SPOILERS: None.
A/N: Well everyone, I had a great time in Vegas but CSI was not filming there at the time so no, I didn't see Grissom :(. But I did of course get a CSI T-shirt; no trip to Vegas is complete without one! Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews, I read them all when I got back. I am almost sad to finish this story up, it was my first WIP and I loved every minute of it. So, this is the final chapter and I hope you are not disappointed. Thanks indiegurl2008 for the final beta work :).
It had been four days since Grissom returned from Tamales Bay and as he sat at his desk, he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on work. He hadn't talked to Sara yet but she had left a message on his cell phone. He cursed at himself again for missing her call. He had been so distracted lately that he had actually locked his phone and keys in his townhouse when he was leaving for work. Stupid self-locking doors. Of course, that was the exact moment Sara had called.
"Griss, it's me. I was hoping talk to you before you went to work. Umm, I just wanted to say that everything has been worked out with the ADA here and they offered Dylan a plea. If Dylan is lucky and gets time off for good behavior, he'll be out in about 4 years. Anyway, we can talk about it all later. I really just wanted to… hear your voice. I'll be back soon."A knock on his office door returned Grissom to the present and he looked up to see Catherine settling in the chair across from him. She gave him a sly smile before speaking.
"So, have you talked to her?"
"Who?" Grissom asked, feigning ignorance.
Catherine sighed and pretended to be fascinated with her newly manicured nails.
Grissom reluctantly decided he was too irritable to play their usual game.
"If you are referring to Sara, then no, I haven't talked to her."
Catherine looked up then and raised an eyebrow.
"But," Grissom continued, "she did leave me a message earlier and said she would be back soon, so I would translate that as by the end of the week."
Catherine nodded and thought for a minute. "I would have expected her to be back right after the funeral, workaholic that she is. Is there something else going on?"
Grissom avoided Catherine's prying eyes and shuffled a few papers around on his desk. He opened his mouth to tell her he knew nothing else, but it wasn't necessary, a noise in the doorway drew their attention.
"Hey, there you are. So, we got some work to do tonight or what?" Warrick started as he entered the office with Nick close on his heels.
Grissom was grateful for the interruption. "Uh, yes we do, I was just about to organize assignments. I'm sorry, I'm running a little late tonight."
"We heard you locked yourself out of your house. That must have been a first, huh Griss?" Warrick asked.
"Yeah boss", Nick interjected, "you've seemed kind of…distracted lately. Any reason?"
Grissom decided to ignore the questions and began handing out assignments. Catherine gave Grissom a brief knowing smile as she took her assignment slip.
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Sara threw her two small bags into the back of the rental car and shut the door. She took a deep breath and walked back to the house where her mother stood on the porch.
"I'm glad you decided to keep the house." Sara said lightly.
"Me too. I've already lost so much, I don't think I could bear to part with it." Diana replied sadly. "I have your father's insurance money so I can afford to open the B&B on the weekends in the busy season only. Your father always handled the majority of the bookkeeping so I'll probably hire some help until your brother gets out. I want to have a job ready for him."
Sara winced a little at her mother's words. "You know mom, you haven't lost me."
Diana nodded slowly and faced her daughter. "I know honey, I didn't mean to imply that I had. We haven't seen eye-to-eye recently but you are still my daughter and I love you. It's just that you aren't around; you never visit and rarely call. I know you avoided me because of your father and you have painful memories that make you reluctant to come home. Maybe those will never go away, but one day I will be gone too and what I really want is for you and I to have a good relationship. Any relationship would be better than the way it's been."
Sara knew her mother was right and she decided that even if her mother didn't approve of her career choice or even her choice in men, she was determined to make more of an effort. Her father's death and her brother's situation had changed things.
"I'll call you mom, I promise. I'll try and visit every few months too, when I go to see Dylan."
"Maybe we could go visit him together sometime." Diana suggested.
"Yeah, that'd be good." Sara agreed. "Well, I have to go, my plane leaves at 2:15."
"I know. Sara, I'm glad you stayed with me. I couldn't have said goodbye to Dylan without you. I know you did a lot to help him and I want you to know I don't blame you or your… friend for the way things turned out. I was just scared and angry the day of the funeral and I said many things that I didn't mean." Diana said sincerely.
Sara was quiet for a moment. She was somewhat amazed at her mother's admission and she wasn't sure how to respond.
"Mom, it's okay, it doesn't matter. I'm tired of looking backwards; it's time to start over and move forward from here. It's what Dylan wanted and it's what I need."
Diana nodded and smiled gratefully at Sara. Sara hugged her mother goodbye and took one more stroll down the trail to the cove. She said a brief farewell to her father while staring out at the ocean. Feeling more at peace with her past than ever before, she drove away from The Silent Cove of Tamales Bay.
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Grissom stared into his fridge in search of something edible. He was so tired when he got home from work that he had just crawled into bed. He awoke with a throbbing headache and a growling stomach. So here he was searching for something to soothe his head and his stomach. He finally settled on a fruit smoothie and was trying to locate his blender when he heard a knock at the door. He looked at the clock over his head. 4:10 pm. Who could that be? Grissom padded over to the door and gasped slightly when he checked the peephole. He unlocked the door and opened it quickly.
Sara looked up as the door swung open and she smiled widely at the first sight of Grissom. She couldn't help herself. Without a word, Grissom smiled back and moved aside to let her in and closed the door behind them. Sara started to follow Grissom into the living room but stopped as she remembered her bags. She opened the front door and retrieved them. Grissom glanced back to see what she was doing and looked at her, puzzled.
"Are you moving in?" He asked rather matter-of-factly.
Sara replied with a nervous laugh and set her bags down by the door.
"I came straight from the airport." She explained.
"You haven't been home yet?"
Sara shook her head and looked away from Grissom's curious gaze.
"Why not?" Grissom asked.
Sara still avoided his eyes and she blushed slightly. "I – I couldn't wait."
"For what?"
"To see you." Sara replied simply. "I was in the cab and the driver asked me where I wanted to go. I started to give him my address but it just felt wrong. I didn't want to go home, I wanted to come here."
Grissom's eyes brightened even more as he stepped closer to Sara and then slowly wrapped her up in his arms. He turned and softly kissed her head, breathing in deeply the subtle yet familiar aroma of her shampoo. Sara relaxed into his welcome embrace as she continued talking.
"I really just wanted to tell you that…I'm ready."
THE END