Well, here it is (finally!). The final chapter to "Candycanes and Cockroaches". I'm sorry it has taken so long, I really am! I hope it's worth the wait that you've had.

I need to once again thank Grissomgal71. For being a friend, a beta, and a parole officer, making sure I keep up with my stories. Thanks, Jamie!

I also need to thank every person who has reviewed. It makes my day to see an 'Inbox' filled with review alerts! It's great to see that you guys are enjoying my stuff! I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it (save for the banging my head against the wall and threatening to throw my keyboard! Threatening your 'muse' doesn't seem to help either...) Anyway! I'm off to other things! It's been fun!

Sara slowly felt herself waking up, like being pulled out of a deep, warm pool. She fought it at first, but to no avail. She groaned when the light filtering in from the window hit her eyes, snapping them shut again. Then she sighed, knowing that she would never be able to get back to sleep.

She tried to roll over, but found a heavy weight holding her down. She made a face, then squirmed enough so she could see behind her. It was Grissom, still in his suit and tie, his face nuzzled against her neck. She smiled, then tried again to wiggle her way out from under his arm. He sighed in his sleep, then rolled over, inadvertently giving her the chance to 'escape'.

She managed to get her feet under her and stand, taking a moment to study Grissom. As she stared at his sleeping form, she couldn't stop the memories from last night from surfacing...

Sara broke away from Grissom first, smiling as she opened the door. She stepped inside, then shut the door after Grissom. For a long moment, all they could do was stare at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Sara decided that it was up to her, and she stepped up to him and threw her arms around him, planting her lips on his.

She smiled at the image, and the smile only deepened as she brought herself back to the present. Nothing had really happened between them. Sara had been a bit persistent about it, but Grissom had held back, telling her to wait. She'd been confused and a little hurt, but the ice had melted at his explanation.

"Think about it, Sara. I don't want our first time to be like this. In my childhood bedroom with my mother right across the house. I want it...to be special. Not like two teenagers after the prom." She'd ruffled a bit at his analogy, but understood it as well. And when she'd asked him what exactly he wanted to do, he just smiled. "I just want to be close to you."

So they'd slept together, and that was it. Actual sleep. And she had to admit: she'd never slept more peacefully in her life.

He shifted again in his sleep, this time rolling back over to face her, his eyes still closed. She smiled when she saw his hand searching the blankets for her, then reached over and squeezed it. His eyes opened, letting Sara know that he had been awake for a little while. He smiled when she came into focus. "Hey."

"Hey," she replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed with his hand still in hers. She stared at their entwined hands for a moment, then looked up at his face, seeing his confused expression. "What's wrong?"

"Are you disappointed?" he asked softly, furrowing his brow.

She smiled, touched by his concern. She reached forward to gently touch the side of his face. "Not at all, Grissom. I'm glad it didn't go that far. I've had time to actually think about it, and I think it's for the best."

Grissom nodded. "I want to be able to take you on more than one date," he said, a small grin on his face. "I don't want to scare you off."

She laughed, then patted his leg as she stood up. She dug through her suitcase for a moment, then went to the door. She paused at it, turning around to face him. "Thank you," she said quietly, then slipped out of the door.
Grissom sighed as he sank down onto the couch, running a hand through his still-damp hair. He thought briefly about drying it, but then decided against it. He didn't feel like doing anything at the moment. After Sara had gotten out of the shower, she had gone to help Mrs. Grissom in the kitchen. Grissom then took his shower, glad to be out of the suit. He'd gone to join Sara and his mother afterwards, but his mother's suspicious glances drove him out.

He had just leaned his head back on the couch when an odd noise reached his ears. Frowning, he turned towards the front door, the source of the sound. He waited a moment, then when it didn't stop, stood up and walked to it. He peered at the general scene for a moment, then began to focus as he pinpointed the sound. He groaned when he picked it out.

