounce of prevention, you know."

"Yeah," Sara agreed. "I wish I had thought of that before I fell apart the way I did."

"You may have cracked, but you didn't break," Laura said. "And, as the one who's been watching the cracks heal for over a month now, I think you'll come together again just fine."

"I hope so, Mom," Sara said. "I really, really hope so.

With her mother and Grissom supporting her plan as best they could, Sara had one last person left to talk to about it. She placed the call when she got up the next morning.

"Hey, Sara," came Mary's cheerful greeting. "How's the California sunshine treating you?"

"I'm going to leave it," Sara said without preamble.

"What?" Mary asked, obviously stunned. "Are you going back to the Nevada sunshine?"

"No," Sara said. "I'm going for the Pennsylvania snow instead."

"Taking up skiing?"

"No. I'm going to Pittsburgh."

"Pittsburgh?" Mary asked. "What on earth is in Pittsburgh?"

"Three rivers, a bunch of universities, Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, and, more importantly, my family. I'm going to visit them."

"Oh," Mary said. "Well, that's nice, I guess. When are you leaving?"

"In two weeks."

"Sounds like fun."

"I suppose." She smiled. "Mary … it's going to be really cold there."

Mary laughed. "You want really cold? Try Boston." She paused. "Sara – I mean it. Try Boston."

"What are you talking about? I already have my tickets to Pittsburgh."

"Did you book it one way or two?"

"One. I'm not sure how long I want to stay."

"Great! Once you've had enough family time, come visit us. I'd love to see you."

Sara drew a deep breath. Was she ready to spend time with Mary? She couldn't bring herself to go to Vegas to visit Grissom and her friends there. Were Mary and Tom any different?

But … Boston wasn't Vegas. She didn't have any horrible memories of Boston. In fact, the only memories that came to mind were of happy times during college.

"Sara? Are you still there?"

"I'm here."

"And?"

"I'll … think about it."

"I guess I'll take what I can get."

Sara smiled. "Like you have a choice."

"I'll just wait impatiently for your answer, then."

"You'll have it as soon as I do."

Sara already had a feeling that Mary was going to like what she had to say.