Disclaimer: I don't own the main characters

Summary: It has been a little less than a year since Grissom and Sara left the San Diego docks to go sailing on his boat. Now, they were back in San Diego for a visit, and not long after getting there, they receive some very surprising, unexpected news. What is it and how will they take it?

AN: Hi everybody, while it has happened before, I don't normally do multiple stories at once, but since Grissom's birthday is coming up, I had an idea for it. And even though this story isn't long, if there is a lot of interest, I could maybe expand it a little more or make a sequel from it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy it as is.

Title: Just getting started
Genre: Romance, Comfort/Hurt, Angst, Drama, Tragedy
Rating: T
Spoilers: Subtle hints of multiple seasons
Time-line: A little less than a year after the Finale
Warnings: Implied/suggestive adult behavior, Mention minor & main character(s) death, A few questionable word(s)
Main Parings: GSR
Minor Parings: Nick/OC
Other Characters: Nick, Catherine & Greg (Both brief appearances), Lindsey (Mention only)

Chapter 1: Back in San Diego

August 15, 2016

When the docks in San Diego came into view, even though from this point, Grissom would have to squint to see them, his mind couldn't help but think back to almost a year ago, where he felt like he was granted the biggest miracle of a lifetime, not that he didn't feel he had one of those 18 years ago (First meeting), 11 years ago (First got together), or even 7 years ago (He left the lab to start a new life with her), but if he was honest with himself, it felt like the last big miracle of his life, his last chance at the happiness he felt he no longer deserved.

Flashback

September 27, 2015

As they held one another tightly for several minutes, Grissom couldn't help but start sobbing a little, releasing some emotions he's had bottled up for a long time while Sara ran a hand up and down his back as she spoke with comforting words, even throwing in 'baby' in there, which did feel a little foreign to her since she hadn't used words like that towards him in years.

When he felt like he could speak, his voice was hoarse and soft. "Why?"

Running her hand up to the nape of his neck, she whispered. "Why, what?"

He cleared his throat and replied with a more stronger tone. "Why come?"

They finally pull back from one another before Sara cupped his unshaven cheek with nothing but love in her eyes as she saw the unshed tears in his, causing her heart to skip a few beats, seeing that vulnerability in him he doesn't share very often. "Why do you think? I followed my heart, something I should have done years ago, I'm sor..."

He cuts her off immediately. "No, I'm the one that's sorry, it's all my..."

She cuts him off this time, shaking her head. "No, it's not. It takes two people to make a relationship work, and it's not right to put the blame all on you. We both made stupid decisions in our relationship that lead us to where we are now." She took a breath and spoke again more softly. "Now, I just want to put all of that behind us and start over..."

Before she could finish, he did it for her. "Again?" As she nodded, he took a breath and shook his head. "You hear that word, how many times are we going to start over 'again'?"

Before he could continue, she couldn't help but smirk. "I guess as many times as it takes to get it right."

He shook his head again and this time moved from her until he was standing at the end of his boat, then with his back towards her, he whispered. "I'm serious, Sara."

Sara turned to look at his back, wondering what's going on with him at the moment. "I'm a little confused here, I thought you wanted to be with me?"

He turned around instantly, all different emotions running through his eyes and on his face as he spoke with passion. "More than you can possible understand, more than I could even tell you."

She walked up to him and cupped his cheek again. "Then what's the problem here?"

His vulnerability popped up again as he couldn't help but sniffle, breaking her heart a little at the sadness, almost a defeated look really, that he was showing her. "I just don't want to screw up your life anymore."

Sara gasped with wide-eyes as she asked softly. "Is that what you think you've done, screwed up my life?"

He shrugged a little. "Look at the evidence, it hasn't exactly been easy for us, and we both know that I am the main reason for that."

She took a breath and whispered. "That's an understatement of the century if I ever heard one." He was about to speak, but Sara continued with passion in her eyes and tone, not giving him up without a fight, not this time. "But god Griss, when it was good between us, it was off the charts, so if you had never came into my life, I would have never felt a love like this, and I would take our love, the good moments and yes, the bad ones, over any love out there." She ran a thumb up and down his cheek as she finished with tears in her eyes. "I don't want you to ever think I regretted meeting you or building a life with you, you mean everything to me Griss, you always have. I'm just sorry I didn't try harder for us, I let my insecurities get the better of me."