It was his pager, vibrating on the table where he'd set it when he first arrived. He debated with himself for a moment whether to read the page or not, then remembered the threats he'd given to graveyard before he'd left. The only reason they were to page him was if half of Vegas' population suddenly turned up dead and everyone else was already on a major case. Worst-case scenario, but they got the picture. He reached down and scooped the plastic box into his hand.

Quadruple homicide. Nicky in Texas. Greg offering to help. Come back ASAP. C.W.

Grissom smiled at the mention of CSI's residential lab rat, then frowned when he reread the message. There had just been a major murder, and CSI was now short three criminalists. He groaned aloud, then set the pager down on the table. He glanced at his cell phone, then picked it up as well. He was a little surprised to see '5 Missed Calls' on his screen and three new voice messages. He scrolled through the numbers, seeing that all of the calls generated from somewhere in the lab, save for one from Catherine's cell phone.

A part of his mind telling him not to, he dialed the number for his voice mail. The first message had been sent at eleven the previous night, while he had still been out with Sara.

"Gil, it's Catherine. Just letting you know that Nicky decided to take some vacation time to visit the folks in Texas. I okay'd it, so don't freak out when you come back."

The second message was sent at two in the morning. "Gil, Catherine again. We've got a murder/suicide called in. Suspicious circs. We're a little short on guys, so if you feel like coming back, we're fine with that!"

Finally, the last message had been sent less than thirty minutes ago. Grissom frowned, thinking that he'd never heard the phone go off.
Grissom allowed a small smile to cross his face, then turned serious at the somber tone of Catherine's voice. He and Sara were needed back in Vegas, but he really wasn't looking forward to going back.

He heard a knocking to his right, and turned to see Sara leaning against the doorjamb. She had a frown on her face at the sight of him with a phone to his ear. "What's going on, Gris?""Gil, we've got a double homicide plus a drug bust gone wrong. Looks like the holiday spirit has worn off and criminals are coming back out, making up for lost time. We're short on people, and Warrick and me are working at least two big cases each. Ecklie's offered to lend us some of his guys, but I don't know if I should sink that low. I've tried calling Sara, but she's not answering either. I hate to ask this, Gil, but could you please come back? We're desperate!"

"Catherine's called me five times, paged me, and sent me four text messages," he answered, holding up his phone to prove it.

"Hmm..." Sara held up her own phone. "She's called me twice, paged me once, and sent three text messages. She's desperate."

Grissom grinned. "Her words exactly."

For a long moment, all they did was stare at each other, waiting for the other to say something. Finally Sara, realizing that Grissom didn't want to start, cleared her throat. "Well, I guess we'll have to go back a day early. I mean, it sounds as if Hell broke loose back in Vegas."

"A part of it," Grissom said, studying Sara intently. She didn't seem angry or agitated at the fact that they needed to go back. She seemed...resigned to it. He thought about asking her if she were sure that they should go back, but he already knew the answer. He sighed. "I'll go tell my mother."

Sara nodded. "I'll go pack up my stuff."
An hour later, Grissom was haphazardly shoving all of his stuff into his bag. He normally would have carefully folded everything to optimize his space, but at the moment he was too rushed. Catherine had called him yet again, and he assured her that he was coming back. She had sounded very relieved, thanking him and apologizing over and over.

Mary, Richard, and Elisa had decided to show up again half an hour earlier, probably to beg for Christmas leftovers. They expressed sympathy to Grissom for having to cut his vacation short, but Sara thought they looked pleased with themselves about it. She half-suspected they would go into the back and dance with happiness as soon as they left. She cast a few annoyed glances in their directions, but no one seemed to notice; Elisa was too busy telling her mother about the cruise she had planned to take her boyfriend-of-the-month on.

Their bags were packed, and Grissom was making one last walk-through to make sure nothing had been forgotten. Finally, he stepped back into the living room, an entomology text in his hand. Richard snorted and rolled his eyes, muttering something that sounded a lot like, "Typical."

