A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! We hope you enjoy the new character we're bringing into the fold…

We don't own CSI. Minimal inspiration is taken from episode 420, "Dead Ringer."

February 2004

"Hey, have you guys seen this?"

Sara, Grissom and Catherine looked up from their evidence as Nick came into the layout room with Warrick on his heels.

"Is it case-related?" Grissom asked.

Nick glanced at Warrick, then flashed Grissom a winning smile. "Do you want the truth or what you want to hear?"

"Out with it," Catherine said. "What's got you two so excited?"

Warrick held up a flyer. "The Law Enforcement Desert Relay."

"It's in Vegas this year!" Nick said.

"One hundred twenty miles of relay race," Warrick said. "We want to get a CSI team together."

"We already talked to Ecklie," Nick said. "He said it's fine with him as long as we don't make him participate."

Catherine grinned. "That sounds like Conrad."

"So, what do you think?" Warrick asked. "Are you guys in?"

"Absolutely," Sara said. "Sounds like fun."

"Sure, I'll do it," Catherine said, glancing at Sara. "Want to train together?"

Not having run more than a mile at a time since grad school, Sara nodded. "Yeah."

"Griss?" Warrick asked. "Are you in, man?"

Grissom smiled slightly. "No."

"Aw, come on, Grissom!" Catherine teased. "Don't be an old lady about it!"

Grissom smiled again, but shook his head. "I'll leave the running to the young. You guys have fun with it."

Sara looked at him, waiting for him to look at her. When he finally did, he raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

"You're sure?" she asked quietly.

For the first time since Nick and Warrick had proposed the idea, Grissom thought, for just a moment, that he might like to join the relay. But, common sense prevailed. He was out of shape, his knees were just this side of shot and he knew there was no way he would be able to keep up with a team full of so many younger CSIs. He sighed.

"I'm sure."

Sara nodded silently, but something in her eyes said that the conversation wasn't quite over.

March 2016

"Sara. Sara, wake up."

Sara drags her sleepy eyes open to see Grissom hovering over her, holding Laura on his hip. "Hi," she mumbles.

"I've got to leave," he says. "I've got to pick up Mom at the airport. You need to take care of Laura."

Sara nods, still fighting sleep. "Just put her on the bed."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Sara, I need you to be awake right now."

Sara chuckles. "I'm awake." She sits up and smiles at Grissom. "Give her to me."

Grissom puts Laura down on the bed next to Sara. She smiles up at both of them and begins crawling over the blankets toward Sara's legs. Sara giggles.

"We'll be fine," she says. "Tell your mother hello for me. And, don't forget to invite her to dinner tomorrow."

He smiles. "I will. I'm going to spend some time with her after I pick her up, so I'll be gone a while."

Sara nods. Betty has been gone for several months, teaching two classes at the University of Central Florida; Sara did not expect this to be a quick run to the airport. "I'll get the kids. Don't worry about us."

Grissom leans down to kiss her goodbye. "I'll see you tonight."

Sara smiles and kisses him again. "Bye."

Grissom runs his hand over Laura's head. "Goodbye to you, too, sweetie." He straightens up. "You're sure you're not too tired for this?"

Sara smiles. "What if I am? You still have to leave."

"But, I could call Lindsey to stay with Laura so you can sleep longer."

Sara waves her hand dismissively. "I'm fine! Go! You're going to make yourself late if you don't stop standing around, worrying about me!"

Grissom smiles. He has spent so many years worrying about her that it has become second nature. "Okay. I'll see you later."

Blowing them both one last kiss, he leaves the room. Sara looks at the baby as they hear the front door close behind her departing husband.

"Well, kiddo, I guess it's just you and me now." She climbs out of bed and lifts the baby into her arms. "Let's go play."

"Mom!" Grissom waves his hand frantically as he tries to get closer to his mother through the throng of people at McCarran.

Betty catches sight of him and her face lights up with a smile. They meet halfway, and she hugs him tightly. When she pulls back her hands start to fly. Grissom laughs and catches them in both of his, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"I love you," he says, releasing her hands to sign the spontaneous expression. "And, I missed you."

She smiles. "How do you think I felt while you were traveling around the world, leaving your poor wife all alone in Las Vegas?"

