All good things come to an end, and so here's the last chapter of my story. I hope you all like the ending.

As usual, thanks to all my beta readers for helping turn this into something readable. Any remaining mistakes are mine and mine alone.

Title: Ghosts in the Shadows (Chapter 6 of 6)

Author: Jonathan
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or the characters; CBS please don't sue me. And I don't own the song at the end either.
Archiving: Just ask me before you put it up.
Synopsis: The long arm of the law – and evidence – catches up to Sara's stalker. Afterwards, Grissom has a big, big surprise for Sara.

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Grissom slowly awoke from his slumber. After blinking his eyes clear, he noticed Sara was on her stomach, resting on the right side of his chest. She was gazing at him, and she had on that radiant smile of hers. He returned it as well.

The smile never left Sara's face. Grissom asked, "What?"

"Nothing. I just like... watching you, that's all."

"I could deal with that."

Sara's voice turned serious. "Have you thought of... how everyone will have to deal with this?"

"What do you mean?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "You know... Catherine, Nick, Warrick, the rest of the lab, not to mention Ecklie, the director and the sheriff."

"One step at the time, Sara. Besides, last I checked, I'm the one who'll have to take the heat, remember?"

She pouted playfully. "You think that Nick and Catherine won't be a handful, Dr. Grissom? You," she wagged her finger, "are mistaken."

"I'm sure you can take care of that. Catherine won't be one to throw any stones when it comes to relationships at work, in any case." Sara gave him a look of confusion.

She realized what he meant after a moment. Oh, right. Warrick and Catherine have been unusually... close lately. Yeah, she won't be able to say anything.

"So.... what now, Gil?"

He sat up on the bed. Sara did so as well, grabbing the sheets to cover her nakedness. "I'd cook, but suffice to say we spent more time in bed than I anticipated." Sara giggled at Grissom's innuendo.

"How does pizza sound?"

"I thought you were a vegetarian."

"There is such a thing as veggie pizza, you know." Sara leaned over Grissom to get her cellular phone, which was beside the alarm clock. After she was done placing the order, she noticed he had his eyes firmly planted on her backside.

"Gil Grissom, didn't your mother ever tell you it's not polite to stare?"

"I can't help it if I'm presented with such a thing of beauty." There was a playful smirk on his face.

She grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Grissom. "Come on, let's get out of here. I might be tempted to stay in bed all day."

The cheeky smirk hadn't left Grissom's face, and he pointed to the doorknob. Sara turned to look at it. Hanging on it was her bra; his boxers were on the floor covering the doorstop. The pair laughed.

***

Grissom had the empty pizza box in his hands and was about to toss it in the trash when he noticed something taped to the top of the box. He set the box next to the sink and looked at it more closely.

It was the tape receipt for the pizza, which had been conveniently placed atop the box. Grissom knotted his eyebrows together. It's just a receipt. So why are you examining it like it's a crucial piece of evidence? Then he realized what was on the receipt – aside from the store's name and address, and the list of items purchased, it had his address.

Sara walked into the kitchen just then, and saw that all-too-familiar look on Grissom. He had found a major piece of evidence.

"Grissom... what?"

He had been so caught up that he hadn't noticed her entrance. Turning to face her, he asked, "Didn't we find dozens of receipts inside the truck?"

Sara wasn't sure where this was going. "Yeah..."

"Were there delivery receipts in there?"

"Yes, but not too many." She paused for a moment. "Why?"

"Delivery receipts sometimes have the address of the buyer on them..."

Grissom didn't need to finish his sentence; Sara did it for him. "And if our suspect had food delivered to his house..." Grissom nodded as she came to the same conclusion he had. "We need to get back to the lab," Sara continued.

They both moved towards the door, but before Grissom came to it he turned to face Sara. "Remember, all professional at work."

"Yeah," Sara surprised Grissom by kissing him. Pulling away, she had a radiant smile on her face. "All professional." She opened the door and headed for the Denali; he just shook his head, but he too was smiling. He closed and locked the door, then ran off to join Sara.

***

Catherine and Warrick joined Grissom, Sara, and Nick in a room at the CSI lab. In the middle of a table was a small box, which had the receipts they had recovered from the pickup truck. On the wall behind Sara there was a large map of Las Vegas. Behind Grissom were several other boxes, all containing more evidence from the truck.

