Disclaimer: No I still don't own them! Spoilers: None A/N: Thanks to Emily from graveshiftcsi for beta! And to all GCR fans check this site out www.graveshiftcsi.com - this site is filled with remarkable GCR stories! Chapter 2: The Changes Catherine has always cared for them, and she knew that they'd probably go nuts worrying about her, so after a week she sent a letter to Warrick to tell him and everybody else that she was fine –– but the letter had no return address, so her location was and is still unknown. It has been one long year since Catherine left. Even now, no one knows where her or her daughter are. A lot of things have changed since Catherine left. In first 4 months of her absence, Grissom became more closed off than ever before, turning to alcohol for consolation. He had lost his hope and will to live, but Warrick, Greg, Nick and Sara would not let him end everything. They'd lost their 'mom' already, and they couldn't bear the thought of losing their 'dad' as well. But they never blamed Catherine for it, although they knew that she was the reason. They argued amongst themselves countless times about her motives, always ending on the fact that they couldn't blame her for wanting to have a life. But the know as well that if this continues, Grissom would continue his downward spiral, and since Catherine was gone, it was their job to talk to him. After the four of them talked to a very disconcertingly lost Grissom, he started to go back to normal, little by little. Soon, he appeared better than he was before, his silence and almost hermit-like qualities replaced by more social habits, loosening up once in a while to show his team that he cared. Greg goes to the field once in a while, but it turns out that he really prefers to be left in his own little kingdom, where he only deals with blood on swabs, and not on walls. They've hired two new CSI's since Catherine's departure; Ramon, who just graduated from Harvard and is top of his class, and Margot –– she's been a CSI for 17 years in San Francisco and has now transferred to Vegas. Nick has finally come to his senses and spilled his guts, declaring his love for Sara. He has learned a valuable lesson since Catherine left; he saw what happened to Grissom and told himself that he didn't want that to happen to him. He figured it was better to just spill his guts than to regret not doing so. She loves him too, but she hasn't told him yet. She's had lots of guy issues in the past. All of them learned a lot when Catherine left. They still have fun and do things that made them happy, just like what Catherine wanted them to do. But every once in a while when someone is sick, they would remember how Catherine would be reminding them to take their medicine or drink plenty of fluids... they would laugh when those moments crossed their minds. Laughs turned to smiles, then the smiles would fade away and a tear would fall silently, a reminder of things lost. Yes, it has been a year, and they know for a fact that she's gone... but they know that there would come a time that they would see her again –– just like what she had said. Though they have accepted that she isn't there anymore, there are times when they are sitting quietly in the break room that they can hear heels clicking through the hallway. They jump to their seats hoping that a 5'6", strawberry blond-haired woman with a radiant smile on her face would appear... but she never did. = TBC =