"I thought this was about you missing me, not Sara."

"We were both here while you were off globe-trotting."

Grissom rolls his eyes. His "globe-trotting" had stopped the moment Sara told him she was pregnant. "I've been home for six years, Mom. Isn't that good enough?"

She smiles and pats his cheek. "I suppose."

"Come on. Let's get your luggage."

She loops her arm through his as he leads her to the luggage carousel. Grissom smiles down at her, and she pats his arm.

They are both glad she is home.

March 2004

"Hey."

Grissom looked up to see Sara leaning against his office doorframe, wearing extremely tight-fitting workout clothes. He smiled, hoping that he wasn't being overly obvious as he stared at her over his glasses.

"Going out for a run?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light.

Sara nodded. "Catherine and I are going for three miles today."

"Have fun."

Sara took a step into his office. "Would you like to join us?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No."

"Are you sure?"

He sighed and took his glasses off, setting them down on his desk. "I'm not a runner, Sara. I never have been. I'm sorry."

She nodded. "Okay. If you change your mind about the relay –"

"Sara –"

"- You could always drive a follow car," she finished. "I'll see you later."

She had to admit, it was a bit cowardly, leaving before he could turn her down. But, she just didn't think that she could handle more rejection from him – not when their friendship was so new, and so much fun. She'd leave him alone, and let him find her later to tell her no.

It was just easier that way.

March 2016

After making sure she isn't too tired after her flight, Grissom takes Betty to her favorite coffee shop to catch up. She smiles at him as she stirs her coffee.

"How was Orlando?" he asks, signing along with his verbal question. Although there was a time when signing alone was the only method of communication between him and his mother, Grissom has spent years simultaneously speaking and signing to make sure that she and Sara are both included in every conversation. Even though Sara and Anna have become so fluent in sign language that the verbalization is no longer needed, he still does it out of habit.

"Beautiful!" Betty's face lights up. "You should take Anna there. She would love it."

"She wants to go," Grissom affirms. "Disney."

Betty nods knowingly. "When do you leave?"

"We want to wait until she's old enough to remember it."

Betty smiles and nods again.

"How were your classes?"

Betty shrugs. "Not as beautiful as the countryside."

Grissom laughs. "Too long out of the classroom?" he suggested.

Betty nods. "I like working in administration much better." She takes a sip of her coffee. "But, what about you? How have things been here? How's my Anna?"

Grissom smiles. "Fine," he says. "She still loves school."

"Good." Betty smiles. "She's going to be a PhD, just like her daddy."

Grissom grins. "If that's what she wants."

"And, Sara?"

"She's fine," Grissom says. "Busy as always."

"Do you still have the boy?"

Grissom mentally cringed at her treatment of Jake, but kept his face impassive. Betty did not approve of their decision to take in Jake when they had, but she had left almost immediately to take the visiting professor position in Orlando; she had not even had a chance to meet him before departing.

"Yes," he says. "Jake is still with us."

Betty shakes her head, and Grissom steels himself for what he has to tell her.

"We actually just took in another foster child," he says, forcing himself to go slowly, to sign slowly, so that meaning is not lost. "A little girl. Laura. She's almost nine months old."

"Another one!" Betty's shock and outrage are shouted by the look on her face. "Gil, what are you and Sara thinking?"

Grissom frowns, a bit surprised by the violence of her response. "She's just a baby, Mom, and she needs a home."

Betty shakes her head. "Sara and her inability to overlook a stray …"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Grissom unintentionally raises his voice; other diners sitting near them turn to look at him.

"It means that her heart bleeds for everyone but her family," Betty explains. "She's like a little girl who wants to take care of every stray cat in the neighborhood, but can't remember to feed her own."

Grissom knows that he won't speak without yelling, and so abandons verbalizing. "Sara is one of the most loving, kind people I've ever had the privilege to know. NO ONE could be a better mother than she is. And, if she wants to share that maternal love with children who don't have mothers of their own, I support her."

"Oh, Gil. While she's busy mothering the world, who's mothering Anna?"

Grissom frowns. "What?"

"Have either of you stopped to consider the impact these foster children are having on Anna?"

"Of course. We talked a lot about that before we brought Jake home. I was worried about what kind of influence he would have on her, but it's been utterly positive on both sides. They treat each other like siblings. They're very sweet together. And, they both love Laura, too."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then, I have no idea what you mean."

