Title: Somewhere I Belong

Author: Diabolikal Rapture / Britt

Summary: Sara's beginning to doubt such a thing as a happy ending, but will a certain someone be able to change that?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.

A/N:Been home two weeks, wayearlier than expectedand minus the inspiration I was looking for. But I have some ideas I'm working on, but figured I'd try some challenges to get me back into it, write some new stuff and finish some old stuff. This is a response to the Nov 7th Unbound Improv Challenge with the opening/closing lines. It isn't great, I know it now, it's choc full of lameness and sappiness. It's a little over the 1000 words limit, by about 92 words, haha. Hope y'all like it.

Somewhere I Belong

It hasn't stopped for weeks now. Her thoughts continued to haunt her. She couldn't help but analyze her life...and what a life. She was in her 30's, single and alone. Her social life was virtually non-existent, and her only contact with any other human being, both dead and alive, was at work. She couldn't help but think through the different stages of her life, where she was now, where she could've been...But she'd never wanted the 'perfect' life, it wasn't her. But lately she'd felt like that's what she needed. The 'perfect' life, a life filled with amazing stories and happy endings. But from an early age she knew that such a thing didn't exist, and she was more than likely going to end up alone.

But there was something else that had been tormenting her for weeks, years even. Is it too late to change things? She couldn't help but feel like her life was a lost cause. That there was nothing she could do to find herself a happy ending, but at the same time there was a small glimmer of hope, a hope that one day she would find herself living 'happily ever after'. Maybe hope was her biggest mistake...She pictured things so differently. Moving to Vegas, she'd hoped that things would change, that she'd find happiness...But no happy endings there. She decided that she needed to do something. She needed to get over these thoughts, to stop pitying herself. Maybe then, once she'd healed her wounds, she'd be able to move on, to be happy, and to feel like she belonged. But could things be that easy? She sighed; at least she was going to try. She had nothing to lose, not anymore.

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"Hi..." She trailed off as Grissom's door swung open. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light, and focused upon Sara.

"Hi..." He returned, with a mix of confusion and amusement. When it came to Sara, he really didn't know what to expect anymore. But really, when it came to Sara as a whole, he really never knew anything at all.

"Can I?" She asked, indicating towards the interior of his home.

"Sure," he said as he stepped out of her way. "Umm, take a seat. Do you want anything? A drink...?" He asked. His voice was shaky, and he felt as though his heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour. He didn't feel like himself.

"No, I'm fine." She said as she took a seat on the small couch in his living room. She looked around the room, scanning its contents. No photos, nothing too personal...it reminded her of home. She wondered if he felt as alone as she did, and if he wanted what she did. Of course he doesn't...he's Grissom. She sighed inwardly as he took a seat beside her, leaving quite a large space between them. To her it just highlighted the problem between the two of them, or just one of the many problems. She swallowed hard as her thoughts returned to her reasons for visiting. She hated herself for being there, almost as much as she hated herself for thinking that he wanted her there. She needed to speak to someone, about everything that was going on in her mind. She'd been able to speak to him before, but why was she finding it so hard to do the same now?

"Grissom..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever wish that things were different?" She asked, watching his reaction to the question. He sat in silence for a moment as he pondered his response.

"Yes...most people do." He replied softly. Though he wondered exactly what she had meant by it. And whether his reply had answered her question, or a different one.

She nodded slowly, but he didn't really answer her question, not what she wanted to know, at least. "Do you believe in happy endings?" She asked, feeling stupid for asking sucha question. He had a way of doing that to her...

"Well, that depends on what you believe to be a happy ending..." He didn't really know how to answer the question, because truthfully he wasn't sure about happy endings existing outside of a fairytale. He frowned as he tried to figure out exactly what she was getting at. He began to fear that he was over-analyzing the situation.

"What do you believe to be a happy ending?" She asked, pressing him.

"I..." He began as he shook his head. He'd never really thought about it at all lately. Sure when he was younger he'd think about it often, but once he'd found his place in the crime lab, he'd simple forgotten about any of the endings he'd hoped for as a child.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have..." She offered, noticing how hard he was searching for an answer. Maybe that in itself was her answer. She stood, feeling extremely foolish for being there, for asking him questions, for hoping...

"Wait..." He said as he followed her to the door. He knew what he wanted, what he hoped for, but he'd learnt pretty early on to give up on any of his hopes, especially concerning Sara. He tried to find the words to convey exactly what he was thinking, what he was feeling. "I stopped hoping for any kind of happy ending for years. With you I never felt like I needed to hope for something, that things would just...happen. Just being near you would be all the happiness I'd ever need..." He stopped himself, feeling as though he really wasn't doing his thoughts or feelings any justice.

Sara watched him as she tried to process her thoughts. She just stood there, wondering if she'd really just heard those words come from Grissom's mouth, and whether or not he meant it at all. She smiled. He looked away from her, and again she hated herself. She moved towards him, immediately regretting every step she took as she paused in front of him. She held her breath as he moved towards her, as he lifted his hand, as she felt his touch upon her face. She leant in as the space between them disappeared. He gently pressed his lips against her, trying to embody all of his emotions within one small, gentle kiss. They broke apart after what felt like an eternity. She looked up at him and smiled. She felt like she belonged there, in his arms, feeling the way she did at that very moment. Maybe there is such a thing as happily ever after.