AN: Warning: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior. Thanks for the reviews, here is the next chapter, enjoy!

*Subtle references to Season 5 Finale: Grave Danger

Chapter 21: The Right Reasons

Three months later

After arriving at the hospital in the ambulance, the doctor wheeled Nick in the building while Catherine followed close by. Sara wasn't that far behind them, but had stopped just before she stepped in the building when she heard a voice, a voice she was expecting. "Mom!"

Sara turned around and saw Bailey running towards her with her bike helmet on. She looked at her daughter with shock. "Bailey! You were suppose to be at Carly's. Do you know how dange..."

Bailey cuts her off as she took her helmet off. "I know mom, but I saw on the news that Nick was saved and that he was going to the hospital. I had to come to make sure all you guys are ok." Before Sara could speak, Bailey continued with a little worry when she didn't see her father nearby. "Where's dad?"

Sara cups her daughter's cheek as she replied reassuringly. "He'll be here shortly."

Bailey nodded. "I'm sorry mom, but I couldn't stay away."

She sighed, knowing deep down she couldn't be too upset because if she was in her shoes, she probably would've done the same thing. "Ok, but don't do something like this again, alright?"

Bailey bit her lip before replying with honesty. "Then you guys shouldn't do something that would land you all here."

Despite how worried she had been for Nick, and a little freaked out that her daughter decided to ride her bike all the way here, by herself no less, Sara couldn't help but smile at her honesty.

Bailey shook her head while speaking with tears in her eyes, breaking Sara from her thoughts. "I'm sorry mom, but I can't promise that I won't stay away if something happens to you guys, I just can't. I need to be there for you."

Sara shook her head as she brought her daughter in her arms to comfort her, knowing how scared it must be for her when one of them was injured or hurt so bad that they would have to go to the hospital. "It's ok, honey." She took a breath before finishing. "Then least of all have someone bring you. I don't want you riding your bike here alone, or at night. Is that understood?"

Bailey nodded as she wrapped her arm around her mother's waist. "Understood."

Sara nodded as she pulled back. "Alright, let's call Carly's mom and let her know you snuck out, and that you are with me so she won't worry." Bailey nodded as Sara pulled her phone out of her pocket before dialing the number.

When Grissom showed up at the hospital 10 minutes later, with Warrick and Greg right behind him in Warrick's vehicle, he saw Sara, and was very surprised to see Bailey, but after the night that he had, he welcomed the sight of her. Then after he greeted his family, he sat down next to them to wait on the news about his co-worker. He didn't care if he hadn't been his boss in months, he'll always think of the younger man as his co-worker.

A few hours later

When the doctor came out, he informed them that although Nick was going to need a little healing time, he should recover just fine, something they were all thankful for. Then after he told them what room Nick was in and said they could have a few minutes with him, the team and Bailey started walking toward the room.

After they walked in the room once they were granted entrance, Bailey saw him a little banged up, making her have a few tears in her eyes, but Nick put on a small smile for her while saying. "Come here, honey. I'm ok." She ran to Nick's bed and gave him a soft hug, and Nick gave her a soft hug back.

When they pulled back, she asked. "Are you really ok?"

Nick nodded. "I will be, I'll be out of here and spending time with you in no time."

Bailey nodded with a smile. "You got it."

Ever since she was officially accepted in the family, she loved spending time with Nick, even though it didn't get to happen very often. It wasn't that she disliked Brass, Warrick or Greg, she just felt a little closer to him than the other three.

After another soft hug, Bailey stepped away from the bed so everybody else could get in their hugs.

A few more minutes came and went before they started saying goodbye and making promises to see him soon, then after everybody was out of the room, except Grissom and Catherine, he looked over at her, who had been by Nick's bedside the moment she stepped into the room, and asked. "Do you want a ride home?"

Catherine shook her head before looking at Grissom. "No, I want to stay here a little bit longer. Take your family home, it has been a long day/night, I'll be fine."

"Alright." Then he turned his attention to Nick. "Take care, Nicky. Don't take too long away from the lab, we'll miss you around there. But give yourself some time to heal first."

Nick nodded, then spoke as he cleared his throat. "I will, thank you Griss, for everything."

Grissom smiled, which was probably the first real one all day. "You're welcome."

After a short nod, Grissom walked out of the room.

While the door was shutting, Nick turned his head to look at Catherine before speaking with a small smile. "You don't have to stay."

"I want to. Unless you don't want me to."

For a second Nick thought that he may have seen something in her eyes, but shook it off as he replied. "No you can stay, I'll probably crash though."

Catherine squeezed his hand. "That's ok, Nicky, you crash when you need to. I'll just stay until you do."

"Ok."

They just let the silence pass over them as they looked at one another, which strangely or not, they didn't mind one bit.

