Chapter 34

I was already coming back.

Already coming back!

Sara forgot that there were other people in the room. She forgot that there was still a case to be solved. All other memory and thought left her. Save that one.

He was already coming back. Before the fire. Before the bombing. Before Heather. He was coming back.

Grissom was watching her, his face soft and open as she read the reason in his eyes. It was for her, not Heather. He came for her. Sara's heart felt like it was bursting out of her chest. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened as she watched his face. A shy smile quirked at his lips. She could feel Nick and Morgan watching her, but she didn't care.

"You were already coming back?" She asked, her voice a whisper, trying to hide the emotions now swirling through her. Grissom only nodded, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. "Why?" She knew, but she wanted him to say it. To confirm in words what his face was screaming.

"I imagine," he said, lips lifting as he gazed at her. "For the same reason you were leaving." Tears started to burn behind her eyes.

"Did you tell anyone else?" Russell asked, making the couple start a little. Sara could see Finn frowning, clearly displeased with her boss' lack of tact. Sara glanced over at Catherine, blinking quickly to dispel the water gathering. The older woman only gave her warm smile, winking a little before turning her attention to the two men now conversing.

"No," Grissom replied. "Heather was the only person I told." Sara didn't care. She didn't care that he had spoken to Heather about it, had confided in her. For the first time since the dominatrix came into their lives, Sara did not feel a hint of jealousy towards the older woman. Didn't feel even a twinge on unease over Grissom's friendship with her.

Sara finally understood. Understood him. Understood Heather. Understood herself. She understood why Grissom stayed in touch with her. Heather was the only person in their lives that wasn't connected with Sara. The only person who wouldn't have to choose between them. The only person who, if she did ever question Grissom about the divorce, would only do so with his feelings in mind. Not Sara's.

Grissom distanced himself from everyone. Had made it so they didn't have to choose between them. But with Heather… he didn't need too.

And Sara found that she was thankful. Thankful that he had at least one person who could stand by him, after he had pushed all the others away.

"We need to speak to her," Russell said. "See if she had told anyone about your returning."

"We'll talk to her," Sara found herself saying. "Grissom and I," she clarified. They may never become 'best friends', or even 'friends'. But Sara felt the sudden need to see her, to clear the air. To finally put aside the petty rivalry that seem to be the catalyst of their entire relationship.

Russell's brows rose, Nick and Greg exchanged uneasy looks. But Catherine just smiled.

It was like a weight had been lifted off her. That ugly, green-eyes monster put in its place.

"Ok," her supervisor said. "Go and talk to her tomorrow. In the meantime…" but Russell couldn't finish his sentence as Archie came flying into the room.

"I'm sorry," the tech tech said, a little breathlessly. "I've just finished processing the USB Sara gave me."

"What have you got?" Russell asked, but Archie didn't look at him. His oval eyes were wide and staring at Sara.

"You need to see this," he said, before rushing out of the room. Sara and Grissom shared a confused look before following the lab rat. Everyone, with the exception of Vartann and Finn, trailed after them.

"What is it, Archie?" Sara asked as they entered the AV lab.

"How long have you known Dr Thompson?" Archie asked, taking her aback.

"About three years," Sara said, hesitantly.

"That's what I thought," he said and clicked a button on his keyboard. Pictures flashed on the big screen and Sara's mouth dropped. It was a slideshow. Pictures of her and Jimmy. But Sara had not recollection of when those photos were taken. Pictures of them holding hands, embracing. Even a couple of them kissing. They seemed vaguely familiar to her, but Sara couldn't understand why.

It wasn't until one particular picture caught her eye. "Stop," she said, as the photo filled the screen. "This isn't right." She turned to Grissom, who was frowning at the photo. "That picture. That was…" She stopped at his eyes widened in recognition.

"Our wedding day," he finished.

"What?" Catherine said, moving to get a better view, her eyes widening as she took in the picture.

"That's our wedding photo," Sara said. The picture showed her and Jimmy, standing in front of a waterfall in Costa Rica, gazing lovingly towards each other. But Sara remembered that photo. Remembered that day more clearly than any other day in her life. It was taken just after their vows. Just after their first kiss as husband and wife. Sara and Grissom.

"That's what I noticed," Archie said. "I know that picture. Catherine sent it to us all, after you guys got married. So, I looked into it." He sat at his desk and started clicking away. Archie pulled up various tabs, full of numbers even Sara didn't understand. "The meta data is all off. The pixels don't match."

"He photoshopped it," Nick said, turning to Archie for conformation. The AV tech nodded.

"I looked through the rest of the photos, and almost all of them had been altered in some way." He clicked through the altered photos.

