When Sara got off of the plane, her eyes frantically darted around looking for Grissom. She knew she would have to head toward the baggage claim to find him, for security prevented him from getting to where she was, but she looked none the less. Sara finally spotted him near the entrance to the airport. When she reached him she threw her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. She started crying once again, and Grissom rubbed her back soothingly. "You're here now, everything is alright, you've got me."

Sara continued to cry, and many people within the airport were starting to turn their heads. "Come on Sara, let's go out to the car," he said, prying her off of his chest, but keeping an arm around her.

Sara leaned into his arm and allowed him to direct her out of the airport.

Once they got in the car, Sara lay across the seat with her head in Grissom's lap. He was casually stroking her hair and trying to comfort her. "It was awful Griss," she stated.

"What happened?"

"Multiple homicide case."

"What! I told Cath to look after you," he growled.

"She ended up on a multiple homicide also. I don't know all of the details, but she had Nick and Greg with her processing the scene, and Warrick and I were working together on our scene. It wasn't the case so much though, it was the media attention."

"What happened?"

"They insinuated that you were slacking off on the job because you were here, and they determined that I couldn't possibly do my job because of issues with my personal life. I know I shouldn't have said anything back, but I got so angry and told them that my life was none of their business. Now the media is having a field day."

Grissom knew that she was worried about keeping her cool at the scene, and knew that she was too emotionally charged to even be working that day. "That'll give the sheriff something to work on," Grissom stated.

Sara twitched a smile and started to relax. "I think Cath had everything set up already," she stated.

"What do you mean?"

"She had already booked seats on the plane for me to come out here. When Brass rescued me from the sharks, he took me home to pack a bag and brought me straight to the airport."

"Well, they were looking out for you after all."

"You said something, didn't you?" she questioned, turning her head to look up into his face.

"Yeah, I asked Cath to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't do too much," he admitted.

"I'm too tired to fight you about that right now, so I'll just keep quiet."

Grissom smiled and pinched her nose. "Why don't we get going back to the hotel?" he suggested.

"Hotel?" Sara questioned, sitting up.

"Yeah, I opted not to stay at mom's house."

Sara squeezed his hand reassuringly and did not press the issue. "Alright, let's go," she stated.

Grissom squeezed her hand back and started up the car.

Once back in the hotel room, Sara laid down on the bed while Grissom changed into something more comfortable. When he emerged, he sat on the side of the bed and started to massage her lower back. "You're so tense," he noted.

"Yeah, well, that's what these things do to you," Sara mumbled.

"It's so good to have you here," Grissom stated, moving further up her back.

Sara sighed. "I would have gone insane if I had to stay at the lab any longer. The sheriff is probably cursing out anyone he can find."

Grissom smiled. "Well, I do feel better to have you here."

"Gil, how did things go today?" she asked, trying to judge his true emotions.

Grissom stopped his massage for a minute, but he then returned his attention to her back. "I met with the funeral director and set the wake for Thursday and the funeral for Friday. I had to go and pick out the casket and take care of a few other things."

Grissom's mind flashed back to the moment he saw her body. She looked so calm and peaceful, like she would wake up and ask him how his day had been. Grissom's hand hovered over her face, but he could not bring himself to touch her cold lifeless skin. This final image of his mother was burned into his memory.

Sara turned over and grasped Grissom's hands in hers after he had been quiet and still for a few minutes. Grissom was startled and tried to recover when a soft look of concern crossed Sara's face. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, stroking the backs of his hands.

"I keep seeing what she looked like on the table," he said, averting her eyes.

Sara sat up and leaned back against the headboard. She let go of his hand to cup his cheek and look into his eyes. "I am so sorry you had to go through that alone."

"That part," he sighed, "I think I needed to. We deal with death every day Sara, it seemed surreal that this time it hit close to home."

Sara kept quiet for a moment, contemplating how she could help him with his feelings. "You don't have to go through this alone."

