Coming to Vegas was a strange feeling for Sara. She considered the city still a kind of her home town, but she felt uneasy to be here. First she had denied Sofia's request to join her to Vegas because she wasn't sure if Grissom was still here. After a phone call with Greg she knew Grissom wasn't in Las Vegas, he was back in Paris, had only visit Vegas when he was also in Wyoming, she was happy that Sofia was with her. So much for his statement he was back and wanted to stay in Vegas. She hadn't believed it last year because he had told her during the summer that he had a contract for two more years, one of the main reasons why Sara got sick and tired of her marriage with him. Probably he would stay forever in Paris; or at least as long as they gave him all the projects he wanted to have.
"Wow, you look great!" Greg hugged Sara. She had called her old colleagues for a breakfast in their old favorite diner.
"Thanks."
"Life in the country side suits you. Let's see, do you wear cowboy boots?" He looked down to find some sneakers.
"No I don't."
"But Sofia does." Nick hugged the blonde. "Haven't seen you in ages. It wasn't nice of you to run away and leave us here alone."
"Sorry a new life was calling."
"A new life in the wilderness."
"Las Vegas is a kind of wilderness too. Only that I prefer my wilderness."
"You took our new old CSI away." Greg complained. "I was so happy when Sara was back and you made her leave after less than two years."
"You didn't take care of her. Twice in hospital within a month, back in hospital less than a month after I sent her back to you, Greg. I'm sorry but she's better off with me. Almost half a year of work, no hospital and – as you said – she looks great."
"I bet there's man the secret." Cath grinned.
"A man, a family, a great boss and the world's most relaxing job ever."
"You're a pen pusher?"
"No, I carry benches, clean stables, sit for hours on the back of a horse, guide tourists through the area, clean bungalows, there's plenty of work. The difference is, if I dare to be out of the house after ten in the evening, my boss comes to me and kicks me in the ass. I'm not suppose to work long hours." Sara smiled at Sofia.
"We start around seven, the animals get their dinner around seven in the evening, if she dares to be out on the fields after eight, I come out and she's in trouble. I don't allow double shifts without breaks."
"Missing out all the good things Jamie cooks is a good reason to come back in."
"And a man." Cath insisted. For her there had to be a man in Sara's life otherwise she doubted the brunette would change her life that much and she had some things from Grissom that made her believe, Sara had replaced him.
"Actually two."
"What?" Cath was speechless.
"Why am I not one of them?" Greg asked.
"Sorry Greggo."
"You're too old." Sofia smirked.
"Too old? I am younger than Sara. Three years."
"Yes, too old. She's dating my son."
"Your son? Oh, she's a babysitter. I thought she was talking about a real boyfriend."
Sara looked amused at Sofia. "I think they don't know how old you are, Sofia. She has got a son who is in a legal age for drinking, voting, driving. She isn't that young anymore…ouch." Sara held her arm. Sofia had pinched her. It had been a long time since the blonde had done that to her.
"She didn't have a child when she left here…." Nick wondered.
"I adopted three children, well, Jon, the oldest one, was almost eighteen when I adopted him, he's twenty-two now. And dating Sara. I've no idea why he picked such an old bitch, I always thought he's a smart man, guess I was wrong."
"She doesn't like the idea I'm having…dates with her son." Sara jumped aside so Sofia couldn't pinch her again."
"You're dating a twenty-two old?" Cath couldn't believe this. That wasn't Sara. The Sara who married Grissom, a man over fifteen years senior her age was now with a man young enough to be her child.
"Yes. He's cute, absolutely not like Sofia."
"He looks as great as I do. He's my son."
"I want a picture!" Cath demanded.
"I want an explanation why he got you and I didn't."
"Because I love you like a brother, Greggo. See the upside of it, we won't split, we'll always be friends. Isn't that worth anything?"
"It's priceless." He laid his arm around her.
"These are my babies." Sofia got a photo out of her pocket with all her four children on. As a good mom she carried a few of them in her pockets.
"Wow, Sara." Cath had to admit she understood why Sara fell for Sofia's son. Why couldn't she get a young lover? What was wrong with the world?
"Yes Jon is wow."
"A young lover…but I can see five children, Sofia. You said you've four."
"The tall blond, the black one, the girl and the baby blonde. The other dark blonde one is Jon's son Kieran."
"The second man in my life." Sara smiled. They had taken Kieran and Patrick with them, they were with the captain.
