Months of writing, and it's finally finished!

This is set around the same time as Immortality, and I used that episode as a basis for this story. AU, with hints of the cannon storyline. There are also Easter Eggs dotted throughout, referencing previous episodes. Some are pretty obvious, so a little less so (can you spot them?).

The story is completed, so I will be updating pretty regularly. I won't be doing AN's on every chapter as I'd like it to flow as if you were reading a novel, but will put some in if needed.

Please, please review. You know how much I love them! This is the longest story, and biggest project I've ever worked on. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this. My sisters, this wouldn't have happened without you!

Chapter 1

August 2013

The bar was heaving, which wasn't uncommon for the strip. All tables were taken, and, with no standing room available inside, Sara Sidle found herself in the smoking area, leaning against one of the tall tables lining the edge of the courtyard. Trying not to cough too much from the smoke being sent her way. A young woman walked past, exhaling in Sara's direction and she couldn't supress the choke that came when the vapour snaked its way down her throat.

Not for the first time that night, Sara wished they had chosen a different bar to celebrate their rare night off together. But she wasn't going to complain. This was the guy's choice, and tonight was special.

"Man, it's busier than fight night in there tonight," Nick said as he wound his way through the crush of people, holding two beers aloft as to not spill them. He handed one to Sara when he reached her.

"Well," she said as she took a sip. "You're the one who wanted to come here."

"Yeah, when I thought it would be a nice quiet evening for the three of us," Nick replied, stepping to the side as another patron almost stood on his foot.

"Where is Greg?" Sara asked, looking over heads to see if she could find her friend in the sea of faces.

"He was talking to Lucy when I left him."

"Lucy? What happened to Morgan?" Sara asked.

"Please, there is no way Greggo is going to make a move there. Especially with the idea of Ecklie as a perspective father-in-law," Nick laughed.

"Come on, Greg isn't that shallow. I guarantee, as soon as he releases Morgan is interested, he'll jump on the chance," Sara said, still watching out for her friend.

"You really think there's something between them?" Nick asked. "Honestly, I don't see it."

"Well, I do know a little something of romance in the workplace," Sara replied, her lips quirking up in a half smile. Nick rolled his eyes in mock exasperation, and Sara chuckled. Nicks inability to notice her own romance was a sore spot with him, especially when he prided himself in being Grissom's best student.

Sara's smile faltered a little as she thought of her absentee husband. They hadn't spoken in almost a month. He was currently at a dig in Uganda and though they had both tried to contact the other, things kept getting in the way. Mainly Sara's unsociable working hours.

"How is Grissom?" Nick asked, turning to look at her.

"He's," Sara hesitated. How was Grissom? The truth was, she didn't know, but that was the point on this little get together. "Good," she replied finally, hoping she wasn't lying to him. Nick nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Sara take another sip of her beer.

Before he could question her further, Greg walked over to them. Doing the same dance as Nick while he tried to avoid the crowd.

"Seriously, Nick, couldn't we have gone somewhere a little less crowded," Greg said as he drew level, holding his beer close to his chest to avoid spillage.

"Sara's the one who wanted this little drinking session, I just made a suggestion," Nick said. Greg just grinned at Sara with raised eyebrows, she held up her glass to hide her chuckle.

"I didn't say drinking session," she retorted. "I just said it would be nice to grab a drink."

"Same thing," Nick replied with a wink. "So, what is the reason for this impromptu invite? Early birthday celebration?"

"No," Sara said, a little nervous. Last time, she didn't get the chance to really speak to the team before. Just a letter to Grissom and a call to the cab company. That wasn't what she wanted to do this time round. "I, um, I actually wanted to tell you guys something."

Nick and Greg looked up at her, expectantly. Talking to Russell hadn't been half this difficult, but these guys were family.

"Are you pregnant?" Greg asked, a smile lighting his face. Sara laughed so hard she spat out some of the beer she had been sipping.