He nodded, whispering with emotion. "Me too, and I'm sorry too." She nodded, and while they wiped each other's tears away, he asked. "So, you're really sure I'm what you want?"

She smiled with her eyes lighting up. "More than sure."

"And what about your job?"

"It means nothing without you by my side. I thought it was something I really wanted, then you popped back into my life and I realized I still want you more than anything else."

"We could always go back to Vegas if you want?"

"No, I appreciate the gesture, really I do, but I see that you have moved on from that place." He was about to open his mouth again, but she continued. "And that's ok, the lab is in good hands with Catherine. I'm ready for our next adventure."

Seeing no doubts in her eyes, only love, warmed his heart as he nodded with a smile, the biggest smile she had seen on his face since he came back into her life. "Ok, me too." Now it was her turn to give him the biggest smile he seen on her face since she came back into his life, then he ran a thumb up and down her cheek as he commented with pride. "Just so you know, I meant what I said at the lab, they were lucky to have you, and you would have been an excellent lab director and supervisor."

With tears in her eyes again, she whispered. "Only because I learned from the best."

He continued to wipe her tears away as he spoke with another smile, knowing who she was talking about. "I think the student surpassed the teacher, in a lot of different ways, a long time ago."

When all she did was chuckle with a smirk on her face, he just stared at her, causing her to ask with a raised eyebrow once she calmed down. "What?"

He took a deep breath, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was standing in front of him right now, before he spoke softly. "I missed that laugh, I've missed you, so much."

She nodded and cleared her throat from the emotion. "I've missed you too, Griss. A lot more than I lead you to believe the last few days you were in Vegas."

After he nodded in understanding, their looks became heated, but before they moved their lips towards one another, he stepped back while clearing his throat and removing his hand from her cheek. "Do you need anything before we leave?" He raised an eyebrow. "Seeing as you only have one bag with you."

She replied shyly. "I had to make sure I caught you in time, so I just grabbed what I had at the lab." He nodded in understanding again before she continued. "So, if there is time before we have to leave, I guess getting a few more clothes and other items won't hurt."

"I actually have a few days before my next assignment, so it's ok if we don't leave right this second."

End of Flashback

Grissom's thoughts of the past gets interrupted when he feels her arms around his waist from behind, which actually caused him to jump slightly and she chuckled, but spoke in concern. "Woah, where were you at just now?"

He cleared his throat before replying. "I was thinking about the last time we were here."

Sara smiled brightly before whispering passionately in his ear. "And what a reunion that was."

He shyly smiled before he whispered in return. "I would agree, but my thoughts didn't take me that far."

She kissed his cheek before placing her chin on his shoulder. "Then I apologize for interrupting your thoughts, by all means, continue."

He turned his head and kissed her temple before moving his head forward again to look out in front of him as both of their thoughts took them back to that day.

Flashback

After they got off the boat, called a cab to come get them, they headed for the store so Sara could get some more clothes and a few other items that she needed, then they decided to eat something while they talked mostly more in-depth on what he did, before they headed back to his boat, and not long after, they were sailing out into the ocean.

Standing next to him as they were sailing forward to their new life, their new adventure, Sara couldn't help but chuckle a little as she rested her head on his shoulder, causing Grissom to turn his head and ask softly against hers. "What?"

With the smile still on her face, she replied. "Really Griss? You have us literally sailing into the sunset."

He turned his head forward again, seeing the sun setting, and he couldn't help but smirk. "Too cliché for you?"

He hadn't planned it that way, but when they got back on the boat after their meal and he saw where the sun was at, it was just too good of a moment to pass up.

She lifted her head up from his shoulder before looking at him, and after a pause, she whispered. "You know what, at this point, I'll take any and all the clichés out there as long as I'm sharing them with you."

He slowed the boat down to almost a stop as he whispered with emotion when he looked at her again. "Always Sara, I'm never leaving your side again."