In each one, Sara was holding Jimmy, kissing Jimmy. But each one, she knew, was originally a picture of her and Grissom. And the majority of them were taken before she had even heard of the name Jimmy Thompson. The photographs showed the early years of their marriage, right up to when they had first gotten together. Even a few, Sara knew for a fact were taken in San Francisco. When she and Grissom had first met.

"This guy is taking your story, and making it into his own," Greg said, turning to Sara and Grissom. Sara looked up at him, but Grissom face was a blank mask. There was nothing to even hint at what he was thinking, nothing except for the clenching of his fist. And the whitening of his knuckles.

"That's not all," Archie said, and he click a few more times to bring up a serious of other pictures. All of Sara, and Sara alone. They were all from the same position. Overhead, facing down on her bed. He old bed, from her old apartment. Before she and Grissom had even… "Time stamp says these were taken back in 2006."

"2006?" Sara asked, her voice pitching in disbelief.

"How is that even possible?" Morgan put in. Her pretty face scrunched as she looked round at the team.

"Jimmy has obviously been stalking you for a lot longer than any of us realise," Catherine said, scrutinising the photos before her.

"How?" Greg asked, echoing Morgan's question. "He and Sara only met a couple of years ago."

"You must have met as some other time," Morgan said, looking at Sara.

"No," Sara said. "I had never met him before that case, three years ago."

"Not to your knowledge," Grissom put in, drawing closer to her.

"Do you remember anything about that time?" Catherine asked. "Did anything happen, big or small?"

"I don't…" Sara started, looking to Grissom. "I mean…"

"What?" Russell asked.

"Grissom and I moved in together late 2006," Sara said. "But that has nothing to do with this. I can't remember anything…"

"Your apartment," Grissom said, eyebrows rising as something clicked in his brain. "Before you moved. You told me. Things felt… off."

"Off? How?" Morgan asked. Sara looked between her team, trying to remember. Raking her brain back to that time.

"It was… weird," she finally admitted. "Things would move around or disappear. It just felt… strange."

"Did you tell anyone?" Russell asked.

"Grissom," Sara replied, looking at the man in question. She remembered. The sensation of being watched. The uneasiness and the relief when he believed her. "He asked me to move in with him after and it stopped."

"You asked her to move in with you," Nick interjected, amusement lighting his voice. "Because she was freaked out at home?"

"I asked her to move in with me," Grissom shot back. "Because I love her." The Texan only grinned, not at all abashed by Grissom's stern stare.

"So," Russell spoke up again. "You two were already an item at that time?"

Sara nodded. "We started dating after Nick was taken." Nick's face had clouded a little, but he still quirked his lips.

"At least one good thing came from that," Nick quipped. Not sure how to respond, Sara only smiled.

"I don't get it," Greg put in. "If he's been stalking her all this time, why has it taken so long for him to make contact?"

"Sometimes," Catherine mused. "It takes stalkers years to work up the courage to speak to the object of their obsession." She shot Sara look. Grissom tensed beside her, and Sara's mouth went a little dry at the thought. "Besides," the redhead continued. "You were working all hours of the day and night, just starting out in a new relationship. I can't imagine there would be much opportunity for him to speak to you."

That was true enough, Sara thought. Between her job and Grissom, she rarely had time alone in those early stages of their relationship. In fact, with the exception of his sabbatical, it wasn't until Natalie came along did they start spending any length of time apart.

"Have you received anything? Any anonyms gifts or letters over the years?" Catherine asked.

"No," Sara said, shaking her head.

"Yes, you did," Grissom put in. Sara looked up at him, frowning. "You received flowers. They always went to your apartment."

"And they definitely weren't form you?" Russell asked.

"Sara doesn't like flowers," Grissom said. "She likes vegetation."

"Did you report it?" Nick asked.

"No," Sara replied. "But we did look into to it. Called the flower shops, but we didn't find anything. They eventually stopped coming and we forgot about them." They assumed they were from her mother. It was the sort of thing Laura was wont to do back then, in her rare moments of lucidity. To reconnect with the daughter who wasn't yet ready to face her.

"We need to go back further in the timeline," Russell said. "We need to know exactly what Jimmy has been doing for the last ten years and how you two met."

"I'll do it," Morgan offered. But Sara had stopped paying attention.

Had Jimmy really been stalking her for all these years? Lurking in the background, waiting for the right moment. The thought caused a shiver to run down her spine and Grissom pulled her closer.

Sara looked up at him. His face was pale with worry, brows furrowed as he watched the slideshow on the screen.

She remembered when she told him about her apartment. There was no doubt in his eyes, not question of if she might have been imaging it. He just accepted what she said. Believed her. Loved her.