"First of all," she said as Nick handed over a tissue, snickering. "Do you think I'd be drinking if I were pregnant?"

"No," Greg said, a little sheepishly.

"Plus, I haven't seen my husband in, like, six months. When exactly am I supposed to have gotten pregnant?" The realisation hit Sara like a sucker punch, but she had to laugh as Greg's sheepish look burned red with embarrassment. Nick punched the younger man on the shoulder, laughing at him. Eventually, Greg grinned. Face still tinged red. Man was she going to miss these guys.

Sara pushed a strand of hair from her face, the gold of her wedding band catching her eye as the lights from the bar reflected off it. She lowered her hand, eyes fixed on the simple ring that Grissom had given her. He had wanted to buy her an engagement ring but, Sara had told him, this was all she needed.

She looked up to see Nick and Greg laughing, neither of them noticing where her attention had shifted too.

"So," Nick said, still grinning at Greg. "What did you want to tell us?"

Sara took a breath, steeling herself for what she was about to say.

"You know I love you guys," she said, looking both of them in the eye. She had been working with both men since she first joined the Las Vegas Crime Lab, all those years ago. They had been with each other through the good times and the bad, supporting one another. Protecting one another. And Sara couldn't honestly see her life without them in it. But she had made her decision.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Nick said. His smile had fallen slightly, but it was still evident on his face. Sara knew she wouldn't have to explain herself; they would understand.

"I miss my husband," she said, softly. They were both smiling at her, a little sad. "The long distance isn't working for me anymore."

"When do you go?" Greg asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't spoken to Grissom yet, they joy of living in different time zones, but I'm hoping it will be in the next couple of weeks. I've already told Russell and agreed to finish up with my last couple of cases and help him find a replacement."

"Wow," Nick said, huffing out a breath. "This is huge." He stopped for a moment before adding. "Is this really what you want?" He asked, his eyes searching her face. It wasn't hard to interpret that look. Sara loved her job, it was part of who she was, but she loved her husband more. It was time.

"Yes," she said, with a smile. "It is." Nick nodded, his face splitting into a wide grin.

"I'm happy for you, Sara," he said, pulling her into a fierce hug and gripping her shoulder tight. Greg was right behind him, holding her close as he spoke softly.

"Me too," he said as her hair brushed his face. "I'll miss you."

"We both will," Nick added. Sara could feel tears pricking at her eyes. She knew the guys would support her, no matter what she decided to do, but finally telling them. Finally saying it out loud… Sara wasn't prepared for just how emotional she would feel. She looked at her two friends, her found family, and knew. Even if she was on the other side of the world, Sara Sidle would never stop loving Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders.

"Well," Nick said, his voice thick as he cleared his throat. "I think a toast is in order." Nick raised his glass and smiled at Sara and Greg before his eyes slid past the latter. An amused expression crossed his face, and he lowered his glass slightly. "Don't look now," he said, grinning at Sara. "But I think your boyfriend is about to crash our party?"

"What?" Sara asked, confused. She looked over at where Nick gestured, and her face fell slightly. "Did you tell him where we were going?" She hissed.

"Don't look at me, I haven't spoken to him for a couple of days."

"Greg?"

"I didn't say anything?" The younger man replied as he quickly glanced over his shoulder. On the other side of the courtyard stood Jimmy Thompson, a psychiatrist the three of them had worked with on a couple of occasions over the last three years. He was a good-looking man of around forty-five. Tall with black hair, flecked with grey at the temples. Clean shaven and bushy eyebrows. A straight, slightly pointed nose and strong jaw.

When he noticed the three CSIs looking over at him, he gave them a huge smile and waved. Nick nodded his head, still very much amused. Greg waved awkwardly and Sara rose her hand and quickly brought it down.