As a few tears came into their eyes, she moved her hand and cupped his cheek, and while running her thumb up and down it, she asked, suddenly realizing something they hadn't done since they reunited on the docks. "How come we haven't kissed yet?"

He swallowed before replying with honesty. "Because once I kiss you, I don't think I could stop for a very long time."

Knowing where that would have lead to, Sara replied with honesty herself. "I wouldn't have a problem with that."

"I just don't want to do anything that you're not ready for."

She smirked. "It's been almost three years, believe me, I'm more than ready." When he looked a little shocked at her admission, she shook her head with a smile. "Didn't you hear a word I said earlier, our love was like no other, I could have never topped it with anyone else, so why waste my time trying."

He was about to get a guilty look on his face, knowing it was his fault its been awhile since she felt that type of intimacy, not that he would enjoy hearing about her and other men, but he truly wanted her to be happy and everything that goes with it, but she stopped that look of his when she spoke with a more determined tone. "Hey, don't even think of giving me that look, it was my choice to make, ok?" When all he did was nod, she cleared her throat and spoke softly. "And just so you know, if you had been with..."

He cuts her off, knowing exactly what she was about to say, as he turned his body so he could cup her cheek. "Sara, there has been nobody after you. Hell, you know there was barely anybody before you." He cleared his throat before finishing with emotion. "How you feel about our love, is exactly how I feel about it, there will never be anybody else but you for as long as I live."

After a brief hesitation to make sure they were both ok with it, their lips finally touched for the first time in god only knows how long, causing a burst of fire to run through their bodies, so much in fact the next few minutes were a blur to them, and before they knew it they were down in the cabin of the boat, which while the space and the size of the bed wasn't the greatest, they did what they had to do to fulfill that need and want that only the two of them together could satisfy.

While above her, he was going to pull away from her, but she wrapped her arms around him, even started to bring him down on top of her completely as she whispered. "Not yet."

He cleared his throat, and while not stopping what she wanted, he still replied in concern. "I don't want to hurt you."

She shook her head. "I'll be fine, I just need to feel all of you against me for a few minutes."

Trusting her word, he just nodded until he was fully on top of her, and after taking a breath, she sighed in content as she held him to her, soaking up this feeling of finally being home again, and this time, nothing or no one was going to take her away from her home ever again, with him, is where she belonged, always and forever.

Grissom felt the same and he started to sob lightly as he kept whispering again how sorry he was,
she turned her head and kissed his temple while running her hand up and down his bare back in a soothing manner, repeating the same thing, both knowing they needed to get this all out so they could start to heal and move forward.

Once they calmed down, she whispered. "Let's make a deal, right here, right now. The past is the past and there is nothing we can do to fix it, so let's not dwell on what we can't change and concentrate on moving forward, towards a future with no doubts, no second thoughts, no looking back, unless we are thinking about the good times we had." He moved so he was finally off her but was still above her as she cupped his cheek with a smile, seeing that full sparkle in his eyes now, this was the Grissom she fell in love with. "It's me and you, Griss, no matter what, just like it's suppose to be."

He nodded with a smile. "You're right, and I accept the deal."

She smiled a little wider as she asked. "Should we seal it with a kiss, then?"

He was moving down again while answering her question in a passionate tone. "Maybe even more than a kiss."

"Now that is something I'll never turn do..."

His lips against hers cuts her off, but she didn't seem to mind, and after a few moments of passionate kissing, he pulled back enough to whisper. "I love you, Sara."

"And I love you, Griss."

He moved his hand to slip it into hers as he goes back down to kiss her. She kisses him back as their romantic night continued, this time around, taking things a little slower, just how they liked it so they could savor their amazing feeling a lot longer.

End of Flashback

They were looking at one another as they came back to the present, their looks taking a heated turn as she whispered. "We don't have to dock right now, do we?"

He slowed the boat down before asking with a smirk, already knowing the answer. "What do you have in mind, Mrs. Grissom?"

During their new adventure they decided to give marriage another try, so they got remarried in Paris and have been married the last six months.

Her face beamed at hearing that title before taking his hand. "Why don't you come with me, and I'll show you, Dr. Grissom."

AN: Interested in more? You know what to do, thanks for reading and please review.