Disclaimer: Not mine. Property of CBS.

Spoiler: No Humans Involved

This is the last chapter. I am kind of sad about it. It was fun to write. But, again, with the deepest appreciation, I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read and review this story. You have all been great.I hope you are able to find this among the maintenance issues fanfiction isdoing this weekend. Won't be back toread the feedback until Monday evening. Braving the 30 below temperatures to drive to South Dakota. Again, thanks to all of you.

Sheila

Chapter 16

Sara walked into the lab with some hesitation. She wondered about reactions, feelings from her friends. She stopped in reception and sat down as if a citizen waiting to identify a dead relative. She nodded to the receptionist, and told her she was waiting for Brass. For a few minutes, she just sat there and watched people as they came in and out. Some of them were stunned, others angry. One woman came by consumed by a grief that startled Sara. A wall of sadness that spread out beyond her when she walked. Sara realized that people like this woman passed her almost every day here, and she almost never felt them like she did here, she never took the time.

Brass walked through the door, and she sat up straight. He smiled big and went straight for her. Before she knew it, she was on her feet, and engulfed in a tight hug. She held him tightly. Eventually he let her go, and held her at arm's length. "You look good. Can't believe it's the same woman I saw a week ago."

"I am so sorry, Jim. I can't believe what I put you through."

"You're important to all of us. We're just glad to have you back. When do you come get back to the unit?"

She smiled. "Next week, I start, I think. Griss is in with Ecklie and the sheriff as we speak. I may not even have a job."

"They wouldn't dare. Atwater wouldn't let me in that meeting. Says I'm a menace. But don't worry 'cause I got those guys on a leash."

She laughed at him. "Whatever happens, I'm okay, Jim. Really."

"So I got a surprise for you."

"That's what you said on the phone."

"But first, you need to know that I will work with you anytime, anywhere."

"I'm sorry I doubted that."

"Come on back." He took her hand and led her through the familiar halls. He stopped at the break room and pulled her in. Her friends were there: Catherine, Nicky, Warrick, Greg. All of the self consciousness she worried about melted away. She reached out and got warm bodies all around. For the first time in a long time, Sara really felt like she was part of a family. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she blinked them away so as not to mar the joy of the moment.

"That's not all, girl." Brass gestured to someone behind the door, and a woman walked in. She was beautiful. Dark, curly hair, fitted suit, perfect make-up. She came equipped with a beautiful baby hanging off her hip. Nick walked up while she was looking at Sara, and the woman handed the child to him.

Sara stared at her for a long moment. "Dolly?" she whispered.

The woman broke into a big smile. "Captain Brass said your name was Sara."

"You saved me." Sara's voice betrayed the emotion she was feeling. She stepped forward tentatively.

Dolly took her hands. "You forced me to make a choice. I think that you saved me too."

Sara stood, paralyzed. Dolly took the initiative and pulled her into a hug. They held each other for some time.

"I graduate from real estate school today." Dolly whispered into her ear. "And I don't have any family or friends that can follow me into this new life. I don't have anybody to be there with me. Captain Brass is coming and I was wondering if you had any time this afternoon…"

Sara whispered back. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Dolly." She gestured at her friends. "This is Dolly. Do you remember?"

Catherine laughed. "We have had a few days to know her. She helped us find Viktor's contacts."

"In fact, I am babysitting Pavel while you are at graduation." Nicky said. The boy was pulling at his ear.

Sara looked at him with a confused look.

"I like the kid." He shrugged. "And there is a park across the street."

She furled her brow at him. Her Nicky had a penchant for women with a past. He laughed at her. Dolly looked at both of them for a moment but couldn't interpret their energy.

Warrick reached out and patted Sara's back. "I got this covered, Sara. Don't worry about a thing."

Dolly watched all of this with some confusion. Sara saw this and took her hand. "I am so happy to see you again."

Dolly leaned toward her. "I have another favor to ask."

Sara raised her eyebrows. "Sure, what is it?"

Silence gripped the room. "I…well, Captain Brass found me a group of women survivors. Women who have experienced violence. They have a support group. I want to go, but I have never been to a group like that before."

Sara gave her a sympathetic look. Dolly stole a glance at Brass. "Anyway, I was wondering if you would be…"

"Hey, if you need a babysitter. I would be happy. No problem."

"Yeah, well, Sara, actually, I need someone to come with me. And I heard that you….have some understanding….Hell, I don't know how to do this." Dolly said to Brass.

Sara had a puzzled look. Then she looked around the room and saw the faces of the people she who cared for her. Something in her clicked and her mouth opened. She turned to Dolly. "You want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, I do. I heard…"

"We all thought…" Catherine continued.

"Ah, it's okay, guys. I think…it's a…good idea."

"Honey?" Brass began.

