Hey guys, this is it! Finito! Its been a long ride, and I hope its been worth it. I am going to start working on the next story asap.
Since this one has been very plot-based, the next one will be much more relationship based :)

Thank you all for your patience and your reviews, you're the best! :) Until next time ... xx

His greeting was less of a welcome and more a disheartened groan, but she entered anyway.

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine today?" She chuckled, taking a seat opposite his desk.

"Oh, Catherine." He sighed, his tired features relaxing somewhat. "Sorry, it's just been one of those shifts."

She smiled knowingly. It had been a long shift for them all.

"So," he put his pen down and folded his hands on his paperwork expectantly. "What brings you here?"

Cath pursed her lips.

"Sara." She stated coyly at last, watching carefully as a telltale look crossed the detective's face.

"What about Sara?" He cleared his throat, straightened up in his chair.

"You knew ... about her Ruby." She added, quirking an eyebrow. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Jim laughed, shaking his head. This had been a long time coming; he had been wondering when Catherine would weasel the truth out of Sara.

"Hey, she swore me to secrecy." He held up his hands in defence. "Besides, I took care of it. There was no need for the whole team to find out."

Catherine nodded carefully in understanding, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

"Thank you for looking out for her."

"And for clearing the path for you?" He added with a cheeky grin.

She blinked, affronted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, feeling her cheeks begin to heat up.

"Come on Cath, I've known you for a long time. I know things about you that other people don't." He smirked. "And I know Sara. And I sincerely hope two of you can figure the rest out for yourselves."

She smiled, standing up.

"I don't know about that." She answered. "But we're sure as hell going to try."

She started to leave, when a last minute thought struck her and she turned back to face him.

"Uh, Jim ... there's something you should probably know. Ruby called Sara this week, once the restraining order ran out."

"I know." He nodded imperceptibly towards his computer. "I'm on it."

She smiled, gratefully acknowledging that the situation was in hand.

"Are you coming to the diner for breakfast?" She offered, changing the subject.

Brass cocked his head to the side, pretending to think about it for a moment.

"Is Gil buying?"

They pulled up outside the diner and sat in silence for a moment. It had been a long shift and they all needed a breather before going home.

After a few minutes, Catherine finally turned to her companion.

"Sara told me that you talked to her about the promotion." She cleared her throat. "That you offered it to Nick, because you were worried about what other people might think if you gave it to her. Since when do you take any notice of the rumour mill?"

There was a light-heartedness to her voice that he hadn't heard for a while, but she was clearly expecting an answer non-the-less.

"When it concerns my team." He answered simply. "And speaking of, there's another rumour doing the rounds ... about you and Sara?"

"What about me and Sara?" She pressed cautiously.

"Well, I was hoping you could clarify that." He answered enigmatically. "You've been very close since we got back from California. People are noticing that."

"So, let them notice." She shrugged, toying with a loose thread on her sleeve. It had been easier discussing it with Jim, but somehow it felt wrong having this conversation with Grissom. When he continued to stare at her expectantly, she sighed. "I don't know, Gil. I honestly don't know what we are right now."

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Is she?"

Catherine turned towards the diner. The rest of their team was already there, sitting in the window. Sara was on one side of the booth, protectively pinned between Nick and Warrick. Greg and Brass were sat opposite them. If any of them knew that their supervisors were outside, they gave no sign of it as they joked and laughed together as if the last few weeks had never happened.

"I hope so."

Gil followed her gaze towards the amassed group and smiled fondly.

"They're doing okay, aren't they?"

"Yeah, they are." She agreed. "It's going to take some time, but we'll get there in the end."

Deciding that they had kept the team waiting long enough, she opened her car door to get out, but he placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Cath, I'm still not sure how I feel about it and I don't really know how to say this but ... I just want you to be happy. Both of you."

He didn't elaborate; just released her arm and clambered out, strolling leisurely across the parking lot to join his teammates.

"Hey, there you two are!" Warrick stood up and allowed Catherine to slide into the booth beside Sara.

"We were starting to think that you two had skipped out on us." Brass added.

"Yeah, which would be a real shame, because none of us have any money." Nick finished, shooting his boss a playful grin.

"Well, it's going to be a light breakfast for you then." Gil retorted with ease.

As the coffee flowed, so did the friendly banter between the team, until their plates arrived and they all fell into a contented silence for a few minutes.

"You know," Greg mused, chewing on a piece of bacon. "In a weird sort of way, we owe a lot to Freddy."

Sara cocked her head at him with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it was because of him that we were all drawn to Vegas, right? He was bringing us all back to his home. So, if not for him, we would never have met again. And that would have been a real shame."

They all thought about his proposition for a minute, before Nick raised his coffee mug.

"To Freddy, and may the homicidal pervert forever rest in Hell."

The coffee mugs clinked as surprised laugher rumbled through the group.

Under the table, Catherine slipped her hand into Sara's and squeezed gently. It was true; they did owe a lot to Freddy. Somehow, his despicable acts had created something beautiful between them. And, although their relationship was still as delicate as the little seedling Sara had planted over Freddy's grave, it was rooted in a deep history that neither of them would ever be able to forget again.

And that was as good a reason as any to give it a try.

Sara turned and smiled. Grissom caught sight of the subtle action between the two women and raised his own drink, locking eyes with Catherine across the table.

"To new beginnings."

~ Fin ~