Grissom pulled the vehicle into their garage and turned it off before looking in the backseat, seeing Bailey had fallen asleep, so after him and Sara got out, and while she took Bailey's bike out of the back, he woke Bailey up so she could walk in the house and get ready for bed.

Then once they were inside the house, Grissom took Hank out for a walk while Sara made sure that Bailey got to her room without any incidents.

When Hank and Grissom came back inside, he made sure the house was secured before going upstairs, stopping at Bailey's bedroom door and opening it so he could check on his daughter, who was sound asleep in her bed, which that's when Hank took the opportunity to walked in the room before Grissom closed it.

Then he headed for the master bedroom, and after he stepped into the room, he heard the bathroom sink faucet running, so he just shuts the door before walking to his side of the bed and sitting down close to his nightstand. He looked at the closed bathroom door before opening the top drawer, moving papers and other items around so he can grab the item he was looking for at the bottom of it before pulling it out. After it was in front him, he went into his own thoughts.

From the moment he found out that Nick was taken until they got him out of that underground box, he didn't think he's ever been that scared before, outside of worrying about Sara, his daughter, or mother at certain points in his life. But it also really made him think what he wanted in his life, which even though he felt he already had it all, a beautiful, smart, daughter and a love from a woman that was beyond anything he's ever known, and if he was completely honest with himself, there was one more thing he wanted, he just hoped she wanted it too.

He was just coming out of his thoughts when Sara walked into the room from the bathroom, saying. "What a day/night, I'm exhau..." She stopped talking and walking when she saw what he was holding in front of him. "Griss?"

He took his eyes off his family's engagement ring to look at Sara's shocked face before he cleared his throat. "Sara..."

She cuts him off as she walked up to him. "Is that what I think it is?"

There was no point in lying because she was staring right at it, so he nodded. "Yes."

She shook her head. "Why do you have it?"

He spoke as he stood up. "Sara..."

But she cuts him off before looking into his eyes. "Is this because of what happened?"

He sighed a little. "Partly, yes." Sara was about to speak but he puts a finger to her lips to stop her before he continued. "It made me realize that we should grab a hold on whatever opportunity that presents itself to us." Sara nodded as she walked past him, needing to sit down at the end of the bed because her head was still spinning from the events that took place earlier, not too mention what was happening now.

Grissom turns as he looked at he with concern. "Sara..."

She cuts him off again as she looked up at him. "I just don't want this to be a knee jerk reaction because of what happened. This needs to be done for the right reasons."

Grissom nodded as he walked over to her, then he sat down next to her and placed his hand on top of hers. "I've honestly been thinking about this ever since my mom gave me this ring, and the feeling has only gotten stronger these last few months." He moved his hand from her hers to cup her cheek before looking into her bright eyes as he continued. "Since you've told me about your childhood, you've opened yourself up more to me in these last three months than you had in the first five months of us dating, and I've never felt closer to you." He took a breath before finishing with emotion. "I love you Sara, more than I can ever explain with words, and everything inside of me is telling me that this is right, so what do you think?"

Sara saw the hopeful look in his eyes as a tear came out of hers before it started to roll down her cheek, making him wipe it away as his eyes turned to concerned, so she placed her hand on top of his. "I've loved you since I was 20, even when I knew I had to try and get over you after you left Boston. Then 8 years later when we saw one another in San Francisco, the feelings were still there, and now they've grown so strong that I would feel lost without you."

Grissom's heart had sped up as he asked. "What are you saying?"

She sniffled before continue. "I'm saying I would love to marry you." He was about to smile when she spoke again. "But I'm scared."

He stopped the smile from forming and ran his thumb up and down her cheek as he asked in concerned tone. "Of what?"

Not able to look into his eyes at the moment, she removed her hand and looked at both of them while he took his hand off her to give her some space. "I watched and heard my parents fight, I saw their marriage deteriorate in front of my eyes. And since becoming a CSI, I've seen what lengths husbands, or wives would go to just to get ride of their spouses, or when a third party gets in the middle."

She stopped to wipe more tears off her cheek, and Grissom took that opportunity to cup her cheek again before he turned her head toward him, and when her eyes met his again, he replied. "I can't promise that we won't ever fight, because you and I both know that we can get pretty stubborn when we want to be." She couldn't help but smile a little as he continued. "But what I can promise is that I would never hurt you in anyway. I'm so sorry on any hurting I did to you in the past, but that was before I really listened to my heart, and now I can't help but do it all the time, especially when it beats for you, or when it is telling me that not marrying you would be the stupidest mistake of my life."

She smiled a little again as he moved his head closer to hers so his forehead was against hers while he whispered with emotion. "We aren't your parents, or anybody else, for that matter.
We are Sara and Grissom, two people who loved each other for a long time, even when parts of them made them think they shouldn't. Two people who I believe can beat any odds thrown at them, and two people who deserve to get as much happiness as they can in life." He pulls back to look into her eyes as he finished. "Especially the Sara half. She deserves it all, and I'm hoping that I'll get be the one to give it to her."