"I thought we were done processing the truck," Catherine said.

"Fresh eyes, new evidence," Grissom replied. "We have all the evidence we need to prove who the stalker is. What we didn't realize is we also have the evidence to show where he is."

He picked up a plastic bag that had a receipt in it. "The receipts tell us where he bought something. Chances are the stores he buys from are near either CSI, Sara's apartment, or a scene she worked on. If there's a receipt from a store not near any of those locations, it could give us a hint of where he lives."

Sara continued. "If we're lucky, there might also be delivery receipts that indicate where our suspect lives."

Catherine just nodded. Grissom began to parcel out everyone's tasks. "Catherine, Nick – the three of us will look for anything that may have an address on it. Warrick, Sara – you mark them on the map. All clear?"

Everyone nodded, and the three CSIs sitting on the table began sifting through the receipts. Warrick and Sara, meanwhile, marked the locations the three had found with pins.

After about fifteen minutes, their search paid off. It was Nick who found what they needed.

"Bingo," he announced.

Catherine looked up from the receipt she had been examining. So did Grissom. Warrick and Sara turned from the map, which had quite a few pins on it now. "Pizza delivery receipt, has an address on it."

Warrick got the receipt from Nick and put his finger on the map. "That would be... here." His finger was right in the middle of several pins.

Catherine had found another delivery receipt as well. "Here's another one." She looked at where Warrick's finger was. "Same address."

Warrick spoke for the entire team. "Gotcha."

Grissom rose from his chair. "I'll look for Brass. We need a warrant." He left the room, leaving the other CSIs to get ready for what they knew was coming. They would pay a visit to Manuel de la Vega, and it was not going to be a friendly chat.

***

Brass was just wrapping up a phone call when Grissom arrived. He sat himself down and waited until Brass was done.

After hanging up, Brass noticed his presence. "I've got something from Narcotics, but you go first."

"We have a possible location of our suspect. Pizza and Chinese delivery receipts inside his pickup have a possible address. We tested them for prints previously, and the suspect's prints are confirmed."

"Where?" Brass asked. Grissom told him.

"Well, that confirms what Narcotics told me."

"Your turn. What did they find?" Grissom asked of Brass.

"One of their informants ran into your suspect. Said they completed a drug deal at his house a few days ago. Gave the address, which is the same as the one you found."

"Warrant's on the way?"

"Yeah." Brass put his arms on his desk. "We're going to make sure that when we go after him, we do it right."

***

An hour later, Grissom saw what Brass had meant by "doing it right." The two Denalis the team used had been part of a convoy that included at least four other marked cruisers. On the scene, at least six more patrol cars were present, along with two SWAT trucks.

The hunter had become the hunted – and he was trapped.

Grissom saw Brass rush over and confer with an officer clad in black body armor. Nick was kneeling behind the other Denali, his right hand on his hip, ready to draw his handgun. Warrick and Catherine had their field kits out beside them, but they too were crouched behind the SUV.

Grissom opened the door beside him and motioned to Sara to follow him out of the Denali. She nodded in compliance, and scooted over the central console to join him, taking cover behind the blue truck.

Brass ran over to join Grissom and Sara. "Uniforms have the place surrounded. The neighbors have been evacuated, and a chopper is overhead. He's not getting away."

Sara asked, "What are you waiting for?"

"SWAT's going to go into the house. They shouldn't take too long."

As if on cue, everyone saw the SWAT team prepare to enter the house. With assault rifles drawn, they approached the front door from the side, attaching explosives to blow it down for the coming assault. Four SWAT officers stood off to the side of the door, two on each side. Four more officers were at the windows, ready to jump into the house.

Everyone knew why SWAT had been called in. When the Dallas police tried to arrest him, they had been welcomed with a barrage of gunfire. In the ensuing chaos, de la Vega had escaped and two officers had been shot dead.

The Las Vegas police wanted to make sure nothing like that would happen again.

Another armor-clad officer beside Brass nodded, indicating the assault could proceed. The tension in the air was so thick one could almost cut it with a knife. By this time, everyone – even Grissom – had their guns out.

One word escaped from Brass's lips: "Go."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then all hell broke loose.

