Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Jessica, she's all mine. Everyone else is already owned, and by someone a lot richer than I am.

Author's Notes: We have come to the end. If there's interest, I am thinking about a making this a trilogy. If there's not, I think the ending (while it leaves a lot to wonder) will be sufficient enough. You decide.

I loved and appreciated the response I got to this story, I thank every single one of you who read this little fanfic, and I doubly thank everyone who read and replied. All of my faithful reviewers, you know who you are, you guys rock!

I wasn't planning on ending the story like this, but I'm too exhausted to remember the ending I came up with yesterday at work. I started my new job at the ME's office today...it was beyond creepy. Yesterday I helped process a car accident (just me and Marco, who has worked for the Sheriff's Office for nearly 11 years and didn't lift a single finger, unless it was to point out a mistake), and today I got to watch the autopsy of the three people that died in that accident. (Insert cold chill). I am considering today a success, I managed to make the entire 10 hour shift without throwing up (which I found out after shift that this is something people actually bet money on). And, I got to hold a human heart for the first time, which was actually pretty cool.

Enough crazy ramblings, enjoy the last chapter!

Jenny

Eleven:

"I'm not taking it off!" Sara protested, wrapping her arms around her bathrobe, a huge grin on her face. "Greg! Stop!"

Greg intercepted her hands, tugging at the sash for her robe, "Come on, Sara! You're no fun!"

"Stop it Greg!" She yelped, dodging out of his grasp again, sending them both tumbling onto the bed, faces red from laughter, "Look what you did!"

Greg rolled off of her, raising his eyebrows, "So, now can I see?"

"No! I don't know how you even talked me into this, you're insane." Sara laughed, tightening the sash on her robe, "Let go of me!"

Greg quickly grabbed hold of her sash again, changing tactics and moving in to tickle her once she concentrated her protests on her waist. Soon, she was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face and she could scarcely breathe. "Let go of me!" She gasped, "Greg! I'm serious! Stop it!"

"Fine, I'll let up, but only if you come down to the pool like you promised you would." Greg said with a sweet smile, 'You promised Sara."

Sara rolled her eyes, "Only so I could stop you from renting the porno on the TV." Seeing his determined look, she sighed, "Oh, alright, but you can't laugh at me when you see me in a bathing suit."

"Why would I laugh if I've been trying to get you to show it to me for an hour now?" Greg asked with an exasperated sigh, "Honestly, Sara, you're too hard on yourself. You look hot in anything you wear."

Sara shook her head, mirroring Greg's exasperation, "Let's just go, okay? It's getting late and we have a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah, right. Sara Sidle worried about sleep. I'll believe it when pigs fly. What's your problem? Can't you swim?"

"Of course I can swim, Greg!" Sara exclaimed, "But the idea of walking around in nothing but a bikini isn't really my idea of fun."

Greg smirked, "Oh, right, your idea of fun is watching 'Forensic Files' and trying to second guess them."

"I also enjoy pointing out their mistakes in how they handle cases." Sara said defensively, "And I watch other things, too."

Greg laughed, "Yeah, 'Cops'. Seriously Sara, live a little, have some fun, cut loose. I'll even buy you a drink."

"You're not allowed to be drinking, Mr. Whiskey." Sara reprimanded, "But I guess I could show you how much faster of a swimmer I am than you are."

Greg sighed, shutting the door behind them as they exited their hotel room and walked towards the elevator, "Is everything always a competition with you?" Smiling, he nudged her with his elbow, "Never mind, I already know the answer to that."

"Shut up." Sara replied, pushing him away, "You're so annoying."

Greg shook his head, giving her a grin, "It's not annoying, it's charming. Although I wouldn't expect you to know the difference, you never let yourself be charmed."

"Maybe I would if someone did a halfway decent job of actually being charming, and not obnoxious." Sara said with a smile, darting away as they exited the elevator, Greg hot on her heels.

They reached the pool area and he finally grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her waist and undoing her sash to reveal a modest, burgundy two piece, the robe barely leaving her body before she stumbled backwards, still trying to escape his grasp, and sent them both into the pool.

By the time they resurfaced, their lips were together, Sara's hands wrapped around Greg's back, while his roamed up and down her soft skin.

Nick rested his head against the back of his couch, groaning in frustration. How could this have happened to him? To his family? Sure, he had pictured Travis dead, even wished it on the man a few times, but now that it had happened, it felt like someone had punched him in the gut, stealing his breath away.

He was angry, more than anything, angry at Grissom, angry at Brass, angry at Sara, Greg, Catherine, everyone who was hellbent on pinning the murder on his family. He wasn't stupid, he knew Sara and Greg had gone to investigate Karen's abuse charge, to interrogate his parents, his siblings, anyone who may have known anything.

