DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from 'CSI'. They're not my property.

The final scene had a black setting. Adam stood in an empty room with only an open coffin before him; inside, the peaceful face of his beloved Julianne.

Amanda appeared behind him. Slowly, she walked up next to him and then stood there, watching the soulless face of the deceased girl. "You were too late," she told him quietly.

"Shut up," Adam mumbled.

"You waited too long." Her voice was cold, losing its sympathy in moments when Adam needed it the most.

"Please. Shut up! Not now!" he sounded irritated.

Amanda looked at him. "Go on," she said. "You have the chance to finally tell her." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "She will listen." She looked back at the coffin. "She has no other choice."

Adam swallowed. He took a deep breath and approached the coffin. "Julianne." A heavy sigh left him. "Jul. Forgive me. I-I was just scared. I-I… thought you would never leave me. Even if… Even when you tried, I never let you. Pretty selfish of me, isn't it?"

Grissom leaned his chin on his fingers. It was an unnatural sensation that the character's every word resulted in a warm but disturbing after-effect of each beat of his heart. Sara was quiet. She must've been absorbed in the story as much as he.

"I couldn't be without you, Jul. I-I still can't. I pushed you away until your distance was so unbearable that… I would force you back in my circle and yet, manage to keep you out. Forgive me, Jul. Forgive me for making you feel so miserable." Adam put his hand on the wooden surface of the coffin. "I was afraid. Can you believe that? You scared me. I was afraid from you and for you. No one had done that to me. Can you imagine the feeling? You're so safe within you and… someone comes along and shakes that security. You did that to me. I don't how it happened. Maybe because you were…" his trembling hand touched his chest, "…me in so many ways… only… a more open, softer soul; a beautiful… such a beautiful spirit." Adam swallowed. He appeared very willing to let out his thoughts.

Moving the hand with fingers that never stood still, he brushed his fingers against the cheek of the young woman. "I was safe from everyone else but you." He shook his head. "I had to defend myself somehow, right? I-I… had to, otherwise… I think that with all those … quiet years behind me, I wasn't capable of living in a way, that I think, you might have wanted me to with you.

I found out too late that that didn't matter to you. I don't know. I was an idiot. And now, look at the ending here. You're listening to me… listening to every word that comes out of my mouth; in silence, in a place where you can't respond.

I don't believe in ghosts, all that supernatural crap. But maybe, I wonder, if you could read my thoughts right now. I…" he sighed. "Did you know? Did you ever know that… I love you? Jul." Tears began to fall. Adam started crying. "I love you, Jul. I did for so long.

This is how someone chose to punish me. Jul, darling, I'm sorry. A part of me really died with you that night because… well, you were it. You were me. You knew me. No one else did. But you knew me." Adam covered his face with his hands.

Amanda watched in the background. "She is still listening, Adam."

Adam removed his hands and watched the peaceful face of his love. He leaned low and kissed Julianne's forehead. "I love you, Jul. I love you," he whispered on her skin and lifted his head. Stepping back, he wiped his tears away from his face.

"It's over," Amanda said.

"No," Adam's voice became more concrete. "It never will be," he said and walked away.

The curtain lowered.

"That was… interesting," Sara whispered and remained in her seat longer along with Grissom while the other guests, after the long applause, started standing up and others leaving their seats already.

"Yes, it was." Grissom slowly stood up. "We should go fulfill the rest of our promise," he told Sara.

They were greeted by short man with glasses at the very entrance of the dressing rooms. A smile appeared on the man's face when he noticed the two visitors. "Gil! Sara!" He grabbed Grissom's hand and then Sara's. "You did come. Thank you."

"It was a pleasure being here," Grissom said.

"Did you enjoy the play?" Robin asked them.

"Very much," Sara sounded a little embarrassed.

"And you, Gil?"

"Exceptional," Grissom replied.

Robin smiled. "Thank you."

"If I may ask you, Robin… Where did you get the inspiration for the play?" Grissom felt curious. He also received a glance from Sara.

"Oh." Robin shrugged. "I'm sure you've already gotten the message of the story, right?"

Sara kept quiet. Although she had seen the majority of the play, because of the scene that she missed, Sara felt a little left out when it came to the point of the story.

Grissom wanted and even expected Sara to give a response. He felt slightly uncomfortable when she did nothing. "Yes, we did," he told Robin.

"Good. It's all about having to cease a moment, an opportunity. I've met people that had missed such wonderful opportunities. It's sad. No one died, thank God, but some of them were about that ideal love, like Adam and Julianne."

"Really," Sara spoke with a soft smile and a furrowed eyebrow.

"Yes. It's all about that fear, uncertainty. Not wanting to get out of that safe shell of oneself. And that's what happened with Adam…"

"He felt afraid by Julianne," Sara finished Robin's sentence. "Too scared to take a risk with her and by the time he finally came around."