Just as he did when she told him about her parents. Or when she spoke about her fears, her insecurities. Her jealousy. There was never any judgment, or condemnation with Grissom. He accepted her, loved her. Just as she was. And he never expected her to be any less.

This man, this wonderful man, who had stood by her all these years. Who had defended her. Championed her. Even when it wasn't warranted.

What did she do to deserve him?

Sure, he wasn't perfect. He had caused her pain. He was stubborn. Absent minded. Selfish at times.

But for each fault, there were a hundred good qualities. His kindness. His sensibility and his caring. His loyalty and fierce protectiveness of those he loved. His wisdom and intelligence. Wit and humour. His gentleness and calm.

He was her partner. Her equal. Her lover and her best friend. No one knew Sara like Grissom, just as knew one knew Grissom like Sara. They were two sides of the same coin. Opposite, yet exactly the same. Where one faltered, the other was there to pick them back up.

She loved him, from the very fibre of her being. Everything about him. The good, the bad, and everything in between. He gave her a family. A real family. The found one in their team. And the one in Grissom and his mother. And he loved her. He chose her. After everything, she was the one he came back for. Not once, not twice. Repeatedly. Over and over again. He came for her.

This incredible man. Her partner, her friend... Her husband.

Sara didn't pay attention to what was going on around her, she didn't even notice when Russell tried speaking to her. Everything was Grissom, and Grissom was everything.

She walked out of the room, not saying a word. Feeling multiple sets of eyes on her back as she left. Her mind was too busy, her heart was too full to even notice them. Everything she knew, everything she had experienced taught her that life could change in an instant.

With all that was going on, with all she had learned in the last two hours, Sara didn't want to wait any longer. They had been apart for too long, and this, whatever they were to each other now, wasn't enough. She wanted more. She wanted it all. She wanted him. To tie herself to him in every way humanly possible.

Again.

And this time, forever.

Sara was in the locker room before she realised that Grissom had followed her out. Not that she should have been surprised. She leant against her locker, watching him in the doorway as she had done so many times before. So many years ago.

He was surveying her, his eyes keen and looking for any sign of distress.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Sara nodded a little, still trying to keep a reign on her turbulent emotions. She was absolutely perfect, while being completely shattered. What she had learned about Jimmy shook her, to the very core. But none of that compared to what she had learned about them. About her. About him.

I was already coming back.

I asked her to move in with me because I love her.

Love, not loved. Love.

"I won't let him hurt you, Sara," Grissom said, walking into the room.

"I know," she replied. Grissom was brain, not brawn. But Sara knew that brain, that beautiful, incredible, fantastical brain would not stop until she was safe. That was what made her feel protected. More than if she had a thousand cops at her beck and call.

Grissom stopped before her, gazing down with all the love in his heart. All the fear, and the joy. Everything that he was.

There were no bees this time, but Sara didn't need them. And there were no stupid helmets to stop her from doing what she so desperately wanted to do, if he said yes.

"Do you want to marry me?" She asked, not once taking her eyes from his. Grissom blinked. Once. Twice. His mouth dropped open, and his face registered a state of surprise. Thrice.

Sara could read his answer, shouting out at her through his eyes.

"Yes," he breathed. Sara didn't move from her position, still leaning against her locker. Her lips lifted into soft half smile.

"Ask me, Gil," she said, softly. Her eyes shining with all the love she could possibly muster. His mouth opened and closed, his eyes darting between hers. He was so adorably flustered, and Sara couldn't help remembering the first two times he asked her.

The first, they were dressed, head to toe, in beekeeping outfits. He couldn't even look at her as he asked the question and a bee stung as her body responded. It wasn't until she said yes did his eyes finally meet hers. With such relief and joy, Sara could do nothing less than laugh at her own happiness. The second was about a week after he chased her to Costa Rica. He held her in him arms, nose pressed into the crook of her neck. He couldn't look at her then either. Instead, he spoke into her hair and Sara could feel the tears seeping onto her skin as she answered.

This time, he looked her straight in the eyes. Grissom cupped her face and pulled her towards him, encircling her with one arm. His hand kept her eyes looking up at his, but it wasn't necessary. Sara couldn't have dropped them if she wanted too.

"Sara," he said, taking in a shuddering breath as he pulled their bodies together. "Will you marry me?"

She cupped the back of his neck, bringing his forehead to meet with hers. Their eyes still locked together.

"Yes," she breathed, and kissed him. Pouring all of her wanting, all of her desire, all of her love into that one touch. Grissom held her close, angling his head and locking their lips.

Sara clung to him, laying everything that she was bare beneath his feet and Grissom scooped it up in tender hands. Loving each inch she gave him.