A loud explosion turned the door into kindling and sent it flying into the living room. Stun grenades flew inside, the blasts sundering the windows and releasing an avalanche of light and sound designed to incapacitate anyone nearby. The officers then stormed the house, using the door and shattered windows as entryways.

Some shouts were herd over the radios, but there was no gunfire. After a minute, police radios crackled. It was the leader of the assault team. "Suspect in custody. Repeat: suspect in custody."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The subject was in custody and was no longer a threat. Manuel de la Vega, wanted for two rapes and two murders, was under arrest.

Sara, holding on to Grissom's hand, looked over to him. She had a smile on her face. Thanks, she said silently.

The suspect was soon brought out of the house. De la Vega seemed vulnerable. It was probably because he was wearing nothing more than a white T-shirt and boxers. One of the officers walked over to Brass narrated what had happened; it appeared that de la Vega had been quite a sound sleeper – the explosion that had torn his front door to bits was what had awakened him. The next thing he knew, two assault rifles were pointed right at him.

As he was being brought out of the house, his eyes and Sara's met. She could clearly see what his eyes told her. Bitch. I'll get you.

She knew that it was all bluster. Manuel de la Vega would never again be a free man. He was destined to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars – and that was if the states of Nevada or Texas decided not to execute him. That was not a likely scenario. The look Sara gave him was one with not an iota of mercy or pity. Go to hell, you bastard. Join the rest of your kind.

Still resisting, he was shoved into the back of a cruiser. It drove off, escorted by a SWAT truck and two more police cruisers.

As soon as the assault team had left the house, Warrick and Catherine entered. They had all the evidence they needed for trial, but there was no such thing as too much evidence for any good CSI. They had a good idea what they'd find, though: more photos and videos.

Warrick flashed his flashlight inside the house. The living room was, quite clearly, a mess. He doubted there would still be anything useful, but he had to be sure. Catherine moved ahead of him and entered the suspect's bedroom. Her trained eyes scanned the walls, noting anything out of the ordinary.

Catherine was about to begin her search when Warrick came in. She looked over her shoulder and saw him doing the same thing she had been earlier.

"Find anything unusual?" she asked.

"Desert Eagle in what was left of the living room. Empty magazine, though. Ballistics will have to match it to the rounds we found."

"Good chance they'll match, though."

"Yeah, just crossing the t's and dotting the i's now. This case is a slam dunk twice over, Cath."

"I know." She flicked her flashlight off and turned to face him. "Listen, you start the search, I'll check in with Grissom and Sara outside, okay?"

"Sure," he replied. Catherine slipped off her gloves as she walked to the front yard. There was something about the house that was bothering her. Well, Catherine, it is the house of a major-league scumbag. Not exactly Beverly Hills, is it?

She shook her head to clear the thought. She strode over to gaggle of police vehicles on the road. There, she found Grissom together with Sara, leaning against his Denali. Nick and Brass were nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where's Brass and Nicky?" Catherine asked.

Both of them turned at the voice, as if it had been intruding on them. Did I interrupt something? Probably, Catherine thought.

It was Grissom who answered. "Brass took our suspect back to the station. Nick has a DB at the Bellagio."

"Did you... find anything?" Sara asked.

"Warrick found a gun identical to the one used in the shootout with Brass. We haven't really done a thorough search yet, we just completed our look-around."

Grissom turned to Sara and whispered something to her. Catherine noted that she seemed dubious at first, but after some more whispering she had smiled and walked over to her side of the Denali.

He approached Catherine. "Can I... ask for a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can the three of you cover for us?"

She raised her hand in front of her. "I'm not even going to ask – Sara, right?"

The look Grissom have Catherine was all the answer she needed. "Relax, Griss. Besides, I still owe you for Lindsey." Catherine's daughter had an emergency appendectomy three weeks ago, and he had to cover for her.

"Thanks." He walked over to the Denali, got in, and headed down the road.

As the Denali's lights faded into the distance, Catherine Willows had a fairly good idea of what was happening. Much as he would deny it, she had spent enough time working with Gil Grissom to have a fairly good read on him.

The signs were there for Catherine to read. It was actually startlingly obvious to anyone who knew the two decently well. The dark cloud that had been Manuel de la Vega had brought with it an immense silver lining: it had brought Grissom and Sara together.