Tears started coming down Sara's cheeks again as she looked at the man staring right at her with those blue eyes, the man who had shown her so much since they've been together, especially love and comfort. There will never be a man out there who could show her more than what he had, or make her heart sing every time he spoke to her, looked at her, or even kissed her.
She also knew there was only one man she would ever be willing to take the biggest risk of her life for, one man that she would ever call husband. If it isn't the man she was looking at it right now, then it wasn't happening to her, which she knew that even before this moment.

And he was right about something, they were nothing like her parents, or anybody else. They were Sara and Grissom, two people, who in her heart, belonged together. Their names even went together. She's to the point that if she thinks of hers, she immediately thinks 'and Grissom' after it, which she was sure he did it too.

With her thoughts coming to a close, her loving man continued to wipe her tears off her cheek as she finally whispered. "Yes."

He stopped his action and looked at her wide-eyed with his heart racing. "Yes?"

She nodded with her smile growing. "Yes. I'm saying yes."

His smile grew too before he chuckled and brought her closer to him so he could give her a few pecks, then he pulls back and shook his head. "Wait, I have to do this right."

Sara shook her head as he stood up. "No you don't."

He nodded as he kneeled down on one knee and took her left hand. "This is my only time doing this, so I want to do it right." He sighed as he looked around their bedroom before looking at her again. "Although, when I pictured it in my head, this wasn't the place or how I wanted to do it."

Sara shook her head again as she cupped his cheek with her right hand while looking at him with love and tenderness. "I don't care about that. The promises that we keep and the commitment is what matters the most to me."

He nodded, then he cleared his throat as he placed the ring to the tip of her ring finger before asking with love and happiness in his eyes. "Sara Sidle, will you make an old man very happy, and marry me?"

Sara chuckled before she replied. "Yes, I will." Grissom's eyes beamed as he slid his family's ring on her finger, then as he cups both of her cheeks and brought her closer to him, she continued. "But he isn't old. He's just Grissom, my Grissom, and always will be." His eyes started to get misty at the sincerity of her words before they finally kiss softly and tenderly.

When they pulled back a few minute later, he placed his forehead to hers while closing his eyes, letting his emotions out again. "Thank you Sara, I love you so much."

She wraps her arms around his neck as she whispered back. "No, thank you Griss, and I love you so much too."

When they pulled back again, he raised his hand to cup her cheek again before he brought her closer to him a second time. But before their lips could touch, his cell phone rings from his pocket.

He lowers his forehead to her lips with a sigh, making her smile a little before kissing him there. Then he spoke as he pulled back from her lips. "This better be important." He then moves so he could get his phone out of his pocket before sitting down on the backs of his legs as answered his phone without checking who was calling him. "Grissom."

Sara was sitting there watching him, especially his facial expressions, which changed a few times before they settled on a happy look. Then after he hung up the phone, and sets it on the carpeted floor, she raised her eyebrow. "What?"

He took a moment before replying. "That was Ecklie."

That shocked her as she continued. "And it is making you smile?" Then she smiled a little with a smirk. "It must be good news, which should be surprising in itself coming from him."

He chuckled while he moved closer to her so he was between her legs while his knees were still on the floor, before he wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It is, and you are right. But with the news I just got, I wouldn't have cared who had given it to me."

She ran her fingers though his hair as she asked. "Well are you ever going to tell me this mysterious good news?"

He nodded with an even bigger smile. "The team is coming back as one."

Sara's face lit up at the prospect of working with the whole team, especially him, again. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yep. I told Ecklie I wanted my guys back before telling him that he made a huge mistake breaking the team up in the first place, and he actually listened to me."

"That is great." He nodded again while she sighed. "Too bad it took what happened to Nick to make him see that. But I guess in the end it all worked out, Nick's alive and recovering, and our team is coming back together."

Grissom's eyes get bright as he finished. "And we are engaged."

Her eyes get bright right back. "Yes we are, so that just makes this night even better."

Grissom nodded one more time as he moved his face toward her. "Yes it does."

When their lips touched again it was another soft and tender one, and Grissom was going to pull back and call it a night, but Sara wasn't quite ready to let go just yet, and before he knew it, she was laying on her back on the bed with him above her.

After a few more minutes, he pulls back and kissed her softly on her neck while she was going for the buttons on his shirt. He pulled back and looked down in her eyes as she continued her task. "I thought you were exhausted?"

She smiled while she getting the last button undone. "Funny how all the good news can add up and changes how you feel."

He chuckled as he cupped her cheek. "Right you are, honey."

As they looked into each another's eyes, it changed to passion for one another in a heartbeat, and they couldn't do anything more but act on it, so that's exactly what they did the moment his lips touched hers again.

AN: Hope you like this step. They tell their team next chapter. Please review.