What Nick just couldn't fathom is why they were harassing his family when the killer was on the loose, waiting for another victim. He came from good blood, his parents, his siblings, they were wonderful people, they'd never hurt anyone. Just the idea of them harming someone, much less killing them, was laughable at best.

The shrill ringing of his telephone startled him, causing his head to pop up, a dull throb immediately working it's way through his left temple and eye. Grabbing the phone, he answered, "Stokes."

"Nicky, it's Jessica." Nick was immediately concerned, it wasn't like his sister to call him, ever, and now she sounded like she was about to start sobbing.

Nick drew in a deep breath, "What's wrong, Jessie? Did something happen?"

"Um..." Her voice was unsure, and Nick had to suppress the urge to yell at her to spit out whatever she had to say. After a few seconds, she continued with a shaky voice, "Well, Nick, I just talked to Mom and Dad..."

Nick sighed, "If it's about Travis's case, I'm not allowed to know any details."

"It's not like that!" Jessica exclaimed, "Nick, I'm scared."

Dread began to flood through Nick, and gritting his teeth, he asked, "Why are you scared? If Mom, Dad, or Karen didn't do it, they'll be fine."

When she spoke, her voice cracked, and he could almost imagine her twirling her long, brown hair like she always had done when she was nervous, "Well, Momma, Daddy, and Karen didn't do it. I can be 100 percent sure of that."

"How so?" Nick asked, the dread he was already feeling building up into a stabbing headache, "Jessie, please tell me you didn't--"

Jessica started to sob, "Nicky, Karen's pregnant. He was going to kill her, I swear, he was going to kill her. She came to see you, she snuck out in the middle of the night, she knew you'd be able to protect her...but he found out and went after her. I couldn't let him hurt her, Nick, I couldn't! He had already done enough damage, and now, with a baby, I couldn't let him. It was an accident, I didn't mean to kill him. And after it happened, I didn't know what to do, so I called Daddy for help. I swear, it was an accident Nicky."

Nick sat in silence, listening to his sister, only two years older than him, sob loudly, barely taking in breaths, her emotions fueled by guilt, sadness, and pain. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears, lightheaded all of a sudden, and all of a sudden, the shock disappeared and was replaced with red hot anger.

"Jessica! How dare you!" Nick yelled. If the situation wouldn't have been so serious, he would have laughed as he remembered the many, many times he and his sisters, Jessica and Karen especially, since they were the closest in age, fought. On more than one occasion, their bickering and yelling could be heard by the neighbors, an acre away. "You killed a man! Not just a man, but a man that was part of our family!"

"He was going to kill Karen, Nick, you have to believe me! He was going to kill her!"

"Did it ever occur to you that the police would think Karen killed him? Did it even cross your tiny little mind that with past charges filed against him, and their trip to Vegas on the same flight, the same night, she would be the number one suspect? Did it ever occur to you that if they did arrest her, Karen would have her baby in jail? Jessie, you were here, you could have come to me, even after the fact, I could have helped you prove it was self defense! But you drag Karen and our parents into this huge mess and cry to me about it? Jessica, what the hell are you thinking?"

Both fell silent again, Nick's headache turning rapidly into a migraine, Jessica's sobs unending. After a few seconds, Nick sighed, his anger drained, "Jessie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, I'm just trying to process this." He paused, letting out another long sigh, "Jessie, you've got to confess...if Sara and Greg interview Karen tomorrow, they're going to dig into the abuse charges, they're going to tear apart Karen's house, they're going to know everything about every one of us before they're through, until they know who did it. Confess, for Karen's sake, she doesn't need this, she's been through enough."

"I..I will." Jessica sobbed, "I'm sorry Nicky."

Nick sighed, wanting more than anything to give her a hug and reassure her that turning herself in would be the right thing to do, "I know you are, Jess, but don't apologize to me, save that for Karen, for Mom and Dad. Where are you? Are you at home?"

"I'm still in Vegas." Jessica said after pausing for a few moments, "Actually, I'm not too far from your house. Can I come by before I go to the police?"

With a heavy voice, barely masking his unshed tears, he replied, "Of course, Jessie. I'll be waiting,"

As Jessica went to hang up the phone, her brother's soft voice filled the line, "It's going to be okay, I promise, I'll make it okay."

Catherine tucked the covers around Lindsey, planting a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead, "Try to get some rest, okay sweetie? The medicine Dr. McMillan gave you will help your ear stop hurting soon."

"Mommy?" Lindsey asked sleepily, "Is Warrick going to be my new Daddy?"