"She was killed, yes," Robin said and crossed his arms.

"As Napoleon once said: The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided," Grissom said, saving himself from an awkward moment that he was sure would have followed with the woman next to him.

"It's quite true," Robin agreed.

"It's interesting to see how many people respond to it. From the popularity the play has gathered…" Sara said.

"Yes."

"Thank you for inviting us," she told Robin.

"No need. I really don't know how to thank either of you. Had it not been for your efforts… my wife and I wouldn't have been celebrating Cassie's graduation." Robin's daughter - Cassie would have become another victim of a serial killer if Grissom and Sara hadn't figured the evidence in time to capture the killer and rescue the girl.

"Oh, congratulations! When was the graduation?" Sara asked.

"A week ago. Cassie asked me to tell you again how grateful she is."

"We were just following the evidence," Grissom assured him.

"You did much more, Gil. Both you and Sara saved my Cassie."

"We're glad she's doing well," Sara said.

A shout came behind the door, calling Robin for some matters concerning the play. "Oh, I better get going. You are always welcome to see the play again if you like. Thank you for coming! Have a good evening," Robin said quickly and rushed to the hallway of the dressing rooms.

"Nice man," Sara said.

"Yes," Grissom agreed and glanced at Sara. "Shall we?" he gestured towards the exit.

"Okay."

"Where are you parked?" Grissom asked once they stepped outside.

"Next to you," Sara responded, almost ducking her head inside her shirt. She felt Grissom's confused look. "I couldn't find any other available place," she said.

"Oh." An inward smile could not be held back. "Pleasant," he told himself.

Sara shoved her hands in the pockets of her thick coat. "So, you liked the play, huh?" as cheesy as her attempt to start a conversation might have sounded, it felt better than the silence. Silence between them had felt very uncomfortable as of late.

"Mm. And from what you told Robin, I gather you did too," Grissom said and glanced at her.

"Erm, yeah, although," she twisted her lips, before biting them for a moment, "I don't think I got the complete picture of the story."

Grissom kept quiet to that sentence. He did not feel brave enough to contradict her opinion.

"And I feel… itchy when I don't have a complete answer to something I wish to know."

"Itchy?" Grissom looked at her with his right eyebrow up.

"Yeah. It's as if something's scratching inside you, urging you to know more."

"Ah." Grissom smiled tamely. "I do get that."

"Which is probably why I'm going to go see the play again."

"Why?" He faked a confused expression to cover his apparent disapproval of her thought.

"I just want to know what Amanda told Adam…" she paused. "What did she tell him anyway?" she asked him curiously.

"She just helped him figure out his situation with Julianne." Grissom shrugged.

"What, did she tell him to go after her… not do anything? What?"

Grissom sighed. "I don't remember."

Sara eyed him suspiciously. "Okay. I'll go see it again then."

"You didn't miss anything important, Sara, trust me."

"Didn't miss? Griss, the following scenes – apart from the final one - didn't make much sense. Adam's behavior was so mixed up that, one time I thought he decided to kill Julianne."

Grissom smirked. "It wasn't that."

"Then?"

"It was not an important scene."

"I thought you couldn't remember it."

"It's why I can't remember it; because it wasn't important."

"I still can't shake away that itchy feeling."

"Well then, scratch it!"

"If I knew what that scene was about, it would stop."

"The story made sense regardless of it."

"Grissom, It's like when you're almost done with a puzzle, but two pieces are missing. Now, someone keeps telling you it's fine, it's fine those two pieces wouldn't make a big difference, but you know that they do."

Grissom stopped and turned to her. "It's a play, Sara, let it go!" he sounded much calmer than what he was feeling. The feeling was irritation.

"It had an interesting story."

"You said it didn't make sense."

"I said some of the scenes didn't make sense. But the rest did. And you were pretty absorbed by it."

"So?"

"So, if you were so interested in it, and the attentiveness did grow after that scene, it must've been pretty good. I am simply curious."

"The play is that puzzle." He glanced at her.

"Yes."

Grissom shrugged and then stopped. "Here we are." He pulled out his keys. "See you at work, Sara."

Sara watched him with astonishment. "So you're not going to tell me?"

With his back turned to her, Grissom closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Okay, fine," he said and turned around to face her. "Amanda advised him to go after her. There." He spread his arms, hoping that was a sufficient answer for Sara.

"And what did Adam say?"

"He didn't say anything."

Sara relaxed her shoulder. "Okay… Thanks. I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow," she said and walked over to her car.

"Night, Sara."

"Night." Sara opened the door and went inside.

Letting her drive away first, Grissom watched the weak dust trail which followed the car. He then turned the key and started the engine.

Adam was not the only one who had been enlightened by that little voice in his head.