Chapter 40

Driving back to the lab, Sara could feel his eyes on her. His thumb stroking her hand over the console as she manoeuvred the SUV through the Las Vegas traffic. Sara's mind was going over the interview, processing everything Lady Heather had told them. Jimmy knew Grissom was coming back. That was the trigger. That was what caused him to plan this. He knew, even if he managed to keep her in Vegas, he could never keep her from Grissom.

Nothing ever could.

If she believed in fate, Sara might even indulge herself into believing they were destined to be together. But she was a scientist. She didn't believe in fate, or destiny, or providence. But she did believe in them.

"Mrs Grissom?" Grissom asked after a while, still looking at her. A small smirk forming on his mouth. Sara glanced over, quirking an eyebrow, and let out a little laugh. It had been a whim, something she said without thinking it through. Trying to shock the lawyer, and possibly push Jimmy out into the open. If he wasn't happy with Grissom being in her life, he sure as hell wouldn't be happy with him being her husband again.

The more she thought about it though, the more she liked it. When they had first married, neither of them even questioned the fact that she would keep her last name. Being a Sidle was part of who she was… but so was being a Grissom. Sara Grissom. It sounded weird… but not bad weird.

It wasn't the first time she had thought of changing her name. She had seriously considered it, when they first married. Though Grissom would never force her, she knew he wanted her to do it. Deep down, her husband was an old-fashioned man. Traditional. But he respected her decision. Accepted it. Expected it even.

It never felt right, then. And changing her name wouldn't make her any more married. Now, however…

Sara glanced back over to her husband. He was still smirking, amusement lining his mouth as he looked out the window.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"I think you certainly surprised Mr Dickson," Grissom replied. "And I think it could be enough to bring Jimmy out into the open." He looked over to her, smiling. "I'm assuming that was what you were doing."

There was no judgment, no hidden hurt. Just openness. Amusement. Even a hint of pride. He didn't take her seriously. Grissom knew what her name meant to her, what her independence meant to her.

But she wasn't independent anymore. She didn't want to be. She was part of a team, a partnership.

Sara had made her decision, when she chose to take a chance on them again. When she chose Grissom. She was no longer one person, only one half of a whole. They both were. He was a part of her, just as much as she was a part of him. They were no longer Sara Sidle and Gil Grissom. They were Sara and Gil.

Sara pulled into the lab's car park. Locking in the handbrake, and switching off the engine, she turned her body to the man next to her. The sun was shining on his face, casting half of it in shadow. Reflecting of his hair. The tanned tone of his skin more prevalent in the light. The fact that she would get to wake up to that face, every day, for the rest of her life, filled her with such serenity she couldn't keep her smile off her face.

"What if that wasn't all I was doing?"

Grissom looked over to her, his eyes squinting. "What are you saying?" Sara just raised a brow, her lips quirking up into a half smile. He was so cute when she surprised him.

"What if it wasn't just for the shock factor?" Sara said, she twisted her hand under Grissoms and threaded her fingers through his.

"You want to change your name?" His eyes were searching hers. Brow's contacting. Unsure. Seeking out anything that would show him what she was truly thinking. But Sara wasn't hiding. She wanted this, wanted to give this last little piece of herself.

"I meant what I said before, things are different this time," Sara said. "My name doesn't matter, not anymore. It doesn't define who I am."

"So, what does?" Grissom asked, his voice soft. Curious.

"It's not just one thing," Sara said, holding his hand tighter as she held his gaze. "It's everything. My past. My mother and father. Foster care. San Francisco. Vegas. It's everything I've been through. Everything that has happened on the job and off. The people I love. Nick, Greg. Catherine and Jim… Warrick… You. Our life together. All the good and all the bad.

It's you and me. Our story. Sidle is a name, a part of my past. Grissom is my future. My heart. It is as much a part of who I am as Sidle is." Sara smiled. "It's not just me anymore. It's you. It's us. The two of us. Together. All of it, the little things, the big things. They are what make me who I am, and who I am is your wife." Grissom cupped her cheek, stroking a thumb across her skin.

"You're much more than that, honey," he said. "You are my partner, my best friend. My heart. You are fierce and strong. Compassionate and caring. You are smart, tenacious… stubborn." He grinned at her and Sara pursed her lips.

"You know, you really shouldn't lecture me about stubbornness," Sara said, her eyes lighting with amusement. Grissom laughed and leaned back. They sat there for a while, just looking at each other. Content to be in one other's company. No words needed. The rightness of it all settling within her.