"No, don't even start. It's the right thing. I have been afraid of confronting this for a long time. But I think this is the right thing. And Dolly coming with me, it's some kind of destiny."

"Really?" Catherine had a worried look.

"It's meant to be. I want to go."

Catherine pulled Sara in, and squeezed her tightly. "You gotta a lot of courage, kid."

………………………………........................................................................................................................

She stood in his doorway for a moment and watched him at his desk. Hunched over, he was buried in paperwork. Her thoughts traveled back to the events of the previous night. His soft voice, the touching, the kissing. She never wanted it to end. But finally, some much needed sleep took her. The last thing she remembered was leaning against him on the couch, but when she woke up, she was in her bed. How he managed that was a mystery. But he was still there when she woke, in the kitchen making breakfast: her new, favorite meal. She blushed when she saw him, and he smiled at her, but the familiarity had changed. She could feel it. They stumbled over words, and it took a minute before he was willing to sit down at the table with her. During breakfast, neither had much to say, and what conversation they did have was stilted.

Sara's face grew hot. It was what she feared. The intimacy was too much. The two of them weren't capable of this kind of sharing. Her anxiety about this swirled around within her, and she wondered if this was the beginning of the end for them as friends. When she got up to put her bowl in the sink, he reached out and took her hand. Startled, she turned to him. For a moment, they did nothing but stare at one another. Then he took the bowl out of her other hand, and gently placed it on the table. He pulled her in, and she was in his lap, her arms around his neck, hugging him fiercely. He buried his face in her neck, and breathed her in deeply.

"Please don't let go," she whispered in his ear. "Please don't get scared."

He responded by teasing her earlobe with his teeth. She giggled and pulled his face to hers. It was what it was. Two intense, socially awkward people finally finding each other and learning, minute by minute, how to negotiate the minefields that had been long planted in their souls. The dirty dishes never got washed.

She smiled as she thought of the moments they shared earlier.

"Hey." She was startled when his voice broke her reverie.

She blinked and saw him regarding her from his desk.

"How long have you been standing there?"

She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and shook her head.

"You must have heard the news."

"What news?" She looked puzzled.

"Your job is safe. Everything is going to be okay."

Her smile grew. "Thanks Grissom. Really. Thanks."

"I didn't really have to do anything. Your work speaks for itself."

"That's great. So the sheriff was okay with everything?"

"He calls me bugman."

She cocked her head. "I could see that. Sort of like a superhero, huh?"

"Actually, the image I was getting from it was more like the guy who wears an overcoat in July with a tinfoil hat to protect against microwaves, and pushes a shopping cart from dumpster to dumpster behind the big hotels."

She laughed.

"And, as you can see, I'm back to work."

"Immediately, it looks."

Grissom sighed. "Ecklie says we are 36 hours behind in processing. That's not acceptable. We got to get up to speed."

She shrugged. "I can start now."

"Sorry. A couple more days for you."

"Oh."

"Go to Dolly's graduation. Start the group. Get some rest. Okay? I would feel better if you didn't rush it."

She nodded and then looked down for a moment. "You knew all about Dolly."

"Yeah, Jim talked to me about it yesterday. You okay with this?"

She lifted her head and nodded.

He pulled his glasses off and smiled. "I was hoping it would be."

She shifted from one foot to the other. "Bet you're going to be working a lot of hours the next couple of days."

He picked up the stack of paper. "Looks like it."

"Okay." She turned to leave.

"Um, Sara."

She looked back at him.

"Um, I was just wondering…I got a friend who's got a place at Lake Mead. ..nice place. And he told me that whenever I wanted to use it, you know….so, anyway I called him, and he's not going to be there this weekend…."

She cocked her head, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You probably already have plans. I'm sure you do…"

"Are you asking me out?"

Grissom let out a big sigh. "Well, we have already expressed some…joint interest in one another, so….I thought….well, yes, I am asking you out….I mean, the place is lovely, and….there's hiking and….water…there are bedrooms…well, what I mean is that there are many, many bedrooms there if….you know, that might be a concern, and if it is…."

She leaned her head against the doorframe and regarded him. "Yes, Grissom, I would like to go to this lovely place with hiking and water. I can't think of anything I would like more. As for the bedrooms, I can only sleep in one at a time. How many do you require?"

"Well, it's just that I didn't want to imply…."

The way she hugged the doorframe while she flirted was hypnotizing. "I'd be pretty okay if you did imply, Grissom. I think we might just be ready for second base pretty darn soon."

He gave her a puzzled look, and she laughed.

"I'll pack my best shorts as a sort of an encouragement for you."

"Okay, so, it sounds like this is a go….and, I'm glad to…" Before he could stumble his way through a response, she had disappeared down the hallway, leaving Gil Grissom at his desk staring at the space she just occupied with a slightly goofy grin growing on his face.

The end