Disclaimer: Not mine, never has been, never will be.

A/N: I have to warn you ahead, because this one holds spoilers in it, although none of the NSR is based on those spoilers, just on my hopes and dreams. It's a Grissom POV.

Pairing: N/S

Shift changes

I find myself standing in front of her apartment. I have no idea how I got here. I have been standing here for a good ten minutes. The look on her face led me to her house, to her door and hopefully it will lead me to her heart. I don't think she even heard what Ecklie exactly said, but the tears in her eyes told me all, all there is to know.

So I'm still standing here and I'm both excited and frightened at the same time. Slowly I raise my hand to softly knock on her door. I know she is in there. I have watched the lights radiating through her window from my car. I sat in my car for what seems like hours contemplating what to do until I figured sitting in my car wouldn't get me where I wanted to be.

I have played out this scenario in my mind a million times. I will knock on her door, she will open it and she will throw herself into my arms and I will hold her, hold her until all the hurt build up in our bodies has disappeared.

The door opens and I hold my breath. The sight my eyes meet is not one I have expected and the shock registering on my face isn't matched by the expression on his face. It almost seems like he has been expecting me. My mind tries to protect me from the scene unfolding in front of me, but there is no other way I can interpret this.

He motions me to come in. I hesitate a second, but he doesn't notice, because he is walking towards her bedroom. I follow him and watch him crouch down next to her, what seems like, sleeping form. He strokes her hair out of her face in such an intimate way and I think I can feel my heart breaking right that moment. He whispers something and she pushes herself up. I expect her to turn around to face me, but she doesn't. She pulls him towards her and she holds on to him just a little while longer. Right that moment I wished that I would have never learned to read lips, because I can clearly read what he tells her when she lets go off him and there is no doubt in my mind she returns those exact words, those three words which hold so much meaning to them.

He starts walking towards me, but before he leaves the room completely he sends me a look, which is both a warning and some kind of apology. I shift my glance towards her to find her staring at me. I can't find the guilt in her eyes which was clearly present in his. There is so much I can say that moment, but so little of it is important, so instead I say nothing and I realize that is exactly what has caused this situation.

Not much later I find myself standing behind him and I notice the refrigerator door which used to be plastered with notes full of important forensic information, but now I find myself staring at multiple pictures of the both of them and on most of them she is smiling. I don't think I have ever seen her that happy before, not even at work after solving a high profile case.

He must have sensed I'm standing behind him observing him while he is doing the dishes because he turns around to face me. It's then I realize that somehow he just fits right there, doing the dishes in her house. It is like he is supposed to hold her and chase away the demons from her past and present.

When I ask him to take good care of her he slowly nods.

I turn around and leave. The shifts have changed.

END