"A new man and a child. Wow"
"A new job, a new hobby, you renewed your life, Sara."
"There's still a place for you in my new life, Greg. I hope you'll come to Wyoming to visit me. How good are your riding skills?"
"They don't exist."
"Well, if you come up for a week or two we can change that and you can join me on an overnight ride. We get in the national park, sleep on a shore of a lake and have breakfast in the sunrise."
"I've no idea how talented I am with horses."
"We'll find out. I never been on a horse before I came to Sofia's ranch and now I don't fall down anymore…not that often…"
"She has her own two horses." Sofia grinned. "I took her to an auction and she bought a mare that was in foal. A few days later she had a foal to her mare."
"Yeah, Fortuna. I want to take her with me on the rides this year."
"This doesn't sound like Sara Sidle we got in our team twelve years ago." Nick grinned.
"I changed a bit."
"That is one of the biggest understatements I've heard in the last years." Sofia smiled benignly. Sara changed a big in the last months, she had changed a lot between the time Sofia had met her first in Vegas and the last summer and as far as she knew, Sara had been a real bitch and loner in her early days in Vegas. There had been a big change in Sara's life and personality.
"Bite me, Curtis."
"That's more like you."
"What brought you to Vegas? Beside the fact that you missed us?" Nick asked.
"Well the babies wanted to see the captain again, Jamie, my other son, had to be in Vegas this week because he studies here. Or he has to be here for tests, he studies at home. So we use the week for a trip to Vegas, left Jon and Cat alone with the work. My daughter uses the week to have a few friends over, they make sure the horses are alright and Jon makes sure, the girls don't mess up the place. Five out of seven are away, I'm not that happy with this constellation but somehow everybody else thought it's a good idea to get away for a week."
"Don't look at me." Sara protested. "It wasn't my idea. Don't punish me for the ideas of your children."
"I wonder what they plan."
"I swear I've no idea."
"But you agree, they plan something."
"Yes." Yes Sara had the feeling something was going on and that Jon, Cat and Jamie wanted them away. Why and what they were planning, Sara had no idea. She had tried to find out something the last days they were at home, but she couldn't find any clues or evidence for what the kids were planning.
"Maybe they clean the house and surprise you with that." Cath suggested. Her dream that one day she comes home and Lindsey had cleaned the whole place. So far she hadn't been close to reality with this.
"I doubt that."
"You'll see when you're back on Saturday."
"When it's too late."
"You can also stay in Vegas and work with us again." Greg offered. "Both of you."
"Uhm no, thanks. My home is in Wyoming, I've a ranch to take care of."
"And I've a mare and a foal to take care of."
"A boyfriend and a boy." Greg added.
"They could come to Vegas too, my horses can't. They need their freedom."
"I wanted to offer you to take me instead of your men but I guess I can't replace your horses."
"Greg, are you trying to hit on my son's girlfriend?" Sofia asked and looked evil at Greg. It was time to be a mother-in-law. Somebody tried to steal the girlfriend of her son, she couldn't just let this happen.
"Uhm…no…"
"Good. I wouldn't like that. He loves her, I don't want to see him heartbroken because some guy with crazy hair hits on his girlfriend while she is away. Keep your hands off that girl, she's all Jon's."
"Your mother-in-law is very…she takes care of you." Nick grinned.
"Yes she does. It's her job, the detective takes care of the CSI. She'll always be my detective and I'll always be her CSI." Sara blinked at Sofia.
"That didn't look like that years ago when she actually was your detective and you her CSI."
"Oh Cath, things have changed. Who would have thought that one day I wake up in hospital and Sofia on my bed, where everybody would expect my husband…ex husband." Her lawyer had told her until the end of the year she was divorced. Because Grissom didn't agree it was likely take longer than they had hoped. But when the year of separation was over, Sara was free to marry somebody else. Not that she planed to get married any time soon. And soon meant in this case the next years.
"Somebody had to make sure you're alright. Grissom didn't do that so I had to come to Vegas to make sure, you did what the doctor told you."
"Nonsense."
"Necessary. Greg has no idea how to handle you, he didn't make sure you had breaks so I had to come here and take you with me. Now you're fine and we're all glad you're with us. Sorry Vegas guys, you had your chance, didn't take it, we won't let her go anymore." Sofia pulled an arm around Sara's waist. She couldn't imagine how her life without Sara would be and she didn't want to think about that.