Something Grissom had told Catherine a long time ago came to her mind. "The Chinese character for 'crisis' is made up of the characters for 'danger' and 'opportunity,'" Grissom had said. She knew that in this case, it was very true.

Entirely unbidden, a smile appeared on Catherine's face. Good luck, Gil. As she made her way back to the house, she shook her head in amusement; Nick and Warrick would never believe her if she told them what had just happened.

***

The drive had taken slightly more than half an hour. Grissom had driven towards the western outskirts of Las Vegas, and Sara thought they were headed for Red Rock Canyon, the hiking preserve west of the city.

Those thoughts had been disabused when the Denali turned off into an unpaved trail. She looked over to Grissom, wondering just what was the 'surprise' he had promised to show her.

After more time on the rugged trail, Grissom announced, "Surprise." Sara became slack-jawed in amazement at the sight before her.

Right under the shade of a large tree – which appeared to be at least 50 feet tall – stood a small wooden cabin. It looked old, but not run-down – rustic was the word that came to Sara's mind. . She was surprised that such a pleasant, quiet site could be so close to the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas.

Sara had been so engrossed that she had failed to notice Grissom coming beside her. "You like it?"

She turned to face him. "It's... beautiful, Gil. Yours?"

He nodded. "Back when I was just starting out, my supervisor taught me something besides just forensics. I still remember his words: 'This isn't an easy thing to do, Gil. It's easy to burn out. Make sure you to take a break every now and then, to remind yourself that there's something else beyond the bodies and victims you see every day.'"

Gesturing to the house, he continued. "I haven't been very good about following his advice... but that's what this place is for. When the job gets too much, I spend my day off here." He offered his hand to Sara. "May I?"

She smiled. "Of course." Hand in hand, they walked towards the cabin.

Sara thought the sights inside could never top the picture-perfect cabin under the tree she had seen. She soon found she was wrong. If the outside was beautiful, this is... gorgeous. It wasn't luxurious by any means, but she found it was warm, cozy, and comfortable – it was the perfect getaway. She still couldn't believe that this little piece of Paradise could be so close to Las Vegas.

As he had entered, Grissom had taken the opportunity to turn on the radio. Soft melodies echoed throughout the whole cabin as he pulled Sara into an embrace.

"Sara... I know we can't change things at work. We'll deal with it, I know we will. But, if we are going to start something new... we need a place where we can be together. A place where I'm not your boss, a place where we can just be... friends and lovers."

Sara looked into Grissom's eyes, and saw there was genuine love in his eyes. Yes, he wants to make it work – and we have our own little hideaway. It's... amazing. "Thank you, Gil." She leaned into him, kissing him softly.

As her lips left his, she saw there was a large smile on his face. Leaving the warm comfort on the embrace, she once again took her hands in his. "I'm not done yet. I've still got something to show you."

Grissom led Sara out to the back of the cabin, and the sight before the couple was astounding.

In front of them lay the vibrant lights of the city of Las Vegas. All the landmarks that defined the city were clearly visible from where they stood, lit up brightly as if they were all putting on a show for an audience of two.

Sara had once asked Grissom why, of all the cities in the United States, he had built his career in Las Vegas. He had never answered clearly, saying that one had to see things to understand. He was right. This... is just amazing.

Sara's hand reached around Grissom's waist, and his hand snaked around her hips. Content both in the sight before them and in their newfound love, no words were exchanged between Grissom and Sara. Leaning her head against his shoulder, Sara, for the first time in years, felt truly happy. Looking into his eyes, she saw the same feelings in them as well.

As the couple stood outside, the radio inside kept playing, the song seemingly playing its own tribute to a relationship which had been repressed for years, but one which a crisis had caused to flower in full bloom.

Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take me
I've got faith to believe
I can do anything
I've got strength of the soul
And no one´s gonna bend or break me
I can reach any star
I've got faith, I've got faith, faith of the heart

Grissom saw it first and pointed to it. Sara saw what he was pointing to – a shooting star, streaking across the nighttime sky.

"You know what they say when there's a shooting star – make a wish and it'll come true."

He pulled her to him, ending up in another tight hug. "I don't have to – all my wishes have come true."

"As have mine." She paused.

"I love you, Gil Grissom."

"And I love you too, Sara Sidle."

***

THE END