It bothered everyone at the LVCL.

For the past three days, Gil had been leaving early.

Catherine watched as he passed her office. He has enough vacation time carried over to leave the office early for the rest of his life, she said, and then frowned. But still, what the heck is that guy doing?

Warrick and Nick were eating a late lunch when they saw Grissom walk by. There was a moment of silence when Nick voiced what they both were thinking: "What the heck is that guy doing?"

Warrick nodded and smiled as they both continued to devour their sandwiches.

Sara watched him pass. It had been three days since her almost telling Grissom, and she hadn't spoken to him since. If he wasn't so preoccupied with whatever it was he was doing, he would have noticed her withdraw. Or maybe not. She shook her head and muttered to herself, "What the heck is he doing?"

Grissom drove over to the office, walked through the door and was greeted by Ms. Williams.

"All you have to do is sign here and this entire thing is finalized," Ms. Williams said, pointing to a line on the paper.

Grissom leaned over, signed his name in his loopy handwriting and paused.

What the heck am I doing? He thought to himself.

Sonya walked into her new home, and walked into her new room.

"So this is my room?" She asked her new father. He nodded, and said in an unsure way, "Yeah, it used to be a guest room, but..."

It was late, so she lay on her bed and didn't even bother to get dressed in her PJ's.

Before the man could leave, Sonya started to talk: "I am someone who definitely has no hope."

"Why?"

"I learned as a child that hope... well... hope is a double edged sword. Many people picture hope as a fuzzy thing that helps someone's ambitions. Nope. It keeps you from letting go. And sometimes, letting go is something everyone needs to do."

"Yes. But hope also helps you drive to where you need to be in life. Hope helps you live. Hope... hope helps you find your way so you're," he paused, "Helps you from being lost."

Sonya smiled. "Thank you for giving me hope."

Gil Grissom stood at the door and smiled his charming, inquisitive smile. He shut the door and leaned against it.

"No," He whispered. "Thank you for giving me hope."

Dare-Soñar: I'm sorry it's a short chapter, but hey: brief yet beautiful

"If it is so easy to forget, so easy to ignore, and so easy to turn away, then why is it so hard to say goodbye?"