Betty looks irritated that she has to spell this out for him. "Aren't you afraid that Anna will get … lost in the shuffle? That she'll resent all these other children taking her parents' attention? That she'll be forgotten?"

Grissom frowns. "Anna is hardly forgotten, Mom. And, she has her mother's big heart. She loves having foster siblings."

She pats his hand in a placating gesture and tries to smile, but the troubled look doesn't leave her eyes. "Okay, then."

"You can see her for yourself tomorrow at dinner," he says, finally feeling confident to speak at a normal level again.

She smiles. "I'm glad. I've missed her."

March 2004

"How was the run?"

Sara nearly jumped out of her skin at the words. She had not heard Grissom walk into the locker room, where she is finally getting her things together to leave. After running three miles with Catherine, the idea of driving home before taking a shower had been stomach-turning. As much as she disliked showering at the lab, it had felt wonderful to wash away the dirt, sweat and pain of their long run.

"Good," she finally answered. "We made our three miles."

"Is Catherine still here?"

Sara shook her head. "She had to go straight home to take Lindsey to school. I wasn't about to leave without a shower, so I stayed longer." She raised an eyebrow. "What are you still doing here?"

"I had some paperwork to finish up."

Sara smiled. "As always."

Grissom nodded his agreement. "Want to grab breakfast? Or do you need to get home?"

"No, I don't need to go home right now," Sara said, her smile widening. "Breakfast sounds great."

Grissom smiled back. "Good."

March 2016

Grissom arrives home to a family scene that makes him smile. Sara is making dinner, Jake is struggling through his English homework, and Anna is reading an ABC book to Laura in an attempt to teach her the alphabet. My mother is insane. We're all fine.

"Hey," Sara says in surprise, noticing him entering the kitchen. "Where did you come from?"

He smiles and crosses to kiss her. "Mom and I got done with our coffee a little sooner than expected."

Sara frowns at the look in his eyes, but he shakes his head and signs later. She nods slowly.

"Daddy!" Anna squeals as she runs into the room.

"Hey, Anna Banana," he says, swinging her up into his arms. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yes," she says. "I'm teaching Laura to read right now!"

He smiles. "What a good big sister."

"So good that she left her alone," Sara says, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She leaves the kitchen to rescue the baby who has been abandoned in the living room.

"Guess who's coming for dinner tomorrow?" Grissom says, adjusting Anna in his arms.

"Um … Uncle Jim."

Grissom shakes his head. "No."

"Aunt Catherine?"

"No. Jake, take a guess."

Jake, seated at the table, looks up from reading The Odyssey. He mentally runs through the Grissoms' friends that he has met. "Nick?" he asks almost hopefully, going for his favorite.

"No," Grissom says. He looks back at Anna with twinkling eyes. "Nana is coming."

"Yay!" Anna exclaims. "Nana has been gone forever!"

Sara walks into the room with Laura on her hip and looks at Jake, who is not joining in Anna's excitement.

"What's up?" she asks.

Jake nods toward Grissom and Anna. "He just told us about the dinner company for tomorrow."

"Oh. Yeah, Betty's coming over."

Jake nods.

"Is that okay with you?" Sara asks.

Jake shrugs.

Sara smiles and sits down across from him. "Listen," she says, arranging Laura in her lap, "there is no one who knows better than I do how hard it can be to get to know Betty. She's a tough nut to crack. But, I think we all are in our own way. And, as abrasive as she can seem … she's Gil's mother and Anna's grandmother, and for that, if for nothing else, I love her." She shrugs. "I'm not asking you to do the same. Just … be polite, okay?"

He nods. "I'm not sure how I can be polite or rude when I can't even talk to her."

"Ah. Good point." She turns to Anna, who is still talking Grissom's ear off with her plans for everything she wants to tell and show Betty. "Anna, do me a favor."

"Okay," she agrees, sliding out of Grissom's arms and scurrying to her mother.

"Let Jake finish his homework, then teach him some sign language so he can talk to Nana tomorrow."

She grins. "Okay."

March 2004

"So, how's your training going?"

