All I Want Is You

Disclaimer: All of us know that I don't own CSI by now, don't we?

Chapter Eight: Goodbyes

Grissom and Sara checked out of their hotel early so that they could stop by Laura's apartment to say their goodbyes. Their time in California had flown past and it was so much better than they could have expected. Sara and her mother were now on great terms and Grissom and Sara's relationship had made it to the next level.

"Oh my Sara, I'm going to miss you," Laura smiled at her daughter.

"I'll miss you too, mom," Sara said.

"Let me just say that I'm so glad you came here. I was afraid that you might not come or if you did, you would be too mad at me to stay for long enough. It makes me so happy that we are even speaking to each other now. You're my one and only daughter and I love you so much," Laura kissed Sara's cheek, "I'm so proud of what you've grown up and done with yourself."

"I'm glad we are getting along too," Sara returned, "and I love you too mom. It's been so long since I've said those words."

"Let's not let it be another twenty years," Laura joked.

"I thought you were coming to Vegas next month," Sara raised her eyebrows.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, dear," Laura assured her.

"Good, I'm sure you'll have fun," Sara suddenly remembered that Grissom was in the room, "we'll make sure of it."

"Oh, I nearly forgot you were here, Gil. I'm so glad I got to meet one of Sara's friends. I can see she knows how to keep good company," Laura turned to face him.

"Thank you, Laura. It was great meeting you too. I've never even heard Sara talk about any of her family before," Grissom told her.

"Anytime Sara comes to visit, you are more than welcome to come along with her," Laura offered.

"Good, I think I like seeing this side of you Grissom, you're always so business-like at work," Sara put in.

"Oh, that reminds me. Catherine called me the other day and said that people at work were getting suspicious of the fact that we left on vacations at the same time," Grissom sighed.

Sara's eyes grew huge, "What's going to happen when we get back?"

"Are you two not supposed to be together or something?" Laura asked.

"No. I mean, it's fine that we're together. I just don't think everyone at work knows that we are having a relationship. Catherine told them to lay off, gave them some story that had them backing away. It's not exactly forbidden to date co-workers, I'm sure some of the higher-ups might think badly of it, since I'm the supervisor and all," Grissom tried to explain.

"How did you manage to get Catherine to defend us?" Sara was confused.

"I told her why we were coming out her, I hope you don't mind," Grissom looked into her eyes for anger.

"I guess that was a good idea then, wasn't it?" Sara smiled. She wasn't mad. She would rather have told Catherine about all this herself, but she had the feeling her story was too much for Grissom to keep to himself. And Catherine was one of his oldest friends.

"I hope you aren't in trouble," Laura said.

"No, and even we are, I can talk myself out of anything with the director of personnel, I think I make him nervous," Grissom chuckled.

"I think we should get going real soon," Sara looked at the clock, "I'll just go to the bathroom and we can be heading out."

Grissom were left sitting alone for a few minutes. At first, they sat in comfortable silence, then Laura had to speak.

"Do you love her?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Grissom was broken out of his thoughts, "Sara? Yes, very much."

Laura smiled, "I thought so."

"Sara's an amazing woman," Grissom sighed, "I'm so lucky to have her."

"You two recently started dating?" Laura inquired.

"Yeah. I mean, we've been attracted to each other for a long time, but I think both of us were afraid of taking the next step," Grissom finished before he could believe the words flying out of his mouth. Something about Laura made him feel free to talk. The only person he felt more comfortable around was Sara, so he decided something must run in their family.

"It's hard sometimes to decide whether to take a chance or just be safe and stay friends," Laura said knowingly.

"Who's friends?" Sara asked, wiping her hands off on a towel.

"No one's," Laura added smoothly.

"Okay," Sara looked from her mother to Grissom, knowing they must have been talking about her, "ready to go back to Vegas?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Grissom stood.

"Goodbye, Sara," Laura hugged her, "I'll be expecting your call."

"Bye mom," Sara replied.

"Goodbye Dr. Grissom," Laura embraced him as well.

"It was wonderful meeting you, Mrs. Sidle," Grissom said.

"Have a nice trip," Laura called as they left.

------------On the Airplane---------------

"So, what did you think of my mom?" Sara asked when they were settled in.

"I think she was a very nice woman," Grissom responded.

"Me too," Sara agreed, "it was weird to think about how long it's been since we saw each other. Last time she saw me, I was a lot shorter."

Grissom snorted, "I'm sure a lot more than that has changed."

Sara laughed, "Did you just snort?"

"I think I did," Grissom snickered.

They were both bent over in laughter a minute later. It felt good to be laughing so hard. Grissom was overjoyed to see Sara acting happier than he'd ever seen her. Sara was glad to see that Grissom could open up to her and act like a normal person too. Overall, the trip had done wonders for them both.

A/N: I think there will be two more chapters. They might be shorter than usual chapters.