Grissom chose to ignore him, stepping up to Sara. "You almost forgot your book," he said, a tiny smile on his face. Sara returned the gesture, then took the book from his hands. "Thanks."

Richard stood up, obviously anxious to be rid of the criminologists. "Well, Gil. I'm real sorry your vacation had to be interrupted. It was great to see you," he said, and Sara fought to keep herself from busting out in laughter. He held out his hand, which Grissom studied for a moment before shaking. It was a cordial gesture, nothing more.

Elisa simply nodded to Grissom, muttering, "See you." Her mother made a show of giving Grissom a hug and telling him to keep in touch. She also invited him to spend a weekend at her place, but Sara could tell by the expressions on both her and Grissom's faces that it would never happen. Mary also made a point of telling Sara what a pleasure it had been, and to take care of Gil. Sara politely nodded.

Then it was Mrs. Grissom's turn. She had stood back while the others said their goodbyes, not wanting to impose herself. After everyone else had finished their farewells, she stepped up to her son with a small smile on her face. She signed a few things to him, which he replied to. She signed something that made him laugh, then threw her arms around him. She pulled away a moment later, sniffing and wiping at her eyes. Grissom began to sign something, but she cut him off with a quick gesture of her hands. She then turned to Sara, who wasn't sure what to expect. She got a hug as well, and a whisper to take care of Grissom. She had to strain a bit to understand it, but when she did, it brought a bright smile to her face.

Walking out to the SUV afterwards, Sara kept finding herself looking back to the house, where Mrs. Grissom stood in the doorway, waving to them. Grissom waved back a few times, then got into the driver's seat after tossing his bag in the back. Sara set hers next to his, then crawled into her seat, still unable to keep herself from looking towards the door. After staring for a long moment, she turned her head, seeing that Grissom was studying her with curious expression.

"What?" she asked, in an attempt to rattle him.

It failed. Instead of becoming flustered, as she had hoped, he just smiled knowingly at her. "Home?" he asked.

She nodded, looking forward with a grin. "Home."
Three Days Later...

"Hey, Nick!" Sara called, speeding up in the hallway to catch up with the Texan. He stopped and waited until she was next to him to continue walking. "You finish that double homicide in the Biloxi?"

Nick snorted, his charming smile on his face. "Yeah. You'll never believe who did it."

"Who? Was it the son, 'cause he seemed kind of suspicious."

Nick shook his head. "Nope." He turned to look at her. "The butler did it."

Sara laughed. "No way!"

"I'm telling you the truth! Seems the guy was sick of only making fifteen dollars an hour; wanted more, but the guy wouldn't give it to him. So he waited until they were asleep and knifed 'em." They shared a laugh, then Nick turned serious, studying Sara. "So, Sara, how was your Christmas?"

Sara smiled, unsuccessfully trying to keep it from becoming too wide. "It was great. Lots of fun. Yours?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, too short! I only got four days vacation before I had to come back. Barely enough time to see the decorations on the tree! I mean, it was great seeing everyone, I just wish I'd had more time, ya know?"

Sara nodded, then listened as Nick detailed his entire vacation out for her as they walked. She listened half-heartedly for a while, then hardly at all when they were nearing Grissom's office. It had been three days since they'd returned to Vegas, and he'd barely spoken to her. She knew that part of it was the fact that he had mounds of paperwork plus the major cases that had popped up, but a part of her was still afraid that he'd already backed out. She separated herself from Nick, then went to her usual place in his doorway, leaning against the doorjamb.

She watched him for a moment, his face a mask of concentration as he filled out paper after paper after paper. He paused to push his glasses up, then looked up when she knocked on the door. He gave her a smile, then looked down at the papers again. "Can I help you with something, Sara?" he asked, the very picture of a supervisor.

She rolled her eyes, stepping inside of his office and sitting in a chair. "I was wondering, what are you doing for New Years?"

A smile was his only answer.

End