This was it. This was her life. Sitting with her husband. Sun beating down on them. All that was missing was the sound of crashing waves and the smell of salty air. She could see them, ten years form now. Sitting on the boat, somewhere on the ocean. Grissom doodling in his notebook, sketching out the different marine life they had seen. Sara collating their data.

No more death. No more danger. Just them. The two of them. Together.

"So," Grissom finally said. "Grissom?" Sara nodded. Grissom. It would take some getting used to, but it felt right. "Sara Grissom," he mused. Testing the name on his tongue. His face lighting as the words left his mouth. "I like it."

"So do I," she admitted. Grissom smiled.

"You know," he said. "It doesn't matter to me what your name is. Sidle. Grissom. It doesn't matter. I fell in love with Sara."

"So, as long as I don't change my first name, you'll be happy," she teased. Grissom only shook his head and brought her hand up to his lips. A soft touch which spoke of how happy he was.

Before either of them could say any more, Sara's phone started to ring. Taking her hand back, she pulled the device out of her pocket.

"Grissom," she said, answering her phone and throwing a grin at her husband. His face lighting with amusement.

"Grissom?" Brass' voice came through the speaker. "Either I've called the wrong number, and your husbands voice has gotten a heck of a lot higher. Or you really do have a concussion and have forgotten your name."

"I haven't forgotten anything, Jim," Sara said. Brass was silent for a moment and Sara amused herself with picturing the confused face of her friend.

"Well then, Mrs Grissom," he finally said, a smile in his voice. "Morgan and I are just heading the layout room."

"You got something?"

"Yeah." His earlier teasing tone faded, and Sara sat up. "You need to hear this."

"We're on our way."

CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSI

The team were gathered, once more, in the layout room. Even Hodges was in attendance this time. When Sara and Grissom entered, the lab rat straighten and instantly went to stand by his old mentor. A huge grin hitched to his face when he saw them.

Grissom had to suppress his grimace as the trace tech did that. He hadn't told Sara that Hodges was the one who sent him the photos. Some sort of friendship had clearly grown between them, and Grissom didn't want to do anything to cause her more pain. Especially since her last friend turned out to be delusional sociopath. With an unhealthy, and frankly terrifying obsession with her.

Ever since he returned to Vegas, Grissom had been trying to work out why Hodges would have sent the email. Especially since it was obvious there was nothing between Sara and Jimmy, except in the psychiatrist's mind. The only thing he could think was Hodges attempting to nose into their business once more. The thought did not endear his former colleague to him.

But Grissom was willing to put it behind them. He had Sara had come so far. He wasn't disposed to risk their relationship. Not for the sake of David Hodges.

Morgan and Brass ran through what they found. And what they found was enough to make Grissom's blood boil. His hands clenched on the file Brass had handed to him. All the dates shouted out at him. The locations taunted him. The tormentation of his wife, listed out in black and white.

2006, Jimmy moves into the apartment complex opposite Sara's. Then, when she moved in with him, Jimmy brought a house down the street from them. In 2008, after Sara left, he moved to San Francisco. Back to Vegas after Warrick died, when Sara had come back for those few months. Then, right when she left to join the Sea Sheppard, he disappears. Only to move to San Diego after Grissom had gone after her.

Wherever she went, he went. Following her like a shadow.

"From what we've been able to find," Morgan said from her place by the board. "Jimmy stayed in San Diego while you two were away."

"Which is where we would have docked when we returned," Sara said. She kept her voice natural, but Grissom could hear her. This was unsettling her a lot more that she was letting on. He stepped closer, brushing his arm against hers. She didn't look at him, but Grissom could feel her hand relaxing in his at the proximity.

"In 2010," Morgan continued. "He moves back to Vegas."

"When Sara came back?" Greg asked.

"Actually," Morgan said. "No."

"From what we've been able to find," Brass spoke up from the corner. "Jimmy moved back a few months before Sara."

"Why?" Hodges asked.

Grissom frowned. Jimmy had spent years following her. Dropped everything to do so. It didn't seem matter to him where she went. He would have gone. So why? Why would Jimmy return to Vegas without knowing Sara would be there? Why run the risk of missing her when she came back to the States, by going back to the place she had run from? The place she, at that point in her life, had no desire of ever seeing again?

"Because he knew she was coming back," a voice said from the doorway.