Two weeks after Gil Grissom left town there was a memorial service for his wife.  She was cremated and her ashes were buried at the same gravesite as her mother-in-law.

        

After the memorial service the residents of the Shelter of Hope hosted a reception to celebrate Jenna's life and contribution to the Shelter.  It was at the reception that the announcement was made about the scholarship fund that was being started in her memory and financed by her husband.  

        

At the luncheon, Catherine Willows announced to her CSI team that she was offered the supervisor position.  She also told them that she took Gil Grissom's advice and turned it down.

      

She then informed them that when Paul Newsome found out that she turned the job down, so that she could spend more time with him and her daughter, he proposed marriage to her.  He had wanted to ask her for a long time, but felt that she was she was too tied up in her job to want to want to be tied down to a marriage. 

     

"Well, did you accept?" Sara asked. 

    

Catherine answered her by reaching into her pursue and placing the engagement ring on her finger.  The wedding was in 4 weeks and they were all invited. 

   

They promised her that they would be there.

     

As they were leaving the luncheon they went and said good-bye to Sr. Laura, and the girls that put together the luncheon.  As they were leaving Sr. Laura said to Sara and Greg, "See on Monday." 

   

"We'll be here," they assured her. 

     

"What was that all about?" Catherine inquired.

     

"We've volunteer to do some tutoring once a week," Greg told her.

   

"Both of you?  Together?"  Nick Stokes asked.

     

"Yea." Sara answered him.

    

"Well, it's a beginning," Catherine thought to herself.

     

Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown, realized that it was time for them to start to find an interest outside of work, also.  They promised themselves that would be their top priority. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brownville, North Carolina was a small rural town with a population of 5000 people. In September of 2002, Katie Franklin had returned to Brownville Senior High School as a student advisor and counselor.  It had been 6 years since she last taught at the school.  She stopped working when the first of her three children was born.  She was back at work as her husband died in a car accident a year ago, and for financial reasons, she needed to get back to work.

       

Mrs. Franklin was not the only new staff member at Brownville High, in the fall of 2002.  There was also a new science teacher; who in the first few weeks of school had already made an impression on

his students.  He had an approach to science that they never experienced before.  He could relate a scientific explanation to just about anything that happens. 

       

They were really impressed when he figured out which students were responsible for the practical joke played on him as well as being able to figure out how and when they did it.  They were more impressed when he said that this time he'd let it slide, but next time it was down to the principal's office.  There was something in his tone that made them realize he meant it.

    

A month after school was in session Mr. Grissom was walking down the hallway, reading the science reports turned in by his first hour class, when he rounded the corner in the west hall and walked into

Mrs. Franklin, causing her to drop a plastic flower vase, full of water, and spilling it all over her clothes.   

"I'm so sorry," he said.

    

"Don't worry about, it's only water," she told him.

     

"But, your all wet," he pointed out.

 

He asked what he could do to make it up to her.  She suggested he take her out to dinner.  As soon as she made the invitation, she thought to herself, "What the heck!! are you doing?  You don't even know this man.  Take it back before he accepts."  But she didn't want to take it back.  There was something about him that she wanted to get to know better.

     

In June of 2003, various residents of Las Vegas went to their mailboxes and opened a letter.  Inside was a wallet size picture of a very happy family.  Also inside was an invitation that read:

                Kathryn, Joshua and Terrance

           Invite you to the wedding of their mother

                     Katherine Marie

                          To

                      Gil Grissom

               on Saturday August 16, 2003

      

Written on the back of the invitation was a note from the groom-to-be:  I hope you can make it, Gris.

      

All who received the invitation, made plans to attend.

                          

                       THE END

                      (FINALLY)