"Dinner, finally," Grissom said with a smile.

"Not exactly ideal," Sara told him, and jerked her chin toward where Carl was onstage, delivering the final address of the Boston Forensic Science Conference. Her hand was still firmly enveloped in his own.

"Nothing ever is," he whispered in her ear, and then leaned back in his chair to stay silent for the rest of the speech.

"Finally, this conference wouldn't have been possible without Marianne Ellory, our swing shift supervisor at the Boston Crime Lab, and Sara Grissom, from the night shift. They've both worked as hard as I have - probably harder, as they like to remind me frequently." The crowd laughed. "Furthermore, Sara not only put her heart and soul into this conference, she solved one of Boston's biggest kidnapping cases of the decade while doing so, along with CSI Alec Tremain, who I'm told is also in attendance."

Sara's brown eyes met Alec's cool blue ones across the room from where he sat with a leggy blonde, Maggie pouting at his other side. He inclined his head slightly and raised his wine glass to her with a ghost of a smile, which she returned. They were back to competitors, but the vicious edge was gone, and there was even some room for the lighthearted teasing she enjoyed with Jonas.

"So I'd like to have Marianne and Sara stand up and receive the accolades they deserve."

Carl seemed to have no desire to stay off her short list, if his behavior over the last week was any indication. Sara rose to her feet, her face beet red. Grissom still wouldn't let go of her hand, so she was forced to slump her right shoulder awkwardly to reach her full height.

The applause was nearly deafening, and Sara blushed even harder. She remembered Caroline's tearful gratitude, and decided she would rather have one of her thank yous than a roomful of the world's best forensic scientists clapping for her.

Finally, she was able to sit down, but not after glaring daggers at Carl. He winked at her in return, fully aware of her anger and how quickly it would pass.

The meal was catered by one of Boston's most expensive restaurants, a five-course affair with champagne and finger bowls. Sara glanced sideways in surprise when the entrées were served, startled at Grissom's choice of the vegetarian dish, pasta with a light cream sauce and sautéed peppers and onions.

"You hate the sight of meat," was his answer as he finally let go of her fingers so that she could eat with both hands.

She rewarded him with a gap-toothed smile, and ate dessert left-handed, her right hand resting on her right leg, pinky and ring finger just brushing the side of his thigh.

The walk to his rental car was leisurely; she'd agreed to a ride home. Neither of them spoke as they passed Boston's landmarks, crossing the Charles into Cambridge and arriving at her apartment building a few minutes later.

Grissom parked the car, and Sara hesitated a brief moment before inviting him up. He twisted in the driver's seat to retrieve a manila folder that had lain on the backseat before getting out of the car, and resisted all attempts on her part to find out what it was, even dodging a few playful lunges on her part to snatch it out of his hands. She felt giddy, light, in a way that couldn't entirely be blamed on the two glasses of champagne she'd had with dinner.

The apartment was dark, and when she turned on the light, Grissom was staring at her in that intense way he had of telling her that he was studying her and appreciating every inch of her body. She shivered, her knees slightly wobbly as she looked at him over her shoulder, and then took a few steps into the apartment. Her eyes latched onto the coffee maker as if it were a lifeline.

"Do you want coffee, or tea, or something?" Suddenly, she was so nervous her stomach was churning, and she fought to keep her lips from quivering as she smiled at him.

"Sit down, Sara," he said, gesturing to the couch. If he kept looking at her like that, she would forget all the very good reasons she'd told him why their marriage had failed.

She sat down.

"This is for you," he told her, sitting on the coffee table as he had before and handing her the folder.

"Property of Las Vegas Police Department...wow, Grissom, I know you skipped Christmas, but you didn't have to..."

"Sara."

She clamped her lips shut on whatever it was she'd been planning on babbling after that, and opened the folder.

The divorce papers.

Signed.

Her entire world crashed down around her.

This was what you wanted, she told herself. It's the smartest decision all around. Suddenly, she hoped he would leave soon, so he wouldn't see her cry again.

"Do what you want with them," he told her, his voice gentle. "I signed them the first day I got them, and had planned on mailing them off when Carl called me and asked me to fill in for Dr. Olin."

"And?" she prompted, not trusting her voice with anything more complicated than that.

"And then I realized I didn't really want to sign them," he said, and she let out the air that had been trapped in her lungs on a shaky sigh. "So I brought them to you, instead. I was hoping I could convince you to give me a second chance."

He reached across to close the file folder. "I went to UCLA. Junior year, I shared a double with a literature major from Virginia who used to read Shakespeare at the top of his lungs until three in the morning. I had a poster from Gray's Anatomy on my wall, though I never got so drunk I threw up underneath a lamp post."

The tears finally escaped. "I have been crying entirely too much around you lately," she informed him, and snuffled in an extremely unladylike fashion. He reached behind him and snagged a tissue from the box on the coffee table, handing it to her. "Thanks."

Grissom reached across her lap and took both her hands, his thumb skimming across her empty ring finger. He was, she noticed, still wearing his wedding ring, and she couldn't believe this was the first time she had seen that. "Do I get a second chance?"

Sara stared at him, completely dumbstruck, and opened and closed her mouth a few chance a few times before finally squeaking words out. "Uhm, I think it's only fair. I mean, you did fly across the country to come here, although I still think that may have been at least as much about the bugs as it was about me, and - "

She couldn't say anything more, because he was kissing her.

fin.

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