Title: Epilogue

Author: Battus philenor

Disclaimer: It is the holiday season… can't I have them?

A/N: This is sappy and crappy, but now that this little idea is out of my system, I can continue with the longer story I've been working on.

The wind hit his cheeks which were sticking out over the collar of his jacket. Normally warmer at this time of the year, the wind was choking away any hope of warmth in the typical Las Vegas fall day. He would probably be thankful for the beard he'd sported over the past few years, if he were capable of thinking anything at all right now.

The wind on his face was not the only sting felt this morning by Gil Grissom. He vaguely remembered a moment years before when the words too late had initially left her lips. A silly meaningless threat at the time now rings in his ears after just hearing it again.

Their cabs long gone after having watched the event unfold before them, normally gruff cabbies, hopeful for a moment for an unforgettable romantic scene with which they could regale their respective significant others with later. After the classic follow that cab line had been given, the chase was on and anticipation grew as they weaved their way to the Las Vegas airport.

None had expected the morning to turn out the way that it had, ending with a lone tear slipping out before the sudden departure of the beautiful brunette in through the automatic airport doors. The abandoned older man defeated with his head hanging and hands trembling. Passersby who had stopped with the hope of romance, left quickly to carry on with their business and let the poor man crumble in relative anonymity and peace.

Feeling for the first time that Sara really wouldn't be there, the trembling spread from his hands to his whole body. Nausea swept through him as his eyes grew large and his head turned frantically searching for a receptacle in which to vomit. While retching into the bin he felt a hand, timid yet soothing barely touching his back.

A spark of hope shot through him as he turned, expecting to see Sara there as she'd always been, ready to assist him. The old woman who stood before him left him standing with mouth agape and wondering if he was hallucinating. He could see through her old coat, she was much too thin.

Her clothes were old and tattered, but very clean and coordinated. Grissom could tell that twenty years ago this would have been an expensive outfit making her a stunning older woman. Now the hunch in her back made him stand up straighter without even thinking about it. Below her hat which went magnificently with her dress her eyes sparkled and her smile grew as she looked him over, readying herself to speak.

"Go after her, Dear." Were the only words she spoke, but her smile remained along with the sparkle in her eyes.

Somewhat taken aback by the woman's words, Grissom stood for a moment staring at her grandmotherly form in front of him. He had been expecting a comment about resting and perhaps something about chicken soup after he'd thrown up, but was quite surprised with her insertion into his love life. Gathering his thoughts, he frowned slightly certain that he'd misheard her. "Excuse me?"

At that point part of the sweetness left her expression as one eyebrow raised slightly along with a corner of her mouth, seemingly a well practiced look reserved for those younger than her. "I said go after her young man."

With a grimace of his own, Grissom didn't know whether to be heartened by this old woman and her caring about a stranger or angry at her butting into his business, but there was something about her… he couldn't bring himself to be rude.

"Ma'am, I don't know if you caught the whole show, but I did come after her. She doesn't want me anymore, it's too late." Loosing any trace of a grimace, a complete feeling of being alone had engulfed him. A kind he'd not felt since his early years in school. He'd been lonely since grade school, but he'd gotten used to it since then. It had become an expected side effect of the way he was. But this was different, Sara had always been there, and he had just assumed she always would be.

Reaching out to grab his arm she looked up into his hanging face. With more strength than he thought she had, she gripped his arm tightly before speaking. "I saw the whole thing. I saw her running, I saw you catch her, I saw her leave you standing there, and I saw you crumble. But, I also saw her cry. You don't cry over somebody you don't want, dear. You don't shed a tear for a man you don't love. Go after her, it's not too late."

With a final squeeze she turned and walked away. He watched her enter through the doors and head down the hallway milling with people. After a moment he lost her in the crowd, but her words echoed in his head. He had no idea when Sara's flight was, but a new hope filled him as he set his mind to finding her.

Rushing up to the counter he bought a ticket for San Francisco, it was the only way he would be able to get up to the gate. Hoping that the taxi had dropped Sara in front of the airline counter with who she purchased her ticket with, he made a dash towards the gate. Luckily the line at the security checkpoint was short and he made it through relatively quickly.

Approaching gate C-53 he searched frantically, after scanning every seat, all wall space and the bank of payphones, he started to panic, she wasn't there. While trying to remember which airlines were next to this one at the counter, he caught site of her. With a large coffee in hand she was walking back to the gate from the Starbuck's kiosk three gates up in the middle of the walkway.

Walking towards her, he made it almost directly in front of her before she spotted him. He swore he saw a glimmer in her eyes before she lowered them, but when she looked back up all he could see was hurt.

"Grissom, what are you doing here? How did you get past security?"

"I bought a ticket. Sara, please don't go, please tell me it's not too late."

Letting out a long sigh, she spoke the same words she had earlier when he'd surprised her in front of the airport. "It is too late, Grissom, I waited years for you. I even warned you that I couldn't wait forever, that someday I would have to move on. This is my time Grissom, I can't do it anymore."

"Sara, this may not be the way you wanted me to come around, and it may not be the ideal circumstances to ask you to stay, but please don't go."

"Why not Grissom, why should I stay? The job's ok, but it's not enough. I can't handle being around you any longer. I wasted years hoping you would take a chance, wondering if you could ever do it. I won't do it any longer."

"Sara, don't you understand? I'm here because I want to take that chance. I know it's pathetic that it took you leaving to prompt me to do something, but it did and I'm here. I don't want you to come back to the way it was. I want you to come back so we can try."

"Why now Grissom?"

"I couldn't do it before, even though I wanted to. I was too afraid. I was afraid you'd leave me, and if you left me I know I wouldn't be able to handle that. So even though I didn't necessarily have you, you were there. You were with me, to look at, to talk to, to dream about. But when you walked out this morning Sara, I realized that I was going to lose you anyway. I was loosing you without ever having you. That's scarier to me now, to lose you without having you. I can't be without you Sara, please give me a chance, please come back."

With his arms open for her he stood hopeful, waiting to see if the truth was enough. And as she stepped forward slowly, she was suddenly in his arms. Closing them around her, he realized again how many years of this he'd missed. How long he had deprived them both of the rightness they were experiencing at this moment.

As one of her arms snaked around him, grabbing his back and pulling him closer, he squeezed her into him a warm feeling running over him. As the heat was felt he suddenly realized it was more than their passion, he'd squeezed her coffee between them, covering them both with the steaming liquid.

Gasping he jumped back, seeing they were both equally soaked.

"Oh my God, Honey I'm sorry. Let's go get you out of those clothes."

"We're taking this slowly big guy. I know we've known each other a long time, but I'm not that easy Grissom." Smiling she stepped back into him, both arms surrounding him this time. Leaving him feeling warm and whole, a feeling he never wanted to lose.

End

Battus philenor