"I'm not Sara," he tried to convey his feelings, "I just don't think I could have handled that with anyone else in the room."

Sara nodded, understanding how awkward the situation might have seemed. Grissom had already broken down once, he didn't want to go through the same situation again. Grissom slid up the bed and settled himself beside Sara. She wrapped an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "We need to go to the house tomorrow and start packing things up," Grissom stated, playing with the ends of her hair.

Sara turned her head and looked him in the eye. "We don't have to do this so soon," Sara replied, "we can come back at another time."

"I want to finish everything while we're here," he affirmed, "I don't want to come back."

Those six words spoke volumes. "Gil, you don't have to run," Sara spoke, and Grissom turned away.

"I'm not running," he managed to get out, "there just isn't anything here worth coming back to with mom gone."

"Gil, we can go slow and take all of the time that you need," Sara stated, turning his head back toward her.

Grissom nodded, but stayed silent for a few minutes. When he spoke again his voice was almost a whisper. "There are only a few things that I want to keep - pictures and such. As we go through, you can pick out anything that you want, and we'll box the rest up to go to charity. It's what she would have wanted."

Sara felt a tear slip down her cheek and she rushed to wipe it away. However, the tear did not go unnoticed, and Grissom pulled her into his arms. "Honey, I know you're hurting too," he spoke casually stroking her back.

Grissom knew that focusing on her pain would allow him to distance himself from his own. "She was so excited about the wedding and picking out the dress," Sara said airily.

A sad smile crossed Grissom's face. "She enjoyed spending that time with you honey," he continued to rub her back, "even though it was very brief, I feel better knowing that she got a chance to meet you."

A sob escaped Sara's chest, and she struggled to speak. "She treated me with respect, I could never get that from my own mother," she managed to say before tears started streaming down her face.

Grissom kept his arms wrapped tightly around her and kissed the top of her head. "Let it all out honey, you'll feel better," he comforted, "let it all out."

Sara continued to cry while Grissom held her. Eventually, her sobs were replaced with the soft even breaths of sleep. Grissom slid them both under the covers and drifted off to sleep soon after.

Sara awoke when she heard a deep moan beside her. Grissom's face was covered in sweat, and his forehead was creased with frown lines. Sara ran her hand over his chest to try and coax him awake. "Gil, it's me," she spoke, "everything is okay, you're safe."

Grissom moaned again, and his hand came up to shield his face. Sara put her hand on his shoulder and started to shake him. "Gil, wake up, you're having a nightmare," she tried to rouse him.

"Gil, wake up!" she shook him again.

Grissom's eyes flew open, and he grabbed her arm. In turn, Sara's eyes widened in shock, and she tried to pull away. When Grissom realized it was Sara, he let go and started to apologize. She slid off of the bed and walked toward the bathroom. "I need a minute," she said, slipping the door closed.

Wonderful, now I'm making her retreat. Grissom put his head in his hands and tried to clear his mind. She's gone, she's not coming back. I need to put back the pieces and move on with my life. I need to accept Sara's help and move forward.

Sara emerged from the bathroom, breaking him out of his reverie. She had tried to cover up the fact that she had been crying, but she couldn't fool Grissom. She sat down next to him on the bed and put her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry," she spoke.

"No, I'm sorry," Grissom said, taking her hand in his, "are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"I'm alright, you just scared me, that's all."

Grissom looked at her arm and saw a red mark where he had grabbed her. He ran his hand over it and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, I thought I was still dreaming."

Sara nodded. "What was so bad in that nightmare anyway?"

"It flashed to a lot of different things. Let's just say it wasn't pleasant," he said, not wanting to upset her further.

"Okay, why don't we try and get back to sleep then?" Sara suggested, turning to get into the bed and pull the covers back over them.

Grissom nodded and snuggled back in behind her. He tightly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "You know Gil," she teased, "I'm not going anywhere."

Grissom loosened his hold and kissed her hair again. "Good, because I don't think I could let you."

Sara smirked, and they allowed sleep to overtake them again.