"How does he always know where we are?" She asked the guys, quietly. She didn't have anything against the man. In fact, for a shrink, he was actually alright. But Sara couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable in his presence. Maybe it was her initial attraction to him, he was very good-looking after all, or the way he would watch her when he thought the others weren't looking. Or, perhaps, it was the guilty feeling she had when she realised; she was flattered by the attention.

Sara was a happily married woman, or at least a semi-happily married woman. She had no business catching the eye of handsome doctors. She didn't want to catch the eye of handsome doctors. Just the one, currently living on a different continent.

"Well," Nick said, smirking at her. "I think it's more the fact that he knows where you are." Sara threw him an unamused look. It had been a running joke since they had met Jimmy. At first, Sara didn't mind. It was all in fun, and she had done nothing to lead the doctor on, but tonight she wasn't in the mood. This was her unofficial goodbye drinks with her two closest friends, she didn't want their evening taken over by Dr Jimmy and his, admittedly fascinating, stories.

"Hi guys," Jimmy said as he made his way over to them. He gave Nick and Greg a quick nod before smiling at Sara. She returned it, with what she hoped was polite and uninviting wince. Pursing her lips and raising her chin a little in welcome. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, tonight."

"Nor us you," Greg said, taking Jimmy's attention form Sara. She threw him a small, grateful smile.

"Well, it's Chloe's leaving do, so we thought we'd come here for a few before heading off to a club."

Sure enough, when Sara looked behind him, she could see a couple of the other doctors in his practice looking over at them. Clearly waiting for Jimmy to return before going in.

"So," Jimmy said, his gaze retuning to Sara. "What brings out Las Vegas' finest on this busy night?"

"We're actually having a sort of goodbye drinks of our own," Nick said, once more taking Jimmy's attention. Jimmy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I didn't know you were leaving, Nick."

"Not me," Nick replied, putting an arm around Sara's shoulders. She grinned, a little embarrassed at Nick's open display of affection, but glad for it all the same. Jimmy's eyes swung to Sara, growing so wide that, if she weren't so uncomfortable, she might have laughed at the expression.

"Really?" He said, his voice laced with something Sara couldn't place. "Has some big FBI lab snapped up the great Sara Sidle at last?" He was smiling at her, but it didn't quiet meet his eyes.

"Um, no," Sara said, extracting herself from Nick, though still keeping close. "Actually, I' m going to meet with Dr Grissom in Uganda."

"Wow, so the infamous Dr Grissom has finally decided he wants his wife back then?" Jimmy was grinning, but his voice was tight. Sara didn't like his tone as he said her husband's name.

"Something like that," she replied.

"Well, that's great, Sara. Really. I'm happy for you," Jimmy said, his voice once more light and seemingly carefree. He pulled Sara into a hug and kissed her cheek. Light flashed somewhere to Sara's right, and she could see, out of the corner of her eye, Jimmy's colleagues taking the obligatory goodbye selfies. She needed to get a few of them with the guy's tonight, she didn't have any up-to-date photos of the three of them.

When Jimmy released her, she could see Nick's teasing grin as he watched her stumble back. Still clutching at her half-drunk beer.

Jimmy said goodbye then and left the three of them to re-join his party. Once he was out of earshot, Greg let out a laugh.

"I think you may have just broken poor Jimmy's heart, Sara," he said, and Sara smacked him, playfully, on the arm.

"I doubt it," she replied. She watched as Jimmy walked right up to one of the doctors, a tall blonde, and kiss her soundly on the mouth. The blonde giggled and Jimmy put an arm around her waist. "Anyway, where were we?"

"I think Nick was going to amaze us with a heart wrenching toast," Greg said, turning to the Texan. Nick smirked and raised his glass once more.

"We'll miss you, Sara. The team is not the same without you, but I know you'll be happy in your next great adventure," Nick said, smiling down at her. "To Sara and Grissom, the most unorthodox, but adorable couple I know."

Sara smiled back up at her two friends, all thoughts of Jimmy Thompson gone as the three of them clinked their glasses.