Catherine looked at Lindsey with wide eyes, "No one, and I mean no one can ever replace your dad, Lins. Maybe one day, Warrick and I will get married, but your daddy will always be your daddy. Do you like Warrick?"

"I love him Mommy. You know why?" Lindsey asked through a yawn.

Catherine stroked Lindsey's hair gently, "Why's that, baby?"

"Because when started coming over, you stopped crying all the time." Lindsey replied, her eyes blinking closed for a few seconds, the medication kicking in and making her sleepy, "He made you happy again, and if he makes you happy, then I'm happy with him too." She smiled as she snuggled deeper into her blankets, "And he lets me order expensive things besides just a hamburger or chicken nuggets when we go out to dinner."

Catherine smiled softly, "You can't judge someone on how much money they spend on you." She reprimanded, "How would you like it if we moved into Warrick's house with him?"

Lindsey opened her eyes, yawning widely, "Only if I can get a puppy."

"Now, we'll see about that. We don't even know if Warrick likes dogs." Catherine said gently, turning off the light, "Get some sleep."

Catherine had made it to the door when Lindsey's soft voice said, "Warrick has to like dogs, because they're man's best friend and he's a man."

"Good logic, that one." Warrick said once Catherine had shut the door behind her, "She must get that from you."

Catherine wrapped her arms around him, laying her head against his chest, "I love you."

"I love you too. You and Lindsey, I'm glad you two are my family now." Warrick said, his voice husky as he let his fingers gently trail up her back, "Would you like to go celebrate?"

Catherine moaned softly, her eyes closed, "Oh, definitely. I'll even lock the door."

"Finally, no interruptions." Warrick sighed, leading her to her bedroom while taking off his shirt, "I've missed holding you in my arms."

"I've missed being there." Catherine replied, sliding off her own shirt as they made their way to the bed, both of them collapsing down on it wearing only their undergarments.

Warrick reached into the night stand, cursing softly, "Damn it, I'll be right back, we're out of condoms in the drawer."

Catherine murmured her response, and Warrick set off to the bathroom cabinet to open a fresh box. By the time he came back, Catherine had rolled onto her side, her breathing even and deep, her eyes shut. Wrapping his arm around the sleeping woman, he snuggled close behind her. They'd have plenty of time for the other stuff, tonight they could just enjoy each other's warmth.

Sara pulled away first, diverting her eyes from Greg and staring at the water, her cheeks flushed. "Uh, that was unexpected."

"Definitely." Greg replied, nervousness evident in his own voice, despite how hard he tried to sound nonchalant. "That was...um...strange."

"Definitely." Sara mimicked, swallowing hard, "Greg-"

"Sara-" Greg began at the same time.

Together, they chimed, "You go ahead--no, you go--no, you!--Stop!"

"I like you, Greg." Sara said, biting her bottom lip and looking down, unable to meet his eye, "I really do. I've enjoyed spending time with you, I've enjoyed this trip, no matter how hard the case is. But I don't think this is the right time, not while we're in the middle of an investigation in a completely different state."

Greg smiled softly, tilting her chin so her eyes met his, "That, and the kiss was totally weird."

"Oh thank God, it's not just me." Sara replied, relief evident in her voice, "I think that was the worst kiss I've ever had...including the one in first grade where Ryan Richards was eating dirt before he kissed me."

Greg squeezed Sara's hands, "I'll try not to take that too personally...it was bad though."

"Not that we can't work on a relationship." Sara said quickly, her eyes wide, "Just no kissing right now, right?"

Greg nodded, "Right. We'll work our way up there." He stopped talking, flashing her a bright smile, "Unless you want to start with sex and work our way back?"

"Get a life, Greggo." Sara replied, shaking her head and swimming a few feet away from him, "Friends?"

"Best friends." Greg said with a smile, splashing her as hard as he could.

Sara sent a wave of water back at him, laughing, "Best friends who don't make out?"

"For now!" Greg shouted over her laughter as he sent more water spraying in her direction.

Sara used both arms to make a bigger area of water cascade over Greg, ducking under the water and popping back up behind him as she pushed him under. As he resurfaced, she smacked him against the back of the head, "Keep splashing me and you'll never get to touch these lips again."

"Don't make threats you don't intend to keep." Greg chastised, sending a handful of water her way, "Catch me if you can!"

"You're going down, Sanders!" She replied, taking off after him, kicking her feet to shower him with water. Once she caught him, she sent him under again, propelling herself down as well and sticking out her tongue to him underwater.

As the sun set over Dallas, Texas, the only sounds heard at the hotel were splashes of water and incessant laughter and taunting. To anyone else, it would mean nothing, but to Greg and Sara, it meant the beginning of something, even if they weren't all too sure what 'something' was.

The End!