"Like I said, I'm up to three miles," Sara replied, pleased that Grissom was interested. She poured syrup over her waffles. "Next week, we're going to start training with Nick, Warrick and Greg. That should make things interesting."

Grissom smiled. "I have a feeling the three of them will have a hard time keeping up with you and Catherine."

Sara returned his smile. "Nick and Warrick have gotten twenty CSIs to sign up for our team. That's something, huh?"

"Impressive," Grissom said. He took a bite of his toast. After chewing it and swallowing, he spoke again. "I signed up to drive a follow car."

Sara's eyes widened. "You did?"

He laughed. "Don't act so surprised! It was your suggestion."

"Yeah, but I didn't necessarily think you'd take it."

"Well …" He paused. "The team is important, and this race is important, and … I didn't want to miss out." A bittersweet smile crossed his face. "I've missed a lot of opportunities. I don't want to let another one pass me by."

Sara smiled, suddenly feeling very tingly. She had a feeling they weren't just talking about the race. "I'm glad."

March 2016

"So," Sara says, "is it later now?"

Grissom sighs and nods. The children are all in bed; he and Sara are sitting on the couch together, trying to find something to watch on television. It is the perfect moment.

"What's bothering you?" Sara asks.

"I told Mom about Laura."

"Oh," Sara says. "I'm guessing she didn't take it well."

He shakes his head. "No."

"She wasn't thrilled about Jake, either."

"She still isn't."

"You know, for someone who was so excited to be a grandmother, you'd think she'd be pleased about us bringing more children into the family."

"She's worried about Anna."

Sara rolls her eyes. "This again? Okay, I can see where you were coming from before we brought Jake home. He's a teenager, he could have been a hardened criminal, and he could have been a bad influence on Anna. But, Laura isn't even a year old. What can she possibly do to corrupt Anna's innocence?"

"That's what I thought she meant, too. But, that's not what she's getting at."

Sara frowns. "What has her so upset, then?"

"She thinks Anna is being adversely affected by having all these foster children parading through the house."

"They're hardly parading," Sara says. "Jake has been here for months, and Laura …" She trails off, not daring to bring up the possibility that both of them could become permanent members of the family. She just can't bear to hear him say no. Not yet.

"Look, Sara, she thinks that we're essentially taking in every stray we can find." Grissom says the words in a rush, hoping to take away some of their venom.

It doesn't work. Sara looks stung and hurt by his words. "Is that what you think?" she asks.

"If that was what I thought, I would have refused to let either of them come into our home," he says firmly. "But …"

"But, what?"

"The more I think about it … Sara, I keep thinking of Lionel Dell."

Sara's eyes widen. "What about him?"

"Do you remember when you interrogated him?"

She nods, shivering slightly. "I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"Do you remember what you did after? What we did?"

She nods again. "We watched that video footage from his birthday party – tried to identify all his foster siblings." She shivers again. "We were looking for Natalie."

"When we did that, you told me that Lionel could only remember some of their names."

"Yeah." She shakes her head. "They weren't foster siblings to him. They were just fosters that his parents took in – that, to him, they loved more than him."

Grissom nods. "I don't … I'm …" He swallows. "Sara, I don't want that for Anna. I don't want her to think that we love these foster kids more than her. I don't want so many of them to go through this house that, in fifteen years, she won't remember their names."

"I don't want that, either," Sara agrees. "This isn't an orphanage, Gil. We're a family first. Always."

"Right." Grissom licks his lips. "We need to make sure that Anna knows that."

Sara exhales. "Okay," she says. "No more fosters."

Grissom's eyebrows shoot up. "What?"

"No more. We'll keep Jake and Laura, but no more after them. If Melinda calls and asks us to take another, we'll turn her down." She smiles slightly. "At this point, we can't take another without asking the kids to share rooms, anyway."

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Grissom asks.

"Yes."

"Even if …"

"If what?"

He takes her hand. "If Melinda calls tomorrow and says they've found Laura's family and she's leaving us, will you stick with this? Or will you want another one to take her place?"

Sara swallows, but holds his eyes. "Even then," she says. "Anna is the most important thing, Gil. She needs to understand that people are people, not placeholders."

Grissom nods. "Okay. No more fosters."

Sara smiles slightly. "I like our family as it is."

He smiles and pulls her into his arms. "I do, too."