Epilogue

Ten months, three days, and six hours later:

It was the rustling sound of the fabric that really began to make the reality of the day set in for her. Sara took a deep breath and glanced at herself in the full length mirror. She never really thought she would be a bride, and she was never so glad to be wrong as she was today. She glanced down at her left hand at the empty place on her ring finger. For the last seven months, she'd worn a brilliant diamond engagement ring, and at the end of a ceremony in just another hour she'd be wearing that ring again along with a wedding band, sealing her lifelong commitment to Nick Stokes. A commitment that some said he would never make to anyone; she was glad that they were wrong about that too.

A soft knock sounded at the door of the room she was in. She let out a deep breath and smiled. "Come in."

Catherine poked her head in and her jaw dropped slightly before a smile overtook her expression. "You look amazing, Sara."

Sara laughed softly, belying the nervousness she felt inside. "You say that like it'll never happen again."

Catherine smirked as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. "And it shouldn't. This is your wedding day. A woman should always be the most beautiful she's ever been on her wedding day."

Sara furrowed her brow and looked at Catherine a bit anxiously. "Am I supposed to be this nervous?"

Catherine chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, Nick's nervous too."

Sara suddenly looked worried.

Catherine shook her head to try and reassure her. "He's nervous because he still can't believe that you agreed to marry him. Don't worry, he wants this more than anything."

Sara smiled, feeling her cheeks flush slightly. "Me too." And she did want it, more than she ever thought possible.

Another knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." Sara called out, glancing towards the door.

Warrick slowly opened the door and let out a low whistle as he took in Sara's appearance. "Girl, you look some kind of beautiful."

Sara smiled. "Thank you." Compliments about her appearance were difficult for her to take, but being around Nick had made it easier for her to accept them because he was constantly telling her that he loved her and that he thought she was beautiful.

Warrick shook his head. "Nick isn't going to know what hit him when he sees you."

"He's right you know." Catherine agreed.

Warrick glanced over at Catherine and his expression took on a slightly nervous edge. "Hey, Cath, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure." Catherine looked at him a bit quizzically before glancing over at Sara. "You really do look beautiful, Sara."

"See you in a little while." Warrick winked at Sara as he and Catherine headed out of the room.

As Warrick and Catherine stepped outside of the white clapboard church just a few miles and worlds from the glitzy strip and the wedding chapels Vegas was known for, the sun seemed to temporarily blind them.

Catherine glanced up at her longtime friend, holding her hand above her eyes so she could see him. "What did you need?"

Warrick simply smiled. "Truthfully?"

Catherine furrowed her brows, curious as to where this conversation was going. "No, I'd prefer that you lie." There was a hint of sarcasm and amusement in her voice.

"Cath, we've been friends a long time." Warrick regarded her with a soft smile.

A hint of a smile began to play at the edges of Catherine's mouth.

"And I think it's about time we got past that." Warrick looked at her intently.

Catherine let out a chuckle.

"I talked to Lindsey and she agrees." Warrick continued with a smirk.

Catherine's eyebrows shot up. "You talked to Lindsey?"

Warrick nodded. "I figured if I wanted to date her mother, I should get her permission."

Catherine was speechless as she just stared at him, still trying to process what he was saying.

Warrick reached out and touched her cheek gently. "I thought we could date for a while and then maybe end up in a place like this, if you were open to it."

Catherine could not keep the incredulous smile off of her face as she continued to stare at him and finally nodded.

Warrick chuckled. "Is that a yes?"

"That's a hell yes." Catherine wrapped her arms around Warrick's neck and smiled as he leaned in and kissed her.

"Are you ready?" Grissom raised a curious eyebrow at Sara as he offered her his arm. He had agreed to give her away since her relationship with her parents was strained at best and they hadn't even bothered to come to the wedding.

She took a deep breath and smiled. "I am more than ready." She threaded her arm through his and then looked over at him with a studied expression. "Gris, thank you so much for doing this. It means a lot to me to have you walk me down the aisle."

He gave her a boyish smirk. "How could I refuse?" Initially when he'd learned that Nick and Sara were dating, he didn't take it too well, but as he saw how good Nick was for Sara, he realized that he was happy for her. The easy friendship that he'd shared with Sara when she'd first come to Vegas had returned over these last several months and both of them were sincerely thankful for it.

They were standing in the foyer of the church waiting for the music to cue their entrance and then suddenly it was time. The doors were opened, the crowd stood, and Sara Sidle was walking down the aisle to marry Nick Stokes.

For his part, the moment Nick saw her, tears began to slip down his cheeks. He could hardly believe that he was getting to marry Sara. He'd loved her almost as long as he'd known her and over the past months since they'd started dating, he'd fallen even more deeply in love with her.

Nick could hardly contain his grin as he offered Sara his arm and Grissom sat down. Nick leaned down and kissed her garnering a humorous chastisement from the minister about getting a little ahead of himself. Laughter rippled throughout the crowd.

Sara hardly noticed that the ceremony was over almost as soon as it seemed to begin, only aware of it because they exchanged wedding bands and when they were pronounced husband and wife, Nick gave her a kiss that nearly took her breath away.

In the end, the lab had become much more than a place where people came to work, it became a confluence of their very lives, and none of them were the same as a result of it.

The End

Author's Note: Special thanks to Mel for being my beta for this story. I appreciate your input and humor, and I will never watch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" again without thinking about your Neuro-Anatomy professor. Maybe someday soon, I will have to write a special YoBling story with a guest appearance by the Sunglasses of Justice. Thanks to all my readers. I appreciate you all taking the time to read my stories and comment on them.